Southern France is one of our favorite places to mine for French reds. Combining brawn with value, it’s a no-brainer when it comes to keeping a place on our by-the-glass menu.

Domaine Coudoulis comes from the Lirac appellation within the Rhône Valley. This little corner of Southern Rhone is very similar to the more expensive and more widely-known Châteauneuf du Pape. The vines grow in the same famous rocky soil that’s composed of stones called galets roulés (above, in the photo), which stresses them out in the best way.

Composed of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah, this wine appeals to the brain with its brawn. The rich notes of red berry fruits swirl seamlessly with savory earth, flowers, and peppercorns. It’s complex and lovely.

The Southern Rhone just keeps on giving us what we want and we can’t get enough.

HAPPY HOUR

Monday-Friday 5:30-7 pm

$2 OFF ANY GLASS OF WINE
$2 OFF WELL DRINKS
HALF-PRICED DRAFT BEER
6 HALF-PRICED APPETIZERS

THANK YOU AUSTIN FOR YOUR SUPPORT FOR ALL THESE YEARS!

We were also named “Critics Best Place for an Ice-cold Rosé.”

Click here for a list of all the winners.

Above: The rugged landscape of Bierzo (Spain), one of Europe’s last undiscovered wine countries.

Bierzo is not an appellation on the tip of everyone’s tongue.

The first written reference to this region is credited to Pliny the Elder. Today, after a Medieval rise in prominence followed by a catastrophic phylloxera infestation, Bierzo has risen once again on the backs of its native grape, Mencia.

Long thought to have been at least related to Cabernet Franc, recent ampelographical studies have proven it to be identical, instead, to Portugal’s Jaen du Dao.

So what does all of this mean? It means that we have a little gem on our hands.

Luna Beberide is a powerful example of Mencia’s potential. When grown on older vines in appropriate soil (such as that found in this Northwestern region of Spain), Mencia jumps out of the glass with herbal aromas of dark fruit, earth, and exotic spice.

It may not be a wine you’ve been talking about, but once it’s on the tip of your tongue, you’ll be begging for more.

Photo by Holly Reed.

“Wine people are easy to pick on; I get it,” writes Eater.com wine writer and columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, Talia Baiocchi. “Sometimes we ask for it. But the notion that we are all weird nerds who only want to talk about malolactic fermentation and listen to bad music at really lame wine bars with wine-themed décor, crappy cheese plates, and bad lighting — is a stereotype, and a stale one at best…”

“The best wine bars across the country have managed to a lasso a counterculture of drinkers who are open and interested in wine; they’ve become a bigger part of the urban drinking life as a result. And new wine bars are seeing the opportunity to build on what these places have achieved in different ways.”

Click here to read Talia’s take on wine bars in the U.S. today and her list of the top 18 wine bars in the country, including — yup, you guessed it — Vino Vino…

Mom deserves only the best!

Paella at 7 p.m. tonight.

Kitchen opens at 5:30 p.m.

KITCHEN OPEN FOR LUNCH

PINK FEST 2012
TASTE 48 PINK WINES
$20 PER PERSON
12-2 PM SATURDAY MAY 12

Retail partner: The Austin Wine Merchant
Charity: Big Brothers Big Sisters

This year, celebrate mother’s day with 48 rosé and pink wines at Vino Vino!

10% of door will be donated to this year’s charity, Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Wines will be available for purchase through our retail partner The Austin Wine Merchant.

DON’T MISS AUSTIN’S NUMBER ONE ROSE WINE EVENT!

Now, don’t get us wrong. We’re as turned on by fine women’s footwear as much as the next guy.

But please wear flats to tomorrow’s Pink Fest rosé festival at Vino Vino: flats are recommended for all wine lovers — men and women — because the festival takes place outside in the Vino Vino gravel parking lot.

And please come HUNGRY! Our kitchen will be open for lunch tomorrow!

Scroll down or click here for details for tomorrow’s rosé festival.