What makes a great sommelier? Some are excellent storytellers, engaging guests with a combination of charisma and aplomb that will never come naturally to me. Others possess extensive knowledge of food and wine pairings, and experience working with cuisines at high-level kitchens. Some can write a wine list so interesting and airtight, that their program is bound to be profitable. Personally, I take pride in wine service. If you can’t serve the wine at the correct temperature in clean glassware, the rest doesn’t really matter.
A recent wine dinner at 53 By The Sea, hosted by Hawaii’s wine godfather and master sommelier, Chuck Furuya, and respected chef Dave Caldiero, reminded me how important the little things are.
The day started in the wee hours of the morning for Tony Castillo, the restaurant’s general manager. He inspected each of the 200-plus polished glasses, set up the room, and chilled and staged the wines for service and purchase.
My final touch was to set each wine glass on the table so that each watermark of the prestigious glassware company Riedel faced the guest. I’ve been asked how important that final touch is, or why I bother temping wines the morning of, or fuss with decanting a wine if it isn’t in view of the guest. “Will they even know?” My response: “No, but I will.”
Chuck and Dave’s approach is the same but intensified. The first course was a fritti of Samoan crab. How many guests knew the yield of crab meat is low and the labor painstakingly high?
The last course was Bolognese risotto served with a highly aromatic red, but in a test run, something wasn’t clicking. The chef brought bay leaves grown from a tree in his yard, crushed them, added it to the dish with black pepper and a perfect pairing was born. A leaf, a pinch of pepper and some intention turned a decent pairing into an unforgettable evening.
Here are two wines that were served at the dinner.
Poggio Costa
Prosecco Brut, Italy
Brand new to Hawaii, this is my bet for the breakout wine of next year. The name translates to “hills by the sea” and not only indicates the sourcing of the grapes but its affinity with all things seafood, and as the perfect fritti pairing would suggest, anything fried or crunchy. Drier than others in its category (a good thing; research “prosecco sweetness”) it is puzzlingly more aromatic and floral than most, at an introductory price point.
Cost: About $16/bottle.
Domaine Skouras
“Salto,” Moscofilero
Wild Yeast, Greece
Regular readers know my reverence toward Skouras as a champion for indigenous Greece grapes. This wine comes from a single, rare pink-tinged clone called mavrofilero, that was first isolated by the winery. It’s tangy and taut, with melon, pear and spice flavors. This refreshing wine was served with a pork souvlaki with naan, cucumber and fresh herbs and was a highlight of the evening.
Cost: Around $22/bottle.
