From Jane Alonso. Her passion for food and spirits leads her on frequent excursions into Borderstan’s land of bars and restaurants. Email her at jane[AT]borderstan.com
DC’s Wine Week. (Luis Gomez Photos)
Had one too many pints at the latest Octoberfest? Take a break from all those lagers and ales during DC Wine Week from October 13-20. It’s the perfect season to visit a local vineyard while the leaves are changing or explore a cabernet you have never tried before at a neighborhood restaurant.
Co-founded by Vanessa French and Lisa Byrne (founder of DCeventjunkie), DC Wine Week is dedicated to enjoying wine and supporting the area’s growing local wineries, wine shops, wine bars, restaurants and merchants.
Participating Venues
Participating bars and restaurants – including Borderstan favorites such as Veritas, Hanks Oyster Bar, Policy, and One Lounge — will feature paired menus and special offers, as well as a chance to network with local wine experts, attend tastings and learn more about what our area has to offer when it comes to wine (there are over 245 wineries in Maryland and Virginia). The schedule can be found here .
Who knew, but DC apparently leads the nation almost every year in per capita sales and consumption of wine, according to Alex Evans, the director of education for Arlington’s Washington Wine Academy. The District consumes 6.6 gallons of vino per capita — With almost two full gallons more of the grape than the second most oenophile-centric state in the nation, New Hampshire.
Why? Some might say it’s due to DC’s abundance of foreign embassies, special events and receptions (political and otherwise), and culinary-minded individuals with disposable income.
Do your part to keep DC leading the pack!
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On tap: “State of the Brewnion,” DC Wine Week, Wine Riot, Bar Dupont’s Oktoberfest. (Photo: Alejandra Owens)
From Laura Herman of LauraLikesThis. Laura is also a contributor over at Brightest Young Things and you can find her on Twitter @Lmhhabs. Email her at [email protected].
Oh, hello, Borderstan. It’s been a while, so I have to let you know how excited I am to be back in DC for a weekend.*Finally* I trust that weekends have still been, you know, happening in my absence. But I have an extra special round up of weekend picks for ya this week, just in case you’ve missed me. So here’s whats up in and around the neighborhood this weekend. Hint: a lot of this has to do with wine or beer…
Thursday, October 20
- Head over to Bier Barron (1523 22nd Street NW) tonight to hear about the “State of the Brewnion.” The event, hosted by Washington City Paper, will feature a panel of local experts discussing everything from DC’s burgeoning craft beer culture, to home brewing, local beer menus and where to find the good stuff. Complimentary tastings, snacks, beer trivia and prizes. 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
Friday, October 21
- Get in your FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS at BlackCat (Halloween is next week, people, so go while you can). Two episodes of Tales From the Crpyt and drink specials. Entry is freeee! Doors at 7 pm.
- Then, dance your way over to DC9 for their weekly Liberation Dance Party (Fatback is in Baltimore this weekend-womp womp), which will double as The Wombats’ official after-party after their 930 Club show. Doors at 9 pm. Rail drinks open bar from 9 to 10:30. The Wombats will swing by later on in the evening for a special guest DJ set. Nice.
Saturday, October 22
- Grey DC is back! (Curious what this is? Read about their stop in Borderstan earlier this Summer) Swing by the pop-up market this Saturday between 3 to 7 pm at 1365 Kennedy Street NW. Sign up and more info here.
- It’s also DC Wine Week! The schedule is packed, so be sure to check out the full list of events happening all week long across the city, but the closing event “The Wine Down” this Saturday night at One Lounge (1606 20th Street NW) is not to be missed. RSVP here. Time is 6 to 9 pm.
- If you REALLY want to be an oenophile (or just drink a lot of wine) this weekend, check out Wine Riot, a “non-pretentious wine tasting event” created with the 21-35ishhhh crowd in mind. After staging three ridiculously successful events in Boston, Wine Riot hit the road and stops in DC this weekend, just in time to wrap up DC Wine Week. Wine Riot will run on Friday from 7 to 11pm and on Saturday from 1 to 5 pm and 7 to 11 pm. Guests will get to try more than 250 wines, learn a thing or too about wine tasting, and enjoy music, food, photo booths and more… tickets and more info here.
