C O R D E R O S T U

c o r d e r o s t u d i o s / w w w. c o r d e r o s t u d i o s . c o m

1RESTAURANTS 00Favorite Our Favorite Vintners Select Their

Elite winemakers cannot afford to let their knowledge stop at the cellar door. Just as they tend the grapevines, they must tend to restaurants as well to ensure that their vintages gain places on the right wine lists. Paying frequent visits to restaurants is the sacrifice that most make to remain current. This chore can entail savoring the nuances of a French Laundry tasting menu or sometimes just munching on a really good cheeseburger. Recognizing that vintners should know a thing or two about restaurants, we asked dozens from around the world to name their favorites, and from those selections we compiled this (alphabetical) top-100 list, which spotlights a few of the more intriguing picks. ➾

may 200 8

robb report

149

1RESTAURANTS 00Favorite Acme Oyster House New Orleans The French Quarter’s oldest oyster bar is still the place to go for po’ boy sandwiches, gumbo, and jambalaya. 504.522.5973, www.acmeoyster.com

Albergaccio Castellina, Italy Cocina rustica reigns at this Tuscan countryside restaurant, where the sausages and pastas are made by hand and the cellar is filled with finedrinking country wines. Splendid endings include a plate of raw-milk cheeses. +39.0577.741042, www.albergacciocast.com

Alinea Chicago Grant Achatz does not want you to call his cuisine “molecular gastronomy,” even though he and his staff prepare it by employing such kitchenware as the “antigriddle,” which can chill a daub of olive oil to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit instantly, and serving pieces that include the Peacock, an implement that presents morsels skewered on five spikes that spread like the feathers of a peacock’s tail. Achatz prefers that you call his fare “good food.” 312.867.0110, www.alinearestaurant.com

www.andinarestaurant.com

A.O.C. Los Angeles This candlelit wine bar serves more than 50 rare vintages by the glass and half-glass, allowing for a series of intriguing pairings with Suzanne Goin’s parade of Mediterraneaninfluenced small plates. 323.653.6359, www.aocwinebar.com 150

rob b r e p o r t

m a y 200 8

www.aqua-sf.com

The Bavarian Taos, N.M. Tuesday night is fondue night during the snowy months at this Bavarianstyle lodge, but goulash and Wiener schnitzel are available every other day

T

of the week. In winter, the easiest way to reach the dining room is by skiing in: The restaurant sits at an altitude of 10,200 feet, at the base of the lift for Taos’ back bowls. 505.776.8020, www.thebavarian.net

Beige Tokyo Perched atop the sleek Chanel Tower in the city’s Ginza district, Beige pairs Alain Ducasse’s food with the ambience of a Peter Marino– designed room. Some tabletops are decorated with Chantal Branchy’s bronze frog sculptures, which were a

The Great Dish of China

he next-best thing to eating Peking duck at the Forbidden Palace— where it was invented centuries ago by the emperor’s court chefs—is savoring it at Made in China, inside the Grand Hyatt Beijing. The five-year-old restaurant cannot claim the experience of Quanjude, a Beijing establishment that has served Peking duck since 1864, but it does have a 120-square-foot, walk-in wine cellar that holds more than 2,200 bottles. The 118-seat restaurant serves 40 of the 3-pound ducks per week. Each is roasted in one of two ovens fueled with the wood of apple, apricot, and peach trees, which flavors the birds with fruit-scented smoke. The most critical step in the cooking process involves an air pump that separates the skin from the flesh; this technique allows the skin to gain its crispness. Prior to roasting it, the Made in China staff hangs and air-dries each bird for about 65 minutes. Servers carve the duck tableside, swiftly slicing it into 120 pieces that you eat with thin pancakes, cucumbers, and traditional sauces. —sheila gibson stoodley Made in China, Beijing, +86.10.8518.1234, ext. 3608, www.beijing.grand.hyatt.com

David Powell of Torbreck Vintners in Marananga, South Australia, recommends: “Any Grenache-based wine, particularly the Torbreck Steading. A wine of medium palate weight, with good sweet fruit, will match the savory saltiness of the Peking duck.”

w i n e b o t t l e : c o r d e r o s t u d i o s / w w w. c o r d e r o s t u d i o s . c o m

Andina Portland, Ore. Andina offers traditional Peruvian cuisine, such as an appetizer of kebabs of marinated beef hearts, but it also serves skewered octopus with a chili pepper chimichurri and other modern preparations. 503.228.9535,

Aqua San Francisco Laurent Manrique’s devotion to foie gras remains unshaken, though animal-rights activists have threatened and harassed him. In his butterpoached Hawaiian walu entrée, the delicacy appears in a sauce with grape vinaigrette. 415.956.9662,

Wine & Dine

Made in China, Beijing

may 200 8

robb report

151

Wine & Dine

favorite of Coco Chanel.

requests to the piano player.

+81.3.5159.5500, www.beige-tokyo.com

813.251.2421, www.bernssteakhouse.com

Bern’s Steak House Tampa, Fla. More is more at Bern’s, which offers 22 types of caviar, 62 cuts of steak, and a collection of wine comprising 500,000 bottles. After the main meal, you can retire to the dessert room, where each of the 48 booths is equipped with a phone for dialing in

Bistro Don Giovanni Napa, Calif. When winemaker Stacy Clark of Napa Valley’s Pine Ridge wants a “fat night” of “pizza and french fries and dessert,” she heads for Bistro Don Giovanni. Clark’s dessert of choice is “a tall, skinny sundae with chocolate and caramel and nuts. A careful

balance of fat and salt followed by sweet. And it goes with our Stags Leap District Cab.” 707.224.3300, www.bistrodongiovanni.com

Bistro Jeanty Yountville, Calif. Philippe Jeanty cooked haute French cuisine for Domaine Chandon’s Napa restaurant for two decades before opening this small-town bistro to serve homey favorites from his

Redd, Yountville, Calif., and chef/owner Richard Reddington

Vintners’ Canteen

R

obert mondavi, Naoko Dalla Valle, Ann Colgin, and dozens of other winemakers are among the regulars at Redd in Yountville, Calif. They keep coming back to his restaurant, says owner Richard Reddington, because it offers what Napa Valley otherwise lacks. Reddington’s wide-ranging dinner menu includes Asianstyle dishes such as sashimi of hamachi with sticky rice, edamame, and lime ginger sauce. “That’s what’s not really up here,” he says. His modestly priced bar menu, which features fish tacos and pizza, provides an alternative to the special-occasion restaurants that cluster in Napa Valley. (Redd is on the same street as the French Laundry.) And its sleek, modern decor contrasts with the rustic appearances of its competitors. “I wanted to do a city feel,” Reddington says. “So many restaurants here look wine country–friendly. But when you travel, you know where you are. You don’t need to be reminded of that.”

