Pinot Noir Tasting at Vine Wine

Tomorrow during their weekly tasting time, Vine Wine is showcasing one of my favorite varietals - the Pinot Noir.  From their email:

Pinot Noir is the famed varietal of Burgundy and is responsible for fabulous and sometimes expensive wine. Although known to be a temperamental grape, it happens to do quite well in other regions of the world, producing lovely, character driven wine. This Wednesday's tasting will feature 3 very different Pinot Noirs, from vastly different wine producing regions. It's always fun to taste them in succession to compare the varying styles.

• Wallace Brook
• Domaine Brunet
• Leyda

The tasting is from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Vine Wine
12-09 Jackson Ave
Long Island City

Champagne Tasting this Saturday at Vine Wine in LIC

The sweet LIC wine shop, Vine Wine, is having their annual Champagne tasting this weekend. From 3-6 p.m on Saturday, take a load off from shopping and stop by to taste some bubbles. They'll pour 3 different kinds of Champagne: Duc de Romet, Pierre Gimonnet, and Vilmart & Cie (2 of those are under $40!). Bonus: they'll be giving away a set of 2 Champagne flutes to the first 10 people who buy one of the featured Champagnes.

Vine Wine
12-09 Jackson Ave
Long Island City, NY

Astorian Weekend Edition 25.06.09

I can hardly believe that it's going to be a hot, sunny weekend. There are tons of fun indoor--and outdoor--goings-on to enjoy:

Shop for some cool art this Friday at Socrates Sculpture Park’s Makers Market Preview from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Unique products such as ceramics, glassware, jewelry, furniture and even motorcycles will be on sale. The price of a ticket is $50, which includes cocktails and hors d’oeuvres—plus it’s tax deductible. 32-01 Vernon Blvd (at Broadway), LIC. 718.956.1819

Visit Bistro 33 on Saturday for dinner when they’ll showcase French Onion Pork Chops, (pictured above) the winning dish of Monday’s Best Dish Battle competition. Mike Szczepanski, the creator of this entree did a great job—now it’s time to check out Chef Gary’s spin on it. 19-33 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria. 718.721.1933

Love to dance? Check out Dancing in the Park this Saturday from 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. in Astoria Park. The event, organized by Martinez Dance Studios will feature salsa dancing. RSVP to 718.932.4344 or info@martinezdancestudios.com.

Get involved in a wonderful cause this weekend by attending the Fourth Annual Relay for Life, helping to fight cancer. The event starts on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in Astoria Park and continues throughout the night with festivities such as live music, karaoke and relay races. A $10 donation per person will get you into the event. For more information, contact Taliah Duchatelier at 718.263.2225 ext 5511, Astoria.relay@cancer.org or www.relayforlife.org/Astoria.

Are you a wine connoisseur? Visit LIC’s wine store, Vine this Saturday for a tasting of wines from Long Island’s North Fork region. The tasting will run from 2:00 p.m. – 8 p.m. with experienced North Fork wine experts on-hand from Bouke wines and from Paumanok Vineyards. 12-09 Jackson Avenue, LIC. 718.433.2611

Vine Wine and Vesta Team Up This Wednesday

How cool is that? Lovely LIC wine shop Vine Wine, and Astoria fave restaurant Vesta are working together to present a food-wine tasting pairing. If I were free, I'd totally be there.

This Wednesday's in store tasting is not to be missed. Vine will be teaming up with Vesta Trattoria and Wine Bar in Astoria. We'll be pairing three Italian wines with delicious food provided by Vesta. These wines (which can also be found on the Vesta wine list) range from a bright, springy Sauvignon Blanc to a rich, spicy Primativo.

Vine and Vesta

• Tere de Gioia, Sauvignon Blanc
• Salvalai, Pinot Noir
• Flaio, Primativo

DATE: March 25th
TIME: 5:30 - 8:30pm

Vine Wine
12-09 Jackson Ave
Long Island City, NY

Astorian Weekend Edition 12.02.09

This weekend brings us two things - Valentine's Day and a three day weekend (thank you dead presidents!). Valentine's Day falls on Saturday, and there are lots of places in the 'hood for a great meal. There's a good summary here, including meals at Vesta, Locale, Mundo, Tournesol, Rest-au-Rant. Foodista has a number of other picks - an Astoria Valentine's Day has much promise!

Also in the Valentine's vein, Vine Wine in LIC (12-09 Jackson Ave) is having a tasting of sparkling wines from 3-6 p.m.

On Thursday, head to Bungalo (32-03 Broadway) for Eastern Nights: House, Balkan and Eastern European music. Mention "East" at the door, open bar from 10-11 p.m.

Friday the 13th brings us another meeting of Drinking Liberally at Bohemian Hall (29-19 24th Ave) at 7:30 p.m. Join the locals for some pints and political discussion.

Sunday night the Pub Quiz is back at the Irish Rover (37-18 28th Ave)! From 7:30-9 p.m. bring your team and $10 (per team) and try to win the pot with your brilliance.

