Restaurants that understand regional wine
by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On
Restaurants that do local food, but not local wine, take a lot of heat from those of us in the local wine movement. Dave McIntyre, the co-founder of DrinkLocalWine.com, has had to slap a couple of Washington-area restaurants around because they were doing local food wine dinners with California wine (and sometimes not very impressive California wine).
So when the Wine Curmudgeon gets a chance to point out that some restaurants do understand that local wine pairs with local food, he welcomes the opportunity. So, after the jump, a tip of the Curmudgeon's fedora:
? Steven Krueger, the sommelier at the Westin La Canterra Resort in the Texas Hill Country. Says Vintage Texas impressario Russ Kane: "Steven has developed an inspired wine list with some of the finest wines in the world; including what he feels are some of the noteworthy local wines from wineries all around Texas." The La Canterra also does Texas wine tastings and wine dinners.
? The Pappas Brothers restaurant empire, which does steak, Cajun, Tex-Mex and several other concepts in Texas and surrounding states. At the corporate level, Drew Hendricks has made a concerted effort to upgrade the wine list with Texas labels and done an excellent job correcting a serious deficiency. At the Pappas Brothers Steakhouse in Dallas, sommelier Barbara Werley has one of the most impressive Texas lists in the state. She even knows about well-made Texas wine before I do.
? My pal Hunter Hammett, the sommelier at the Fairmont's Pyramid Room in Dallas. Hunter will be showing off the restaurant's commitment to regional wine and food on Wednesday, at a three-course Texas food and wine dinner.
And, to show that local wine is not the province of high-end dining, my mother sent me this: Bluegrass, a casual American restaurant in suburban Chicago, carries an Illinois bubbly from August Hill Winery.