Nestled along the South Carolina coastline, Charleston boasts a rich history, vibrant culture, and a burgeoning food scene that has quickly captured the attention of food enthusiasts and wine lovers alike. With an array of innovative restaurants and a focus on locally sourced ingredients, the city is a must-visit destination for gastronomes and oenophiles seeking a truly unforgettable culinary experience.&nbsp;

Charleston&#39;s food scene has been shaped by its historical roots, blending traditional Southern cooking with influences from African, French, and Caribbean cuisines. From the early plantation days to the present moment, the city&#39;s chefs have expertly crafted meals that pay homage to both its storied past and exciting future.&nbsp;

Over the past decade, Charleston&#39;s food scene has experienced remarkable expansion and innovation. With a new generation of talented chefs pushing the boundaries of culinary creativity, the city has become a hotbed for unique dining experiences that blend tradition with innovation. This burgeoning scene has attracted culinary enthusiasts from around the world, ensuring that Charleston remains at the forefront of the global culinary landscape.&nbsp;

Here are some of our favorites: &nbsp;

<a href="https://eatatfig.com/">FIG</a> - Offering Transcendent Flavors and Impeccable Service:&nbsp;

FIG, an acronym for &quot;Food Is Good,&quot; is a restaurant that has become synonymous with excellence in the Charleston food scene. Known for its transcendent food and inspired and informed waitstaff, FIG has garnered a loyal following of food enthusiasts. The restaurant takes pride in its seasonal food menu, which showcases the freshest ingredients sourced from local farmers and fishermen. Additionally, FIG&#39;s impeccable wine program complements its dishes perfectly, with knowledgeable staff recommending the ideal wine pairings to enhance the dining experience.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.corkrules.com/the-fig/episodes/782">CorkRules Podcast Episode #362</a> &nbsp;

<a href="https://www.cheznouschs.com/">Chez Nous</a> - Elevating Culinary Distinction from France and Europe:&nbsp;

For those seeking an elevated dining experience, Chez Nous is an exceptional choice. This hidden gem stands out for its culinary excellence and attention to detail. The menu at Chez Nous changes daily, reflecting the chef&#39;s creative vision and utilizing the finest local and seasonal ingredients. The restaurant&#39;s intimate atmosphere adds to its allure, making every visit a memorable and personal experience. To complement the culinary journey, Chez Nous offers a thoughtfully curated wine list, showcasing a selection of both Old and New World wines that beautifully complement the dishes.&nbsp;

<a href="https://eattheordinary.com/">The Ordinary</a> - A Seafood Haven with Unparalleled Freshness: Charleston&#39;s coastal location lends itself to an abundance of fresh seafood, and no restaurant captures the essence of the city&#39;s seafood scene quite like The Ordinary. With its outstanding reputation, this seafood-focused establishment consistently delivers top-notch dishes that highlight the best flavors of the sea. From oyster sliders to indulgent bisque soup, The Ordinary offers a menu that satisfies seafood lovers&#39; cravings. To enhance the dining experience, the restaurant boasts an impressive wine program that pairs beautifully with the flavors of the sea. From crisp whites to full-bodied reds, the carefully selected wine list elevates the seafood offerings, creating a harmonious tasting journey.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.corkrules.com/the-ordinary/episodes/811">CorkRules Podcast Episode #367&nbsp;</a>

<a href="https://leonsoystershop.com/">Leon&#39;s Oyster Shop</a> - Where Oyster&rsquo;s &amp; Fried Chicken and Champagne Collide:&nbsp;

For a unique twist on traditional Southern cuisine, Leon&#39;s Oyster Shop beckons with its delectable combination of seafood and fried chicken. But it&#39;s not just the food that sets this establishment apart. Leon&#39;sis renowned for its exceptional grower champagne list, recognizing that bubbles go hand-in-hand with a variety of flavors. The addition of champagne to the menu adds an element of luxury and celebration to the dining experience, making Leon&#39;s a popular destination for both foodies and oenophiles.&nbsp;

A Must-Visit Destination for Foodies and Oenophiles:&nbsp;

Charleston&#39;s food scene has become a must-visit destination for food enthusiasts and oenophiles seeking a truly remarkable culinary and wine experience. The city&#39;s historical influences, expansion, and innovation have created a thriving environment for culinary creatives to showcase their talents. From FIG&#39;s transcendent flavors and impeccable service to Chez Nous&#39; culinary excellence and attention to detail, Charleston offers a diverse range of dining options that cater to all tastes.&nbsp;

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Nestled along the South Carolina coastline, Charleston boasts a rich history, vibrant culture, and a burgeoning food scene that has quickly captured the attention of food enthusiasts and wine lovers alike. With an array of innovative restaurants and a focus on locally sourced ingredients, the city is a must-visit destination for gastronomes and oenophiles seeking a truly unforgettable culinary experience.

Charleston Food Scene:

Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Decoding the wine label: Alto

Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

Decoding the wine label: Brut

Semi-sweet Riesling, a type of wine falling out of style. It’s a shame, since these wines are perfect to pair with flavorful cuisines like Asian or Mexican, or simply drink as they come under the summer sun. The higher level of sugar left in the wine also means that the alcoholic fermentation was stopped before finishing, providing a wine with lower alcohol level and therefor easier grabbing a second glass of.

Decoding the wine label: Spätlese

Have you ever heard the word Xinomavro? Most have not. It is however a word on many sommeliers’ lips today, as it happens to be considered the grape variety with the highest quality in Greece, and one that is trending at the moment. The fact that Greece have been making wine for a long time comes as no surprise, but they have never exported an amount to make sure wine lovers around the globe tried it. With the growing wine tourism many have discovered these wines and are serving them in wine bars and restaurants in many countries today.

Decoding the wine label: Xinomavro

Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico… Why do all these Italian wine regions have the Classico addendum and what does it mean? What is the difference for wines labeled as Classico?

Classico is a wine term in Italy seen on a few wine labels and it indicates that the wine’s from the historic center of the region, the heart. Using Chianti and Chianti Classico and their Sangiovese-based red wines as an example, Chianti is a rather large wine district within the Tuscany region. Chianti Classico is located withing Chianti as the central part and the one that originally existed. Back then this smaller region was actually called Chianti, but as the region grew the quality of the wine plummeted and the well-known characteristics of these red wines were watered down. The reputation took a hit and sales diminished. Eventually this led to the creation of Chianti Classico, which would be drawn from the original Chianti borders to recover the typicity of these wines. Today the quality of both Chianti and Chianti Classico have risen a lot due to modern techniques and knowledge about pruning, planting and temperature control in the winery.

Decoding the wine label: Classico

In the rarefied world of fine wine, where bottles can command prices equivalent to luxury cars, authenticity is everything. Laurent Ponsot's gripping memoir "FBI: Fake Bottle Investigation" reads more like a high-stakes thriller than a traditional wine book, chronicling his relentless pursuit of one of the wine world's most infamous counterfeiters, Rudy Kurniawan.

From Burgundy's Vineyards to the FBI's Most Wanted: A Winemaker's Quest for Justice

Chablis – one of the more popular styles of wine today and a region known by many. Most are familiar with the word Chablis and the light, fresh white wine with a touch of minerality it brings. Even though it’s a renowned wine, few knows what it really is.

Decoding the wine label: Chablis

Many grape varieties around the world of wine have names local to the region or country they’re grown in, even though they’re exactly the same. The most famous example would be Syrah in France where the same grape is named Shiraz in Australia. Another variety with two names is Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris.

Decoding the wine label: Pinot Grigio

Have you ever seen the term sur lie on a wine label? It’s not a grape and not a wine region, but a winemaking method used to give certain styles of white wine a rounder texture and a more complex flavor profile.

Decoding the wine label: Sur lie

The Ordinary

Samantha Hohl, wine educator and certified sommelier, and Robert Tas head south to Charleston to review the wine list at The Ordinary.

Wine List Review of The Ordinary in South Carolina

Sam Hohl

The Ordinary

RT: Hello and welcome to CorkRules!&nbsp;

A podcast where, in each episode, we will review a wine list from your favorite restaurants. I&rsquo;m your host Robert Tas along with Samantha Hohl, wine educator and certified sommelier. Hello Sam,&nbsp;it&rsquo;s great to have you!

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SH: Hey Robert, great to be back.

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RT : Before we jump in, let&rsquo;s talk about CorkRules. We created CorkRules to demystify wine lists because we know from experience, that sometimes when we get that list handed to us, well&hellip; it can be intimidating, and even a little daunting.

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Our aim is to help prepare you to navigate that list, find those hidden gems, or value wines or that special bottle that will take your dining experience over the top.

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RT:&nbsp;So, sit back and listen as we review your favorite wine list. Today Sam and I are heading south to Charleston to review an icon. The Ordinary.&nbsp;

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The Ordinary

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Overview

The Ordinary is located in Charleston, South Carolina. They operate out of an old bank from the 1920s, creating a great backdrop for their oyster bar. They&#39;re known for their takes on local and regional seafood and of course, great drinks to pair with them.

Can&rsquo;t wait to hear your thoughts.

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Where to start

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So, this wine list is pretty concise at just about 2 pages long, but even though it&rsquo;s not extensive it is packed full of gems! There are some seriously cool bottles on here that maybe you&rsquo;ve never heard of before and are sure to make your evening. Off the bat, the 2020 Mortellito, &quot;Tuttu&quot; caught my eye and would be a unique bottle to try! This wine is a blend from Sicily that&rsquo;s 75% Nero d&rsquo;Avola and the rest a mixture of red and white grapes like Grillo, Cataratto, and Frapatto. This is where it gets the name Tutto from, meaning &ldquo;all&rdquo; or &ldquo;everything&rdquo; in Italian. Mortellito vineyards are located near the coast in Val di Noto, so they get some great ocean influence adding salinity to their wines. This blend is going to be bursting with different fruit notes, from tropical to dark fruit accompanied by an herbaceous finish. Zippy acid, soft tannins and light body make this a great pair with lots of dishes on this seafood inspired menu- the crispy oyster slider or the Brown Shrimp a la Plancha would pair very nicely.

