Tastings

My only regret is that I did not take the clerk's advice to buy a second bottle of the wine he recommended (as he knowingly suggested would be my regret). Small, independent shops live by the quality of their staff and the recommendations they provide to customers. This place knocks it out of the park.

High mark-ups and not particularly helpful owner. I like shopping local so stopped in to buy a bottle of wine for a special occasion. The old world wine selection was impressive. I admitted that I was a bit of a wine novice and rather than taking the time to explain the differences between the bottles he had, the owner simply listed off his most expensive brands and sold me one of the his most expensive, repeatedly stating it was “Fabulous” even when I asked specifically asked why it was so. He also talked up the special box it was in (it was obviously damaged but out of politeness I didn’t say anything). I bought it because I wanted to support local business and wanted to show appreciation for his time, but later found that he was selling it at a $60 dollar mark-up compared to another local wine shop back home.

Don't be fooled by the garish decor at the restaurant, the selection of wines is impressive. As Alley Light was packed Saturday night, I decided to check out the local wine bar instead and made the right call! It's not a fancy wine bar with different flights to choose from with cheese or chocolate pairings. There's plenty of food on the menu though. Although you can order a glass of wine, I recommend shopping around the store and picking out a bottle! There are at least 300 bottles to choose from ranging from local wines to Europe. We enjoyed a glass of red wine and port. The owner, white bearded man, is a wine connoisseur as he's been selling wine for 44 years. He kindly helped us pick out a sweet bottle of dessert wine, which we brought home and thoroughly enjoyed. Although I had a fun experience, I think the restaurant needs a makeover with updated furniture and a streamlined menu for small food pairings. Tastings has a lot of potential to deliver a full throttle experience.

Tastings has a varied menu and it's always very good. Tonight we had the smoked trout appetizer. The trout was done just right and accompanied with golden (yellow?) beets. Excellent! Main courses were Seafood Louis and Scallops. Both were scrunptious. We had the Chardonnay wine flight which went well with the seafood. Service as always was excellent.