Wine and Turkey Talk
Turkey Time
If there is a traditional meal of turkey and all its trimmings in your near future, does it require a similarly predictable wine? I think not. The likelihood of a larger group of people with a multitude of tastes and preferences is high, and the ease of accessibility to experiment with diverse and affordable wines that work for such a meal has never been greater. Why not broaden out in your wine and food pairing experience? Here are a variety of wine styles and recommendations, from expected to out of the norm, for turkey dinner on any day.
Reds
Russian River Valley Pinot Noir - Bright, with dominant red berries, spices, and hints of sweetness, even cola.
- Frei Brothers Reserve Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - $20
- Williams Selyem Russian River Valley Pinot Noir - $52
Cote de Nuits Burgundy - Elegant expressions of Pinot Noir, complex, and earthy. Narrowing further, Nuits-St-Georges are typically reasonable in price.
Washington Syrah - Heat up with Rhone-style beauties aplenty. If Syrah is too hot and heavy for you, try a Washington Grenache or Cabernet Franc.
- Abeja Estate Syrah - $40
- K Vintners The Boy Grenache - $45
Whites
Oregon is turning out increasing numbers of intriguing white wines, with one to fit any occasion.
Sancerre - Aromatic and refreshing Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc.
Champagne - Bubbles and the bird. It may surprise you.
What is your style: Traditionalist, contrarian, or both? Share your favorite wine and turkey finds.
White Sand Weekend - Henderson Park Inn, Destin
Henderson Park Inn of Destin, Florida, delivered on a reputation as one of the best and most romantic beach destinations in the United States. Adults-only and steps away from a private white sand beach and blue ocean, it felt far removed from the bustling communities nearby.
My wife's white sand crab sculpture
Overall service at the Inn was pleasant. Reservations for a holiday (Labor Day) weekend were challenging to arrange, but after several conversations that included ongoing reassurances, we were accommodated as requested. An airport car service employed by the Inn was efficient. Upon our late evening arrival, we were greeted by a staff member, who did not flinch to help with our luggage. The front desk was friendlier, describing the amenities and securing for us a dinner table at the on-sight Beach Walk Cafe, even though it was after restaurant hours. A variety of front desk staffers maintained enthusiastic and eager service throughout our three-night stay.
Smoked Tomato Soup
A daily breakfast buffet and omelette bar were cleanly executed, with entertaining interaction with the staff behind the bar. Table service, cared for by the same staff members, was fast and frequent, never allowing the coffee to cool. Service at a daily happy hour in the tiki bar on the deck was similarly quick and attentive. It could be improved by additional staff, with only one bartender for up to twenty patrons at a time in a confined space.
The service during dinner, the only full-service hours of the day, was passable on all three nights, with inconsistent attention, questionable knowledge of what was available, and one dramatic mid-meal delay of over an hour. The Manager was helpful in every instance, personally seeing to our eventual satisfaction. There was a very well-stocked bar, although it was available only during dinner hours. The wine list included a nice variety of styles and prices to accompany the broad menu, the highlight of which was the smoked tomato soup, poured over diced shrimp. I tried several entrees, including fresh seafoods, and all were well presented and flavorful. Based on the service, I would not seek out the Cafe independent of a stay at the Inn. However, it was extremely convenient to have it literally next door to our room, and I had no desires to explore dining options elsewhere.
I was looking for an upscale, near all-inclusive beach retreat in Destin. Relaxing and somehow secluded, Henderson Park Inn is a spot worthy of consideration for such a getaway.
So Many Choices
Wine is more abundant, accessible, and exciting than ever before! Over a series of weekly posts, I will write about developing a personalized, systematic approach of wine discovery to help make the potentially complicated buying process an enjoyable experience.
To start, here is a quick overview of the wine buying landscape. In a twenty-year period ending in 2012, we have witnessed a five-fold increase in producing wineries in the United States, which now number well over eight-thousand. Forty-one states produced wine in 2013. Additionally, there are an inestimable number of garagistas and home-vintners. And these are only the U.S. statistics, with approximately ninety-percent of wine produced in other countries. Everyone, it seems, is making wine.
Wines of some quality are rated by influential critics like Robert Parker, and still more are reviewed by individuals on socially-oriented websites like CellarTracker. Wineries, trade groups, distributors, retailers, and restaurants expose the public to marketing and public relations for select products. The internet moves the surrounding wine discussion at a breakneck pace. More wines are for sale in more states in more stores and restaurants…
With all the great wine choices, and the noise accompanying them, acquiring the wines you like may appear to be an overwhelming proposition. But the selection of wines and associated information are great developments for wine drinkers. Now, every wine you drink should be a pleasurable experience. We just have to keep the buying process simple, and fun!
