Annette Schiller
Frank Morgan @DrinkWhatULike
Shannon Jones @GrapeOccasions
Anthony Marocco @VAPourHouse
Christian Schiller @Schillerwein
Stephen Ballard, Annefield Vineyards @AnnefieldWine
Michelle Guedan, Early Mountain Vineyards @EarlyMountain @MGueydan
David White @TerroiristBlog
Steve @TexasWineTime
and Todd M. Godbout @WineCompass (not on the picture)
#Winechat is a chat on Twitter that occurs every Wednesday night from 9-10pm EST. Each week, host @MariePayton discusses a different topic or talks with different guests.
I met up with a with a group of fellow wine bloggers from the Washington DC area and Virginia wine producers, organized by Frank Morgan of @drinkwhatulike, in a private dining room of Capital Grille, Washington DC, to jointly participate in #winechat on July 11, 2012.
#Winechat with George Miliotes (@TheWineExpert)
On July 11, 2012, host @MariePayton and co-host @WinesofFrance were joined by Capital Grille’s Master Sommelier, George Miliotes of @TheWineExpert, for #winechat - a discussion beginning with French wines and ending with the nine wines of the Capital Grille’s summer promotion - Generous Pour.
Capital Grille and Generous Pour
The Capital Grille is an American restaurant chain of upscale steakhouses with currently 45 locations all over the US. The original Capital Grille was founded by Edward P. "Ned" Grace III, in Providence, Rhode Island in 1990. The Capital Grille menu is renowned for its dry aged steaks.
The Generous Pour Wine Event is basically a bottomless glass event. During the summer months, guests may enjoy at Capital Grille unlimited pours of nine wines for $25 at dinner. No matter how much you drink or how many of the nine wines you taste, it's just $25 per person.
The Wines
We started off with 2 wines provided by @WinesofFrance
NV Lucien Albrecht Cremant d’Alsace Brut (I have written about the Lucien Albrecht Cremant here: "The Wines of Domaine Lucien Albrecht and the Food of La Chaumiere in Washington DC, USA/France" and "Tasting 3 Cremants d’Alsace from: Domaine Albert Mann, Domaine Pierre Sparr and Domaine Lucien Albrecht, France")
2011 Le Jaja de Jau Rose
and then digged into the wines of the Capital Grille’s Generous Pour Wine Event.
The Food
The Washington DC Capital Grille on Pennsylvenia, where we met, is one of the places in the vicinity of the White House and the Capitol, where you should go if you want to mingle with the rich and powerful in Washington DC. It's the local watering hole for many DC power brokers. It's a place to visit if you want a piece of Washington DC. Last Wednesday, among others, former Washington DC Major Marion Berry ate with us. The ambience, bar, dining, wines and staff are all excellent.
Most of us had a nice steak. I chose a 10 once filet mignon for US$ 48. It was pricy, of course, but super delicious. We shared some signature side dishes that have earned much acclaim, such as the lobster mac 'n' cheese.
All in all, including tip and taxes, Annette and I spent $250 for a steak as main course, a salad as a starter, a dessert plus the Generous Pour wines for $25.
A very entertaining fun evening, thanks to #winechat.
Post Scriptum - Washington Post's Tom Sietsema on Capital Grille
The Washington Post's Tom Sietsema recently reviewed Washington DC's steakhouses and found that "at nearly a dozen restaurants, the recession and over-saturation have taken their toll". In this context, he specifically referred to Charlie Palmer Steak, Morton's and Capital Grille: "Capital Grille shakes great drinks, but just about everything else I have eaten there - potatoes pureed to the texture of baby food, nutmeng-blased creamed spinach, wan filet mignon - fails the pleasure test". An overly harsh judgement in my opinion; my filet mignon was outstanding. Five Washington DC steakhouses made it onto Tom Sietsema's list: BLT Steak, Bourbon Steak, J and G Steakhouse, The Palm and The Prime Rib.
schiller-wine: Related Postings
Germany's Wine Makers and twitter
Wine and Web 2.0 in Germany
Wine Tasting: Twitter Wine Tasting
Oysters - and Wine - at Zuni Café in San Francisco, USA
The Wines of Domaine Lucien Albrecht and the Food of La Chaumiere in Washington DC, USA/France
Tasting 3 Cremants d’Alsace from: Domaine Albert Mann, Domaine Pierre Sparr and Domaine Lucien Albrecht, France
In the Glass: Hugel et Fils wines at the cuisine des emotions de Jean Luc Brendel at Riquewihr in Alsace
Alejandro Luna Beberide from Bodegas y Vinedos Luna Beberide in Spain at the Taberna del Alabardero in Washington DC
Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta Winemaker Dinner at Taberna del Alabardero in Washington DC, USA/Spain
Steak Frites and a Ballon de Blanc at Thomas Keller’s 1 Star Michelin Restaurant Bouchon in Yountville, California
Dining and Wining at a 1 Star Michelin Restaurant in San Francisco - Range in the Mission District, USA
Fine Wine and Fine Oysters in Madagascar: Oysters from Fort Dauphin and Wine from Clos Nomena
Lunch at the Gere Bistro in Villany with Winemaker Attila Gere, Hungary
I was quite impressed with the concept of combining the virtual (#winechat) with the non-virtual wine worlds. But when looking at these pictures I have two questions.
ReplyDelete-First having been on winechat, if the picture with all the bloggers had names and handles associated with the people in the pictures.
-Second as a restaurant consultant and former owner how intrusive to the dining and wining experience was all the cell-phone & tablet usage?
nobleswines, I adjusted the posting and moved the names of the participants to the group picture in the order as we were standing there. On the second issue, as far as I am concerned I stopped tweeting myself very early in the evening, but followed the tweets on the big screen. Others followed and tweeted themselves.
ReplyDelete