Reviewed: Marc 49 Wine Bar

Like the cities of the East Bay, local wine bars are an eclectic mix of the expensive, chic spots and the run-down neighborhood joint. A few, like Temescal's Marc 49, hit a nice balance, offering a good selection of reasonably priced wine in a happening part of town.

Located in the heart of Temescal, Marc 49 fits into the neighborhood with its art deco and shabby chic decor. Space is plentiful with comfy lounge chairs up front good for couples and small groups, and an outside patio with heaters in the back for larger parties.

The menu consists of roughly 30 wines by the glass, with about 3 or 4 choices of each varietal. The menu balances local and global wineries, which I appreciate as it lets me sample wines from other regions. The producers aren't that famous either, as I only recognized a couple local wineries (Rock Wall and Urban Legend).

Unlike other wine bars, Marc 49 offers flights where you can pick and choose what you want to taste. For $11, you can taste any 3 wines, or splurge $14 to taste 4. Most wines are available by flight, glass and bottle, so you can taste almost the entire menu. Nothing disappoints me more at wine bars than a lack of flights, or that the wine I want to try is only available by the bottle. To help guide your decision, each wine has descriptive tasting notes in the menu or you can ask the servers what they like.

Marc 49 also offers small plates and appetizers like ceviche ($8), cheese and meats ($12) and paninis ($7) to complement the wine. The food is light, so don't think of this as dinner. Rather, Marc 49 is perfect for pre- or post-dinner drinks, then grab dinner at any of the nearby restaurants like Burma Superstar or Pizzaiolo.

Marc 49
4915 Telegraph Ave., Oakland
510-652-2100

Thursday Eats & Drinks

The weekend starts early tonight with a pair of wine tastings and a beer pairing.

Oakland's Urban Legend Cellars hosts its new release party from 5 to 9 p.m. Sample the eight latest releases along with old favorites and barrel tastings paired with finger foods and chocolates from Cocoa Diva. Tickets are $10, and some of tastings include a 2008 Sangiovese, 2009 Mourvedre, 2009 Petit Verdot from Mendocino and other reds.


Solano Cellars will also be hosting an aged Italian wine tasting tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. Sample rare, decade-plus-old Barolo, Barbaresco and Tuscan wines paired with appetizers. Tickets are $69.

Wines being poured:
‘97 D. Rivetti Barbaresco Ris. “Bricco de Neveis” $75
‘98 Dante Marramiero Montepulciano d’Abruzzo $60
‘00 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino $72
‘01 Monte Faustino Amarone della Valpolicella $90

Food menu:
Polenta squares with mushrooms and truffle oil
Arancini risotto balls
Rosemary focaccia with pork shoulder
Selection of Piedmont and Tuscan cheese

For a beer-paired dinner, Berkeley's Spenger's Fresh Fish Grotto teams up with 21st Amendment for a 5-course $40 prix fixe menu. Seatings start at 7 p.m., and a representative of the brewery will be on hand to answer any questions.


Urban Legend Cellars release party
621 4th st., Oakland
http://www.ulcellars.com/

Solano Cellars
1580 Solano Ave., Albany
http://www.solanocellars.com

Spenger's Fresh Fish Grotto & 21st Amendement
1919 4th St., Berkeley
http://www.spengers.com

Weekend Eats & Drinks 11/5

Start the weekend with a free R&B Cellars flight tasting at Miss Pearl's Jam House at Jack London Square in Oakland today from 5 to 6 p.m.

For the high rollers, try Solano Cellar's Benjamin Flight today from 4 to 9 p.m. For $30, try three $100 bottles. First off is a full glass of NV Henriot Souverain Blanc de Blancs Champagne from Magnum. Then, tastings of 2004 Argiolas "Turriga", Sardinia, Italy, and 2005 Domaine du Jaugaret St. Julien (Medoc), Bordeaux, France.

If wine's not your thing, head to Drake's Brewing in San Leandro from 4 to 8 p.m. today for first Friday tastings. This month's event benefits the San Leandro Scholarship Foundation. $15 will get you a Drake's tasting glass and 3 tokens for 3 full pours. Additional tokens are $3.50. A $5/person voluntary donation can be offered at the door. Food will also be on sale.

On Saturday, Nov. 6, Stage Left Cellars near Jack London Square in Oakland will host an open house from 4 to 7 p.m. A $25 ticket includes wine tastings of Stage Left favorites, food like wood-fired pizzas and live music.

On Sunday, Nov. 7, the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce hosts its annual Gourmet Food and Wine Festival at Hotel Shattuck Plaza from 2 to 6 p.m. Get a taste of local cuisine and wine from 25 area restaurants and caterers, and 25 local wineries. Enjoy live music, a raffle and silent auction, benefiting the chamber's scholarship program. The event will also help Through the Looking Glass, a nonprofit assisting families with disabilities since 1982. Tickets are $50.

Friday
R&B Cellars free tastings
at Miss Pearl's Jam House
1 Broadway, Oakland
510-444-7171

Solano Cellars
1580 Solano Ave. B, Albany
510-525-9463

Drake's Brewing
1933 Davis St., Ste 177
San Leandro, CA
Parking at Westgate Center Parking lot

Saturday
Stage Left Cellars
2102 Dennison St., Oakland
510-434-9930

Sunday
Berkeley Chamber of Commerce Stomp!
2086 Allston Way, Berkeley
510-549-7000

Weekend Eats and Drinks

Whatever your epicurean vice, there’s probably an East Bay event for you this weekend.