Next week, I will write about a strategic foundation for your personal wine buying system.
Wine Picks For Your "Thirst"
I recently tasted newly released wines in the portfolio of Thirst Wine Merchants. Here are my standout picks:
- Bodegas LAN Vina Lanciano Reserva 2007 - Spicy, chewy Spanish Tempranillo/Mazuelo blend. SRP $25
- Sean Minor Point North Pinot Noir 2012 - I'm a big fan of their Carneros Pinots, and their Oregon offering is a winner! SRP $22
- Hourglass Estate Sauvignon Blanc Estate Vineyard 2013 - Delicious, gravely with a mouthful of citrus. SRP $40
- K Vintners Clifton Hill Syrah Wahluke Slope 2011 - Bold (of course) with smoked meats and spices, and it sticks around. SRP $40
- Feraud-Brunel Cotes-du-Rhone Villages 2011 - Solid Cotes-du-Rhone, with tobacco spice and leather. SRP $18
It's All About The Experience - Paul Botamer of Fearing's
As an element of my exploration of wine and restaurant service, I remain on the lookout for conversations with wine celebrities, both in and outside of the industry. To follow up on my review of Fearing's, here is my conversation with Wine Director and Advanced Sommelier Paul Botamer.
Paul Botamer is full of wit and wine wisdom to embellish your experience at Fearing’s Restaurant, Dallas. When I found him in the Rattlesnake Bar, I asked, “Are you Paul?” With a look of concern, he replied, “It depends how much money I owe you,” before cracking a grin. Following introductions, he offered comments on his philosophy of wine service.
Regarding how he got his start in wine service: Paul was a history major when he had opportunity work at a fine dining restaurant. At age twenty-two, while keeping himself fit to play college basketball, he had not even had a drink. The restaurant employed several sommeliers, and he was quickly exposed to wine's historical and social relevance. He realized wine service was what he wanted pursue. “I saw that I can never get bored, and the more you know about wine, you realize how much you don’t know.”
On emotional connections made with wine: “Wine is a social experience. If you have a bottle of wine in a picnic basket with the right young lady, it doesn’t matter if it’s a four-dollar bottle of Riesling. You will remember that wine.” Paul spoke of the social significance of wine, and how the sight of a wine label that is connected to a special experience, or simply hearing the wine's name, remains impactful throughout one's life.
On working with celebrity chef Dean Fearing: "Dean gets everyone on the staff involved." He spoke about how easy it becomes to get excited about the resulting menu. “Imagine what it’s like for a young staff member, just out of culinary school, and Dean Fearing asks, “”What do you think?””
Criteria for appearing on the wine list at Fearing's: “Everything on the list should be something I am excited for you try. There are so many great wines out there, if I’m not excited about it, you shouldn’t be trying it. There’s just not any sense in that.”
On coaching the staff on wine and food parings: Paul encourages passionate recommendations. “There are over four-hundred wines here, and for anything someone orders probably forty wines will pair with it. I tell (the staff) to find the wines you are most excited about, your passion will show, and (the diners) will see how excited you are, then they get excited.”
Paul later escorted my teenage daughter to me, and commented about wine with his daughter. “When we make dinner at home, I give my daughter, who is sixteen, just a little sip, so she knows there’s nothing mysterious going on.” I heartily agree with positioning wine as educational and appreciable rather than reserved for mindless guzzling and secrecy.
Summing up what to expect at Fearing's, Paul stated, “Dean provides people with a dining experience. Our customers can afford whatever they want, and what they really want is that experience.”
Fearing's Restaurant, Dallas - Wine and Service Experience
The opening page of the wine list at Fearing's
Service is the factor that makes a restaurant experience stand out, for better or worse. With so many good choices of what and where to eat available, how you are made to feel throughout the dining event carries almost equal influence on your satisfaction as the meal itself. I will write about excellent service received around wine and fine dining events, beginning with Fearing's Restaurant in Dallas.
I was greeted promptly by my lead waiter, and I described my plans to have Dean's renowned Tortilla Soup and several wines by the glass. I expressed a desire to try Texas wines, and the Inwood Estates Tempranillo-Cabernet was suggested. Before I even considered asking, he offered to bring me a taste. The bottle was presented, and a generous taste was poured into the large Riedel glass. My waiter conversed about the wine while I finished the taste, which lasted several sips, before pouring the full glass. He talked further about Texas wines, explaining that more and more are being produced. "Not at the level of California," he said, "but quality." The dark, spicy, and leathery Inwood Estates blend was just what I had hoped for, and complimented the tortilla soup nicely.
