Marin Independent Journal: Larkspur welcomes Angelo Pera’s Backstage Wines

Backstage Winery’s tasting room in downtown Larkspur, California was featured in the Marin Independent Journal on Nov. 14, 2017. Here’s how writer Leanne Battelle described the tasting room:

The food and drink scene continues to burgeon in downtown Larkspur with the debut of winemaker Angelo Pera’s Backstage Wines. Doors swing open Saturday at the new retail space at 295 Magnolia Ave., perfect proximity for waiting for a table at neighboring Magnolia Avenue restaurants. Pera, who took over the reigns of Mountain View Winery in 2010 and opened San Rafael’s Mountain View Winery Tasting Room in 2011, focuses on both Old World and new-age techniques for his super-premium, single-vineyard and varietal Napa Valley wines.

A menu of Backstage Bites is meant for sharing and includes two meat and cheese boards ($18.95 to $22.95), avocado toast on sourdough ($12.95), smoked salmon pinwheels with creamy chive cheese ($11.95), herb artichoke dip with bread or Rustic Bakery crackers ($10.95), balsamic roasted beets with goat cheese, Marcona almonds and arugula ($12.95) and carnitas tortilla cups with citrus slaw ($16.99). Seating is at small tables, at the counter or, when weather permits, on a terrace in the front.

Wines are served at the perfect temperature and come in 2-ounce tasting pours or by the glass or bottle. “This is an alternative way of going to a bar because we’re not like a regular tasting room where you may go once a year,” Pera says.

Backstage Winery is open 4:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; 4 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays, 1 to 9:30 p.m. Saturdays; 1 to 7 p.m. Sundays, and is closed Mondays. To find out more, go to backstagewines.com or call 415-898-6778.