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Find the "Grape" Adventure

Written By: Jon Aronson on Thursday, August 16, 2007

Venture Beyond Chardonnay Philly Style

Man cannot live on chardonnay alone. Or cabernet sauvignon. Or merlot or shiraz or Chianti. But you’d never have known that until recently. If you looked around at the tables of your local BYOB, you’d have seen them littered with bottles of run-of-the-mill wines produced by companies whose main selling points were the cuteness of their labels and the slickness of their ad campaigns.

And if you looked at the lists of wines by the glass at those restaurants with liquor licenses, you’d have seen…well, probably the same thing.

But the Philly wine world, thank goodness, is changing. State stores are finally starting to stock some unexpected bottlings, and customers are finally willing to buy them if the price is right. (Oh, thank heaven for the purchasing power—and newfound wine focus—of the PLCB!)

Restaurants, however, are where the real changes are happening. And whether this is the result of sommeliers and beverage managers who’ve grown tired of uncorking the same old juice, or patrons who are demanding something a bit more exciting than the old reliable fruit-bombs that sufficed for so long (I think it’s some combination of both), we are entering a brave new world of wine in this city of occasionally brotherly love.

Here’s a quick tour of some of the highlights. 707 Restaurant & Bar has one of the most original, affordable, intelligently constructed wine lists in the region. Owner Ryan Margolis, one of the city’s most respected food and wine pros, has assembled a list that includes such little-known grape varieties as xarel-lo (crisp and citric), alvarinho (minerally with a deliciously focused acidity), and monastrell (the perfect partner for one of their fabulous hamburgers). And despite most people’s unfamiliarity with these wines, 707 pours through bottle after bottle. Once their guests taste them, they tend to go back to them glass after glass.

Tinto, the new Basque restaurant by Jose Garces (of Amada fame), also has some unexpected wines by the glass on offer. Though not terribly well-known outside wine-geek circles, the hundorrabi zurri being poured there is fabulous in these dog days of summer. And the verdejo, an exquisitely elegant wine, is delicious alongside the restaurant’s Basque-inspired dishes or simply on its own.

Then there are the wine bars, which seem to be popping up all over town these days. A new outpost of Tria recently opened below Broad Street, and Vintage, which has been around for just over a year now, is always a great place to taste new things (their staff is not only knowledgeable, but incredibly helpful). Whether you order by the glass or bottle here, the selection is stellar. Everything from a solid Vinho Verde (the Portuguese white that’s more refreshing than even the best lemonade this time of year) to an inky, affordable petit sirah is available.

Chick’s Café, the much lauded 7th Street spot just off of South, also has a great selection of unexpected wines and, like so many other places these days, an ample menu of wine-friendly, tapas-size dishes to taste alongside them.

Outside the immediate Center City area, Rae, Daniel Stern’s new restaurant in the Cira Centre next to 30th Street Station, always has some of the best wines in the city. Ryan Davis, Rae’s beverage manager, has a keen palate for the unusual and unexpected, but always with an eye toward making these wines affordable.

Though not unusual in its origin, the Henriot Champagne, a subtly spectacular sparkler with all the nuance that that grossly overpriced Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label doesn’t have, is a steal at $15 a glass. And the Huber gruner veltliner, an Austrian white that’s more refreshing than anything most people ever drink in the summer, is a must-taste wine at $8. And like so many of these restaurants and bars that feature interesting, unexpected wines, the staff at Rae is always willing to help you out with your selections. Enthusiasm for these wines, it seems, is contagious.

As well it should be. Because we’re finally pulling ourselves out of the doldrums of wine mediocrity in this town. And we’re doing so with a vengeance. Indeed, there are more affordable, exciting wine options these days than there ever have been before for Philly’s grape-lovers.

Chardonnay and merlot and pinot grigio and shiraz are perfectly fine, but there’s an entire world of wine out there just waiting for you. And when it comes to what you’ll pay, how much you’ll enjoy them, and how well they will pair with the food you’re eating, these lesser-known wines often can’t be beat. Get out there and taste. You’ll be glad you did.

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