Wine Steals is a steal, if you know what to look for

Review of the wine bar Wine Steals, in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California
by Haydn S Adams | Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog
May 30th, 2009

Wine Bar: Wine Steals
Location: 1953 San Elijo Ave. in Cardiff, CA (map)
Haydn’s rating: A-
Haydn’s Synopsis: A bustling and great business model for a wine bar. Good idea to follow Europe in the chalkboard by-the-glass menu style. Great “steals” are to be had if you know where to look.

I felt like a kid in a candy store for a few minutes when I first walked into Wine Steals. Laid out in a pattern I couldn’t figure out were wines from around the world, as well as a heap from Sonoma and Napa. The concept is simple at Wine Steals. You can either pick from a glass of wine from the large chalkboards behind the bar, or pick a bottle of wine from the retail store side and, for a $5 corkage fee, open it up and enjoy it right there. I went with the latter of the two.

I at first questioned how the whites were going to work, since they were just sitting out in room temperature. However, I quickly discovered the white wine fridge next to the ordering line and went hunting for a bottle of wine. I was with my Dad, who predominately drinks white, so a white wine it was going to be.

Inside of the wine fridge held a number of potential candidates for drinking. An albariño initially sparked my interest, along with Mantanzas Creek’s Sauvignon Blanc. However, the minute I saw they had a Vouvray, I knew that was the wine of choice. Why the Vouvray you say? Well, for a number of reasons. First, was the fact that my Dad has never had a Vouvray and I did want to expose him to a new wine. The second reason—the price. It was $9.45 (we joked that corkage was a 50% markup). Apparently Wine Steal does live up to their name. And the third reason, to which I was banking on sight unseen, was that this white was probably going to be around 12.5% alcohol, because that is the way the French roll, with lower alcohol than their American counterparts. The Vouvray came in at 12%, even lower than I had guesstimated.

If you have never had or ever heard of a Vouvray, don’t fret. It is nothing more than a Chenin Blanc (you could say wrapped up in French clothing). The French use regions to designate their wines. Bordeaux, Burgandy, Champagne for example. In addition, the French make their wines with less alcohol so that you’re able to have a glass or two and not feel like you are going to need to call a cab home. To put this into perspective, you’re likely to find California wines topping into the high 14’s to just above 15% at times, I can only think of one winery, Nalle in Dry Creek, that follows the French style in making wines with lower alcohol (see the article, The Chardonnay that thinks it’s a Sauvignon Blanc for more information on Nalle).

I’m glad we went with the Vouvray. It was a bit more floral than I had wanted, but it was still beautiful. The nose and mid-palate exhibited hints of peach and pears. One could make a judgment that it hinted of a Riesling, to which I would agree. I do feel that the over-chilling (it was stored in a fridge with beers) masked the flavors for a few minutes until I clasped my hands around the glass to warm it up a bit. And with the lower alcohol, the two of us were easily able to finish off the bottle and still be coherent to where we were. A big thumbs up.

Wine Steals was a total steal, in terms of price that is. However, there were a lot of bottles that were not. For example, the Fort Ross Chardonnay was priced right around $30 along with the Martin Codax Albariño at around $15. But nestled in between the normally priced bottles were the ones that sparkle. My advice to anyone who goes to one of their three locations would be to step out of your comfort zone, just a little. Try one of the few Tempranillos by the glass. Get out of Napa and try a Los Carneros AVA Pinot. Or go overseas and check out a wine from Spain or France. That is where the steals will be found. Overall, a wonderful place to have a glass (or bottle) of wine, share a pizza and discover new wines you might not have normally come across.

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com