Certified sommelier Grant Wood joins Robert Tas in this episode of CorkRules where they review the wine list of <a href="https://www.casalever.com/menu/">Casa Lever</a>, a classic Italian restaurant located within the Park Avenue glass skyscraper the Lever House, so you know it&rsquo;s going to be classy. Damien Hirst artwork adorns the walls. In 2010, a New York Times critic described it as &ldquo;a new Italian restaurant of the Manhattan old school, built for socialites and those who finance them, staffed by handsome, rakish men with huge wristwatches. . . .&rdquo; It may be a little more inclusive and accessible today, but this Manhattan landmark it&rsquo;s still immensely elegant.

For something light and giggly, consider the Rossini Royale, a delicious combination of Grey Goose Vodka, Italicus, strawberry, and &quot;Sant Ambroeus&quot; Prosecco. If a refreshing pick-me-up is what you need, the Summer in the ends&nbsp;is a light blend of Bombay Dry Gin, cucumber water, and spring herbs cordial and it will not disappoint. However, if you&rsquo;re looking for something with a little more weight, try the Carta Bianca&nbsp;with Glenmorangie X, Amaro Lucano, pineapple, and almond orgeat may offer what you want.

They also offer all the classic cocktail favorites: Bellinis, Pimm&rsquo;s Cups, Martini&rsquo;s etc. Whatever cocktail kicks off the evening for you, the bar will provide, but show some restraint, there&rsquo;s a lovely wine list to explore before the evening is over.

The wine list&nbsp;includes dozens of wines by the glass, ranging from $17 to $80. So if you have an occasion to celebrate or just want a delicious glass of wine that won&#39;t break the bank, this list will meet your needs. &nbsp;

Moving on from cocktails to bubbles, Casa Lever&rsquo;s&nbsp;wine list&nbsp;offers a lovely selection of Prosecco, Champagne, and Lambrusco. Splurge on a glass of the &nbsp;Champagne Brut &quot;Rare&quot;, Piper Heidsieck, (2007) a wonderful blend of chardonnay and pinot noir or consider ordering a bottle of the less-costly Prosecco di Valdobbiadene &ldquo;Cartizze&rdquo; by Villa Sandi This wine offers exceptional value and quality.

For whites, there is a lovely if small selection from Italy with one or two from the U.S. and France. The Vouvray Sec &quot;Clos Naudin&quot;, Philippe Foreau, (2015) Chenin Blanc, from the Loire Valley is well worth trying, but if you want a medium-bodied dry white, order the Sauvignon Blanc &quot;Asimenia&quot; (2021), from Toscana. This white will pair nicely with a rich dish like the &nbsp;Carbonara.

On the red side of life, on the wines-by-the-glass list French and Italian wines dominate, and you can&rsquo;t go wrong with a Ch&acirc;teauneuf du Pape &quot;T&eacute;l&eacute;gramme&quot;, Vieux T&eacute;l&eacute;graphe, (2019) a wonderful blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourv&egrave;dre, and Cinsault, from the Rh&ocirc;ne Valley.

To learn more about the wine list at Casa Lever and the difference between Cava, Champagne and Prosecco, <a href="https://uat.corkrules.com/casa-lever/episodes/13">listen to the CorkRules podcast </a>with certified sommelier Grant Wood.

Cheers!

&nbsp;

About the CorkRules Podcast:&nbsp;Each week we pour a glass and share top restaurant wine list picks, providing you with the knowledge to confidently navigate the wine list through sommelier recommendations, suggested food pairings and expert insights

About CorkRules:&nbsp;CorkRules, the first digital wine app experience, makes it easier for you to navigate the restaurant wine list, and provides you with personalized wine recommendations from your favorite restaurants. Through CorkRules you can find the perfect wine for every occasion based on your preferences. Connect with friends and wine experts to discover new wines to try and learn about wine. CorkRules makes it easier to discover and drink what you love. &nbsp;

For something light and giggly, consider the Rossini Royale, a delicious combination of Grey Goose Vodka, Italicus, strawberry, and "Sant Ambroeus" Prosecco. If a refreshing pick-me-up is what you need, the Summer in the ends is a light blend of Bombay Dry Gin, cucumber water, and spring herbs cordial and it will not disappoint. However, if you’re looking for something with a little more weight, try the Carta Bianca with Glenmorangie X, Amaro Lucano, pineapple, and almond orgeat may offer what you want.

