Update - We're Alive (and Drinking)

Yikes - It's been too long since either Peter or myself have posted anything here. And for that, I wanted to apologize. We've had an incredible amount of things on our collective plates this month - from job nonsense to trying to graduate and find a job - so it should suffice to say, we're sorry and we'll be back with good wine news and reviews in the near future. We promise!

Event of The Week: Bacchanalia for Barack

If you've been keeping tabs on us you may have noticed the "where's Waldo"-esque placement of our Barack campaign sign in some of our posts. Anyway, we're excited about the election this Fall and we're happy to see that other people are excited as well. That brings us to this week's Event of the Week - Bacchanalia for Barack! A few local Obama supporters have opened up their home, and are throwing a wine and cheese party. So, if you're interested in meeting politically like-minded people around town over a glass of wine, this might just be for you.

The event is free, but no one will stop you from making a campaign contribution. I'm just saying...

Anyway, Bacchanalian for Barack is this Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 8:00PM.

Check out the link for more details and to sign up for the event.

If you're in the mood for something else we invite you to check out the other events on this week's calendar. If you don't see anything that strikes your fancy, we can recommend a few places where you can either pick up a cheap bottle or a cheap date to enjoy.

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One more thing - we're sorry to say that last Friday's snow forced Bistro 215 to cancel their monthly wine social. It's been rescheduled for this Friday (3/14/08).

Weekend Getaway: Affordable in Evanston

Hi, we're back from our weekend away to the somewhat cold and somewhat windy city of Chicago. While the weather was all over the place we did enjoy a beautiful Sunday - primarily spent walking off the many high-calorie meals we'd forced on ourselves. We even made it up to the suburb of Evanston - home to Northwestern University and a ton of tasty (and affordable) restaurants. Seriously, if you're a foodie/wino like us you should put it on your short-list of places to visit while in Chicago.

We stumbled onto this great little new place called Union Pizzeria. From the outside we thought it was a wine bar, and even though the wine wasn't their focus, we weren't disappointed. The restaurant, which I understand used to be a Peugeot dealership, is all wood beams and exposed duct work around a huge wood-fire oven. They focus on traditional Tuscan-style pizza and other small plates. We started off with an order of the veal and pork meatballs served in tomato jam, and followed that with a fontina cheese, mushroom, and sage pizza. Both were so good that I didn't even have the wherewithal to snap a quick photo.

The Union's wine list features 50 wines under $50. While I'm largely useless in this type of situation, I did come out feeling successful. Someone somewhere told me that Rhone-style reds were "so hot" right now. So I took a chance on one - Domaine Paul Autard 2006 Cotes-du-Rhone - and was really happy with it.

It was priced at $21 (a 160% mark-up from it's average sale price of $12.99) and went perfectly with our meal.

At first taste it was positively jumping out of the bottle with bright fruit flavors and big tannins. As it settled, it became a very well balanced wine. The nose is cherry, leather and spicy pepper. The taste is full of fruit - dominated by blue, black and red berries. Other flavors, like leather and licorice come through in its medium-long finish. For the price, it was tremendous.

Jean-Paul Autard's vineyard is located in Courthezon, France, just outside of the famous Chateauneuf du Pape appellation, which is why it uses the Cotes-du-Rhone appellation. The Autard is made of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Counoise and 10% Muscardin from vines averaging 50 years of age. While it may not be typical of all Cotes-du-Rhone wines, I wouldn't shy away from similar wines when I see them listed at my favorite restaurants in Nashville.

Hopefully we haven't bored you with our stories from the road. I just wanted to share my thoughts on this wine. Also, if you're interested in tracking it down, or if you're interested in tracking down any wine via the internet, I encourage you to read our post about legislation that's currently up for vote: HB2824/SB2686 Right now, it's a felony to order wine on-line and have it shipped to you. Personally, I'd like that to change. So read up on these Bills and get in touch with your Legislators now!

Event of the Week: 215 Is On Fire

While Bistro 215 isn't actually on fire, it is all over our calendar this week. So, as a symbol of our gratitude, we're making their monthly wine social our event of the week. Just so you're forewarned, this isn't an event where you'll learn a lot about wine or an event where you'll have the opportunity to enjoy the subtle fruit notes that linger on said wine's nose. No, this is a social event - so prepare to see and be seen.

Our last encounter with Bistro 215 left us feeling crowded into a corner. But, I feel like this event will get more space in the restaurant, as it runs from 10 pm - 1 am, well after the last diner has been served.

Also, we'll be Springing forward on the 9th, so this can be your little way of celebrating the arrival of brighter mornings - maybe even with a new friend (if you know what I mean).

When: Friday March 7th
Where: 3821 Green Hills Village Dr, Nashville, TN
Time: 10 pm - 1 am
Cost: $15

Get there early, try the wines, see and be seen, and then the rest is up to you. No reservations are needed for this event.

The paintings featured in this week's post comes to us from Chicago artist Adam Grossi, check out his other work at www.adamgrossi.com.

Adam is an interdisciplinary artist who uses image-making -- painting, drawing, and printmaking -- as a backbone for his explorations of cultural and environmental dynamics in the United States.

Weekly Events: 3/2/08 - 3/8/08

Sorry to all of our friends in East Nashville as this week's events will take you over the river and through the, well, rest of Nashville. While we love the events that are currently on our calendar, we're always on the look-out for new and exciting things to do and wines to try. So please, if you have anything in mind - or if you're trying to promote some event or opening - keep us in mind and we'll be sure to add it to our calendar.

Also, sorry that we're a day behind this week - we were up in Chicago for the long weekend enjoying a lot of good food and a lot of good (but affordable) wine. We'll share some stories on that later.


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