Tasting tour: an innovative shop offers a world of wine, shot by shot

Sunset, April, 2005 by Sara Schneider

Wine tasting is a funny business. A six-winery Saturday afternoon in the Napa Valley strikes me as torture--your comparison of the eighteenth big Cab of the day with the second isn't worth a fig. Still, it would be nice to be able to sip a few Cabs or Pinots side by side, to find out what you like. Wine bars are good for this, but you generally can't take home your favorite bottle.

So VinoVenue, a new tasting room and shop in San Francisco, caught my attention. There's nothing else like it in the West. Equipped with wood-and-steel dispensers that preserve open bottles of wine with argon (an inert gas that has no effect on the wine), VinoVenue pours more than 100 wines at a time, grouped at stations by variety or style, from all over the world.

Actually, they don't pour; you do. Insert a "tasting card" into a dispenser (which deducts the price, from $1 to $28), push a button, and an ounce of wine burbles into your glass.

With professional tasting logic, I start with Light Whites (and $20 on my card). I can't help but try a Muller-Thurgau from Chateau Benoit in Oregon's Willamette Valley and a Porcupine Ridge Sauvignon Blanc from Boekenhoutskloof, South Africa. "A variety usually grown in northern Italy," the sign says about the first. "Light, barely sweet, but racy." I agree. It's a steal for 9 bucks a bottle. "Crisp," "mineral," and "citrus" are descriptors listed for the second. All true, but I get a little barnyard musk on the nose too (a good thing). After the first sip, I'm ready to buy--it's only $10 a bottle--but after the full ounce, I'm done. I don't want even a glass. The beauty of it is, I haven't bought one; I can move on.

At the Full Whites station, I hit the Chardonnays, which, I admit, I'm suspicious of. I'm afraid of running into a big, oafy one. I go for the Molnar Blaise (Napa) because it was "selected for its balance of fruit, oak, and spice." That word "balance" is my security, but one sniff and I suspect it's a little like real-estate speak; all I detect is oak. A sip changes my mind--I taste beautiful pear, citrus, and acid. It's a find.

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And on it goes. Nearby, Pinot Noirs from Burgundy, the Willamette Valley, the Sonoma Coast, Australia, and Italy(!) circle a station. And Bordeaux varieties--Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot--in myriad blends and from surprising places sit side by side, ready for your thoughts.

Mingle while you learn

Is this education, or is it entertainment? I ask Mary Lynn Slattery, VinoVenue co-owner, with Nancy Rowland. "Both," she says quickly. "Educational fun." It's a business proposition--a chance to taste before you buy, to avoid investing in a bottle you don't like. But the biggest crowds are coming in on weekend nights. In fact, the place is looking like a new venue for singles. There's comfortable occupation for the solitary taster, and a ready opener when needed: "Have you tried this one yet?" seems a much more natural line than "Do you live around here?"

INFO: VinoVenue (686 Mission St., San Francisco; www.vinovenue.net or 415/341-1930)

RELATED ARTICLE: Our picks

Here are some of our Western favorites from VinoVenue's rotating lineup. (We list its bottle prices, which may vary elsewhere.)

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Fess Parker Viognier 2002 (Santa Barbara County), $19. When Fess traded the coonskin cap for a corkscrew, it was good news for wine lovers. This lovely Viognier, with waves of gorgeous flowers, exotic citrus, and vanilla, makes an out-of-the-ordinary aperitif.

Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc/Viognier 2003 (Napa Valley), $12. Before the Chardonnay boom, Chenin Blanc was the West's most-planted white grape. This wine, with tasty fresh apple flavors, proves why.

David Bruce Petite Syrah 2003 (Paso Robles, CA), $16. If you like intense, muscular wines, don't miss this Petite Sirah (which isn't petite in any way whatsoever).

Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir 2002 (Santa Maria Valley, CA), $33. Think lamb or duck. Chef Frank Ostini, owner of the Hitching Post restaurant, is co-owner of this winery, which produces some of the most nuanced Pinot Noirs in California. (For more on Ostini, see page 184.)--KAREN MACNEIL-FIFE