Some of us industry folk had a beautiful opportunity recently to attend the annual Taittinger Somm Night event in SF. This is a great occasion wherein vendors, distributors, retailers, and wait staff can get together and hang out. It’s especially nice because we all get to be under one roof without any expectations of wheeling and dealing – we don’t need to sell or push or network. We were there to unwind, chat, and drink some tasty Champagne as we roll into the ever-busy Autumn months.
If you’re a regular shopper at K&L, or receive our weekly Events email, you know about our in-store wine tastings held every Thursday and Saturday. These informal, educational (and social!) meetings provide the opportunity to explore a region and expand your palate. But did you know we have an exciting new way to learn about wine? This summer, we rebooted our offsite wine dinner series as a way to elevate the food-and-wine pairing experience and to connect our customers to the people behind the wine.
A big boat just landed in California, carrying some wines we’re pretty jazzed about—all hailing from Rhône’s phenomenal 2016 vintage. Both Northern and Southern Rhône knocked it out of the park in 2016. We’re excited through and through for this vintage, and wines from La Ferme du Mont in Châteauneuf-du-Pape are topping our list of what to open first.
The Loire Valley doesn’t often get much attention, especially when standing next to other French behemoths like Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhone. Pouring the full range of wines, Loire Wine Buyer, Keith Mabry, took us on a journey up and down the river, sharing the flavors and stories that make this place so unique. Whether you’re planning on attending the tasting this Saturday, or maybe you just want to learn more about the area, below are a few essentials to get you started.
An icon in California wine, Talley is a family-run farming operation who’ve been growing and bottling classic Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines from the Central Coast since the 80s. This is their 33rd harvest since they began, back in the day when they were the first growers of Pinot and Chardonnay in the region. I talked to Brian about cooking, food, wine, and the holistic approach that is the backbone of his family business.
Tucked in the northeastern corner of Napa Valley, just south of the Palisades Mountains is the legendary Eisele Vineyard. Long recognized as one the finest Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards in Napa Valley, this stunning site owes its success to its various owners over the last century, each who contributed significant influences to the quality of vineyard. It is no surprise then that the new owner, François Pinault from Château Latour, is likewise elevating the standards that were already so remarkable. As the 2015 vintages are being released, we are starting to see these new influences, and it’s pretty exciting.
A much overlooked region, the Finger Lakes are rich in history and are producing wines that are better than ever. Our colleague Muriel Sarik recently took a trip to the region and found that while Riesling rules, there is wonderful depth that wine lovers of varying palates will adore. Join her for a tour of some of the top wineries, some beautiful scenery, and a few unexpected discoveries. As she says, “they will make the best wine they possibly can.”
Back in March of 2018, we ran a small piece detailing the full cycle of the K&L Spirits single barrel program. Our spirits buyers, after tasting through dozens of samples/barrels at the source, hand select the best single casks from Bourbon country to be bottled up and sold a few times a year. Occasionally, we end up with the empty barrels which we hand deliver to local breweries. This program really gained steam in late 2014 when David OG from K&L hooked up his childhood friend Jacob McKean of Modern Times. Don’t miss this thrilling new release!
When K&L Champagne Buyer, Gary Westby, asked if I had any thoughts on a cocktail for using the Baron-Fuente Grande Reserve bottles I knew I had a shortlist of recipes that I wanted to try, but I ultimately settled on the Champagne Old Fashioned, or as I fondly refer to it: That Old Fashioned Champ. As its name implies, it riffs on one of the most classic of all cocktails, and just as the traditional Old Fashioned relies on simplicity of function to let the few ingredients shine beautifully, this Champagne version takes the same approach so you can appreciate each element that contributes to the beverage.
You may have already heard this, but the 2015 vintage in Bordeaux is outstanding. According to our resident Bordeauxitarian in Hollywood, Jacques Moreira, everything that needed to happen happened. The stars aligned, the heavens opened, and the sunshine/rain/cool breeze combo proceeded exactly as needed to get the fruit to its most perfect state. Now that the wines are in-stock, it is a vintage that deserves any discerning wine drinker’s attention.
Luca’s family has been there through the last 40 years of evolution in Montalcino, but are very rooted in Pierluigi’s original vision. His grandfather understood the importance of Sangiovese, and was an early ambassador for it. He prized the idea that the wine is born outside of the cellar, and that the Sangiovese Grosso grape is what makes Montalcino special. Luca says it’s “a wonderful grape, and we have the best expression of it in Montalcino.”
Jeff says his family are farmers, that’s their identity. It’s not hard to romanticize that connection to the land—that’s what us wine geeks go in for, right? The beauty of how a glass of wine connects us to the weather and the soil and the people? But there is something so rooted and real about this family in this place. It’s a different California wine story than, say, much of Napa, where people came from elsewhere to stake their claim on winemaking. The Pisoni story happened from the ground up: a family already connected to the land with one visionary and a crazy idea.
