Dining Atlanta spotlights what is opening and closing around the city. Check in at the beginning of each week to find out what is changing in your neighborhood.

Click here to read earlier columns

Atlantic Station

Originally reported to be closing on January 1st, FOX SPORTS GRILL now indicates that March 31st will be their last day at Atlantic Station. The Atlanta Business Chronicle is reporting that they plan to reopen elsewhere but no location has been disclosed.

Decatur

Recently closed KYOTO JOE’S on North Druid Hills at Clairmont has been replaced by PITA HOUSE, a fast/casual Middle Eastern café run by the former Avondale Estates’ MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE owner. 2050 North Decatur Road.

East Atlanta

Former VILLAGE ICE CREAM on Flat Shoals Avenue has reopened as a banh mi parlor, WE SUKI SUKI. Also serving bubble tea and (soon) soy drinks. 11am – 7pm daily.

Midtown

Tickets are on sale for this year’s Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, May 10th – 13th at the Loews Hotel.

Former DUNKIN DONUTS / BASKIN ROBBINS across from the Sears Building (ahem, Ponce City Market) will reopen as another STARBUCKS location.

According to their website, JR CRICKETS will open a new franchise in Colony Square next month.

——————————————————————–

Eric Harvison’s Dining Notes began a few years ago as a sporadic e-mail exchange with a friend, sharing restaurant openings and trying to satisfy that vague urge to dine “somewhere new.” That friend started forwarding Eric’s messages to some of her friends, several of them food industry professionals. They in turn began passing along bits of restaurant news and gossip that they would come across. These exchanges became more frequent and took on a viral life of their own that has evolved into what you read today.

Aside from the occasional editorial comment, Eric won’t attempt to review these restaurants. There’s plenty of others better qualified, with much more refined palates — probably you. Rather, this is an attempt to help you keep up with the constantly changing Atlanta dining scene, for better or worse.

Dining Atlanta spotlights what is opening and closing around the city. Check in at the beginning of each week to find out what is changing in your neighborhood.

Click here to read earlier columns

Around Town

Get ‘em while you can. Creative Loafing reports that after 40 years on the menu, WAFFLE HOUSE will cease serving T-bone steaks at the end of 2012. They are currently the #1 T-bone server in the country.

Ansley

PLANET LIVING, upscale cousin to PLANET SMOOTHIE at Ansley Mall has closed.

Brookhaven

SLACKS HOAGIE SHACK is the first casualty in the Town Brookhaven development. The restaurant closed its doors last week.

Downtown

Cali-Mex styled BIG KAHUNA restaurant will open later this spring in the Sun Trust Plaza at 303 Peachtree Road.

Midtown

Former MARBLE SLAB CREAMERY site at Technology Square will reopen as the fourth metro location of Alpharetta based GYRO KING.

Sharpen your knives celebrity chef wannabes — casting call for next season’s Top Chef will be conducted at EMPIRE STATE SOUTH on February 25th from 10am – 1pm. Click here for more details.

ROYAL ORCHID Thai restaurant in the Midtown Promenade shopping center has closed.

North Druid Hills

Now open, CUPZ & CAKE, a coffee/dessert bar. Also offering full cakes and pies via their website. 1170 LaVista Road.

——————————————————————–

Eric Harvison’s Dining Notes began a few years ago as a sporadic e-mail exchange with a friend, sharing restaurant openings and trying to satisfy that vague urge to dine “somewhere new.” That friend started forwarding Eric’s messages to some of her friends, several of them food industry professionals. They in turn began passing along bits of restaurant news and gossip that they would come across. These exchanges became more frequent and took on a viral life of their own that has evolved into what you read today.

Aside from the occasional editorial comment, Eric won’t attempt to review these restaurants. There’s plenty of others better qualified, with much more refined palates — probably you. Rather, this is an attempt to help you keep up with the constantly changing Atlanta dining scene, for better or worse.

Most oenophiles are aware of the Russian River, Chalk Hill and Carneros districts of Sonoma, but few others. As Sonoma county winemakers continue to refine their decisions as to what varieties grow best in what locations, the designation of the wine’s appellation will become more and more important.

In Sonoma County, as in other wine producing areas of this country, there are grape growing/producing regions that each possess characteristics approved as unique by the government, and, thus, are granted status as an American Viticultural Area (commonly referred to as “AVA” or “Appellation”). While memorizing these AVAs is not necessary, it will enhance your understanding and fun to have at least a general working knowledge of each one, and what you can expect from a wine that bears an Appellation name on its label.

Modern oenology allows the luxury of matching grape varieties with the locations that are best suited to grow them. Individual regions feature distinct meso or microclimates (functions of wind, rain, temperature, and time-in-the-sun) as well as terrain – hill, valley, foothills, type of soil, etc. When all of these factors, which obviously affect the grapes, are put together, they can be said to create a specific “terroir,” or, for lack of a better definition, “sense of place.”

Why is it important to know a wine’s AVA? For many reasons, most of which have to do with predicting how a wine should taste or be paired, before you actually taste or purchase it. Being cognizant of what an AVA brings to the bottle can help you select a wine to go with a particular dish, or decide whether a price is fair. For example, the Russian River AVA is well known for producing cooler climate varietals like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. If you saw a Zinfandel with a Russian River Appellation, you might have some doubts about ordering it before having the opportunity somewhere to taste it.

But the good thing about drinking wine is that once a bottle is opened and you actually taste the wine yourself, all bets are off. You can then make the call as to whether you like it and what foods you want to accompany it. If you are satisfied, that is all that matters. Let’s discuss the various Appellations below.

Sonoma County

Placing this first since all the other thirteen smaller appellations are a part of it, a winery might use this appellation if a bottle of its wine contained grapes from more than two viticultural areas other than those in the Northern Sonoma (see below) region. If it sounds like “Sonoma County” is a catch-all, it is. There is no unifying description of its characteristics.

Alexander Valley

Located in the northern part of the county, Alexander Valley includes both the flatlands and the hills to the east and west (22 miles long and from 2 to 7 miles wide). The diverse micro-climates support the growing of a number of grape types, though Cabernet Sauvignnon is the star.

Best Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, some Chardonnay.

Bennett Valley

This is a small AVA, but rising in stature all the time. It benefits tremendously by being bordered by three mountains which permit the cool early fog and winds to blow from the Pacific down the gap which is Bennett Valley. The extra hang time needed to obtain ripeness allows for very balanced wines.

Best Varietals: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Zinfandel.

Carneros (formally “Los Carneros”)

Don’t be confused as this Appellation is partly in Napa as well (one of only 2 places in the U.S. of which we are aware where an Appellation crosses county lines). As Carneros is just off the San Pablo Bay in the county’s southernmost area, it is quite cool.

Best Varietals: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and recently some excellent Merlot.

Chalk Hill

This name comes from the soil of white, chalky, volcanic ash found in the mountains (actually there is no chalk – it is a mixture of quartzite, sand, and loam). The region, north of Santa Rosa, experiences plenty of sun and heat from a thermal belt that influences the temperatures.

Best Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc.

Dry Creek Valley

Named for Dry Creek, a tributary to the Russian River and irrigated by Lake Sonoma, this region is about 16 miles long and 2 miles wide and experiences warm late mornings and afternoons following morning fog from the Pacific. Wines are grown on the valley floor and hillsides above.

Best Varietals: Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, some Chardonnay.

Fort Ross – Seaview

The county’s newest appellation, approved by the TTB in late 2011, its 27,500 acres were carved out of the 480,000 acre Sonoma Coast, the latter of which actually extends somewhat inland. Truly located on the shoreline, this AVA was granted its distinct status because much of it is mountainous and thus above the fog line that often affects the rest of the older, larger appellation.

