California Food and Wine Blog

Posts Tagged ‘wine’

For this Wine Down Wednesday we enjoyed a 2008 Vinum Africa, a unique Chenin Blanc from South Africa for $20.

Strong oak flavor with nice citrus nose; pairs well with acidic appetizers like brochette. Not the most exciting of white wines, but easy to drink and refreshing on a summer night.

Nose: 3/5

Flavor: 2.5/5

Value: 3.5/5

We were trying to find an upscale bar or lounge to have a romantic evening at for our 3rd anniversary and the first place we tried was absolutely packed.  So we decided to stroll the streets of downtown Chico and see what we could find.  Thankfully we came across Monk’s Wine Lounge which was a place we had glanced at before, but their specials board outside caught our eye this time.  As soon as we walked through the door we knew it would be the perfect place to have a relaxing evening.  The tables were spread out, the people weren’t obscenely loud, and there were several couches and lounge chairs towards the back.  We opted to get a couch so we could really just kick back.

We ordered a bottle from Sicily, unfortunately I forgot to record what we ordered.  The wine was a newer vintage at 2008 which was my only concern, but it turned out to be a nice light red which was what we needed for the night.  After a glass each we ordered the mushroom bruschetta and crab cakes.  They were reasonably priced around $10 each.  It was probably about 15 minutes before we received the food, but time passes quickly here since you are comfortably talking with whoever you are with instead of raising your voice and straining to hear.  Each appetizer came with two portions, which was perfect since it was just two of us.  The mushroom bruschetta was unlike any bruschetta I have had before.  It was elegantly plated and served as a long slice of a baguette topped with mushrooms, olive oil and a few herbs.  It wasn’t exactly the perfect pairing with our wine, but the bruschetta was excellent.  Easy to eat, bread was crisp but not flaky, mushrooms were delicately seasoned, the oil was light, and the herb blend was just enough.  The crab cakes paired incredibly with the wine.  It’s hard to say if it was the crab cake itself or the sauce they serve it with.  The crab cake was light, but held together well.  It was seasoned very well and the sauce wasn’t too heavy, there was no need to use lemon on it like I so often do other places.  I’d recommend both dishes as great starters.

Mushroom bruschetta and crab cake

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For my birthday my boyfriend took me to Ciopinot – an upscale seafood grille and oyster bar in downtown San Luis Obispo.

There’s a formal dining theme with black and red interior and lots of nice wall accents. The Christmas lights and kitchen in the middle of the seating throws it off and keeps it from a romantic ambiance, but overall it’s pretty nice inside.

The ambiance and people

Every item on the menu lists a recommended wine pairing with it and the wine prices are actually pretty decent AND they have a no corkage fee which really sets them apart from other restaruants in SLO. The servers are very attentive and check in at your table frequently and the owner of the restaurant also walks around and talks to each party which makes it feel very personal.

We started with Oysters Rockafellar and asked for the recommended wine that was listed. Here’s where it gets a little strange; we received the wrong wine with our appetizer and asked them to take it back. They brought out a different wine and said the wine that was recommended on the menu was not good at all and this would be better. Why are they recommending a wine that they are openly stating isn’t good??

Nathan ordered the Italian Ciopinot: the signature cioppino stock with Jumbo Prawns, Scallops, Clams, Calamari and Fresh Fish with penne pasta.

Italian Ciopinot

I ordered the Fisherman’s Plate: A platter of grilled fresh fish, jumbo prawns, sea scallops,
cockle clams and deep fried calamari. They brought it to me with a side of mashed potatoes instead of the rice pilaf I’d requested. The mashed potatoes were very good, but again made it seem like they just weren’t listening very well.

Fisherman's Plate

The waitor also said my dish would go well with any wine so we went with the recommended wine for Nathan’s dish. Unfortunately it didn’t go well with either dish. It tasted ok with his, but really didn’t compliment or bring out any new flavors, and mine clashed pretty poorly.

The Italian Ciopinot was great. Very spicy and full of fish and flavor. The Fisherman’s Plate was good but not something I’d get again.

We finished the meal off with the blueberry cobbler – definitely one of the best desserts I’ve had out to dinner. We were both tempted to ask for some sponge cake or something to get every last drop off the plate, but we resisted.

Overall I would recommend NOT going with any recommended wine pairings because it doesn’t seem to be done with much thought or skill in pairing. The servers are very attentive but may need to focus a little more on listening to the guests, but the owner makes up for it by being so personable and making sure everything was to our satisfaction. Also the actual servings were very generous so even though its about $25 per plate, you’ll definitely leave full.

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