CRAGGY RANGE SAUVIGNON BLANC TE MUNA ROAD VINYARD 2008

Hostile Grape at the M Resort in Las Vegas is where I got away from the casino floor for a bit and relaxed with a nice, refreshing Sauvignon Blanc.  It was well into the triple digits outside, so a cool and fresh wine was definitely the order of the day.  Craggy Range Sauvignon Blanc was my choice.  It's a single vineyard wine.

Craggy Range SB is very easy to drink.  The straw color is fairly innocuous but the nose gives a good, healthy dose of that fine grassy aroma I like to find in a Sauvignon Blanc.  This effort, from Marlborough, New Zealand, shows that grassy note as the dominant feature in a very fresh nose.  Pineapple aromas also come through.  The taste is fruity with a nice acidity.  The acid seemed a bit restrained at first, but became more noticeable on the finish.  Pineapple flavor is joined by guava, with a grapefruit trailing edge as a parting shot.

I thought it might be a wee bit lackluster at first, but it became more complex as I drank it.  If you stay away from Sauvignon Blanc because it comes on too strong for your taste, this may be a great wine for you to try.

HOSTILE GRAPE AT M, LAS VEGAS

Hostile Grape is the wine cellar and bar downstairs from the casino in the M Resort in Las Vegas. I should say "just south of Las Vegas," though. M is the southernmost resort hotel in Vegas - for the moment, anyway.  Things do change quickly in LV.

The wine cellar is a large room, and dark. 15 minutes after opening on a Friday afternoon, it was empty, too.  They tell me the crowd grows, but I was a little surprised at how few people had made their way there by 6:00 p.m.  A barrel stave ceiling makes a great thematic touch.  Six very large couches and tables line the center of the room, while the bar down the left side seats twelve. Jazzy, funky music plays on the sound system, but the quality of the selections varies widely.

There is an automated wine sample dispenser with samples ranging from $2 to $9 per ounce.  You can also order glasses or bottles from the list.

The menu features mostly California wines, with some French and Italian selections.  Marinelli seems to be the house wine, which I was told is produced by Napa Valley winery Cosentino.  By-the-glass offerings include three sparkling wines, six reds and six whites.

It's a beautiful room, and until the thrill-seeking hordes in Las Vegas find out about it, it's a great place for a quiet tête à tête.

I had the Craggy Range Sauvignon Blanc, Te Muna Road Vineyard from Marlborough, New Zealand. I'll write more about that later.

Tasting Room Notes: The Wine Cellar, the Rio, Las Vegas

Very dark and full of wood and leather, The Wine Cellar at the Rio on Tropicana in Las Vegas is cool in temperature - natch - and the jazz is pretty cool, too.  Easy bebop from the likes of Miles and Charlie Parker really set the mood for a good wine tasting experience.  There are two dozen flights on the menu at $12-$79. Yes, $79.  That does sound like a lot, doesn't it?  Each flight offers  two-or-three ounce tastes, three to a flight.  I had the Riesling flight, "Sweet and Smooth." Here are my tasting notes.

1. Gunderloch Jean-Baptiste 2007 Kabinett - Sweet nose like honeysuckle. Tastes like peaches, melons.

2. Monchhof Robert Eymael 2006. Urzig Wurtzgarten, Spatlese - Smokey nose, like something on fire. No, like lake water smells near an outboard motor! Taste seems quite grassy and the sweetness has to struggle out. Very peculiar taste. But I like it.

3. Fritz Haag 2003. Mosel-Saar-Ruwer - Similar funky grassiness on nose. Reminds me of cutting grass - the exhaust from the lawn mower. Taste not sweet at all. Rather flat and burnt. Not very appealing to my palate, I'm afraid, but sort of interesting. Lacking acidity.

This was one of the more interesting tasting sessions I've had, and one of the most enlightening. If you are tired of the casino floor, simply walk down the stairs into The Wine Cellar. The hustle bustle of the gambling is behind you as soon as you go below ground level. I highly recommend The Wine Cellar to all wine lovers who find themselves in Las Vegas, looking for a respite.

Nora's Wine Bar & Osteria

Just a quick note from the road about this cool Las Vegas hangout. In a mall at Charleston and Rampart, between Banana Republic and Ann Taylor, Nora's is an Italo-centric wine bar with a list that features lots of California wine as well a few offerings from other worldly locales.

The main wall inside sports a five-panel mural of a vineyard. Follow along to the right and your eyes go to the wine cellar (pictured). The kitchen area is framed by huge loaves of bread and the tables are clothed in white linen.

I could have gone with some tastes from Nora's Enomatic taste system. Three-ounce tastes ran the gamut from just under $5 to just under $50. Yes, $50 tastes!

Instead I ordered a glass of Nuschese Falanghina, a great white for a hot August day. This wine had strong orange elements, like an orange liqueur on the nose and orange zest on the palate. Nice acidity and a wonderful finish complete the scene.

The food service starts with a plate of olive oil and a trio of salts - regular, pink and a smoked salt that was awesome. The grape tomato pizza was fantastic.

Cool, jazzy funk was piped in and fit the mood quite nicely.

Nora's is a great addition to the wine scene in Las Vegas. I look forward to a return visit.