Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/818616
may 2017 / the tasting panel / 83 more restaurants, one in Fullerton and the other in Los Olivos. "Vietnam is close to Thailand—our cuisine, the dishes we cook represent the typical cuisine of Southeast Asia," explained Phan. "It's also important to remember that Vietnam has been influenced by the French for the past century. As a result, we picked up some of their techniques." "Vietnamese people have been exposed to wine for many years, too. We're used to drinking lots of French wines, especially white wines. Some of the dishes are a little bit spicy and, in general, our dishes are not as rich as those from Thailand. We rely heav- ily on fresh herbs like lemongrass, Vietnamese mint, garlic and ginger. We're looking for a white wine with good acidity and a touch of minerality. Above all, it has to be dry, clean and fresh. This is what we see in the Layer Cake Sauvignon Blanc." His favorite pairings include two appetizers and a main dish. The first—a seared ahi tuna spring roll features mango, avocado, mint, perilla leaves and Sriracha aioli—is as fresh and nuanced as the wine itself. It also works well with their Crispy Imperial Roll, lending brightness to richer, more complex flavors—shrimp, lump crab, ear mushrooms and nước mắm, a tangy, slightly sweet dipping sauce that uses fish sauce as its base. Another possibility, vermicelli noodles and grilled pork benefits from Layer Cake's youthful fruit and refreshing crispness. "It's the more exotic flavors in our cuisine that work well with this wine. In everything we do, we try to create dishes that are balanced." The Value Aspect For Weichert, Layer Cake bridges a gap: "Wined Up is much more focused on wine; we see a cross section of clients who geek out about a hard-to- find Sicilian wine or a French Carignan. That's really fun, but that's not where the Layer Cake sits—the main goal of this brand is to create wines that are approachable. In the last decade, tastes have shifted much more to restrained wines with higher acid. Young profes- sionals have embraced Sauvignon Blanc in a way that the previous generations didn't. And the brand has a retail presence, people see it in wine shops and retail stores." He continues, "Right now, there's so much wine out there, we really don't see flawed wine anymore. The market is incredibly competitive right now—everyone is producing amazing stuff. In the end, what it comes down to is how good it versus how much it costs. With Layer Cake, the value aspect is immense; it's simply a great bottle for $15." "New York is pretty rainy right now, he says with a wry smile, "but the Sauv Blanc flies out the window once the weather improves." Lukas Weichert, Wine Buyer at Wined Up, an upscale New York wine bar and lounge that boasts a list of over 3,000 bottles, including the Layer Cake Sauvignon Blanc. PHOTO: EVAN SUNG