A NEW ZEALAND RESTAURANT IN WESTLAKE VILLAGE – WITH GUESS WHAT KIND OF WINE LIST!

Restaurant, Wine Review, , ,

Dorianne, Richard Clark and I went to the new restaurant in Westlake Village tonight, sort of by accident. Our house is for sale and they wanted to show it at dinner time, so . . .

I suggested Ahroha, the new New Zealand Restaurant that we had seen the night before. It’s been open for nine weeks. Chef Gwithyen Thomas and his wife opened this place on their own after Gwithyen had worked as a chef in eight previous restaurants over eleven years. He looks like he is about 28.

The restaurant is in a small space that had been empty for some time.

We had an amazing meal – venison, lamb, scallops, etc. Entrees run in the $30’s, but are well worth it – excellent ingredients, many sourced from New Zealand, beautifully prepared and served very competently.

The wine list is very heavily New Zealand oriented, which is both what you might expect and very nice. We chose a mid-range 2012 Pinot Noir from Forest. Very nice, evenly balanced, peppery. It struggled to keep up with the heavy meats, but it did fairly well. We ordered the wine before deciding on entrees, or we might have ordered something more substantial.

IMG_4520
2012 Forrest Pinot Noir

I noted that on the wine list, wine by the glass was a bit expensive and the bottles were something of a bargain. The bottle price was just about the cost of three glasses.

I look forward to returning and exploring more of the New Zealand wines – there are also a smattering of California, French, and Italian bottles, by the way.

There is also a nice brunch menu.

We now have a New Zealand restaurant and a Kurdish restaurant (Niroj Levant) within a mile or so of each other. Very nice!

MAKING THE MOST OF NOT GETTING FED

Wine Review, , ,

Last week, our friend Mary Stec held the first of a series of cooking classes at her home. Dorianne went over to do dishes as the evening progressed. I, of course, offered to be wine steward, assuming that we would be pouring Richard (Mary’s husband and our wine co-op winemaker) Clark’s wine.

Dorianne and I arrived a bit before the students and I examined the bottles of wine co-op red wine that Richard had set out. There were red blends, a Merlot, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Syrah. Once everyone arrived, I poured them each a glass and Richard and I headed down to the den to await further instructions, expecting that as each course (Tuscan Autumn Cooking) was completed, we would receive a sampling.

Did I mention that Richard and I were drinking, well, let’s say different wine from the folks upstairs. I brought a 2007 Au Bon Climat White Table Wine, which was not chilled and had been stored in the refrigerator. Richard told me to select a wine from several cases that he had recently obtained – cases of VERY nice wines. I pulled a 2009 Kistler Cuvee Elizabeth Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, Bottle #16586; you know, something nice, but not at the top level of what was in those cases, so as not to appear greedy.

2014-11-03 21.26.56
The Au Bon Climat & the Kistler.

So we opened the Kistler – heaven! We sat back to watch a football game. The wine went down smoothly, but, after a glass or two, I began to wonder when the morsels of food from the cooking class would arrive. I asked Richard about it, but he was clearly on orders not to disturb the goings-on in the kitchen for ANY reason. So we finished the Kistler.

After a few minutes of sitting with empty glasses, I boldly went up to the kitchen, circled through the living room so as not to walk through the class, and entered the back near the refrigerator. Nothing resembling completed food was in evidence. Coolly, I slipped the Au Bon Climat from the refrigerator and retraced my circuitous steps to the lower den. We opened the bottle and basked in the explosion of perfectly aged wine with strong fruit, great structure, and nearly perfect balance. Food, what food?

Oh, food – getting hungry – it’s almost 8:30. Not even an appetizer in site. A friend, Keith, taking the class, passes through the den on the way to the rest room. “Food?” we ask. “You want some food? Sure.” So after completing his mission, Keith goes upstairs and gets us some crackers and a kind of cheese dip. We are in good shape.

2014-11-03 21.27.13
Au Bon Climat – Back Label.
2014-11-03 21.27.25
Kistler – Back Label.

The Au Bon Climat is soon almost gone, and we are called upstairs to pour wine for the dinner. After completing that duty, we again retire to the den with plates heaping with amazing Tuscan delicacies. We finish the white wine and the evening is declared a success.

Oh, I’m fine with no one at the cooking class knowing that we did not drink the co-op wines. AND I want to stress, that my commentary in no way indicates anything negative about Mary’s Cooking Classes – they are amazing.

TIPS FROM A SOMMELIER ON BUYING AND ORDERING WINE

Wine Education, ,

From Esquire Magazine – Link

“Aldo Sohm, the aptly named wine director of Le Bernardin, was the 2008 winner of the “Best Sommelier in the World” award given by the World Sommelier Association. He is the man. We talked to Aldo to ask for some basic tips for a guy that wants to buy a bottle of wine at the store and doesn’t know anything beyond “it should cost more than $15.” (Which, by the way, is not bad advice as far as it goes.)”

A SOJOURN IN MANHATTAN – WINE ON THE RUN

Restaurant, Wine Review, Wine Travel, , , , , , ,

This past weekend, Dorianne and I visited Manhattan to see our daughter, Heather. During our short visit, we had three dinners with wine and went to a rooftop bar atop our hotel – The Indigo Hotel on W. 28th Street in Chelsea.

Friday, Heather made reservations at Giovanni Rana Pastificio & Cucina, known as Rana, located in the Chelsea Market (a must visit in NYC). Known for their fresh pasta and other Italian fare, the restaurant is bustling and noisy – in a good way. We had reservations for three and they put us at a table for six, which was fine because it was in a corner and allowed for our conversation to be heard without too much trouble.

We ordered a 2012 Guado al Tasso Vermentino from Tuscany – a white wine to go with seafood pasta. It was the second Vermentino I have had – oddly enough the first was the night before at a friend’s home where we had a Vermentino from Tablas Creek in California’s Central Coast to begin the evening. I did not take a photo of the Sicilian bottle – both wines were light and crisp with a hint of spice. The Tablas Creek was perhaps a bit spicier, and the Guado al Tasso had more of a green apple taste, but they were very similar. I recommend both the restaurant and the wine.

Saturday we went to the RoofBar at the top of our hotel (17th Floor) and watched the sun set and the lights of the city come on. Our wonderful bartender, Costa from Greece, showed us around the fairly spacious rooftop area, some covered and some open. The wine list is short, and features a number of Greek wines (the owner is Greek, we were told). We ordered the French Sauvignon Blanc – a “Lulu” 2013 from Touraine. It was everything you would want in a Sauv Blanc – crisp and fruity, with hints of citrus and lemongrass, but very well contained, unlike the wines from New Zealand, for example that tend to be heavily citrus based. We returned to the Roof Bar on Sunday evening for a repeat performance of the sunset and some more Sauv Blanc.

2014-10-25 17.41.35
Costa behind the bar at RoofBar in Chelsea.
2014-10-25 17.53.31
Manhattan sunset.
2014-10-25 19.04.41
Night Falls on the City.

Saturday dinner was at the Petit Poulet on 33rd Street off of Avenue of the Americas. The food was classic French (I had steak frites) and we chose a 2012 Les Jamelles Pays d’Oc Merlot, which was recommended by our waiter, a classic New York waiter who treated you grandly if you looked like you knew what you were doing and were also appropriately subservient to his opinion. The wine and the food were both wonderful.

2014-10-25 19.44.41
The French Merlot at Petit Poulet.
2014-10-25 20.09.16
Steak Frites at Petit Poulet.

Sunday afternoon, we had lunch at BoludSud, a Daniel Bolud restaurant across from Lincoln Center, next to Bar Bolud. As you would expect, food, wine and service were impeccable. It was warm enough to dine alfresco, which was a bonus. I had a glass of 2012 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay while Dorianne opted for tea. Jim Clendennon would have been half-happy.

2014-10-26 13.03.10
Dorianne making her selection at BoludSud – my Au Bon Climat in the foreground.

