I arrived at the Napa Valley Vintners’ Wine Educators Academy ready to go. It was Monday morning at 8:30 AM and we were asked to board the bus to begin our week-long adventure. We were greeted on the bus by Paula Kornell, General Manager of Oakville Ranch Vineyards and after a brief welcome, were handed a glass of sparkling wine from her father’s former winery.

We drove from the River Terrace Inn in downtown Napa to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone. This beautiful stone building was once a winery itself back in California’s first golden age of wine — the 1880s. Upon arriving at CIA, it was time to disembark and head into the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies. But, as I walked down the stairs, a wonderful impediment blocked my way. I was formally welcomed to the Napa Valley by Michael Mondavi, who then proceeded to shake my hand. It was an auspicious start to what turned out to be an amazing week!

It seems that everybody and their brother is opening a wine bar these days. Recent additions to the New York landscape include Bar Boulud from Daniel Boulud and Adour from Alain Ducasse. Then, there are the smaller establishments from lesser known restauranteurs. Regardless of the proprietor, I would argue that "wine bar" is a misnomer for all but a few of these places.

When I think "wine bar," glasses (not bottles) of wine immediately come to mind. Accordingly, I visit a so-called wine bar expecting to find numerous wines available by the stem. However, this does not seem to be universal. Many of the new wine bars have extensive wine lists, but offer only a handful of them by the glass.

So, aside from marketing purposes, does wine bar really have a use as a term? Are people really going to these places and ordering wine by the bottle and if so, doesn’t that defeat the purpose somewhat? I would concede that it might make sense for a group of people to order a bottle of wine, providing them each with the opportunity to taste said wine. Yet, it means that everyone is tasting the same wine and for me at least, part of the fun of going to a wine bar is tasting a wide variety of wines, both the one in my glass and the one in my companion’s glass.

I do applaud the practice of offering wines by the glass in two sizes — generally the equivalent of half a glass or a full glass, giving one the chance to taste more wines without overdoing it (these are alcoholic beverages, afterall). Yet, I am still somewhat dismayed when the selection of wines by the glass is limited to perhaps 10 white and 10 red wines, especially when the wines on offer aren’t particularly interesting. It’s not that much fun to taste the same California Chardonnay. Rather, I prefer to use these as learning experiences, tasting unfamilar wines I might not otherwise order in a larger format.

I recently dined at Artisanal restaurant, a restaurant which has built a reputation on its extensive offering of cheeses. Actually, the name is Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro, with "Wine Bar" also included in the restaurant’s logo and, not surprisingly, the cheese list is vast with 250 selections. But, while this restaurant opened long before the Wine Bar craze, it has always had an extensive wine list, as well. Its general wine menu lists approximately 100 wines, all of which are available by the bottle, glass or taste. Now, that’s a wine bar!

I met a friend for drinks yesterday evening at Paul Greico’s new’ish wine bar, Terroir. Most remarkably, the establishment is located at 413 East 12th Street, New York, NY. So what? you might ask. Well, back in the day, I used to live at 417 East 12th Street. At the time, a girlfriend refused to attend our house-warming party because she felt the neighborhood was unsafe. Fast forward nearly 15 years and now the East Village is not only trendy, but fairly gentrified. My former roommate might not recognize the old ‘hood.

But, enough strolling down memory lane, back to the real reason for the visit. I had briefly met Paul, who serves as owner and sommelier of Terroir, at the Long Island Wine Symposium last week, which reminded me that I had wanted to try his place. Accordingly, when my friend suggested that we meet there, it was perfect timing.

From 5:00-6:00 PM, they offer their version of Happy Hour, with a select group of wines available for $6.00, instead of the post-6:00 PM price of $9.00. A glass of wine for $6.00 in Manhattan is quite rare these days, so we planned to arrive around 5:00 and take advantage of this opportunity. There were 5 or 6 wines in this group and we both chose to start with a Kabinett Riesling from Germany. The server brought over two glasses (Riedel) and the bottle of wine and proceeded to pour each of us a small amount to taste before filling the glass. The wine was without faults and actually quite nice, so we let her finish serving it to us and continued to enjoy the wine.

At its conclusion, we decided to switch to red wine and move past page 2 of the lengthy wine menu, housed in old-fashioned loose-leaf binders with wine-related terms doodled all over them. Wines by the glass are listed by whites and by reds and are available in either a 6 oz. "glass" or 3 oz. "taste." As we preferred to taste more than drink more, we ordered "taste" sizes of our next wines. For my friend, a taste of the Blaufrankisch and, for me, a Morgon from 2003, both of which were ~ $6.25. Depending upon the selection, tastes ranged from $6-$13, with glasses ranging from $8.00 to $25.00.

About half-way through our visit, the skies opened up and the beautiful sunny day gave way to a torrential downpour. It was still raining heavily as we sipped our red wines, prompting us to make a third selection to avoid heading out in the inclement weather. The wines were a Bourgueil and a Crozes-Hermitage. As we were perusing the list, I overheard someone speaking amongst another set of patrons, describing the aromas, flavors and mouthfeel of a particular wine, much as I might do for class. I turned to see our server speaking with the group adjacent to us and was very impressed with her knowledge and vocabulary. While such expertise is to be expected in a wine bar, it is not always delivered.

As we drained the last drops of wine from our glasses, we looked over to the window and saw that the sun had returned once more, making it much easier to consider our respective departures. And with that, we paid our tab and headed off into the sunset.

At a recent wine tasting with our American Wine Society group, the focus was on Austrian wines. Given that Austria is known for purity of fruit and varietal expression, I was pleased and not surprised to see so many of our subjects under screwcap.

However, I was very surprised at the difficulty we encountered in getting some of these wines opened. Not of the Stelvin closure with which I am familiar, these bottles had a different screw cap – one which proved to be quite stubborn. Despite numerous failed attempts at trying to simply twist the cap, we were forced to employ more extreme methods. More specifically, our host began to wield various wrenches from his vast tool collection, with each subsequent bottle meeting a larger wrench than the previous one. After much struggle, we were rewarded with the contents of said bottles, which were quite nice.

One of the bottles, Umathum 2005 Pinot Noir, sported a glass closure, of which I had heard but never seen until then. It was very elegant in appearance (at least compared to a screw cap or synthetic cork, not in comparison with a tuxedo). Given the expense necessary to use such a closure, it made sense when we were informed that this wine cost $60.00 – the most expensive one of the evening.

After sippling, slurping and spitting our way through 8 wines, we came to dessert, which is a particular strength of Austria both in baked goods (think Strudel, Sacher Torte  and Linzertorte) as well as in wines. Our host picked up the Beerenauslese and upon further examination jumped up and down within glee once he discovered that it was bottled under cork.

The wines tasted:
Fred Loimer, NV Gruner Veltliner, Weinland, $15.99 (1L)
Domane Wachau, Federspiel “Terrassen”, 2006 Riesling, Wachau, $15.99
Domane Wachau, Federspiel “Terrassen,” 2007 Gruner Veltliner, Wachau, $15.99
Fred Loimer, 2007 Rose (Zweigelt), Kamptal, $15.99
Umathum, 2005 Pinot Noir, Burgenland, $60.00
Zantho, 2006 St. Laurent, Burgenland, $14.99
Heinrich, 2006 Red (Blaufrankisch, Zweigelt and St. Laurent), Burgenland, $16.99
Heinrich, 2005 Blaufrankisch, Burgenland, $23.99
Kracher, 2003 Beerenauslese Zweigelt, Burgenland, $?

Last night, my husband and I went to dinner with friends, Stacy and David, at Vai Restaurant and Wine Bar. This is a relatively new addition to Manhattan’s Upper West Side and predominently features an assortment of tapas-style Italian plates, easily shared with the table. Ordering our first bottle of wine, we started the evening with a Falanghina, an Italian white wine which was very aromatic with good acidity. It paired well with our selection of a plate of five cheeses (Tallegio, Manchego, Pierre Robert, Parmesan and Asiago) and a plate of three meats (Speck, Serano Ham and Proscuitto).

