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An article more than a year ago in the San Francisco Chronicle has stuck with me. In an insightful feature piece, author Stephen Yafa got inside the head of the sommelier by interviewing four who were at the top of their profession in acclaimed San Francisco restaurants, and asking them to bring two of their favorite bottles — wines they were excited to share — to the interview session so all could enjoy them. (Another wrinkle on how writers get to taste unique wines for free.)
So, four great sommeliers in the capital city of California wine country brought eight fantastic wines. Guess how many were American wines? Not quite zero, but just one out of eight. When you consider that American wine drinkers vote for American wine two-thirds of the time, that critics go ga-ga over lots of them, that collectors have elevated some of them to cult status, it just seemed asbsurd to me.
Independence Day is as good a time as any to ask why it was that the sommeliers weren’t excited about American wine. It couldn’t be from lack of choice. With 4,500 or so American wineries now in existence, making at least 20,000 different selections, in all states and from dozens of grape varieties, you’d have to say there’s plenty to choose from.
It couldn’t be purely from a discovery point of view, either, because there are hundreds of California wines alone that haven’t been discovered by San Francisco diners. Could it be that American wines are not good enough in the sophisticated sommelier’s eyes? I think that’s getting close.
On my first wine-reporting trip to France, my wife-to-be and I met up in Paris, rented a tiny Renault, breached the Boulevard Peripherique and revved mightily down the A6 to Burgundy where we were going to stay for several nights. As soon as we reached the vicinity of Dijon we stopped for lunch. I don’t remember what we ate, but I remember my naivete when the waiter asked if we’d like to order some wine before lunch.
“What kinds of wine do you have on your list?” I responded. “Why, Burgundy wines, monsieur,” he replied. I looked at the list, saw it indeed was 95 percent Burgundy, and ordered a nice, tangy Savigny-Les-Beaune. On the rest of that trip, and on subsequent travels around the wine regions of Europe, this was the norm, and still is, even though there are more exceptions today — restaurants by and large emphasize the wines of their region.
The restaurants in the Chronicle article probably stock a bunch of American wines along with their import selections. But only one of the sommeliers, Peter Palmer of Farallon, brought a domestic wine, a 2002 Mount Eden Estate Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir. The other seven wines included five French and two Italian. (I was surprised at the lack of Austrian Gruner Veltliner, but I guess it was passe by then.)
Author Yafa brought out other insights about the somms — they’re fiercely individual, they frequently disagree with (er, disdain) critics, and many staunchly believe that lower-alcohol wines with vibrant acidity make the best matches with food.
I think sommeliers believe that many wine consumers are ignorant about their own taste preferences, and that one of their missions is to enlighten consumers. But I think the real reason that seven out of eight wines were European is that sommeliers still tend to worship European wines. I don’t want to call it snobbery, it’s more like loyalty to the Motherland that nurtured wine in the first place and spawned practically all the winemakers and wine opinion makers of the world until one short generation ago.
I think many sommeliers perpetuate the traditions of the old-school English and French wine writers and merchants who grew up in a simpler time when there were more absolutes about wine — Montrachet, Latour and Romanee-Conti ruled — and when this group held enormous influence as the only authority stratum between producers and consumers of fine European wines. Many of today’s sommeliers, after all, were trained by this group, or have worked hard to earn a credential from one of the organizations founded by this generation, The Institute of Masters of Wine, and Court of Master Sommeliers.
So, go to one of the topflight San Francisco sommeliers when you want inspired recommendations from Alsace, Cornas, Chablis and Champagne.
But if you believe, as the Europeans do, that restaurants should highlight wines of their own country, if not their own region, then try restaurants that emphasize or exclusively stock American wines. Tina Caputo of Wines & Vines addressed how this can be good for the restaurant and the winery (”All-American Wine Lists Highlight Small Producers“), and I think it’s good for diners, too.
Below is a small sampling of restaurants across the country that tout their preponderance of American wines. I can’t personally vouch for the quality of the restaurants, but I admire their initiative in supporting American wines. I’d like to hear what your favorite American-oriented restaurant wine lists are.
AMERICA-FIRST WINE LISTS
Arterra Restaurant, San Diego Marriott del Mar, San Diego, Calif.
Beardslee Castle, Little Falls, N.Y.
Bouchon Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, Calif.
City Hall, New York, N.Y. Charlie Palmer Steak, Washington, D.C.
Dantannas, Las Vegas
Hudson’s Ribs & Fish, Fishkill, N.Y.
Lark Creek Restaurant Group, California
Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group, national
Stella Mare, Santa Barbara, Calif.
The Tasting Room, New York, N.Y.
Wooden Angel, Bridgewater/Beaver, Pa.
Filed under: Regions
July 12th, 2007 at 12:31:41 AM
It’s not surprising that these “topflight” sommeliers chose just 1 California wine out of 8. Too many California wines pair poorly with food (although as alcohol levels start to come back down, this is starting to get better) and it is the sommelier’s JOB to pair wine with food, right?
And, sorry, but those in Burgundy (for example), don’t have it better. They get Burgundy every night - EVERY night. I love Burgundy wines. But I don’t want them every night. Not even 4 out of 7 nights. We, on the other hand, have the greatest selection of wines in the world available to us - particularly in NY, SF, LA and Chicago. No cities outside the US have this diversity of wine available. It’s incredibly great!
What’s worse (for them) is because they are too focused on local wines in France, the world blew right by them in the under $12 category. Further, American wines in Europe are represented (mostly) by the big guys like Gallo - just try to find a Porter Creek or a Schramsberg in Alsace. But did I mention, here we have it all - we can get many of the very best wines in the world? They cannot.
