Dining: 3 Cheers for the Red, White & Bleu!

We attended a concert on the lawn at Wolf Trap last fall and took pity on the poorly prepared diners/listeners next to us.  First we gave them thinly sliced circles of salami.  “Mmmm,” they said.

Then we fed them small chunks of a bitey yet mellow tanged cheese.  “Ooh,” they said.

And then a lovely chardonnay, treasured in small glasses.

“Where did you get this great food and wine,” asked the grateful picnickers.

“Red, White and Bleu in Falls Church,” we answered.

You, too, can appear a gourmet and enjoy the gourmet’s tasty fare simply by patronizing this new wine and cheese (and beer and salamis and artisan breads and crackers) shop at 127 Washington Street, just off Broad Street.

I never thought I’d see my husband, the beer snob with a preference for European beers and select breweries, drink beer from a can.  But RW&B has a fabulous beer in a can.

“I never thought I’d offer a beer in a can, “ noted James Roth, a co-owner.  “But once I tried it, I had to admit it was a very special beer. It’s a Colorado beer and the can allows backpackers to follow the rule to bring out what you take it.  Plus, a can be crushed and is lighter weight than glass.”  Also safer, we might add.

During the weekend afternoons, you will see a blackboard on the sidewalk outside RW&B, announcing wine tastings.  These are true tastings, with a complete run down on the winery, a short disquisition on the wine’s pedigree, and a discussion that runs as long as you like on taste, taste-related wines, etc. It is a joy to have a quiet room, three wines, and a knowledgeable host conducting the tasting.

There are two knowledgeable hosts and store founders to chat up and learn from, James Roth and Harry Silverstein.  A third owner,  Adam Roth is busily running a Falls Church favorite restaurant, Argia’s, just down the street from Red, White, and Bleu.

Co-Founder/General Manager  James Roth was formally introduced to the New York City wine scene through a group of wine enthusiasts, FUNWITHWINE, during an evening of wine and cheese pairing.  This initial wine experience would become the catalyst that would change James’ life forever.
Before long, James departed Bear Stearns and Wall Street to work in the wine industry for one of the premier family wine retailers in Manhattan, Morrell & Company.  Also, James began to make his mark as a wine auction specialist, where he would start the arduous task of learning the intricacies to further develop his appreciation and palate.

In the fall of 2006, James accepted the position of assistant to Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World wine school. Through these experiences tJames mastered the skills of approaching wine with an unpretentious attitude, and captivating and enlightening the audience without intimidation
Co-Founder Harry Silverstein brings an extensive knowledge of business and marketing practices to Red, White & Bleu. His love of wine and food has a long history and dates to a class he attended at Syracuse University in 1996.  He has spent much of his free time in the ensuing years educating himself on the intricacies of this business, and served as the co-chair of the Wine Club at the University of Chicago GSB.  In that capacity, he tripled the membership of the club to 450, doubled the number of events (to more than 20), and increased the organization’s capital by a factor of four.
He is looking forward to marrying his long history of success in the business world with his entrepreneurial spirit and love of fine wine and food.

Co-founder Adam Roth, owner of Argia’s Restaurant, also in Falls Church, is a successful business owner and restaurateur.  Argia’s has been serving Italian specialties in the City of Falls Church for eight years.  In that time, Argia’s has built an extensive following among both local and greater metropolitan Washington residents, and was chosen for the cover of the Washingtonian Magazine’s Top 100 Restaurant Issue in January, 2005. Adam, through his daily interaction with clientele at Argia’s, has a close ear to what many of the Falls Church residents are looking for in regards to a wine and gourmet food store. Adam is knowledgeable of many Italian wne varietals and is responsible for the selections of wines that compose the wine list at Argia’s.

Our advice? Don’t wait for the blackboard to appear on the sidewalk. Drop by Red, White, and Bleu for a bottle of wine for dinner this week.