Sunday, October 23
- Get into that fall festive mode by checking out out Bar Dupont’s Oktoberfest Beer Festival on their patio (1500 New Hampshire Avenue NW) this Sunday from 11 am to 10:30 pm (it’s on Saturday from 11 am to 2 am, too!). They’ll be blasting German music and have German and American draught beers, including a special Oktoberfest menu, on specia. $5 mugs and $10 pitchers.
- Then later, consult Borderstan’s own Lebodome’s reviews of local sports bars as you’re deciding where to watch the game. I’m not really much of a football fan (this may have something to do with the fact that I’m in near last place in my league), but his bar picks have been adding to my otherwise lazy Sunday afternoons this Fall.
Freebie Alert
- A FREEBIE ALERT! Dunkin’ Donuts (recently) opened at 14th and U Streets NW and they’re giving away free medium-sized coffees to celebrate. Valid until October 30. You’re welcome.
Save the Date
And save the date for two great concerts coming up:
- Thursday, October 27: Suckers and Rewards are playing DC9 to benefit Common Good City Farm. Good music AND a good cause.
- Saturday, November 5: The Congressional Chorus AND the American Youth Chorus kick off their season with “American Tapestry,” celebrating American history through song. The show’s local at the National City Christian Church in Thomas Circle and proceeds will go toward youth arts education. Tickets and more info here.
Enjoy the weekend, Borderstanis. Let us know what YOU’RE doing this weekend. And I’ll see you next week for a spooky, scary special edition Halloween weekend round up.
1400 block of P Street NW. We’ll assume the plates were not expired and the driver had not been taken away by police. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Michelle Lancaster. Follow her and tell her your news on Twitter @MichLancaster or email her at [email protected].
DC Forgives Your Expired Registration, Sort Of
That’s right — my fellow procrastinators need not worry about getting ‘cuffed for expired tags. DCist reports that fines will replace arrests for expired registrations, thanks to emergency legislation passed by the City Council. The Council will have 90 days to discuss the change and make it permanent (or not). It’s nice to know that the City Council can move quickly when enough hysterical media headlines mount into something that resembles public outcry.
Transforming (Not Gentrifying) Georgia Avenue
The Washington Post has a pretty interesting piece outlining some of the resident groups that have formed to take some decision-making power back for themselves as Georgia Avenue NW is developed and redeveloped. The Georgia Avenue Community Development Taskforce is doing some pretty cool things on the Avenue, including art installations in abandoned storefronts. The community pride and focus on improving their community, without rolling over to gentrification, is not a new concept in the district, and it will be interesting to see how the Taskforce does in meeting their goals. We’re rooting for you!
How to Survive U Street During Howard Homecoming
The Post has a a fair number of blogs within its coverage, and one of those is the Root DC, a blog aimed at African-American audiences. A Howard alumna penned a blog post which I found rather amusing about how to survive Howard’s homecoming. When someone writes this, ” If you remember when the U Street area was extra cracky, you should not attend any events where rappers (born after 1975) are scheduled to perform. Doing so means you’re the old man or woman at the club,” I cannot help but be entertained.
Spotting Suicidal Metro Jumpers
Our friends out on the Orange Line will not soon forget the aftermath of an alleged suicide attempt last week. Neither will Metro, as they are planning to train workers on identification and intervention. It is a program long in the making, reports Washington Examiner. The paper also reports the man who jumped in front of the train last week passed away from his injuries just moments after writing this round up, which seems to indicate the program should start immediately. The man was the 11th jumper in 2011.
I Predict a (Wine) Riot
What to do with your Saturday? How does tasting 200 wines sound? If you don’t like that, well, I don’t like you either. If you do, check out the post at We Love DC. Look for unique sips, some food from Luke’s Lobster and bottomless refills for your approximately $60 ticket. It coincides nicely with the events of DC’s Wine Week, founded by the delightful @DCEventJunkie and @VanessaFrench. Some of those are happening in Borderstan, so get your terroir on in the hood if you missed last night’s event at Kramerbooks.