Sunday dinner, after our second stop at Roof Bar (which by the way, does not even have nibbles, which is unfortunate), we opted for the John Dory Oyster Bar at 29th and 6th Avenue. This is a beautiful restaurant with a very limited menu – shellfish based, as you might imagine. It is also the first restaurant that I have ever been to where I did not recognize a single wine on the wine list. The list is short, to be sure, but not a familiar winemaker in sight! There are four house wines that are “on tap.” The wine prices were, shall we say, sky high, so we opted for one of the on-taps and ordered a ½ carafe of Vinhos Verde (at $34). The wine was a fairly typical Vinhos Verde in my experience, young and raw – not very pleasing. It was ok with the oysters and clams that we ordered. This might be a good place to bring your own bottle.

2014-10-26 19.28.02
Where the Magic Happens at John Dory Oyster Bar.
2014-10-26 19.28.31
Waiting for our somewhat disappointing Vihno Verde at John Dory.

Oh, and we went to Eataly – which may require another post even though we did not drink any wine. So a quick trip into town, a bit hit or miss on the wine scene (we did not plan around the wine), some good food, and uniformly good service. I look forward to a more wine-centric visit to this great city in the future.

A 24 YEAR OLD BAROLO AND A RACK OF LAMB

Wine Review, ,

We were invited to dinner at Richard Clark and Mary Stec’s to meet Richard’s sister, Berrie (hope the spelling is right). We took an almost full bottle of Napa Cellars Cabernet because we are leaving for a week tomorrow and did not want to waste a very nice wine. Richard was grilling a rack of lamb, and Mary was making a Greek salad, roasted squash and Chinese broccoli. Plus goat cheese and huge gigantic olives for appetizers. Nice.

So Richard tells me that a fellow that he works for regularly has given him five cases of wine.

Really?

Really.

All amazing wines – things like Phelps Insignia (early 200’s), Kistler, Caymus – you get the idea.

The Napa Cellars (smooth and very very nice) goes quickly. Richard says, go get something from the cases.

Really?

Really.

A 1990 Barolo – poured into the decanter to sit a while – it clearly need to open – swirling the decanter a lot.

2014-10-23 19.42.49
The 1990 Borgogno Barolo in the decanter & the 2008 Napa Cellars Cabernet

The wine is a 1990 Borgogno Barolo. Very tight right out of the bottle – starts to open a bit after about 20 minutes in the decanter with frequent swirling; a very tightly coiled wine. The wine is pretty close to being over – I would not keep this wine another year. But it could just be this bottle. The nose is very unusual – smoky and something else. So we go online – prices run from $88 to $295 for this vintage. Wow!

The wine has an old taste, but there is still the fruit and the balance. But that nose – smoky, leathery, but more than that; tar, flares, like that. Interesting.

A great dinner and some great wine. Can’t wait to get into those other cases!

2014-10-23 19.36.25
The Barolo.

COQ AU VIN WITH TWO EXCEPTIONAL FRENCH WINES

Wine Review, , , , ,

Last night, Dorianne and I had dinner at Mary Stec and Richard Clark’s (again). Mary was trying out a recipe for her upcoming Autumn in Tuscany cooking class (sold out), and was also preparing a coq au vin for the main course. Dorianne and I dug into the French area of our cellar and came out with a Burgundy and Bordeaux. Both wines were exceptional.

2014-10-17 18.57.23
Two French Beauties

The appetizer was squash ravioli with balsamic and sage; Mary used won ton instead of pasta. It was a little sweeter than expected, but very good. We began with the Bordeaux, a 2007 Chateau Millens Saint-Emilion Grand Cru that we purchased in Saint-Emilion in 2013. The wine shop where we purchased it, as part of a mixed case, purchases the entire production of this small producer (so you will not be able to find this amazing wine, except at that shop – sorry). The Bordeaux blend, Cabernet and Cabernet Franc, was very well structured, with a nice mix of cherry fruit and minerality on the nose, and hints of cherry, tobacco, and chocolate on the tongue. It finished very well. This wine was not a perfect match for the unexpectedly sweet appetizer, but it was a very good wine. We still have a couple of bottles left, and the wine could use some additional time to age. With the coq au vin, we poured the Burgundy, a 2003 Domaine de la Vougeraie, Nuits St. Georges Les Damodes Premier Cru Pinot Noir. This wine was a Christmas gift from Dorianne a few years ago. It was simply magnificent.

