Try some new wines at 48 Donley’s weekly wine sampling event.
If you loved The Buzz, Sargasso’s weekly Wednesday wine sampling and appetizer pairing, but lost track of it after Sargasso closed at the end of 2023, good news: The Buzz has continued at Sargasso’s current incarnation, 48 Donley. If you’ve never even heard of The Buzz, we’re here to let you know that you should give it a try.
Started in 2016 at Sargasso by then–Beverage Director Athena Freedlander, The Buzz features a trio of wines in half-glass pours and a chef-paired appetizer. It was a customer-favorite event, a way to wind down mid-week and try some new wines. It’s just as popular today at 48 Donley.
Wines are chosen the day of the tasting. “We like to stick to a theme—a region or a featured winery,” says General Manager Paris Russell. “Yesterday, we did the Freakshow wines from Michael David Winery in Lodi, California. The week before, we did a medley of South American wines.”
Some of the wines are commercially available locally, and some aren’t. “The restaurant has curated some premier wines that can be hard to find, and sometimes we pull from those and feature wines on The Buzz that you can’t find in town,” Russell says. “But yesterday’s Freakshow wines, that was to promote a new line, and that’s available in the stores. The Caymus wine we featured earlier in the year, they’re bottling that now, and we got a chance to feature some of the wines before they hit the stores.”
The appetizer is chosen by Chef Kurt Blosser or another member of the kitchen staff. Sometimes the wines come first, sometimes the appetizer, Russell says. Substitutions are available for those who have food sensitivities.
More than likely, your server for The Buzz will be Assistant Manager Montgomery Smith. He’s able to answer questions about the wines and, if you have a mix of slow and fast drinkers at your table, no worries—he keeps track of which pour each diner is ready for next.
Each week’s wine selection for The Buzz is posted on Facebook and Instagram by early afternoon of the day of the tasting, so you can plan your evening accordingly. Then The Buzz starts when the dining room opens for dinner at 5 p.m. and continues through the evening.
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