Caroline on Crack | Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar

Bonjour, mon ami! If you're new here and you like what you see, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this blog.

Tag Archive: Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar

September 9, 2010

Giveaway: Bored to Death Wine Detective Challenge Blind Tasting at Pourtal

Yes, yet another giveaway. Well, what better way to show that I love you crackheads than by giving you the chance to win stuff? This giveaway will win you entry to an exclusive event at Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar in Santa Monica. It’s so exclusive that only 70 lucky people get to go. Ten of which will be selected from my blog.

So here are the deets: To help celebrate HBO series Bored to Death, Pourtal and HBO are hosting this wine party this coming Monday, September 13 where attendees will get a limited-edition Bored to Death bottle of wine and compete in a bunch of blind tasting challenges to win even more prizes.

What the hell does wine tasting have to do with an HBO comedy series that stars Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis? Well, the main character is addicted to, of all things, white wine and marijuana. So since HBO couldn’t very well have an mj party, a wine tasting party was the way to go.

Now, I’m going to do this contest a bit differently. To win a spot for you and a guest,�as well as that bottle of Bored to Death wine, email your answers to the questions below with your full name and email address to BoredToDeath@pourtal.com with “Caroline on Crack” in the Subject line of the email. Then 10 randomly selected individuals who answer both questions correctly will get a pair of tickets to the Wine Detective Challenge event.� The winners will receive an email with a confirmation and all the event details.

What is the name of the character that Jason Schwartzman plays on the series “Bored to Death”? Hint: It is the same name as the creator of the series.
What are the 3 main white varietals grown in Bordeaux, France?

Good luck!

Categories: Los Angeles, Nightlife

1 Comment

April 29, 2010

This Weekend: Pourtal’s $4.29 BBQ, Derby Day Beachside, French Wine Tasting

Here I am trying to lose weight and everything and a majority of the events going on this weekend have to do with food and drinking. Ah well. Enjoy!

Thursday, April 29

Pourtal’s One-Year Anniversary Wine & BBQ
Can’t believe that it’s already been a year since Santa Monica�s Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar first opened. And they aim to celebrate Year One with wine and barbecue; only $4.29 for either a glass of wine or a plate of BBQ! They’ll grill dry rub babyback ribs along with grilled artichokes on a grill set up on the outdoor patio. And to complement that saucy meal, some of the featured wines are Oreano Pinot Noir and Carma Chardonnay.

6-10pm. Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar, 104 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica (map). (310) 393-7693.

Saturday, May 1

Kentucky Derby at Coast Beach Cafe & Bar at Shutters on the Beach
Enjoy Derby Day beachside in Santa Monica’s Shutters with classic cocktails like the Kentucky Mint Julep, Lynchburg Lemonade and Kir Royal, which range in price from $10-$12. A race day brunch menu will feature the likes of Southern-style grits with shrimp or crawfish ($16), lemon ricotta pancakes ($15) and pulled pork on ciabatta ($14). And ladies who dine and sport the “best hats” will get a prize! Copies of the Daily Racing Forum will be provided.

11am-5pm. Coast Beach Cafe & Bar at Shutters on the Beach, 1 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica (map). (310) 587-1707.

Slow Dance Saturday at 1642 Bar in Echo Park
Pull your loved one close to you at the first Slow Dance Saturday of Echo Park/HiFi�s newest bar, 1642.�Get liquored up on craft beers and boutique wines while swaying to the dulcet tunes of soul, rock, country and folk spun by Gypsy Tailwind and friends.

9pm. 1642 Bar,�1642 Temple Street, Los Angeles (map).

Sunday, May 2

Vertical Wine Bistro’s Experiential French Wine Tasting
Attention, all winos and wine newbies: French wine tasting led by Vertical Wine Bistro’s general manager Manuel Mesta and French wine consultant Pierrick Bouquet will feature four varietals from the Beaujolais, Bordeaux, Loire Valley and Rhone Valley regions. You’ll learn such things like the nuances of major grape varieies and how to read a French label. Small plates like gorgonzola-stuffed dates wrapped in Serrano ham and oxtail terrine will complement the wines.

4pm. $40. Vertical Wine Bistro, 70 N. Raymond Avenue, Pasadena (map). Reservations: (626) 795-3999.

Savor Sundays at Whist
The Santa Monica restaurant is kicking off Savor Sundays where you can enjoy family-style classics on a $27/person prix fixe menu. This Sunday’s menu includes buttermilk fried chicken with bacon cheddar biscuits and a pecan pie with whisky caramel over vanilla ice cream. Savor Sundays goes off every week through June 2 and will feature a different regional theme every time.

5:30-9pm. $27/person. Whist at the Viceroy Santa Monica, 1819 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica (map). Reservations: (310) 260-7511.

Categories: Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Nightlife

Boozing Writers’ Parties: The Imbiber and the Bubbly Girl

Photo by Bert Stern

The Imbiber’s Ultimate Playmate Fantasy Wine Tour at Pourtal
Playboy‘s bad boy boozing columnist and author of the must-read adventures-in-drinking memoir Nobody Likes a Quitter, Dan Dunn is kicking off what is most definitely the sexiest wine tasting tour in the history of the world. Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar in Santa Monica will feature wines inspired by some of the magazine’s most famous centerfolds, from Marilyn Monroe to Anna Nicole Smith.

Dunn, who selected each of the Playmates and their respective wines, says:

This wine tour is a celebration of beauty and timelessness, a chance to raise our glasses to the women who have captured our hearts and our senses.

For the month of October, the wine bar’s Enomatic machines will offer one-ounce pours of the voluptuous vino which range in price from $2.30 to $8.80 per taste. But it’s the launch party on October 6 that will have actual Playmates in attendance, like Lisa Semler (nee Welch), Miss September 1980 and now of Semler Wines, and Andrea Lowell, host of Playboy Morning Show on XM/Sirius Radio. Join Dan and the girls for sips and mingling. And you’ll also be able to buy signed copies of his Quitter book ($15). I haven’t read it yet, but my bf highly recommends it.

Featured Wines:

Marilyn Monroe: Plumpjack Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Bettie Page: Paraduxx 2006
Jayne Mansfield: Luciano Sandrone Dolcetto d’Alba 2007
Lisa Semler: Semler Cabernet 2001
Pamela Anderson: Rocca Family Vineyards “Bad Boy Red” 2006
Jenny McCarthy: Four Vines “The Maverick” 2006
Anna Nicole Smith: Tenuta di Ghizzano Il Ghizzano 2007
Kelly Monaco: Big Basin Mandala Syrah 2006

Tuesday, October 6 from 6:30-8:30pm. Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar, 104 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica (map). (310) 393-7693.

The Bubbly Girl’s Champagne Cocktails and Book Party at the Edison

edison oct 7 flyer jpeg.jpg

Consider this book party a happy hour with a lotta class. We’re talking Moet & Chandon champagne cocktails at the Edison downtown after all. It’s to celebrate author Maria Hunt’s book, The Bubbly Bar: Champagne and Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion. For $20 guests will not only get delicious cocktails but appetizers and a copy of the book signed by the author herself! (Or the price is $10 if you just want to taste the bubbly.) The shindig will be in the bar’s intimate Tesla Lounge so RSVP/prepay on The Bubbly Girl site by tomorrow, October 3 to get a spot as no tickets will be sold at the door. And you can stick around til 8pm to catch the Edison’s sexy cabaret show, Incandescence.

Wednesday, October 7 from 5:30-7:30pm. The Edison, 108 W. 2nd Street, Downtown (map). (213) 613-0000.

Categories: Cocktails, Los Angeles, Nightlife

1 Comment