First Bite

At Church Street Cellars, a Sip Can Be a Splurge

Church Street Cellars offers a short menu of wine-friendly foods, including cheese plates that come with grapes, olives and bread. (By Michael Temchine For The Washington Post)

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

I’m not the kind of guy to spend big bucks on a bottle of wine, but I still want to know what the pricey stuff tastes like. Part of that stems from a thirst for knowledge (what makes for a great wine?) and part is sheer voyeurism (what’s it like to be super-rich?).

Church Street Cellars (111 Church St. NW, Vienna; 703-255-0550) helps answer those questions.

Since it opened in late 2006, the business, created by commodities trader Mark Heider, has morphed from just a wine shop into a place where customers can also unwind over drinks and a light meal. Before he could showcase his temperature-controlled Enomatic wine-preserving system that allows 32 wines to be sampled by the 1-ounce splash, 2 1/2 -ounce half-glass or 5-ounce glass, Heider says, his ABC permit required that food be served.

So in went a kitchen, and up went a small menu last summer. The spinach salad, smoked salmon quesadilla and pillowy focaccia pizza — strewn with roasted red peppers, olives, onion and cheeses — are prepared by Zack Leasure, a former line cook at 2941 in Falls Church. Unless Leasure isn’t around, that is, and his boss has to assemble your cheese plate. Slices of Maytag blue from Iowa, Humboldt Fog from California and Oakspring Derby from Virginia make a pleasant indoor picnic when they show up with some grapes, olives and practically a loaf of bread in tow.

But it’s really the vino — dispensed by that shiny Enomatic and kept fresh with odorless argon — that we’re here to try. Most of the selections go for between $1 and $3.50 a taste. We start modestly, with an ounce each of a couple of chardonnays from California and a pinot noir from Oregon, but curiosity leads us to splurge — which is exactly the category Penfolds Grange falls in. Depending on which button I press on the glass-and-steel cabinet, I’ll be charged $17, $42 or (gulp) $85 for the pleasure of trying the celebrated (2002 vintage) Australian wine made mostly with shiraz. ” That will teach people to sip!” a buddy says after he sees the digits pop up on a tiny screen above the bottle, which sells for $270.

And so I sip. Reluctantly. The Grange smells divinely of dark chocolate, coffee, oak, anise. Dark berry flavors dance on the tongue. My birthday is around the corner. Maybe I’ll ask for a glass of Grange.

Next to Church Street Cellars sits Bazin’s on Church, a contemporary American restaurant that Heider describes as an “extraordinarily helpful” neighbor. Diners waiting for a table at the popular establishment invariably use the wine bar’s 16 or so seats as their default lounge; after dinner, those same customers sometimes return for a liquid dessert. “We serve port,” Heider says, along with Pedro Ximenez, a Spanish sherry.

Appetizers, $9-$13.

GO TO

www.churchstcellars.com

bottom of the page click on Reservations.

Here are the details for September 23. Also located at http://www.churchstcellars.com

Please join us this Wednesday, September 23 (21 and up only, please!) for a chef’s 3-course Honig Vineyard Wine Dinner. Cost is a mere forty-five dollars.

The wine bar will remain open until 11:00pm so after cpmpletion of your dinner you may continue to enjoy Church Street Cellars ambience. Here’s the line-up. Wine notes and bottle prices are at the end of this announcement if you’re interested.

CHEF’S 3-COURSE TASTING MENU ~ $45
(Chef’s Gift) Eggplant & Yellow Tomato Ravioli
Basket Curried Scallops | Creamy Sauvignon Blanc Sauce
Strip Steak |Rosemary |Black Pepper |Tomato Concasse | Nicoise Olives
with Mostarda | Pickled Shallots
Bavarian Banana Cream Pie Chocolate | Bananas | Blueberry Coulis

WINE PAIRING
Paringa Sparkling Shiraz
Honig Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Honig Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Honig Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2008

LOCATION & PHONE
Church Street Cellars is located in the heart of Vienna at 111 Church Street NW Our phone number is (703) 255-0550.

PARKING ~ FREE & PAID
We have under the building parking. On-street parking is usually available within a 3-block radius. You can also park in the lot across the street and 1 building down., but do not park in the back of the Clock Shop next door to me!

WINE NOTES & BOTTLE PRICES

Sparkling will be served with Chef’s Gift

2008 Honig Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc ~ $27
(Rutherford, Napa Valley) 86% Honig Estate Sauvignon Blanc, 4% Honig Estate Muscat and 10% Napa Valley Semillon. Taste: A perfect mélange of honeydew melon, lime, floral, lemongrass and passion fruit. A creamy, rich mid-palate, accented with French oak and crème brulee. The finish is long, with refreshing minerality.

2006 Honig Cabernet Sauvignon ~ $39
(Rutherford, Napa Valley) 95% Cabernet, 2% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc. Taste: Blackberry, cherry and plum fruit aromas and flavors are accented by vanilla, allspice and cocoa. The richly textured mid-palate is balanced by medium tannins and a lengthy finish.

2008 Honig Late HarvestSauvignon Blanc ~ $68 (500ml)
(Rutherford, Napa Valley) Winemaker’s Notes 100% Sauvignon Blanc, Honig Estate. Aromas and flavors of honey, dried apricots and citrus rind, layered with creme brulee and mineral. Luscious, with a rich, long finish and balanced acidity.

GETTING ON THIS LIST:
If someone forwarded this email to you, and you’d like to have your name added to this list, please click here to sign up: http://www.churchstcellars.com

Come spend you Sunday afternoons relaxing outdoors to a great glass of wine and cheese plate.

Sunday: BRATS AND BEER We are going to fire up the grill and tapping a few extra kegs to celebrate Viva Vienna. We will be open Noon until 9pm

Monday: Full Menu and Enomatics availiable Noon until 9PM

Come enjoy the fun for a great cause.

We are open for business as usual and are serving fantastic meals. Throughout April we will be testing new meals and incorporating them into our menu.

We look forward to seeing all of you.

Hor D’oeuvres

Scharffenberger Brut

Herb Roasted Cornish Hens

Peruvian Purple Mashed Potato, Haricot Verts, Roasted Hen Jus

2007 Chateau Ste. Michelle Eroica Riesling

Pan Roasted Pork Loin

Fingerling Potatoes, Braised Southern Style Cabbage with Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, Robust Pork Jus, topped with Mustard Fruits

2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle Orphelin

Seared Hanger Steak
Basmati Rice, Cumin Scented Black Beans, Topped with Salsa Verde

2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle Ethos Syrah

Citrus Tartlet

Fresh Berries, Whipped Cream, Raspberry Coulis

Kluge Cru Chardonnay