Pop the Cork

Bobby has recently been doing a lot of work over at the new GardenWalk in Anaheim. One of the stores, a wine bar named Pop the Cork, opened last week, and he made a point of being their first customer.

Last night he needed to go down to GardenWalk to tell his employee what needed to be done that night, and we decided to go early and visit Pop the Cork so I could see it.

When we walked by, it looked as though the were closing up, and the door was already locked. It wasn't even 9:30 yet! Bobby knocked on the glass and waved at the owner, and they came and unlocked the door. The owner said it had been completely dead, so they had decided to close up early, but if we would like to come in they'd open back up.

I'm always amazed at how easily Bobby befriends people. I tend to avoid talking to people I don't know, unless we are introduced by a mutual friend, but he'll strike up a conversation with anybody. He's a natural at networking.

Some friends of the owner were there as well, and took the opportunity to join us as fellow customers. Soon a few other couples and groups came in, and while it stayed slow, I'm sure they made a few hundred dollars while we were there.

We tasted some really good wines. Bobby and I compared small tastings of Dow's 10 year old and 20 year old port side by side, and I very much enjoyed the Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto d'Acqui (a sparkling rosé), and the Reisling that Bobby tried. With chocolates, of course. The sommelier attending the bar was very friendly and gave us the lowdown on the process and testing one goes through to become a certified sommelier, which was very interesting.

After buying a Gewürztraminer to take home (I've never tried one before, but have wanted to since I learned how to say it), we met up with our employee so Bobby could go over what needed to be done. As we were walking around the job site, you could hear music of The Doors quite loudly next door at another of Bobby's jobs, Heat Ultra Lounge, which will be opening this weekend. They were utilizing the beautiful sound system while tying up some loose ends.

Bobby and I went in the back door and the owner encouraged him to show me around. It's a really beautiful club, and should be very popular. The sound system is amazing. Bobby already wants to go to the club when they open, and he's not even a club person. I suspect he just wants to be there for it's debut, and enjoy knowing that he helped build it.