VIP

One day I woke up and became the wine steward for one of my most important guests.  It basically happened overnight, and it was really a gift- though I am not sure I saw it that way the first few weeks.  This guest, let’s call him VIP, is particular, valuable, engaged and opinionated.  VIP likes what he likes, he doesn’t know what he likes, but he certainly knows what he doesn’t like.  And, now, I am the personal ambassador to the world of wine for him.  ( I know tough job.)  He started out with big hot jammy zins and amaraones, my two least favorite wines personally.  Choosing wines for VIP has pushed my limits.  Not because I don’t know wine.  Not because I don’t have an idea of what he likes.  Because VIP likes wine that I don’t enjoy, he doesn’t enjoy the wine I love, and he needs a story and a reason for every selection, pushing my understanding and education for wines I don’t fully appreciate.  Kudos to Jen, my wine manager, because our list is very balanced.  Not just wines she and I like, and we don’t always like the same, but a list that has wines to fit every taste profile, and from lots of different areas, in every price.  VIP and I have found about 6 wines we both love.  And about 20 he loves and I am happy to open for him.  And about 5 I LOVE and he doesn’t.  And, since neither one of us are wrong, it brings to mind the great synergy between wine and music, just like a weekend at Live in the Vineyard.  When you ask someone from the event what their favorite band was, they may say Mayer Hawthorn, or Jason Mraz, or Richard Marks.  There isn’t a right or wrong answer.  Just like when VIP pushes back my beloved Napanook calling it “not good enough,” while I want to say,” Oh My Goodness do you have any idea how good that wine is at the price?”  I can’t.  I simply say, perfect, sorry, you are right, and let’s move in a different direction.  And then Jen and I drink the rest of the bottle ourselves with giddy excitement, trying to remember to allow the staff a sip or two. 

My point is this; there is no right or wrong answer.  No matter how educated you are, how much wine you drink, or how many zeros on your bank account, your taste is personal, and you should drink what you enjoy.  White wine with steak?  Yes, try a huge oaky Chardonnay like Rombauer with your next filet and tell me that isn’t a match made is steak heaven.  There is a fine line between helping your guests discover wine and try new things, and honoring what they enjoy- it’s a great line to try to navigate. 

So, I walk the line.  With a little Johnny Cash in my head I am off to the steakhouse to try to find a new, jammy, fruity, complex zin or syrah with a great story in case VIP pops into the restaurant tonight. 

www.napanook.com

www.rombauer.com

What a weekend...

Impossible to say what was more enjoyable, fun. playing their hit songs in the caves at Nickel and Nickel?  Richard Marx charming everyone at Beringer?  Kelly Fleming's new tasting room and caves for a private tour?  The grand tasting at the beautiful Westin with Grgich Hills, Cakebread, Faust, Regusci, and dozens of others, not to mention the the funky Pink Girl Rose?  Live music and surprise acoustic jam with Ryan Star and Scars on 45 at Whetstone?  Making new friends at Cornerstone?  Maybe the afteroon at Pride Mountain eating woodfired pizza, drinking cab watching the rains...The bigger events at the beautiful Uptown theater?   I'll have to think about it while I sip the wines we brought home.  Another great weekend of music, food and wine... 

One of the surprises for me was the Cornerstone Wine tasting, their wines were delightful.  I shouldn't have been surprised that their former wine maker, Celia Welch, is now making wines with Kelly Fleming.  Their Stepping Stone Cab priced to drink now, and holds its own against wines 3 times the price. 

Another suprise for me was the consistancy of the Berigner wines, and their operation in general.  Beringer "gets it," they know wine, they know hospitality, and they know how to throw a party.  Their facility is beautiful, their history rich, and I would put Beringer on your list for your next trip to Napa if you haven't toured the property yet. 

I have heard the up and coming Scars on 45 on the playlist at my steakhouse.  Like Pavlov's dogs, I want to drink Syrah every time, because of course we were drinking Syrah at the quaint Whetstone Winery when they sang their hearts out and made us fall in love with their music, and their quick wit.  Whetstone, while not available in my market yet, is an up and coming winery to watch.  With their roots in Turley's past success, their future is bright, and they are doing things a little bit differently, which I appreciate a lot. 

www.whetstonewinecellars.com

www.beringer.com

www.pridewines.com

www.kellyflemingwines.com

www.cornerstonecellars.com

And a nod to the musicians... www.scarson45.com

Cops and Robbers and Paraduxx for Valentines...

