If you are a $10 - $15 glass of wine person, like I am, this might not be the place for you. I have been to Testimony several times. Mostly when they first opened. Very nice place. They did a great job remodeling and creating an upscale feel., but I do remember on that first visit I was thinking this would not be a regular stop for me after seeing the prices of a glass of wine.
I was at Testimony a couple of months ago with a group from work and they had a lovely rose Spanish vermouth they were serving that was very good. I was just a couple of months past at month-long trip to Spain and was in love with Spanish Vermouth. Vermouth in Spain is a fruity, citrusy, herbal fortified wine.Not the stuff we mix in our Martinis here in the states. So on this visit to Testimony, I asked if they had any open again. The woman who was helping seemed a little unsure of herself and wasn't really sure what I was talking about. I assumed she was new.
So she asked and came back and said "yes, we do have a vermouth open". I asked her what kind and she couldn't answer me so she handed me the bottle.
I told her that looked nice and that I would have some. She proceeded to pull out what looked like a shot glass and poured me some. I was puzzled. I have never seen Vermouth served this way. Not in Spain anyway. She said that was how they served it there. Okay. Thimble full of Vermouth it is.
She then tells me that more than half empty bottle was opened for another customer and that it was an $80 bottle of Vermouth. But since I didn't know that, they were only going to charge me $18 for my shot of Vermouth. Well, it was a little too late to say no at that point. I had already had a couple of sips. She told me it was probably because Vermouth has a much higher alcohol content than wine. Wrong. It has the same or less. Again, it is just a fortified wine. Not a distilled spirit. I was a little surprised that she popped off with an excuse for how much she was charging me. Hindsight is 20/20 and I told her I wouldn't make that mistake again. So I cut my losses and sat down with my group. After we sat there for a while, and I had long but finished my 2 oz of Vermouth, I decided to order a Red Blend. Just whatever they had on the menu.
When the server handed me the payment device, it was on the screen asking me to tap my card. So I didn't see how much the glass of wine was. But I wasn't too concerned about it. When I saw my charge alert come through on my phone I decided then I would likely not be going back. $27 for one glass of wine. My fault. I will definitely be more careful and ask for prices first. I had one glass of wine and one shot of Vermouth and spent over $50. I appreciate supporting small local businesses, but this is way out of my rural Redmond price range.
The food is good (less expensive than a glass of wine in most cases) and I enjoy the atmosphere. However, all the times I have been here, I get the feeling they cater to people with money and feels like this should be a wine bar in Bend not Redmond. I make a pretty decent salary and have no kids or spouse to spend it on. But the prices still catch me off guard every time.
But, if you have lots of money to spend on a couple of glasses of wine, give this place a try. At the very least, order up some of their whipped feta. It's really good. read more