CALIFORNIA VINTAGE

by Katie Forster

Last week California Vintage opened at 77 Wyndham Street and I have to say I was a fan even before it swung open its doors, if only because that wretched bar,The Priory, that it replaced, has finally disappeared.

The interior is just the right touch of industrial chic, (think New York loft)- I love the caged bulbs above the bar and the metal framed swing window that enables this establishment to be ‘open air’.

Just as the name suggests, all wines stocked at California Vintage originate from California - a unique concept in Hong Kong where, unfortunately, Californian wines receive scant attention. Whilst we may all have heard of the big guns from Napa Valley, there is so much more to Californian wine; and this is just the point that California Vintage sets out to prove. By partnering with twenty-two California based wineries, customers are able to taste an impressive range of wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains to the Sanoma Cost... And then some. The way in which you can experience these wines is also pretty nifty. Let me run you through it:

First, the walls are lined with some serious looking machinery which, upon closer inspection, you will see are state of the art wine machines that allow you to enjoy a 1oz tasting glass, a 2oz ‘half glass’ or a 5oz ‘full glass’ of wine. You purchase your wines with either a prepaid card, (not dissimilar to an Octopus card), which you pop into the relevant machine... Or if you prefer to stay planted on your stool, one of the charming staff will fetch it for you and just ring up your card at the end. The details of each wine are listed on both their table menu and the numerous iPads positioned around the restaurant. If you do not count yourself as a wine boffin, use the fool proof colour coding to help you; the full bodied whites are highlighted with a bright and bold yellow for example. If you want to delve deep, pull up the tasting notes on the iPad where you can search by grape, region, producer and so on. Now I sampled a fair bit (whoooops!) but particularly enjoyed the caramel-esque 2009 Stuhlmuller Chardonnay and voluptuous 2008 Fritz Malbec.

Food wise I was pretty impressed. Ok, so the stuffed olives didn't blow my mind but they were a decent bar snack. The dishes are price appropriate, well presented, reasonably sized (perfect for sharing) and, whilst not overly complicated, it is refreshing to sample unique Californian cuisine in the, often frustrating, 'same same but different' Hong Kong restaurant world.

I popped in with Boyfriendy and we both agreed that it is a great date spot... Especially for a firsty... No chance of sitting in silence listening to cutlery clink awkwardly here - the place was BUZZING. We tried the baked Laura Chenel goat cheese, tacos with baja fish, a grilled cheese and green apple sourdough sandwich and the flatbread with Angus beef flat-iron steak. Each course was paired with an appropriate wine. The goat cheese was particularly of note – wonderfully smooth and tangy, whilst we fought fork to fork for the last scraps of the beef, which was teamed perfectly with syrupy grapes and a fabulously rich bleu cheese.

I’m not going to say that I had a poor opinion of Californian wines before; it was more that I didn’t really have one at all. However, I have to say, I’m quite a big fan of the stuff these days, and if you feel the same way, you'll be interested to know that California Vintage not only have a restaurant/bar license, but a retail and wholesale licence too. Winner winner chicken dinner. Check it out at 77 Wyndham Street, Central. 2525 9808
 

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