Down here in FL for the unpleasant task of burying our much-beloved
sister-in-law, Jean and I got away for a couple of hours to assess the
wine-related changes in the little community of Ormond Beach, FL. Since
our last visit 6 months ago, three new wine bar/bistro/tapas joints have
opened up (!!). We made an attempt to visit all three of the new ones,
but one was closed on a Monday.

Our first stop was Vino100, one of a nationwide chain of wine
retailers/wine bars with the slant of selling 100 different wines for
$25 or less. At the tasting bar, we were given the choice of 8 whites
and 8 reds. At a glance, I recognized only one producer (Avondale in
South Africa). Jean and I settled on two whites, an '06 Pinot Grigio
from a producer in a DOC I'd never previously heard of (Lison
Pramaggiore) and imported by a firm I'd never heard of and an '06 Grillo
from Western Sicily. All the wines by the glass were stored in two Wine
Keeper systems and one could get a taste free of charge before ordering
a (very generous) glass. Both wines were decent but unremarkable, which
seemed to pretty much be the story for this place. A check of their
shelves turned up fairly obscure wines and producers.

Our second stop was Caffeine, advertising itself as a Bistro/Wine Bar.
We walked into a little storefront Bistro with a live singer/guitarist
playing music at high volume. A quick perusal of their list of 20 wines
revealed mass-market wines for exorbitant price, so we excused ourselves
and went elsewhere.

Our third stop was supposed to be Cuvée, billed as a Wine/Tapas Bar, but
alas closed on Monday. Unlike the unfortunately named Caffeine, we were
intrigued by the name and layout of this place, but it will have to
await another visit.

Instead, we returned to the Ormond Beach Wine Company, a retailer/wine
bar/Bistro that uses the same Enomatic wine dispensers that the late,
unlamented VinoVenue in SF did. The wine selection here strikes a
middle road between our first two experiences, serving mostly
non-mass-market wines that were at least somewhat familiar to us. So,
for instance, there one can buy NZ SBs from Cloudy Bay and Wither Hills
as well as the near-ubiquitous Kim Crawford. They also had the Pine
Ridge Chenin Blanc/Viognier ($12.99) and other recognizable QPR winners.
Jean had previously bought a smart card for their Enomatics, so we put
$20 on it and got a few wines, mostly for $2-3 for a 1 oz pour.

2004 Verget 'La Forêt' Chablis 1er
nose: sulfur and high-toast oak
palate: a huge whack of burnt matchsticks, followed by some grapefruit
and stones
comment: Give me an '04 Pepiere Muscadet any day over this stuff

2005 Ch. Ste. Michelle/Loosen 'Eroica' Riesling
nose: stones, petrol, stone fruit
palate: off dry, good acidity, peaches, stones
comment: Like a good QbA Riesling to me. Quite nice, if a bit pricey.

2005 David Bruce Sonoma Pinot Noir
nose: floral, red fruit
palate: soft, forward Pinot fruit, medium body
comment: classic soft, forward CA PN, but Jean finds it lacking in
acidity and definition

2004 Chalone Pinot Noir Chalone Vineyard
nose: sappy, dark red fruit
palate: intense, dark fruit, good acidity
comment: a much more "serious" Pinot Noir. Not bad at all, but not
great value

Mark Lipton
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