152

rob b r e p o r t

m a y 200 8

Also unlike many of its neighbors, Redd lacks a dress code. “Sometimes the tourists complain that the locals aren’t dressed up,” Reddington says. “But if [the winemakers] are coming in from harvest, they can wear whatever they want.” That policy, plus the food, has endeared Redd to the locals. In our poll of winemakers, many of whom reside in Napa Valley, Redd was cited more often than any other restaurant. “I probably go about once a week when I’m in Napa,” says Randy Lewis of Lewis Cellars in Napa, Calif. “I really like Richard, and the staff, they’re friendly without being intrusive. I can have as fancy a meal there as anywhere. And after working a long day at harvest, I can pop by in jeans and a work shirt and not feel out of place.” —sheila gibson stoodley Redd,Yountville, Calif., 707.944.2222, www.reddnapavalley.com

Spanish Fry

childhood in Champagne. Order the pieds de cochon and you will squeal “Oui, oui, oui!” all the way home. 707.944.0103, www.bistrojeanty.com

Bistro Ralph Healdsburg, Calif. “This small bistro is geared for locals but allows visitors to mesh right in,” says Steve Reeder of Healdsburg’s Simi Winery. “The chicken paillard is my favorite, as well as the CK lamb [a brand of local lamb that the restaurant uses in its lamb meat loaf, lamb burgers, and several other dishes]—and the duck, can’t forget the duck.” 707.433.1380, www.healdsburgmenus.com

Blackberry Farm Walland,Tenn. The chefs at this Smoky Mountains resort create what they call “Foothills cuisine.” Dishes include Brunswick stew, a version of a Southern soup that contains rabbit as well as chicken. Blackberry Farm also serves roasted Tennessee poussin (young chicken) with wilted greens and garlic.

A

Paco Gandia, Pinoso, Spain, +34.965.478.023, www.pacogandia.com

865.984.8166, www.blackberryfarm.com

Blue Water Cafe Vancouver, British Columbia The wine list includes many sakes, and the raw bar stocks 18 types of oysters, but the head-turning choice is the Blue Water Tower: three tiers of iced fish, shellfish, and samplings prepared by sushi master Yoshi Tabo. 604.688.8078, www.bluewatercafe.net

Boat Street Café & Kitchen Seattle The whitewashed walls of this Provençal-style bistro reflect its humble beginnings as a former boatyard machine shop. Appetizers include dates sautéed in olive oil with fleur de sel and also a plate of pickled seasonal fruits and vegetables. The main course of rib eye with blackolive tapenade is a standout. 206.632.4602, www.boatstreetcafe.com

Chris Ringland of Ringland Vintners in Angaston, South Australia, recommends: Bodegas El Nido “Clio” 2005. “An easydrinking young red, it’s a perfect complement to the juicy pieces of rabbit and the aromatic saffron in the rice.” 154

rob b r e p o r t

m a y 200 8

Bradley Ogden Las Vegas Bradley Ogden brings the flavors of Northern California—honey from Napa, poultry from Petaluma, and

t o p : H e i n z H e b e i s e n / w w w. i b e r i m a g e . c o m ; b o t t o m : c o r d e r o s t u d i o s / w w w. c o r d e r o s t u d i o s . c o m

ustralian winemaker Chris Ringland never had tasted paella until a business partner took him to lunch at the Paco Gandia restaurant in the Alicante hillside village of Pinoso, Spain. His meal was unforgettable. Instead of serving the familiar Valencian seafood paella, Paco Gandia specializes in arroz alicantiño—a recipe that includes sautéed chunks of wild rabbit as well as snails collected at local vineyards. The restaurant’s namesake owner/chef prepares the dish in the open-hearth kitchen in a huge, shallow frying pan (also called a paella) over a smoky fire of vineyard cuttings. He seasons locally grown Calasparra rice with a saffron-laden broth and covers the pan with a thin layer of grains to ensure that the rice develops the crusty edges, or socorrat, prized by paella connoisseurs. “I thought [the dish] would be a superb way to entertain friends at lunch,” says Ringland, who now owns three paella pans. He has adapted the recipe to Australian ingredients such as Barossa rabbit, and he fuels his cooking fire with vine cuttings from his 100-year-old Shiraz vineyard. “Unfortunately, I don’t have edible vineyard snails,” he says, “but yabbies [crayfish] from my vineyard dam make a good alternative.” —david lyon

Wine & Dine

cheeses from Sonoma—to Caesars Palace. Ogden prides himself on being present in his kitchen, but when he must travel, he hands the reins to his son and protégé, Bryan.

Bradley Ogden, Las Vegas

702.731.7413, www.larkcreek.com/bolv.htm

Catalan Food and Wine Houston,Texas For $9, you can add seared foie gras to any entrée—including the Gulf shrimp with bacon sage grits and roasted piquillo pepper butter. 713.426.4260, www.catalanfood andwine.com

Cafeína Porto, Portugal An English translation of Cafeína’s reservation policy reveals much about the fashionable, French-influenced restaurant. The restaurant’s web site informs you that you do not have to call ahead for a table, “But due to the affluence, we’d advise it.” +351.226108059, www.cafeina.pt

Cal Pep Barcelona, Spain Expect to wait for a seat, because Cal Pep is always crowded. You will understand why when you taste the butifarra con foie a l’Oporto, a plate of sausage with foie gras and port wine over white beans. +34.93.3107961,

Can Fabes Sant Ceolini, Spain New guest rooms near the restaurant allow you to savor a well-paced, three-hour dinner of Santi Santamaria’s Catalan cooking—and the accompanying wine—without worrying about the 45-minute drive back to Barcelona. +34.938.672.851,

www.calpep.com

www.canfabes.com

N

Caviar Kaspia Paris This post-Revolution refuge of Russian émigrés remains the choice Place de Madeleine meeting spot for members of the Parisian fashion trade, who nibble smoked salmon and osetra caviar and chase them with Champagne or one of more than 25 different vodkas. +33.1.42.65.33.32, www.caviarkaspia.com