DC Wine Week starts Saturday, October 17. Get the details on events and specials in the Dupont-Logan-U Street area and beyond. (Alejandra Owens)
From Ashley Lusk. Check out Ashley’s blog Metropoetrylis and find her on Twitter at @arlusk. You can email her at [email protected].
This Saturday kicks off the first-ever DC Wine Week — a citywide opportunity to enjoy wine, wine education and to help support the area’s growing local wineries, wine shops, wine bars, restaurants and merchants. (The event is sponsored by a number of local establishments and businesses.) There are several participating establishments in the Borderstan area; full details below.
The event starts with an opening bash at Sonoma in Capitol Hill on Saturday, and if the popularity of the invitation-only event has been any indicator of what you can expect this week, you should probably make your plans soon. However, if The Hill is a little too far from Borderstan for your Merlot fix, there are some great events closer to home.
Events in Dupont-Logan-U Street
Saturday, October 15
- Happy Hour from 3 to 7 pm at One Lounge (1606 20th Street NW) with half off selected wines.
Sunday, October 16
- Happy Hour from 3 to 7 pm at One Lounge (1606 20th Street NW) with half off selected wines.
Monday, October 17
- At the Twine Up Urbana (2121 P Street NW) will be offering a $5 per glass happy hour special that includes a Chardonnay and Cabernet plus a special for DC Wine Week — Macabeo, a varietal from Cava and a red grape, Tempranillo.
- Happy Hour from 3 to 7 pm at One Lounge (1606 20th Street NW) with half off selected wines.
- Happy Hour from 4 to 7 pm at Urbana Wine Bar (2121 P Street NW) with $5 red and white house wines.
Tuesday, October 18
- Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe (1517 Connecticut Avenue NW) will be hosting “Does Terroir Really Make a Difference?” an education in the soil, climate and environment needed to produce a spectacular wine. The event that includes flights of three Sauvignon Blancs and/or three Pinot Noirs from three distinct wine regions — for just $10 per flight.
- Happy Hour from 3 to 7 pm at One Lounge (1606 20th Street NW) with half off selected wines.
- Happy Hour from 4 to 7 pm at Urbana Wine Bar (2121 P Street NW) with $5 red and white house wines.
Wednesday, October 19
- Head to Policy (1904 14th Street NW) for “Wine Down Wednesday” and get 50% off wines by the bottle.
- Happy Hour from 3 to 7 pm at One Lounge (1606 20th Street NW) with half off selected wines.
- Happy Hour from 4 to 7 pm at Urbana Wine Bar (2121 P Street NW) with $5 red and white house wines.
Thursday, October 20
- Just up the street in Adams Morgan… head to Rumba (2443 18th Street NW) for tapas with Chilean wine pairings.
- Happy Hour from 3 to 7 pm at One Lounge (1606 20th Street NW) with half off selected wines.
Friday, October 21
- Happy Hour from 3 to 7 pm at One Lounge (1606 20th Street NW) with half off selected wines.
- Happy Hour from 4 to 7 pm at Urbana Wine Bar (2121 P Street NW) with $5 red and white house wines.
Saturday, October 22
- Happy Hour from 3 to 7 pm at One Lounge (1606 20th Street NW) with half off selected wines.
Specials and Tastings: Don’t Miss Events
If you can’t make it to one of the special DC Wine Week happy hours, the event website points out some great wine-focused specials and tastings to check out.
- Wine Riot on Friday, October 21 and Saturday, October 22, 7 to 11 pm both evenings. Location is the Daughters of the Revolution Constitution Hall and ticket price ($50 to $60) includes sample size pours of any and all wines at the Riot.
- Washington Wine Academy Potomac River Cruises on Friday, October 21 from 6:30 to 8 pm and 8:30 to 10 pm. At the DC Southwest Waterfront, $55 per ticket.
- Chocolate, Cupcakes & Wine at Co Co. Sala at 929 F Street NW on Friday, October 21 from 6 to 7 pm.
For a complete listing of events and wine tasting specials, visit www.dcwineweek.com
