FEAST FAVES / shop-o-matic
PHOTOGRAPHy by Ashley Gieseking
THE PORCH
The Porch This colorful, wine-centric gift shop and boutique sits across the street from the year-round Soulard Farmer’s Market and is central to a number of the area’s noteworthy restaurants. Its convenient location makes it a perfect place to pick up a few bottles of wine to go with dinner, shop for a clever hostess gift before a party or relax on the patio and sip a few new-toyou varietals in the crisp autumn air. Most passersby are first attracted to the shop by the unique selection of gifts and home wares visible through the brightly colored window panes. Once inside, customers are also treated to an
314.436.0282 impressive Soulard collection of wines offered at a variety of price points and accompanied by the expert knowledge of the shop’s staff. For a modest $5 corkage fee, you can enjoy some of your new finds on the whimsical backyard patio. If you’re not in the mood for wine, no worries, the shop also sells Bloody Marys and a small selection of beers. 1700 S. 9th St., Soulard soulardporch.com
FEAST FAVES / what we’re dRinking
OREGON PINOT NOIRS written by Jennifer Johnson
In the 1960s, California winemakers migrated north to Oregon and cultivated Pinot Noir, a fickle, thin-skinned grape that was well-suited to the area’s cool maritime climate. Interestingly, Pinot’s Burgundian home is on the same latitude as Oregon and has a similar climate. These versatile food-friendly wines generally have moderate red fruit and spice characteristics that lend balance to a terroir-driven, loamy earthiness – different from its fruit-driven California counterparts and the Old World “barnyard” earthiness of Burgundy Pinots. 26
feastSTL.com
OCTOBER 2010
Torii Mor 2008 Pinot Noir
Wine By Joe 2008 Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley, Oregon
Willamette Valley, Oregon
This highly aromatic wine’s flavor profile is earth-driven, with accents of violets and loganberries, finishing long, with a soft, velvety mediumbodied mouth feel and nuanced accents of raspberries, mushrooms, cinnamon and toasted oak on the palate. Pair with meats with mushrooms sauces, veal, roasted beef and soft cheeses.
Vibrant strawberry and raspberry aromas with underlying mineral and vanilla notes introduce this lighterbodied, softly tannic wine, followed by a delightful flavor profile of cherry, cranberry, tobacco, spice and cola. Pair with roasted duck, mediumto high-fat grilled fish, charcuterie and shellfish pasta dishes.
$21.99; Starrs, 1135 Big Bend Blvd., Richmond Heights, starrs1.com
$17.99; Provisions Gourmet Market, 11615 Olive Blvd., Creve Coeur, provisionsmarket.com