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| - Since the Phoenix area is better known for sunshine and golf than wine culture, I was trying to keep my expectations reasonable. They graciously gave us an extra slice of cheese on the appetizer plate, which we appreciated. However, despite my wish to support any wine-related business, I feel obligated to note a few things that were disappointing in a wine bar regardless of location--because as a former tasting room employee myself, my hope would be that all such hospitality establishments would be prepared to serve all types of customers, even if true cork dorks are rare in Scottsdale.
The first was that the guy behind the bar didn't know the appellation of the German riesling that I ordered; he kindly brought the bottle out to show me (Rhienhessen, as it turned out, and the wine was excellent!), but then made the disconcertingly vague remark that "Well it's printed in German, but I just sorta know what a wine from Germany will taste like." For $18 a flight--comparable to, and even more expensive than some Bay Area wine bars I've visited--I'd hoped for some education on a wine region that I'm not an expert on, because the learning process is one of the things that makes wine so great as distinguished from other drinks.
The second one, and this was perhaps more serious, was that the sauterne we had with the dessert flight was corked . . . or at least it had that very distinctive aroma of wet cardboard. Whether the staff member hadn't bothered to test the bottle himself, or didn't recognize the corked bottle, either way it was less than ideal.
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