HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE
Two New York Sommeliers balance old and new styles eclectically
By Harvey Steiman
David Yellen
At Hearth restaurant and his various Terroir wine bars in New York, owner Paul Grieco fills his wine lists with offbeat wines made from grapes unfamiliar to casual wine drinkers in regions that seldom come up in conversation except for serious wine geeks. In person he has cultivated a wild-man image that has endeared him to those who want anything but a nice Chardonnay or a big Napa Cabernet.
So what’s a 1992 Harlan Cabernet doing on his list at Hearth? “Oh, that’s from the cellar of one of the partners [in the restaurant],” he shrugged. “Helluva wine, too.” Much as he champions “who’s that?” wines, he also has an eclectic palate. And it extends to his sommelier at Hearth, Christine Wright, who strode confidently to our table on a recent visit. With me were colleagues James Laube, whose recentWine Spectator column, “Dim Somms,” stirred up howls of protest, and executive editor Thomas Matthews, who suggested the restaurant.
She greeted us with sips of a lively Bodega Robles Piedra Luenga Fino, a (nicely chilled) Sherry of delicacy and refinement. Then we gave her a challenge. We each had a different idea of a wine by the glass. Tom requested a crisp, light white. Jim wanted aSauvignon Blanc-like white. I drew a smile when I voted for Riesling. (N.B., the wine list featured several pages titled “Summer of Riesling.”) She impressed us by offering tastes from three sets of contrasting options.
I opted for a barely sweet and floral 5-year-old Mosel over a younger Alsace wine. Jim got a wine he never heard of that, he recalls, did indeed taste like Sauvignon Blanc, though it wasn’t.
This kind of catholicism is rare these days, when some sommeliers seem keen to compete to offer the most obscure wines, which often sport the sort of flavors some of us still think of as flaws. That issue came up as Jim and I, plus a couple of other colleagues, settled in for a lunch at Marta, Danny Meyer’s new Roman-style pizzeria and trattoria in Midtown New York.
I’ve enjoyed a few Etna reds for their refreshing balance and fruit presence recently, and wondered if Calabretta Etna Rosso 2004, on the list at $52, would be an older vintage worth trying. He described it as “old school, more savory than fruit.” I looked up. “Um, I should tell you that I am allergic to brett.” (This organism, which produces gamy flavors or worse in wine, would not literally make me sick, but he got the point.) “Then I would suggest this one,” he said, pointing to Bruno Verdi Oltrepò Pavese Cavariola 2008 ($48). “It’s rustic, but no brett.”
We happily drank the refreshing red from northern Italy with pizzas and a terrific grilled octopus salad. Score one for sommeliers who listen, and are eager to match the wine to their customers’ tastes.
(ORIGINAL ARTICLE)
STRIKING A BALANCE
