Raise a glass
Mike Mayo picks where to celebrate Red Wine Day in South Florida.
Red Wine Day is today, Aug. 28. This is not to be confused with National Red Wine Day, listed as Oct. 15 on some calendars. The Ministry of Silly Food Days (down the hall from the Ministry of Silly Walks) really needs to get its act together.
Red Wine Day should go down as the most stupidly placed (misplaced?) food/drink holiday on the calendar. We are in the unbearably hot and sticky days of August, when wine drinkers’ thoughts and glasses usually turn to chilled rosé or Chardonnay, not heavy, tannic Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux. Say, “red wine” and immediately the mind leaps to fireplaces on wintry nights, endof-year holiday meals and romantic Valentine’s Day dinners. I drink red wine all year long, but if I were to pick a day for a national red wine holiday, it would come wrapped in a scarf and sweater.
But I’ll just have to go with the flow, because I’ll take any excuse to break out a corkscrew and the Riedel stemware. Here are my picks for Red Wine Day — not of specific vintages but rather places where adults in South Florida can go to sip and appreciate red wine. (And to get more details on the origins of Red Wine Day, read to the end.)
The Capital Grille, multiple locations
Sun-Sentinel deal maven Doreen Christensen loves her red wine, and she raves about the summertime Generous Pour promotion at upscale steakhouse chain the Capital Grille. Ongoing through Sept. 2, this year’s Generous Pour program features the wines of Daniel Duckhorn. For $28 with the purchase of dinner, patrons will get generous tastings of seven Duckhorn wines, including four reds — two Cabernet Sauvignons, one Pinot Noir and one luxury red blend (Paraduxx). The Capital Grille’s wine program again was honored by Wine Spectator magazine in its annual restaurant awards of excellence.
2430 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954-446-2000; 6000 W. Glades Road, Boca Raton, 561-368-1077; 11365 Legacy Ave., Palm Beach Gardens, 561-630-4994; 444 Brickell Ave., Miami, 305-374-4500, TheCapitalGrille.com
Marcello’s La Sirena, West Palm Beach
Speaking of the Wine Spectator awards, thousands of restaurants get honored in the lower rungs, but only 91 eateries worldwide have earned Grand Award recognition for superlative wine programs. Marcello’s La Sirena is among them, one of only four restaurants in Florida bestowed the distinction (the others: HMF at the Breakers in Palm Beach, Bern’s Steakhouse in Tampa and Bleu Provence in Naples). Marcello’s is a charming, family-run Northern Italian restaurant that my predecessor awarded top, four-star honors in a 2015 review. 6316 S. Dixie Highway, 561-585-3128, LaSirenaOnline.com
Half-priced wine, multiple local restaurants
During the slower, summer months (and sometimes yearround), many South Florida eateries try to boost sales with good wine promotions early in the week. Among them: Tropical Acres Steakhouse in Dania Beach and Vienna Cafe & Wine Bar in Davie offer half-priced bottles of many wines on Mondays and Tuesdays. La Brochette in Cooper City offers half price on wines up to $65 on Tuesdays, or free corkage on a bottle of wine brought from home. And Sage French Cafe in Fort Lauderdale offers half-priced wine bottles on Wednesdays. Tropical Acres Steakhouse, 2500 Griffin Road, Dania Beach, 954-989-2500, TropicalAcres.com; Vienna Cafe & Wine Bar, 9100 W. State Road 84, Davie, 954-423-1961, ViennaWineBar.com; La Brochette,2635 N. Hiatus Road, Cooper City, 954-435-9090, LaBrochetteBistro.com; Sage French Cafe, 2378 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale; 954-565-2299, SageCafe.net
Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant, multiple locations
Many people rave about this growing national chain, which combines a Napa-style winetasting room/store and monthly wine club with sleek wine bar and restaurant. I do not. My lukewarm review of the Cooper’s Hawk in Coconut Creek was among my most polarizing critiques of the year, with many Cooper’s Hawk fans chiming in to defend the restaurant. Hey, if wines of mysterious origin and nonspecific varietal are your bag, who am I to argue? To its credit, Cooper’s Hawk tries to de-snobbify wine with its order-by-number, pair-by-food approach on menus, but the place feels like Wine for Dummies to me. 10310 Pines Blvd, Pembroke Pines, 954-582-9463; 4473 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, 954-861-4699; and 3585 NW 83rd Ave., Doral, 786-814-4777; CHWinery.com.
Wine Watch, Fort Lauderdale, and the Best Cellar, Wilton Manors
For those with more advanced wine tastes and palates, these two boutique stores are fine places to stop, sip and enjoy all things grape. Wine Watch, which recently moved to more spacious digs, is run by Andy Lampasone and holds many wine events, including fine multicourse dinners. A winetasting dinner featuring Italian Barolo ($125 per person) will be held on Thursday, Aug. 30. At the Best Cellar, Richard Stetler has been attracting wine lovers for years with his reasonable, regular tastings in group settings (8 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, usually in the $20-to-$25 range). Discounted bottles are available at these events. Wine Watch, 837 NE Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale, 954-523-9463, WineWatch.com; The Best Cellar, 1408 NE 26th St., Wilton Manors, 954-630-8020, BeaconMgmt.com/RSFWT
(I discovered that Red Wine Day, which has now gained steam with several publications and websites, is the creation of blogger and self-described “Queen of Holidays” Jace Shoemaker-Galloway, who runs a site named Holidailys.com. Red Wine Day is not an official national food/drink holiday designated by Congress. “Various calendars and creators often do not play by the rules,” she wrote in an email exchange Monday. Shoemaker-Galloway says she created the day in 2013.
Why Aug. 28? She explains: “Since most of us spend our days and nights in the comfort of air conditioning, who says red wine can’t be enjoyed during the dog days of summer, especially with some favorite foods from the grill? And prepare yourself — some suggest chilling their reds! From Pinot Noir to gamay and Grenache, there are plenty of red wines that people can enjoy during the warm months of the year — chilled or not. Cheers!”
I’ll drink to that, I suppose.)