What we’re about
We are a Wine and Dine Group! We share some good (sometimes Great!) bottles of wine over food and conversation.
A few times per month, we have small group dinners, either 6, 8 or 10 people at each event. The group organizers will host dinners on both weeknights and weekends. The organizer will supply 4 bottles of wine for 6 person dinners, 5 bottles of wine for 8 person dinners, and 6 bottles of wine for 10 person dinners. Most of the time, the wines will come from the event organizer's personal collection.
The cost of each event will be for an individual's share of the wine and in some cases the wine corkage charge of the restaurant. Dinner is not included and must be paid for at the event.
To attend an event, the wine payment must be made in advance, and reservations are on a first come, first serve basis. Once you pay, refunds or credits are only available if you cancel AND your spot gets filled by someone else. All refunds are subject to a cancellation fee from $3 to $5, depending on the cost of the event. There is no refund or credit for no-shows.
No other outside wine will be permitted, unless prior arrangements have been made with the host, but attendees may order wine or spirits from the restaurant, at their own expense. Attendees are expected to order at least an entree and one other item from the menu, either an appetizer, a side dish or a dessert.
Along with the wine charge, everyone will be expected/required to pay for their own meal, along with a 33% charge for tax and tip.
We will be dining at restaurants that we have established relationships with, where we can bring our own wine for us to enjoy. Corkage varies from restaurant to restaurant, from Zero to $25 per bottle.
PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PROFILE PICTURE WHERE I CAN SEE YOUR FACE, YOU WILL BE REJECTED FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THIS GROUP.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Basque Spain - Contrasting Wine Styles of Pais Vasco and NavarraPeking Duck House, New York, NY$21.00
We will be tasting wines from two separate autonomous regions in northern Spain with historic Basque roots - Navarra and Pais Vasco (Basque Country), offering contrasting wine styles.
If you've ever seen the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao or done a pintxo crawl in San Sebastian, that's the Basque Country. They specialize in refreshing low alcohol white wines (txakoli) and dry cider (usually poured dramatically from high up to create a foam in the glass). The US has become the largest export market. We will taste both txakoli and cider, but with a twist.
Navarra, on the other hand, is associated with the festival of San Fermin in Pamplona, which includes the Running of the Bulls, or for literature fans, Hemingway's novel "The Sun also Rises". For me, Pamplona evokes memories of giant asparagus, chistorra sausage, and stuffed piquillo peppers.
Their wines are mostly red, and in addition to the native garnacha, cab sauv/merlot/syrah plantings abound in the area. Mysteriously, they have almost disappeared from the US market, perhaps due to lack of promotion. (Check your local wine store - I bet they have 30 riojas but not a single wine from Navarra). It's very hard to procure samples, but on the upside, they tend to be good value wines.
We will be feasting family style at Peking Duck House in Chinatown (not Midtown East!).
Here is their menu:
Peking Duck Dinner Set MenuScroll down to the Peking Duck Dinner section for the prix fixe set menus. For 6 people, we will be getting
a> appetizers - steamed dumpling, spring rolls, and barbecued beef
b> soup
c> 1 Peking duck + 4 entrees - we will choose 4 items from the list (refer to the link above)
d> dessert - fried banana with walnutsFor the wines, you will prepay $21.
The prix-fixe food cost per person is $51++, therefore around $67 post tax and tip.To make bill paying smoother, please bring cash, or use Zelle or Venmo to pay your share.
Please read and understand the group's cancellation policy. If you take spot, then cancel, and no one else takes the spot, you will not receive a refund or credit. No refunds or credits will be given for no-shows or late cancellations (unless someone else takes your spot). All cancellations are subject to a $10 service fee.
Please use public transportation - NO DRINKING AND DRIVING!
Below are the wines
Pais Vasco
# 2024 Ameztoi Rubentis Rosado
Grape - 50% hondarrabi zuri (white), 50% hondarrabi beltza (red); Appellation - DO Getariako TxakolinaPais Vasco is known for txakoli, a refreshing lightly fizzy wine, similar to vinho verde. It is usually white, but some producers have started blending white and red grapes, inspired by the historic "claret" style wines which were once produced in the area long before the current global craze made rosé famous.
Here's a behind the scenes look at how this rose came to American shores - A Rose so divine they call it Baby Jesus
"This is truly thirst quenching rosé. A Txakoli rosé, you say? Why yes. This wine shows bright acidity, with hints of rose petals, red candied fruits, and fresh strawberries." (Astor Wines)
# Cider - NV Iruin Sagardotegia Barrika Txerri
Traditional, classic Sagardoa made by the Astiazaran family since 1880. What started as a cider made for friends and family has grown in reputation and reach, with more than 100 cider awards to it's name and international distribution.
