Austin Wine Guy

It is NOT too damn hot….to drink Champagne

Austin Wine Merchant

Courtesy of Austin Urban Garden

I'm tired of hearing people in Austin tell me "It's too damn hot to drink wine, I'll drink beer." Sorry, but that is just a whole mess o' wrong. Champagne and sparkling wines are perfect for the brutal weather we are enduring. Chill down the bubbles and pop the cork and you will be rewarded with joy, comfort and something that pairs really well with hot weather foods like fish, salads, cold chicken, shrimp cocktails and the like. Sparkling wine is a great refresher and brightens up any long hot day.

So, I cranked up the a/c in the car and headed over to my favorite, truly Austin wine shops to see what goodies they had in the way of Sparklers. Here are my favorites from their choices:

East End Wines, 1209 Rosewood Avenue

The funky old Victorian mansion at the "Y" on East 11th Street, run by two of my favorite wine guys Matt Miller and Sam Hovland. Nothing but great wines on their shelves and here are some bubbly examples:

Lallier Grand Cru Champagne, $48.97. Sam Hovland, the wine buyer says, "We got such a steal on this wine, a major retailer had brought it in, but didn't take it, so we jumped on it at the great deal price so we could offer their best wine at such a good price for our customers... we love that."

Jean Pernet Grand Cru Champagne 2009, $57.57 According to Sam, "I love the versatility of this wine. It can even handle some of the Texas spices in the food, cumin, pepper and will still clean the palate nicely."

Bisol Brut Prosecco 2009. A particular favorite of Sam's with its really exceptional acidity and minerality for Prosecco and only $21.97.

The screaming deal on bubbles is Summaroca Brut Cava Vintage 2008 from Spain, Sam loves this one because "It's such a great deal for free run juice of such high quality, and heck it's even vintage dated, very vibrant, fresh and really pretty", for only $13.97.

The Austin Wine Merchant, 512 West Sixth Street, between San Antonio and Neches.

Nobody does it better than the Merchant. Shopping there in this heat is also an added bonus as they keep the place at 65 degrees, 24/7! John Roenigk is the wine buyer and someone whose palate I respect, and he is a great wine resource in town. John's thoughts about sparkling wines and the heat, "Well, it's the bubbles isn't it? Hyper refreshing, it's why we drink sodas. It is refreshing on so many levels, physical, emotional, psychological, pick one! Sparkling wines and Champagne are the only wine I can drink all night long in this heat. Fill the tub with ice water and drink Champagne while soaking in it." Some of the really cool and groovy bubbles on his shelf:

Henriot Blanc Souverain Brut. 100% Chardonnay, discreet yet complex, chalky minerality and subtle yeasty toasty notes, and a real value in Champagne for $45.

José Dhondrt Blanc de Blanc, NV. Another 100% Chardonnay. John's take on it, "Very vibrant, creamy and just a touch of toast make this one very elegant and satisfying. Good breadth and balance from bottle age," also only $45.

The are also some real steals here. Simmonet Febvre Cremant de Bourgogne Brut, a very stylish sparkler from Burgundy, made in the traditional Champagne method, with three years bottle aging giving the wine amazing complexity showing toasty notes, fresh apple and a touch of limestone minerality. The beauty part? $16.25 a bottle! Serious.

Domaine Dorfeuille Sparkling Vouvray is the interesting choice. Highly touted by John, being 100% Chenin Blanc. Wonderful nose of toasty fruit and an amazing palate of toasty rich fruit with a nice round touch and plenty of balanced acids. At $17.50 this one is the best bank for the buck when you want something "different" but still way cool.

Central Market North Lamar, 4001 N. Lamar.

Ok, the first choice here is a bit pricy, but trust me on this one. Pierre Peters 1er Cru from Le Mesnil, $63.00. This gem is as good as if not better than a lot of Champagnes at twice the price. The balanced elegance, complexity of clean flavors that stay light and lively on the palate and sheer just yumminess more than justify the price.

For comparison sake, another personal favorite from Le Mesnil in Champagne is Salon, one of the kings of Champagne. Its cost? $300. See Pierre Peters is a bargain!

Schramsberg Blanc de Noir, another favorite, yes it's from California, but Schramsberg is one of the oldest wineries in the US and does an amazing job. Their wines are competitive with true Champagne in quality. The Blanc de Noir is 100% Pinot Noir, which gives a nice round red fruit note to the wine, still good minerality and acidity and $37.95 is a fair price for this quality.

Navaran Cava Rose is also 100% Pinot Noir from Spain, and shows great complexity and roundness on the palate, also a great deal at $39.

The value choice is Col di Luna Rose Prosecco from the Veneto region of Italy. Round, soft, clean, crisp and just the thing to beat the heat at $21.99

Austin has a lot of great places to grab just a glass of bubbles or have a bottle with dinner, or try a Champagne cocktail. You will leave relaxed and refreshed.

Rob Moshein's wine reviews can also be found at The Austin Wine Guy blog.

Not too hot for champagne.

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More sushi, more seats

Famous Austin omakase restaurant moves into bigger space with new bar

Photo courtesy of Sushi | Bar Hospitality

Sushi | Bar is moving into a new spot. (Photo from a Sushi | Bar location in another city)

Another day, another update from a sushi restaurant in Austin. This is a big one: Sushi | Bar Austin, a prestigious omakase spot with other well-known locations in Dallas, Chicago, and three other U.S. cities, is shaking things up with a move into the center of downtown. It'll also debut a new cocktail lounge concept in January of 2025, with help from some celebrated mixologists.

Sushi | Bar is currently located at 2600 E. Cesar Chavez St., and it's moving about two miles to 419 West 2nd St. The move places it across from Local Foods, Numero28, and the Violet Crown Cinema. A press release says it "represents an evolution for the Sushi | Bar experience," which includes more seatings.

This sushi counter has a very upscale reputation thanks to its exclusive accommodations — originally only 10 seats — as well as the intrinsic formality of omakase, which is a service style where the chef chooses what a diner will taste. In the new space, there will be two rooms that each seat 12 guests, more than doubling the chance to snag a reservation.

There, they'll enjoy 17 courses featuring imports from Japan, New Zealand, and California, among other markets. Nigiri options (sliced fish on top of rice) will change with the seasons.

$\u200bSushi | Bar$ This nigiri gets some texture sprinkled on top.Photo courtesy of Sushi | Bar Hospitality

Most notably, the new location will be connected to the cocktail lounge Golden Ace. According to the release, the idea to extend the experience past the omakase portion came from customer feedback. It'll be bigger than Sushi | Bar — about 1,400 square feet compared to 1,100 — and seats 35-40 guests.

The cocktail program will be led by Christian “Suzu” Suzuki-Orellana, who competed on the Netflix show Drink Masters and also draws in partners from Middlehouse, the group behind luxe local cocktail bars Here Nor There and In Plain Sight. He'll have the help of lead bartender Brett Esler, who co-founded Murray’s Tavern and was a nominee for Best Bartender in CultureMap's 2019 Tastemaker Awards.

They'll focus on "elevated yet approachable cocktails" with Japanese influences that "seamlessly blend tradition with modern mixology," the release says. Although Golden Ace is connected to Sushi | Bar, it will have its own unique atmosphere.

“This was a location that we came across moments after it became available on the market,” said Ryan Stock, co-founder of Adept Hospitality, the group behind Sushi | Bar, in the release. “We knew it was the perfect fit for the next iteration of Sushi | Bar in its hometown. It’s a premium experience, and this is a premium location, right at the center of Austin’s exciting downtown development. We’re thrilled to bring our elevated omakase experience to such a vibrant area."

$\u200bSushi | Bar$ With 17 courses, there will be lots to try.Photo courtesy of Sushi | Bar Hospitality

The release traces this Austin history back to 2020, in a collaboration between Ryan Stock, Josh Tohl, and Jonathan Husby of Adept Hospitality and Steve Michaels of Asylum Entertainment Group. Phillip Frankland Lee was also part of the business as a chef and minority stakeholder, it says, until leaving in 2021.

Sushi | Bar also highlights some of its current team members: lead sushi chef Bryan Williams, director of culinary strategy at Sushi Bar Hospitality Anthony Martin, hospitality group vice president Justin Sanford, and the new general manager, John Sizemore.

Now business relations extend to the family behind Terry Black’s BBQ, which Stock explains came out of a mutual culinary admiration with Mark Black and his family. So far, the release does not detail what the collaboration will entail.

“An organic love for each other’s operations turned into a friendship, which ultimately led to this collaboration," he said. "Sushi | Bar’s DNA certainly begins in Austin, and Terry Black’s is the staple and standard when it comes to Austin BBQ. A new project in downtown Austin was the perfect opportunity for the two great Austin names to finally collaborate together.”

Reservations for Sushi | Bar open on the first of every month.

omakase sushi openings closings

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