Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/133302
ON-PREMISE PATTER MANAGER AND BEVERAGE DIRECTOR JEN CARTER HANDLES THE BIG GUNS AT SADDLE PEAK LODGE Game Hunting by Merrill Shindler / photo by Rob Brown F or more than a century, Saddle Peak Lodge has nestled in Southern California's Malibu Mountains, an awe-inspiring ten minute drive from the Pacific Ocean and the homes of the rich and the richer. Though there are deer in the hills, this is not where "the buffalo roam and the antelope play." But it is where they're served . . . in a room lined with wonders of taxidermy that gaze down reproachfully as diners tuck into New Zealand elk tenderloin with brandied cherries and braised cipollini onions or a grilled buffalo New York with a creamed kale vol-au-vent. And lubricating those dishes are wines selected by the restaurant's Manager and Beverage Director, the ebullient Jen Carter . . . who grew up drinking wine from a box. Jen hails from tiny Grand Terrace (2010 population: 12,040) in San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles. It's near the industrial town of Rubidoux, which was founded by her fur trapper greatgreat-great-great-grandfather, Louis Rubidoux, six generations ago. The Spanish missions in the area were founded by her mother's family. But despite her illustrious ancestors, Jen was not to the goblet born. Her path to wine wisdom was circuitous, but seemingly inevitable. Jen says she "went to junior college for seven years." She studied political science, graphic design, acting— whatever struck her fancy at the moment. But at age 18, she had landed a job as a hostess at a branch of Red Lobster: "That was high end where I was from." Then came a position at El Torito, and El Torito Grill in Beverly Hills, where her passion for spirits began to grow. "They had about a hundred different tequilas. I'm a huge tequila lover to this day. Some of my favorite cocktails are tequila based." Jen went from cocktail server to server at Ocean Avenue Seafood in Santa Monica, "where I fell in love with oysters and got involved with wine—which wines went well with seafood. I started going to tastings, I started learning. And there was so much to learn. Wine in the box at home hadn't given me much of a basis." She went on to work at Lavande with Alain Giraud, which "exposed me to French food and French wines. I opened Bastide with him as well. My first Beverage Manager position was at Röckenwagner in Santa Monica. That's where my love of Rieslings and Gruner Veltliners began. In 2005, I moved to San Francisco for six years, where I ran Nectar Wine Bar in the Marina. By then, I was totally immersed in wine. I was intent on continuing my studies for the Court of Master Sommelier —it had become my dream." Returning to her family in Southern California, Jen landed at Saddle Peak. And she's committed the restaurant to garden-to glass-cocktails like The Pig Apple (with bacon-infused Buffalo Trace bourbon), and The Brothel (which Saddle Peak may have been) built around George Dickel Rye, Campari and muddled cranberries. She's also filled the wine list with wineries that are "organic, sustainable, biodynamic"—and totally American. And which wines go best with buffalo, elk and antelope? Jen, who's studying for her Advanced Somm, says, "It's less tricky than might be expected. Rhône varietals, Syrahs, Petite Sirahs — Old World-style wines from America. We get a lot of requests for big, rich, powerful, highly coveted reds—the Turleys, the Stag's Leaps. But my goal is to introduce diners to the little gems I've found over the years and still offer all their favorites. I want anyone that leaves Saddle Peak to to feel as though we've met every expectation, and hopefully, exceeded them." 60 / the tasting panel / june 2013 TP0613_042-79.indd 60 5/23/13 4:33 PM