In article >, Mark Lipton >
wrote:

> 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

Interesting review. Sorry to hear the reason you went though.