It started with a Dance Convention in Virginia. My fellow dancers will know that our liberation on the social dance floor is often fuelled by alcohol... so my first stop was the supermarket to get some wines for the 4 day weekend, and beyond.
My supermarket choice was limited to a Harris Teeter within walking distance from the hotel. Before one drop had been drunk, I managed to trip on a very high pavement and fall on my knees. Not the ideal preparation for a competitive dance weekend. Alcohol was required! For the remaining nights, I was excited to see mini "crates" of 4 mini bottles of wine from brands such as Barefoot and Sutter Home. These are ideal for slipping into a dance shoe bag, and also ideal for when you don't want to open a full bottle. At $6.99 they were not as overpriced as buying individual mini-bottles works out to be back in the UK so I was all for this packaging innovation... I can't drink fine wine every day, and after paying $18 for a glass of Oregon wine at the hotel bar, no matter how nice the Pinot Noir was, I was happy to request a fridge in my room and stock my own.
For the first night, I organised a drinks party for the international visitors where we sampled my local distillery's Auchentoshan Single Malt, the favoured drink of European West Coast Swing dancers: Zubrowka Bison Grass vodka (with apple juice), Bonterra Organic Californian Chardonnay (already reviewed at a similar event back in November) and Crown Royal Maple flavour American whiskey. We also learned that Scotch Whisky from Scotland is always spelled without an E whereas whiskey from anywhere else in the world has the E in it, all while socialising with Russians, Americans, French and Israelis. The United Nations of Dance is key to world peace, I believe.
My supermarket choice was limited to a Harris Teeter within walking distance from the hotel. Before one drop had been drunk, I managed to trip on a very high pavement and fall on my knees. Not the ideal preparation for a competitive dance weekend. Alcohol was required! For the remaining nights, I was excited to see mini "crates" of 4 mini bottles of wine from brands such as Barefoot and Sutter Home. These are ideal for slipping into a dance shoe bag, and also ideal for when you don't want to open a full bottle. At $6.99 they were not as overpriced as buying individual mini-bottles works out to be back in the UK so I was all for this packaging innovation... I can't drink fine wine every day, and after paying $18 for a glass of Oregon wine at the hotel bar, no matter how nice the Pinot Noir was, I was happy to request a fridge in my room and stock my own.
For the first night, I organised a drinks party for the international visitors where we sampled my local distillery's Auchentoshan Single Malt, the favoured drink of European West Coast Swing dancers: Zubrowka Bison Grass vodka (with apple juice), Bonterra Organic Californian Chardonnay (already reviewed at a similar event back in November) and Crown Royal Maple flavour American whiskey. We also learned that Scotch Whisky from Scotland is always spelled without an E whereas whiskey from anywhere else in the world has the E in it, all while socialising with Russians, Americans, French and Israelis. The United Nations of Dance is key to world peace, I believe.
After the dancing was over, I moved into the city. I was staying a couple of days with a dancing friend before an old friend from the west coast came over to meet me. My first stop was lunch and the place my hotel recommended didn't really have a decent wine list - virtually nothing from America! So I opted for beer instead. I probably ought to have sought more details before ordering the Chocolate Stout - it was almost as strong as wine at 10% abv, and knowing there'd be wine and cocktails with dinner, I opted to leave some of it... I was sad to do so, but glad later...
We found ourselves in a rather ordinary steakhouse for dinner, where we enjoyed some Pinot Noir, Malbec, and for dessert, I finally got my first taste of Virginia wine. It was a sweet one, and that's about all I can say. We were both so fatigued after a weekend of dancing that notes were forgotten, and the wines were not remarkable enough to stick in the mind. It was disappointing that there weren't more Virginia wines on offer and we faced the same challenge the next night, so we moved onto cocktails. First up, a Ginger Martini, followed by some rather nice Francis Ford Coppolla Californian Pinot Noir (I was taking full advantage of Mr Purple Teeth's absence here!) and a Jalapeño Margarita for dessert. My dining companion enjoyed a blend of Shiraz, Tempranillo and Monastrell from Spain's Jumilla, which I felt safe to recommend based on some recently tasted examples. Luckily, she approved.
