Little Shin Shin, The Refuge, Canela Bistro and Wine Bar: Check, Please! Bay Area Reviews

View photo gallery (flickr.com)
Contribute your food photos! (flickr.com)

My name is Leslie Sbrocco and I'm the host of Check, Please! Bay Area. Each week, I will be sharing my tasting notes about the wine (and beer) the guests and I drank on set during the taping of the show. I will also share some wine tips with each episode.

2009 Cadaretta Cabernet Sauvignon, Colombia Valley, Washington ($31) -- Washington state is the number two producer of top quality wine in the United States (after California) and boutique winery, Cadaretta, shows why many of the wines are so highly regarded. Their Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with a bit of Merlot and Petit Verdot in a complex, age-worthy red that turn any lover of Napa Cab northward.

2010 Tablas Creek Vineyard “Esprit” Blanc, Paso Robles, California ($30) -- Tablas Creek is partially owned by the famous Perrin family of France’s Chateau de Beaucastel in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. This lush, exotic white is a blend of varieties hailing from the south of France but planted in Paso. Roussanne is the backbone serving up notes of honey and melon and Grenache Blanc (my personal favorite variety) is zesty and fresh. Completing the blend is rare Picpoul Blanc making it a wine you won’t forget.

Chimay Ale, Belgium ($9) -- Tablas Creek is partially owned by the famous Perrin family of One of the classic Trappist brews, Chimay, is richly styled ale. Made in with unique yeast strains and water from inside the Belgian Abbey’s walls, it’s a beer with power.