Charlie Trotter’s Chicago The standards never slip at Trotter’s restaurant, even when he is away tending to new ventures. Every bite of the 15-course kitchen menu is perfect. Still, many diners come just

Reds, Whites, and Blue

adine brown encourages oenophiles to broaden their palates without leaving this country. She is head sommelier and wine buyer at the Washington, D.C., branch of Charlie Palmer Steak, a restaurant that offers only American wines and, when possible, stocks vintages from each of the 50 states. Since the steak house opened in 2003, the 35-year-old Brown and her staff have convinced diners to taste Merlots from Texas, sparkling wines from New Mexico, and South Dakota reds made from native wild grapes. “We try to get people out of their comfort zones by having them try wines that are not on every list in a four-mile radius,” she says. “There has to be a sense of experimentation.” While nearly 90 percent of the restaurant’s 500 selections come from California—which Brown jokingly calls “the region of least resistance” because of its popularity with patrons—she includes some of the state’s smallest producers, such as Lauterbach Cellars, a Russian River Valley winery founded by an emergency-room doctor who has retained his day job. —sheila gibson stoodley Charlie Palmer Steak,Washington, D.C., 202.547.8100, www.charliepalmer.com

may 200 8

robb report

155

Wine & Dine

for the magnificent steaks. 773.248.6228, www.charlietrotters.com

The China Club Hong Kong Located in the former Bank of China building, the club has an interior that recalls the glamour of old Shanghai. A good hotel concierge can arrange for nonmembers to be admitted to the club’s restaurant. “Sometimes during the dinner, a chef comes out from the kitchen to show how he makes noodles,” says Gaia Gaja of Gaja Winery in Barbaresco, Italy. “His skill

makes it an exhibition, a moment of show.” +852.2521.8888 Cut Beverly Hills, Calif. The star of this Wolfgang Puck steak house is heavily marbled Kobe beef, from both Japan and America. Chef de cuisine Ari Rosenson serves it as sashimi, grilled, or seasoned with Indian spices. 310.276.8500, www.wolfgangpuck.com

Cyrus Healdsburg, Calif. This Sonoma County dining

Aw, Shucks

T

707.433.3311, www.cyrusrestaurant.com

Dal Pescatore Canneto, Italy “This restaurant alone is worth a trip to northern Italy,” Chris Figgins of Washington state’s Leonetti Cellar says of this establishment located inside a Lombardy nature preserve. While influenced by French nouvelle cuisine, the fare is highly regional, and, says Figgins, “It all pairs perfectly with the great wines of Piemonte. Every course leaves you shaking your head in amazement.” +39.0376.723001, www.dalpescatore.com

Daniel New York The seasons guide Daniel Boulud’s menus: asparagus, morels, and peas reign in spring; tomatoes, chanterelles, and sweet corn mark the summer; white truffles appear in fall; and black truffles follow in winter. 212.288.0033, www.danielnyc.com Del Posto New York The atmosphere here is more sedate and the decor more elegant than at Mario Batali’s other restaurants, and the food, which includes orecchiette pasta with lamb neck sausage and Romanesco cauliflower, rivals that of Babbo. 212.497.8090, www.delposto.com Dieter Müller Bensberg, Germany You can forgo the standard offerings in favor of a five-course, 19-plate menu comprising solely amuses-bouche and finish the meal with a sampling from the cheese cart, which contains at least 150 selections. +49.2202.2040, www.schlosshotel-lerbach.com

Wiltons, London, +44.20.7629.9955, www.wiltons.co.uk

Anthony Hamilton Russell of Hamilton Russell Vineyards in Hermanus, South Africa, recommends: Chablis Carré de César, Jean Durup, Wiltons label. “For me, the wine suits oysters because of its marked minerality and lively acidity. It allows the succulence of the oysters to shine.” 156

rob b r e p o r t

m a y 200 8

Duarte’s Tavern Pescadero, Calif. This restaurant opened in 1894 but became famous for its olallieberry pie, which features a hybrid fruit created at Oregon State University in 1949. “There is also an astonishing

t o p : m at t h e w m a w s o n ; b o t t o m : c o r d e r o s t u d i o s / w w w. c o r d e r o s t u d i o s . c o m

o be the best at shucking oysters, you need power, speed, and finesse, and the staff at Wiltons, a 266-yearold seafood restaurant in London, possesses all three. Led by Patrick Flaherty, the restaurant’s head oysterman for the past 44 years, Wiltons has claimed victory at the British Oyster Opening Championships seven years running and also won the World Oyster Opening Championships in 1999 and 2001. Winners must open 30 of the bivalves in the least amount of time while making the fewest mistakes. The required presentation of each shucked oyster to the judges will expose carelessness and poor technique. “You score penalty points if you cut the meat [which kills the oyster instantly], and you score penalty points if you get any shell [fragments] into the meat,” explains James Grant, Wiltons’ general manager. “You also get penalty points if you cut yourself and bleed into the oyster.” Grant says the daily experience of working in the busiest oyster bar in London helps Flaherty and his team retain their composure during the pressure-packed competition. Frederik Lindfors represented Wiltons at the 2007 British championships, finishing the task in 4 minutes and 25 seconds. (He did incur penalty points, but officials do not disclose these figures to the contestants.) The Wiltons team went on to place sixth in the world championships by shucking 30 oysters in 3 minutes and 11 seconds. —shaun tolson

destination in the boutique hotel Les Mars couples formality with playful, innovative dishes. The wine list treats Sonoma on a par with Burgundy, offering an equal number of local favorites and French vintages.

Wine & Dine

unofficial wine list,” says Thomas Duroux, of France’s Château Palmer, “but you have to work on the chef to have access to it.” 650.879.0464, www.duartestavern.com

El Bulli Roses, Spain Ferran Adrià’s wildly entertaining tasting menu changes slightly every day, but past offerings have included curry-flavored zucchini-seed risotto with capsules of peanut oil, and also tomato soup with virtual ham: thin slivers of tomato-flavored jelly, croutons topped with ham-flavored

jelly, and basil seeds. +34.972.150.457,

treasure. +39.055.242777,

www.elbulli.com

www.enotecapinchiorri.com

El Celler de Can Roca Girona, Spain The three Roca brothers helm this restaurant: Joan prepares regional Spanish favorites such as Iberian suckling pig; Josep oversees a predominantly Spanish wine list; and Jordi creates the desserts.

Everest Chicago The views from the dining room, located on the 40th floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange, are as compelling as Jean Joho’s Alsatianinfluenced menu. Entrées include a filet of venison with wild huckleberries, braised pear, and Alsace knepfla (egg noodles). 312.663.8920,

+34.972.222.157, www.cellercanroca.com

Emeril’s New Orleans Emeril Lagasse may have flirted with self-parody on his recently canceled TV show, but the man can cook. Influences from places as diverse as Morocco and Indonesia accent his New Orleans Creole cooking. His punchy, hearty fare almost always pairs well with Cabernet Sauvignon. 504.528.9393, www.emerils.com

Enoteca Pinchiorri Florence, Italy Annie Féolde brings a French accent to the northern Italian cuisine served in this Renaissance palazzo. Giorgio Pinchiorri presides over the 150,000bottle cellar like a dragon guarding a

I

The French Laundry Yountville, Calif. Thomas Keller’s inventive FrenchAmerican food garners the most attention, but the skills of wine director Paul Roberts also are impressive.

m a y 200 8

stand were licensed to sell wine, Beckmen would pair his 2005 Beckmen Purisima Mountain Vineyard Marsanne with La Super-Rica Especial, his favorite menu item. For this dish, Gonzalez stuffs bell pepper–sized spicy chilies with marinated pork and vegetables. Beckmen usually requests melted cheese on his. “The Marsanne has the weight to hold up to the richness of the dish,” he says, “and it is crisp enough to handle the spice.” Smith’s favorites are Rajas, slow-cooked poblano peppers, onions, and melted cheese on a tortilla, and a fundito, or bowl of cheese, with bacon. Smith would pair both with the 2005 Saxum James Berry vineyard, a Syrahbased blend. “The wine has the tannin to cut through all the cheese,” he says, “the sweet fruit to hold up to the spice of the poblano peppers, a nose of smoked meats that would complement the bacon, and the acidity to hold it all together.” —sheila gibson stoodley La Super-Rica, Santa Barbara, Calif., 805.963.4940

c o r d e r o s t u d i o s / w w w. c o r d e r o s t u d i o s . c o m

rob b r e p o r t

Fredsgatan 12 (F12) Stockholm, Sweden F12’s up-to-the-minute menu has included veal with tuna sauce, grapefruit, and licorice, but winemaker Ernst Loosen, of the Bernkastel, Germany, winery Dr. Loosen, enjoys the “amazing retrocharm” of the 1970s Scandinavian decor. +46.8.24.80.52, www.f12.se

Taco Heaven

sidoro gonzalez opened La Super-Rica in Santa Barbara, Calif., 28 years ago because he wanted to serve tacos like those that he had eaten while living in Mexico City in the early 1970s. Gonzalez, who is now 58, piled grilled meats, fresh chilies, vegetables, and melted Monterey Jack cheese onto corn tortillas and quickly gained fans. His greatest champion was Julia Child, who first approached his take-out window in 1982. She became a regular customer and a friend, paying her final visit two months before she died, in 2004. “Many times, when she was interviewed in magazines, she would mention us,” Gonzalez says. “She put us on the map, and she kept us on the map.” As many as 500 people patronize the taqueria daily, standing in long lines to satisfy their cravings. Two of the winemakers we polled chose La Super-Rica as one of their favorite restaurants: Steve Beckmen of Beckmen Vineyards in Los Olivos, Calif., and Justin Smith of Saxum Vineyards in Paso Robles, Calif. If the

158

www.everestrestaurant.com

Wine & Dine

Roberts not only passed the Master Court of Sommeliers’ notoriously difficult Master-level exam on his first try, in 2002, he won an award for earning that year’s highest score among American test-takers. 707.944.2380, www.frenchlaundry.com

restaurateur Danny Meyer’s popular establishment for its wine as well as its food. “Juliette Pope [the wine director] has got her own sense of what wine could be and should be,” he says. “She’s not swayed by the pronouncements of wine writers.” 212.477.0777, www.gramercytavern.com

Restaurant Gary Danko San Francisco “My cooking is not cutting edge,” Gary Danko says on his namesake restaurant’s web site. “I won’t serve guinea pig food. We do not experiment on the guests!” Even so, his menu includes such unusual combinations as seared sea scallops with rutabaga puree. 415.749.2060, www.garydanko.com

Gramercy Tavern New York Winemaker Chris Camarda of Andrew Will Winery in Vashon Island, Wash., recommends

Harry’s Bar Venice, Italy Credited with creating beef carpaccio, this Venetian watering hole is more famous as the birthplace of the Bellini, a sweet concoction combining white peach pulp, peach juice, and Prosecco (an Italian sparkling wine). +39.041.5285777, www.cipriani.com

The Grange Restaurant Adelaide, Australia The Four Dances of the Sea, Cheong Liew’s signature dish, is an edible autobiography. Prawn sushi represents his childhood home of Malaysia; octopus aioli symbolizes his first job in Adelaide; soused snook (a saltwater sportfish) salutes a friend who taught him to pickle fish; and the calamari with black-ink noodles recognizes his days of working with squid ink at the Regency Hotel School in South Australia. +61.8.8237.0737,

Heartland St. Paul, Minn. The components of Lenny Russo’s entrée of veal roast with crème fraîche potato puree, glazed red onions, and rosemary glace de viande can be plotted on a map: The herbs and vegetables are grown 85 miles away in Barron, Wis.; the cream for the crème fraîche is from the Hope Creamery, 75 miles distant in Hope, Minn.; and the veal is supplied by Cedar Summit Farm, 40 miles southeast in New Prague, Minn.

www.thegrangerestaurant.com.au

651.699.3536, www.heartland restaurant.com

Asking for Truffle

T

he most popular dish on Marc Haeberlin’s menu at Auberge de l’Ill, in the Alsace region of France, is an irresistible paragon of excess. Dubbed La Truffe Sous la Cendre and invented 40 years ago by Haeberlin’s now–semiretired father, Paul, it features a 1-ounce (30gram) black Perigord truffle, which is covered in layers of foie gras and poultry stuffing, encased in pastry, and then deepfried. The creation is presented in a shallow pool of Périgueux sauce, a rich concoction that contains still more foie gras and black truffle. The delicacy is priced at about $200 (137 euros), and on a typical evening, Haeberlin and his chefs prepare eight orders. Some patrons request it as an appetizer, while others make it their main course. Auberge de l’Ill’s version of “truffles under the ashes” tweaks the original recipe, which calls for baking the pastry-wrapped fungus—sans foie gras and stuffing—in the embers of a fire. “The deep-frying,” explains Haeberlin, “brings high and direct heat to the dish and develops the flavors inside the pastry.” —kim fredericks Auberge de l’Ill, Illhaeusern, France, +33.3.89.71.89.00, www.auberge-de-l-ill.com

