Cool Cubes for The Fourth and Beyond

This July 4th weekend, we're giving a salute to two white wines in sleek octagonal packaging by Octavin Home Wine Bar. Soon after we found the Silver Birch New Zealand 2009 Sauvignon Blanc at the Palm Desert Albertson's off Washington, we received Monthaven Winery 2009 Central Coast Chardonnay as a sample. We tested them out for more than a month and even let them sit in our frig during a vacation break. To our surprise, the last drops we angled out of the spigot were as fresh and tasty as the first glasses we poured.

Both sport a sophisticated, luxe look but make no mistake – the eco-friendly packaging is more than just a pretty box. These cubes are functional too, with an octagonal shape that takes up less refrigerator real estate than square-boxed wines. Inside, an air-tight bladder protects wine from oxidation that makes fruit go bad and wine go flat. Neat freaks will like the easy-pour spigot that's also no-drip.

Now, when you want a splash of wine or hesitate to open a new bottle, you can instead pour a glass at a time for up to six weeks. The 3-liter capacity equals four standard 750-ml bottles or about 20 five-ounce pours. And the price is right. Based on a retail price around $25 (we found it for less at Albertson's), the per-bottle price for each Octavin package comes out to about $6 or less.

If you're looking for an easy Fourth sipper, Monthaven Chardonnay fits the bill. It's refreshing all by itself with ripe apple and subtle tropical fruit flavors. Juicy acidity makes this medium-bodied Chard a good match for grilled fish and white-sauced pasta dishes. You won't find much oak influence, buttery textures or blast of high-alcohol here, all of which can make some California Chardonnays tough to enjoy on hot, summer days.


We gave slight preference to Silver Birch Sauvignon Blanc for its racier, light grassy and lime flavors. Also medium-bodied and lively, it will keep you cool by the pool and also pairs well with guacamole and chips, ceviche, light salads and simply grilled fish or chicken dishes.

Will either wine bowl you over with complex aromas or flavors? No, but they're not meant to either. Both are pleasant enough to make your Fourth celebration more festive or satisfy your desire for a glass of easy-drinking wine that's not going to demand a lot of attention or concentration.

We'll report back on the Octavin-packaged reds soon. From our experience with these two whites, our taste-testing window might stretch out until Labor Day. Let the backyard party-planning begin! Give these two a try over the long, hot summer and let us know what you think.

3rd Corner Wines: Winners, Wowsas

We dropped in on 3rd Corner Wine Shop and Bistro's opening this past Friday for a quick wine tour. OMG.

First off, what a thrill to see the building that was once Palomino come back to life - especially the wood-fired oven that's now turning out tasty flatbreads and more.

As you see here, rows of wine bottles dominate the big interior space and are organized by country of origin. They're ready for your shopping pleasure at knock-down prices or, for only a $5 corkage fee, you can pick an off-the-shelf bottle to enjoy with your snack or full dinner. A bevy of well-priced choices abounds to accompany Goldilocks-style small, medium and large plates.

General Manager Marc Plummer's fondness for Tuscan wines shows through in 3rd Corner's selections in Brunello, Chianti and super-Tuscans. At this early stage, it's still a starter-pack but rest assured Plummer will soon expand the shop's vinfolio to include other Italian wine-growing regions.

California wines are well represented with popular choices such as single-format and magnums of Rombauer Chardonnay - rumored to be the desert's best selling restaurant white wine. Lovers of Napa reds can taste their way through BV 2006 Reserve Tapestry, Vine Cliff 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon and a smorgasbord of 2006 single-vineyard choices from Nickel and Nickel. Fans of Pacific Northwest wines will delight in the treasure trove of Oregon Pinot Noir and Northstar's 2006 Columbia Valley Merlot. Our hearts were pumping at the sight of Sonoma Coast's Flowers 2008 Pinot Noir as well.

Plummer also enjoys southern hemi wines and it shows in his selection of Aussie Shiraz, other red varietals from Down Under and their killer whites, including dry Riesling. We spotted a couple of favorite picks from Argentina - Tikal 2007 Patriota and Achaval Ferrer 2008 Malbec – and can't wait to pop a few corks of Santa Ema Amplus Cabernet Sauvignon.

Because 3rd Corner also serves food, you can buy and try wines that are usually destined for restaurants only. Could Cayuse be coming to Palm Desert? We can only dream!

Despite the main shop's stellar choices, you knew there had to be an elite wine room. Step inside to the scent of freshly cut wood to find the big guns: Sea Smoke, magnums of Chateau Montelena, Peter Michael, Rochioli, Richebourg, Ridge Monte Bello, Leonetti, Marcassin, Chateau Latour and other bottlings sure to make any occasion unforgettable - and sweeter still when someone else picks up the tab. Ouch.

Next, we'll set our sights on 3rd Corner's dining menu and report back soon. In the meantime, we'll be checking in on the Grand Del Mar, home to William Bradley's Addison and the resort's Amaya. Is the recession over yet?

3rd Corner Wine Shop and Bistro
73101 Highway 111 (just east of Hwy 74 intersection)
Palm Desert, CA 92260
760.837.9600

3rd Corner Wine Shop & Bistro - New Wine Kid on the Block Opens This Friday

Palm Desert welcomes a new wine kid on the block this Friday when 3rd Corner Wine Shop & Bistro opens at 5 PM. At three times the size of 3rd Corner's Encinitas location, the Palm Desert shop is their biggest one yet. Come on out to give them their biggest welcome, too!

Located in the space first occupied by the popular Palomino at 73-101 Highway 111, 3rd Corner Wine Shop & Bistro brings a totally new concept to desert wine enjoyment and dining. Diners can choose from a hefty range of domestic and international wines at rock-bottom retail prices between $5 to $500 per bottle. For only a $5 corkage fee, 3rd Corner will chill and serve your chosen wine for you to enjoy with your food and friends. Night owls will finally get their wish as 3rd Corner plans to be open nightly except Mondays until 1 AM.

Talented and energetic Chef Matt Smith is cooking up new dishes for the Palm Desert location, including various flatbreads from the wood-fired pizza oven and a baked brie dish served piping hot. Smith studied at Le Cordon Bleu in France and has worked at two of La Jolla's most venerable dining spots – La Valencia Hotel and Nine-Ten Restaurant and Bar.

Dennis Fassett, wine buyer for 3rd Corner's Ocean Beach outpost, told WinewomenPSP that wine offerings at the new Palm Desert location will evolve as they tease out our desert wine palate preferences. Whereas European wines are ever-popular in Ocean Beach, the desert might skew domestic instead. Start sipping and let them know.

3rd Corner's formula sounds made for success: great food and wine with terrific service that doesn't break the bank. They'll also offer cocktails and plenty of wines by the glass in their full bar and comfy lounge area. If you've been looking for a welcoming spot in Palm Desert to hang out, try a new wine or catch a late bite to eat, this sounds like the place to be. Often.

What are you doing Friday night?

Virginia Viognier, Where Art Thou?

As vacation time approached, memories of East Coast seafood began to prime our palates for the sweet, succulent meat of Chesapeake Bay blue crabs and the briny freshness of coastal oysters. Heaven.

We'd only need a few glasses of white wine to wash them all down – perhaps a Virginia Viognier or one of the other mid-Atlantic wines we'd only read about but never seen in area wine shops or on West Coast wine lists.

Eateries in the Washington, DC metro area made it easy for us to indulge our daily crab cravings, with occasional breaks for barbecue – North Carolina style, of course. Crab and 'cue were everywhere – homestyle at Dallas Airport's Cousins BBQ and Hampton, Virginia's County Grill or stylish and sophisticated at The Trellis Restaurant in Colonial Williamsburg, as dim sum at DC's Ping Pong, or ocean-fresh at Blue Point Provision Company on the water at the Hyatt Chesapeake Bay.

