Generous Pour Wine Event at The Captial Grille

With locations around the country, the Capital Grille is a restaurant you know you can walk into in any city and be treated with amazing service and have a damn fine steak too. Now, through September 4th, The Capital Grille has their Generous Pour Wine Event going on. The Generous Pour Wine event offers guests the chance to taste nine varietals ranging from bubbly to full-bodied reds to a Port. These wines are selected by Master Sommelier, George Miliotes – Twitter @TheWineExpert – Tweet him, he’ll tweet you back! He even hosted a live webcast during our preview wine tasting where we were able to tweet to him and ask questions.

Ample servings of nine rare and limited vintage varietals – all for just $25 per person (with dinner entree purchase) from July 12 through September 4. The collection includes wines from all over – Spain, California, Australia and Italy. So no region is excluded. Guests are able to try wines that would normally be out of price range like the Freemark Abbey, Cabernet Bosche, 2003 which is about $250 a bottle. Everyone at the Capital Grille is friendly and helpful and not snooty at all even if you are a non-oenophile.

I’m not usually a fan of white wine and Chardonnay is my least favorite but I’m so thrilled that I tried the Chateau St. Jean, Belle Terre, 2008. This wine was fruity and citrusy, with not a hint of oak that is typical of Chardonnays. It is my new favorite white. My favorite of the reds and the clear winner that night was the Chalk Hill Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma 2006. It paired nicely with my Kona Sirloin. I’d have put a picture of it below, but let’s just say the camera didn’t love it as much as I did.

Guests may sample all nine wines or they may choose to have multiple tastings of one or more of their favorites from The Generous Pour – their server will guide them through the experience, suggesting pairings for each course ordered and providing each person with a summary of tasting notes. The restaurant will also prepare custom wine flights upon request, for those guests interested in comparing and contrasting The Generous Pour selections.

The Generous Pour Wine Event Highlights from this summer’s collection of choice whites and reds are:

· Tarima Hill Monastrell, 2009 – Making its U.S. debut at The Capital Grille this summer, this spectacular varietal is setting a new standard for Spanish medium-bodied red wine.

· Chalk Hill Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 – Named for the volcanic chalk under the vineyard’s hillside surface, which gives a delightfully unique quality to the wine’s flavor, this rich, dense wine is one of Sonoma Valley’s best.

· Marquis de la Tour, NV – This sparkling “bubbly” hails from a vineyard in France’s Loire Valley, which has been producing excellence since 1885.

· Conte Brandolini Vistorta Merlot, 2006 – Harvested from 100-year-old vines in a small vineyard in Northeast Italy, this merlot epitomizes powerful elegance.