rev:text
| - My husband and I went today, and were disappointed. We had a Groupon for Wine and Chocolate pairing, a $46 value. Even at half price, the Groupon was overpriced. I thought the other reviewers were not taking into consideration the new ownership, but their assessments were correct.
The tasting room is located in a strip mall. We were immediately greeted by Beth-Ann, one of the new owners, when we arrived. As we were seated, we were given the news about transition in ownership, introduced to executive chef Nicolas and Andy, and given a table. There were approx 6 tables and a small bar, but only one of the tables would be comfortable for longer than 30 minutes. All the other tables were just wine barrels with a large wood topper and the seating was backless stools. The noise level was medium, not too loud for a wine tasting, but not a place friends could hang out to converse over a glass of wine. The tasting room was tidy and easy on the eyes, everything seemed clean.
For the Chocolate pairing, we were served a small platter of chocolates: Ghirardelli peppermint bark, Ghirardelli caramel filled milk chocolate square, 2 Ghirardelli dark chocolate squares, 2 dark chocolate truffles, 2 almond rochas, and 2 Lindt truffle balls. This was confusing because there were two of us, but only 1 of the first 2 chocolates served. There were no napkins, knives, or indication of how we were supposed to split the chocolates without getting hands-y with them.
Andy, the manager, was our server. We sampled all the standards (Sav Blanc, Chard, Cab, P. Sirah, P. Noir, Merlot), but have no idea what years or region they originated. To be fair, Andy mentioned if something had a strong fruit after taste or was dry. We didn't experience any pressure to purchase bottles, but I don't know if that is due to the depletion of stock over the holidays or our open disappointment in the wines.
The good news is that if you are wine tasting at Casavino's, you don't have to worry about drinking and driving. At best, the tastings were averaging 1-2 tablespoons each, less than 1/2 shot; however, they were perfectly adequate for tasting and pairing with chocolate. The bad news is that it is going to take over an hour to sample those 6 wines.
|