Dana Farner of CUT, Beverly Hills, on the Taste for Cabernet
Dana Farner has been the sommelier at CUT since it opened in 2007. Patrick J. Comiskey saw her at a recent In Pursuit of Balance tasting and she described how the taste preferences of her steakhouse guests generally fall into “an Old World camp and a New World camp.”
I have some guests who are excited to drink good Bordeaux because they know it has less alcohol; they can drink more and not feel bad the next day. I try to only put Bordeaux on the list that are ready to drink, which makes them expensive. But I have found a few good ’05s and ’06s, Right Bank stuff that’s pretty yummy right now. We did see a decline among clientele who’ll drop for an ’82 first growth without batting an eye. Since 2007, we . . . Continue reading →
Jonathan Waters of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse on Quiet Wines
Jonathan Waters is closing in on his 30th year at Chez Panisse, where he runs the wine program and also often serves as the maître d’ of the upstairs café. When asked what wine often recommends with dishes off Alice Waters’ menu, he responded with “quiet wines.” Joshua Greene asked him what he meant.
If you think of the borders of a tasting impression, there’s acid, there’s fruit, funk, earth. The center of a quiet wine doesn’t announce itself immediately.
If you think of a still pond: The acidity and tannin are all at the edges, but in the middle of the wine, nothing is pushing itself forward. Sometimes the acidity rushes across to meet you, or the fruit is like wind that pushes right across the lake. . . . Continue reading →
Jeff Hagley of Atlanta’s Restaurant Eugene on Oregon Pinot Noir
Jeff Hagley runs the wine program at Eugene, and now handles the more esoteric list at Holeman & Finch Public House, chef Linton Hopkins’s recent opening. He notes an uptick in wine sales at his restaurants this past year, and Carson Demmond spoke with him to learn what’s driving that increase.
People are conscious of their wine budget and they’re planning ahead. If it’s a special occasion, it’s not quite the shock and withdrawal that we saw the past few years. The fear of doom is over. They’re planning to spend. They’re expecting it.
I’m seeing a lot of people drinking American. There’s more interest in esoteric wines, sure, but a larger consuming public is going for US stuff. Part of it is ease . . . Continue reading →
Michael Madrigale of NY’s Boulud Sud on the Mediterranean
Michael Madrigale oversees the wine lists at Boulud Sud and Bar Boulud, two restaurants on NYC’s Upper West Side connected by their cellars. His collection of Mediterranean curiosities and gems at Boulud Sud is among the best in New York. Joshua Greene spoke with him about how Santorini has become his best-selling wine by the glass, and the importance of holding a few bottles back.
Santorini is not the least expensive wine on our list, though it is fairly inexpensive. This year, it drove the most sales by the glass, overall—the Atlantis from Argyros. It has something to do with the cuisine and with the perception of Santorini as a beautiful Garden of Eden—a place a lot of Upper Westsiders have been to. I don’t think they know about the . . . Continue reading →
Ian Becker of SF’s Absinthe on Frizzante Naturalmente
A Cincinnati native, Ian Becker moved to California in 2001. He worked as a sports writer for the Napa Valley Register before transitioning into the wine trade. Having joined the Arlequin Wine Merchant team in 2005, Becker now directs the wine programs at Absinthe and Arlequin Wine Merchant. He’s also a co-founder of San Francisco Natural Wine Week.
How does being right near the ballet and opera and symphony affect your wine program?
We’re so busy with performance crowds that by-the-glass wines dominate what we do. So we’ve learned to look for wines that have broad appeal and that we can stand behind. We’ll have tables ordering seven glasses of the same wine rather than buying a bottle and we’re fine with that. Many pre-show people don’t want . . . Continue reading →
