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- Tempranillo vs. SyrahBobby Van's 230Park, New York, NY$59.00
Join me for a return to perennial group favorite Bobby Van's on Park. For this dinner we will compare (and contrast) Tempranillo and Syrah. There will be 1 Tempranillo from Spain, 1 Tempranillo blend from WA state, 1 Syrah from Hermitage, France, and 1 Syrah from WA state. There will also be a white wine starter
Bobby Van's on Park is located on the corner of Park Avenue and 46th Street. The entrance is in the East side walkway that connects 45th and 46th Streets.
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 $59 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 (notes will be distributed at the dinner):
2021 Domaine Denis Bachelet Bourgogne-Aligoté ($45) - Burgundy's "other" white wine, Aligote. Which I think is a great Oyster wine!
2005 Bodegas AAlto Ribera del Duero P.S. ($125) - CT 94.4, WA 98 points, "The 2005 Aalto PS is 100% Tinto Fino from vineyards over 60 years of age. It was aged for 32 months in 70% new French oak. Saturated in appearance, the wine offers up notes of pain grille, balsamic, crushed stone, floral notes, and wild black fruits. Exceptionally powerful, focused, and beautifully proportioned, this full-bodied wine is dense, rich, and structured for the long haul. Give this super-long, impressive effort a decade in the cellar and drink it from 2018 to 2040. Patient purchasers will be well rewarded."
2021 The Walls Vineyards Wonderful Nightmare ($58) - 95 points, Owen Bargreen, "This Tempranillo has 25% Mourvèdre blended in. Inky in the glass, this offers beautiful stony character on the palate, alongside dark currants, wet stone and pipe tobacco notes with blackberry compote. Delicious and rich, enjoy over the next ten years to come. This is seriously good stuff. Drink 2024-2036 (drink 2024-2036)"
2018 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Cuvée Classique ($115) - CT 93.5, WA 92 points, "Sorrel's 2018 Hermitage is floral and red fruited, with delicate tea-like nuances entwined with violets, raspberries and cherries. It's full-bodied but not overly weighty or rich, showcasing the rarely seen elegant side to this appellation. (drink 2021-2033)"
2019 Force Majeure Syrah SJR Vineyard ($100) - JD 97 points, " the 2019 Syrah SJR Vineyard is a pure, exotic, almost essence of The Rocks District Syrah offering a monster perfume of blackberries, blueberries, violets, peppery herbs, and bacon fat, with hints of chocolate and charcuteries developing with time in the glass. Full-bodied on the palate, it has the round, supple style of the region, soft tannins, and a gorgeous finish. It’s another heavenly wine from this estate that will flirt with perfection at maturity."
- Collectors Alert! Classic Reds!Tuscany Steakhouse, New York, NY$110.00
Not quite a Ludicrous night, but a night that will appeal to collectors of Classic Wines! We will have 1 white wine, followed by 3 Collectable reds. This will be a 6 person event.
We will be dining at Tuscany Steak House. Located on W. 58th Street, between 6th and 7th Aves.
Here is a link to their menu...
http://tuscanysteakhouse.com/assets/dinner.pdf
** The cost of this event is $110 and is for the cost of the wines and corkage only. Please understand, that Tuscany Steakhouse charges us corkage, which is included in the price of the event. PLEASE ONLY SIGN UP FOR THIS DINNER IF YOU ARE SURE YOU CAN MAKE IT.
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 $6 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.
Just a reminder of our usual rules:
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.
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 $7 service fee.
Please use public transportation - NO DRINKING AND DRIVING!
The Wines (notes will be distributed at the dinner):
2022 Domaine de Vaccelli Quartz ($70) - The only non-USA wine of the night, it is from Corscia! No reviews, but here is what the importer said, "This is just the fifth vintage of Gérard's new baby from the young vine Carcaghjolu blanc, Ghjenuvese, Cudiverta, and Riminese that he planted from Abbatucci's heirloom holdings, co-fermented and aged in a single demi-muid barrel. He tells me that it is a bit rounder and fruitier than the old vine Vermentino that informs his Granit blanc, but that it is already exhibiting a precision and sense of mineral underpinnings that prove quite exciting. I am very glad to have so much to spread around, as the demand here always waaay outpaces supply" FWIW, I had a bottle of the 2021 and was blown away!2010 Ridge Monte Bello ($175) - CT 93.5, WS 98, WA (5/2018) 96 Points, "The 2010 growing season was long and cool, reflecting the influence of an El Niño year, defined by a short but intense heat wave in late August. But whereas Ridge's Sonoma County vineyards experienced a high of 117 degrees Fahrenheit for two days, Monte Bello ridge only reached 105 degrees. The ensuing 2010 Monte Bello is very classic in profile, offering up aromas of crushed cassis, plums, cigar tobacco, rich loamy soil, black tea and dark chocolate. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, with a deep and concentrated core of vibrantly crunchy fruit framed by velvety tannins, concluding with a long, tangy finish that's still youthfully chewy. Though the two vintages are very close in quality, the 2010 is very different in profile from the somewhat larger scaled 2012: it's less expansive, but built around a brighter vertical line. I'd recommend cellaring it for an additional three or four years and don't expect it to truly hit its stride until after 2025. The blend is 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, and it attained 13.2% natural alcohol. (drink 2022-2045)"