I hope you get the holiday off, too!

It's Beaujolais Nouveau Time

From Vine Wine:

This Saturday we will be pouring some truly gorgeous Crus from Beaujolais. You will see how complex and varied these wines can be and probably never go back to to the undistinguished Beaujolais Nouveau ever again. They pair well with a wide variety of foods, making ideal Thanksgiving wine.

• Domaine Chignard, Fleurie
• Chateau Thivin, Cote de Brouilly
• Marcel Lapierre, Morgon

November 22
3:00 - 6:00pm

Vine Wine
12-09 Jackson Ave
Long Island City, NY

Astorian Weekend Edition 17.04.08

Join Bistro 33 for a fabulous wine and food pairing on Thursday (4/17); seatings at 7 and 9 p.m. Call (718-721-1933) or email (LilBistro33@aol.com) for reservations. Bistro 33 is at 19-33 Ditmars.

Flux Factory hosts the Fluxer Reunion Party on Friday (4/18), 9 p.m.
"If you’ve ever lived at Flux, participated as an artist, been a guest, or just want to spy on the reunion magic... All are welcome!" Refreshments will be served. Dress to impress. Flux Factory is at 38-38 43rd Street in LIC; 718-707-3362.

Vine Wine is hosting a "special Saturday afternoon (4/19) tasting of delicious and fun Kosher wines just in time for Passover". 3-5 p.m. Vine Wine is at 12-09 Jackson Avenue; 718-433-2611.

And if you're looking for some fellowship for Passover, Chabad of Long Island City is holding a communal Passover seder at 8 p.m on Saturday. Please reserve early as space is limited! by contacting Rivka at 718-604-0066 or rivzev@aol.com.

Stars For Sydell reports: "I'll be having a trunk show at the wonderful Candy Plum on Saturday (4/19) from 1-4 p.m., featuring brand new designs for spring/summer '08. I've just finished a 3 month intensive jeweler's course, so I'm super proud of my new work. I hope some of you can stop by and say hello!" Candy Plum is at 30-98 36th Street in Astoria.

On Sunday from 12-5 p.m., stop by the Art-O-Mat to view An Unexpected Visitor: Landscape Sculpture & Drawings by Nigel Rollings. According to the site, it "includes drawings of landscape projects built or proposed, a contemporary garden structure, and will feature an installation of a Long Island City waterfront tableaux combining scientific projection and whimsy." Art-O-Mat is located at 46-46 Vernon Blvd.

Astorian Weekend Edition 20.12.07

Well, this is your last weekend to shop before the big day! A number of local Astoria places are having sales, too. Candy Plum (30-98 36th St) has a special on earrings - with every purchase of $50, receive a free pair of selected earrings! They also have gift certificates. The Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave) is holding a store-wide sale with discounts of 10% (and 25% for Museum members) - they've got collectibles, books and DVDs (that Bladerunner DVD looks particularly good!). And Vine Wine (12-09 Jackson Avenue) in LIC is offering a 15% discount on cases (their Wednesday night tastings are pretty great, too).

For wellness related gifts, head over to the SPAce website (29-09 Ditmars) and order a gift card online! I hear very good things about the massages there, and their haircuts are extremely reasonable and well done. The Yoga Room (32-32 Steinway) is offering a number of discounts through December 31, too, for you and a friend.

For good eats, stop by Mundo (31-18 Broadway), which also has a new art exhibit up. They've got some new menu items, and the same wonderful ambiance. And gift cards! Il Bambino (34-08 31st Ave) just celebrated their one year anniversary in town - I was there last night and the food was delicious, as usual. They've been making soup lately, and the butternut squash soup I had was phenomenal. I've heard lots of good things about their other soups as well (I believe they change daily). Finally on the eating front: fantastic meatballs. The newly opened Philoxenia (32-07 34th Ave) makes excellent, almost tubular shaped meatballs (in a Greek style) which are very good, and Cassino in LIC (47-18 Vernon Blvd) makes some of the best Italian meatballs I think I've ever had. Really nice people run it, too.

This weekend also marks the Winter Solstice. This marks the shortest day and longest night of the year, and that just means more sunshine will come our way each day, bit by bit. Happy Eid, too!

This Week's Vine-Wine Tasting

From LIC's Vine Wine, where they do great wine tastings on Wednesday evenings:

Rich, wonderful and Spanish - a taste of Priorat and Rioja

Let us revisit some old favorites, and maybe find a new, with this trek down memory lane via Spain. The first wine I ever purchased from T Edward Wines was the Rottlan Torra Priorat and I am willing to bet that it is still as good as the first time I tried it.

Wines of Spain

• Garciarevalo Casamaro Blanco Rueda
• Avinyo Cava Rose
• Rotllan Torra Priorat
• Luberri Seis Rioja
• Rotllan Torra Moscatel

Wednesday October 24th
5:30 - 8:30pm
12-09 Jackson Avenue, LIC
718.433.2611