Wines, right at the source.

I think I understand why Americans with a little bit of wine knowledge tend towards snobbery. Wine is a hard study! There are so many grapes, regions, vintages, producers, and combinations thereof that it's easy to feel proud for knowing a little more than your average Joe. Ultimately, however, these people need to get over themselves because these attitudes make the average consumer hesitant to venture outside their comfort zones. Then, everyone else gets stuck with wine lists comprised of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Big, tannic Cabs and over-oaked Chards to boot.

Though I know I don't like big, tannic Cabs and overly-oaked Chards, I don't know a ton about wines. I'm sitting for my Certified Sommelier exam at the end of August so that I can force myself to learn more. Despite not knowing all the facts, TM and I are very opinionated about what we like, and have had the privilege of tasting quite a bit at local wineries and with vendors. We know how to identify quality in wines and find value in lesser known regions and varietals. So, when we put together our list in NYC and discovered some stellar local wines from the Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley and Long Island, we decided that there was no reason for us not to feature locally-produced, sustainably-grown options in our restaurant-to-be in Los Angeles.

As luck would have it, some winemakers have discovered that traditionally Continental-climate-loving Spanish grapes can be coaxed to adopt to the climate and elevation along California's Central Coast and in Oregon. At a recent tasting at our favorite local wine shop, Silverlake Wine, we tasted 3 local Grenache (aka Garnacha in Spain) wines by Qupe, Ethan (Qupe winemaker Bob Lindquist's son), and Barrel 27. We both admired the biodynamically-produced Qupe for its spice, elegance, and long finish. The Barrel 27 was also stunningly complex for its price-point, so we brought a bottle home to enjoy with some home-cooked Spanish fare.


The Albarinos we tasted were not all from California; the staff at Silverlake Wine mentioned that it wasn't quite cool enough to reproduce the conditions in Rias Baixes. Rightly so, the Albarino from Oregon and California were delicious, but didn't quite have the same crisp citrus flavors and minerality of Spanish Albarinos. Is "warm" an appropriate descriptor?


Shortly after our tasting, we found ourselves in the Northern end of Malibu for a friend's BBQ. On a whim, we decided to make the hour trip up to Santa Barbara to discover some other Spanish varietals right at the source. We sought out the Qupe tasting room in Los Olivos, partially because of the Grenache we so enjoyed. Incidentally, Bob Lindquist's wife Louisa had started a line of exclusively Spanish varietals. We tried the Grenache Rose, which was aptly described as a strawberry creamsicle. It had a tremendously round mouth-feel. We also tried the Tempranillo, which was a different style than we expected - bright fruits, medium bodied, dusty. The tasting room manager, Robert, gave us some terrific advice regarding a Private Label, kegged wines (to save on bottling costs and reduce waste caused by server error and corkage), and a winery in Lodi specializing in Spanish varietals called Bokisch. Yay!

After Qupe, we wandered down the street to Tre Anelli, which produces Italian and Spanish varietals. We couldn't help but tell the tasting room manager Janeen all about Racion, and she couldn't help but treat us to three additional tastings. We brought home the Verdelho, which tasted like a Chardonnay we had from Channing Daughters in NY (?!) and the Grenache, just because. We didn't get to taste the Grenache in the tasting room, but the Italian varietals were all well-balanced and flavorful.


Our trip was too short. I wish we had another day just to sit, drink, and relax. Though short-lived, we learned so much about where we want to go with our wine program at Racion. And thankfully, I got fresh inspiration to sit and study for my wine exam. There is still a long way to go, but how special will it be when we're able to bring in small-batch, local, native Spanish varietals, have our own Private Label, and/or tap kegs to bring high-quality wines at a lower economic and environmental cost?? Very cool.

My wine tour of Spain

In May 2007, I took my second trip to Spain (my first was a beach vacation to the touristy Malaga in the South). The plan was to meet my friend Chris, who was a line cook at Bouley with me in 2004, and travel from Barcelona to Rias Biaxas on a wine tour of all the wineries we could find. Not only did we share a love for good food and wine, Chris had helped me manage the machismo at Bouley when burly line cooks thumped their chests in my direction. We became great friends, and explored the dining scene in NYC as much as we could. Our trip was an opportunity for us to learn about Spanish wines, but also to discuss the potential of opening a restaurant together.

We traveled on a budget, and focused our money on wine and wine tastings. Though this meant that we camped every night for three weeks, we didn't fare badly at all and had fresh bread, cured meats, and a bottle of delicious wine every night, albeit cheap and served in plastic cups. In our down time we talked about launching our restaurant, which Chris envisioned to be upscale and multi-roomed (like Bouley) with a California-French menu. He had worked almost exclusively in fine-dining restaurants (Water Grill in LA, Bouley and Cafe Gray in NYC) and insisted that our restaurant be upscale and food-focused. Though my interest in the industry included more casual concepts (Hue and SushiSamba in NYC, and Le Pain Quotidien in LA), his excitement was infectious and I jumped into the plan as if it were my own. We spent significant time brainstorming at cafes throughout the country, and I developed a new-found appreciation for quality coffee.

The country was gorgeous, and we chose to follow our senses to explore it. We spent the first night dozing on the fragrant beaches of the Balearic Sea, and the last on the warm sand in San Sebastian. In between, we explored the grassy hills of Navarra, the wine cooperatives of the dusty and dry Priorat and Montsant, the traditional producers of Rioja, and the misty, sea-side family vineyards of Rias Biaxes. At all the wineries we visited, we were welcomed in to taste as if we were family. The producers were proud to share their love for the wines they represented, and we were eager listeners.

While in Montsant, we stumbled on the annual wine festival and tasted from about 20 different producers in the area. We were exceedingly lucky; the wine producers in Priorat are so small and focused on their craft that they do not often welcome visitors in to taste. In fact, we could barely find a soul to speak to in the major wine village of Gratallops. I loved the rich, concentrated, mineral-thick punches-in-the-mouth from old-vine Garnacha and got to taste some from some of the most celebrated producers in the country. Other standouts from our trip included a lovely white Rioja by Puelles, a chardonnay from Castillo de Monjardin, and a Crianza from Ramirez de la Piscina.

For me, this was the first time that I traveled to explore food culture. I was completely intrigued by the way the Spanish ate: frequently, in small quantities, and often with wine instead of vegetables! Every bar or eating establishment had at least a faint smell of cured ham. History, tradition, and cultural pride was written into every stone of every building and reflected in the care with which the Spanish took care of their product, from soil to plate.

Ultimately, Chris and I decided not to open a restaurant together. I felt that I needed a rounder, more technical approach to business so I went to Business School, and Chris moved to Guatemala. Though our plans did not pan out, I am grateful to Chris for sharing his love of Spain with me, for teaching me how to stay optimistic and strong in a mentally and emotionally challenging industry, for developing my palate and appreciation for fine food and wine, and for representing the voice of dissent against a world trying to beat down the little guy just trying to do the right thing.