Field Report: The Ten Bells

Presenting the first guest blogger in Terroirists history: Jeff Vejr of Portland, OR has visited New York, NY and has returned with a scintilating blog post in-hand. It is below; please enjoy responsibly.

Location: 247 Broome Street (Lower East Side), New York, NY 10002-3837
www.thetenbells.com

Sometimes when duty calls, one must rise to the occation. I had notified the Terroirists that I would be traveling to NYC for the National Kermit Lynch tasting event on April 27 and they put in a simple request: cover the event for the blog, and throw in a wine bar review if possible. Great minds drink think alike, because I had already planned on doing a little research and development in the Big Apple.

There are not enough days in the month to even begin to cover all of the wine bars in New York, so in order to widdle my choices down, I turned to my friend Google. After typing in my chosen search terms “natural wine new york wine bar” (try it, it works) the results came back (there was only one) with the name Ten Bells. Ten Bells? Could Google be wrong? Was I being sent to a bells and wine specialty shop? Armed with my MetroPass, I set out to find this wine bar on an uncommonly cold and rainy night. Joly’s speed young man. Joly’s speed.

Discovery

Apparently, signage isn’t en vouge in this neighborhood as all of the bars, restaurants, and café’s on Broome Street can attest. This must be tourist protection. After a few walk-bys, it was evident which establishment was the ellusive Ten Bells. I wiped the wet hair out of my face and walked in.

Entry

Immediately, the dimmly lit, cavernous feel engulfs you. Everything is dark except for the thin white marble bar top, illuminated by votive candles — cool factor: 100. I snag one of the last remaining seats at the bar and shortly notice that the menu is written on a chalkboard on each wall. Excellent, we are saving trees here too. Through the dim light, underneath the heading “White” I noticed the word “Movia.” Now I know I’m home.

Disappointment & Redemption

Bliss, Condensed

I order the Movia, but the Movia is sold out. This is disappointing, but it means that a lot of people have consumed the Movia, and that is a great thing. The bartender (a jovial Frenchmen) could see my unhappiness, but he had a remedy, he knew what would cheer me up. It was (out of a magnum) the 2007 Thierry Puzelat “La Tesniere” Touraine Blanc (75% Menu Pineau, 25% Chenin Blanc), which cured me to the fullest. The minerality hit me immediately. I started smiling and scrambling to read the day’s oyster selection. This wine wa begging for oysters, it was shouting at me to do the right thing! I ordered half a dozen each of the Fanny Bay (B.C.) and Malpeque (P.E.I), but this wine was so damn delicious I couldn’t wait for the oysters, so I savored sip after sip of this briny, crisp, lemon zesty white goddess from the Loire. This glass went on a solo trip. Oysters are up! Another glass of the Touraine PLEASE! It was an amazing pairing which took the wine to new heights (from the meatiness of the oysters), and the oysters were lifted by the acidity and lemon zest notes in the wine.

Food & Wine

I’m a huge fan of the small plates format (obviously) — especially when executed right. I’m looking for homemade, creative, and fresh/seasonal dishes. Food, like wine, is meant to be shared; it should be communal, you should have fun trying different dishes, pairing them with wines and talking to your dining compainion(s) about what works, what doesn’t, what is a must try and what you want to attempt to make yourself at home. The menu is extensive relative to the size of the kitchen.

I see Smoked Duck Breast on the menu and order it after devouring the oysters. I could see the cook slicing up the duck breast; it was clearly house cured and smoked and had perfect texture, perfect smoke, and an excellent fat-to-meat ratio. I paired this with a glass of 2007 Domaine du Cros Marcillac Rouge ‘Vieilles Vignes’, which is a stunning wine. I had tasted this wine before, but only once. Made of 100% Fer Servadou from an 80+ year old vineyard, this wine has an iodine/iron backbone that really held up and complimented the smoke.

Next up was the Hand Cut Steak Tartar. I can’t pass up Steak Tartar, who dosen’t like uncooked meat? There was a good amount of green onion and horseradish throughout and it was way too horseradishy for me; the onion and horseradish took away from the meat. It seemed I had ordered onion and horseradish tartar. I was teary eyed, literally — not good. It would have nuked any wine pairing option, so I choose a bread pairing instead to soak up the heat. I wasn’t deturred and was still riding a wine nerd high, so I ordered the daily empanada special. Hallelujah.

The empanada was handmade and was stuffed with chorizo and cheese. Excellent! Next up was the pulled pork slider with pickled onions. I needed a bigger wine to go with this, so I settled for the 2007 Descendientes de José Palacios ‘Pètalos’ — 100% Mencia from Bierzo, Spain. Ah, the wine gods are making up for the Movia now. The Mencia was dense, with great spice and stone fruit notes. By this time I was holding court with the fellows behind the bar. The staff was great and we traded wine recommendations back and forth. Then the wine sharing hit new levels. Bottles from underneath the counter came out and the real action started. I was blind tasted on a couple wines, a Cabernet Franc from the Loire and a Tempranillo from Spain. I nailed them both, cementing my memebership into their unofficial wine club. We became fast friends, said our warm goodbyes, and hoped that our wine paths would cross again someday. Four hours well spent.