One of my best guests is an interesting former cop, one of the former cops that seems coppish all the time.  He has that air about him- and he used to teach criminology and teach young police how to be police at the police academy- he is all cop.  And as you can imagine, he has some great stories.  He has shared some really interesting things with me over the years, and recently he told me about his 2 to 5% theory.  The more I have heard him use this theory the more I realize it applies to life in general, and certainly wine.  I have no idea if this theory was his own, or stolen from another- maybe all cops “know this.”  He basically says that 2% of the population deserves the attention of the police.  5% of the population gets the attention of the police, but that extra 3% don’t really deserve it- they just get caught in the wrong circumstance.  But 2% of the population really need, warrant and require the full attention of the police.  And, when all is well for the rest of us, they usually get it. 

According to my cop friend, those 2% get the ugly police.  Hey, we all want the policeman that pulls us over for a speeding to be nice and cool, laugh at our jokes, and let us off with a warning.  And, heaven forbid we have our house burglarized, we call 911 and we need Rambo and Die Hard and the Terminator right away.  We don’t care if they get our jokes, we don’t want them to be nice, we want them to be bad ass and handle the bad guys. 

I digress.  Aside from any interactions with the police making you need a glass of wine or two, I see some similarities with this 5% deal. 

When was the last time you were in a liquor super store?  Let’s take Vodka for example- there are 100 vodkas on the shelf- maybe more.  I know that I narrow my search to the 5 or so I am actually interested in, and then choose the 1 or 2 I’d like to drink and then get the one that’s on sale. 

And, it is the same theory with wine.  There are hundreds and hundreds of wines out at my local superstore.  Even at my local “beer” store that sells wine.   Do all of them warrant our attention?  Do more like 5%? How about the hundreds of labels we just walk past?  A marketing person’s nightmare.   

I recently went to a tasting where 80 wines were poured.  I tasted 76.  Just kidding.  I tasted about 10, and thought, afterwards, that about 4 were interesting to me, based on price, flavor, and relationship with the wine maker, grower, etc.   We all have our little 2% or 5% we are interested in.  Same is true with restaurants I assure you.  In my line of work I get a lot of help trying to expand my 5%, and luckily I like to try new wines.  Truth is, it's not a bad gig trying to find wines to focus on.  And while I have my favorites that I return to again and again, hello Joel Gott, recently, I have really been enjoying a new line up:

The Brother’s Ridge Cabernet from Rodney Strong, a single vineyard surprise- one that I recently shared with another restaurant friend who said, simply-“ wow,” and then, “can I get it in Omaha?”  Jen brought this in to the steakhouse as a feature, and it is amazing.  It is one of the single vineyard selections that gets blended into the famous Symmetry…  

The H3 Cabernet from the Horse Heaven Hills in Washington, made by Columbia Crest- at my favorite wine shop for about $15, and man this little wine delivers in that price point! I like the Cab, and the “Les Chevaux,” their mystery blend.  This wine has made the rounds at my table a lot lately.  

The Twomey Sauvignon Blanc- everything a Sauvignon Blanc from California should be- makes me want the snow to stop and spring to come- crisp herbaceous, balanced and clean.    

Finally, the Paraduxx- a gorgeous zin and cab blend that needs a little swirl in the decanter, but is a gem- powerful, graceful, interesting, and worth the splurge.  – A little Valentines gift to myself; and if I let the Hunter have a sip, then I can pretend I cracked it for both of us, he can go back to Negro Modello, and I can finish the bottle. 

www.rodneystrong.com

www.columbiacrest.com/horseHeavenHills

www.twomey.com

www.paraduxx.com

Brown bag it!

