Stories

DECEMBER 4, 2009 -- A group has gathered to help celebrate my sixth 29^th birthday. We all enjoy wine, but have different tastes. You know how it goes—sometimes when a group of gals gets together for grape-bred libations it’s hard to agree on a bottle—or even two—for the table.

Thank goodness for the new Ultra Lounge and Wine Bar at the downtown Ivy Hotel. Both novices and oenophiles will delight at the ability to purchase a taste, half or full glass from more than 80 selections.

Tastes (1.5 ounces) range from $1.50 to $15 per glass; full glasses range from $7 to $60.

The concepts was uncorked late this year, and has been embraced by hotel guests who sip and sample before ordering a full bottle for dinner at The Ivy’s upscale restaurant, Quarter Kitchen. Premium wines like Opus One, for example, are available to guests who may hesitate to splurge without a sample taste.

“The concept allows an informed decision with a leap of faith that you may not be willing to take from... (more)

NOVEMBER 3, 2009 -- Step into the Cask Room and you’ll quickly forget the trolley tracks and the East Village urbanity just outside the door. Faux barrel-covered walls replicate a wine cellar. The lighting is ambient and mellow—just like the mood you’ll be in while sipping among 50 different wines, rotated each month, along with 20 craft beers.

You’re certain to make friends with other patrons in this very intimate setting with little pretense. There’s a welcoming mentality, and lots of good cheer.

There isn’t a full kitchen, but notable noshes include paninis made with Horsehead deli cuts and fresh-baked bread from Bread On Market. Unique tapas include prosciutto and goat cheese-stuffed dates, and sweet-and-spicy peppadew pepper bites.

Wine by the glass averages $8. You can imbibe guilt-free while searching for the perfect bottle—leaving room in your wallet to Secret Santa yourself with a wine club membership. And as the holidays approach, The Cask Room has an option... (more)

Are you ready to Crush It with Gary Vaynerchuk (@GaryVee)?!

Join @DowntownRob at the phenomenal Vin De Syrah Spirit & Wine Parlor (@SyrahWineParlor) for the tWineUp Wine Tasting/Crush It! book signing -and- Big One Year Anniversary Party on Wednesday November 4th! This is the wine event not to be missed, and I'd love your support of the efforts in bringing more events like this to San Diego!

** Everyone attending receives a copy of Gary's just released book, Crush It! -> http://crushitbook.com/ **

The wine tasting at Syrah will include a flight of wines chosen by Adam Stemmler, Syrah's in-house wine enthusiast, and presented/discussed by Gary. After the wine tasting, Gary will be visiting with everyone and signing your book!

The afterparty will kick off around 9:30 or 10pm with DJ Smoove, on par with Syrah's usual amazing Wednesday night lineup of mixed music, and the full bar ready to serve you more wine or whatever elixir you desire.

I am also arranging... (more)

AUGUST 10, 2009 -- Patrons at the downtown Wine Bank get to use a naughty word if they order a particular brand of wine. That’s because for $12.99 you can purchase a 2008 Australian Grenache called “Bitch.”

Despite the name, it’s a surprisingly approachable beverage, says Wine Bank manager Paul Karcho. “It’s fun—it’s a conversation starter,” he says. “I’ve had people buy cases of it for things like gag gifts or bachelor parties.”

So if you hear a despondent-looking man mutter something in public about “popping a cork on some Bitch,” wait before calling the police.

Bubbly Girl: Longtime-local food writer Maria Hunt will launch her first book at a Croquet & Champagne event at The Grand Del Mar on August 23. The book is called Bubbly Bar: Champagne and Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion.

The event includes cocktails, tea sandwiches, croquet on the Aria Lawn and a signed book. Cost: $60; $50 for American International... (more)

AUGUST 9, 2009 -- Jaynes Gastropub on Adams Avenue hosted a Natural Wine Summit on Sunday. I confess to never having sampled Jaynes food fare—but I’m prepared to go back. Incentive enough is Liverludlian proprietor Jayne Battle’s foresight to collect and showcase green-but-good-timing distributors of “bio-dynamic” wines in her two-year-old eatery.

What’s a gastropub, and what are natural wines? Man, these buzzkill questions are slowing down the narrative flow.

Okay, a gastropub is a British term for a bar that has better than average pub food. (The term must sound more enticing to Brits.) Natural wines—most bottled in Europe—are those produced with minimal intervention.

They’re not simply organic. They’re hyper-organic, says Kermit Lynch sales representative Kate MacWilliamson, on hand at Jaynes Gastropub to pour a 2007 Reisling, a 2008 Bandol Rose and a 2006 Dupere Barrera from a winery in Provence, France, called Nowat.

“Nowat... (more)

Adam Stemmler estimates he’s ingested as many as 5,000 different alcoholic beverages. He’s not some sort of experimental alcoholic—it’s all in the line of work. The 28-year-old Stemmler is beverage director at the new Syrah Wine Parlor in San Diego’s downtown Gaslamp Quarter. Booze is his business.

Syrah is a funky, underground wine bar that also serves a full contingent of spirits. But don’t look for mass-marketed brand names on the wine list, or on the liquor shelves. Upscale boutique bottles abound. That’s how Stemmler planned it. With a lot of research, of course.

“Over the course of about eight months, I spent five hours a day, about twice a week, sampling liquors,” says Stemmler, who bears the same glam appearance of another, more mass-media-managed Adam, American Idol runner-up and San Diego’s own Adam Lambert.

On any given sampling day of recent past, Stemmler may have tried out, say, 25 different tequilas. Did he get drunk doing the research?... (more)

MAY 21, 2009 -- There’s a challenge to writing about cool, new, secret nightspots. The more publicity these places get, the less cool, new and secret they risk becoming. In the case of Syrah Wine Parlor, perhaps it's just best to uncork the news and air out the details.

In an era of rooftop bars, Syrah goes the opposite direction. It's underground -- in the Gaslamp Quarter beneath Dakota Grill & Spirits (at Fifth Avenue and E Street). Even after you find the corner stairwell, it's still a challenge to find the entrance. There are multiple doors down there; the actual entrée is covered by fake clover that looks like a big hedge. (I probably shouldn't have told you this, but, fact is, there's a camera watching you try to get in, and your travails are being shown on a TV monitor next to the bar.)

Syrah is the brainchild of Matt Spencer (the owner of Firehouse in Pacific Beach and former owner of the hip Aubergine nightclub). One of Spencer's current partners in Syrah is restaurant mogul David Cohn.... (more)