While bouncing around Twitter one day, I was turned on to a new-fangled wine search engine site by the incomparable Lisa Adams Walter (Twitter). She directed me to GoBYO (Twitter), a wine search engine that might revolutionize the Bring Your Own Bottle searches in your local restaurants, taking out the calling and questions surrounding the corkage policy at restaurants around the country. It is a very user-friendly website that is already exhaustively detailed about wine, corkage and restaurant information in now, 10 metro areas in the US. Devon Segel (Twitter), along with her family and the DiningInfo team launched this effort two years ago and it is continuing to build up at a rapid pace.

Now let’s continue the 5 Questions series and learn a bit more about Devon and GoBYO!

Last April Fool’s day, I received what seemed to be a nicely written, yet rather surprisingly nifty wine event invite in my inbox asking if I’d like to meet with Laurent Sauvage, winemaker for the leading family of wines from the Languedoc in the South of France, Robert Skalli Wines. We were to meet with Laurent at CAV, the outstanding wine bar and restaurant along Market in the Opera District of San Francisco (and part-owned by none other than Doug Cook (Twitter), founder of Able Grape).

Corkage fees have been controversial for as long as they have been around. I admit, I have been distressed numerous times in the past at having to pay a corkage fee on wine that I already own. It’s similar to the feeling I get when I have a fee to withdraw my own money from a bank! Yet, with friends all over the food and wine industry, I also get a lot of great perspectives on the topic.

After getting both of our outfits squared away, we decided to start the celebration of the end of 2008 with a stop at one of our favorite local steakhouses and cocktail bar, Moresi’s Chophouse in Clayton, CA. Moresi’s is housed in were two historic 1800’s era buildings, now combined, in the long-standing rural enclave of Clayton, CA. Ed Moresi, longtime proprieter of the outstanding family dining and sports bar establishment Ed’s Mudville Grill (check out the amazing collection of sports memorabilia!) son Dom and the rest of the Moresi clan have created a wonderful stop within the small, comfortable downtown of Clayton.

What transpires when you put a premier Oregon Winemaker, a noted Philadelphia Chef, and a top sommelier in the same room and tell them to play nice? If it happens to be Josh Bergstrom, winemaker extraordinaire from Bergstrom vineyards, Daniel Stern owner of Philadelphia restaurants Gayle / RAE, and Ryan Davis, RAE’s Sommelier and manager , you’re in for one hell of an evening.

Kim and I went out with some friends for our 20th wedding anniversary (Poor Kim!) to the Black Lab Bistro, one of our favorite BYO’s, in downtown Phoenixville, Pa. Originally known for its manufacturing, and the filming of the horror movie “The Blob”, it has gone through quite a revitalization with hip restaurants and bars, live music, and shopping. This place has all the ingredients for a fun night out.

We supplied the wine, which the Black Lab complimented with some wonderfully prepared food.

Almond crusted Goat Brie with poached fresh Figs went beautifully with the bright acidity, grass, and grapefruit notes of a 2005 Merry Edwards, Russian River Valley, Sauvignon Blanc, big for a Sauvignon, try and find a bottle, it is worth seeking out.

Calamari with tomato coulis and Poblano pepper Aioli, some would say a boring menu item but one I love to try whenever we’re out did not disappoint. Tender, lightly fried, with just the right amount of sauce drizzled on, had its spiciness complimented by the aromatic Honeysuckle and Vanilla flavors of a 2004 Turley “White Coat”, a Rhone blend of Roussanne and Viognier from San Luis Obispo from the Edna Valley. In a word, this wine ROCKS!

(more rocking after the break)

Morton’s Steakhouse and Riedel “Flow” stemware is quite the match in the coming months. Celebrating their 30th anniversary, Morton’s along with Riedel Crystal, is highlighting the difference a proper wineglass can have on a wine’s aroma and taste. Titled “From the vine to the glass”, It’s a great deal, for $65 you receive some really nice hors d’ oeuvre’s ( Filet mignon sandwiches, Broiled Sea scallops wrapped in Bacon, Chicken Goujonettes, and Key lime pie), four kick-ass wines (thanks to Jeff Yeck , at Southern Wine & Spirits), and four different pieces of crystal stemware from Riedel’s new “Flow” series ($60) to take home with you!

Jason and I had the pleasure to attend the Morton’s King of Prussia event Monday August 18. Nicole Morgenstern, Sales & Marketing Manager was our host, and did a nice job of coordinating the event. Doug Cohn, Regional Sales Manager for Riedel gave what ended up to be the best overall explanation and demonstration of how a wineglasses shape affects your ability to smell and taste all the aromas and flavors the winemaker intended to be there.

[more details on the wine and glasses after the break]

Morton’s and Riedel have teamed up to offer a unique experience. The steakhouse was nice enough to offer Kim and I complimentary tickets to their “from the vine to the glass” event at their King of Prussia, PA restaurant next Monday. Since Kim is abstaining from alcohol while nurturing our baby in her belly, I’ll be going to the event with Anthony. He’s not as cute, but is a one of a kind wine lover and will enjoy the event.

The event will be featuring wines from Chateau Ste. Michelle, which has me excited. I’ve enjoyed some of their wines in the past, but never logged them. So I’m excited about the opportunity to fill this whole in my wine log.

Continuing in the vein of my first regional wine and food review of the Napa Valley, I will now travel south down the Central Valley to another loved wine region, Carmel Valley [WL]. Carmel Valley sits due Southeast from the beautiful and famous hamlet, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and is overlapped by the Monterey County and Central Coast appellations.

Beth and I adore the little seaside town and its accompanying wine region and have made numerous trips over the years with our little Pug Sebastian, always finishing each day with applause at sunset on the its white sand beach. This whole region is well-known as one of the most dog-friendly vacation spots in the US, as well as for its incredible beauty, both natural and man-made.
My list of recommendations span both Carmel-by-the-Sea and the Carmel Valley. I have included links to each individual website, as well as the accompanying information we have on WineLog [WL]. Enjoy!

Beth and I had a free Wednesday evening the other week so we decided to head over to one of the newer local wine destinations in the East Bay, Artisan Wine Lounge and Cafe. The lounge sits just off the much busier Locust St in downtown Walnut Creek. The map says Stave Wine Lounge and Cafe, because the business partners that own Artisan, Lena Chu and Kevin Ng, also own Stave, situated in Napa.

Lena chooses wines from small and cult California wine producers, as well as those that remind her of her years living in Spain. This is also shown in the great small plates menu that they offer. Beth and I weren’t that hungry the night we were there, so we just chose a couple “Small Bites” to nibble on, the Marinated Olives and the Artisan Cheese Plate. We really liked the Manchego cheese, which went quite well with just about every wine we tried that night. The stronger blue cheese that was offered was also outstanding, but we had to leave it towards the end when we had some tastes of the dessert wine.