NYTimes: Asimov On Drinking Local

Anyway, the larger point is, of what use is it for restaurants to promote "backyard" wines when the wines are clearly subpar?

None, IF the wines are clearly and uniformly subpar. Probably even a disservice. But that's not the case for Michigan, Missouri, NY, and arguably Virginia. I'm not familiar enough with other states.

Anyway, the larger point is, of what use is it for restaurants to promote "backyard" wines when the wines are clearly subpar?

None, IF the wines are clearly and uniformly subpar. Probably even a disservice. But that's not the case for Michigan, Missouri, NY, and arguably Virginia. I'm not familiar enough with other states.

Regarding Virginia, it depends if you look at what the best are doing or take the state as a whole. The quality range is very wide. There are 206 wineries in Virginia. According to Cellar Tracker, I have 88 bottles of Virginia wine at home but it all comes from just 7 wineries and roughly half of that total comes from Linden Vineyards. There are a few wineries on my short list still to try but my guess is there is no more than a dozen, two dozen max, wineries in the state that are really making top quality wine. As for the best the state can do, the Linden Hardscrabble Chardonnay I think is better than most in its price range, regardless of origin. While I have yet to try the RdV wines, the scores/notes from Jancis gave were quite impressive.

CM: I had long been a fan of Wiemer's wines, especially his semi dry reisling, but the prices have gone up and the quality seems to have fallen off a bit since Herrman retired, IMHO...a hard sell for restos who wd have to put it on wine list in $35-$40 range or higher

Tim York:

I expect restaurants in wine growing regions to benefit from local knowledge to make a shrewd selection of local wines.

Me too, and it rarely happens in restaurants in the greater Finger Lakes region. There are exceptions (Ports, the Bistro at Red Newt and a couple of others) but once you get just a few miles away from the lakes it's unusual to find non-top end restaurants (my world) that satisfy Tim's simple expectation. The wine lists look mostly like pro forma afterthoughts, probably the handiwork of distributors rather than anyone at the restaurants themselves with even minimal knowledge of local wines. It's really a shame, and an easy opportunity for a smart owner to stand out.

In my previous post I omitted to address the question whether there is a special symbiosis between the cooking and the wines of wine-growing regions. I think that European experience here is relevant, if only for the reason that wine growing and culinary traditions have a far longer track record than in the USA.

It is undeniable that the regional cooking in parts of France influenced by the Atlantic climate goes very well with the local wines and, when looking through the microscope at sub-regions like Madiran and Cahors, the goose/duck rich dishes are admirably complemented by the tannin rich local wines. In the Loire region, even the local goat cheeses seem to bring out special qualities in the Chenin and Sauvignon based local wines. Whether this is an accident or a result of trial and error, I wouldn't like to say but, where dishes are cooked in local wines it is fairly obvious that the same wines would make good pairings.

The same broadly applies to Burgundy, except that, IMHO (not shared by everybody), some local cheeses, e.g. ripe Époisses, are an absolute disaster with the local reds. In Italy Piedmontese food goes perfectly with the wide palette of local wines.

On the other hand I am not very convinced that German white wines are particularly well suited to traditional German fare. A lot of German families used to drink the sweeter wines on their own before or after a meal. The recent upsurge in dry styles there is, I think, partly a response to the need for food wines appropriate to more internationally styled cuisine in up-market establishments.

Returning to France, the heavy reds from the Southern Rhône like CndP, seem to me to call for cool weather and rich game and red meat stews more common further North. If served with Provençal cuisine I prefer lighter vintages like 2008 served fairly cool. I remember an excellent experience near Arles when we were served a very light Ch.Nalys CndP, which would have been despised by the Parkerites, in a cool pitcher.

As for Port, it was designed for the British market and I would never think of ordering in Portugal even though there are some local devotees.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/dinin ... ref=dining

I like to see well-chosen local wines on lists. But in NYC I'd agree that pricing is an issue- while there are exceptions, LI wines and Hudson Valley wines (far closer than the Finger Lakes) tend to be pricey for what they are.