What makes a great wine list? There is no single great answer to this. However, navigating your way through restaurant selections shouldn’t be rocket science. In this episode we talk about the why and how of things you may encounter in a restaurant. Steph is gifted an Iconic Wine. Val is roaming around Rome. (Recorded Dec 2016)
As this aired Val was toodling around Rome. Bear in mind this episode was actually recorded in anticipation of her two weeks of travel in late January.
In our glasses:
Val: Gerard Bertrand Grand Terroir, 2013 Tautavel. This is a red wine from the Cotes du Roussillon, but Tautavel is one of the four villages or “crus” that can appear on the label after the appellation on the label. The appellation is 80% red and the main grapes are Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, which are in this particular wine. Other grapes are also permitted in the reds and rose’ wines as well.
Steph: 2014 Dry Creek Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (750mL/$16). This light and fresh white wine is from the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma and is a joy to drink with or without food. I’ve sipped on it for a few days, even though it is only a 375mL bottle, and loved it with stuffed green peppers. Now that I have an empty 375mL bottle, I’ll be rinsing it out and keeping it in my tupperware drawer for emergency wine storage.
Wine Lists/Menus Banter:
In this episode we chatted about our preferred wine lists, how they are organized, prices, by-the-glass (BTG) offerings and the latest technology working its way into restaurants and wine bars. We also referenced some perspectives on truly great wine lists from experienced somms: http://makerstable.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/12/SOMM-Journal-All-In-The-Mix-Dec-2016-Jan-2017.pdf
Here’s a creative, colorful way to engage customers with a comic book style wine list.
Bottom line: A good wine list should offer quality wines in a variety of price ranges, and a mix of recognizable base line wines and something to lure in the curious or to get people to experience something that will elevate the dining experience – for them. Having a knowledgeable staff who can confidently and competently guide a diner through the choices without condescending undertones is the key.
For the entire conversation, click here:
Factoid:
But wait, there’s a quiz that test you on wine lists! We love these Decanter wine quizzes and thought you might want to geek out too.
Wino Radar:
Steph: Iconic Wines! “This is both a WinoRadar and ShoutOut combo. Let me tell you a story about a bottle of wine and a heroine. See my friends call me the Wine Heroine and so last month for my birthday my buddy Ken (known as Chairman of the Bordeaux) gave me a bottle of Heroine Chardonnay made by Iconic Wines. Ken told me he brought it back from his Thanksgiving trip to Boston. What a cool gift! It even has a sexy, female superhero on the front label. YES! So the story continues when I looked up Iconic Wines on the internet and discovered that I know Birk O’Halloran, the co-founder of Iconic Wines. His parents live here in the FoCo and I met them at a block party 2 years ago. I contacted Birk 2 years ago about my Albarello soap. Well, well, well, what a small world afterall. Obviously, I emailed Birk and told him about my birthday bottle of Chardonnay. Evidently, Birk will be in Colorado in January 2017 (next month!), so we are finally going to meet in person. How cool is that!? Maybe we should interview Birk for the show, eh?”
Thank you so much to our Patreon supporters! Sending out some Patreon Love to:
Jeff E from the hilarious drinking show, We Like Drinking!
This week we are also raising our glasses to our latest Tenacious taster to join the Patreon pack, Lynn G from Savor the Harvest!
“It’s not five o’clock and we don’t care” listeners: Thank you:
- Meg from South Dakota!
- Clay from Arizona!
- Jon in California!
- Andrew in Illinois!
- Michelle in Nevada!
- Aswani in California!
We thank you for being a vital part of the W25 listening and sipping community.
Reminder – we have a new monthly Patreon drawing! Starting January 2017, each month we are drawing a winner of Albarello Luxury Hand Soap for all Patreon supporters at the $2/month Tastemaker Listener level and higher. Go to our Patreon page for details. www.patreon.com/winetwofivepodcast
Share the Love:
If you love Wine Two Five then we know you’ll share our show with your friends and online community, and we certainly appreciate all your involvement and feedback. Leave us a burning wine question or comment on speakpipe. iTunes love is always appreciated in the form of a glowing iTunes review as well. For your listening pleasure, whether IOS or Android, we are also on iHeartRadio!
Come play with us on FB, Twitter, Pinterest & YouTube, Google+ if you’d like. Also, you can build your collection of wine books & accessories at our online store also located on our website!
Connect with Val on Twitter @WineGalUnboxed and on the Vino With Val FB page, and on instagram as Vino with Val. Oh, and she occasionally pins things on her Vino With Val, LLC Pinterest page.
Steph is on Twitter @Albarellosoap and on the AlbarelloSoap FB page, and check out the videos on the Albarello YouTube channel. She is also on instagram as the Wine Heroine as well as Pinterest.
One more thing – don’t forget to use our new hashtag #WineOops to share your funny wine moments and embarrassing wine stories on social media!
Wine fun: