Wine Is Divine

Rousseau Freres, Touraine Noble Joue 2012 - wine analysis

Seriously, Rousseau Frères, Touraine Noble Joué 2012 is a rosé drinker’s rosé! A pale pink with a hint of russet color [what the French may call “pelure d’oignon”] presents a bouquet of fresh red peach, lemon oil, poached pear, cantaloupe and spice, like the outside of a cantaloupe [i.e. the rind]. The palate is where the minerality comes out, driven by elevated acidity and a long finish.

I remember really liking the 2010, which was my favorite rosé of that season. I am delighted to offer the 2012 by the glass at Noisette and on the bottle list at Biwa.

Hailing from the communes Chambray-lès-Tours, Esvres, Joué-lès-Tours, Larçay, Saint-Avertin, the small appellation of Touraine Noble Joué [pronounced: too-ren noh-bla zhoo-way] only makes one style of wine, rosé. Nice.

Plus, look at today’s weather! It’s looking like rosé season is coming our way PDX.

Anthony Garcia
http://twitter.com/wineisdivine

1989 Bordeaux Dinner at Noisette

It was a treat to handle all of these properly aged 1989 Bordeaux.  A group of collectors bought out Noisette on Tuesday and Chef Demes put together an elegant, yet masculine menu to pair with the acclaimed vintage [the year I graduated from high school!]. 

Not a broken cork in the bunch, of course I used three different wine openers to get the job done!

Anthony Garcia
http://twitter.com/wineisdivine

Caryn Benke Passes Court of Master Sommeliers Advanced Examination on her 1st attempt

Caryn Benke’s new, shiny green pin signifying her accomplishment of passing the Advanced Sommelier Exam is rewarding for all of us who know her. The fact that she passed on the first try is incredibly impressive [it took me four times!]. She is the second Portland sommelier to pass on the inaugural attempt. Erica Landon was the first, back in 2011 [another extremely impressive wine professional].  

This test is very difficult and requires much preparation. Advanced candidates spend five days in another city being schooled and examined by Master Sommeliers in a test of three sections: Theory, Practical and Blind Tasting.  The pressure is unreal. Erica Landon, Jeremy Campbell and I worked with Caryn to prepare her for the Practical, drawing on our own experiences to run her through the scenarios a candidate might encounter during this nerve-racking exam. 

For Tasting, we organized several lineups of six wines, presented blind and timed. For this section, in 25 minutes, students must analyze six wines on sight, nose, and palate, then conclude through the process of deduction the wines’ flavor profile, alcohol, acidity, tannin-level, origin, varietal composition and vintage.

The only section [of the three] where you can’t really get help from your peers is Theory. Candidates must put in the time to study the entire world of wine. Caryn obviously put forth the effort and came back from Anaheim victorious. Congratulations, Caryn!

above image: Caryn at Andy Zalman’s weekly study group, giving us the play-by-play from her exam.

Anthony Garcia
http://twitter.com/wineisdivine

Tuaca is from Kentucky, Heering Cherry is from Sweden

When I returned to work at Noisette, taking over the beverage program, in addition to handling the wine list, I created a spirits list [view list here]. For a small, 34-seat restaurant, Noisette has a rather large quantity of bottles behind its bar. Aside from presenting all of the brands of liquor, quinquinas, liqueurs, amari, I list their abv [alcohol by volume] and offer most of what we serve in two sizes. We take compliance with the OLCC very seriously and over-serving guests is not an option. Offering different sizes for our pours and clearly listing the prices has been well received by our guests, particularly since most order wine in addition to cocktails. Thankfully, diners don’t think of Noisette as a place to get drunk, they make reservations for Chef Tony’s cuisine.  Well-apportioned liquor and wine lists are just added niceties.  

As Portlanders are accustom to knowing the origins of the things they put in their bodies, I decided to approach the spirits list much like a wine list. I present the labels, alcohol by volume, and the size options, plus I added columns listing region or country and other information based on what is considered most vital to each category. This column is not homogeneously applied to each type of spirit.  Aging isn’t very important to Vodka, but the base material of the distillate is pertinent; so, I include it [e.g. potato, grain, grapes, etc.]. For Scotch, Brandy and Calvados aging or aging categories are important; so, I list those. For liqueurs, the flavor or category of flavor is vital to know [e.g. lemon, cherry, black currant, elderflower, bitter, cream, etc.]. There is a lot of information on the spirits list, but it’s cleanly presented and meant to be helpful [if not educational] for the guests.  

When I set all of the bottles before me one day to double check spelling and demarcation/origin, I noticed Tuaca is made in Kentucky, not Italy, and the famed Peter F. Heering Cherry Liqueur is not made in Denmark anymore rather, Sweden, and that’s how I notate them on the list.  

Anthony Garcia
http://twitter.com/wineisdivine

My Cork Presenters Modified & For Sale?

Last October, I met with Chef Tony & Debbie to discuss coming back to Noisette.  The job at the Heathman was not a good fit for me professionally and I was planning my exit strategy.  Jeremy Campbell had vacated the Wine Director position to do some traveling and the timing was right. During this visit, I remember seeing out of the corner of my eye the cork presenters Anne & I designed back in 2006.  These were not the original ones Todd Campbell made out of bronze, but a thinner, sleeker rendition fashioned from stainless steel.  I had forgotten that months back Tony asked if he could make a set for the restaurant. Seeing this 2.0 version kind of gave me a warm feeling. 

When I returned to work at Noisette, it was a vaguely surreal to see the cork coasters used by the wait staff on the floor. I’ve never seen anyone other than myself using this specialty service tool, and I never thought about patenting or selling these to other restaurants until that moment. Of course, I don’t plan on getting rich from this, but I do think other establishments and sommeliers looking to adhere to the Court of Master Sommeliers service standards would rather use this custom cork presenter over a b&b plate ;-)  

Even though they’re about five times heavier than the stainless version and a little clunkier the bronze prototypes are the best. Blacksmith and artist Todd Campbell came to visit PDX last month. I wish he would have made it into Noisette. I think he would have gotten a kick out of seeing the 2.0 version. 

Anthony Garcia
http://twitter.com/wineisdivine

Advanced Sommelier Examination prep for Caryn Benke

Caryn Benke of Andina will take the Advanced Examination for the Court of Master Sommeliers the second week of April in Anaheim, California.  Advanced Somms Erica Landon, Jeremy Campbell and I are working diligently to prepare Miss Benke for the arduous three part exam: blind tasting her through lineups of six wines for the Tasting portion and running her through possible scenarios for the Practical examination.

Caryn is an incredibly talented sommelier and a member of Andy Zalman’s weekly tasting group.  Her ability to blind wines is impressive. She’s immersed herself in Theory prep, and hopefully our “mocks” for Practical will prove useful. We’d all love to see her pass on the first attempt!

Thank you Tabla for allowing us the use of your restaurant for practice purposes!  

About the Court of Master Sommeliers Advanced Examination
The Advanced is an extremely difficult exam broken down into three parts: Theory, Practical, and Tasting. Theory is a written test, Practical is a service test in a restaurant-type setting and Tasting is determining the regions, vintages, and grape varieties on six wines tasted blind in 25 minutes.  

top image: Jeremy Campbell, Advanced Sommelier briefing Caryn on Practical format
bottom image: Caryn crushing three whites & three reds in under 25 minutes


Anthony Garcia
http://twitter.com/wineisdivine

Wine Is Divine Hospitality Consulting Launches in PDX!

Portland has a lot of talented culinary people living here. We’re a city obsessed with making stuff: food, beer, cocktails, wine, clothing, music, film. Taking what Oregon has to offer, we fashion it into something beautiful. PDX is very much a SCENE, an artisan’s paradise, respected worldwide. And everywhere you turn it’s easy to be amazed at the focus, determination and particularly the end result of culinary and service industry professionals living in Gastropolis.  

Wine Is Divine Consulting enters Portland’s culinary playing field as a different kind of hospitality consulting company. We are a collective of service industry professionals.  We work in the industry in the trenches, serving guests. Our experience is current, authentic, and authoritative, bringing our combined know-how to your hospitality endeavor. We’re restaurant insiders, here to make a difference. Giving assistance where needed to restaurant operators looking to up their game.  We have an authentic voice and vision to help you write your own ticket. 

Please get acquainted with our STAFF and learn about our SERVICES:

Content Writing & Messaging | Service Assessment | Emergency Services
Wine | Sake | Beer | Cocktail   

For more information or to tell us about you project, call 888-488-8876 or email info@wineisdivine.com

Chef Valoff on working with Chef Demes at Noisette

I recently I hung around the kitchen at Relish Gastropub to shoot some pictures for my friend Joe Valoff. I appreciated my time working with Chef Valoff when he cooked at Noisette.  I miss working with him, but I’m extremely happy for the food he’s creating in Westmoreland.  When we were together at Noisette, often would we talk about our collective culinary experiences, who we’ve worked with and the lessons we’ve learned along the way. Now at his new restaurant in SE Portland, I asked Joe what lessons he may have learned from Chef Tony Demes. I like what he had to say:

Tony kept things positive from the time you walked through the door to the time you left. It was this juxtaposition of producing very serious food while maintaining an incredibly positive work environment that I’ll keep with me for the rest of my career. Even at times when more serious matters had to be discussed, he’d pull you aside have that 10 minute conversation and you’d go back to prepping or finishing clean up in a good place.  Having a positive work environment makes food taste better.

I totally agree with Joe, one of the perks to Noisette for me is working at a high-level of artistry and professionalism, presenting Chef Tony’s cuisine while levity is maintained before, after and during service. I think the guests who dine with us know we’re this real fine dining gem located in the land of casual gastronomy, but at the same time feel the warmth of a small family owned place. I very much appreciate this. 

If you haven’t dined at Relish Gastropub, you should put it on your list.  It’s comfortable and low key with super delicious food. It’s exactly what Sellwood-Moreland needed and since they’ve opened the neighbors are supporting it. Nice. 

“Joe & Tony” picture courtesy of Joel Baud

Anthony Garcia
http://twitter.com/wineisdivine

Paying Attention- A Guide to Wine with Food on Amazon 10 Years later

I wrote Paying Attention- A Guide to Wine with Food nearly ten years ago, and I’m still receiving orders from Amazon. I sent more out this week after getting another PO. Nice. 

I think every sommelier has their specialty.  One somm might know Burgundy or Germany like the back of their hand. Another somm might own cocktails and spirits, being able to crush the floor and mix drinks simultaneously. These sommeliers are quite deadly indeed. What I like to do is serve guests, work the floor and pair wine with food. I started getting serious about wine with food over ten years ago when I worked with Chris Lanier back at Tocai and Emilia’s, and I still do it today at Noisette. 

Each night, we offer an eight course tasting menu for $85 and present a wine accompaniment for a $50 to $60 supplemental charge [sometimes I sneak in sake for one of the courses]. I try to pour unique or lesser-known wines to marry with Chef Tony’s modern French cuisine. This past week, I opened some 1990 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese to pair with Chef Demes’ trout mousse and a little 2005 Colares to pair with his smoked sturgeon. 

Lately, the majority of reservations order tasting menus with pairings. I love these nights that test my poise, timing and especially my mise. Before service every glass at Noisette is pre-polished.  After having a current, up-to-date and mistake-free wine list, polishing glassware is the most crucial part of a working sommelier’s mise.  In particular for Noisette, this is most vital as one 4-top ordering pairings will utilize 32 glasses, and I don’t want to be polishing on the fly. Last Saturday, over half the reservations ordered the tasting menu with wine accompaniment, including a 9-top that also opted for the pairings; that’s 72 glasses on one table, and we’re only a 34-seat restaurant!