2010 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon ($165) - CT 94.3, WA 98+ points, "Rich, backwards, structured and massively concentrated, the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon comes mostly from the Champoux Vineyard (also from Galitzine, Klipsun, Palengat and Tapteil) and is comprised of 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Merlot that spent 22 months in all new French oak. Offering up plenty of creme de cassis, coffee bean, toasted spice, pencil shavings and violet-like qualities on the nose, it has palate staining levels of extract and tannin that come through on the mid-palate and finish. Gorgeously full-bodied, layered and textured, with perfect balance, this awesome Cabernet needs to be forgotten for 5-6 years and will have two to three decades of longevity. Drink 2018-2030. (drink 2018-2030)"
2005 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste ($110) - CT 93, WA 96 points, "This estate's finest wine of the decade is the 2005 Grand-Puy-Lacoste, a fleshy, sumptuous wine evocative of cassis, sweet red berries and cigar box, framed by a touch of creamy new oak that integrates with opening. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with an enveloping core of fruit, rich tannins and a seamless but authoritative profile, it concludes with a long, resonant finish. Just entering early maturity, it will continue to develop for several decades. (drink 2020-2050)"
Not open - Spotlight on UmbriaHawksmoor NYC, New York, NY$40.00
Italian wine has been a staple of this group. Everyone loves them, and they're often a great food pairing. But most of the focus has been on the heavyweight northern regions (Tuscany, Piedmont), with a occasional stray bottle from elsewhere in The Boot.
This event's focus will be on the grape varieties from Umbria, fro the whites (grechetto, trebbiano) to the reds (ciliegiolo, sagrantino). Not quite household names, but certainly waiting to be discovered.
We will de dining at Hawksmoor, a steakhouse in the Flatiron. Here is a link to the menu
Just a reminder of our usual rules:
** The cost of this event is $40 and is for the wines and corkage. 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 appetizer ). There are very few restaurants that allow us to bring our own wine for a low corkage.
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 $20 service fee.
Please use public transportation - NO DRINKING AND DRIVING!
WINES
Whites
2023 Leonardo Bussoletti Grechetto Colle Ozio
50% grechetto di Todi, 50% grechetto di OrvietoLush and elegant, this crisp, medium-bodied white wine is fresh and savory, with pear, mint, and a delicate white pepper note. This would be perfect with roast chicken, pork, or salmon, and represents one of the best values in Italian white wine today.
"Intensely aromatic, this wine opens with notes of lemon peel, mandarin orange, citrus blossom and river stone. The textured palate shows baked citrus and orchard fruits with hints of sweet spices and dried flowers finishing with a persistent minerality." - Wine Enthusiast
2015 Paolo Bea Arboreus
100% trebbiano spoletinoPaolo Bea is the benchmark producer in Montefalco, and should be familiar to some consumers. (Stephen has featured a couple of his reds in past events).
The wine spends four years on the lees, giving it a golden hue and fleshy complexity. Dry, full-bodied, and with striking minerality, the wine’s palate is chiseled, markedly tannic (though well-balanced), and driven by resonant acidity, with the marzipan and apricot notes echoing strongly.
The wine takes his name from the Italian work for tree, "albero."
Reds
2023 Collecapretta Lautizio
100% ciliegioloThe Mattioli family has been cultivating the rugged hillsides of southern most Umbria in the tiny hamlet the Roman's once called Collecapretta (hill of the goats) since the 1100's. All the wines are made in much the same fashion: natural fermentation takes place in open-top cement containers without temperature control or sulfur additions.
Total production of Collecapretta is only some 8000 bottles in a good year, the family chooses to vinify many different cuvee's in hopes of expressing the vineyard and grape varieties at their best.
Fresh red cherry fruit, alongside notes of dried currants and slight sage and rosemary aromas. Light bodied - serve with a slight chill.
2019 Paolo Bea San Valentino Umbria Rosso
70% sangiovese 15% sagrantino 15% montepulcianoOften, some Sagrantino is incorporated into Montefalco Rosso wines to lend structure and dark-fruited opulence to Sangiovese and Montepulciano. This example from Paolo Bea is packed with plum and black cherry notes and also hints of vanilla from having spent time in wood.
The San Valentino site is quite high-altitude, ensuring that the wine has good balance. The wine is aged for 3 years in stainless steel and an additional 4 to 12 months in bottle before release.
2012 Vinochisti Sagrantino S6
100% sagrantinoOne of Italy’s least-known noble grapes. Winemakers from the region of Umbria have worked to ensure that Sagrantino continues to be cultivated. Sagrantino has the power and structure of the biggest wines in Italy, yet still shows opulent fruit redolent of mixed wild berries.
Vinochisti doesn't own vineyards, but works with growers instead. Their focus is on indigenous Italian grapes, as well as extended maceration, skin-contact, and long aging in barrel or cement.
The folks behind Vinochisti don't like following the regulatory body's rules, thus this bottling is simply a vino de tavola. About 1500 bottles only.
Not open
