It can cost a pretty penny to go upscale on a restaurant wine list. Add a few pennies more if the bottle isn't a current release. Typical mark-ups are two to three times the retail price, which can really add up.

We recently enjoyed a bottle of 2007 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir while dining at the Plantation Gardens restaurant in Koloa, Kauai. This was definitely a vacation splurge but we didn't pay restaurant prices. That's because we bought it at The Wine Shop in Koloa and used their connections to avoid the corkage fee. It was all part of our plan to make our vacation better with wine.

Domaine Serene was one of the wineries we visited when we toured Oregon's Willamette Valley wine region in 2010. Their wines were impressive and we even enjoyed a bottle of their 2006 Rockblock Reserve Syrah at our anniversary dinner while on the trip.

Plantation Gardens has a very Pinot-friendly menu, which made it a great choice for this wine. The nose was pure Oregon funk, a distinctively earthy smell. The palate had cherry up front with undertones reminiscent of a fall forest. This strong earthiness is an awesome pairing with pork, short ribs, and root vegetables but also works with a wide variety of other food.

I don't know where you can find this wine on the mainland, but the 2010 release is available online directly from the winery.