Backroom Wines : Back Room Wine Bar Wines Off The Grid Tasting

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Go "Off-the-Grid" tasting in our Wine Bar

The wine bar is open seven days a week, 10- 7 (Sundays 12-7)

Enjoy a flight of five local wines from wineries without tasting rooms.
Back Room selects from their inventory of hard-to-get local wines for the "Off The Grid" flight. Taste whites and reds, all delicious and unique.
Off the Grid Wines on sale for 10% discount.
$10 tasting fee waived with $100 purchase.

Off The Grid Tasting - May 25, 2013

A) WIND GAP Trousseau Gris 2012
      "Fannuchi-Wood Road Vineyard" Russian River Valley
       $23/bottle, $7/glass Read about it here.

B) BODEGA RANCHO Viognier 2011
      Santa Lucia Highlands
       $25/bottle, $8/glass Read about it here.

C) GREEN & RED Zinfandel 2010
       "Chiles Mill Vineyard" Napa Valley
       $27/bottle, $9/glass Read about it here.

D) MASSA Malbec 2010
Yountville, Napa Valley
$30/bottle, $10/glass Read about it here.

E) FORTUNE 1621 Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Napa Valley
$28/bottle, $9/glass Read about it here.

Full-bottle service is available on every wine in inventory with no fee (pay only retail price)! Cheese plates and other yummy snacks are also available to enjoy during your visit.

We have more than a dozen great half-bottles available!

Enjoy in the wine bar. Pay retail price. Perfect for two or three. We suggest:

Bubbles
Diebolt-Vallois Champagne Blanc de Blancs, a Cramant, $32
From the chalky Champagne soils of the Côte de Blancs. This is very minerally with lemon zest, green apples, spring flowers and grapefruit flavors. This is “light on its feet” and particularly complex. It’s a great example of Côte de Blancs Grower Champagne.

Billecart Salmon Champagne Brut Rose 375 ML $40
Roughly equal parts Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier from farmed vineyards throughout Champagne. All steel fermented and aged. 2005, ’04 and ’03 cuvée. So solid: a mixture of white peach, Meyer lemon, wild raspberry, honeysuckle…a little creamy, perfect smack of acidity and undeniably delicious!

Crisp White
Domaine Cailbourdin Pouilly Fume "Les Cris" 2010 $15
"Les Cris" are "The Screams," as in "this wine screams of terroir." This is a classic, wonderful expression of Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc with its chalky, super-crisp, zippy personality. Not tart though, just full of yellow citrus, green apple and quince flavors. Lemon thyme, tart applesauce finish.

Rich White
Vincent Girardin Corton Charlemagne 375 ML 2005 $49
Benchmark, Grand Cru White Burgundy. Nose is sexy, lightly toasty oak, lemon zest, quince, fresh pineapple and “minerality.” Taste is lean but powerful. White peaches, Granny Smith apples, tropical notes, stones. “Manages to be both exotic and austere,” reports wine critic Steve Tanzer. We agree!

Elegant Red
Melville Pinot Noir "Estate" Santa Rita Hills 2009 $20
Melville makes benchmark Pinot from Santa Rita Hills, western Santa Barbara County, near the Pacific. Lovers of nicely spicy, fruit-forward and supple Pinot Noir will dig this. Smell and taste sweet red cherries, spicy cranberry sauce, black tea, cola and kalamata olive. Full-bodied for Pinot, modest oak, medium acidity. Roast your bird of choice, crack a bottle and enjoy.

Big Red
Red Mare Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2009 $29
Rich, silky, delicious-now 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville and Spring Mountain vineyards. Subtle toasty oak and bright sweet red cherry nose. Taste sweet plums, cassis, vanilla and cocoa. Juicy and well-balanced. Medium/full body, medium tannins, good acidity. All the flavors and textures are well-proportioned. 800 cases made.

Earthy and Hearty Red
Domaine Le Colombier Vacqueyras "Vieilles Vignes" 2009 $12
80% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre. Fermented and aged in concrete vats. Fruit-forward and impressively rich, this young Southern Rhone is good to decant for 20 minutes and then enjoy. Boysenberries, framboise, peppercorns, pumpkin pie spice, black licorice. Boasts strong tannins with ample fruit to balance them.

Something Sweet?
Cargasacchi Late Harvest Pinot Grigio
"Invincible Sun - Jalama Vineyard" Santa Barbara County 375 ML 2009 $29
Just-shriveling grapes are cut from the vine but not removed right away, so they sun-dry in the vineyard. Loaded with smells & flavors of apricots, pineapple and caramel. Good acidity in this rich, strong dessert wine.

...and many more. The selections change often!

MORE BEVERAGES:

BOTTLED BEERS (because you can't drink wine ALL the time): $3/each

ANCHOR SUMMER Wheat Beer
NEW BELGIUM Blue Paddle Pilsner
DOGFISH HEAD Palo Santo Brown Ale ($6)
DOGFISH HEAD 90 Minute IPA ($5)
DUVEL Belgian Golden Ale ($5)
NEW BELGIUM Ranger IPA (22oz, $5)

Just $3 per serving of cheese (and/or olives, chorizo, etc.). A delicious compliment to a glass or flight of wine at the wine bar. Here are the cheeses currently on hand and ready to include on your cheese plate.

Back Room Wine Tasting

Appenzeller
Swiss Alps. Cow's Milk. Gruyere family. Much like Comte: Nutty, semi-hard, slightly fruity. Great with Zinfandel, Syrah and other spicy reds. (Rhones!!!)

Redwood Hill Farm Smoked Cheddar
An excellent cheesery in Petaluma, California. Smoky cheddar made from goats' milk: so tasty by itself, and really good with Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Charbono.