The following day, I moved to a different hotel in the shadow of the Capitol, and finally discovered a wine list with Virginia wines on it. Bizarrely, the house Pinot Noir was from Germany and this made me reflect. My expectation was that being just a few miles from Virginia, I'd find it easy to try the local wines. I did have a rather nice glass of local Viognier, though swiftly moved onto Pinot Noir from Oregon's Willamette Valley. While I was greatly impressed by these, it's a 7 hour flight to Oregon from DC, almost as far as European wine regions. Was there nothing more local worth offering? On reflection, I'm not sure why I had expected to drink local.
When was the last time you saw an English wine by the glass in your local bar/hotel/restaurant? Here in the UK, we are hardly paragons supporting our own blossoming wine industry, so I ought not to have been so surprised to have difficulty in tracking down the local produce. And yet, on my latest trip to France, all the bars and restaurants I frequented over 3 days had a selection of wines by the bottle and by the glass and, of course, all were French and all were good. It's almost unimaginable for a French bar to have a house wine that's from anywhere but France. Why in the USA and the UK are we not celebrating our local produce more?
Perhaps I'll do a piece on English wine another time, but for now, back to the story of what we did enjoy.
When was the last time you saw an English wine by the glass in your local bar/hotel/restaurant? Here in the UK, we are hardly paragons supporting our own blossoming wine industry, so I ought not to have been so surprised to have difficulty in tracking down the local produce. And yet, on my latest trip to France, all the bars and restaurants I frequented over 3 days had a selection of wines by the bottle and by the glass and, of course, all were French and all were good. It's almost unimaginable for a French bar to have a house wine that's from anywhere but France. Why in the USA and the UK are we not celebrating our local produce more?
Perhaps I'll do a piece on English wine another time, but for now, back to the story of what we did enjoy.
We lived it large around the Capitol, and "ladies who lunch" like lunch with wine, even if it's not local wine. In a Southern style restaurant called Johnny's Half Shell, the fish specialities were accompanied by a delightful Albariño by Granbazán, from Rias Baixas in Spain. We also enjoyed Argentine Malbec from Lujan de Cuyo by Luigi Bosca, a firm favourite of mine with steak, while dining in a steakhouse where you could virtually smell the power. Palm Restaurant humorously name their bargain set lunch menu "The Power Lunch". Three courses for less than $30 with the main course including two 4 ounce fillets.
Chatting to the diners at the next table, it was suggested that we experience the DC Happy Hour scene. Cocktails at cut prices, finger food, mini burgers and discounted glasses of wine are widely available from very fine restaurants, and it's a great way to spend less but see the kind of places where the senators hang out and the bartenders really know how to mix a cocktail. I enjoyed custom made rum punch, seared tuna "burgers" and enjoyed some fine conversation. Perhaps the most surprising thing I saw in my whole trip however was the "Bitch" branded wine (below) in one of the liquor stores. I'm not quite sure where the marketing strategy for that one came from.
Chatting to the diners at the next table, it was suggested that we experience the DC Happy Hour scene. Cocktails at cut prices, finger food, mini burgers and discounted glasses of wine are widely available from very fine restaurants, and it's a great way to spend less but see the kind of places where the senators hang out and the bartenders really know how to mix a cocktail. I enjoyed custom made rum punch, seared tuna "burgers" and enjoyed some fine conversation. Perhaps the most surprising thing I saw in my whole trip however was the "Bitch" branded wine (below) in one of the liquor stores. I'm not quite sure where the marketing strategy for that one came from.
DC may not be on your planned list of city breaks, but it should be. There's history, culture, fine food and good drinking. And an hour or so driving will take you to deep into Virginia wine country where you will experience all the wines that I didn't quite round to this time. Cheers!
For those readers who're getting more interested in the dancing through my drinking tales, here's a clip from the weekend.
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