Contemplations Before Heading West

I’m getting ready to head out to the western part of the Sonoma Coast to work at the West Of West Wine Festival. This is a young organization that has banded together to promote the landscape and history of the Western Sonoma Coast. I’m looking forward to learning from and meeting new producers and other wine professionals from around the country.

Having traveled to Sonoma several times over the last few years I’ve become enamored with the place and the people. The rugged coastline and the laid back farmers vibe has me hooked. Maybe it’s the college kid who spent four years in Missoula, Montana, but the uniformity and overbuilt Napa Valley has made it easy for me to devote most of my time to the exploration and the wide open spaces of Sonoma. In addition to wine you’ve got some iconic landmarks such as Nick’s cove, Hog Island Oysters, redwoods, rugged coastline, and Langunitas. There’s just an authenticity and a genuine community of growers that I’ve connected with.

Sonoma is home to about 400 wineries. The Sonoma Coast AVA is 500,000 acres with about 8,000 planted to vine. This is a very large area with varying climate, topography, and proximity to the coast which means that there can be many different styles of wine not representing a true identity of the region. The time to create a smaller, more localized AVA’a has never been more relevant in Sonoma. After all isn’t this why the AVA is supposedly so important?

National events such as WOW are very important to participate in. The land ultimately tells the story of the wines we sell in our restaurants. Meeting organized groups of winemakers is equally as powerful. In addition to working with the growers we get time to spend time with our colleagues from other cities and states. Chatting about there restaurants, wine programs and regional trends.

We get to discover new producers. Figure out how to better answer questions for guests and for us as buyers.

Why should the guest pay more for this pinot noir vs. that pinot noir? There’s a multitude of factors. Some land is harder to work and more difficult to grow grapes than others.

Why is some Pinot Noir from Sonoma 13.2% alcohol and others are 14.7%? Which areas and producers make for more lush and rich styles of pinot noir, where others focus on lean and focused styles? Who uses whole cluster? What kind of oak treatments are being used? Is the goal to meet demand or to reflect the specificity of the AVAs of the Sonoma Coast?

How do politics play a role in the creation of AVAs?

I’ll report back in a few weeks and share my experience complete with pictures, interviews, and stories.

Outside Research

I was fortunate to be traveling this weekend for a wedding to NYC.  I go back frequently because I find it an invigorating scene and because each time I return someone is excited to show me a wine from a producer I had never seen before.  And each of these producers has a story that connects them to my own particular story of the region.  It just assimilates into the canon.  This by no means happens at every restaurant in NYC, but there are some that make it hard not to go in each time I visit.

This brings me to today's post.  Outside research.  Who's wine lists make your mouth water?  When you are looking for inspiration do you look to wine magazines?  Or do you have people who's list you secretly covet?  Producers or importers who's wines you wish came here?

Here are some of the lists that I think our truly educational and exciting:

The Classic:

Tribeca Grill - David Gordon is a mentor and a master of the craft, but he does it with a sense of modesty and a few sarcastic jokes.  The list here is impressive for depth and price.

http://www.myriadrestaurantgroup.com/cms/uploads/files/a70d72623d57c2cc3db8599dc3ade8f8.pdf

The Rabble Rouser:

Pearl and Ash- Patrick Cappiello wants to play in everybody's sand box.  This list has classic producers with vintage depth, but  also is determined to seek out new producers to champion.  If you really want to be jealous follow @patrickwine on Instagram and see what wines they are opening and what punk song lyrics he compares them to.

http://www.pearlandash.com/pdf/wine-menu.pdf

The Formalists:

Colicchio and Sons and the wine lists of the Altamarea group (Ai Fiori, Marea, Costata to name just a few) are steeped in the history of great wine programs of NYC.

Ryan Mills Knapp worked at Tribeca Grill for many years and got used to selling great older vintages with great provenance.  Collichio and Sons has allowed him to seek out those old jewels to dot a list made of impressive current releases.  @ryanmillsknapp on Instagram

Hristo Zisovski spent 7 years at Jean Georges and has taken their format of French heavy classic four star wine list and turned it into something more accessible.  It is Italian focused (with a fair amount of the classics from the rest of the world placed throughout) and not daunting in the details of Italy which can scare  many a wine savvy diner away. @hristoz on Instagram.

Colicchio and Sons
http://www.craftrestaurantsinc.com/colicchio-and-sons/files/2011/10/Wine49.pdf

Ai Fiori
http://www.binwise.com/print/aifiori_bottle_pdf.aspx?ListId=146

The Gemini:

Les Marchands Wine Bar in Santa Barbara is a project from Eric Railsback and Master Sommelier Brian Mcclintic.  These two are busy making juice at Lieu Dit and Vallin as well as running this store and other programs throughout California, plus adding the responsibilities of being an MS to the whole package.  But this wine bar list represents Santa Barbara and the rest of the world in a pretty unmatched way.
@erailsba  on Instagram

http://lesmarchandswine.com/assets/downloads/Les%20Marchands%20Menu%20Winelist.pdf

If Pixies had Flamethrowers:

How to talk about Pascaline Lepeltier.  She is fiery, but also contains an amazing sense of cool.  Her list is focused on biodynamic, organic and sustainable wines but she isn't looking to pick a fight with the rest of the wine world.  Her admiration for the growers is what is on display on her list and she fights for them. @pascalinelepeltier on instagram
http://www.rougetomatenyc.com/images/uploads/menus/WINE_7.1.14.pdf

Others throughout the rest of the US who are worth a look are Reynard, Terroir, Hearth, Charlie Bird, Press in St. Helena, RN74 (multiple locations), Canlis, Nomad, EMP, Del Posto and many many more.