Single-barrel selection macerated with local cherries. Low ABV, light, refreshing and delicious. Hints of cherries and apples – balanced and natural.
Navarra
# 2024 Bodegas Aroa Le Naturel Tinto
Grapes- garnacha tinta Appellation - DO Navarra subzone Tierra EstellaA natural wine with no added sulfites and made with minimal intervention to showcase the grapes. The vineyards are in the Valle de Yerri, the highest and coolest zone of the denomination. Le Naturel is a lightweight easy-to-drink wine, with dominant notes of red raspberry, blackberry, and violet. The palate is medium-bodied and fresh, perfect for lighter fare, or drinking on its own with a chill.
Personal Note - I stayed in Estella and passed by the free wine fountain at Bodegas Irache along the Camino de Santiago, so it's cool to find a wine from the subzone's vineyards.
# 2020 Bodega Inurrieta Cuatrocientos
Grape- 50% cabernet sauvignon 26% graciano 14% syrah 10% merlot Appellation - DO Navarra subzone Ribera AltaA blend of mostly international grapes, which are quite predominant in Navarra (the most planted white grape is chardonnay!). The name "Cuatrocientos" means "400", referring to the altitude where the vines are grown.
Dark, with an elegant, sweet, fruity nose combining a fine, perfumed imprint from barrel aging. In the mouth, it proves lively, balanced and meaty, highlighting the excellent quality of its tannins. Aged 14 months in oak.
- Small group @ Altamirano's on the UESAltamirano's Italian Ristorante, Manhattan, NY$31.00
As this is somewhat short notice, I'm going to make this a 6-person event.
Join me for this Friday night dinner at Altamirano's Italian Ristorante on the UES. The owners are old friends who used to work at 83 1/2. I have now been there a bunch of times, and I love it.
The are located on the corner of E. 78th Street and York Ave. Here is link to their menu.
Altamirano Italian Ristorante Menu
We will have 1 white, and 3 red wines. Should be fun!
Just a reminder of our usual rules:
** The cost of this event is $31 and is for the cost of the wines, plus corkage only.NOTE: Meetup has started charging a "Partner Fee" that is above and in addition to the listed price of the event. It is annoying and confusing, but there is nothing I can do about it. It comes to approximately $3 more for each RSVP. You will see this charge when you complete your rsvp and pay for the event. Sorry! Meetup+ members are exempt from this charge.
You will also have to pay the cost of your food (plus 33% for tax and tip). Please order at least two courses (i.e. a main dish and either appetizer or dessert) for your dinner. There are very few restaurants that allow us to bring our own wine. We must be good guests to encourage the restaurant to continue to be generous to us.
Please read and understand the group's cancellation policy. If you take spot, then cancel, and no one else takes the spot, you will not receive a refund or credit. No refunds or credits will be given for no-shows or late cancellations (unless someone else takes your spot). All cancellations are subject to a $5 service fee.
Please use public transportation - NO DRINKING AND DRIVING!
The Wines (notes will be distributed at the dinner):
2023 Ridge White Alder Springs Vineyard ($40) - From CA's Mendocino County and a wine with Italian grape varietals. 82% Falanghina, 18% Vermentino. 13% alcohol. From Ridge's website, "Nose of peach and white pepper. Present acidity with notes of pineapple, grapefruit, and minerality"
2021 La Massa La Massa Toscana IGT ($30) - No reviews for the 2021, but here is WA's 94 point review for the 2020, "The Tenuta La Massa 2020 La Massa, with 100,000 bottles produced, offers great value across the board. This is a generous and deeply layered blend of 50% Sangiovese, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, Alicante and Petit Verdot. The wine sees 12 months of barrique aging with 20% new oak. Vintner Giampaolo Motta breaks the rules by making Bordeaux-inspired wines in one of the most fervently Sangiovese-leaning spots in Tuscany. But he adds a little charm and magic to this wine nonetheless."
2015 Soos Creek Vieilles Vignes Ciel du Cheval Vineyard ($46) - From the SC website, "This is our first reserve-styled wine that we have produced since 1999. It is a blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot. It has abundant but unobtrusive tannins, excellent concentration and the supply is very limited." WA 91 points, "The 2015 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Vieilles Vignes comes from old vines and is composed of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 5% Merlot. It sashays out of the glass with a concentrated fruit tone, showing an elegant lift from the oak spices and a delicate floral bouquet with integrated, seductive oak tones. Medium to full-bodied, the wine has a remarkable focus across the palate with a ripe and lush core of blackberry, cassis and dusty black cherry skin. It concludes with a clean and expressive finish of sweet oak and gripping tannins. This is a marked success. It’s delicious and comes recommended. 50 cases produced. (drink 2020-2028)"
2018 Soos Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain Reserve ($40) -WA92+, Owen Bargreen 93 points, "100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 ‘Red Mountain Reserve’ shows off heady blackberry compote, creosote, and Turkish coffee tones with black florals on the nose. The palate is polished and downright voluptuous. Layers of huckleberry and black tea collide with smoke, minerals, cassis, and exotic spices. Polished and refined, with a silky texture and great flavor density, this glorious new wine will provide drinking enjoyment over the next fifteen years. Drink 2021-2036"
- Under the radar California winesBobby Van's 230Park, New York, NY$39.00
I do love my California wines, big fruit, full body, teeth staining color. But they have gotten expensive! However sometimes I take a flyer on lesser known CA wines and for this dinner we will try them. Lets see how well they show.