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Another super seafood friendly bottle would be the 2021 Ruth Lewandowski &ldquo;Tatto.&rdquo; Evan Lewandowski is the winemaker behind Ruth Lewandowski wines, and he sources grapes that are grown in Mendocino County, California. Evan starts the fermentation process in California, then puts the fermenting juice in refrigerated U-Hauls and takes them to Utah to finish the aging and bottling process. This bottle is a skin-contact wine made from primarily Friulano, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc. It&rsquo;s bursting with citrus and lemon zest, along with notes of passionfruit and ginger. It&rsquo;s going to have some great mineral components as well, and structure from the skin contact. This is a seafood-ready bottle, and can handle a little spice or zest, like the Flounder with lime ponzu and Asian pear.

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Value

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There are some great affordable bottles on this list, but one that caught my eye that would be great with so many things on the menu would be the 2021 Gonc &ldquo;Canvas.&rdquo; This is a Slovenian Pet Nat made from Pinot Blanc. Peter Gonc&rsquo;s family have been making wines for 4 generations. Peter relies on traditional winemaking methods but also enjoys branching out by using different grape varietals and aging techniques. This bottle is going to have crisp pear notes, aromas of lemon and hints of nuts. These bubbles would be great with scallops or shrimp. The Cape Bay scallops made with apple and lime would be super yummy to play off the fruit and citrus notes! Only about 300 cases of this wine are produced so it&rsquo;s affordable and special!

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Celebratory 

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If you&rsquo;re looking to elevate the night with, I&rsquo;d go for the 2020 Anjou &agrave; Fran&ccedil;oise. This is Chenin Blanc from producer Thibaud Boudignon, who grew up around grapes in his grandfather&rsquo;s vineyard and has worked for multiple wine cellars in Bordeaux, and even Australia. Originally wanting to be a Judo Olympic champion, he ended up working in wine for years before setting out to make his own in 2009 after moving to the Loire Valley. He&rsquo;s now known for his show-stopping Chenin Blancs. He farms his vineyards biodynamically and is very committed to the health of his fruit, which results in these incredible bottles. This wine is alive with acidity, lots of beautiful citrus and delicate floral tones all complemented by flavors of stone. Pair with oysters for complete indulgence, or the Triggerfish Schnitzel since it would be delicious with something fried. Whatever you choose, this bottle will be refreshing and so memorable!

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RT: Sam Thank you so much for all your great suggestions and helping us navigate The Ordinary&rsquo;s wine list. I can&rsquo;t wait to go try them myself. &nbsp;

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To our audience, thank you all for joining us here on CorkRules.

&nbsp;

If you would like us to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to: <a href="mailto:Info@corkrules.Com">Info@CorkRules.Com</a> or visit our web website where we have a request form available and we will do our best to get it in the queue as quickly as possible.

&nbsp;

We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime, please check out our website for other episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

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Thank you.

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End

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BRAT

Bocca di Lupe

Gap Weekend: A Film Shoot in Wine Country

Alba Restaurant

Alba

10 Greek Street

L'Auberge Chez Francois

Andrew Edmunds

Salt Seafood and Oyster Bar

Matteos Ristorante Italiano

Matteo's

Suriol is a family-owned winery located in the heart of Cava region in Spain. They are known for their organic and biodynamic approach to winemaking that results in wines that express the unique terroir of the region.

Pizza, pasta & hearty bistro mains in a relaxed hangout with large windows & streetside tables.

Contento

homepage

CorkRules application allows you to discover wines at your favorite restaurants, learn with friends and be confident with price transparency. Order wine with confidence at restaurants and retailers. Get personalized recommendations. #DrinkWhatYouLove

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De Bortoli, Prosecco, King Valley NV

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Marlborough, New Zealand

Juniper Crossing Cabernet Sauvignon - Merlot, Margaret River NV

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Yarra Burn Premium Cuvee Brut NV

Victoria, Australia

Mud House

Marlborough Pinot Gris NV

Pinot Gris

Marlborough, New Zealand

Minimum

Chardonnay, Nagambie Lakes NV

Australia

Baby Doll Sauvignon Blanc NV

Marlborough, New Zealand

Stumpy Gully Wines Peninsula Panorama Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula NV

Mornington Peninsula, Australia

Pizzini

Pinot Grigio NV

Pinot Grigio

King Valley, Australia

St Hallett Shiraz Black Clay, Australia, South Australia, Barossa NV

Shiraz

Barossa, South Australia, Australia

St Hallett, Blackwell Shiraz, Barossa Valley NV

Barossa, South Australia, Australia

Bec Hardy

Pertaringa Lakeside Cabernet Sauvignon NV

Cabernet Sauvignon

South Australia, Australia

The Busselton Boys 'Jack' Chardonnay, Margaret River NV

Margaret River, Australia

Pertaringa Rifle & Hunt Cabernet Sauvignon, McLaren Vale NV

McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia