Word: pinot
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Treat the menu as glorified pub grub and you’re golden, at least for the time being while the restaurant works out its kinks in the way of service. Just order another bottle of the crispy and affordable Acrobat Pinot Gris from Oregon for the table and little else matters...
...long clung to a romanticized notion of terroir and a convoluted labeling system, the appellation d'origine controlée (AOC), which makes it difficult for consumers to figure out that a Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay Santenots-du-Milieu Premiere Cru is a Burgundy wine - let alone a pinot noir. "This is myopic marketing," says Jean-Claude Mas, a wine maker in the southern region of Languedoc. "And our arrogance caused us to ignore how serious the competition from the New World was." (See how global warming could change the wine-making...
...what happened with wine. Fifty years ago, Americans didn't drink any wine. Then they discovered European wines. Then people started trying to make wine in California. Now people know American wine and European wine and they're starting to learn about grapes, like the difference between Merlot and pinot grigio. I think that will happen with cheese. I also think we'll see a lot more American-made cheeses from specific producers. That, to me, is the next big wave. We finally discovered wine, but cheese is about 20 years behind...
Even in conservative Champagne, growers like Michel Drappier and brothers Pierre and Philippe Aubry have enlivened the conventional blends of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, which make up more than 99% of Champagne's vines, by hunting down the last plots of the noble varietals of two centuries ago. Philippe Aubry's Blanc des Blancs, incorporating Chardonnay, Arbanne and Petit Meslier, yields startling notes of ginger, lime and bergamot, a profile "completely unknown today in the Champagne world," he says. "It's the taste of another time...
...five-course menu changes for each twice-weekly dinner, according to seasonal availability and the wines being showcased. Menus are never repeated, making each experience unique. At one dinner, a fresh, flowery Alsatian Riesling accompanied seared scallops with tomato fondue and Parma ham. At another, a voluptuous Australian Pinot Noir highlighted the flavors of crispy pigeon breast with fennel puree and saffron-vanilla sauce. Three mystery glasses are served with the main course - a fun guessing game for beginners and oenophiles alike...