So last night was the big dinner with our friends where I wanted to bring some special bottles of wine. I received a phonecall at about 5pm from the restaurant, who shall no longer be nameless: Picola Italia in Cobblestone Village in Ocean Twp., NJ. Wendy and I love Picola Italia, and we go there between once to twice a month for dinner or just to drink and watch the Yankee game at their bar. The restaurant has some of the best service staff that we have met, and most of them remember us when we come in and they have even made a point to keep a bottle of Mt. Veeder cabernet handy for whenever my brother Glen is there for dinner. The chef/owner Brian is inventive and creative while delivering high quality and tasty food for lunch or dinner.
Ok, so enough about the place....you want to know what happened with the phonecall, right?? So I get a call at 5pm from Meghan, who is our favorite waitress. She tells me that she spoke to Brian and he said we can bring our bottles to the back door and he will allow it since we are good customers. I asked what corkage they would charge, and she said, "None, we will do if for you as a favor." I refused, and told her that I wanted to pay corkage, out of respect to Brian and his liquor license and all that. She said that wasn't necessary, but he didn't want us to walk in the front of the restaurant with our wines.
So now I was torn.......I wanted Brian to make a change to his policy, but I didn't want it to be a favor, I wanted a policy change. I decided to pass on his offer (although I was so torn about what to do, I brought the wine but left it in the car) and buy wine from his cellar. We picked the 2003 Cynthus Cabernet...see tasting note to the left. It was as good last night as it was a month ago when we drank a bottle at the bar. The winery has a very small presence on the web, so getting info on them is not easy. When I do get more, I will pass it on. 
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