Each glass at Noisette is polished twice: once directly after these are washed and once again right before service. It might sound like a lot of work, but peace is found in your mise and well appreciated during your execution. 

Anthony Garcia
http://twitter.com/wineisdivine

Gastronomic Excess - 1st trip to PDX for my brother Joe

My brother Joe is the first person in my family or friend-group to visit Portland. He had four nights of total gastronomic excess. We covered a lot of ground, hitting multiple stops a day, and for the most part we came out unscathed, if not a little fuller around the waist. Since the trip may have been blurry at times, I thought I’d chronicle his short stay with us.  

Food

Noisette [Sat 3-2-13] I had to work, but it was great to serve Joe and my wife Anne at the Chef’s Counter. Of course, tasting menu with pairings. Thanks Chef Tony & Debbie! 

Olympic Provisions NW [Sun 3-3-13] Brunch with beers, a Pickleback; plus an amazing Kielbasa hash and country Benedict. Thanks Diego!

Biwa [Sun 3-3-13] Cocktails, sake, sashimi, age-mono. Thanks Kana!

Lardo Westside [Mon 3-4-13] Hangover food, Joe threw down the double burger with pork belly.

Blue Star Donuts [3-4-13] Post bike ride donuts.

Boxer Sushi [3-4-13] You cannot eat here and not order Omakase!

Tasty & Alder [3-5-13] Lunch #1 Eggs, potatoes, radicchio.

Nostrana [3-5-13] Lunch #2 Pizza, radicchio.

Cheese Bar [3-5-13] Lunch #3 Should be rather obvious what we ate. Thanks Tim!

Le Pigeon [3-5-13] Sans Rucker, but still amazing. Thanks Andrew!

Coffee

Stumptown [3-2-13] Coffee after Clyde Common snack. 

Barista Downtown [3-3-13] Start the morning off right.

Coffeehouse NW [3-3-13] A much needed pause between OPNW and going up to Council Crest.

Case Study Coffee [3-4-13] A quick cup while waiting for Kask to open.

Coava [3-5-13] Coffee break between lunch #2 and lunch #3.

Cocktail

Clyde Common [Sat 3-2-13] Stop # 1 for a cocktail and snack, right after Joe’s flight and before I went to work at Noisette. Anne got off work to take over the reins as tour guide for a night. We also went again [Tuesday 3-5-13] for nightcaps after Le Pigeon. Thanks Jeffrey!

Teardrop Lounge [Sat 3-2-13 & Mon 3-4-13] It was a packed freak show on Saturday night, but Monday was perfect. Thanks Daniel!

Imperial [3-3-13] Joe crushed a couple of Bloody Mary’s while waiting for me to join him. He was staying at the Hotel Lucia.

Rontoms [3-3-13] Walked over after Biwa and pretty much the final coffin nail for this day.

Kask [3-4-13] Even without Tommy K behind the bar, still one of my favorites.

Rum Club [3-5-13] Much needed bitter cocktails after lunch #3.

Raven & Rose [3-5-13] Took the cab straight from Rum Club and had a couple more amazing cocktails in The Rookery.

Beer

Bailey’s Taproom [3-3-13] Our stop here pretty much sealed our fate for having an early night. Hi-octane Pac NW beers annihilated us. Thanks Bill!

Prost [3-4-13] We rented Joe a bike, rode to Mississippi; so, Joe could get salt at The Meadow. We took a pause for a Schwarzbier.

Wine

Oregon Wines On Broadway [3-2-13] Anne took Joe here before Noisette for bub, Pinot and sass.

Scenic

Council Crest [3-3-13] It was a clear day, but not enough to see Mt Hood, Mt St Helens, Mt Adams, Mt Jefferson, or Mt Rainier.

Joe’s a super busy man. I was glad I could show him around beautiful Portland, Oregon. I’ve got a feeling he’ll be back soon. There were so many places I wanted to take him, but we ran out of time!

Anthony Garcia
http://www.twitter.com/wineisdivine