Postino Wine Cafe

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It all started in a vacant, 1940’s brick post office. For those of you outside the Phoenix, Arizona area – be prepared to be jealous of their local restaurant we’ve loved for over a decade. We’re talking about Postino! Which is “postman” in Italian. With continued expansion across the Valley, new locations are popping up in all the best areas, allowing more Phoenicians to enjoy excellent food and wine within their community.

The vision was to create a place where everyone could come together and connect in a special place. They have successfully done so and continue to do with each new location they add!  A bit of background, although both Jonah and I each had been fans of Postino while living in Phoenix for many years, we had our second date here back on August 20, 2010, truly making it a place we will cherish forever.

Hooked on their wine and bruschetta, we’ve continued to make a visit to Postino each time we visit Phoenix. We love the entire atmosphere created from the moment you walk up to the restaurant.  You’ll find pop art, great music, delicious food – but most of all the amazing, genuine, talented group of people working here. (For the record – I wrote this description on how we truly felt of the team before seeing the website – which is identical on how they describe their people – therefore you completely know we’re spot on.)

Let’s get talking about the good stuff...the food!  Postino is famous for their bruschetta! These are a must and it’s hilarious to watch every couple carefully negotiate on which four they will select.  You’ll find classics like brie & apples with fig spread to fresh mozzarella with tomato & basil. To other favorites like sweet & spicy pepper jam with goat cheese to ricotta with dates & pistachios. In addition, they always have a seasonal selection.  This time it was ricotta & beets topped with candied walnuts and arugula. Delizioso!

Focused on being a gathering place to enjoy time with those special to you, there are many selections to nibble on while enjoying conversation and sipping wine. If you’re in the mood to snack choose from roasted beets & herbed ricotta, blistered shishito peppers, crispy cauliflower, or the NYC grilled cheese. Their Boards are plentiful, which explains the complete offering of The Bounty. This board has grilled cauliflower, asparagus, and a variety of other vegetables served with Guindilla peppers, spicy Marcona almonds, herb cucumber cream dipping sauce and smoked almond hummus. This is the perfect board for sharing with four people as you’re catching up with one another. For those meat lovers, select the Butcher’s Block to enjoy an assortment of artisan meats and cheeses. This board is also served with smoked almond hummus, asparagus, olives, nuts and crostini. For our vegetarian friends, not to worry they also have the Cheese Board served with artisan cheeses, nuts, quince jam and toasted bread. Their menu continues with a variety of soups, salads, and paninis. All of which should not be missed.

Every Saturday and Sunday Postino has a complete brunch offering perfect for everyone.  Among our friends, the top two items we love would be the Farm Scramble and B.E.L.T. The Farm Scramble consists of roasted Yukon Gold potatoes scrambled with fresh eggs, herbs, onions, gruyere and white cheddar served with mixed greens and tomato salad. The B.E.L.T. is a breakfast panini on ciabatta with sugar cured smoked bacon, scrambled eggs, dijonnaise, lettuce and tomato. Don’t fret, the bruschetta is always available during brunch too.

Now let’s talk about the most important item...the wine! With a long wine list, you’re bound to find a bottle for your palate. Complete from white, red, rosé, and sparkling – they’ve got you covered.  With our brunch we enjoyed a bottle (or two) of Perelada – a sparkling rosé Cava from Spain. This rosé is clean, bright, and full of bubbles. Fruity aroma with a balanced taste. It was perfectly paired to complement our bruschetta.

To top it off, Postino offers some excellent specials! Every day you can enjoy $5 glasses of wine and pitchers of beer until 5:00 pm. On Monday and Tuesday after 8:00 pm, you can indulge in a bottle of wine and bruschetta board for only $20! Words of advice – get there right at 8:00 pm as the tables will fill fast!

As an extra bonus, Postino will occasionally offer special boxes of selected wines. Lucky for us, we were able to score one of their Vino Bianco wine boxes. This time it was a selection of four Italian white wines from all four corners of Italy. Created to push you outside the “white comfort zone” of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc to explore new wines – this box is a steal at $45! Most likely sold out by now, keep watching their website for the next offering. Stay tuned to our Instagram as we sip and share about these four new wines. Previously in July, they offered a Four Ways to Rosé box! Fingers crossed they do this box again next year, in addition to a box for all the red wine lovers.

With six locations across the greater Phoenix area, they’ve expanded into Denver, Colorado and Houston, Texas.  We can only hope someday they open a location here in Orange County, CA. Check out their website for more information and be sure to follow them on Instagram @postinowinecafe if you’re prepared to make your mouth water. Be sure to plan your visit to Postino when you’re visiting Phoenix, we know you’ll have a great time! We want to hear from you if you’re a fan of Postino. Tell us about your bruschetta board selections or favorite menu items. Submit your comments on our website, Instagram @tippingbottles or on Twitter @tippingbottles.

Located in Mission Viejo, Wineworks for Everyone has got to be a favorite among Orange County’s wine and food lovers. This stylish, cozy, unique restaurant and wine bar is brought to us by owners Darren and Jean Coyle for the past ten years. Wineworks for Everyone is focused on farm to table fine dining by Executive Chef David Schofner. In 2014, they were recognized as “Outstanding Wine Service Restaurant of the Year” by the Orange County Register. 

Spoiler alert – We absolutely loved everything about this restaurant! 

We had been wanting to try this restaurant for some time and finally made reservations.  We gathered two other couples and made a night out of it. We arrived and were promptly greeted with a warm welcome from the hostess and brought to our table.  It felt as if we arrived at the home of a close friend.  We started the evening with a magnum bottle of 2016 Chukker Rosé from Happy Canyon Vineyard, which we brought. (The restaurant allows up to two 750ml bottles per party for a corkage fee.)  

Once we finished the rosé and had time to look over the menu, we selected a few of the appetizers for the table. We started with the calamari, Brussel sprouts, Caesar salad, and the Cour Royale Brie fondue. To pair with the appetizers we selected the Pierre Riffault 2016 Sancerre 7 Hommes. This white wine had aromas of floral, grapefruit, with hints of pepper. To taste there was citrus and minerals with a clean finish. It went wonderfully with all three selections. Each of the appetizers were enjoyed completely and would recommend to everyone. Only compliments to be shared. 

For our main course, four of us chose the Mediterranean Seabass, while the other two selected pork tenderloin and filet mignon.  The filet was very tender with a lot of flavor from the Cabernet reduction. The pork tenderloin was cooked perfectly. Those of us having the Sea Bass thought it was delicious.  It was fresh, flaky, and buttery – in the way you want it. 

With the variety of entrées, our wine selections included:

2013 William Harrison Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon

2014 DeLille D2 Estate Red – this was my favorite of the evening...and why we ordered 3 bottles

2016 McPrice Myers Bull By The Horns Cabernet Sauvignon

2014 Etrusca Velia Proprietary Red Wine

Wineworks For Everyone has a complete wine selection, I can confidently say will please everybody. The service we had from everyone in the entire restaurant was top-notch – we cannot say enough good things. We look forward to returning very soon. We encourage you to make your reservations now. What are you waiting for? Ok, we’ll help you...just click here.