Saturday, March 31, 2012

Wine Tasting in SF Series: How 2 (SFO) T2


In case you needed one more reason to fly Virgin America, when heading in and out of San Francisco, Vino Volo in Terminal 2 (where all Virgin America flights depart from) has arrived! I would consider myself a frequent traveler, one who would much rather fly than drive to anywhere over 200 miles away. However, traveling through SFO typically means a minimum of one hour delay. Since my flights are usually short (either to San Diego, Los Angeles, or Las Vegas), these delays can be extremely frustrating. On my latest trip to Las Vegas, of course, my flight was delayed. Instead of getting all wound up about it, I decided to take advantage of one of the great new offerings of Terminal 2, Vino Volo. It was perfect!


Vino Volo offers many different options for travelers with 5 minutes to kill (if you are one to chug your wine - not recommended), or even a couple of hours of delays. They serve wine by the glass, by a tasting flight, and even by the bottle (for anyone who needs a celebration Champagne or Napa Cabernet Sauvignon to take to their next destination). I opted for the Sparkling Flight, 3 decent sized pours of Schramsberg, Tattinger, and Domaine Carneros, for $15. It was the best way to relax, and kick-off my mini-vacay trip to Las Vegas.


I was hungry, but didn't want to jeopardize my dinner at SW Steakhouse -  I loved that Vino Volo offered small and large plates of grilled chicken sandwiches, salmon rolls, salads, and more. I was so hungry when I received my perfectly portioned 1/2 grilled chicken sandwich, warm on a fresh roll with red pepper aoili ($5), that I had to take a bite before I snapped this picture!


Next time you are booking your flight to San Francisco, or from San Francisco to San Diego, Las Vegas, New York, Miami, Cabo, or anywhere else really fun - see if you can book on Virgin America and check out Vino Volo in T2!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Wine Tasting in SF Series: Ruby Wine in Potrero Hill


I'm going to be featuring several fun wine tasting experiences in SF over the next few weeks while I finish up studying for two big exams (GMAT and PMP). They will both be behind me by May 1st, thankfully! Until then, I'm going to be limited to the city for most of my WineTastic Weekends. There is nothing more satisfying than a fun new adventure around San Francisco, especially after hours of mind numbing studying, and I am really enjoying finding new places to share with you.


I just found Ruby Wine in Potrero Hill and I LOVE it! This cute little shop, conveniently located near a few wonderful restaurants in San Francisco, is the perfect pre-dinner date on a Friday night. The shop itself is small, but cute, with racks of fabulous wines all over the place. Alex and I walked into the shop while toughing out the hour-long wait at no reservations accepted but totally worth the wait, Chez Maman. It was seven o'clock on a Friday night, and fortunately for us, every Friday (from 5-8pm) Ruby Wine features a wine tasting of 4-5 wines with cheeses, breads, and salami for $10. This week they were featuring delicious French wines, and we had a blast! The atmosphere is laid back with a kick of cool. They were playing music, everyone was very friendly, and the entire experience was the perfect way to make the time fly by.


Browsing through the store I noticed that most of Ruby Wine's bottles are around $25, but they also carry a few pricey bottles in the $100-$200 range. They offer wines from all over the world, and the local wines that they offer are not the ones that you would find at your local BevMo. I was very excited when I found the Fort Ross Sea Slopes Pinot Noir ($27) in the shop, I had tasted it at a wine event in the past, but had never seen it at any wine shops since. I thought about purchasing it online, but didn't want to pay the shipping fees. I couldn't believe that they actually had it here! We bought a bottle and took it with us to dinner. Chez Maman charged a $15 corkage fee, and served us a glass to enjoy while we waited for the remaining 15 minutes before we were seated. It was a perfect date and I highly recommend checking out Ruby Wine then having a romantic dinner date, the next time that you are in the area on a Friday night. For a preview of their weekly Friday night flights, "like" the Ruby Wine facebook page.


Sunday, March 18, 2012

Petroni Vineyards: An Italian Escape in Sonoma



















 The drive up to Petroni Vineyards was windy and definitely interesting...we saw donkeys along the side of the road and had to take a picture before making our way up the hill to a beautiful Italian inspired estate.  We were warmly greeted by Elizabeth, the Tasting Room and Events Manager, and began our experience right away with a delicious taste of Chardonnay. We were immediately impressed and anxious to try more wines. We tasted our way through several varietals, once I tried their "experiment" bottle, the Unfiltered Pinot Noir, I was hooked!


We were then served delicious focaccia and estate grown olive oil. On this warm March afternoon, it just felt like a perfect day: there was soft Italian music playing in the background, we were seated out by the pool, and it was very relaxing. Two hours passed and our experience concluded. We purchased the Pinot Noir ($34) four ourselves, because I couldn't walk away without it! We also bought their perfect and elegant Cabernet Sauvignon ($70) for our friend Anita, who found Petroni, secretly paid for everyone's tasting, and introduced us all to a great winery in Sonoma. We can't wait to return!

 

 











Tips - Petroni Vineyards:
  • The tasting fee is $25 a person, and the winery is by appointment. Give them a call to make sure that they will have a seat for you!
  • Head to this place early on, driving up and down the windy roads may be tough after a few tasting appointments. 
  • Relax and enjoy this experience, Petroni isn't a pop-in, pop-out kind of place, reserve at least 1 1/2 hours for this appointment. 
  • If you love the wines, their wine club starts around $70/shipment and you can receive up to four tasting fees waived with membership to the club. 
  • If you are in San Francisco, you can purchase their wines at their Italian restaurant, North Beach Restaurant.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Stephen & Walker Trust Winery Limited: Cult Wine Tasting Room in Healdsburg

Stephen & Walker is a husband and wife duo, specializing in seriously delicious wines. We flashed our Visa Signature here for a complimentary tasting with a discount on wine purchases, and began our tasting. Reds are the focus here, and the execution is quite exceptional. I love going to the tasting room, because it is very difficult to find these wines, and I love the exclusivity of such a great product.


The tasting experience is very casual, and the pours are small. However, the wines are tasty and definitely purchase worthy. My favorites are the Petite Sirah ($46) and Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon ($65). If you stop in to experience a tasting, make sure to taste the two vintages of Howell Mountain cab as a side-by-side, they are both great wines, and the two vintages definitely produce a slightly different taste profile. Tasting at Stephen & Walker is a quick stop during your Healdsburg wine tour, but their wines are ones that you will want to take home and enjoy over a nice meal or for a special occasion. The wine production here is extremely low, so you will definitely not have to worry about duplication when bringing one of their wines to a dinner party with friends.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

The Bubble Room Experience: Fun Food and Wine Pairing at J Vineyards


The bubbly from J Vineyards was a frequent celebration bottle that I became familiar with, even prior to my love for wine. I'm not sure why this was our first time here, but I can tell you that after this experience, it will definitely not be our last! My friend and budget travel writer for the SF Examiner,  Karen Lac, found an amazing deal for the food and wine pairing experience at the vineyard, through Google Offers. We bought it, booked it, and before we knew it, our reservation date had arrived!


We began our day trip in Healdsburg at our 11am appointment at J Vineyards. We sat down in a beautiful dining room with different seating arrangements ranging from a formal table to couches and lounge tables. The four of us were seated at a couch, and the wine pouring began. We started with a little bubbly and an amuse bouche. Throughout the 90 minute experience, we tasted 7 small dishes with their accompanying wines, the dishes ranging from a savory soup to short ribs, and ending with a duo of desserts. My boyfriend Alex, does not eat seafood, and special accommodations were made for him, to make sure he was able to try everything on his plate. We were very impressed by their care and service. The food was good, but the pairings are what really did the trick. We loved experiencing the ways that the wine changed when tasting it with the different dishes. Dana, our host, was full of great information of the wines and how the pairings should compliment each other. She also was extremely friendly and had a bubbly personality. The four of us really enjoyed hearing her perspectives.



I think that what made the biggest impact on me during this experience, was tasting several of their pinot noir offerings, and finding the Robert Thomas Vineyard, Block 2 Pinot Noir ($65). Without knowing very much about J Vineyard's portfolio of wines prior to attending this experience, made this amazing wine a very special find for me. I am a huge pinot noir fan, and this is a beautiful single vineyard, single varietal wine. If you are interested in booking this experience, check out the vineyard's website for their current menu, and call them in advance to make a reservation. This experience is $65/person, but you can find a discount for it using the DS Deals app on your iPhone. With the discount you can reserve this experience for $50/person. The experience was really fun, and I will definitely try it again when the menu changes.