The European Inspirations:

Ruben Sanz Ramiro may be the nicest guy playing the sommelier game, but this wine list he now runs at PM & Vanner in Sweden is downright overwhelming.  @rubensramiro on instagram
http://www.pmrestauranger.se/en/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2.7.14.pdf

Mitja Sirk has probably one of the most single minded wine lists in the world.  A temple of Friulian wine.  Where sommelier's like to seek out new wines or new producers, this list literally has left no stone unturned for a whole wine region. @mitjasirk on instagram

http://lasubida.it/lasubida/editor/uploaded/files/lista_vini.pdf 


Follow us on instagram as well if you'd like @squirewineco

Passion by Paul Greico

Unrelated to the Chicago Wine Community, but exactly what squire wine co is about.  Paul Greico spoke at the Welcome Conference in NYC (the link is below) and towards the end of his speech he said our job is to not just say yes, but to take the guest on a journey and to tell a story.  We are not cork pullers we are here to give the greatest service to the guest which is to educate and excite, to invigorate the dining experience, and to make strong choices on our lists that involve conversation.

Our job as wine professionals is not to offer the comfort of wines that people know, but to use our knowledge and skills in service to say no I don't have Silver Oak, but do you like Silver Oak from Napa valley or from Alexander valley?  The wines do taste similar but the fruit is a little different and I'd love to point you towards a California Cabernet that would fit you best.  We need to know Silver Oak.  We can't act out against a wine just cause it's popular.  We need to know why it's popular.  What is that flavor profile?  If we do this we can understand the guest, comfort the guest, talk to the guest, and end up giving the guest what they want even if Silver Oak is not on the label and we had to start from a no to get to a yes.

These nos can create a yes.  A relationship between the wine professional and the guest and also with a new wine/winery.  If we do what we do well, they will want to follow that wine and order it at other venues.  If we do what we do well, they will want to visit us again and when they come in we will remember them and get the opportunity to say,  "I know you liked that last time, but you're not having it again you're having this."  This gives the guest a sense of excitement for each time they come to the restaurant/wine bar.  It gives them a sense of this is my place and this is my guy/girl.

Please watch the video below.  Paul is a true innovator and rebel in our community.  Visit Hearth and Terroir if you are in NYC.  The wine lists are exciting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09QyN5B_mNM

Seven Fifty

So first and foremost, we at squire have no commercial affiliation with seven fifty, but admittedly we thinks its one of the most simple and brilliant tools for the wine professional.  Our goal with squire wine co is to create the strongest wine community in Chicago by transparency of events and job opportunities.  What seven fifty offers is transparency of what wines are available in the market. 

If you don't already know sevenfifty.com is a tool for wine buyers as well as wine suppliers and distributors.  On the buying side, it allows one to scan through all the distributors offerings online with pricing listed, but you can also search using many different criteria as well which means if you are looking for what wines from the Finger Lakes are available, it will give you a showing of the entirety of whats available using all the distributors that are signed up.  

When I worked in NYC there were over 100 distributors signed up to choose from.  Presently for Illinois we only have 4 distributors signed up.  For this tool to be truly effective we need to get more distributors to sign up.  I know that seven fifty actually connected me to different distributors that I had never used before because they were part of the database and offered a producer I had been looking for.  

What I had never realized before I actually met with them is that as helpful as seven fifty is from a buyers side, its twice as helpful from the distributors side.  I can request tastings from the site as a buyer, but the distributor can track what I've tasted and what I said about it.  Let alone all the other fun things, like building tasting sheets and more.

To make our wine culture better we need as many tools as possible at our disposal and I think seven fifty is a great tool to keep us and our wine programs as dynamic as possible.  But we as buyers and as reps as well need to get more distributors to sign up.  This tool can only be as good as the community of distributors signed up for it.  

So buyers if you haven't signed up, all you need is your liquor license number and you can play around with the site and see how awesome it will be once its fully populated.  Tell your reps that you want them to be on seven fifty.  Lets continue to create transparency and community in the wine scene in Chicago.

Squire Wine Co

Sherry Day In Chicago!

On Monday, April 28th Liz Mendez and Steve Morgan hosted a sherry party at Vera restaurant (http://www.verachicago.com) featuring the sherries of De Maison Selections, Fernando de Castilla, Equipos Navazos, Lustau, Bodegas Los Infantes Orelans Burbon, La Guita, Valdespino, and Hidalgo.