Best Varietals: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Green Valley (formally Green Valley of Russian River)

This small, beautiful area near Sebastopol is worth exploring on many levels (redwood forests, llama farms), but from a wine standpoint is is significant that it may be the coolest, foggiest region in Sonoma County – even cooler than the rest of the Russian River Valley.

Best Varietals: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Knights Valley

Located next to Napa Valley and protected from the cool Pacific Ocean influences due to its geography, this region is the warmest in all of Sonoma County. Its warm days and cool nights provide the ideal weather for producing Bordeaux grapes of all kinds.

Best Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Petit Verdot.

Northern Sonoma

This region encompasses a half dozen other appellations (Chalk Hill and the Alexander, Dry Creek, Green, Knights, and Russian River Valleys) and was primarily championed by giant Gallo, which wanted a definitive umbrella appellation so it could make an “estate wine” at its winery in Dry Creek using grapes from the other aforementioned areas. Gallo is the only winery using this AVA designation, which is cooled by the Pacific rather than the San Pablo Bay, and has sedimentary rather than volcanic soils.

Pine Mountain – Cloverdale Peak

This is an interesting new (Fall of 2011) AVA, in that it includes part of northeastern Sonoma County and portions of Mendocino County. Only about 5% of its 4,600 acres are planted with just a bit more under development. The area is relatively fog free, so it has ample sunlight, and is cooler than the Alexander Valley, much of which stretches below.

Best Varietals: Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, some Chardonnay.

Rockpile

This appellation’s name is quite descriptive of the hardscrabble soils and actual rocks in and around which the vines here must struggle to grow (survival of the fittest, as they say). Rockpile is also above the fog line, so, while ocean cooled, the evening mist is not a factor and sun is plentiful.

Best Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel.

Russian River Valley

Not really including the entire Russian River Valley, this region follows the river from Healdsburg south to Santa Rosa and then west to Occidental. It is remarkable for the fog that rolls down the river banks from the ocean and lasts until late morning, creating the perfect cool climate for world class wines.

Best Varietals: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, some Syrah.

Sonoma Coast

A huge geographical area abutting the Pacific coast (San Pablo Bay in the south all the way to the Mendocino border) belies the fact that it is sparsely planted. Cooler and wetter than most of Sonoma, the vineyards benefit from being above the fog line, and ultimately achieve great balance due to a long growing season.

Best Varietals: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Sonoma Mountain

East of the Sonoma Valley near the town of Glen Ellen, this region allows a number of varietals to be successfully grown because of its diverse micro climates created by mountain crevices and some rolling slopes. Primarily eastern facing and above the fog line, sunshine is abundant.

Best Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel.

Sonoma Valley

Running north/south between the town of Sonoma and Santa Rosa, this is also called “The Valley of the Moon.” The mountains on both sides protect the area from Pacific weather and so the southern part is cooled from the San Pablo Bay while the northern areas can become quite hot.

Best Varietals: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Semillon, Merlot.

——————————————————————–

It’s Time for Wine is a column published by wine writers and educators Monty and Sara Preiser that is featured on the Amateur Gastronomer.

Monty and Sara Preiser reside full time in Palm Beach County, Florida, and spend their summers visiting wineries and studying wines on the west coast where they have a home in Napa. For many years they were the wine columnists for The Boca Raton News, have served as contributors to the South Florida Business Journal, and are now the principal wine writers for Sallys-Place.com.  Monty and Sara also publish The Preiser Key to Napa Valley, the most comprehensive guide to wineries and restaurants in the Napa Valley, published every March, July, and November. In fall 2011 the Preisers released the first issue of The Preiser Key to Sonoma. Click here to read more columns by the Preisers.

Dining Atlanta spotlights what is opening and closing around the city. Check in at the beginning of each week to find out what is changing in your neighborhood.

Click here to read earlier columns

Avondale Estates

MOBETA WINGS on East College Avenue reopened yesterday, just in time for the Super Bowl. The restaurant had been closed for repairs since October after a hungry Lexus apparently mistook their front door for a drive-through window.

Buckhead

MORTON’S THE STEAKHOUSE on Peachtree Road closed last Wednesday. Their downtown location remains open.