Coq au Vin by Mary Stec with the Domaine de al Vougeraie Burgundy.
Coq au Vin by Mary Stec with the Domaine de al Vougeraie Burgundy.

The nose was very complex, with floral notes of lavender and rose predominating. The wine had a nicely structured mouth-feel, velvety smooth, a bit softer than the Bordeaux, as you might expect. The flavors were berries, floral notes, and just a hint of minerality. This wine also had a great finish – something that I usually do not notice. I was surprised to see that some of the online scores for this wine were only in the high 80’s. I would score it higher. These were special wines pulled out for a special dinner, and not every day wines. That being said, they both delivered a superior experience that you would not find in an everyday wine. For more info on my philosophy of wine, go to the ABOUT section.

HOSTING A SPECIAL WINE DINNER

Wine Education, ,

Dorianne and I like to host special wine-related dinners once in a while. The idea is to get some people interested in wine together, to have some good food, to have some interesting wines, and to engage in conversation beyond the ordinary. We have found that the wine can aid and abet this kind of conversation.

Not to talk endlessly about the wine itself – you know what I mean – but to tell a story in which the wine is a character and see where that leads. I will write about a couple of those dinners here.

Your theme is important. One was “Bring the bottle that you have been saving for a special occasion for ten years and the special occasion has never happened; or it did happen and you couldn’t part with the wine.”

2012-08-17 22.28.40
The Line Up for the Wine You’ve Been Saving for a Special Occasion Dinner.
2012-08-17 22.28.47
The All-Stars of the Evening.

Five couples and one single attended, each bringing their special wine and a dish to go with it. Dorianne and I supplied the main course. Each couple would share how they obtained the wine, and any special story that went along with it. We ended up with nine wines. Oddly enough, only one was a California Wine. The highlight was a 1981 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, and there were fabulous wines from Australia and Italy. We provided a number of decanters for the wines – the evening was memorable on many levels.

2012-08-17 21.54.47
After the meal – lots of glasses!

A few months ago, we hosted a “Bring a Wine with a Great Story” dinner. Four couples and a single friend brought food and some wonderful wines to share. The dishes ranged from pâté and melon and prosciutto appetizers to Tuscan chicken with side dishes of chickpeas and rabe and a green salad, to home-made peach pie and chocolate cake for dessert (there were two birthdays in the group). The wines ranged from the Chateaux Margeaux Premier Cru to an Il Borro Tuscan red Bordeaux Blend, to a Central Coast Pinot Noir to another Tuscan red just obtained on a trip to Italy. One friend had just flown in from British Columbia and brought two bottles of ice wine – a Merlot and a Riesling.

We have also hosted dinners where you bring your favorite red or white under $25, or bring a specific varietal from a certain appellation. The idea is just to provide a theme that the meal and the experience can be built around.

The joy of such occasions is to share food and wine with people who appreciate both. The stories about the wines inevitably lead to other stories – about family, travel or just about anything. We share the experience and, if the evening is a true success, the wine fades to the background and the connection come to the fore.

2014-07-11 18.16.06
The Il Borro Tuscan Burgundy Blend in the Decanter.
2014-07-11 21.26.30
Dessert and Ice Wine from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley in Kelowna.

Later, the coffee is shared and the dishes are done, and people depart having experienced a memorable evening that itself becomes the next story.

To plan your own special wine dinners think “Theme – Story – Invitation List – Wines – Food. Make a plan and find creative ways to invite people and to share the idea. If guests bring a dish to share, there is less work for the hosts, and more involvement in the whole experience by everyone. Have fun!