Local Wine Events

Event Details

Wine OR Wine & Food

The chef's 5-course tasting menu with paired wines is held every Saturday.  The menu selections and wine flights change every week.  Here are the details for this week.

Please join us (21 and up only, please!) anytime from 5:00 on for a chef's 5-course tasting menu.  Cost is a mere thirty bucks for all five courses.  We've also put together a wine flight that pairs each course with a different wine.  Cost for the flight is only twenty bucks for five wines, or if you'd prefer not to do the flight, we'll also have wines available by the glass or bottle, as well as beer and cocktails.

Cheese platters, oysters on the half shell and chocolate truffles are also usually available.  The bar will be open until at least 11:00 and the kitchen will be open until at least 10:00.  Here's the line-up.  Wine notes and bottle prices are at the end of this announcement if you're interested.

CHEF'S 5-COURSE TASTING MENU ~ $30

Beef Carpaccio | Figs | Pickled Grapes | Whole Grain Mustard | Baby Fennel

Potato Gnocchi | Roasted Root Vegetables | Arugula Coulis | Parmesan | Chanterelle Froth

Duck Breast | Glazed Endive | Roasted Onion Puree | Swiss Chard Fritter | Natural Jus

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs | Herb Crushed Fingerlings | Hen of the Woods | Bacon Jam

Coconut Tapioca Parfait | Passion Fruit | Guava | Blood Orange Foam

WINE PAIRING FLIGHT ~ $20

2007 Mas Neuf Costières de Nîmes Rhône Red

2005 Cass Grenache

2007 Hug "Cushman Vineyard" Zinfandel

2005 Two Hands "Bad Impersonator" Shiraz

Cuarenta y Tres "Licor 43" Spanish Liquor

LOCATION & PHONE

Wine Vault & Bistro is located in the heart of San Diego between Little Italy and Old Town at 3731-A India Street on the upstairs terrace.  Follow the black handrail up the stairs from the sidewalk to our front door.  Our phone number is (619) 295-3939.

PARKING ~ FREE & PAID

On-street parking is usually available within a 3-block radius.  Remember that it’s OK to park in yellow commercial zones after 6:00 and that meters are also free after 6:00.  You can also park in the lot behind Shakespeare Pub two doors down, but do not park in El Indio's lot unless you want your car towed!  If you can’t find parking next to the restaurant, there’s always LOTS OF PARKING on San Diego Avenue and the adjacent side streets just past the Chevron station across Washington Street.  There's also a huge pay parking lot ($1 per hour) at the Mission Brewery Building two blocks south at the corner of Washington & Hancock.  (You'll have to take San Diego Avenue to Noell to Hancock to get there due to the one-way streets.)  So please don't drive yourself crazy endlessly going around in circles waiting to pounce on that perfect spot when there's TONS OF PARKING less than three blocks away!

WINE NOTES & BOTTLE PRICES

2007 Mas Neuf "Cuvée Tradition" Costières de Nimes Rhône Red ~ $12

(France) Winemaker’s Notes: 50% Syrah, 17% Grenache, 17% Mourvèdre + 16% Carignan.  Rich bouquet of red currants and wild strawberries.  Seductive palate with flavors of dark fruits and spices balanced with earthy notes in the rounded attack and mellow tannins in the long finish.

2006 Cass Grenache ~ $21

(Paso Robles) Winemaker's Notes: 90% Grenache + 10% Mourvedre.  Grenache is often used as a blending wine for its delicate strawberry flavors.  We allowed the fruit to fully ripen after reducing he crop by 75% midway through the summer.  We then added a touch of Mourvedre to give it backbone and a little pepper without overwhelming the natural Grenache flavors.  389 cases produced.

2007 Hug "Cushman Vineyard" Zinfandel ~ $25

(Paso Robles) Winemaker's Notes: Think of boysenberries ripening in the warm, summer sun. Lots of rich vanilla bean and deep cocoa flavors.  A hedonistic Zin that does not hold back, is drinkable in its youth, and can be drunk with or without food. 192 cases produced.

2005 Two Hands "Bad Impersonator" Shiraz ~ $32

(Australia) Review by Robert Parker ~ 90 points: The 2005 Shiraz “Bad Impersonator” was sourced from a single vineyard and aged in French oak, 20% new.  It offers a bouquet of cedar, spice box, pepper, clove and blueberry.  This leads to a layered wine with excellent depth, silky tannins, fine balance and elegance.  Drink this lengthy, fruit-filled wine over the next 6 years.  Two Hands is a negociant operation run impeccably by Michael Twelftree.  It reflects the best that can be sourced from all over South Australia.