U.S. bankruptcy court ordered MF BUCKHEAD into liquidation last Thursday after being unable to renegotiate lease terms with their landlord at the Terminus development. Open since 2007, the sushi bar had been operating under Chapter 11 since mid November. According to reports in the AJC, the Kinjo family is seeking to open a new, smaller sushi bar somewhere nearby.

LOCAL THREE is debuting a new brunch menu.

Decatur

Rumored for a while, but a newly filed application for liquor license appears to confirm that ZUCCA will soon be replaced by COLBEH PERSIAN KITCHEN on the Decatur Square.

East Atlanta

Former BLUE FROG CANTINA space on Flat Shoals Avenue will reopen as a new pub serving up English and Scottish cuisine, ELDER TREE PUBLIC HOUSE. Former FADO chef Sean Culpepper will be the executive chef. Just in case the prospect of haggis isn’t enough to lure you in, they will also feature soccer and rugby.

Inman Park

PARK’S EDGE has introduced a new menu to celebrate (?) being featured in an episode of FOX’s Kitchen Nightmares, which aired last Friday.

Midtown

EVOS, the ‘healthy’ burger joint at 855 Peachtree has closed (again).

Last call, reminder that TIERRA closes for good on February 17th.

Morningside

Though he is not providing any details regarding venue or concept, chef de cuisine Nick Melvin has left ROSEBUD after 18 months in order to open his own restaurant.

Old 4th Ward

Talk about a conservative growth plan — as the original North Highland location marks 20 years in business, AMERICAN ROADHOUSE will open their second Atlanta roadhouse in the Pencil Factory Lofts later this spring.

Peachtree Hills

Lots of buzz around Kevin Rathbun’s announcement last week that he and his partners will open a new restaurant in the ADAC West building complex at 349 Peachtree Hills Road. According to his website, KR STEAKBAR and will have a menu featuring “small plate steaks meets Italian fare.”

Westside

Perrine’s Wine Shop in the Westside Provision District has relocated a few steps closer to YEAH! BURGER. The move was apparently necessary to make room for the Lululemon yoga clothing store opening there later this year. As of yesterday, Perrine’s is now open on Sundays as well.

——————————————————————–

Eric Harvison’s Dining Notes began a few years ago as a sporadic e-mail exchange with a friend, sharing restaurant openings and trying to satisfy that vague urge to dine “somewhere new.” That friend started forwarding Eric’s messages to some of her friends, several of them food industry professionals. They in turn began passing along bits of restaurant news and gossip that they would come across. These exchanges became more frequent and took on a viral life of their own that has evolved into what you read today.

Aside from the occasional editorial comment, Eric won’t attempt to review these restaurants. There’s plenty of others better qualified, with much more refined palates — probably you. Rather, this is an attempt to help you keep up with the constantly changing Atlanta dining scene, for better or worse.

At Vingenzo’s Chef Bologna creates traditional Southern Italian dishes using ingredients that are so fresh the restaurant doesn’t have a walk in freezer. The ambiance is warm and welcoming, with a wood burning oven in the open kitchen.

On January 29th Chef Bologna recreated the five course dinner at his Woodstock restaurant. Every seat at Vingenzo’s was filled — a testament to Chef Bologna’s following and an indication that Atlantans who venture north will find a delicious dining experience.

The evening started with a glass of Candoni Prosecco and hors d’oeuvres that included housemade crudo, asiago-encrusted baby artichokes and white bean stew that was served on individual spoons.

The first course was hand-crafted burrata that looked like a wrapped gift. It was served with preserved tomatoes, basil and arugula, and paired with Luna Nuda Pinot Grigio 2010. Scroll down for photos.

The second course was osso buco tortelli with gremolada and roasted demi cream. The dish was accompanied by a glass of Castello D’Albola Chianti Classico DOCG 2007.

The third course was pan roasted halibut served with a Sicilian pistachio mascarpone sauce and butter-stewed baby root vegetables. The fish was paired with Principi di Butera Chardonnay 2009 from Sicily.

