Wino Abroad : San Francisco Wine Merchants

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

The Spanish Table, Berkeley

The Spanish Table
www.spanishtable.com

FB
Berkeley, CA, Store
1814 San Pablo Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94702
(510) 548-1383

Other Locations
San Francisco, CA
130 Clement St.
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 702-6199

Mill Valley, CA
800 Redwood Hwy 123
Mill Valley, CA 94941
(415) 388-5043

Hours:
Monday-Saturday 10AM-6PM
Sunday 11AM-5PM

Spanish food, wine, and cookware galore.
This little store has a lot going on when it comes to their Spanish, Portuguese, and South American wine selection. The Sherry, Port and Madeira selection is also wonderful! I couldn't help but leave with a few bottles.

There are only a few books on Spanish wines, but plenty of books to get lost in about Spanish cooking.

Spanish ciders

So many spices!

Dry Sherry and olives =) one of Spain's many gifts to the world.

Fortified Wines

What is Madeira?

WineFolly breaks it down

I couldn't help but try this as soon as I could!

I got a nose full of candied walnuts, toffee, and dried fruits. This wine displayed a full body with tangy notes of dried apricots, spices, and a nutty finish. Next time I'll pour a bit on ice cream =)

What is Port?

K&L Wine Merchants San Francisco

By winoabroad 4:54 AM // No comments

K & L Wine Merchants

www.klwines.com

San Francisco Store

855 Harrison Street

San Francisco, CA, 94107

Phone: (415) 896-1734

Hours:

Monday-Friday 10AM-7PM

Saturday 9AM-6PM

Sunday 11AM-6PM

K&L Wine Merchants came recommended to me by Terroir Natural Wine Bar & Merchant as a shop to find a wide variety of orange wines varying in price range. From Terroir, just a 15 minute walk through the streets of San Francisco and here I was, happy to know that some of the orange wines here started in the $20usd price range! This is prefect for a first time orange wine drinker curious to see what it's all about.

Orange wine is not orange flavored wine, nor is it wine made from oranges!

So what exactly is orange wine?

Pretty much it's wine made from white wine grapes, which are left on their skins and for some makers even the seeds and stems. This process leads the wine to become orange in color, and the wine to possess tannins. (that dry feeling in the front of the mouth/gums)

There's a great article on Wine Folly that talks about orange wines, the wine making process, and different makers. Check it out below.

winefolly.com/review/orange-wine

From Wine Folly's article on orange wines

Pheasant's Tears an orange wine from Georgia is the bottle I decided to try because 1. It was in my price range for a first time taster of orange wine. (below $25usd) 2. I was told by the staff of K&L that this wine is a fuller in body and an in your face expression of what orange wine is all about, because this bottle in particular sat on its' skins,stems, and seeds for 3 weeks.

This is what I got out of this bottle...

Interesting indeed! and unlike anything I have ever tried, but I had to really dive in and search for the aromas in this bottle.

Color: Deep gold- pale amber

Nose: Medium - intensity of aromas of green plum, sour cherry, sweet cedar, old flowers, and light hints of butter scotch.

Palate: Dry, medium well integrated acidity, medium + mouth coating tannins, medium body, and a medium intensity of flavors of under ripe strawberries, wax apple, sour orange, and a slight tinge of lemon juice.

Long grippy finish.