Brown bag fun…  When you think of the brown bag, you probably think of peanut butter and jelly, or the clichéd bum with his bottle…

Well I’d say think again.  We blind taste at the steakhouse a lot, literally with a brown paper bag sometimes, and sometimes by decanting the wine.  We love to ask a few questions- First and most important, do you like it?  Then we ask if we can all determine the varietal, then guess the price point, getting as specific as we can, giving hints along the way if needed.  But recently some of the LIV crew invited me to a brown bag party, and I was intrigued.  Unfortunately, I had to turn down my invite because we are having a record stretch at the steakhouse, but I sent over a few bottle of a wine I thought would show well blind.  And, I did my own brown bag tasting in their honor.  The results were, as they usually are, very interesting.  I sent the Cain Cuvee.  It is delicious on its own, or with the strange and assorted array of foods you find at an “everyone bring an appetizer to share” party.  So, the food is spicy and salty, cold and creamy, rich and hot, all in bites… super hard to pair with wine.  The Cain Cuvee is a non vintage blend of all the Bordeaux varietals, and is merlot driven… I knew it would be a winner. 

That same weekend at the steakhouse, for some adventurous guests, I put together a blind tasting with some fun wines- very different wines.  The guests were drinking, and enjoying the Peju Cab- a stand up wine.  The newly released 2007 is drinking beautifully.  I asked a few questions about price, and what they like to drink and was told they like only California Cabs. 

Of course to someone fortunate enough to have a lot of access to wine, (like me!) that statement is a gift- an opportunity to gently broaden their wine exposure.  And of course, we all know that no one likes only California Cabs- the translation is that they are comfortable with them, they can pronounce them, and they don’t want anything too funky.  Got it.  On to the fun part, picking wines that they will love, and letting them argue it out, all brown bagged of course… 

I picked three wines that are all in the same price as the Peju, since that is where they started.  Also, all wines that really over deliver in their price points, and nothing too funky, too fruity, too green peppery, too tannic, etc.

I started with the always delicious Hess Alomi Cab- this wine is a workhorse, consistently delicious vintage after vintage, well made- classic Napa Cab.  I picked the Cain Cuvee, because I love it, Jen has reignited my interest in Merlot at the steakhouse, and while a blend that is about 50% merlot, it is a Cab drinkers merlot if you will.  And then I branched out to one of my favorites, the Termes.  Termes is from Numanthia, a tinta de Toro from Spain- this wine is a great surprise on the list.  It is a little leaner than the other wines, but well balanced with great structure, and by that I guess I mean that it has consistent  flavor from the first taste all the way through the mouth, all the way through the glass…  I love this wine.  So, back to the table I went, brown bags in hand, poured the tastes, labeled everything so they could taste back and forth, and I let them discuss.  Right out of the gate the Termes was the early winner.  However, as I suspected it might, the Cain eventually won them over, they needed a little more fruit, and the Cain delivers it. 

In all they loved all the wines, decided that they aren’t just California Cab drinkers, and they chose the Cain Cuvee as the winner.  That is one of the true pleasures of our job, helping a guest discover new wine.  So, all the wines were delicious, but the Cain edged out the others that night.  I must confess that the same party ordered the Termes for their large party in the same week, so it really as a close race…

www.hesscollection.com

www.numanthia.com

www.cainfive.com

I have only heard the early reports from the LIV party, and don’t know which wine actually won.   I was told however that the Cain showed 2^nd of 20 wines, and I won a prize.  I’ll share the details when I have them.  Until then, invite some friends over, and instead of just your favorite wine, serve a few in the same price point or from the same region and have some fun.  The possibilities are endless

Yes Hess...

Hess Collection- Still Amazing. 

Recently I had the pleasure of great music- with the amazing Martin Harley.  Man does that guy have a voice!  But, of course, for me, the best part was the food and the wine.  Hess Collection hosted us all to an amazing spread of fresh shucked oysters and jumbo chilled shrimp, wood fired pizzas and cheese and salumni.  Each food station was better than the last, and each was paired with the wines that are under their umbrella of a label, including Hess of course, Artezin and Sequana.  A few surprises included the  much loved Hess Block 19 mountain cuvee and the Artezin Charbono.  Who drinks Charbono?  Who makes Charbono?  Well, now, I guess I am a Charbono drinker.   And you should be too if you can find it.  And, though admittedly not a huge pinot fan, the 3 vineyard blend and 5 vineyard blend blew me away from Sequana. 

So, unbelievable music, (did I mention the amazing art?) great food, and spectacular wine.  If you make it up that curvy drive to Hess you won’t be disappointed.  And if you can’t get to California, then get to you local wine shop and buy yourself some holiday cheer, or wine gifts for the wine lover in your life, you won’t be disappointed. 

www.hesscollection.com