On Saturday, start the day at noon in Old Oakland for Pacific Coast Brewery’s festival. Admission is free, and $20 gets you a commemorative glass and 5 beer tasting tickets. Separately, the glass is $5 and extra beer tastings are 6 for $20. The usual suspects are on tap, all California craft brews pouring anniversary ales: Bear Republic, Drake’s, Speakeasy, Lost Coast, Stone, Rubicon, Port, Sudwerks, Sierra Nevada and Pacific Coast. The event runs until 7 p.m. and is billed as family-friendly with live music and food from local restaurants.

If beer’s not your thing, head to JC Cellars a mile away at Jack London Square to see the winery in full production. The harvest is here and the winery has two free tours at 1 and 2:30 P.M. Afterward, head to the tasting room to try some Syrah, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir, to name a few, for $5. The fee is refundable with any purchase.

The gluttony continues early Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in Berkeley for Pyramid Ale House’s $10 all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet with NFL ticket. The buffet ends at 11:30, but you can catch all the games on one of the 6 HD TVs all day.

If you’re a late riser, Blue Bottle Coffee’s free Sunday cupping will wake you up. A must for coffee connoisseurs, the noon cupping is a way to evaluate Blue Bottle’s coffee aromas and flavor profiles side-by-side. See whether you notice the difference between a washed and natural Amaro Gayo. One caveat: Everyone dips their spoons in the same cups, so it’s not for germaphobes.

Afterward, head to North Berkeley’s Spice of Life festival, a celebration of food and art, running until 6 p.m. Catch cooking demos and samples by local eateries alongside open yoga studios and art exhibits. Stop by the wine garden on Vine Street, featuring local winemakers and importers, and listen to live music from the JazzSchol and Freight and Salvage, or get fresh, organic produce from the farmer’s market.

Running the same time is Spenger’s annual Crabby Chef Seafood Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Benefitting the Berkeley Cal Recreational Sports Development Fund’s camp scholarship program, the event includes a 2 p.m. Iron Chef cooking competition with a crowning of a Crabby Chef. Food booths offer the gamut of seafood from crab cakes to clam chowder.

Saturday
Old Oakland Beer Festival
Noon-7 p.m.
906 Washington Ave., Oakland

JC Cellars harvest tour
1 and 2:30 p.m.
55 4th St., Oakland

Sunday
Pyramid NFL breakfast buffet
901 Gilman St., Berkeley

Blue Bottle Coffee cupping
Noon
300 Webster St., Oakland

North Berkeley Spice of Life
10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Shattuck Avenue from Rose to Virginia, Berkeley
http://www.gourmetghetto.org/2010%20spice%20of%20life%20info.htm

Spenger’s Crabby Chef seafood festival
11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
1919 4th St., Berkeley
http://www.yelp.com/events/berkeley-spenger-and-39-s-to-host-10th-annual-crabby-chefs-seafood-festival-on-october-17-2010

East Bay Urban Wine Tastings

For fans of urban wineries, there are a few events this week and next celebrating local makers from the East Bay.

Today from 6-9 p.m., Nirvano.com is hosting a tasting of San Francisco, Treasure Island and Oakland wineries at SOM bar in the Mission. Tickets are $10 with RSVP and $20 at the door. East Bay wineries include JC Cellars, Dashe Cellars, Donkey and Goat Winery, and Periscope Cellars. Nirvano.com is a wine rating guide for iPhones.

On Friday from 1 to 6 p.m., try a free tasting of Eden Canyon Vineyard’s just released 2007 “Estate” Cabernet Sauvignon and NV “Suerte” at Periscope Cellars in Emeryville. While there, also check out free tastings from Periscope Cellars and Urbano Cellars Winery. The two experiment with blends, especially Periscope Cellars, which hovers near the minimum percentage required for Syrahs, Cabernets and Zins.

Lastly, the third annual Passport to the East Bay Wine Trail will be held next Saturday, April 10 from noon to 5 p.m. Twenty East Bay wineries, including many not open to the public, will take over seven locations in Oakland, Emeryville and Alameda to offer everything from Barbera to Zinfandel. Tickets are $30 in advance, $45 at the door, and include a souvenir Riedel glass. Check out the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance page for participating wineries, which include big names like Rosemblum Cellars in Alameda and smaller ones like Two Mile Wines on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley.

Photo: Sweetmemorybaskets.com

Livermore Valley Barrel Tasting

Friday at noon is the last day to get $25 advanced tickets for the Livermore Valley Barrel Tasting event this weekend. Wait to buy tickets at the door, and the price jumps to $35.

I am not familiar with Livermore wines, but the event sounds like a great way to spend a weekend. Over 25 wineries will open their doors Saturday and Sunday for barrel tastings, so you get to try wines straight from the source before bottling. Winemakers will be on hand, and you can even prepurchase what you taste. Some wineries will also hold special events, such as blending classes, food pairings and live music. Your ticket includes two days of wine tasting with at least one barrel tasting at each winery and a souvenir wine glass.

Photo: Ligaya T.

Gourmet Eating at Costco

Today I made my usual monthly trip to Costco and was fondly surprised to find a pound of roasted and salted Marcona almonds for $7.99, or $0.55/ounce. I've been obsessed with the Spanish nut since I had a cheese plate with them drizzled with honey at Thomas Keller's ad hoc restaurant in Yountville. I had been buying them at Trader Joe's where 6 ounces cost $3.99, $0.66/ounce.


I also bought:

- 2008 Francis Ford Coppola Pinot Noir, $13.99
- 2.8 lb block of parmesan cheese, $3.99/lb
- frozen Margherita pizzas, $9.49 for 4
- Amy's organic bean and cheese burritos, $9.99 for 8
- multigrain bread, 2 loaves $3.99
- 2 Semifreddi's baguettes, $3.09
- 1 lb organic, baby spinach $3.49
- 1 lb organic spring mix, $3.99

You can still buy food that's not great for you, like candy, soda and Kraft singles, but Costco is stepping it up.