If you have been to the tasting bar at Hi Time, then you know what a great time can be had sampling some nice wines. Traditionally, wine tastings are offered on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday each week unless there’s a holiday such as Thanksgiving when the bar is closed. Often there is a theme, such as all Burgundy wines or Sauvignon Blanc. The bar is staffed by friendly and knowledgeable servers and can be fully booked when a popular winery is featured. I do recommend reservations, although walk-ins usually can get a seat. I have been attending tastings since the early 1990s and have met many people who have become good friends. In fact, before I began going on a regular basis, I knew very little about wine. Now I’ve got a job writing about it.

 

Kind of a funny story about how I first ended up at Hi Time’s wine bar. I went to Brazil once back in 1992. I spent a few days in a treetop lodge in the middle of the Amazon jungle where I ate piranhas, which I caught that day for dinner (better my eating them than the other way around!), and I was served a marvelous drink called a Caipirinha. Raw sugar and lime are muddled together after which a generous dose of Cachaça is added—it’s sort of like rum but very strong. When I returned to the States, I just had to find some Cachaça so as to make this drink for myself. I ran all over town to this market and that to find the stuff and couldn’t. Finally, someone said, “Have you tried Hi Time?”

 

So, I went to Hi Time for the very first time. Of course, they had what I wanted—if you can’t find something in the way of wine, beer, or spirits at Hi Time, you probably never will. It was then that I discovered their wine bar. I had been used to going to bars late at night in those days, but the afternoon wine tastings, which begin at 4:30 (1:00 p.m. on Saturdays), fit better into my schedule and 4:30 was around the time I would be getting home in those days. So, I became a regular. I met interesting people. I got invited to wine dinners, eventually forming my own group. I met a woman named Polly Ober, may she rest in peace, who invited me to join her Friday Lunch Bunch Group. We meet each week and everyone brings a bottle to share. These days, I sort of run that group!

  

Back to Hi Time--where there is now something new! While Wednesdays are usually reserved for special occasions, “Try It Tuesday” is the new hot event. Cyrille Hanson, a third-generation member of the family that has owned and operated Hi Time since 1957 (a decade before she was born), is the host. Try It Tuesday costs a mere $20 (including tax) for a two-ounce pour each of six quality wines. Wine tastings on the other nights cost at least $35 and often more. Try It Tuesday is a pared-down event—no cheese plate or bread, no à la carte glass of champagne, which I usually like to begin with. I hate to drink wine on an empty stomach which is why I like to begin with the bubbly. Nor do they offer the usual 10% discount on wines found on that day’s list. But they do offer a great deal on a quality tasting.

   

I thoroughly recommend giving this a chance. Cyrille says that the wines are donated by one of several wholesale suppliers, the only requirement being that the wines are in stock so that if you do taste a wine you like, you don’t have to go home empty-handed. I have attended Try It Tuesday a couple of times as of this writing and plan to go often, as it is such a good deal. The times I have gone have been rather lightly attended, but I hope this mid-week event catches on. What else do you have to occupy your time on a Tuesday, anyway?

   

Cyrille said, “I want it to get bigger, but not too big.” Too much success can be an issue sometimes. In this case, the suppliers only give her two bottles of each wine, and these aren’t just cheap wines at all. The hours for Try It Tuesday are 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., although you must arrive before 6:30 to have time before the store closes. Maybe I’ll see you there this Tuesday!