Ionia Wines

09/16/2008

 

The Central West End dining and shopping area around North Euclid Avenue is worth a stroll, especially if you love food.

 

Last year’s openings included Bissinger’s: the Chocolate Experience, where you can indulge in my two favorite food groups: chocolate and wine. On the same side of the street is the eclectic American restaurant Scape and its sister French-style patisserie Crepes, Etc.

And if you cross Euclid to the east on Maryland Avenue, you can eat outside or in the sun room at Companion, which also opened late last year. After leaving there on a recent afternoon, I discovered the neighboring Brennan’s, 4659 Maryland Avenue, which has a street-level wine and cigar bar along with a retail liquor store. Downstairs is a Scotch and cigar bar; upstairs is the Maryland House at Brennan’s.

Kevin Brennan, owner of the 5-year-old business, said customers could buy a bottle of wine for the retail price and enjoy it on the premises for an $8 corkage fee. That’s less than buying a bottle at a restaurant, where wine is usually twice the price of retail. As Brennan points out, it’s really a good deal if you’re buying a more expensive bottle of wine.

Plenty of wines are priced under $20, making Brennan’s worth a look. The wine is displayed by taste rather than varietal or region. Some bottles are part of the regular inventory, while others are in limited supply.

I was making pasta that night, so an Italian Chianti seemed like a good idea. I found the perfect wine, a 2004 Majnoni Guicciardini selling for $12.95. It’s a yummy soft, medium-bodied Chianti with a velvety mouth-feel and a lot going on. This Tuscan red from the province of Florence has sweet plum overtones and a touch of vanilla and a long, smooth, dry finish.

The Chianti, which is mostly Sangiovese and produced from 100 percent organically grown grapes, would go with a variety of dishes, from pasta with tomato sauce to salmon. It’s also really nice to sip.

Brennan said the wine was new to his shop and he was going to see how it does. I vote for keeping it as part of the regular stock.

For a white, I chose the 2006 Cartlidge & Browne Sauvignon Blanc from California, also selling for $12.95. The grapes are grown in the certified-organic Dancing Crow Vineyard in California’s Lake County. This is a lush, tropical Sauvignon Blanc that is quite different from the herbaceous Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand. It’s also not real citrusy like many Sauvignon Blancs. Instead, the Cartlidge & Browne Sauvignon Blanc has the lively taste of melon and stone fruits. It was delicious, and it turned out to make a great pairing with linguine in a light white clam sauce.