Check, Please! Bay Area's fourth season episode 3 (#403) profiles and reviews these three Bay Area restaurants:

1) COCO500: | restaurant information | reviews | [CLOSED]

2) Crogan's Montclair: | restaurant information | reviews |

3) Red Jade: | restaurant information | reviews |

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sew1o1ekNbA

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My name is Leslie Sbrocco and I'm the host of Check, Please! Bay Area. Each week, I will be sharing my tasting notes about the wine the guests and I drank on set during the taping of the show.

Wines of the Week: KQED Wine Club

Our guests enjoyed these two delicious offerings from the KQED Wine Club. Tonight's wines juxtapose bold, New World flavors of a New Zealand white wine with classic, Old-World style red from Portugal. Join the club!

2005 Te Kairanga "Casarina" Reserve Chardonnay, Martinborough, New Zealand

This no-holds-barred Chardonnay is big, bold, and laden with spicy oak character. Its real beauty, however, peeks through with a vibrant layer of freshness that makes you want another glass…then another.

2004 Lurton "Pilheiros" Douro, Portugal

Most folks just think of reds from Portugal as sweet, fortified ports, but get ready to explore the dry side of things with this smoldering red. Built from a blend of Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, and Touriga Nacional (the red grapes that produce port), the structure and intensity of the wine begs to be served next to a grilled steak.

Special Wine

2006 Fuse Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California

This unique blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with a touch of Syrah is concentrated, powerful, and yet somehow still manages to be elegant. It will benefit from ageing for at least a few years to smooth its youthful exuberance. If you just can’t wait, decant it for several hours and enjoy.