Upon finishing up these plates and the wine, we determined that we were still hungry and chose to share the Tomato and the Truffle Pizzettas. Having decided upon the first wine, I gave Jared the task of picking the next, which we all agreed should be a red wine. He narrowed it down to a Sangiovese from Puglia and a Chianti. We went with the Sangiovese since he then noted that the Chianti was from the atypical (due to extreme heat) 2003 vintage.

With Jared having tasted the first bottle, this time it was my turn to taste the wine upon its arrival at the table. The server opened the bottle and poured my glass, which I proceeded to swirl, sniff and taste. My first inclination was that the wine was corked, but the flavors did not seem to be muted on the palate. Hence, I chalked up the musty nose to earthy notes in the wine. I thought about asking Jared for his opinion before accepting the wine from the server, but felt some pressure, particularly as a "wine expert" in front of our friends.

However, Stacy noted my hesitation and commented that I was a tough critic. I didn’t want her to think that I was being overly judgemental, so I confessed that I had thought I detected some TCA on the nose. We all proceeded to drink the wine with the pizzettas, and made some comments regarding the aromas and flavors we were getting.  David seemed less enthralled by the wine, disliking the intensity of the aroma. A little later on, he asked for our opinions of whether or not we liked the wine and explained that he didn’t really care for it.

At this point, I tasted the wine again and was more convinced that the wine was indeed corked and apologized profusely to everyone. We discussed the protocol for dealing with corked wines in a restaurant and acknowledged that the error was mine since I had approved the wine with the server before she poured it for the table. Moreover, the bottle was about half empty (or more optimistically half full). However, we decided to bring the faulty wine to the attention of our server anyway.

She smelled the wine and then brought it to her manager? who sniffed the bottle and instantly agreed that it was corked. We were brought a new bottle of the wine, for which I deferred the tasting to Jared, feeling somewhat embarrassed at my previous mistake. Our friends were eager to taste the new bottle and have the opportunity to compare its taste with the faulted version, which turned out to be a great learning experience for them.

My lesson for the day was to trust my instincts and be more confident in my assessment of wines. As an academic, I have accumulated significant knowledge about wine as evidenced by my earned credentials. However, with only two+ years in the wine business, my real-world experience with wine is more limited. Accordingly, I frequently feel less confident in my abilities and prefer the moniker "wine educator" to that of "wine expert." Last night’s experience has reinforced that I do have the skills necessary and that, especially now that I have left my previous career to pursue our business full-time, I need to think of myself as a wine professional and act accordingly.

On a final note, I would like to express our appreciation for Vai Restaurant in the way that they handled the incident. As noted, the wine was nearly finished by the time we brought up the issue and we truly didn’t expect the restaurant to take any action. We were more than pleased with the class and service they provided. And, of course, the food was quite good, too! If you have the chance to patronize this restaurant, please do so in recognition of their good service.

Taking advantage of both Restaurant Week and my self-employed status last week, I had the opportunity to visit three restaurants participating in this New York tradition. First established in 1992 in celebration of the Democratic Convention hosted in New York City that year, Restaurant Week participants offer a special prix-fixe menu. Originally, the cost for the luncheon corresponded to the year, i.e. $19.92. However, this has changed over the years and the current price is $24.07 for lunch and $35.00 for those restaurants offering a dinner menu.

On Monday, I dined with the lovely Marisa D’Vari of A Wine Story at Cafe Boulud. I started with the Gazpacho soup, while Marisa ordered the Hearts of Palm salad. We both followed with the Seared Sea Scallop and then shared the two desserts — a peanut butter and raspberry tart and an apricot creme brulee. The restaurant offered two wines with lunch — a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon — both for $24.07 each. We ordered a bottle of the Chardonnay.

