For The Love Of Port

I visited a brand new Seattle wine bar last night, The Local Vine in Belltown.

The decor was decidedly modern, minimalist, concrete and steel - in sharp contrast to the image the name of the bar suggests.

The menu was relatively expensive, especially given the size of the servings that we placed before us. You could also tell that the servers were all new, as some of them couldn't answer some of my questions about the food or the wine. I can let that slide...

Then came the wine menu... very extensive (and expensive) selection of wines both by the bottle and by the glass. Bin 27 for $10 a 2 oz. pour?

As I scanned down the menu, one wine caught my eye:

2003 Screaming Eagle $480/glass - $2,200/bottle

Ok, now I'm thinking...who in the WORLD would sell Screaming Eagle by the glass???? A bottle of 2003 Screaming Eagle is running about $1,400 a bottle on winesearcher...so I was just baffled. What if someone comes in, orders one glass, and nobody else orders the other two glasses you probably need to break even on your bottle? Sure, the owners can drink the remainder, but that's not making their restaurant any money, is it?

I checked behind the bar to see if the had some wine preservation or argon gas system that would allow them to keep an open bottle of Screaming Eagle for more than a day or two, and they didn't.

One of those things that just makes you scratch your head...

As a post-script, I glanced up at the bar and noticed the familiar shape of a Niepoort 1/2 bottle. It was an unopened 2003 Niepoort VP, and I ask how much it was since it wasn't on the menu. The server went back and asked the owner, who said she's sell me a glass for the same price as the 20 Year Taylor Fladgate - $15/glass. I thought - sure - I can taste it now instead of opening any of the bottles in my cellar! $15 (and an inexperienced 4 oz pour instead of the stated 2 oz) I was happily sipping away on a great VP by the glass....


Screaming Eagle by the glass....those kids just kill me...

Good story. so do tell about the Niepoort......


Oh, and I won't be ordering any S. Eagle

While I didn't take any notes on the Niepoort, it was structured and dense. The nose was closed initially and even the palate was a restrained because it had been pop-n-poured. I asked for a large red wine glass, put the Niepoort in it and swirled for a minute or so.

Took another sip and *POW* - the nose and flavors had opened up and that long finish with gripping tanins were just marvelous.

Wow... another Cab I have never heard of (had to google it to find out it is a cult winery) and one that I will likely never try in my life...

Todd

Todd Pettinger wrote:Wow... another Cab I have never heard of (had to google it to find out it is a cult winery) and one that I will likely never try in my life...

Todd

I was lucky to taste the 1998, if you have a chance to taste it, do NOT hesitate. The best Cali cab I had so far. Still it is in a Bordeaux style from a cooler Vintage for Napa.

Screaming Eagle is the number 1 most expensive wine produced in the USA, bar none. I was fortunate to take part in a vertical of this with my wife and she loved it. Great juice but hardly worth the price ... at least for my wallet.

What if someone comes in, orders one glass, and nobody else orders the other two glasses you probably need to break even on your bottle?

Stewart, depending on the restaurant ... there are at minimum, 4 glasses per bottle and often times 5, with a few skimpy joints cheaping out at 6.
However, having consumed many a decanter of Port with you in less than 90 minutes (our record is "sadly" 45 minutes) I have a feeling your glasses hold more than the average restaurant and that accounts for your 3 glasses per bottle. I suggest that you save your money on stems and invest in some longer straws!