In the Land of No Corkage

BK and I went to dinner with the winemaker and his wife ages ago, and I realized I never wrote about it. Normally, what with so much time having passed and my lack of sufficient note taking (too busy enjoying the moment to write), I should just let this fall away as one of those that got away. However. The restaurant we went to does not charge a corkage fee, and I just have to share in case you live in the area. The restaurant is Los Altos Grill, and I think there’s another up in the Napa area called Rutherford Grill. They serve wine and had a fairly nice list, but they allow customers to bring in their own bottles at no charge. As a person who has more wine than she needs it’s nice to be able to save some money, knowing how much restaurants mark up their bottles. Therefore, we brought in the 2005 J Russian River Pinot Noir and the 2003 Turley Tofanelli Vineyard Zinfandel. With the first I had notes of corned beef, roses, strawberries, and maple syrup. For the Turley, it was jammy and hot: cracked black pepper, blackberry, raisins, and pecans. My meal was not the best for either wine, but as soon as I walked in and saw grilled corn on someone’s plate, I knew I was getting the seasonal veggie plate, with a side of divine skillet cornbread. BK’s lamb was a much better pairing, but I’m a sucker for good corn. A fairly small menu, but good choices and a great place for economical wine lovers.