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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels June 15, 2004 Explore wine at the Winchester By Bill Choy Ashland Daily Tidings Inspiration can strike when least expected. Winchester Inn and Restaurant co-owner Michael Gibbs was having a wooden front desk removed from a parlor room during renovation work to the inn several months ago when a guest made the comment that the desk would make a lovely centerpiece for a wine bar. Winchester Inn and restaurant wine bar manager Andy Phillips serves wine on the opening day of the bar Friday. Photos by Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings "We were like, 'That's a great idea, why didn't we think of it?'" Gibbs said. "When they said 'wine bar,' something just clicked and we decided a wine bar would work here." A short time later, Gibbs and his wife and fellow co-owner, Laurie, decided to make a wine bar a reality. They converted the parlor room, normally used for banquets, into the 18-seat Winchester Wine Bar, which opened its doors Friday at the popular restaurant and inn. The bar features more than 100 wines and other sprits and small bistro food items in an elegant setting perfect for a late-night drink or meal after a night at the theater. The wine bar will focus on wines from the Rogue Valley and throughout the Pacific Northwest. Local wines include Weisinger's and Pascal's. Each night, the bar will feature four wine samplers to give customers an opportunity to taste the different wines the bar offers, such as pinot noir, pinot gris, chardonnay and champagne, Wine Bar Manager Andy Phillips said. "It's a nice way to sample the wines we offer without buying a bottle," he said. "It's a chance to try different things and open yourself to the different varieties of wines our region offers." Some of his favorite offerings include the Slagle Creek chardonnay. Slagle Creek is a winery based in the Applegate Valley. "I like that it's a full-bodied chardonnay," Phillips said. "It's got a nice fruit flavor, and it has a nice touch of oak." He also recommends the pinot noir from Hammacher "H," a winery based in the Willamette Valley. "It's made in an elegant French style," Phillips said. "It's real silky smooth. It's fruity but not too fruity and has a nice elegant finish." Gibbs said he hopes the new wine bar will attract locals and tourists as well. "With locals, we want them to realize they don't just have to come here for special occasions," he said. "They could just come and enjoy a glass of wine and a light entree." The wine bar, which will be open until 12:30 a.m. five days a week, is a perfect chance for guests and others to have somewhere nice to go for a drink and food late at night, Gibbs said. "They can come here talk about the play they just saw and rewind, without having to go right to bed " he said. "I hope it will be a place where you can enjoy the ambiance and enjoy food and drink and where guests can complete a wonderful evening before they go to bed." The wine bar menu created by the kitchen at the Winchester Inn features a number of items, ranging from $2.50 for roasted spice almonds to $14.50 for mini beef Wellingtons with port wine sauce. Other items include warm mushroom salad with walnut lime vinaigrette, crab fondue with toasted baguettes, roasted chicken and pumpkinseed pesto tarts and herb grilled marinated shrimp served with a mango papaya relish. Gibbs also plans to introduce a wine-tasting dinner on occasion that will feature local and regional winemakers discussing their wines. "This will be a great opportunity to introduce people to how good Oregon wines are," he said. "We want them to enjoy the wines and have an education on what it takes to make the wines at the same time." The Winchester Wine Bar is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 4:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., and on Mondays from 4:30 to 10 p.m. The bar is located at 35 S. Second St. For more information, call 488-1115 or 488-1113. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams