Wine Around the South
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CONCi ERGE Retirement for OPFoodies settling down near beautiful Charleston—a THE CLASSIC MINT JULEP Imagine ODDS-ON FAVORITE FOR noted foodie retirement destination. Just across the DERBY ENTERTAINING bridge, is Franke at Seaside, a life plan community where you won’t nd your typical “early bird special.” O THE ENTERTAINING ISSUE Executive chefs Frankie Scavullo and PARTY TIME Nick Hunter see that residents enjoy a WHETHER IT’S AN ELABORATE AFFAIR that involves freshly Southern-inspired menu with seasonal muddled juleps and guests with fancy hats or throwing steaks on the grill PLUS... farm-to-table ingredients. Franke doesn’t for a last-minute gathering of neighbors in the backyard, the month of > SOUTHERN SOMMELIERS UP THE ANTE serve a boring chicken sandwich. Residents savsavoror an May brings with it a host of excuses to entertain. There’s Cinco de Mayo, > VIVIAN HOWARD MEETS HER HERO Ashley Farms fried chicken breast with house-made the Kentucky Derby, Mother’s Day, the long Memorial Day weekend, > NOLA’S VIETNAMESE FARMERS MARKET pickles and pimento cheese on a brioche bun, with and graduations galore. Plus for those of us who live in the South, it’s the > SUGAR BAKESHOP IS SWEET ON HONEY house-cut fries. At Franke we elevate expectations. last call to savor cool evenings outdoors before the swelter of summer sets in, holding us hostage to air-conditioning for months on end. So what are you waiting for? Time to plan your menu, hit the farmers market, and PHOTO BY SARAH JANE SANDERS frost the cake. Need some inspiration? Read on. 843.856.4700 Franke at Seaside FrankeAtSeaside.org a serious culinary choice 1500 Franke Dr. • Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 THELOCALPALATE.COM / FEBRUARY 2015 41 CONCi ERGE ENTERTAINING ISSUE CONCi ERGE EXPERT PICKS WINE AROUND THE SOUTH Where to Travel the Globe, Glass by Glass By Lindsay Lambert Day it can be labeled Pinot Blanc even if the blend is When it comes to drinking, only 10 percent Pinot Blanc.” As for dessert, she the South spills over with offers a Malvasia Rossa from Bricco Mondal- whiskey and bourbon. But ino called “Gaudio.” “It is from Piedmont, as the spotlight shines ever Italy, has a slight effervescence and the aromas brighter on the region’s boom- of roses.” ing restaurant culture, South- restaurantaugust.com ern sommeliers and wine merchants are upping the ante WEATHERVANE RESTAURANT with more adventurous grape Chapel Hill, North Carolina juice. Here are eight restau- At Southern Season, which stocks more than rants around the South whose 5,000 wines, Elizabeth Cooper knows her wine offerings will make you grapes (see sidebar). “To keep the intimidation dizzy with delight (and not factor to a minimum [at the store’s restaurant, just because you won’t be able SOMMELIER Weathervane] I stick with a standard varietal to stop sipping). MATT PRIDGEN selection, but focus on FROM UNDERBELLY producer quality and regional typicality,” she COLES 735 MAIN region in eastern France produces some of the says. Recently, Cooper most wonderfully unusual wines in the world,” sourced Denis Tardieu Lexington, Kentucky MILLER UNION When selecting wines to add to his list at Coles, she says. “Sourced from a small, organic, and Côtes du Rhône. “Us- sommelier and General Manager Chris Hutchi- biodynamic seven-hectare plot, the Poulsard ing both biodynamic son uses “retail presence” to gauge his interest in a grape is pale, almost translucent in color. Light- UNDERBELLY best pairing wines at Etch is a red wine blend and organic methods, FEATURED SOMMELIER varietal. “Our wine list is a tool to draw people er in body than a Pinot Noir, it offers bright, red Houston, Texas from Mallorca, a Spanish island producing great they only produce this Elizabeth Cooper is the wine buyer in the door, knowing they can’t get most of our fruit flavors with just a touch of smoke. Arbois At Underbelly, sommelier and General Manager wine.” Of the 2012 An/2 by Anima Negra, one spectacular Rhône and manager for the gourmet gro- wines in retail stores,” he says. “Often, the best AOC (Poulsard), Domaine de La Pinte 2011 Matt Pridgen mirrors Chef Chris Shepherd's Kemper offers, “It’s a blend of indigenous island blend. The wine, a blend cer Southern Season in Chapel wines—and the best stories—come from small is a spring favorite.” food philosophy (working directly with farmers, grapes: Callet, Mantonegre-Fogoneu, and Syrah. of Grenache, Syrah, and Hill, North Carolina. Cooper’s ca- production shops that don’t have large market- americangr.com ranchers, and fishermen in lieu of hiring outside Fermented in stainless steel and concrete, then Cinsault, is earthy and rich on the nose with reer began in restaurants, where ing budgets.” One such wine is August Kes- suppliers), by only buying wines from people aged in French and American oak, it’s medium- olive tapenade and lavender aromas.” she realized that her true passion seler “R” Riesling Kabinett. “It