The fourth course was braised Riverview Farms pork shoulder and crisp pork belly with creamy polenta and glazed cipollini compote. It was paired with Rocca di Montemassi Sassabruna 2008, a red “Super Tuscan” that was a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Syrah.

Dessert was called “Semplicemente in Bianco e Nero.” Mozarella di bufala and chestnut-honey balsamic strawberries were drizzled with a chocolate gaze. The dish was served with a glass of Candoni Muscato.

Vingenzo’s is located at 105 East Main Street in Woodstock, Georgia.
(770) 924-9133

• Hand Crafted Burrata with Tomatoes

   

  http://amateurgastronomer.com/index/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Vingenzos1.jpg
  la

• Osso Buco Tortelli

   

  http://amateurgastronomer.com/index/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Vingenzos2.jpg
  la

• Halibut with Sicilian Pistachio Mascarpone Sauce

   

  http://amateurgastronomer.com/index/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Vingenzos3.jpg
  la

• Braised Pork Shoulder and Crisp Pork Belly

   

  http://amateurgastronomer.com/index/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Vingenzos4.jpg
  la

• Semplicemente in Bianco e Nero

   

  http://amateurgastronomer.com/index/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Vingenzos5.jpg
  la

• Vingenzo's kitchen and oven

   

  http://amateurgastronomer.com/index/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Vingenzos6.jpg
  la

• Vingenzo's

   

  http://amateurgastronomer.com/index/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Vingenzos.jpg
  la

Dining Atlanta spotlights what is opening and closing around the city. Check in at the beginning of each week to find out what is changing in your neighborhood.

Click here to read earlier columns

Around Town

A chaser with that Venti Vanilla Soy Caramel Macchiato? STARBUCKS announced last week that they will introduce their “evening day-part” concept in four to six Atlanta locations, offering new premium food as well as wine and beer. The concept was first introduced in one of their Seattle locations in late 2010 and has been slowly expanded to select stores in Washington, Oregon, and the Chicago area. Though the locations have not been named, its been reported (Decatur Metro blog as I recall) that employees at the downtown Decatur store have shared that they will be closing for several weeks of ‘refurbishments’ in the near future.

Buckhead

Former BARONI space has quickly reopened as FIG JAM KITCHEN & BAR. The new concept, still under ownership of the BARAONDA/PUBLIK crew, has an Italian-esque menu of pastas, grilled meats and the seemingly obligatory meatball sliders (lamb in this case).

HOUSTON’S on Peachtree is getting rebranded as HILLSTONE, a “flagship” location of their parent company, Beverly Hills based Hillstone Restaurant Group who operate upscale/casual dining establishments under a dozen or so different names across the nation.

College Park

Open for a couple months now in the longtime FINA space on Main and John Wesley Avenue, THE CORNER GRILL is serving American and Cajun/Creole cuisine. Open for breakfast and lunch.

And opening soon a few doors further up Main Street, REAL PIT BBQ.

East Atlanta

The East Atlanta Patch is reporting that Mayor Kaseem Reed has denied the liquor license application for KIRKWOOD BAR & GRILL.

Ormewood

Recently opened, HODGEPODGE COFFEE HOUSE AND GALLERY. 720 Moreland.

Two “former educators” have turned in their chalk and are opening ENDULGE CUPCAKES (I infer that they weren’t teaching spelling) in the former LITTLE CAFÉ PARIS spot sometime in the next month or so. As evidence that they’ve done their homework, they will offer a drive-through cupcake window.

And in the same cluster of shops, the MORELLI’S ICE CREAM that has been closed since before Christmas reopened last week.

Panthersville

Opened in 1970, the CHICK-FIL-A at South DeKalb Mall closed last week.

Westside

Road trip! Owner Kamal Grant is tweeting that SUBLIME DOUGHNUTS is opening another branch of the popular bakery, this one in Bangkok, Thailand.

