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Gourmet Guide: Cellars of Excellence

Three oenological experts help diners navigate Coronado’s leading wine cellars.

By John Flink

The Catena Malbec ’99 from Lunlunta Vineyards paired marvelously with Azzura Point’s rack of lamb on zucchini risotto and portobello mushroom, the full-bodied mouthfeel and smoky blackberry-and-spice undertones a shining example of the vintner’s art as practiced in Mendoza, Argentina’s leading viticultural region.

Likewise, the Leeuwin Estate Art Series Riesling ’00 served as a comfortable companion for a filet of pomfret fish on a bed of Swiss chard and the Mastroberardino Radici Aglianico ’94 from Campania, Italy was an ideal counterpoint to the pungent tellagio cheese course. Naturally, the Dow’s 1985 Vintage Port, a steadfast Portuguese classic, held up very nicely next to a strong chocolate tart.

But if there was a pairing that was positively stellar, a moment in time that sommelier Kurt Kirschenman got exactly, 100-percent right, it had to be filling the glass with the Feudi di San Gregorio Greco di Tufo ’00 just as the restaurant's trademark lobster risotto arrived, leaving a thirsty diner no choice but to mix them on the palate.

Rich lobster bolstered by truffle essence swirled together with subtle, fruity acidity — pineapple, peach,
something — and basked in a long finish marked by a harmonious blend of ear-thy elements from the risotto, porcini mushrooms and an unmistakable almond note in the greco di tufo, a varietal common in Campania. The sen- sation was simply not open to debate. “We’ve had a lot of practice with that one,” Kirschenman, 34, said with a knowing smile. “That’s our personal touch.”

Of the fruit of the vine, Ernest Hemingway said “Wine offers a greater range for enjoyment and
appreciation than possibly any other purely sensory thing which may be purchased.” It is exactly that range for enjoyment, that inherent complexity, that makes wine both desirable and intimidating, especially in restaurants in which the wine list ranges far beyond a few familiar labels.

Wine Spectator magazine, arguably the most-popular of several high-profile arbiters of oenological excellence, has bestowed its Award of Excellence on three restaurants in Coronado, all of which are located in hotels: Azzura Point, at Loew’s Coronado Bay Resort; the Prince of Wales, at the Hotel del Coronado; and L’Escale, at the Marriott Coronado Island Resort.

To be considered for the award restaurants must submit their wine lists and dinner menus to Wine Spectator editors. They must also submit a one-page letter explaining their wine programs, how they meld with their menus, and what their cellar’s strong suit is. Cellars at the three establishments featured here all claim to be strong on California wines.

Emphasis on the Golden State makes sense on several fronts: California’s wineries are among the best on the world, local availability is excellent and, given the fact that all three restaurants are in hotels, it makes sense to assume that travelers would like to sample California while they’re here. But it’s never that simple.

“Yes, California is a strength in our cellar, but we try to have a wide variety from all over the world, for fun,” said Arnaud Leveziel, 29, manager of the Prince of Wales. “We have wines from the Old World and from the New World. In a bottle of wine you can experience cultures and people from around the world. Wine can be educational.”

The Prince of Wales typically keeps 350 or so different labels on hand, and an inventory of about 3,000 bottles, said Leveziel, a veteran of several properties owned by Destination Hotels and Resorts, the Hotel del’s corporate parent. In addition to California, the cellar’s offerings range from Washington and Oregon, Australia and New Zealand, Chile and Argentina, Austria, South Africa, Canada and, oh yes, wines from the classic viticultural regions of France and Italy. Such a wide variety is especially interesting for Leveziel, who has spent most of his career in his native France, where French wines not only reign supreme, but dominate the country’s wine lists, he said.

A wine list should be a “living document,” said Lou Trope, director of food and beverage at the Coronado Island Marriott Resort and the certified executive chef who put together L’Escale’s list of about 220 labels. Menus at fine restaurants change regularly to reflect the seasonal availability of various foods, and wine lists should change to reflect diners’ proclivities at different times of year.

“In the summer we order more voigniers and more sparkling wines because people tend to eat lighter food in warm weather,” said Trope, 39, a 20-year veteran of Marriott billets around the world. “We taste new wines all the time. If we feel we’re lacking for something we’ll taste really hard on that.”

Punishing duty, all that tasting. Trope generally tastes once a week, when wine distributors stop by to shill their wares. Leveziel often puts himself through the ordeal twice a week, and Kirschenman, the only
expert of the three to be certified by the Guild of Sommeliers, sometimes has to wander the globe to sample
the world’s best.

But all that swirling, sipping, thinking benefits every diner who orders a bottle or glass with dinner. The experts are unanimous in their opinion that wine is an integral part of a meal, as important as the food. And wine should be fun.

“I’ll talk with a guest and find out about their likes and dislikes, what they’re having for dinner and make a recommendation,” said Kirschenman, who started at the resort as a bartender in 1993 before discovering his passion for wine. “I introduce guests to their wine. The wine will be their friend for the evening.”

The wine business is evolving constantly. Experts like Leveziel, Kirschenman and Trope have made strides in demystifying wine and face new demands as a result of their successes. Diners have become more familiar with the retail prices of wines they enjoy and have fomented a movement to bring down wine prices in restaurants, historically about three times retail.

Savvy wine drinkers also want more information in their wine lists. Wineries, appellations (where the grapes are grown), vintages and even tasting notes are popping up on lists. And inspiring quotes about wine, like the Hemingway line handily lifted for this story. Wine Spectator won’t give awards to restaurants whose wine lists don’t include appellations and vintages, at least.

“We used to have about 20 wines by the glass, but we cut that in half and now have about 40 half-bottles on the list,” Trope said. “Half-bottles give diners the opportunity to experience different wines with different courses or to have their own half-bottle if they order something that doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the table. We've gone out of our way to make sure we have really good half-bottles.”

At the Prince of Wales plans are in the works to turn a corner of the restaurant near the bar into a walk-in cellar that will be open to diners who want to choose their bottle, not just a name, appellation and vintage on a list. This spring Leveziel also plans to host wine-tasting events in a small room at the restaurant usually reserved for private functions.

The key to the wine-tastings will be fine wines by the glass, Leveziel said. Expensive wines are rarely sold by the glass because wine oxidizes quickly once the bottle is opened. That process, commonly known
as letting the wine breathe, is a fascinating part of drinking wine, and it only happens once.

“With organized tastings we’ll be able to give people the opportunity to try really fine wines they probably wouldn’t try if they had to buy the whole bottle,” Leveziel said. “That will really increase their enthusiasm for wine, which will benefit everybody.”


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