has the bright MILLER UNION who make, produce, and bottle it themselves. bodied with beautiful red fruit, violet overtones, southernseason.com was the beverage menu. Holding an acidity of Riesling, with just enough stone Atlanta, Georgia “Good food is grown by people who have pride and a bit of smokiness. It complements Deb’s Advanced Sommelier certification fruit characteristics for complexity and residual At this heavily-decorated Atlanta eatery, som- in what they make, and wine is the same way,” lamb, venison, and even pork entrées.” GOLD CUP WINE BAR from the Court of Master Somme- sweetness. It’s perfect with our Hamachi Sashi- melier and General Manager Neal McCarthy Pridgen says. A recent find is the 2006 Quinta etchrestaurant.com AT SALAMANDER RESORT liers, she did stints in distribution mi.” Coles also regularly features three different is so passionate about his selections that he’s Boavista “Terras de Tavares” from the Dão Middleburg, Virginia and supply, and has served as the on-draft wines. willing (and we dare say, excited) to wait an en- region of Portugal. “It’s a 50/50 blend of Jaen AUGUST With more than fifty wineries within an hour’s southeastern regional manager for coles735main.com tire year for a certain varietal to arrive. “It’s a (Mencia) and Touriga Nacional that comes from New Orleans, Louisiana drive, Salamander Resort & Spa is a haven for Fess Parker Wines, Smith Ma- Cru Beaujolais from Jean Foillard,” McCarthy organic vineyards and is aged in oak for three At August, sommelier Erin White’s recently East Coast oenophiles. And the resort’s res- drone, Truchard Vineyards, and AMERICAN GROCERY RESTAURANT explains of the awaited wine. “Specifically, I years, and then in bottle for another five years,” paired Peppered Oyster Tagliatelle with an taurant, Gold Cup Wine Bar, affords ample Au Bon Climat. She joined South- Greenville, South Carolina most like the Cuvée Corcelette Morgon 2014, he says. “The result is a complex wine full of red organic Xarel-lo and Riesling blend called opportunities for learning about special wines. ern Season in 2011 and is working Says Darlene Mann-Clarke, who plays somme- and fewer than 50 bottles make their way into fruit, herbs, and earth, with distinct minerality Terraprima, from Massif del Garraf in Last year, Wine Director Michael Foote expand- toward her Master Sommelier Cer- lier to husband Joe Clarke’s executive chef, “I’m Georgia.” Another of McCarthy’s unique picks from the granite soils.” Catalonia, Spain. “The small percentage of ed the list by adding South Australian winery tification. a staunch advocate for quality-driven, value- is the Bodegas Forjas del Salnes “Baston de la underbellyhouston.com Riesling cools off the pepper, while the bright Mollydooker’s 2013 Shiraz, “The Boxer,” a The first wine I ever had was... priced, small-production wines.” Take, for ex- Luna” from Rias Biaxas, a region in northwest- salinity of a wine from the coast pairs well with unique experience thanks to the winery’s focus Mogen David ample, the Edi Simcic 2010 Chardonnay from ern Spain known for its white Albariños. “You ETCH the briny oyster,” she says. Another interesting on Marquis Fruit Weight. “This is the percent- Goriska Brda, Slovenia. “You’re missing out if hardly ever see red wines from Rias Biaxas,” he pick is Auxerrois from Alsace, France, made age of your palate that’s covered by the velvety The worst wine I ever had was... Nashville, Tennessee you’ve never had a Slovenian wine,” she says. says. “Of all the production there, only 10 per- At Nashville eatery Etch, Executive Chef Deb by Rolly-Gassman. “Auxerrois is silky-textured sensation of fruit, before you experience any of Mogen David “This classic Chardonnay has notes of cream, cent of wines are made from red grapes.” For a Paquette encourages sommelier Mark Kremper and has a touch of honeycomb when paired with the structural components of the wine,” says If I weren’t a sommelier, I’d be a… peach, citrus, and honey, with a lush mouth- sip exclusive to Miller Union, order the Bartolo to “play mad scientist.” Says Kremper, “Deb is our Shrimp Étouffée Dumplings,” White says. Foote. “A wine must have at least 65 percent fruit Librarian feel that will appeal to typical California Char- Mascarello Barolo 2010. known for her bold and complex flavors, which “It is often an overlooked varietal because in weight to be considered as Mollydooker.” donnay wine drinkers.” As for reds, “The Jura millerunion.com NORTON ANNA ROUTH BARZIN; RIGHT CARY PHOTO LEFT: ANNA ROUTH BARZIN HEIDI GELDHAUSER; RIGHT: OPPOSITE LEFT: my wine list serves to complement. One of the Alsace, when a wine is blended with Pinot Blanc, salamanderresort.com THELOCALPALATE.COM / MAY 2016 THELOCALPALATE.COM / MAY 2016 CONCi ERGE ENTERTAINING ISSUE A PERSONAL ESSAY Entertaining and Empanadas BY VIVIAN HOWARD six years ago, my husband ben’s mom and sister read “Pueblo Garzon.” We naturally assumed were traveling around South America and sug- we had found the hotel’s entrance.