——————————————————————–

Eric Harvison’s Dining Notes began a few years ago as a sporadic e-mail exchange with a friend, sharing restaurant openings and trying to satisfy that vague urge to dine “somewhere new.” That friend started forwarding Eric’s messages to some of her friends, several of them food industry professionals. They in turn began passing along bits of restaurant news and gossip that they would come across. These exchanges became more frequent and took on a viral life of their own that has evolved into what you read today.

Aside from the occasional editorial comment, Eric won’t attempt to review these restaurants. There’s plenty of others better qualified, with much more refined palates — probably you. Rather, this is an attempt to help you keep up with the constantly changing Atlanta dining scene, for better or worse.

The Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Merlot 2008 is a wine that stands out. Its refined black and berry fruit flavors show just how tasty and sophisticated Merlot can be.

The wine is made from 95% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the remaining 4% comprised of other Bordeaux grapes. The fruit is all estate grown and comes from the top 5% of Kendall-Jackson’s Merlot wine lots in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino Counties.

Through precision farming methods and harvesting the grapes at the peak of their potential, Kendall-Jackson ensures a high quality Merlot.

The wine spent 19 months aging nearly entirely in French oak, of which 47% was new.

At first sniff you can tell this is a Merlot that deserves a taste. The wine has aromas of dark fruit and spice. The taste is a round mix of boysenberry, blackberry, black plum, cherry and currant layered with violet, cedar, dark chocolate and a touch of smoke. Refined tannins give the wine good structure. The finish is satisfying with lingering berry notes.

If you stopped drinking Merlot years ago this is a wine that will bring you back.

A bottle of the Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Merlot 2008 costs $26.

14.5% alcohol by volume

More Red Wines | White Wines | Under $20

“If God forbade drinking, would He have made wine so good?”
– Cardinal Richeleu

Simi is Excitingly Resurgent

From time to time over the past two decades the wines at Simi have been lauded as industry leaders. Yet for some reason there never seemed to be the consistency in production and business staff to remain on that lofty perch. In our opinion, the acquisition of the winery by Constellation, the engaging of Damy Tamburrino as General Manager, and the appointment of Susan Lueker as senior winemaker have solved the up and downs, and right now Simi is on a definite upswing.

Simi is an easy visit whether you are staying in Healdsburg, exploring the nearby area on U.S. 101, or coming from Napa and/or Alexander Valley. It recently celebrated its 135th year as the longest continuously operating winery in Sonoma, and Simi’s important role in supporting an atmosphere of experimentation that has drawn some of California’s best winemakers to study and work there is well documented. A tour, of course, is the best way to learn about all of this.

A huge plus if you visit on Friday or Saturday during season is the availability of possibly Sonoma’s best pizza, topped if you wish with local fresh produce and meat of choice. Antipasto and salads are just as delicious. Of course, you will want to accompany this feast with wines, and Simi’s selections are crafted for enjoyment on their own or as compliments to food. Try whatever looks good to you or what a staff member recommends, but we kept coming back to the 2008 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel ($30), the 2008 Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah ($34), the 2009 Russian River Valley Reserve Chardonnay ($28), and especially the exceptionally well priced 2008 Landslide Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($40).

simiwinery.com
(800) 746-4880

Continuum Estate — You Probably Read About It

Most of you probably saw Tim Mondavi’s picture on the front cover of Wine Spectator last October. We hope you took the time to read about his new project/winery, Continuum, which we had visited a few weeks before that article broke. Our host for the day was daughter Carissa, a lovely young woman with a bright future on the business side of the industry, and she made certain we were duly impressed with what is going on up there atop Pritchard Hill.

The estate is over 170 acres in total with about 60 planted to vine, the most recent plantings taking place in mid 2010. The shallow volcanic soils with good drainage sit at about 1300 – 1600 feet. Thus, the site sees little fog and experiences moderate shifts in temperature. All of this is highly conducive to the production of complex wines with intensity and depth.

