The Tasting Panel magazine

March 2015

Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/471637

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 67 of 116

march 2015  /  the tasting panel  /  67 Cava 555, even the now-gone Doro's! Twenty-six years on the floor and I'm proud to be here most nights. Richard Reddington, what a great chef! And this cool restaurant in a prime Napa location. The list is how many wines? About 400. Certainly nothing like I worked with before in terms of bin num- bers. But we have great wines and a very broad selection. We really have the oppor- tunity to be avant-garde and nimble with our selections at the same time. It has to be crazy here. You have wine lovers from all over the world so you have a significant European selection. I can just imagine the parade of Napa Valley winemakers, and Sonoma, vying for a spot on the wine list. True, it's a real challenge. We rotate their placements but need to keep a variety of styles. For Napa Valley, I have the beefy mountain wines, the elegant softer wines, the mid-valley classics. I even keep a few of the big jammy ones! Well, we have two wines to examine today: the Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon and something of yours. Let me get this right, a Napa Valley Albariño? This wine [from Sherer's Iberian Remix label] has great aromatics and a lot of weight when compared to its Galician cousin. Hey, I love the underdog. France has dominated all the viticulture here so I thought why not? As opposed to being a purely seafood wine; this wine has so many pairing opportunities. Let me ask you a tough one. Distribution, with all the direct access you have, has it changed your view? Hey, I'm a double agent. I make and sell wine, so I understand the value of quality distributors. I really cherish the relationships I have developed and take that into account when I'm making my decisions. When I first got here most of the wines were cur- rent release, but I've worked with everyone to get some older vintages. It's been very successful for all of us. Ah, what experience will teach you! You know, I remember asking you in in 1990 when you came off the floor why you had changed to your role at Seagram's. I asked you if you missed all the incredible wines, the people, the action? And you said that you got the same satisfaction selling a national wine program to a hotel company that you did selling a bottle of 20-year-old first growth at lunch. So if you were going to make one change in the world of wine, and you could tomorrow, what would you do? Jesus! So, you want Jesus to come to Redd. What would he drink? Does Riedel make a chalice? (laughing) Maybe I'm an optimist, but I am really pleased with how knowledgeable my customers have become and how little they talk about scores and ratings. Much more about how the wine will go with the dish. I really want it be as enriching for them as it is for me. Most of all I want them to have fun. I think we forget about that part sometimes. "We really have the opportunity to be avant-garde and nimble with our selections at the same time."

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of The Tasting Panel magazine - March 2015