160

rob b r e p o r t

m a y 200 8

The Hitching Post II Buellton, Calif. Loring Wine Co.’s Brian Loring is a regular at this Southern California establishment, which gained fame for its appearance in the 2004 film Sideways. “Owner Frank Ostini, along with Gray Hartley, helped pioneer Pinot Noir in California,” says Loring, who devoted his Lompoc, Calif., winery to that varietal. “I owe these guys a lot, and I pay them back by eating my own weight in steak each year at the restaurant.” 805.688.0676, www.hitchingpost2.com

Hoppe’s Garden Bistro & Wine Shop Cayucos, Calif. At Wilhelm Hoppe’s establishment, you can sip a local wine from California’s Central Coast and enjoy an entrée of farm-raised abalone in hazelnut-mango butter. 805.995.1006, www.hoppesbistro.com

Iggy’s Singapore The travels of Singapore-born Ignatius Chan inform his East-West fusion cuisine. The restaurant

Wine & Dine

accommodates about 50, and the most coveted seats are the 13 at the counter, which Chan installed so that he and his German chef, Dorin Schuster, can interact with a few of his patrons. +65.6732.2234, www.iggys.com.sg

Joe’s Stone Crab Miami The late Joe Weiss opened his luncheonette in 1913, before people even ate stone crabs; eight years later he invented a cooking method for the crustaceans when he threw some in boiling water and served them with mayonnaise. Joe’s Restaurant ultimately became Joe’s Stone Crab (and is open only during crab season, from October through May). The crabs now are also served chilled with a side of mustard sauce. 305.673.0365, www.joesstonecrab.com

Koi Palace Daly City, Calif. The menu at this Chinese restaurant near San Francisco seems as long as a novella, but you can set it aside and just point to the shrimp, fish, or lobster residing in the huge aquarium tanks in the lobby. 650.992.9000, www.koipalace.com

La Colombe Cape Town, South Africa Luke Dale-Roberts’ food contains subtle flavors that will remind you how close the restaurant is to the Constantia Uitsig vineyard. One such example is the springbok loin with smoked butternut tortellini in a muscat reduction. +27.21.794.2390, www.constantia-uitsig.com

La Frateria di Padre Eligio Cetona, Italy Set within an 800-year-old former monastery built by St. Francis of Assisi, this Tuscany restaurant is part of a residential drug rehab program. The therapeutic regimen for patients includes supplying the menu ingredients for La Frateria’s 30-seat restaurant, which is open to the public, and serving the patrons. The patients harvest the property’s fig trees, make preserves, produce salted meats, bake bread, gather olives and 162

rob b r e p o r t

m a y 200 8

W

Uncorking the Possibilities

ine and indian food are just beginning their courtship, and Vikram Vij, a 44-year-old native of Mumbai and owner of Vij’s, an Indian restaurant in Vancouver, British Columbia, is doing his part to bring the two together. “It’s like going on a date and just having fun,” he says. “That’s all that matters.” He says that the stumbling block in pairing wine with Indian food is history, or rather, lack thereof. “Indian food has never been enjoyed with wine in India, so culturally, there has never been a benchmark,” Vij explains. “So I can create my own benchmark, because there are no guidelines to follow. I can be an artist.” Vij, a chef who also is a certified sommelier, developed his restaurant’s wine list while considering the many ingredients at play in a typical Indian dish, which might include cumin, coriander, chili, and tomato. Wines with heavyhanded tannins might be unsuitable, says Vij, but old-world whites can work well, for they can be complex without masking the flavors of the food. One old-world winemaker, Johannes Selbach of Weingut Selbach-Oster in Zeltingen, Germany, says Vij’s “may well be the best Indian food outside India. I could eat up and down the menu without ever being bored. Plus, they know and appreciate wine—a rare treat in this genre.” Selbach’s favorite entrée is the lamb popsicles, which are marinated in white wine and served in fenugreek cream curry with potatoes and wilted spinach. For that dish,Vij suggests one of those old-world whites, or a Grenache Noir. —karen cakebread Vij’s,Vancouver, British Columbia, 604.736.6664, www.vijs.ca

A Lotus Blooms in the Vegas Desert

W

ith all due respect to joël robuchon, Jean-Georges Vongerichten,Thomas Keller, and other world-renowned chefs who have flocked to Las Vegas, some of the city’s greatest meals are off the Strip. The best Thai restaurant in Las Vegas—and maybe in the entire country—sits a mile east of the aging Sahara Hotel & Casino, among dingy strip malls in downtown Las Vegas. After an acclaimed three-year run at the Renu Nakorn restaurant in Norwalk, Calif., chef Saipin Chutima and her husband, Suchay (who goes by the name “Bill”), opened Lotus of Siam in 2000 to make their mark in a place that was not cluttered with Thai restaurants. Chutima’s cooking is literally fit for a king: She learned her craft from a chef who once manned the kitchens of Thailand’s royal palace. While she prepares the full array of familiar Bangkok dishes, including a mean pad Thai, Chutima specializes in the cuisine of her native Isan, the northern region of Thailand, which shares the subtler approach to spices that prevails in Myanmar and southern China. Chutima’s version of the nam kao tod appetizer unites the tang of minced sour sausage with herbal notes of green onions, mint, ginger, and fresh chilies (she also adds peanuts and Isan crispy rice for texture). In a nod to Hunan culinary influences, she pairs deep-fried sea bass with stir-fried flat rice noodles, and then tops the plate with julienned mint and basil, minced chilies, and a dark, savory garlic sauce.The sophistication of the food pairs well with the floral and spicy wines of Lotus’ surprisingly deep list, which is dominated by German Rieslings. —david lyon Lotus of Siam, Las Vegas, 702.735.3033, www.saipinchutima.com

capers for pâtés, and mill extra virgin olive oil on antique millstones. +39.0578.238261,

restaurant’s offerings. “Greens? I think they had them, but I didn’t see any.” +33.1.48.87.77.48

www.lafrateria.it

La Mer Honolulu Yves Garnier’s menu has one foot in the sea and one on shore. Selections range from fillet of opakapaka (pink snapper) baked in a rosemary salt crust to tournedos of Japanese Wagyu beef with Bordelaise sauce. t h i s pa g e : J o h n M a r t o r a n o / w w w. j p m s t u d i o s . c o m

808.923.2311, www.halekulani.com

L’Ami Louis Paris Though its careworn facade may need a fresh coat of paint, L’Ami Louis remains one of the city’s most famous brasseries. “Think roasted potatoes and garlic, a perfectly cooked piece of beef, seared foie gras, and 1961 Cheval Blanc,” Andrew Erickson, winemaker at Screaming Eagle in Oakville, Calif., says of the

L’Arpège Paris Winemaker Anna Matzinger of Archery Summit in Dayton, Ore., recalls one course at Alain Passard’s establishment that required her server to use a hammer and chisel to unearth morsels hidden within a foot-high mound of salt. “Excavated from the middle of this mountain of salt, which had been baking for much of the day,” she says, “were the most ethereal, succulent, mind-blowing beets imaginable.” +33.1.47.05.09.06, www.alain-passard.com

Le Bernardin New York Like the original Le Bernardin in Paris, this Manhattan outpost specializes in simple presentations of great seafood. “It was the monkfish

with a truffle and wine sauce that I enjoyed most,” says Marco Piccoli of Jackson-Triggs Winery in Ontario, Canada. “It was perfectly cooked and so, so delicious.” 212.554.1515, www.le-bernardin.com

Le Bistrot du Paradou Paradou, France For more than two decades, every Friday has been aioli day at this Provençal bistro, which serves the garlicky mayonnaise with salt cod and local snails. +33.4.90.54.32.70 Le Gavroche London The 41-year-old restaurant’s name translates as “ragamuffin,” and its logo is a sketch of a scruffy little boy, but the unwaveringly French dishes are quintessentially refined. +44.20.7408.0881, www.le-gavroche.co.uk

Les Ambassadeurs Paris Located inside the Hôtel de Crillon, may 200 8

robb report

163

Wine & Dine

Les Ambassadeurs delivers a very opulent and very French dining experience. No fewer than four servers deliver your cloche-covered entrée, and they set the table with gold-plated utensils for the dessert course. +33.1.44.71.16.16, www.crillon.com Park Hyatt New York Grill, Tokyo

and bar that serves FrenchMediterranean dishes such as lamb chops with artichoke gratin, last-ofthe-season tomatoes, capers, and olives. 323.655.6277, www.lucques.com Martín Berasategui Lasarte-Oria, Spain  At this stronghold of the man who transformed Basque cooking into Europe’s cutting-edge cuisine, the portions are tiny because Berasategui conceives them, as the menu notes, “with the brevity of three or four mouthfuls.” But his peach gazpacho starter, followed by Dover sole with clam oil, mint, dry tangerine, and nut powder, will give you plenty to chew on. +34.943.366.471, www.martinberasategui.com

Martini House St. Helena, Calif. Famed for his mushroom-foraging expeditions, executive chef Todd Humphries usually offers a tasting menu of fungi dishes in fall and winter. Linger Longer Johannesburg, South Africa Walter Ulz’s foie gras terrine with artichoke and green peppercorns is a staple, but his seasonal offerings are equally enticing. They include ostrich fillet with Amarula sauce, which is made from the South African liqueur of the same name. The liqueur itself is made from marula, a fruit that African elephants favor. +27.11.884.0465, www.restaurants.co.za/lingerlonger

Louis XV Monaco Contemporary interpretations of Provençal and northern Italian dishes issue from this Alain Ducasse kitchen. The “farm” section of his menu includes yellow pullet (young hen) from the Landes region of France and Mediterranean sea bass with black pepper, leeks, gnocchi, and beef stew juice seasoned with citrus fruits. +377.98.06.88.64, www.alain-ducasse.com

Lucques Los Angeles Owner Caroline Styne and chef Suzanne Goin transformed silent film star Harold Lloyd’s carriage house into a brick-and-timber dining room 164

rob b r e p o r t

m a y 200 8

707.963.2233, www.martinihouse.com

Michael Mina San Francisco Good things come in threes at Mina’s eponymous flagship. Hudson Valley foie gras, Kobe beef, and pork each is prepared in three different ways. 415.397.9222, www.michaelmina.net

Michel Richard Citronelle Washington, D.C. Citronelle brings the flavors of Richard’s native France to the Atlantic coast with offerings such as his pied de cochon, a sausage of pig’s foot, foie gras, and sweetbreads topped with a sheet of crispy pigskin. 202.625.2150, www.citronelledc.com

MoVida Melbourne, Australia Frank Camorra transports his diners to Spain with such temptations as cecina, air-cured Wagyu beef that is thinly sliced and served with truffle foam and a poached egg.

and while he might demonstrate the Spanish predilection for molecular cuisine by enhancing their flavor with a dehydrator or puffing them into a foam, freshness remains his goal. +34.943.522.455, www.mugaritz.com Park Hyatt New York Grill Tokyo Tokyo spreads majestically below the floor-to-ceiling windows of this 52nd-story paean to Manhattan, where Japanese beef is grilled American-style in the open kitchen. +81.3.5322.1234, www.tokyo.park.hyatt.com

Per Se New York Servers present Sébastien Rouxel’s confections at the conclusion of Per Se’s nine-course tasting menu, a time when most patrons can find room for only one of the more than 30 varieties on offer. Choosing the huckleberry-filled white chocolate might require you to turn down the salted caramel truffle, but that leaves something—in addition to Thomas Keller’s entrées—to look forward to next time. 212.823.9335, www.perseny.com

Picholine New York Cheese is always in season at this restaurant near Lincoln Center, but in late fall and winter, Terrance Brennan showcases wild game. 212.724.8585, www.picholinenyc.com

Pierre Gagnaire Paris Gagnaire is France’s leading practitioner of molecular gastronomy, and he collaborates often with Hervé This, the French chemist who, along with the late Oxford University physicist Nicholas Kurti, pioneered the high-tech cuisine and coined its name. The chef turns theory into practice in dishes such as langoustines chaud-froid (in clear aspic) with almond caramel and corn kernels. +33.1.58.36.12.50, www.pierre-gagnaire.com

+61.3.9663.3038, www.movida.com.au

Mugaritz Errenteria, Spain Andoni Luis Aduriz purchases carrots and other produce from local farmers,

Plaza Athénée Restaurant Paris Even the 10,000 crystal pendants adorning the redesigned interior of Alain Ducasse’s flagship cannot

