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About this Episode

Wine educator and certified sommelier Grant Wood and Robert Tas explore the adventurous wine list at Dagon, a restaurant that fully embraces the more exotic side of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine and provides a wine list to match. For all oenophiles ready to step out of their comfort zone, Grant points out a few wines from Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, and Greece.

Wines reviewed include:

2014 Golan Heights ‘Yarden’ brut rose from Galilee in Israel
Arnot-Roberts rose of Touriga Nacional, California
2020 Skouras ‘wild ferment’ Assyrtiko from the Peleponnese in Greece

Transcript: Dagon

Dagon

Dagon is on Manhattan’s Upper West Side that features cuisine from “somewhere in the Mediterranean.” Named for the Phoenician and Philistine god of agriculture and the earth, the menu showcases modern Israeli cuisine with Levantine influences. They have a fun and eclectic menu with an equally fun wine list.

For cocktails, they have some really great sounding couple of Spritz and specialty cocktails and a very reasonable and thought out by the glass list but let’s dive into bottles on offer because I want to get creative with their list.

For bubbles, I love the 2014 Golan Heights ‘Yarden’ brut rose from Galilee in Israel. This is after all a part of the birthplace of wine, and these are underappreciated wines that deserve a highlight. There is great Champagne as well like the Geoffroy ‘Expression’ brut 1er Cru from Aÿ as well.

For a domestic rose for the summer, check out the Arnot-Roberts rose of Touriga Nacional from Cali which is fun and fresh and exactly what I need this summer.

Whites, I like the 2020 Skouras ‘wild ferment’ Assyrtiko from the Peleponnese in Greece which will be super fresh, and mineral-driven that will match up with a lot on their menu. The Shvo Chenin Blanc from upper Galilee in Israel is another great wine that is on brand with their theme as well. To splurge, I really like the 2019 Luis Seabra Vinhos ‘Xisto Cru’ from the Douro in Portugal these are exciting dry whites coming from the classic sweet wines from an area best known for producing port. A great domestic value would be the 2019 Pinot Gris from Eyrie Vineyards in the Dundee Hills. A favorite of mine on their list to finish off whites for today is the 2019 Mas De Daumas Gassac from the Languedoc which is a perfect French Medi white to make any meal that much more exciting.

Now I know you love your reds; Robert so let’s go to the dark side here.

So, let’s start with the 2018 Barbara diAsti Superiore by Michele Chiarlo ‘Le Orme’ from Piedmonte which as you know, Barbara is always one of my favorite value wines. The 2020 Philippe Alliet Chinon is another great value Cab Franc from the Loire of course. I think the 2019 Syrah du Maroc ‘Syrocco’ by Thalvin-Graillot in the Zenata of Morocco is a really fun selection also offered by the glass. Stepping things up, I love the 1998 Ch. Musar from Lebanon. Ch Musar, especially from the late nineties are bangin right now and age extremely well. Finally, the two splurge bottles on their list worth checking out is the 2019 Domaine du Castel from the Judean hills in Israel which is their take on BDX varieties modelled after the French classics and last I would go for the 2015 or 2014 Domaine de la Grange des Pères from the Languedoc which is another great import by Kermit Lynch.

To tie off this meal, there’s a great list of digestifs like Anisettes and Amaros, etc. that you can choose from so come hungry and ready to explore the best of the Mediterranean.

Cheers!