I was thinking about a lighter wine to follow the blend, and asked my waiter what he would try. He mentioned a Pinot Noir, paused briefly, then said, "Let me check in the wine cellar and see if we have anything open." I was intrigued. He returned with a new bottle of Pinot Noir and a previously opened bottle of Caymus Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet, 40th Anniversary 2012, both of which he poured "tastes" of in appropriate glasses. Then I was excited.
He explained that the Caymus had been open for two days, but that it was still good, and he was right. I noted that only the cork was used to close the bottle, no vacuum or synthetic plug, and that it had been climate controlled. After I was visibly impressed by the initial swallow, he emptied the remainder of the bottle in my glass, what I describe as a full pour-plus. He said, "Often people order wine and don’t finish it, so we save it but can’t drink it ourselves. So, we give it to you." The wine still had a lot going on, and was velvety, inky, and vibrant. This was a quality wine that had received skillful preservation.
Next, it was time to taste the Elizabeth Rose Pinot Noir. It was lighter, as I had requested earlier, and refreshing with a subtle earthiness. This was a screw-top bottle, which I was impressed to see as a featured wine. I asked my waiter how he liked working with the huge selection of wines at Fearing's. He enthusiastically described how he gets to taste all the wines, "new ones, too", and how it was critical that he know the wines so that he could properly describe and recommend them.
Afterward, I retired to the lounge area, and Wine Director Paul Botamer, whom I met earlier, arrived with a bottle of Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Gran Reserva 1983 dessert wine. Paul poured me a glass and told the story of the wine's thirty years of barrel aging. The wine was a delicious treat of dense smoke and chocolate.
Overall service at Fearing's was outstanding. Four servers worked seamlessly to care for me, I enjoyed constant attention early, and then was allowed to enjoy the wines. I never had to look for a server, and all were conversational and knowledgeable. Their collective demeanor as they fluidly cared for a variety of patrons and party sizes put me at ease. I took note of reactions from other tables, and all appeared similarly satisfied. It felt superbly balanced.
The wine service was exciting to experience, and the standout aspects of the wine program were many. The glassware, and the generosity of pours into them. The presentation of bottles, even for wines by the glass. The openness about the philosophy behind the wine program, from staff training to handling leftover wine. Most of all, there was an eager willingness to satisfy my desired wine exploration. It was evident that Fearing's expects to deliver a memorable and satisfying wine journey.
Wine Picks from An Evening of Wine and Roses 2014
Many tasting notes will originate from my home base of Tulsa. Recently, I attended An Evening of Wine and Roses, under a sunny sky in the Tulsa Rose Garden. After tasting almost fifty wines, here are my favorite discoveries:
- Poggio al Tesoro Sondraia Bolgheri 2011 (Premier Tasting) - Intense, delicious, and begging for beef.
- Highway 12 Carneros Highway Pinot Noir 2012 - A lively Carneros.
- Bodegas Faustino I Gran Riserva Rioja 2001 (Premier Tasting) - Earthy and rustic, with a multitude of awards.
- Bodegas La Candalaria Cubo Tempranillo 2011 - Straightforward value pick.
- Tempus Alba Malbec 2011 - Balance of spices and jams.
Honorable Mention to Black Sheep Finds Holus Bolus Syrah 2011 from the Premier Tasting, and its inky octopus label.
Among restaurants, Mahogany Prime Steakhouse was the winner, serving up their standard event dish, a medium-rare, thickly-shredded prime rib. Old School Bagels offered a tasty dessert treat with samples of several of their mountainous cookies.
Welcome to My Wine Blog
Welcome to a blog about wine and restaurant service. There is a vast and growing variety of wine available for your discovery and enjoyment, regardless of your palate or lifestyle, and whether you drink it every day or hardly ever. When you dine out, service is second only to food in making the event satisfying, and expectations of restaurant hospitality should be higher. I will build on these premises, and share tasting notes, conversations, and examples of excellence from personal wine and dining experiences.
After several years of interaction with Van The Wine Man on Twitter, I am looking forward to more substantial conversations here, and hope to provide insights and resources that contribute your own wine drinking and fine dining pleasures. Please connect with me, and add your comments, suggestions, and questions.
Who's thirsty?