Central Coast Creamery "SEASCAPE" (Cow/Goat milk blend)

An original hand-crafted artisan cheese made from blended goat and cow milk. Seacape is a semi-soft cheese with a smooth, creamy texture and a complex tanginess that make this cheese a true American Original. This cheese has a natural brushed rind and has been aged to perfection for a minimum of 4 months.

...nibbles that are not cheese, currently on offer:

Chorizo
From the Rioja. It's "Dulce" Chorizo (not spicy, so very nice at the wine bar). This has wonderful flavor and is not so spicy as to overwhelm most wine. This is best, we feel, with Rosé, fruity whites, and medium to full bodied reds.

Mediterranean Black Olives

The following cheeses we've had before, are currently out, and will probably have again...but not certain when:

Rogue Creamery’s “Oregon Blue"
They made the first blue cheese made on the West Coast, so it's only fitting that it be the first blue ever smoked.

Cold smoked for 16 hours over hazelnut shells from the Pacific Northwest. The result is a balance of sweet caramel and hazelnut flavors that magically contrast the sharpness of this blue cheese.

Melodie by Laura Chenel
An "American Original" ash-rinded, aged cheese, made exclusively in Sonoma with fresh goats milk from local dairies. Its mild and creamy texture and floral flavors pair wonderfully with a nice, un-oaked Chardonnay or a lovely bottle of Champagne to highlight the delicate and subtle flavors that this wonderful cheese has to offer.

From the Piave River Valley region of Belluno, Italy. Made from pasteurized cow's milk collected in two milkings, one of them skimmed. It has a concentrated sweet, crystalline paste with a full, tropical fruit flavor and slight almond bitterness. Aged for twelve months, Piave is wonderful as a table cheese, shaved over a salad of bitter greens, or enjoyed with an aperitif. Like Parmigiano, Piave has an affinity for both red and white wine, but is smoother and easier to eat right from the wheel. We also like it paired with an amber ale (perhaps an ANCHOR BREWERY "Steam Beer" , also available at the wine bar? Couldn't hurt!).

Vella Cheese Company Asiago Pepato
Traditionally a sheep’s milk cheese the Vella Asiago is made with cow’s milk. Has a nice sweetness to it. The Pepato in it are green peppercorns, adding a little kick. Good wine with stronger whites and medium-bodied reds. Asiago was created and is made in the Veneto, Italy.

Rouge et Noir French Blue
This creamy blue sensation is a wonderful medley of flavors made with local Jersey cows milk. Triple creme brie with mildly piquant blue veins makes this cheese slightly sweet with a mild peppery blue flavor. Delightfully soft and spreadable; the slightly fuller flavor of the blue makes it a perfect paring with your favorite fruit forward Pinot Noir, or a late harvest Gewurztraminer.Piave VecchioPetit Agour

Roncal

A hard, creamy sheep's milk cheese made in one of seven villages in the Valle de Roncal in Spain A semi-firm cheese with a complex, nutty flavor that has been described as earthy, sweet and robust. Produced in the Basque region of France, it is known for perfectly balancing salty and sweet flavors and was awarded with a Gold Medal during the Paris Concours General Agricole in 2006. Try it with a medium red wine or with your favorite fruit spread for a truly delectable experience.

Vella Dry Jack
Aged for just about a year, coated with their signature cocoa/black pepper coating. Wonderfully crumbly. Nutty and persistently long ending. Addiction is possible. I think this is the best cheese to accompany Zinfandel.

Shaft's Bleu Vein Cheese "Ellie's Vintage 2 Year Reserve"
My first experience with this cheese, and it's really good. Creamy, very bleu, not too aggressive, good with all strong red wines and sweeties. Shaft's is out of Cedar Ridge, California. In Gold Country (Shaft, as in mine shaft).

Cypress Grove "Truffle Tremor"
The classic flavor of truffle meets the velvety perfection of ripened goat milk cheese. Earthy, elegant, and sophisticated, it's sure to make even the most distinguished taste buds shake!

Ossau Iraty-Fermier (Raw Milk)
We're currently serving Fermier Ossau Iraty, meaning it's made in stone huts in the French Pyrenees. Aged at least 9 months to develop its wonderful flavor. Ewes' milk. Buttery, creamy, nutty, velvety. Sinfully delicious. Let it warm and melt in your mouth and deny its immense yumminess! White Bordeaux is a classic match, as is the nearby wines of the Jurancon (dry or sweet). Also, we find fruity, medium bodied red wines are very good with Ossau Iraty as well.

Chevagne Arina
Dutch, 100% Goat milk. Mild and nutty. Consider it a "Goat Cheese Gouda." We find it particularly tasty with stronger white wines like Chardonnay and Rhone Style.

Shaft's "Serendipity"
A veritable layer cake of a cheese. Three layers of Wisconsin Sharp Cheddar and two layers of Shaft's Bleu Cheese. Must be served by the slice!

Gruyere de Comte

Made from unpasteurized cow's milk, this hard cheese has a strong and slightly sweet taste, with a pale yellow color and a dusty brown rind.

...and from the past, possibly in the future...

Creminelli Salami “Felino”

This salami has its origins in Felino, Italy in the central Emilia Romagna region. To prepare this salami requires specific cuts of pork, making it possible to produce only a few pounds from each pig. The meat is coarsely ground, salted and spiced with an ancient blend that is one of Italy's oldest salami recipes.The Felino blend used by the Creminelli family is a closely held secret, but we can tell you that pepper and nutmeg play a prominent role in creating this salami's subtle yet dazzling flavor.

Spanish Green Olives stuffed with Anchovies
We have a small, local fan club for these olives. So tasty. Those who squeam over an anchovy will not know it's a fish in the middle if not told. Yummy with crisp and aromatic whites. Have some here and take some home! We find these good chopped up and added to various pasta dishes we make.