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This judge rules in favor of SideBar

By Uncorked | Thursday, August 28, 2008, 07:27 AM

Last night I got a sneak peek at the new wine bar and cocktail lounge called Sidebar that we wrote about last week and which opens at 4 p.m. today (8-28-08) in downtown Dayton at 130 W. Second St., across from the Schuster Center parking garage.

This is an impressive addition to the downtown nightlife and entertainment scene, and patrons of the Schuster Center especially should take note. (For pictures of the place and an assessment of the cocktails list, check out my colleague Alexis Larsen’s Lounge Lizards blog.)

I wanted to see whether Eric Jerardi would back up his claim that he has put together “the most affordable, well-rounded, hippest wine list in the state of Ohio.”

Hyperbole? Without a doubt. But there are some fun, interesting, impressive wines on the list, which the legal-themed SideBar calls “The Docket.” And some of the wines do indeed appear to be very attractively priced.

Jerardi shows his mastery of Italian wines with the inclusion of two fine Italians on the “by-the-glass” list: the 2006 Batasiolo Gavi ($9) and the 2005 Annunziata Barbera D’Alba ($8).

The bottle list includes offerings such as 2007 Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc ($25), 2006 Chat. Ste. Michelle Eroica Riesling ($35), 2006 Cakebread Chardonnay ($55), 2004 Markham Merlot ($35), 2005 Pierre Andre Savigny Les Beaune Clos Des Guettottes red Burgundy ($40) and 2003 Marengo Barolo “Brunate” ($65). For those of you who get out more than I do: How do you think these prices compare to other restaurant/wine bar price lists?

SideBar and Jerardi also deliver some trophy wines on the reserve list, including 2005 Antinori Tignanello ($125), 1999 Penfolds Grange ($300), 1998 Lafite-Rothschild ($600), 2003 Mouton-Rothschild ($600) and the 2001 Chateau d’Yquem in half-bottle ($400).

The inside seating space is attractive, though it does seem to be built for parties of two moreso than for parties of three or more. Bartenders enjoy ample space behind the bar, but on the customer seating side, servers will be doing the limbo and the hurdles to get to tables if several parties of more than two people congregate. The outdoor patio should be a real winner, though — it’s a shame SideBar couldn’t have opened earlier in the year to get full summertime use of it. During this fall’s Indian Summer nights and next spring, that patio should be an attractive gathering place.

One question mark is the food. Jerardi said last week the details on SideBar’s final food menu were still being ironed out. With wines and cocktails of this quality, a great food selection would be a real plus. Perhaps someone involved with SideBar could let us know here what their most recent plans are.

Overall, Sidebar is an impressive debut, very much worth checking out.

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Are wine drinkers ready for plastic bottles?

By Uncorked | Wednesday, August 27, 2008, 06:57 AM

Move over, screwcaps. The Next Big Thing to hit the wine world may well be plastic bottles.

Boisset Family Estates will ship 25,000 cases of Beaujolais Nouveau wines from its Mommessin and Bouchard Aine & Fils French wineries in plastic (PET) bottles to North America this fall, according to this story in Wine Business International. A similar story in Decanter.com triggered some interesting comments.

It’s about money, of course, but it’s also about the environment, the French wine company says. Plastic bottles are shatterproof, easily recyclable and so much lighter than glass that they will reduce weight of the air-shipped wine by 42 percent and freight costs by 33 percent, the Boisset folks say. And that puts more money into our wallets: according to Boisset’s local wholesaler/distributor, those savings will translate into an $11.99 price tag in Ohio for the Bouchard 2008 Nouveau — $3 less than the 2007. That’s welcome news. And the company says that PET packaging produces 50 to 60 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than glass throughout its life cycle.

“It just makes sense also from an environmental point of view,” Boisset’s president, Jean-Charles Boisset, told Wine Business International. “Why on earth are we still bottling these wines and shipping in glass?”

Well, why indeed?

Tell me: would you buy wine out of a plastic bottle, if it was cheaper and easier on the environment?

Would you buy fine, expensive wine in a plastic bottle?

Or do you agree with one of the comments posted on the Decanter.com story that declared, “Wine belongs in glass not plastic!” ….?

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Lest we forget that wine is a business … a very BIG business …

By Uncorked | Tuesday, August 26, 2008, 02:10 PM

Call me naive — even at a now suddenly ripe old age — but I find this story kind of depressing … and not just because some business conglomerate lost a bit of money. It’s called “Foster’s Has First Loss in 16 Years on Wine Writeoff”, by Bloomberg.com.

Read it to the end, I dare you.

