Going Through the Change, or Hitting Riesling in Its Sweet Spot
Date: Fri, Jan 2, 2009 Wine Tasting
I made an unspoken – at least I think it was unspoken – resolution around this time last year to taste more Riesling in 2008, to explore wines from producers new to me. I’m not sure how good a job I did of it but, hey, slow progress is better than no progress. One thing the goal didn’t stop me from doing was continuing to explore and enjoy wines from the German producers who have been near and dear for many a year. And I happen to have alit upon a particular high point just as ‘08 was coming to its close….
Saar Wiltinger Schlangengraben Riesling Kabinett, Johann Peter Reinert 2004
$14. 8.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
I consider myself lucky when I catch Riesling in its sweet spot, as it’s going through the change – the change from its fruit-forward, frank youth to its dark, truffled, rounded maturity. When you catch a good bottle in transition, it can display the best elements of both ends of the spectrum.
I also love the Saar wines of Johann Peter Reinert. They don’t seem to get a lot of play; they’re kind of off the radar. But they’re pure and expressive, whether trocken, feinherb or fully fruchtig (the German term for delicately sweet wines), whether Spätlese, Auslese or Eiswein. It’s his Kabinett Rieslings, though, that I really dig. They’re real Kabinetts – light, graceful and crystalline – that are perfect as aperitifs and also eminently food friendly.
Reinert’s 2004 Kabinett from the Wiltinger vineyard Schlangengraben (yeah, it’s a name that inspires sophomoric jokes – it means “serpent’s den” in German) is in that ideal ‘tweener spot right now. Its color has taken on a pale yellow hue, darker than its original white light. The nose delivers an immediate wallop of petrol-rich minerality while second and third inhalations uncover rich scents of apricots and golden peaches. Eyeing the glass again, with a backdrop of light, there’s a slight appearance of effervescence. That trace of residual carbon dioxide is still apparent on the tongue, combining with the wine’s scintillating acidity to balance and, really, wipe away any impression of sweetness stemming from natural residual sugar.
And that youthful, crystalline acidity delivers the first notes on the palate – clementine, blood orange and clove. It then finishes with rounder, more mature acids that bring back the flavors of stone fruit hinted at earlier by the wine’s aromatic profile. It’s delicious stuff and, at only 8.5% alcohol, superbly drinkable. On day two it showed even better, if that’s possible. Nothing different really, just a magnification and refinement, an additional layering of all the good stuff that showed up right out of the gates. I have one bottle left and I’ll look forward to its demise in another few years. If only I’d stashed away a case….
Going Through the Change, or Hitting Riesling in Its Sweet Spot
Date: Fri, Jan 2, 2009 Wine Tasting
I made an unspoken – at least I think it was unspoken – resolution around this time last year to taste more Riesling in 2008, to explore wines from producers new to me. I’m not sure how good a job I did of it but, hey, slow progress is better than no progress. One thing the goal didn’t stop me from doing was continuing to explore and enjoy wines from the German producers who have been near and dear for many a year. And I happen to have alit upon a particular high point just as ‘08 was coming to its close….Saar Wiltinger Schlangengraben Riesling Kabinett, Johann Peter Reinert 2004
$14. 8.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
I consider myself lucky when I catch Riesling in its sweet spot, as it’s going through the change – the change from its fruit-forward, frank youth to its dark, truffled, rounded maturity. When you catch a good bottle in transition, it can display the best elements of both ends of the spectrum.
I also love the Saar wines of Johann Peter Reinert. They don’t seem to get a lot of play; they’re kind of off the radar. But they’re pure and expressive, whether trocken, feinherb or fully fruchtig (the German term for delicately sweet wines), whether Spätlese, Auslese or Eiswein. It’s his Kabinett Rieslings, though, that I really dig. They’re real Kabinetts – light, graceful and crystalline – that are perfect as aperitifs and also eminently food friendly.
Reinert’s 2004 Kabinett from the Wiltinger vineyard Schlangengraben (yeah, it’s a name that inspires sophomoric jokes – it means “serpent’s den” in German) is in that ideal ‘tweener spot right now. Its color has taken on a pale yellow hue, darker than its original white light. The nose delivers an immediate wallop of petrol-rich minerality while second and third inhalations uncover rich scents of apricots and golden peaches. Eyeing the glass again, with a backdrop of light, there’s a slight appearance of effervescence. That trace of residual carbon dioxide is still apparent on the tongue, combining with the wine’s scintillating acidity to balance and, really, wipe away any impression of sweetness stemming from natural residual sugar.
