Lately I’ve been on the road a good bit, both touring with various clients and doing city-specific events. While often we work 20 hour days on the road,  sometimes I actually get a night off where I can enjoy a great glass of wine or two.

In Atlanta, I went with co-workers to foodie destination Gunshow by chef Kevin Gillespie. We thoroughly enjoyed the southern-inspired options from the local chefs served dim sum style. The bartender runs a mean cart with artisinal drinks to make your mouth water.  My co-workers loved the toasted old fashioned (bourbon, bitters, burnt sugar, bruléed cinnamon, flamed orange) so much they had five of them. I had to taste the duke of earl (scotch, allspice, lime, lavender salt, ginger, earl grey) and was thoroughly pleased, but the wine of the evening for me was a Domain Chandon Pinot Noir, Carneros Napa 2012 (via internet from $24/bottle) 

The Chandon Pinot was a great foil to food with its smooth, velvety mouthfeel and was able to stand up to the strong spices of buffalo wings and kung pao while having enough acidity to cut through truffle grilled cheese, lamb, and short ribs.

For the seafood options and dessert, I went another route: sparkling. I was wowed by  De Chancey’s Sparkling Chenin Blanc Vouvray 2012, an off-dry sparkler with gentle flavors of peaches and pear. Truly tasty with a hint of sweetness that made me want to drink it all day long. I will find this again, I promise you! It was fun to drink by itself but an ideal complement to the oyster and octopus dishes the chefs brought to our table, as well as the trio of desires we tasted. Fun!

While working in San Francisco on a huge sports event, I managed to squeeze in dinner one night without a reservation by dining at the bar of Restaurant Gary Danko for a tremendous meal, great service and some stunning wine.

I started with Schramsburg Blanc de Blanc 2012 North Coast California Brut sparkling, made from 100% chardonnay. I was very pleasantly surprised with the old world approach to sparkling, this crisp, dry wine stands proudly among other great sparkling wines of the world with a delightful combination of delicate flavors – golden delicious apple, citrusy lime, and baked bread. It complemented courses of butternut squash soup and risotto wonderfully.

The star of my meal was something I struggled with choosing from their fun and surprisingly expansive wine list (all kept on-site, which I found impressive, given that the restaurant only seats about 70). After much thought and some great conversation with two house somms, I decided upon a half bottle of a pinot to complement my fish and meat courses. The Francophile in me won out and I selected Domaine Drouhin-Laroze Gevrey-Cambertin 2011, which paired beautifully and complemented these dishes more than I could imagine. Excellent depth and balance, lovely fruit yet enough acidity to stand up to a hearty filet of beef with swiss chard, with solid tannins, delightful minerality- slate, limestone & chalky clay.  

I finished the meal with four selections from Gary Danko’s cheese cart along with a glass of 2009 Château Laribotte Sauternes,  a delightful dessert wine that is very popular here with the fois gras course. On this evening, the Laribotte was an ideal final note to a delicious meal.

A little food porn for you:

From Restaurant Gary Danko:

Risotto

Salmon

Filet of Beef w/ Duck Fat Potatoes

From Gunshow:

Beef Pho (Deconstructed)

Short Rib

Kung Pao Brussel Sprouts

à votre santé!

Tags: Commentary, Gary Danko, Gunshow, Red Wine Review, Restaurant Pairings, White wine review