Welcome to 'Wine and Dine,' a new Charleston Gazette blog about wine selection and advice, along with tips on pairing wine with food. John Brown is a seasoned wine columnist, whose writing on wine will also be seen in the Sunday Gazette-Mail on a regular basis. Also, we will be rolling out some wine tips on video and taking some multimedia journeys in search of the best places to enjoy wine in the West Virginia region. We welcome your feedback on this new blog, either in the 'Comment' section below each post or by sending your comments to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Douglas Imbrogno | thegazz.com editor

You're probably wondering about my qualifications to write this blog. So here's all I can say about my credentials – such as they are. After a trip to the California wine country in 1981, I was asked to write a wine column for the Charleston Daily Mail. I wrote that weekly column until 1989 and also did a wine commentary gig on West Virginia Public Radio during that same time period.

The commentary, which lasted only a few months and was produced by Mountain Stage's Andy Ridenour, was cancelled when one person wrote to say that Public Radio should not be advocating the use of alcoholic beverages. That was it – one person. Who says a single voice can't make a difference?

Since 1989, I have written a monthly wine column for a weekly West Virginia business publication. I've also conducted hundreds of wine tastings, MC'd countless wine dinners and have traveled fairly extensively to some of the world's most famous wine regions. But before you get too overly impressed with my wine-stained resume, keep in mind that I am also a home wine maker. In other words, I have a great tolerance for mediocre wine. I actually think my wine, which I've been making from California grapes since 1977, is pretty good. If that's not enough to make you stop reading right now, you must really be desperate for wine information.

Okay, so here's what we're going to do: I'm going to write about wine and sometimes food, and hope that you will occasionally respond with your own feelings about the information I impart. Let me say up front that I don't expect you to like every wine I recommend. Wouldn't that be boring?

However, I do taste a pretty substantial number of wines in the course of a year. And I'll bet (unless you're as wine-obsessed as I am) that I might get you to try something other than what you drink regularly. I might even be able to get you to move outside your wine-comfort zone. If so, then I will have succeeded.

-- By John Brown

EDITOR'S NOTE: We have even more 'spirited' advice for Valentine's Day over at Rich Ireland's "Beers To You" gazzblog.

As a former Congressional employee, I get nostalgic when I reflect on the District of Columbia, particularly as it relates to my two favorite passions: great restaurants and exceptional wines. Back in those post-Watergate days, my income was insufficient to support the sybaritic yearnings I harbored; therefore I was not a frequent patron at the finer eating and drinking establishments in our nation's capitol.

However, I experienced just enough of the city's culinary virtuosity to know that it was a special place. Ditto, the beverage shops which were (and still are) permitted to directly import wines from all around the world, thus eliminating a step or two in the chain of commerce -- and consequently providing consumers with great variety and value.

Thankfully, over the past few decades, access to quality food and wine have only gotten better in and around the environs of Washington, DC.

Unfortunately, I would venture to guess that most folks' impressions of Washington restaurants are of vast steakhouses with glitzy martini bars where lobbyists wine and dine the political elite, and where the quality of the food and wine are secondary considerations to pomp, pomposity and pretense. While there is certainly some truth to that stereotypical image, you might be surprised to know that there are many excellent restaurants and a very large number of superb wine shops in DC.

Just recently, I visited my former stomping grounds for a little R&R, to sample the fare at a much-heralded restaurant and to graze through one of my favorite wine shops. First the restaurant.

Komi (1509 17th St. NW, 202-332-9200): Chef/owner Johnny Monis is a culinary virtuoso who, at the ripe old age of 27, has created a menu of exquisite Greek and Mediterranean-influenced dishes that will knock your socks off! This small, one-room restaurant located near Dupont Circle is staffed by a cadre of very knowledgeable young people who are superbly trained, yet unpretentious. The Prix Fixe menu is not inexpensive, but the delicious culinary ditties prepared by Chef Monis are eatable works of art and certainly worth the price.