Is there any mention anywhere about the magic, the romance, the life-affirming alchemy that simple fermented grape juice can provide to human beings?

Nary a word.

(Sigh …)

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We’re drinking more wine — and booze — than ever

By Uncorked | Tuesday, August 26, 2008, 07:58 AM

I’m not sure how to reconcile this with the earlier news that Beer has eclipsed wine as Americans’ drink of choice — perhaps we’re just drinking more of everything, eh? — but there’s now news that Americans are buying and drinking more wine than ever, according to the Beverage Information Group.

Here’s an interesting quote from the news release:

“If wine continues to grow at these levels, the U.S. will surpass both Italy and France to become both the largest wine market and biggest wine importer in the world by the end of the decade,” says Eric Schmidt, manager of information services for the Beverage Information Group based in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Wow, this on top of the news from last week that Ohioans are also buying and drinking more liquor than ever.

What does it all mean? Hmmmm.

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New wine bar poised to open in downtown Dayton

By Uncorked | Friday, August 22, 2008, 08:27 AM

Most of you know Eric Jerardi, either from his stellar musical career or from his Get Real Wine Series or his ownership of the Little Store, a wine shop and deli at 7325 Peters Pike that I wish were closer to my home.

Well, Eric is about to add another line to his already impressive bio: he’s the wine consultant and chief spokesman for a new wine bar and cocktail lounge called SideBar, which is scheduled to open Thursday, Aug. 28, in the First National Plaza at 130 W. Second St. in downtown Dayton. Map of location

It’s an ambitious venture, all the way around — and not just because it’s opening in the heart of downtown, which has taken a hit or two in recent years, employment-wise. Jerardi himself sets the bar rather high for the wines that he will put on SideBar’s wine list, calling it “the most affordable, well-rounded, hippest wine list in the state of Ohio.”

Well allrighty then.

The cocktail bar portion of the menu also aims high. Michael Rubel, who is crafting the drinks list, says SideBar will take “an artisanal approach to bartending,” eschewing premade mixes and syrups in favor of house-made bitters, grenadine syrup, ginger syrup and other ingredients.

Order a Manhattan here, Rubel says, and you’ll get one made with rye, not bourbon, with a dash of bitters and imported Maraschino cherries, Rubel said. There will even be multiple kinds of ice, Rubel said.

For his part, Jerardi promises a by-the-glass list of five whites and five reds that will rotate frequently and be served with minimal markups, along with an “outrageous” reserve list that will “reflect my passion for wine” with the likes of Penfolds Grange and Chateau Mouton-Rothschild.

SideBar’s owner is Brian Higgins of Dayton, who says he was attracted by the location’s large patio and central location.

“I have to believe there is more than a handful of people in Dayton who want a place with a great cocktail list and where they can get a nice glass of wine,” Higgins said.

SideBar will seat 50 people inside and 60 or more outside. It will also offer fine cigars. The wine bar and cocktail lounge will be open from 4 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. on Friday, 7 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Saturday, and will be closed Sunday. There’s no phone number or web site yet, but stay tuned.

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A week awash in wine

By Uncorked | Friday, August 22, 2008, 06:50 AM

Once again, we strap on the trusty ol’ drool cup and see what the local wine shops and wine bars and restaurants have in store for us … Lordy lordy, we are blessed, are we not? Drink in this list, which comes to Uncorked via a Dayton-based listserv that compiles the information….

Continue reading "A week awash in wine"...

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Wine Spectator rises to the defense

By Uncorked | Thursday, August 21, 2008, 08:29 AM

Wine Spectator Executive Editor Thomas Matthews has presented in one of the magazine’s online forums a vigorous and spirited defense of its actions in giving an Award of Excellence to a fictitious Italian restaurant.

Matthews details the efforts of his magazine to check out the restaurant and points out that the inclusion of a handful of low-scoring wines represented only a small portion of the wine list that was submitted to the magazine. Here is how Matthews summarized what he called the “elaborate hoax” that led to the brouhaha:

It has now been demonstrated that an elaborate hoax can deceive Wine Spectator.

This act of malicious duplicity reminds us that no one is completely immune to fraud. It is sad that an unscrupulous person can attack a publication that has earned its reputation for integrity over the past 32 years. Wine Spectator will clearly have to be more vigilant in the future.

Most importantly, however, this scam does not tarnish the legitimate accomplishments of the thousands of real restaurants who currently hold Wine Spectator awards, a result of their skill, hard work and passion for wine.

In addition to the Spectator’s own forum linked to in the opening paragraph, the most robust discussion of the issues involved is occurring over on the Vinography wine blog.

What do you think of Wine Spectator’s defense?

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