And that youthful, crystalline acidity delivers the first notes on the palate – clementine, blood orange and clove. It then finishes with rounder, more mature acids that bring back the flavors of stone fruit hinted at earlier by the wine’s aromatic profile. It’s delicious stuff and, at only 8.5% alcohol, superbly drinkable. On day two it showed even better, if that’s possible. Nothing different really, just a magnification and refinement, an additional layering of all the good stuff that showed up right out of the gates. I have one bottle left and I’ll look forward to its demise in another few years. If only I’d stashed away a case….
Happy New Year, By Georges!
Date: Thu, Jan 1, 2009 Wine Tasting
Philadelphia Restaurant Row stalwart Brasserie Perrier out. Le Bec Fin, Dubai in? What a way to say goodbye. A harbinger of the eventual demise of Chef Perrier's empire or just a sign of our economically downtrodden times?
Around the Web on New Year’s Eve
Date: Wed, Dec 31, 2008 Wine Tasting
I’m honored to have been invited to guest blog at Jeremy Parzen’s Do Bianchi today. Head on over, check out my short-take on holiday bubbles and drop Jeremy a comment to let him know you visited. Peruse awhile and you’ll find I’m in particularly good company, as Brooklynguy was guest author yesterday, with a new installment of his indispensable weekly series, Friday Night Bubbles.
As long as we’re on the topic of sparklers, and speaking of indispensability, Peter Liem has recently posted a richly informative piece on the current state of Rosé Champagne at Besotted Ramblings and Other Drivel. His blog is one of my daily reads – in good company with Do Bianchi and Brooklynguy – and should be on your list as well if you’re interested in expanding your knowledge of all things Champenoise.
You’ll find a very even-handed take on the pros and cons of various wine closures at Jamie Goode’s Wine Blog. As a Master of Wine and author of The Science of Wine: From Vine to Glass
Stay tuned for a “year in review” type post here at MFWT. The creative/reflective spark for that one hasn’t hit me yet but I hope the inspiration will find me in the next week or so.
In the meanwhile, here’s wishing you all a very happy and healthy New Year! Cheers!
Jazz Great Freddie Hubbard Dead at 70
Date: Tue, Dec 30, 2008 Wine Tasting
As I'm a better blog reader than I am a news reader of late, I learned of Freddie Hubbard's passing -- on Monday, after a long fight to recover from a heart attack suffered at Thanksgiving time -- via Brother Lyle's post. Sad news indeed. Hubbard's playing style, from tone to attack, made him one of the most influential trumpeters of the second half of the 20th Century. This is a great video of a reunion of Herbie Hancock's Blue Note band from the Maiden Voyage era, playing the classic Cantaloop Island. That's Joe Henderson, not Freddie, in the freeze-frame view of the clip but the video's just too good not to share with you. Even if you don't know Freddie's (and Herbie's) music, you'll recognize the main riff, which was made (even more) popular by the jazz-hop group Us3 in the early '90s. The video ends rather abruptly, as has Mr. Hubbard's life, but features his playing heavily, which is as it should be.
Jam on, Freddie. You'll be missed.
Jazz Great Freddie Hubbard Dead at 70
Date: Tue, Dec 30, 2008 Wine Tasting
As I'm a better blog reader than I am a news reader of late, I learned of Freddie Hubbard's passing -- on Monday, after a long fight to recover from a heart attack suffered at Thanksgiving time -- via Brother Lyle's post. Sad news indeed. Hubbard's playing style, from tone to attack, made him one of the most influential trumpeters of the second half of the 20th Century. This is a great video of a reunion of Herbie Hancock's Blue Note band from the Maiden Voyage era, playing the classic Cantaloop Island. That's Joe Henderson, not Freddie, in the freeze-frame view of the clip but the video's just too good not to share with you. Even if you don't know Freddie's (and Herbie's) music, you'll recognize the main riff, which was made (even more) popular by the jazz-hop group Us3 in the early '90s. The video ends rather abruptly, as has Mr. Hubbard's life, but features his playing heavily, which is as it should be.
Jam on, Freddie. You'll be missed.