Presently the Mondavis grow 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Cabernet Franc, 11% Petit Verdot and 7% Merlot. Understandably these are the four varietals that comprise the outstanding 2008 Continuum, with its chocolate (Sara says dark), spices, and graphite flavors interspersed among black cherries from start to finish. The tannins are such that good aging is assured. Click here to read more if you like from the Continuum website. As you may know from reading our material, we don’t usually recommend taking your precious time in wine country to visit a one wine winery, but Continuum is a definite exception

continuumestate.com
(707) 944-8100

Guilliams – The Undiscovered Jewel of Spring Mountain

You may not see much written about the outstanding wines that John and Shawn Guilliams make at 2,000 feet on Spring Mountain, but veterans of the Napa Valley and those who otherwise seek out stars-to-be know about Guilliams. We have been fans for over 10 years and, as a matter of fact, recently opened a bottle of their 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon at a special function in New York. It was superb, as has been every bottle John has made, as far as we are concerned. The current releases (though it is hard to know when the next vintage will be released), are the 2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($45), the 2007 Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($70), the 2007 Estate Merlot, ($40), and the 2007 Estate Cabernet Franc ($45) – we have a bunch of the older ones and will stock up again when we get back to Napa in February.

Recently one of the winery’s newsletters described the rigors of the 2011 harvest, and concluded with an assessment (sensorial and educational) of what John and Shawn called, “the most beautiful fall colors we can remember in Napa Valley.” Sara and I wanted to share with you some of what they wrote. It both moved and taught us.

“During the summer the green of chlorophyll masks or dominates the yellow pigments in leaves. As the cooler temperatures and shorter days of fall cause the chlorophyll to decline, the yellow colors emerge. When sugars accumulate in the leaves because of the fall changes in the plant, anthocyanins (red pigments) can form and mask the yellow. If the leaf is more acidic, the red has a brighter hue. If it is brown, it contains tannin. For vineyardists, these colors can tell us about the health and nutrition of our plants. For winemakers, anthocyanins are the pigments that make our wines red. For all of us, these colors warm our souls with their natural beauty.”

(707) 963-9059

——————————————————————–

It’s Time for Wine is a column published by wine writers and educators Monty and Sara Preiser that is featured on the Amateur Gastronomer.

Monty and Sara Preiser reside full time in Palm Beach County, Florida, and spend their summers visiting wineries and studying wines on the west coast where they have a home in Napa. For many years they were the wine columnists for The Boca Raton News, have served as contributors to the South Florida Business Journal, and are now the principal wine writers for Sallys-Place.com.  Monty and Sara also publish The Preiser Key to Napa Valley, the most comprehensive guide to wineries and restaurants in the Napa Valley, published every March, July, and November. In fall 2011 the Preisers released the first issue of The Preiser Key to Sonoma. Click here to read more columns by the Preisers.

The Seattle-based coffee company announced that it will be adding beer and wine to four to six of its Atlanta locations in 2012, according to the Reuters article published today. Atlanta will be among the first cities in the country to get the adult beverages added to its menu, along with a handful of Southern California and Chicago locations.

Seattle was the test market for beer and wine sales at Starbucks; in October 2010 the coffee chain introduced them to one of its locations. Currently there are five Starbucks in Seattle and one in Portland, Oregon that sell beer and wine.

Beyond beer and wine the extended menu will include cheese plates and hot flatbreads.

The Atlanta Starbucks locations that will offer the new items have not yet been announced.

Starbucks has nearly 11,000 cafes in the United States but does not expect to sell beer and wine in all locations.

From Saturday, February 25th through Sunday, March 4th more than 30 Buckhead restaurants will be offering three-course prix fixe dinner menus for $25 or $35 per person. The price excludes beverages, tax and gratuity.

To see the list of participating restaurants and their sample menus visit www.brwatlanta.com. Reservations may be made on Open Table.

Other Atlanta restaurant weeks that are coming up later in 2012 are the Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week (July 21 – July 29) and the Midtown Atlanta Restaurant Week (September 1 – September 9).