After a fun-filled afternoon of wine paired with foods at Vin’Tij Food & Wine, we booked a table for a follow-on Saturday night dinner. I wrote about that wine tasting in this blogpost - Wine tasting at Vin’Tij Grand Boulevard (San)Destin.
The plan was to drink BYOB one of the ultra-premium bottles we purchased in the Vin’Tij Wine Boutique for the occasion.
I write often in these pages about the price charged by restaurants for their wines, often expressed as a function of the retail price of the wine. It is customary that a restaurant charges 2 times the retail price of a wine. Often the restaurant price is 2.5 times and more.
Establishments that combine a restaurant with a wine retailer provides the best and most economical scenario for the consumer whereby the restaurant price equals near the retail price - a 1:1 ratio. In this scenario, the restaurant is relying solely on the gross margin uplift between the wholesale price paid and the retail price charged the diner.
Two such establishments exist in Destin, Vin’Tij and also Chan’s Wine World that is connected to and associated with the adjoining Wine Bar restaurants. Diners seeking a food and wine experience can leverage these policies for great value dining. And, they can take the opportunity to upgrade their wine choices with higher premium or ultra-premium wines they otherwise not be able to afford or justify for wine experimentation or appreciation!
For our Saturday Night Vint’Tij dinner, we were joined by Richard and Victoria, friends and neighbors in our Destin residential community.
Planning to order grilled beefsteaks for our entrees, I took BYOB a Washington State Columbia Valley Red Bordeaux Blend from Force Majeure.
This is from Force Majeure Vineyards, originally called Grand Reve, founded in Woodinville, near Seattle, in 2004, a collaboration between businessman Paul McBride and vineyard manager Ryan Johnson who spent a decade managing vineyards in Eastern Washington’s prestigious Red Mountain AVA.
We tasted and acquired this wine during our Force Majeure Vineyards Site Visit and Tasting back in 2018 as featured in these pages, and excerpted below.
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| Force Majeure Carrie Alexander and Linda |
Force Majeure have vineyards in the Red Mountain AVA where they grow Rhone varietals on the upper slopes and Bordeaux varietals on the lower blocks of the site. According to Carrie, the varietal blocks are based on the selection and matching of the grape varieties to the appropriate soil composition in the eight different soil types on the site.
The site was formed by the ancient Missoula floods, winds and volcanic activity resulting in many small “micro-blocks,” each uniquely suited to specific grape varietals. The rocky upper-slope with shallow soil is well suited to the cultivation of Rhone varietals such as Syrah and Grenache, while the lower blocks of the vineyard are comprised of deep, well-drained Warden soils, where Bordeaux varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc excel.
Force Majeure Épinette Columbia Valley Red Mountain Red Blend 2015
Épinette is also the name of a musical instrument akin to a piano, as well as a word for pine tree, which is a fitting nod to the locale's in Washington state.
Épinette is a Bordeaux blend in the 'Right Bank' style meaning it is primarily Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.
The blend for this 2014 vintage was 58% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and the remaining 5% Petit Verdot.
The Merlot and Cabernet Franc are grown in the lower areas of the Red Mountain vineyard with its deep, well-drained soils. The wine was aged for approximately 22 months in mostly new French oak.
Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, bright vibrant forward dense black berry, ripe black raspberry and black current fruits with notes of cigar box, earthy leather, anise, graphite and spicy oak and hints of dark mocha chocolate with gripping but approachable silky tannins on the lingering finish.
RM 94 points.
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