While we were happily vinified by the Rieslings, Grüner Veltliners and Torrontés we found along the way, we still thirsted for a taste of Virginia Viognier – or any regional wine, for that matter. We finally hit pay dirt at the D.C. Grand Hyatt Cure Bar and Bistro. Besides artisan cheese plates, savory charcuterie of Virginia hams and smoked duck breast and a signature Maryland blue crab pie, Cure offers wines by Virginia's White Hall (Pinot Grigio) and Barboursville vineyards (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon).

White Hall's refreshing Pinot Grigio had a tint of light bronze or grey. While enjoyable, its fragrant flavors and slight, pleasant sweetness were unlike most Pinot Grigio we'd had. We later learned the grape crush allows for a few hours of skin contact that gives the wine its faint color and added richness. Besides Pinot Gris grapes, White Hall's 2008 Pinot Grigio blend also includes Muscat, Riesling and Petit Manseng. The latter is an uncommon Vitis vinifera variety from France known for tropical fruit flavors akin to Viognier and an aromatic, high-acidity profile. It made a lively and tasteful pairing for our apps and crab pie.

It might take a bit of work but we hope you'll try a few interesting local wines this summer. Let us know what you find – we just might have to ship some Virginia Viognier westward, once the cooler fall weather arrives.

Summer and Sangiovese

Summer is a great time to reconnect with old friends. While catching up with transplanted New York buddies in Venice Beach, we stumbled upon another old friend: Pietra Santa Sangiovese.

We spotted the familiar label over lunch at Capri, a charming art-adorned restaurant on bustling Abbot Kinney Boulevard that keeps that Cal-Ital thing going on. Owner Alona has run the friendly, casual spot for more than 15 years. Her sincere perma-smile and warm welcome makes you wonder whether you've actually met her before, but no – it's just her way of making you feel completely at ease. Dig into her pappardelle alla Bolognese, risotto di funghi or cinghiale salsicce con polenta and you too will feel the love.

Back to wine – two years ago, a 2005 Pietra Santa Sangiovese left an imprint on our wine memory. Its gently oaked smooth Morello cherry fruit with earthy and anise undertones sent us back to LA Wine Company to clear out all that was left. We haven't seen it since. While the 2005 was an 80/20 blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2006 that graced Alona's tasting table is a 92/8 blend that's also a bit lower in alcohol at 14.7%. Perfect.

One sip immediately brought back that first taste two years ago. Alona, it turns out, is on a quest for good sangio as well. Her restaurant's all-Italian menu screams out for a juicy, food-friendly wine that's not overly oaked or too much of a fruit bomb. But making good Sangiovese has proved tough in the Golden State where it's given more than one Cal-Ital producer plenty of agita – Italian slang for grief. Though a feisty varietal to get right on this side of the Atlantic, we think you'll agree with old friends who gave this Cienega Valley effort a try: it's fantastic.

Pietra Santa's Tuscan-born winemaker Alessio Carli coaxes plenty of sangio goodness out of rocky limestone soils first planted to winegrapes by a Frenchman in the 1850s. The Web site for the family-run estate 25 miles from Monterey Bay shows a dreamy image of a massive stone-and-brick winery. Inside the 12,000-sq.-ft. Mission-style structure is an olive oil press room where gourmet oils are crafted from estate-harvested fruit. One taste of their wine and a look at the "sacred stone" building and surrounding vineyards might convince you to add Pietra Santa's Hollister tasting room to your next Central Coast sojourn. Olive oil tasting anyone?

For culinary pay dirt, visit Pietra Santa's Recipes and Pairings tab. Their shrimp risotto with Meyer lemon and truffle oil is a sure-fire dinner party knockout dish to set your guests swooning. Pair it with crisp, lemony Chateau St. Jean Fumé Blanc if you have no luck finding Pietra Santa's recommended Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio matches around town.

Or, just gas up the car and head over to Capri. Alona's smile, fab food, Pietra Santa – and perhaps old friends – await you.

Capri
1616 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Venice, CA
310.392.8777

Three 4 Three: Memorial Day Wines

Even though Mother Nature is blasting us with heat for Memorial Day, you'll stay cool over the weekend with this trio of festive wines.

