Wines of Colo. makes Wall Street Journal

Marvin Parliament and business partner Bruce McLaughlin must be gloating. And for good reason.

We’ve always know their Wines of Colorado in Cascade was a treasure, but now our secret eatery and wine store has gained national attention. The store was featured in the Feb. 15 issue of The Wall Street Journal in the Tastings column by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher.

The column, “No Place Like Home — Why Stores That Sell Locally Produced Wines Are a National Trend,” focused on several wine stores that represent their locally made wines. The columnists called the tasting rooms “enotecas” — an Italian term for such establishments.

“There are few better ways to get a taste — quite literally — of the region. And here’s good news: Regional enotecas have begun springing up in America, too,” the columnists wrote.

Parliament and McLaughlin opened their tasting room and eatery 10 years ago. They offer free tasting of 20 to 30 Colorado wines daily.

Most of us know the drill: Taste the wines. Pick a bottle. Be seated in the dining room or on the patio and order up, as is written in The Wall Street Journal, “Mr. Parliament’s famous Colorado Wine Burger.”

Guess we can say, “We knew them when . . .”

The Wines of Colorado is at 8045 W. U.S. 24 in Cascade. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

- Wine by the glass

Ever wanted to taste a $100 wine? In most restaurants you’d have to order the entire bottle to do so.

Not so at Craftwood Inn, 404 El Paso Blvd. in Manitou Springs. It has the WineKeeper wine system that allows you to taste or order a single glass of one of their more exclusive bottles. The system uses nitrogen under low pressure to dispense the wine out of the bottle. The wine is replaced by nitrogen, disallowing wine contact with air. The oxygen in air is what causes wine to spoil or oxidize.

Chris Davis, certified sommelier at the restaurant, has expanded the wine selection to more than 200 bottles. That has earned the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator Magazine.

Davis says of the WineKeeper, “it allows us to serve up to 12 different bottles of superior wines by the glass without having to worry about cost.”

- Let the bidding begin

Check out RubberDollar .com, formerly ColoradoSpringsAuctions.com. It’s a link to eBay where you can bid on gift certificates from Colorado Springs and Pueblo restaurants. For instance, we spotted a $15 gift certificate to Akasaka Japanese restaurant with a $4 bid. That eatery was one of 76 listings for food and other entertainment attractions.

- ’Zoned out

Old Chicago Restaurants has introduced new calzones. But you’ll have to hurry to try them. You have until March 16 to order from the “Get ’Zoned” menu. You can still do the Build Your Own Zone, picking from more than 30 toppings. The new Calzone offerings include the Sicilian Trio Calzone, the Philly Beef and Cheese Calzone, and the Santa Fe Chicken Calzone.

CONTACT US: Send tips about restaurant openings, closings, menu changes and food specials to teresa.farney@gazette.com or call 636-0271. Do you manage a restaurant? Send us your e-mail address so we can keep in touch.