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D.C.-area wine lovers should be rejoicing because the past several years have seen the opening of many great wine bars and shops offering tastings with table service and small bites. These venues offer the best of all worlds: expert advice, affordable wine samples, yummy snacks for pairing, and of course, a great experience! Among these special finds is the Grape and Bean, which lies in the heart of historic, Old Town Alexandria.
There you have friendly and helpful table service, a sizable wine sampling list and a lovely selection of cheese and/or gourmet cold cuts. Extra tasty breads served along with your cheese or meat sampler come from the highly acclaimed Restaurant Eve, which lies right next door.
One great wine retailed and sampled at the Grape and Bean is d’Arenberg’s “The Hermit Crab.” This wine is a Viognier-Marsanne blend, which offers apricot, peach and floral notes with a crisp, but not too tart, flavor. Try it at the Grape and Bean with a sampler plate that includes blue cheese drizzled with honey spread over the nutty, gourmet fruit bread from Restaurant Eve. Even if you don’t usually like blue cheese—try this! It won’t disappoint.
This wine is grown in the state of South Australia, in a premium wine region. Most the grapes are grown in the district of McLaren Vale (92 percent) and the rest in a nearby region called Adelaide.
As noted by the d’Arenberg Winery website, the name refers to the fact that the soils of McLaren Vale were “formed by the calcareous remains of the local marine fauna. One such creature was the Hermit Crab, a reclusive little crustacean that inhabits the cast-off shells of others.” They note further that “Hermit” serves as an abbreviation for Hermitage—the most prestigious area in France’s Rhone Valley where Marsanne is the major white player. There it is blended with the grape Roussanne. Viognier is also a Rhone valley grape, but it is dominant in other Rhone appellations. It is sometimes blended with the Rhone Valley’s main red grape—Syrah.
The name “Hermit Crab” has both personality and educational value. The wine too brings joy.
Originally Published on Examiner.com.