My wife and I began this culinary adventure with a glass of Champagne, quickly followed by a succession of nine small appetizer plates. Here's a sampling: Mascarpone-stuffed dates; oven-roasted olives; fava beans and aged pecorino cheese; grilled asparagus with watercress and feta; tiny roasted padron peppers accompanied by a sun choke panna cotta filled with a quail egg yolk and topped with caviar; decadent discs of creamy boudin blanc (a veal-based sausage) seasoned with morel mushrooms that were braised in olive oil and finished with - get this - braised ramps! I chose a glass of a dry Sherry to accompany these appetizers while my wife opted for a glass of Alsatian Pinot Gris.

Surprisingly, these small starter courses only whetted our appetites for the courses to come. For the first course, my wife chose the gorgonzola raviolini with pears and almonds while I opted for the scallop ravioli with chorizo and cauliflower - both spectacular. For our main course, we selected the spit-roasted Katsikaki (baby goat), slow-roasted for 48 hours and served over creamy polenta. We accompanied these courses with a very good Santa Ynez Valley Pinot Noir. For dessert, we split Greek-style doughnuts with a luscious chocolate mascarpone pudding. Ahhhhh.... ! Komi is a special place where the food is wonderfully creative, the service unhurried and impeccable, and the overall experiece truly delightful!

WHERE ELSE TO DINE

Here are a few of my other favorite eating establishments in Washington, with a description of the style of cuisine for which they are noted:

DC Coast (1401 K Street NW): This American-bistro style restaurant is like Charleston's Blossom Restaurant on steroids. It's a very lively atmosphere with excellent food on a much larger scale. The hits here are seafood dishes and a great wine selection at reasonable prices. (You've got to try the mushroom crusted halibut served over truffle oil-infused mashed potatoes and swimming in a beef short-rib broth).

The Obelisk (22nd and P Street, 202-872-1180): Arguably the best Italian restaurant in Washington, this Tuscan restaurant features a Prix Fixe menu which changes nightly and focuses on the wonderful food and wine from that special part of Italy.

Vidalia (1909 M Street, 202- 659-1990): Excellent "New South" style restaurant with an extensive, eclectic and reasonably priced wine list.

Asia Nora (2213 M Street, 202-797-4860): Wonderful Asian cuisine with a healthful, organic bent. Love the Sansho roasted duck breast with shiitake mushrooms.

Café Atlantico (405 8th Street NW, 202-393-0812 ): The focus here is on Latin-based foods with an emphasis on South America. Fun place on three levels with huge cocktail and wine list.

WHERE TO BUY

When it comes to wine and beverage stores, Washington is one of the most competitive markets in the country with hundreds of retail establishments. My favorite shop, however, is Pearson's Wine and Spirits (2436 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-333-6666). Pearson's was founded back in the early 1930s, just after Prohibition, by legendary spirits impresario Walter "Doc" Eisenberg, who passed away in 2004 at age 98. The shop has a storied history and a great following. Current proprietors, Steve Silver and his wife Rae, know their wines and are very consumer-oriented as evidenced by their willingness to open just about any wine for individual customers to taste. The sales staff is also very knowledgeable and the store, in addition to having great prices, has a wonderful selection of wines from all the major wine-producing areas of the world.

On my recent visit, I sampled a number of wines before settling on a few bottles of red and white Burgundy along with a Bordeaux I had no intention of buying until Steve opened it for me to taste. Chateau Lascombes (classified as a second growth in the 1855 Bordeaux classification of wines) is located in the commune of Margaux and until the past several years had fallen upon hard times. But the new owners have resurrected the property using New World equipment and techniques which have improved the wines immensely. The 2004 Lascombes ($50 a bottle by the case) has a nose of coffee, spice and leather with deep, rich, jammy flavors that are somewhat obscured by the mouth-coating tannin that will allow the wine to improve for years to come. This is Bordeaux made in a new-world style from a classic Bordeaux vintage.

You don't have to spend $50, though, to find a great bottle of wine at Pearson's. I purchased several excellent wines in the $12 to $20 a bottle range. Anyway, next time you're in the District on business or to sightsee, stop at Pearson's, taste some wine and then buy a few bottles to take to one of the restaurants mentioned above. If you call ahead, you'll find that most will allow you to bring your own wine if you pay a corkage fee. Enjoy!