At restaurants in Sonoma and Napa you can find a tremendous selection of local wines…just like you say it should be.
“But I think the real reason that seven out of eight wines were European is that sommeliers still tend to worship European wines.” Well, of course. The whites, especially, have more acids, which pair much better with food than California whites. What doesn’t make sense here? It’s not like the customer is being prevented from ordering a California white wine. But worship is not correct. No, they recognize the wine pairs better.
I don’t think US Sommeliers are biased against US wines - damn, it’s an easier sale for them, afterall … I think they’re simply trying to do the best job they can. Why shouldn’t the sommelier pick what he thinks are the best wines, no matter where it comes from?
As for your restaurant list above - thanks…those are the restaurants I’ll go out of my way to avoid, as the Beverage Director isn’t in touch with the market.
July 12th, 2007 at 12:11:58 PM
Id have to say that Im inclined to agree with Jacks comments regarding pairing the wines with food. Old world wines, in my humble opinion tend to be more complementary with cuisine as for the most part - the main wine producing regions in Europe are very closely aligned with culinary heritage. They usually have more complexity about them that lends itself better to complementing a meal, whereas the majority of Californian wines are big aggressive, overextracted, Parker Point chasing, alcoholic beasts that completely overpower even the most robust of dishes. (Yes its a generalisation, of course there are exceptions etc etc). Here in the UK we have access to wines from pretty much every single winemaking country in the world, yet when it comes to pairing wines with food, nine times out of ten the best complement will be an old world wine. As a sommelier I am always looking at the role a wine will play in a meal, what elements of the menu it will best serve, and the wines that most excite me are those that have a story to tell, that bring out the flair in my chefs menus and that offer my customers value. While we dont have anywhere near the number of Californian wines available to us here, I can honestly say that I could count on one hand the number of Californian wines that fulfill those criteria.
Besides - when you have the pick of the countries best wines right on your doorstep, I think you have to look further afield for your jollies.
July 12th, 2007 at 1:09:24 PM
I believe that ingesting things grown in the vicinity of where you are eating is a good thing. It has to do with your own personal “terroir.” Tomatoes and other vegetables grown within a few miles your home, if not in your back yard, tend to taste better. I think it has something to do with the terroir of your locale. You breathe and taste the local terroir every day. When in California, drink California. When in Bordeaux, drink Bordeaux. Also, eat the local foods. It’s not just a question of eating local delicacies. Eat whatever is grown and caught there. Even the mundane tastes better when ingested where it’s grown.
However, many in your list of American-leaning restaurants are hundreds or thousands of miles away from the top wine regions of the USA. Someone dining at the Wooden Angel near Pittsburgh, PA (20 minutes from my home), will be drinking only American wine. That’s not a problem because he has a great list. But no one can say that they are drinking “local” wines, short of a few PA wines they carry. That would be like a person in Eastern Europe saying they are drinking Bordeaux because it’s from the “local” region. Even San Francisco is removed from many wine growing regions in CA and cannot lay claim to drinking locally.
My feeling is that restaurants who want to specialize in American wines are doing so because of parochial and commercial attitudes. They consciously want to support American wines and they market themselves as such. They also avoid the constant fluctuation of the dollar, poor (weather) vintages and wines that are made to be drunk at some future time when they are “ready.”
American wines tend to be fashioned to be drunk immediately. With all of the wine being made each vintage, the last vintage has to be drunk to make room. In Europe, the wines are made to be drunk “when they are ready to be drunk.” That is not the formula for commercial success except for those relatively few wineries that can sell everything they make, even in poorer vintages (First-growth Bordeaux, Super Tuscans, etc.). For the rest, this attitude of making wine that won’t be at its peak for another 5 or 10 years is causing those wines to be made into vinegar in France.
So while I have no personal problem with supporting restaurants that specialize in American wines, I also like to drink foreign wines. I like Spanish, Italian, Australian, South American, South African and, yes, French wines, as well as those wonderful wines from the US. But when these great American wines become more expensive and less available than some of their foreign counterparts, I am going to go offshore and drink the great wines that offer value. Or I will drink less-known American wines that also offer value.
But either way, sitting here in Western Pennsylvania, I don’t believe for a minute that I am drinking “local” wines when I open that bottle of California Cab. Thirty-five years ago, specializing in American wines was ground breaking. Those that did so were probably trying to make the point that the US makes great wine, too. Now, however, the world is aware of that. Now, the choice to sell only American wine is made mostly as a conscious, marketing choice. Hail to the market now being mature enough to be able to make that choice. We have plenty of American wines to choose from, along with wines from all parts of the world. Either direction is viable.
But when I next visit France, I plan to drink wines from that region in France that I am visiting. It’s the terroir.
July 12th, 2007 at 6:56:33 PM
I agree with Jim. I am increasingly frustrated by wine writers not including CA wines (especially in pairing articles). The SF Chronicle is notorious for this. There are so many great winemakers here and boutique wines, but the largest paper next to wine country is too busy enjoying those free, exotic bottles that Jim writes about!
July 13th, 2007 at 2:00:27 PM
The possibility occurs to me that these professionals selected Euro-wines in a concerted effort to avoid appearing provincial to their peers. Face it, whatever California wine they may have chosen, the rest of the gang could easily have looked upon as ordinary. Even the wine selected, Mount Eden Estate Pinot Noir, it’s certainly exciting to those of us who can’t get on the mailing list, but to a high profile San Francisco Sommelier it’s everyday stuff.