We will return to perennial favorite, Bobby Van's on Park and I'll pour 1 white wine and 4 reds, all from CA.
Here is a link to their menu...
Bobby Van's on Park MenuJust a reminder of our usual rules:
** The cost of this event is $39 and is for the cost of the wines only.
NOTE: Meetup has started charging a "Partner Fee" that is above and in addition to the listed price of the event. It comes to approximately $4 more for each RSVP. You will see this charge when you complete your rsvp and pay for the event. Sorry! Meetup+ members are exempt from this charge.
You will also have to pay the cost of your food (plus 33% for tax and tip). Please order at least two courses (i.e. a main dish and either appetizer or dessert) for your dinner. There are very few restaurants that allow us to bring our own wine for a Zero corkage fee. We must be good guests to encourage the restaurant to continue to be generous to us.
Please read and understand the group's cancellation policy. If you take spot, then cancel, and no one else takes the spot, you will not receive a refund or credit. No refunds or credits will be given for no-shows or late cancellations (unless someone else takes your spot). All cancellations are subject to a $6 service fee.
Please use public transportation - NO DRINKING AND DRIVING!
The Wines :
2018 Big Basin Vineyards Roussanne Homestead Block ($25) - CT 91.8, from CA's Santa Cruz Mountains. AG 92 points, "The 2018 Roussanne Homestead Block is a gorgeous white loaded with varietal character and plenty of nuance. Apricot, dried flowers, tangerine oil, chamomile and almonds fill out the layers as this oily, beautifully textured Roussanne opens in the glass. The 2018 offers a striking mix of the freshness of the year with the natural richness of Roussanne"
2018 Tom Eddy Cabernet Sauvignon ($75) - CT 91.7 (but only 2 posts), from Napa. No reviews that I could find, but here is the more detailed post from CT, "Mostly Stagecoach fruit. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Heavily scented with notes of coffee beans, bitter chocolate, bay leaf, and thyme that are set with aromas of cassis, brambly blackberry, hand rolled cigarette tobacco, black pepper, turned earth and hints of lead pencil. The palate is medium+ body in weight and mid-palate density with tannins that are quick on the attack, burly and wooly. Acidity keeps the liveliness and brightness to the wine. Savory in its flavor profile with bay leaf and herbs, earth and bittersweet cocoa, tobacco and espresso beans that play with cassis, blackberry and notes of plum and smoke. The dry finish lingers. Should age quite well.2017 Robert Craig Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain ($55) - CT 92.3. JD 93+ points, "The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain incorporates 18% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot and has classic mountain aromatics as well as tannins. Blackcurrants, blueberries, scorched earth, bouquet garni, and hints of espresso all flow to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated Howell Mountain effort that has building, firm tannins, good acidity, and the balance to evolve nicely. Give bottles 4-5 years and it's going to keep for 15-20 years or more. (Drink between 2024-2039)"
2012 Detert Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville ($80) - CT 92.8, from a plot INSIDE the famous To-Kalon vineyard, and the only plot NOT owned by either Beckstoffer, or Mondavi. Oddly, they can sell grapes to Mondavi, who can then call it To-Kalon, but an agreement with Beckstoffer prevents them from calling it To-Kalon when selling it on their own. No reviews for the 2012, even on Detert's own website. Typically, when the WA rates it, it scores between 89 and 92 points. Some vintages have up to 7% Cabernet Franc blended with the rest Cabernet Sauvignon.
2014 Lindstrom Wines Cabernet Sauvignon ($75) - CT 92.7. From the Stag's Leap District. WS 90 points, "Robust and full-bodied, this is a touch rustic and chewy, as the core of dark berry and licorice flavors, mocha-scented oak and loamy earth notes form a complex package. The finish is long and engaging. Drink now through 2030. 526 cases made."
- Producer Spotlight: Herman StoryNice Matin, New York, NY$51.00
There are producers in this crazy world of wines that make enough different wines that we can hold an event dedicated to one producer. One such producer is Herman Story. While these wines are young (all 2022 and 2023), I'd like to try them out as I am considering buying more from this vintage.
Here is what Herman Story has to say about themselves (on their website), "We're cooks, not chemists. You might be saying, what about terroir? Science? The technical details I read on that one critic's vintage report? Don't worry, that's all part of it. Get grapes from exceptional vineyards, make careful decisions in the cellar, be relentless about quality, you'll be turning out showstoppers.
At the end of the day, we make wines that'll pair just as well with a triple-stacked bacon cheeseburger as they will with an extravagant eight-course tasting menu. Wines you can contemplate at a massive mahogany desk or chug while your friend falls from a keg-stand into an inflatable pool of Jello. Either way, they're a damn good time."This will be an 8 person dinner at one of my Monday night favorites, Nice Matin. There will be 4 red wines from Herman Story, and one white wine from a different producer since to the best of my knowledge, they don't make a white wine.
Here is a link to their menu:
Nice Matin Dinner MenuNice Matin is located at 201 W. 79th Street, the corner of Amsterdam Ave.
** The cost of this event is $51 and is for the cost of the wines.
NOTE: Meetup has started charging a "Partner Fee" that is above and in addition to the listed price of the event. It is annoying and confusing, but there is nothing I can do about it. It comes to approximately $4 more for each RSVP. You will see this charge when you complete your rsvp and pay for the event. MEETUP+ members are exempt from this charge.
Just a reminder of our usual rules:
You will also have to pay the cost of your food (plus 33% for tax and tip). You will be expected to order at least 2 dishes (an appetizer and a main, or main and dessert) to help support the restaurant.
Please read and understand the group's cancellation policy. If you take spot, then cancel, and no one else takes the spot, you will not receive a refund or credit. No refunds or credits will be given for no-shows or late cancellations (unless someone else takes your spot). All cancellations are subject to a $6 service fee.
The Wines (notes will be distributed at the dinner):
2022 Clos des Lunes Lune d'Argent ($18) - I didn't get any of the Herman Story Chards, so I'm including this bargain priced white Bordeaux to keep the price of the event down. Besides, its a QOR winner! CT 89.4, WA 89, JD 92 points, "(Clos Des Lunes Lune D'Argent Blanc) The 2022 Clos Des Lunes Lune D’Argent Blanc is clean, bright, and pure, with notes of lemon curd, white flowers, and crushed stone. Vibrant, focused, and elegant on the palate, it has impressive precision and a great finish, all making for an outstanding, incredibly satisfying white. Brought up in a mix of stainless steel and oak, drink bottles over the coming 5-7 years. (Drink between 2025-2032):
2023 Herman Story Pinot Noir Smash City ($85) - Their only Pinot Noir. Aged in 70% New French Oak for 12 months. 14.8% Alcohol, from the Bien Nacido vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley. A full-tilt repertoire of Darjeeling tea chassés, garrigue hip pops, petrichor pliés, with jasmine incense and Tahitian vanilla shimmies.
2023 Herman Story Petite Sirah First Time Caller ($85) - JD gave the 2021 94 points. From the HS website, "Headed your way is a coveted package including a full truckload of blueberry coulis, Violet-lavender mead, and herb-charred tenderloin. But that’s not all. We’re throwing in an all-inclusive trip to black-licorice shores, Black Amber plum paradise, cacao molé trails, and bramble mountain. 15.7% alcohol, Aged in 85% New French Oak for 18 months, from Paso Robles, CA.
2022 Herman Story Grenache On The Road ($85) - From the HS website, "If they brought the running of the bulls to New Orleans’ French Quarter, this is the bottle that would stoke the mozos’ courage. Earthy, red-cherry rampage kicking up graham cracker dust, trampling fresh-baked beignets, sending red macarons flying in all directions, spilled sazerac cobblestones, rose petals cast from balconies on the runaway beasts—all to the tune of rich, chocolate-mousse jazz. The type of orchestrated, yet feral, energy you’d love to sit and watch… If you weren’t running for your life. Aged in 80% New French Oak for 30 months. 15.8% Alcohol.
2022 Herman Story Syrah Bien Nacido ($85) - From the HS website, "There’s a man who lives in a 1961 Shasta Airflyte on the shore of Loch Ness, and word is he can talk to Nessy. So hike out into the berry-strewn, brambly hills, through herb-laden forests and along crumbling slate crags, until you smell the stewed plum and pepper-crusted venison backstrap. There, he’ll outfit you with a huckleberry-flint bowie knife, vanilla-clove paracords, and an old Polaroid 600, then take you paddling in a dinghy, trying to fathom the boundless depths below. Aged in 100% New French Oak for 30 months. 15.8% alcohol. From the Bien Nacido vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley.
