I booked for an early dinner because the 7:00 PM slot was pretty well filled up on opentable.com. Fig Tree Restaurant is in an historic home (whereas Bonterra is in a converted church.)
I had the mixed green salad with Gorgonzola added, veal chop with cremini mushrooms and asparagus, and a decaf Irish cream cappucino. The restaurant has Awards of Excellence from Wine Spectator for the last five or six years and offers quite a few wines by the glass and half bottles. I had attended the Ken Wright dinner there in 2010 during Charlotte Wine and Food weekend and have dined there on one or two other occasions. (The Charlotte Wine and Food Weekend is only every other year, unlike the Triangle Wine Experience. It will occur again in April 2012.)
Before I decided on my entree I was considering a Rheingau dry Riesling from Schloss Vollrads or the Stoller SV Pinot Noir. I was introduced to Stoller wines at a dinner at Zely and Ritz in Raleigh. I saw that Fig Tree also had the 2007 Saintsbury Brown Ranch Pinot Noir that I had enjoyed at Bonterra. Then I spotted an Alex Gambal Bourgogne/Chardonnay on the list and his Chambolle Musigny from 2008. I had just been to Bond Street Imports to pick up the Alex Gambal wines I had pre-ordered and they had two of the Chardonnay Cuvee Prestige and two of the Saint Aubin 1er Cru Les Murgers des Dents de Chien for me. I thought I had also ordered some of his Chambolle Musigny and the salesperson explained that the first shipment arrived with overheated bottles with corks pushed partway out and leakage and all had to be returned including the Chambolle Musigny. I thought I was out-of-luck for his 2008 red wines but then at Fig Tree the server told me they had nine bottles left and would sell me some at retail price of $34 so I ended up buying two bottles. Yippee! I ordered a glass to go with the veal chop and to see how the Chambolle Musigny is drinking at present and it was delightful. I may open one bottle for the holidays and cellar one for later. Maybe I'll inquire of Alex what he foresees as the drinking window for the C-M. It was semi-transparent and red cherry predominant to my nose and palate. Seemed to have some sweet tannins that provided just a little grip. I would say it was medium-bodied and probably not for long-term cellaring but very pleasant for sipping and a congenial food wine.
Yesterday I lunched at George's Brasserie near South Park (open two years and a new restaurant for me.) I enjoyed a Taittinger N.V. Brut which reconfirmed my liking for all things Taittinger. Dinner was at Luce, an Italian Restaurant in the Hearst Towers Plaza in Uptown Charlotte. They let me try a few sips of the Italian Rosato (too sweet with its strawberry flavors) and a Torresella Riesling (imported by Terlato International Wines and from Eastern Veneto.) The Riesling was also sweeter than I prefered for dinner but I ended up ordering one glass. Nothing to excite me.
Tomorrow I will be driving back to Fayetteville before the NASCAR fans hit the road. There's a Wine Loft Restaurant/wine bar on South Boulevard that I haven't visited and I will try to include that when I come for the Charlotte Wine and Food Weekend. It's part of a concept restaurant group and has tapas and can be a before-dinner or after-dinner destination for wine tasting.