Jazz Great Freddie Hubbard Dead at 70
Date: Tue, Dec 30, 2008 Wine Tasting
As I'm a better blog reader than I am a news reader of late, I learned of Freddie Hubbard's passing -- on Monday, after a long fight to recover from a heart attack suffered at Thanksgiving time -- via Brother Lyle's post. Sad news indeed. Hubbard's playing style, from tone to attack, made him one of the most influential trumpeters of the second half of the 20th Century. This is a great video of a reunion of Herbie Hancock's Blue Note band from the Maiden Voyage era, playing the classic Cantaloop Island. That's Joe Henderson, not Freddie, in the freeze-frame view of the clip but the video's just too good not to share with you. Even if you don't know Freddie's (and Herbie's) music, you'll recognize the main riff, which was made (even more) popular by the jazz-hop group Us3 in the early '90s. The video ends rather abruptly, as has Mr. Hubbard's life, but features his playing heavily, which is as it should be.
Jam on, Freddie. You'll be missed.
Xmas Eve Loire-apalooza
Date: Mon, Dec 29, 2008 Wine Tasting
The big holiday feast this year was on Christmas Eve, thanks to the hospitality of our dear friends Bill and Kelly. Is there a better way to come together with loved ones than by sharing in some great food and wine?
Montlouis-sur-Loire Brut, François Chidaine NV. $23. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
Over the last few years, I’ve noticed some pretty distinct bottle variation with Chidaine’s Montlouis Brut. I’m not sure what to chalk it up to, though my gut is that it’s mainly a function of disgorgement date vs. consumption date. As the bottle is not marked, at least not obviously, with any lot or disgorgement information, I can base this only on my non-scientific observations of cork behavior. I tend to have preferred the bottles with some spring left in their stoppers – suggesting a younger wine with less time on the cork. Whatever the case may be, this was a particularly good bottle. Signature Chenin aromas of clover honey and green fig were in force, accentuated by scents of freshly toasted white bread. Bone dry but with an enchantingly soft, lingering mouthfeel.
Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie, Domaine des Trois Toits (Hubert Rousseau) 2007. $16. 12% alcohol. Nomacorc. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchants, New York, NY.
This was my first encounter with the Muscadet of Hubert Rousseau, a relatively new addition to importer Neal Rosenthal’s portfolio. The Domaine des Trois Toits (“house of the three roofs”) is located in La Nicollière, just south of the city of Nantes. This is flinty yet fleshy, yeast enriched Muscadet that finishes with a mouthwatering twist of bitter lemon oil. Young and tasty, with exceptional length. It not only paired beautifully with oysters but also revealed an extra layer of salinity and savor when matched with a simple appetizer of oil-poached Spanish tuna belly.
Sancerre “Clos la Néore,” Edmond Vatan 2007. $55. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Wine Cellars Ltd., Briarcliff Manor, NY.
The answer to Saturday's bonus point question. Pungently mineral and painfully young Sancerre, brimming with lime pith and chalky aromas. Maybe the most complete bottle of Vatan’s “Clos la Néore” I’ve yet to drink, displaying really fine flavor and structural delineation with less funk and greater purity than in the past few vintages. I’d love to revisit it in five and ten years (and two, seven, three, eight…). Wines that provide this clear an expression of place, of terroir, are all too few and far between.
A little East Coast/West Coast Oyster Mash-Up. Which wine worked best…? Sometimes there’s merit to a cliché. All of the first four wines worked in their own way but the Muscadet stole the day. A phenomenal pairing.
Champagne Brut “Réserve,” Bérèche et Fils NV. $45. 12% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.We now interrupt this broadcast for a brief Champagne interlude. I’ve really been digging the Champagnes of Bérèche et Fils of late. The 10-hectare estate is based near Ludes, on the Montagne de Reims. Young Raphael Bérèche, who worked his first harvest at his family’s estate in 2000 and took responsibility for winemaking in 2004, appears to have great things in store. He’s converting the property to biodynamic farming and fermenting his wines on their native yeasts, with all cuvées seeing at least partial oak elevation. The Brut Réserve is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier (I don’t know the percentages), which includes about 25% reserve wine. It opens with a lush frontal assault, contrasted in fine balance by an incredibly dry attack on the finish. Rich notes of brioche and fresh hazelnuts dominate the nose, while notes of ripe melon and citrus confit emerge from the wine’s sweet, generous mid-palate.
Savennières, Domaine des Baumard 1996. $25. 13.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Ex-Cellars, Solvang, CA.A bit of a shock after a flight of young wines and not a little weird. Funk covered rocks come to mind – what “eau de toad” might taste like if someone were to bottle such a thing. All of that said, this is still enticing wine, sour and rich at once. Savennières may just be capable of producing the broadest aromatic range in the wine world, or at least the most unusual range. In this bottle I found baked gooseberries, almond paste and lavender, along with something – that sour/rich component – that I can only describe as caramelized yuzu. This is starting to show some oxidative development but still suggests further potential to come. I’m dying to put together a horizontal tasting of ’96 Loire Chenins….
Vin de Table Mousseux “Le Vinsans Ricard,” Domaine Ricard NV. $22. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
Though perhaps not as exuberant as when I last wrote this up (tasted with the same group of friends and family, by the way), this is still damn tasty stuff. Varietal Gamay – at least in this rendition of Vincent Ricard's “Le Vinsans Ricard” – made in the méthode l'ancienne. Juicy, crackling and refreshing, loaded with lively cranberry and raspberry fruit; it seemed tailor made to our pulled pork and slaw sandwiches.
Côtes du Forez “La Volcanique,” Verdier-Logel (Odile Verdier & Jacky Logel) 2007. $13. 12% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Wine Traditions, Falls Church, VA.
More Loire Gamay and another very cool wine, even if a little less friendly to the sweetness of the pork than Ricard’s bubbly. This is explosively mineral, black fruited Gamay – crunchy, rustic, viscerally fresh and laced with the scent of black pepper. Produced, as the name of this cuvée suggests, on volcanic soils in the Côtes du Forez, an area in the foothills of the Massif Central in the far reaches of the Upper Loire, where Verdier-Logel is considered the leading estate.
Vouvray “Clos du Bourg” Sec, Domaine Huet 2005. $40. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, NY, NY.
By far the tightest wine of the night. This showed earthy mineral character in spades, with a muted core of beeswax and pear-driven fruit. Already subtly delicious, but barely hinting at what’s to come. If you’re holding any, stash it away for a rainy day a few (or many) years down the road.
Name That Wine
Date: Sat, Dec 27, 2008 Wine Tasting
Just for fun, here's a photo of a bit of detritus from the Christmas Eve feast. Bonus points to anyone who can name the wine* (click the photo for an enlarged view). Details to follow shortly, so don't delay.
* Immediate family of publisher and other participants in said feast excluded.
Know Your Product
Date: Fri, Dec 26, 2008 Wine Tasting
Here's a little post-consumerism blues for your listening enjoyment on this Friday after Xmas, from those seminal Aussie punks, The Saints. Regular programming returning soon....
Happy Holidays
Date: Wed, Dec 24, 2008 Wine Tasting
Just back from enjoying an Xmas Eve feast with friends and family. Santa's apparently in flight over Charlotte, North Carolina at the moment and I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a fantastic holiday and a happy, healthy new year. Cheers!
Drinking Unseasonably: Tasty Alternatives to Sauvignon Blanc
Date: Mon, Dec 22, 2008 Wine Tasting
As much as I believe in the practice of eating seasonally, I find the idea of drinking in the same manner far less appealing. Sure, I tend to steer away from heavy hitting reds on sweltering summer nights, but I never lose the hankering for light and lively whites, not even in the icy depths of winter. Following are notes on just such a pair, whites that many might find to be summer sippers rather than winter warmers but that I found to be just what the doctor ordered – brisk, invigorating and matched to what was on my dinner table. They’re also both great alternatives for those that are hooked on Sauvignon Blanc but are looking for a new rose.
Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne “Reserve Selection – Cuvée Gros Manseng,” Domaine des Cassagnoles (Janine & Gilles Baumann) 2007
$11. 13% alcohol. Screwcap. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA
Domaine des Cassagnoles consistently produces some of the best values in white wine from Southwest France. Their “normal” Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne, a blend of Colombard, Sauvignon and Ugni Blanc, can still be found for around nine bucks a bottle. For about two dollars more, though, you can have this, their “Reserve Selection,” a varietal expression of Gros Manseng.
Though it lacks the sauvage character and underlying complexity of the best whites made at least in part from Gros Manseng in AOCs such as Irouléguy and Jurançon, this is still juice to take seriously. Snappy and visceral, it delivers flavors of golden raisins and orange oil with a cardamom tinged finish. Minerality and medium-high acidity add both balance and structure enough to marry well with anything from sheep’s milk cheeses to roasted fish to herb-crusted white meat dishes.