Wine & Dine

outshine his whimsical inventions, whether they are scallops in coconut curry or a Breton turbot stew. +33.1.53.67.65.00, www.alain-ducasse.com

Showthyme Bigfork, Mont. During the summer, chef Blu Funk

serves such crowd favorites as seared yellowfin ahi tuna with black pepper and wasabi aioli on a bed of Napa cabbage slaw in sweet soy-ginger dressing. In winter, when those crowds migrate south, Funk is free to experiment and concoct dishes such

as roasted duck two ways in a dried cherry and cranberry Pinot Noir reduction. 406.837.0707, www.showthyme.com

The Slanted Door San Francisco Rare Chinese teas and a Rieslingdominated wine list complement the Vietnamese cuisine. “I recommend this restaurant even though they won’t buy Torbreck,” says David Powell of Torbreck Vintners in Marananga, South Australia. 415.861.8032, www.slanteddoor.com

T

Feeding Desires

Te Mataré Ramírez, Buenos Aires, Argentina, +54.11.4831.9156, www.tematareramirez.com

166

rob b r e p o r t

m a y 200 8

www.wolfgangpuck.com

Spring Chicago Shawn McClain presents his contemporary American cuisine in creative fashions. His arrangement of four sea scallops on a stew of butternut squash and preserved lemon looks like an abstract expressionist painting, but it tastes like a perfectly balanced dish. 773.395.7100, www.springrestaurant.net

Table 6 Denver Grilled New York strip steak with sweet potato, pancetta, caramelized onions, and a hard-boiled egg is among the comfort-food dishes that Scott Parker prepares. 303.831.8800, www.table6denver.com

Tadich Grill San Francisco This restaurant is ancient by California standards—it served coffee during the 1849 gold rush—but the seafood is always impeccably fresh. 415.391.1849

Tailor New York Sam Mason skirts the line between dinner and dessert with such dishes as

RIG H T : p e d r o q u i n ta n s

e mataré ramírez transforms dining into an R-rated experience. Sensual artworks decorate the walls of this 13-year-old restaurant in the Palermo Soho section of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and between courses, you are treated to pornographic puppet shows and readings from erotic classics. As for the food, a meal can begin with Between Desire and Shame, a salad of smoked Spanish ham, goat cheese, and cherry tomatoes in a cucumber vinaigrette; and move on to With Gluttony as well as Lust, an appetizer of baby squid stuffed with saffron rice. Entrées include You Surrender to My Intimate Perversions (roast lamb with fennel and creamy hummus) and Her Triggering Enjoyment Goes Beyond My Limits (Pacific salmon with buffalo mozzarella, tomato, and perfumed basil). For dessert, there is Lovers That Share One Another, a chocolate fondue with seasonal fruits for dipping. Owner Carlos Di Cesare, who names the offerings and changes the menu twice a year, says that the restaurant’s name, which translates as “You’re Dead, Ramírez,” refers to a school friend of his who became entangled with a married woman. “The husband learned about the affair, and he [Ramírez] had to disappear for a time,” Di Cesare says.“He was always afraid of being discovered. So we always made a joke about it and told him, ‘Te Mataré, Ramírez.’ The story reappeared during the process of making this restaurant, so we used it.” Winemaker Delia Viader of Viader in Deer Park, Calif., recommends Te Mataré Ramírez, deeming it “an unforgettable place.” But she notes, “I do not remember how their wine list was. There were several distractions everywhere.” —sheila gibson stoodley

Spago Beverly Hills, Calif. Lee Hefter steers the flagship of Wolfgang Puck’s empire, offering dishes that include seared rare tuna served with niçoise olives, sweet-andsour shallots, crushed shelling beans, pine nuts, capers, and 12-year-old balsamic vinegar and Ligurian extra virgin olive oil. 310.385.0880,

Wine & Dine

pork belly with miso-butterscotch and peekytoe crab with pineapple foam. He also offers an eight-course tasting menu dedicated to chocolate. 212.334.5182, www.tailornyc.com

Taylor’s Automatic Refresher St. Helena, Calif. Taylor’s is a classic drive-in where you can order burgers and shakes at the take-out window and eat them at outdoor picnic tables. Better still, the eatery is co-owned by winemaker Joel Gott, whose wine list allows you to pair your burger with a Paul Hobbs Cabernet instead of a root beer float. 707.963.3486,

establishment. 312.202.0001, www.trurestaurant.com

Tullio ai Tre Cristi Siena, Italy This 1830 trattoria is “the best place to eat fish in all of Tuscany,” according to Thomas and Monika Bär of Gagliole in Siena, Italy, but the fare also includes excellent local meats and wild game. +39.0577.280.608, www.trecristi.com

www.victoryhotel.com.au

Vinum North Malé Atoll, Maldives Huvafen Fushi resort’s 6,000-bottle wine cellar is located 26 feet underground, well away from the relentless Maldivian sun. Here, the island’s sommelier and food director, Sunny Chuang, hosts nightly wine tastings and weekly five-course winepairing dinners at a single round table that seats 12. +960.6644.222,

www.taylorsrefresher.com

Terra St. Helena, Calif. The husband-and-wife team of Japanese native Hiro Sone and Californian Lissa Doumani has made this Napa Valley restaurant a favorite for 20 years. He handles the sakemarinated broiled black cod with shrimp dumplings in shiso broth; she bakes the Eureka lemon cake and finishes it with Meyer lemon ice cream and huckleberry sauce.

www.huvafenfushi.com

707.963.8931, www.terrarestaurant.com

Tetsuya’s Sydney, Australia “Original, precise, and refined” is how Didier Depond, director of the Champagne houses of Salon and Delamotte, describes Tetsuya Wakuda’s food. The restaurant’s 10course tasting menu showcases French- and Japanese-influenced fare such as a double-cooked, deboned spatchcock (a chicken that is split down the back before roasting) with braised daikon radish and bread sauce. +61.2.9267.2900, www.tetsuyas.com

Victory Hotel Sellicks Beach, South Australia Owner Doug Govan encourages diners to peruse his collection of wines, which features selections from the McLaren Vale region of Australia. “It’s a cellar that any Michelin-star chef would envy,” says Reid Bosward of Kaesler in Nuriootpa, Australia, “with prices that would make them cry.” +61.8.8556.3083,

