Advertisement

The Patio Café held their first wine tasting and wine dinner Dec. 13. The event met with such a positive response the owner, Mark Mutz has decided to make it a regular feature of the restaurant.

The last event was hosted by wine importer and connoisseur, Pierre Atlan, and the tasting revolved around wines imported from Chile, Argentina and Australia.

Future tasting events will have a theme. For instance, one event might center on wines from a particular area in California, Oregon or Washington. The soils and micro-climates differ greatly from one area to the other and as a result, produce different results in the end wines, even if the grape variety is the same.

Other themes under consideration are the tasting of strictly French wines. Although more expensive simply because these wines carry a shipping cost added to the price of a bottle, there are other things to learn as well. Labeling is very different in the European wine industry. Someone will be on hand to teach wine lovers how to read the label correctly so they can discern what is actually in the bottle.

Another theme, if and when the public shows enough interest, might be what is called a vertical tasting. This type of tasting involves only one particular varietal such as merlot, and several bottles of the same vintage but from different wineries in different appellations would be tasted. In this type of tasting, the nuances of soils and climate become noticeable and definable.

Most people are simply happy drinking good wines and not paying exorbitant prices to get them, but if there is enough interest, a learning experience in layman's terms might be offered at some later date. In small, easily digested segments, an education is wines can heighten the wine lover palette, resulting in more enjoyment of wines through knowledge.

The wines to be offered won't be the same ones available at the grocer. The concept at this point is to offer small boutique wines not only for tasting, but as a one time chance to purchase them without having to travel the California, French, Italian or German wine roads.

There is some talk of arranging a group tour of some given area of California on a bus with accommodations and meals as part of the package. Of this venture Mutz said, "I'd like to start putting these trips together for early fall but this is new and there's a lot of planning that goes into doing something like that. We'll see how much interest in generated."

Mutz said one of the reasons he is trying to structure these wine events is to "discover what the public wants to drink and to make some changes to the menu." He said, "We want people to number one, know we're here, and number two, look to us as an alternative in fine dining at reasonable prices."

With this wine event, as with the last one, Mutz plans to offer two entrees to compliment the wines. He said, "The pricing is going to vary from event to event and depends on the cost of the wines and what dishes will pair best with them." The entertainment schedule will reflect ticket and dinner pricing as it becomes available.

At the last event, there were two seatings, one at 5 p.m., and one at 8 p.m. This time, there will only be one at 6:30 p.m. The wines will be Pinot Blanc, Viognier and a Reserve Chardonnay in the whites. The reds are a Valdiguie, which is comparable to the young wines ending in "Nouveau" from France, a stellar blended Red Zinfandel and a Shiraz.

The tasting will be accompanied by a plate of cheeses and buttered toast points to clear the palette or a selection of appetizers will be available at the menu price.

On the special menu is the choice of either Beef Stroganoff with egg noodles or marinated shrimp kabobs with rice pilaf. Both entrees will be served with a side of steamed broccoli and lemon butter sauce, potato leek soup, a Caesar salad and miniature cheesecake for dessert.

Bottles of wine from the tasting will be available for purchase at package store prices instead of restaurant prices both to go with the meal and to take home. Five and ten percent discounts will apply to half-case and case purchases.

The tasting only is $8 per person or $14 per couple and the dinner is priced at $20 per person. Reservations are mandatory as the restaurant will only seat 30 comfortably. The event takes place at 6:30 p.m., Jan. 3, at the Patio Café, 670 W. Basin Avenue. Call 537-0222 for more information and to make reservations.