Mittelrhein Bacharacher Rivaner trocken, Ratzenberger 2007
$14.50. 13% alcohol. Nomacorc. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
The great British wine writer Jancis Robinson is at her smarmy and pointed best when writing about Müller-Thurgau, which she describes as a “decidedly mediocre but gruesomely popular German crossing developed in 1882 for entirely expedient reasons by a Dr. Hermann Müller, born in the Swiss canton of Thurgau…”. Robinson cites Müller-Thurgau as a cross between Riesling and Sylvaner, or perhaps Riesling and another clone of Riesling. More recent research suggests it’s actually the result of a crossing between Riesling and Chasselas. In any event, one goal among many was to produce a vine that would grow and ripen in spots where Riesling would not. That, at least, is Jochen Ratzenberger’s raison d’être for growing Müller-Thurgau. He prefers to call it Rivaner, one of several synonyms for M-T, believing the name to carry fewer negative connotations. It may be a moot point here, as neither Müller-Thurgau nor Rivaner are household varieties on the US wine market.
Planting Rivaner on the lower slopes and flatter portions of his property, Ratzenberger is able to utilize land that might otherwise lay fallow. Farming those vines to low, healthy yields enables him to produce a wine that, though simple, bucks the stereotype of flabby, industrial Müller-Thurgau and might even appeal to Ms. Robinson. Soft on the front-palate and explosively floral on the nose, this brims with yellow peach and white apple fruit. Its acid profile is much softer than the Riesling grown further up the hill, and there’s much less of a terroir imprint – none of the distinctly pungent minerality that’s found in Ratzenberger’s Rieslings. But served cold, when its herbal finish is refreshing rather than vegetal (which it can become if served too warm), it’s a pleasure to drink, whether alone or alongside light fish, vegetable and poultry dishes.
Menu for Hope V: ‘Tis the Season to Make a Difference
Date: Sun, Dec 21, 2008 Wine Tasting
A few people have asked me why I didn’t participate in this year’s edition of A Menu for Hope. Truth is, as lame an excuse as it is, the event snuck up on me during the thick of the seasonal crunch and I just didn’t have the wherewithal to put everything together in time. Add to that the fact that I’ve been a holiday season slacker this year – I’m only now doing my shopping, all of it on-line – and you’ve got the perfect recipe for non-participation.
My absence aside, I’m confident that A Menu for Hope, now in its fifth year, will continue to build on the success of years past. Toward that end, I’d like to encourage each and every one of you who visit here to visit the official Menu for Hope host sites and to consider making a difference in this year’s program. For every ten bucks you donate, you’ll get a chance to win one of the many great prizes that have been donated by restaurants, wineries and some of my fellow food and wine bloggers from around the world.
As always, A Menu for Hope’s creator Pim Techamuanvivit is leading the drive. You’ll find a full listing of all of the raffle prizes up for grabs at her blog, Chez Pim. If you’d prefer to narrow things right down to the wine-specific options, you can visit Vinography, where Alder Yarrow is once again coordinating the vinous contributions to A Menu for Hope.
Photo courtesy of Chez Pim.All proceeds from this year’s A Menu for Hope will once again be managed through the United Nations World Food Programme and will be targeted directly toward helping schoolchildren and the agricultural economy in rural Lesotho, Africa. In Pim’s own words, the contributions from last year’s program,
“Bought 388,000 meals in Lesotho schools, which fed over 19,000 poor hungry children with school meals for a whole month. The children received food in primary schools across the remote mountainous areas of Lesotho, which are the poorest and hungriest parts of the country.
Some of the money was used to buy food from local small scale farmers practicing sustainable farming methods in remote areas, providing them with guaranteed market for their products.”
My recommendations? Give generously this year. And give often. Or just give what you can. Pick a prize that’s not super high profile (but that appeals to you, of course) and you’ll exponentially increase your odds of winning something cool in the course of doing a good deed. This year’s program ends on Wednesday, December 24, so get moving. Every $10 makes a difference.
Cooper’s Brick Oven Wine Bar
Date: Thu, Dec 18, 2008 Wine Tasting
A combination of hunger and curiosity lured me into Manayunk earlier this week to venture a first look at one of Main Street’s newest dining scene entries, Cooper’s Brick Oven Wine Bar. Visiting a new place immediately after it’s been written up in the major local newspaper does not generally fall under my definition of a grand idea. However, the usual buzzing effects of a relatively positive review – two bells from the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Craig Laban, in this case – were negated by the combination of foul weather and the Tuesday night doldrums. Not the greatest night for the restaurant, I’m sure, but good for us, as my pal Phil A. Dining and I had no problem snagging choice spots at the bar and lingering over a casual meal.