Wild Ginger

Watershed Decatur, Ga. Scott Peacock cooks his Southern comfort food in this converted gas station where the wines are served in Riedel stemware. One of the owners is Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls, who recorded the restaurant’s namesake song. 404.378.4900, www.watershedrestaurant.com

Turandot Moscow Rumored to have cost $2 million, Turandot’s lavish interiors evoke the stage scenery of the Puccini opera from which the restaurant takes its name. The pan-Asian menu seems out of place in the palatial surroundings, but a dinner at Turandot, much like a night at the opera, requires a suspension of disbelief. +7.495.739.0011

The Waterside Inn Bray, England Fabrice Uhryn and his staff of English, French, Swedish, Austrian, and German chefs produce dishes that the restaurant’s web site deems “unashamedly French.” The menu offers roasted duck glazed with spices, and also grilled tender rabbit fillets served on a celeriac fondant with Armagnac sauce and glazed chestnuts. +44.1628.620691, www.waterside-inn.co.uk

Tru Chicago Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand first worked together at a hotel restaurant in Rochester, N.Y., in 1981 and soon realized their talents paired well. Twelve years later, the executive chef and the pastry chef moved to Gand’s native Chicago and ultimately opened this French-American 168

rob b r e p o r t

m a y 200 8

Veritas New York With about 3,500 wine choices and as few as eight entrées, this restaurant has an obvious emphasis. The sommeliers can assist you with a wine and recommend dishes from Ed Cotton’s wine-friendly menu of American bistro fare. 212.353.3700, www.veritas-nyc.com

Wild Ginger Seattle You might make your first visit for the satay bar or the five preparations of Dungeness crab, but you will return for the wine program that smartly balances the flavors of the Pacific Rim food. “Asian-fusion is the direction that so many restaurants

Wine & Dine

are heading for these days, and it is an important reason why Riesling is hot right now,” says Bob Bertheau of Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Wash., who likes his own Riesling paired with Wild

Ginger’s spicier dishes. 206.623.4450, www.wildginger.net

Wolfdale’s Tahoe City, Calif. Douglas Dale loves to play with the flavors of the East and the West. His is

one of the few restaurants where you might encounter fish and chips and also Asian braised duck. Finish your deliciously schizophrenic meal with ginger snaps and Blue Castello cheese. 530.583.5700, www.wolfdales.com

The Tastemakers Each of the 100 featured restaurants was selected by one or more of the following vintners, who are listed with their respective wineries. Santiago Achával, Achaval-Ferrer, Mendoza, Argentina David Adelsheim, Adelsheim Vineyard, Newberg, Ore. Bart and Daphne Araujo, Araujo Estate Wines, Calistoga, Calif. Richard L. Arrowood, Arrowood Vineyards & Winery, Glen Ellen, Calif. Stephan Asseo, L’Aventure, Paso Robles, Calif. Bill Ballentine, William Cole Vineyards, St. Helena, Calif. Thomas and Monika Bär, Gagliole, Siena, Italy Steve Beckmen, Beckmen Vineyards, Los Olivos, Calif. Bob Bertheau, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Woodinville, Wash. Lalou Bize-Leroy, Domaine Leroy, Meursault, Burgundy, France Reid Bosward, Old Bastard, Kaesler, Nuriootpa, Australia Roman Bratasiuk, Clarendon Hills, Kensington Park, South Australia Greg Brewer, Brewer-Clifton, Lompoc, Calif. Chris Camarda, Andrew Will Winery, Vashon Island, Wash. Federico Ceretto, Ceretto, Alba, Italy Stacy Clark, Pine Ridge Winery, Napa, Calif. Jac Cole, Spring Mountain Vineyard, St. Helena, Calif. Ann Colgin, Colgin Cellars, St. Helena, Calif. Naoko Dalla Valle, Dalla Valle Vineyards, Oakville, Calif. Didier Depond, Champagne Salon, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Champagne, France Thomas Duroux, Château Palmer, Margaux, Bordeaux, France Frédéric Engerer, Chateau Latour, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France Andrew Erickson, Screaming Eagle, Oakville, Calif. Laurence Feraud, Domaine du Pegau, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhône Valley, France Chris Figgins, Leonetti Cellar, Walla Walla, Wash. Peter Gago, Penfolds, Melbourne, Australia Gaia Gaja, Gaja Winery, Barbaresco, Italy Alex Golitzin, Quilceda Creek, Snohomish, Wash. Genevieve Janssens, Robert Mondavi Winery, Oakville, Calif.

170

rob b r e p o r t

m a y 200 8

Darioush Khaledi, Darioush, Napa, Calif. Randy Lewis, Lewis Cellars, Napa, Calif. Ernst Loosen, Dr. Loosen, Bernkastel, Germany Brian Loring, Loring Wine Co., Lompoc, Calif. Jeff Mangahas, Hartford Family Winery, Forestville, Calif. Celia Masyczek, DR Stephens Estate, St. Helena, Calif. Anna Matzinger, Archery Summit, Dayton, Ore. Dave Miner, Miner Family Vineyards, Oakville, Calif. Nick Morlet, Peter Michael Winery, Calistoga, Calif. Kevin Morrisey, Stags’ Leap Winery, Napa, Calif. Duchess de Mouchy, Château Haut-Brion, Pessac Cedex, Bordeaux, France Janet Myers, Franciscan Oakville Estate, St. Helena, Calif. Bill Nancarrow, Duckhorn Wine Co., St. Helena, Calif. Marco Piccoli, Jackson-Triggs, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario David Powell, Torbreck, Marananga, South Australia Steve Reeder, Simi Winery, Healdsburg, Calif. Chris Ringland, Ringland Vintners, Angaston, South Australia Kent Rosenblum, Rosenblum Cellars, Alameda, Calif. Anthony Hamilton Russell, Hamilton Russell Vineyards, Hermanus, South Africa Ed Sbragia, Beringer Vineyards, Napa, Calif. John Schwartz, PharaohMoans, Napa, Calif. Monique and Pierre Seillan, Vérité Winery, Healdsburg, Calif. Johannes Selbach, Weingut Selbach-Oster, Zeltingen, Germany Steve and Linda Sherwin, Sherwin Family Vineyards, St. Helena, Calif. Justin Smith, Saxum Vineyards, Paso Robles, Calif. Pam Starr, Crocker & Starr, St. Helena, Calif. Rupert Symington, Symington Family Estates, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal Chris Upchurch, DeLille Cellars, Woodinville, Wash. Delia Viader, Viader, Deer Park, Calif.