Hello:
This past weekend, I was in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida visiting my daughter. A friend and I went to THE GRAPE, a wine bar on Las Olas Blvd - the upscale shopping and nightlife street between downtown and the beach.
The concept at The Grape is that they categorize wines into ten categories - from light bodied whites to full-bodied reds, plus sparkling and sweet wines, and a category of premium wines. The menu has a dozen or so wines in each category.
We ordered reds from the medium and full-bodied categories. I had a 2004 Four Sisters Shiraz ($12.99 - retail), with a deep color, and nice fruit forward flavor. The wine is actually a blend of Shriaz, Sangiovese, and Viognier - with a very satisfying result. If you can find this wine, I recommend it.
And if you are in Ft. Lauderdale, try The Grape - I'm sure there are plans to franchise the concept.
Another stop in the beach town - Season's 52 - a wonderful place with 5 Florida locations and 2 in Atlanta. The menu at Season's 52 changes seasonally, is very eclectic and reasonably priced. The wine concept is very nice - glasses cost 1/4 the bottle price, and the pour is 1/4 of a glass - so there is no penalty for drinking by the glass. When the restaurant opened in the Galleria Mall in Ft. Lauderdale a few years back, a number of my good wine friends were in town for a conference. Many of us spend several meals at Season's 52 during the week - mainly trying wines.
On this trip I had lunch - a blackened grouper sandwich with a salad and a tomato and cheese flatbread. With the meal, I enjoyed a single glass of 2006 Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc - Marlboro, NZ ($12.99 - retail). This is a nice, crisp, light wine with nice fruit components, and a grassy-green color. It was excellent with the fish.
It was a nice visit to an old home town - I took my daughter to visit colleges in Tampa and spent some time with friends in Cape Coral.
'Till Next Time,
The WineSaver
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