Wine Wednesday -- A Day Late

A Big Wine Wednesday: Had a few friends over last night including some stars, new finds, and old quaffable favorites. It was a great cocktail party crowd. My favorites? A 2000 Williams Selyem Sonoma Coast pinot noir (such a tease, you get all seduced only to find out it's completely unavailable), the 2004 Lancaster Estate Alexander Valley Cab (that fantastic best friend who never lets you down), the Vinum Red Dirt Red (the big guy in the cashmere overcoat that everyone just wants to touch), and a Patz and Hall pinot (really elegant, high end, and doesn't leave a phone number). New finds of the night? A little Burgundian love (from Gevrey Chamberlin Clos Village), a new pinot (Duck Pond from Williamette Valley), and a terrific affordable cava (Spanish Avinyo Brut Reserva).

Kudos to Mass Ave Wine Shoppe! As of this week, Mass Ave Wine Shoppe owners have pulled all Atkins cheesecake and desserts from the menu and shelves. Good for them, I say! Earlier this week, Bil Browning of The Bilerico Project noticed they carried the product and brought the Atkins issue to the manager's attention. After doing some research, owner Jill Ditmire decided to pull the entire line. She followed up with Browning the same day to let him know. Ditmire said she had no idea about the controversy when the rep stopped in with samples and sales materials. "We care about our customers," she says, "and we care about supporting our community." Look for Mass Ave Wine Shoppe on the east end of Mass Ave by RBistro and The Best Chocolate in Town. This trio of foodie favorites has some fun events planned for the spring so sign up for their mailing list on the website.

While every shop dropping the product helps, much of what Atkins produces is sold to large, national food service companies. (For example, restaurant supply giant Sysco is featuring Atkins cheesecake as a showcase product right now.) Look for more on these companies and the restaurants they supply in an upcoming post. In the meantime, just as you'd ask if your dairy is organic or your meat is hormone-free, make sure you know where that restaurant dessert is coming from. (Hey, foodies, you shouldn't be eating restaurant supply house cheesecake anyway!)

Speaking of Mass Ave: Big changes are in the air -- literally, since no one is really able to verify much but vapor. Look for one major restaurant on Mass Ave to close this spring to remodel and re-tool. And high-end martinis must be the theme since if what I hear is true, there will be two new upscale joints in the same block. Additionally, over the next 12 months look for some interesting, smart, and much needed development for foodies and wine geeks to join us downtown. Change, she is in the wind!

How Nice is the New Marsh/O'Malia's/Marketplace? Very nice! What a treat to shop for groceries downtown now. While it's not perfect, the renovated Marsh downtown (nee O'Malia's) is a really welcome change. New carts, new layout, expanded product lines (in some cases) all make a difference. (Beware, the new carts are just different enough throw off your turns.) Plus, it's just cleaned up and shiny. After I filled out a form, they even brought the Silk Soy Creamer back. Much better, now.

Vinum Cellars: I'm in Love

Last fall, a friend and I split a case of what looked to be a robust but obscure red wine, a Rhone-style blend of French grapes from an Oakville, California winery made with El Dorado County grapes. The wine was Red Dirt Red and the winery was Vinum Cellars. The Red Dirt Red is a knock-out, a 2004-released blend of syrah, mourvedre, and granache produced in only 975 cases. For reasons I can't fathom, distributors were unloading it at Kahn's Diamond in the Rough sale and Kahn's said "forget it" when we inquired about more. (Sam's in Chicago said they could probably track some down for us.) However, since then, I've been noticing what else Vinum is up to, and I've been very impressed.

Recently, at a local tasting, I tried their Clarksburg Chenin Blanc -- Chard No Way, and sought it out on a recent wine buying expedition. Neal Brown currently has their Cabernet Franc on his wine list, The Scrapper, also made with El Dorado country grapes. Known at first for their off-beat wine names and labels, this little house is quickly becoming a name in French-style wines with a California quality adding a rich, heavy character that sometimes the same wines from France don't have.

Their whites seem to be garnering notice by some pretty big names. Spectator rated their White Elephant blend of Chenin Blanc, Roussane, and Viognier 91 points in their December issue. And VIO, their 100% Viognier has been highly rated as well. Their cabs reach into the $90 price point, and they also produce a Rose (It's OK Rose) and a Gewurtz (G2).

Vinum is one winemaker to keep your eye on. If you see something from this hardy little house, grab it. Most of their production runs are fewer than 500 cases. And keep an eye on more French style wines coming out of California. Qupe isn't the only game in town anymore. (In Indiana, Vinum is distributed by All American Wines, one of my favorite local distributors doing interesting wines and helping small restaurants create wine lists that aren't more of the same old boring wine.)