On St. Paddy’s Day, we decided to eschew the typical Irish pub in favor of Ardesia Wine Bar, which is no longer new (it opened back in Fall 2009), but was still new to us.
Ardesia runs a fantastic Happy Hour special, which is actually a joyous two hours (5:00 – 7:00 PM) during which time, five wines (1 sparkling, 2 whites and 2 reds) are available by the glass at $6.00 each. And, these aren’t bargain basement wines or plonk; these are the same wines that magically become worth $9, $10 or $11 per glass when the clock strikes 7:01 PM and include a nice assortment of unusual wines.
On the night in question, the offerings included a sparkling rose from France, a Pedro Ximenez (aka PX) from Chile, Alois Lageder Pinot Bianco from northern Italy, an Il Frappato from Sicily and a Chilean Syrah. The PX was a surprise to me since the grape is most frequently grown in the Sherry region of Spain and used in the production of a dessert wine. Dried out in the sun, the pX grapes become shriveled and concentrated in their sugars, yielding deep, dark, extremely sweet wines. This dry, white PX was very refreshing and a great way to kick off the evening. Perhaps it was just the power of suggestion/connection, but I thought I detected just an undercurent of raisin, which I associate with PX’s from Spain.
My friend Elise selected the Il Frappato, which was light-bodied and fruit-centric, similar in style to a Beaujolais. The Frappato grape is indigenous to Sicily and its fresh and lively fruit was a welcome addition to the warmth of the day. The wine selections not on the Happy Hour special were also interesting and original, with very few wines on offer from the U.S. The sole California Chardonnay is by noted producer Au Bon Climat.
Our appetites were whetted, so we chose to order some light bites as well. The plate of olives ($3.00) was generously filled and the home-made pretzels ($6.00), served with a bechamel/cheese sauce and a spicy mustard (my life keeps coming back to mustard lately), were totally worth the calories. We also enjoyed a chicken liver mousse, topped with an apple sauce, bringing a nice yin-yang balance of acidity from the apples to the richness of the mousse.
For our second glasses of the evening, we shifted to the Syrah, which we also liked. Our server stopped by a few minutes before 7:00 to check in and see if we wanted to get in a final order of $6.00 wine before the price went up, but we declined to indulge in any additional alcohol. Instead, we lingered for quite some time over our nearly depleted dishes and fumes of wine without being rushed or pushed to leave, which we greatly appreciated. We finally chose to depart around 8:00 PM, with a very reasonable tab of $25.00/person.
Before heading out the door, I visited the restroom and noticed that the interior side of the bathroom doors were lined with slate. Previous patrons had left their mark, but I guess the establishment is BYOC — bring your own chalk — as I didn’t see any for my own use.