Fans of aromatic wines can set their sniffers on 2008 Big House White. Romanian-born winemaker Georgetta Dane pulls off a quirky blend that includes über-fragrant Malvasia Bianca, Muscat Canelli and Viognier finished with a splash of Roussanne. The end result is 100% pleasure – a fruity "nose candy" wine with floral, melon-laced aromas that burst onto the palate with white peach and tropical fruit flavors. Find this screw-capped lip-smacker on sale at Albertson's for around $8.

If your grill will be sizzling with burgers and 'cue, say sí sí to Crios de Susana Balbo Rosé of Malbec. Crios, the Argentine winemaker's second label, has given us plenty to crow about since our WinewomenPSP event at Ruth's Chris a couple of seasons ago. Her fresh-tasting rosé is dry and juicy with strawberry and watermelon flavors that linger on an end-note of cinnamon spice. Give it a chill for a no-brainer pairing with backyard fare. Head to Dan's Wine Shop in Palm Desert where you'll find it for just under $10. Score a couple extra bottles to serve your Thanksgiving guests next fall – yes, it's that good and versatile.

Gotta have red or expecting the party crowd? Go for Boho Vineyards 2008 Old Vine Zinfandel. Look for its octagonal-shaped packaging by Octavin Home Wine Bar at Albertson's. Each eco-friendly package holds three liters of wine, or the equivalent of four standard 750-ml bottles. A convenient pour spout makes it easy to serve a yardful of guests – or just yourself, one glass at a time for up to six weeks. It's soft, fruity and lower in alcohol than many Zins. We're sold on Octavin Home Wine Bar's Silver Birch 2009 Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, too. Stay tuned for more about this worthwhile portfolio.

So what are you waiting for? Unscrew, uncork or flip the lever this weekend and start sharing some holiday cheer!

Five Wine Tasting Party Wines

You've heard it at tastings and dinner parties – or perhaps you've said it yourself: I only drink red (white) wine or I don't like rosé. So when a few ladies came around to wines they never expected to enjoy at a wine tutorial last week, their newfound enthusiasm made everyone's wine discovery even sweeter.

Try these five wines plucked from wine shops and grocers around town for your next wine sampling with friends. All deliver pleasure, flavor and balance with enough variety to keep everyone in the game. Best of all, with prices that range from $5-15, they're also good house wines to enjoy from now into autumn.

Zolo Torrontés 2009: A dry, light white wine with orange blossom aromas, melon and citrus fruit flavors, medium acidity and a fresh finish. Made from Argentina's signature white wine grape, Torrontés is easy drinking by itself that also pairs well with springtime appetizers, crab, seafood and Asian dishes (around $9 at Cost Plus/World Market).

Domaine de la Mordorée Côtes-du-Rhône Rosé La Dame Rousse 2009: Score another win in the war for the rosés. This Grenache-based refresher is dry and juicy with raspberry fruit, a crisp finish and a hint of spice. Uncork with cold cuts, white meats, fried fish, salads, grilled shrimp or Thai food ($15 at LA Wine Company).

Becker Estate Pinot Noir 2007: This medium-bodied German Pinot is Old World in style with cherry and cranberry fruit around an earthy core and sweet smoke on a smooth finish. A different sort of crowd-pleaser for heavier seafood, poultry, pork and lighter beef dishes; screwcap ($15 at LA Wine Company).

Epicuro Nero d'Avola 2006: Epicuro's southern Italian reds are surprisingly good values. Made from Sicily's Nero d'Avola grape, this wine has aromas of dusty earth with blackberry, dark cherry and plum fruit on the palate, food-friendly acidity and soft tannins. At these prices, pick up Epicuro's Aglianico and Salice Salentino, too ($5 at Trader Joe's).

Cannonball Cabernet Sauvignon 2007: A buck cheaper than the 2006 we liked so much last year, the '07 Cannonball delivers blackberry fruit, a hint of cocoa and a perky black peppery finish. It's easily one of the top value Cabs in town. Enjoy with beef and hearty meat dishes, short ribs, barbecue, heavier pasta or pizza dishes and hard cheeses ($10 at LA Wine Company).

Give them a try – or ask your favorite wine merchant for something similar – and let us know what you think. Cheers!