Casa Vino Wine Bar

My friend, Ann, and I started meeting on the first Tuesday of the month for a glass of wine and a plate of cheese. It was a great way for us to get together, laugh, and start the new month. Soon, several other friends joined us, and we began to try new wine bars.

Now, for those of you not from the Tri Cities area, you probably don't realize we are becoming quite well known for our wines. The Yakima Valley is perfect for growing grapes and making wine.

My tastes in wine run toward the reds, and I prefer dry over sweet. I usually order either a Cabernet or the House Red. My palate is very uneducated as to all the nuances of wine. If it's red, and not turning to vinegar, I'll drink it. If it's red and beginning to turn, I make wine jelly out of it.

This past Tuesday, we went to a place out in Queensgate (an area of Richland) to the Casa Vino Wine Bar. None of us had ever been there before, and we had no idea what we were in for. Turned out, we had a marvelous time. Being a Tuesday, there was no live music (muscians come in Fri/Sat), and very few customers besides us. In fact, we invited Andre, the owner, to join us at our table, which he did. As customers came in, he of course, left to care for them, but he kept coming back.

Ann and I shared a Greek plate - hummus, crackers, fruit, pickled asparagus, and pickled artichoke hearts. It was to die for! Katharine and Dave shared the salmon plate. Andre also has paninis, and serves whole (humongous) or half ones. I believe Andre said all but one of the wines served were local. Alisa came late and had a glass of Malbec, the same as I had. Wonderful!

There is outdoor seating available, with nice views of the hills, though we opted to sit inside (mainly because I'm a wimp). Outdoor seating should still be pleasant for another month or two.

If you are in the Tri City area, the First Tuesday Folks highly recommend Casa Vino. Andre is a delight, the wine is wonderful, and the food delicious! We plan on returning.

Casa Vino Wine Bar
Andre Kafentzis, owner
1970 Keene Road
Richland, WA 99352
509.628.3255 / 509.521.6295
casavino@hotmail.com

My Gratefuls:
*The Ancient who figured out how to make wine
*Grapes for the Ancient to use
*Glass blowers who made bottles to store the wine
*Cork harvesters who carved the corks
*Red, red wines

What I'm reading:
*Still on the same three books, but The End looms closer on two of them;-)

Quote for this post:
"Wine is the most civilized thing in the world."
-Ernest Hemingway.