If you find yourself in NYC, do yourself a favor and stop by Ten Bells. You will not be disappointed. If you live in NYC and you haven’t been, GO, this is a special place. Who knows, the Movia might be back in stock.

Noble Rot: I Dub thee Prince of Portland Wine Bars

The latest Terroirists covert sneak invasion of Portland led me to a wine bar showing some serious promise. The first moment of intrigue comes by way of the bar entrance. You have two choices: you can take the stairs up four flights, or if you’re a pussy, you can take the elevator (I took the elevator). It almost feels like an exclusive club, you leave the elevator and are presented with a fairly unremarkable glass door. This door leads you into an amazing view of downtown Portland.

This view conveniently has a fully stocked bar and a so-so wine list attached to it. The ambiance is paramount in this place, very relaxing, very chill and low lighting. The wines I chose left me a little unsatisfied. I had a flight of three white wines from Alsace produced by Dopff and Irion. One was a blend of Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Muscat, and it kinda sucked. The next wine was a Gewurztraminer which had a good nose and ultimately sucked less than the first one. The third was my favorite, and it was a Pinot Gris which was a little surprising but it too sucked, but just a little less than the other two. I would probably rate these wines around 82 through 84, so sucked may be a little harsh; but none of these wines blew me away. I’ll repeat that: none of these wines blew me away which is really disappointing because they were from Alsace.

Lackluster wines aside I had a pretty kick ass time there; you show me a cute bartender and I’m sold. They also have one of my favorite beers on tap which really helped. Overall I think this is a great place to stop if you’re in Portland. They have a diverse bar, a pretty decent wine list, and what smelled like great food. Noble Rot, I dub thee prince of Portland wine bars, but you’ve got a lot of work to do to dethrone the king.

You can check them out at http://noblerotpdx.com/

Vino Paradiso: More like Vino Purgatorio

It may sound harsh but at least I didn’t go with Vino Inferno.  We have had good experiences at Vino Paradiso in the past; this was however our first chance to see it after the light leaves the sky.  The name Vino Paradiso would lead you to believe that this is going to be some sort of beatific experience, which just wasn’t the case this time.  The staff was polite and friendly but not very attentitive which was probably my main problem with Vino Paradiso this time around.

Vino Paradiso has an extensive bottle list for anybody whether your wallet is beefy or you find yourself being a little bit more pennywise.  There is sure to be something for any taste on the bottle list.  They also offer a few wine flights that rotate in and out from time to time.  I had a flight of Spanish reds that was pretty yummy.

Overall, I was not thrilled nor was I disheartened by my experience here.  If you’re in Portland (OR) and happen to walk by Vino Paradiso, stop in and give them a try.

Check out their website at www.vinoparadiso.com/

Alu Wine Bar: Heaven in Oregon?

I have a new form of depression. While I love living in Walla Walla, I know that Alu is a good four hour commute, and this is deeply saddening.

There we were, the Terroirists core crew, in Portland for one night. The night was good until our final stop at Alu, and then the night became epic (and that’s a good thing). Tucked away in a cozy aluminum house on MLK Blvd., it’s a place that could be overlooked, but it’s also the wine nerd’s fantasy.

The wine list is largely made up of earth-friendly wines; some are organically grown, others are biodynamic. There’s a nifty key in the menu to display which qualities each wine holds.

Alu's Bar

The drinking started with Jeff, the amazingly knowledgeable and charismatic owner, providing us with a sample of a Sicilian red wine made from the grape, Frappato. Never heard of this grape? Neither had we. Light in color – like a cross between Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo – the nose on this wine completely caught me off guard. I had visions of frolicking through wildflower and lavender fields in the floating mountains of a far away planet. Simply put: the nose was out of this world, and it probably still is.

Still visibly shaken from this experience, I decided to order a glass of Marzemino – yet another obscure Italian variety, and I was not disappointed. After departing the lavender fields this wine took me to a world of gigantic beasts rumbling through mountains of titanium in search of fresh meat to roast over a bonfire on the shores of a vast purple sea. Oh yeah. I wish this glass of wine could never end – this is my paradise. I learned the meaning of life, and Alu is the keeper.

Back to reality; both of these wines had a very distinctive finish with subtle saline qualities. I can count the other wines I’ve had with equally moving “minerality” on one hand. The best thing about the Marzemino is the $25 bottle price – and that’s after the bar markup, which in general seemed quite reasonable.

Atmospherically the bar is very warm and inviting. There’s a downstairs area (the cellar) full of comfy seats and couches. We spent the entire night upstairs at the small, peaceful bar, but downstairs seemed as though it would be a more social environment and a lot of fun. Something to try on the next trip to PDX. There’s also an outdoor area which isn’t exactly ideal this time of year.

From the warmth of the LED bar to the exotic wine list, Alu is an absolute must if you are at least partly interested in wine. They do offer cocktails as well, but this is a wine blog. I could have spent the entire night there trying one killer wine after another, but all good things must come to an end. Luckily, next time we venture into Portland Alu will still be there in all of its glory. One day in the near future I will return to Alu, and until that day I can only dream about it – and cry.

Visit their website here: http://www.aluwinebar.com/