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About this Episode

Tina Johansson, WSET Diploma Graduate and Michelin restaurant sommelier, and Robert Tas navigate the wine list at Elvie’s. The wine list offers bottles from America to Slovenia in Europe and includes wine from small wineries where they cultivate untraditional grape varieties. This is a place to expand and explore your knowledge of wine, and Tina is here to help identify key pairings, tasting notes, and those stand-out wines that will delight you and your guests.

Wines reviewed include:

Broc Cellars Wirth Vineyard Zinfandel, California
The Alpamanta Breva Rosé from Mendoza, Argentina
Minimus Dijon Free from Willamette Valley, Oregon

Transcript: Elvie's

Elvie’s

RT: Hello and welcome to CorkRules!

I’m your host Robert Tas along with Tina Johansson, WSET Diploma Graduate and Michelin restaurant sommelier.

Hi Tina, thanks for being back with us on another episode of CorkRules, - a podcast where we help simplify and demystify the wine lists at some of your favorite restaurants. We talk with certified sommeliers and wine professionals who point out interesting bottles, classic food and wine pairings, hidden gems, value wines, or splurge wines that will take your dining experience over the top.

TJ: Thank you Robert! Great to be here again and to talk about the wine list of Elvie’s in Jackson, Mississippi. It’s a restaurant inspired by the flavors and produces of New Orleans cooking but also the French restaurant style of long opening hours serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. They call themselves an all day café but the food served here is a bit more ambitious than that I would say.

RT: I would too, and since they work with local produces they serve comfort food in the best possible way. Highlights from the menu includes bone marrow pot pie, Gulf oysters and duck fat French Fries. The menu and flavors change a lot from breakfast to dinner so whatever you’re in the mood for there’s always a good time of day to visit Elvie’s. What’s your thoughts on the wine list Tina?

TJ: I would say it’s a very fun wine list. It spans from America to Slovenia in Europe with a lot of small wineries from a bit more untraditional grape varieties and regions. You’ll find juicy orange wine, some serious Spanish bubbles and Californian Zinfandel but all a bit outside the box. Not a lot of famous names and producers, but a great list for the curious drinker - like me! They also have a great selection of cocktails, both during the day and at night for anyone in the mood for a small aperitivo.

RT: Wow, I can’t wait to explore the wines here. Can we start with the Zinfandel you described as outside the box? What makes this Zinfandel so special?

TJ: Okey, so the wine is Broc Cellars Wirth Vineyard Zinfandel. What Broc Cellars do is that they make a very light and juicy style of Zinfandel as not as much extraction is used, so the grape skins are not kept in the juice for as long as they normally would. This gives a fresher style of wine that really combats the image of Zinfandel as a grape for heavy reds with sweet fruit flavors. It’s definitely something else! Their Vine Starr Zinfandel was the first lighter style of Zinfandel I had and it completely changed my perception of the variety.

RT: That does sound intriguing, I’m happy to hear someone is bringing quality Zinfandel into the spotlight. So, let’s talk food and wine. Do you have a wine in mind to meet the flavors of the menu in Elvie’s? Maybe something with the delicious starters like soy cured tuna or chicken liver paté?

TJ: Yes, I would very much like to pair this with a fun rosé of the list. Rosé in its best shape is very food friendly but often forgotten. The Alpamanta Breva Rosé from Mendoza in Argentina is a great example with deep fruit flavor and fuller body but still with the characteristic freshness. That might even go with their oysters served with bacon!

RT: I agree, rosé doesn’t have to be drunk as an aperitif only. To finish I have to ask, with a creative list like this one, are there any special bottles? Something that you usually don’t see on lists that you should try while here? Something extra exiting?

TJ: Well there are many special bottles but one I would love to have is the Minimus Dijon Free from Willamette Valley in Oregon. This wine is made from Pinot Noir only. There are however about 40 different clones, or types, of Pinot Noir to make things harder. They are all very similar to each other but some characteristics may change, like how fruity or how tannic the wine becomes, or which climate they are most suited to. This wine is called Dijon Free because Minimus uses non of the clones called Dijon which are very popular around the world. They use different heirloom clones only, meaning the clones of Pinot Noir that were the first to arrive in the States. Quite a unique wine with a lot of dedication behind it.

RT: Yes, that’s something else. Thank you for highlighting this wine for us, and for being back for yet another episode.

To our audience, thank you all for joining us here on CorkRules.

If you would like us to review one of your favorite

restaurants, please send us email to:

Info@CorkRules.Com or visit our web website where

we have a request form available and we will do our

best to get it in the cue as quick as possible.

We are looking forward to being with you on

another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime,

please check out our website for other episodes of

your favorite restaurant wine lists wherever you get your podcasts.

And please download our new CorkRules, that has all your favorites restaurant wine lists and lets you connect and learn from your friends. Now available on apple app store.

And finally, drink what you love and please make

sure you drink responsibly.

END