Tuesday afternoon found me at Artisanal Restaurant with my dear friend Sharon. If you have not been to this restaurant, Restaurant Week is not the week to go, as the options do not provide one with the true flavor of the restaurant, which focuses on cheese as an art form. While the menu was nice, goucheres, fondue and general selections from the fromagerie were not available. I enjoyed a plate of parmesan gnocchi, which was particularly wonderful with its accompaniment of summer vegetables. A Scottish salmon was equally lovely. My friend started with the soupe du jour, which was a chilled, beet soup, replete with horseradish ice cream. She still had this soup on her mind a few days later. For her main course, she enjoyed the Summer Vegetable Risotto. For dessert, we ordered the Marquis au Chocolate and a plate of cheeses du jour ($5.00 supplement), the latter permitting us to better appreciate the fact that we were in a cheese-oriented restaurant. However, as I am very finicky about the kind of cheeses I like, I really did not like the selections and simply ate enough to be polite. Artisanal has nearly 100 wines by the glass, offered in both glass and taste pour sizes, which is fabulous. I selected a glass of the Lirac Domain Lafond, Roc-Epine white wine, which comprises 50% Grenache Blanc, 30% Rousanne and 20% Viognier. This beautiful, Southern Rhone blend was full-bodied with rich fruit flavors and notes of almond/nuttiness, which we both found to be quite agreeable.

I finished off the week with lunch with my wonderful husband, Jared, at South Gate at the Jumeirah Essex House. We actually spent our wedding night at this hotel, opposite Central Park, so the setting was near and dear to our hearts. Arriving a few minutes ahead of Jared, I ordered a glass of an Argentine rose of Malbec, which had a vibrant, deep pink hue and aromas and flavors of red fruits and spice. Upon tasting the wine, Jared also ordered a glass of the wine. I kicked off lunch with a pea flan, which highlighted the beauty of fresh vegetables, coupled with the richness of morels. Jared had shellfish in a saffron sauce, which he graciously permitted me to taste. My main course consisted of mahi mahi, served with eggplant "caviar" while Jared had trout in a brown butter sauce. Although Jared’s creme fraiche cheese cake dessert was nice, my choclate pot au creme with chocolate madeleines was the highlight of the meal (and best dessert of the week), with crunchy chocolate pearls mingling with creamy chocolate mousse and airy whipped cream, complemented by a cup of cappucino.

I ended the week a few pounds heavier, but just as much happier, having enjoyed three fabulous lunches.

Several months ago, I was contacted about a new wine device called the Ravi and given the opportunity to test the Ravi. The Ravi was launched in Quebec, Canada and has a patent pending. This product is inserted into an open wine bottle with the intention of cooling the wine down to an appropriate temperature.

While we initially assumed that the target was white wine, instead, the focus for the Ravi was to ensure that red wines were served at the proper temperature. With the admonition that many people serve red wines too warm (room temperature refers to rooms prior to the advent of central heating), the Ravi seeks to lower the wine temperature to the perfect 55-60F. (Fuller-bodied reds can be served as high as 62F, but warmer than this becomes too hot.)

I intended to use the product soon after its receipt, but due to not reading all of the instructions ahead of time, I made an error, which caused a delay. The Ravi has two parts, which snap together. One piece is stored in the freezer for at least an hour prior to use to permit it to produce its cooling effect. The internal mechanism is a stainless steel tube, through which the wine passes, cooling the wine on contact.

One is advised to clean the Ravi prior to its first use and here is where I made my error. I wasn’t careful about not getting water inside the device, which the next instruction cautioned not to freeze the part with water inside. Accordingly, I had to wait until the water evaporated, which, due to the seasonal humidity, required waiting a few weeks. Once this problem had been rectified, the Ravi went into the freezer, but the sustained heat prevented me from having any interest in red wine.

I finally had occasion to use the Ravi at an event for a private client last week. We were presenting wines paired with the delicious dinner prepared by the hosts, which included a St.-Emilion and an Australian Shiraz, to accompany the main course of seared steak. We took the opportunity to bring the Ravi with us and used it to cool down these wines as we poured them for the event guests. Starting first with our own glasses, we were pleasantly surprised to note the success at which the device accomplished its goal. Feeling the bottle itself, the wine was much warmer than it was once it was poured into the glass. Accordingly, the serving temperature was more appropriate and the wine could be better enjoyed.

The only drawback was that the device itself is a bit cumbersome to use given that you are adding about 5 inches to the top of the wine bottle. In addition, we found that the wine seemed to get a bit stuck after a few pours, which required some effort to get it flowing again. However, overall, it did work for its intended use and can thus be recommended. The Ravi retails for ~$50.00, but as there are no replacement costs, it is a one-time investment if one is interested in having such a product.