Chef Bruce Cooper, long-time owner of Manayunk institution Jake’s Restaurant, launched his new, partly eponymous endeavor just last month in the storefront immediately adjacent to Jake’s. Cooper’s is an inviting spot, mixing contemporary and rustic elements in its décor, with warm lighting, a cool stone bar, amply sized booths and a colorful wall of wine setting the tone for the space. There’s an immediate sense of potential, too, in the new restaurant’s offerings.
Cooper’s eclectic and much better than average beer list includes local standouts like Sly Fox Pikeland Pils and Philadelphia Brewing Company’s Walt Wit on top, along with solid choices like Stone IPA, Brooklyn Brown Ale, Saison Dupont and La Chouffe in bottle.
Our first plates were both well executed. Maple brussels sprouts (from the kitchen at Jake’s) were fresh and flavorful, a light glazing of maple syrup accentuating their own inherent sweetness. If only they’d been kicked up a notch by the presence of a little bacon (or other tasty treat – read on…), they could have been stellar. Crispy skin duck confit was the star dish of the night, featuring moist, perfectly salty, fat-preserved duck leg along with tender roasted potatoes, scented by floral herbs and a spike of vinegar. The brussels sprouts included with this dish found what those in the separate plate were missing, deeper caramelization and an infusion of duck fat. The kitchen could use a little work on its pacing, as all four of our dishes were delivered in rapid succession, but that’s a kink that should easily work itself out with a bit more expediting experience.
The brick oven and the wine bar, the supposed stars of the show, on the other hand, didn’t do enough for me to demonstrate they’d earned their spots on the restaurant’s marquee.
Cooper’s wood fired pizzas are built on a relatively thin, cracker-like crust, a style I enjoy when it’s done right. As my dining partner rightly pointed out though, our crusts weren’t just undercooked, they also lacked flavor. Topping combinations are interesting, including several vegetarian options, but show the conceptual influence of a chef with a sweet tooth.
Our pizzas: Fiorella’s Fennel Sausage, with tomato and banana pepper; and Short Rib, with parmesan, onion, horseradish cream and port sauce.
With twenty-seven wines poured by the glass – twenty-nine if you include the “Cheap White” and “Cheap Red” offered in carafe – there’s theoretically something for everyone at the wine bar. The list makes a sweeping gesture toward diversity, offering up choices from ten countries on five continents and representing varieties from Grüner Veltliner to Alvarinho to Verdeho in the white department, from Sangiovese to Tempranillo to Primitivo among the reds.
The selections are universally commercial in style, though. Those that we sampled were not quite manipulated or manufactured to the point of “wine-like beverage” status but were lacking in any real character. Pricing is tough, too. Glass pours range from $6.50 for a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc to $18.50 for a single-serving bottle of Piper-Heidsieck Champagne. Based on a listed six-ounce pour, there’s no break given for full bottle purchases; standard markup looks to be about four times retail. Pricing issues aside, a good wine bar needs to offer more than a list that covers a bunch of grape varieties. The simple steps of offering half-pours and putting a little more effort into choosing wines with some soul would go a long way toward making Cooper’s a viable wine bar rather than a bar that just happens to serve a bunch of wines.
In spite of my gripes with the wine program and some shortcomings in the brick oven department, Cooper’s does show some real potential. “The Jake Burger” sounds more than tempting enough to draw me back, maybe for a new installment of A Burger and a Beer. Our starter courses were good enough to suggest there’s talent at work in the kitchen. And the overall concept, from bar to vibe to drinks list, adds an element of wining and dining style that had previously been missing from Manayunk.
My biggest question is not whether Cooper’s Brick Oven Wine Bar will succeed. Rather, I wonder what its effect will be on the future of its parent restaurant, Jake’s. The two spots are joined by an open archway and share a common hostess, while Jake’s has eliminated its original bar to make way for additional seating. The end result is a spot that feels, sitting at the bar in Cooper’s, much more like one restaurant that has an upscale, quiet room than two restaurants that just happen to share a bar. Is it the beginning of the end for a Manayunk institution? Only time will tell.
Cooper’s Brick Oven Wine Bar
4367 Main Street (Manayunk)
Philadelphia, PA 19127 [map]
215-483-0444
