As hinted at on the Recent Red Burg thread I have been pondering the idea of organizing a tasting event.
I was looking for a space in the Triangle area first, then perhaps one in the Triad area also.
Before I scheduled something though it dawned on me I should visit the restaurant first to see if it would be congenial.
I went to Nana’s in Durham early Jan and it was nice but didn’t seem the right fit for a tasting.
In the Triad I have recently dined at both Machete (Greensboro) and Betty on Burke (Winston) and they have nice environments and would be suitable for a tasting - but of course they are not in the Triangle. The wrinkle is I split my time between VA and NC and when I am in NC I am closer to Greensboro and more out in the country.
Next on my list to explore is Naos Hellenic Cuisine near Cary.
So all of this is to say I don’t have a place or time yet but I do have a germ of an idea, a flickering inspiration. I have some ideas for themes too but first I wanted to hammer out the time and place.
Feel free to respond to this thread with thoughts.
At any rate there has been so slow motion efforts on my end.
Crawford Brothers might be suitable. Albeit, expensive.
They only serve snacks but St. Pierre is a new winebar/shop combo in IronWorks that I frequent. I’m sure Scott would allow a large group if we bought some champagne off the list in support.
I hear the owner of Rue Cler is a wine lover. Could be another option.
If I can get enough heads-up & sufficient people (i.e. at least six) there are two other spots in Durham where I might inquiry for a set minimum & allow for us to bring our stuff.
Independent of this option, where I’d like it if other folks could nail down the aspirational date, once the clocks change I should be able to host something at my place in Cary for those around. I’ll try to ping a group thread in a few weeks on that.
I’m in the Triangle area, a bit north of north Raleigh. It would be good to meet the local Berserkers sometime and share some wine.
To me, there definitely needs to be a confluence of favorable factors to want to hold an event like this at a restaurant. Years and years ago, when organizing a tasting of some of the top '93 red Burgs, the local restaurant owner here I respect most took me aside and very thoughtfully explained why these events normally don’t make much business sense; this was a personal favor for me. Since then I haven’t really looked for a space where this would be welcome, that also doesn’t run what a private room and set meal would at a nicer place.
p.s. Is anyone planning to be at the Royal Tokaji Wine Co. tasting at Tom’s shop on Wednesday? Some world class wines that I’ve never spent any time with.
What was the rationale? I can see if it takes up seats that otherwise would be buying wine on a busy night. But what about off nights in a half full restaurant? Not sure why that incremental dining revenue isn’t valuable to the business owner. Especially if there is a $10-$20 pp corkage, which most parties of this nature are agreeable with.
It all depends on the restaurant, how busy it is, and how much work they need to do. I do dinners at a local place, we need no assistance, bring our own stems, and buy a lot of food, they leave us alone and are happy to host us.
I didn’t say it couldn’t work, I said there has to be a confluence of favorable factors.
Some of the potential issues: Not only takes up seats, but also with fewer turns since folks at events tend to linger. Larger groups require more kitchen coordination and staff attention than smaller groups. More glassware, less alcohol revenue per person, etc.
Even though there are situations where this would work, margins in the business are thin, so there needs to be good reason for them to want to take this on…e.g. fill otherwise empty tables on a weeknight as you say, with confidence the group won’t add unreasonable overhead.
If the place has a private room, they are set up to handle something like this. The few times I’ve done this though, it’s more expensive than in the dining room, the quality of the meal hasn’t been the same, and everyone gets the same dishes. But it’s something they are set up to do.
I would look into Rue Cler in Durham. Nathan V, the owner, is a wine guy and posts here sometimes. I moved away 5 years ago but went there many, many times and they have a side room which works well for these types of things.