Cocktails and Wine at Casa Lever

Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Decoding the wine label: Alto

Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

Decoding the wine label: Brut

Semi-sweet Riesling, a type of wine falling out of style. It’s a shame, since these wines are perfect to pair with flavorful cuisines like Asian or Mexican, or simply drink as they come under the summer sun. The higher level of sugar left in the wine also means that the alcoholic fermentation was stopped before finishing, providing a wine with lower alcohol level and therefor easier grabbing a second glass of.

Decoding the wine label: Spätlese

Have you ever heard the word Xinomavro? Most have not. It is however a word on many sommeliers’ lips today, as it happens to be considered the grape variety with the highest quality in Greece, and one that is trending at the moment. The fact that Greece have been making wine for a long time comes as no surprise, but they have never exported an amount to make sure wine lovers around the globe tried it. With the growing wine tourism many have discovered these wines and are serving them in wine bars and restaurants in many countries today.

Decoding the wine label: Xinomavro

Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico… Why do all these Italian wine regions have the Classico addendum and what does it mean? What is the difference for wines labeled as Classico?

Classico is a wine term in Italy seen on a few wine labels and it indicates that the wine’s from the historic center of the region, the heart. Using Chianti and Chianti Classico and their Sangiovese-based red wines as an example, Chianti is a rather large wine district within the Tuscany region. Chianti Classico is located withing Chianti as the central part and the one that originally existed. Back then this smaller region was actually called Chianti, but as the region grew the quality of the wine plummeted and the well-known characteristics of these red wines were watered down. The reputation took a hit and sales diminished. Eventually this led to the creation of Chianti Classico, which would be drawn from the original Chianti borders to recover the typicity of these wines. Today the quality of both Chianti and Chianti Classico have risen a lot due to modern techniques and knowledge about pruning, planting and temperature control in the winery.

Decoding the wine label: Classico

In the rarefied world of fine wine, where bottles can command prices equivalent to luxury cars, authenticity is everything. Laurent Ponsot's gripping memoir "FBI: Fake Bottle Investigation" reads more like a high-stakes thriller than a traditional wine book, chronicling his relentless pursuit of one of the wine world's most infamous counterfeiters, Rudy Kurniawan.

From Burgundy's Vineyards to the FBI's Most Wanted: A Winemaker's Quest for Justice

Chablis – one of the more popular styles of wine today and a region known by many. Most are familiar with the word Chablis and the light, fresh white wine with a touch of minerality it brings. Even though it’s a renowned wine, few knows what it really is.

Decoding the wine label: Chablis

Many grape varieties around the world of wine have names local to the region or country they’re grown in, even though they’re exactly the same. The most famous example would be Syrah in France where the same grape is named Shiraz in Australia. Another variety with two names is Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris.

Decoding the wine label: Pinot Grigio

Have you ever seen the term sur lie on a wine label? It’s not a grape and not a wine region, but a winemaking method used to give certain styles of white wine a rounder texture and a more complex flavor profile.

Decoding the wine label: Sur lie

Grant Wood, wine educator and certified sommelier, and Robert Tas point out the best bottles on the 67-page list at Quince. 

Wine Review of Quince, San Francisco

Grant Wood

Quince

Quince

RT: Hello and welcome to CorkRules!&nbsp;

A podcast where we review a wine list from your favorite restaurants. I&rsquo;m your host Robert Tas along with Grant Wood, wine educator and certified sommelier

Hello Grant, great to have you back for another great wine list.

GW: Hello Robert!

RT: Before we jump in, let&rsquo;s talk about CorkRules.

We created CorkRules to demystify wine lists because we know from experience, that sometimes wine lists can be intimidating, and even a little daunting.

Our aim is to help prepare you to navigate that list, find those hidden gems, value wines or that special bottle that will take your dining experience over the top.

RT:&nbsp;So, sit back and listen as we review your favorite wine list.

Quince

Quince is a contemporary dining masterpiece in San Francisco&rsquo;s historic Jackson Square, and they were the first to be awarded a green star from Michelin for its efforts in sustainability and biodiversity. They have an impressive 67-page wine list so let&rsquo;s dive in and see what we discover.

Starting with by the glass and you can&rsquo;t go wrong with toasting with a glass of Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose which is always a delight.

For a solid white that fits their Italian flair I&rsquo;d go for a glass of the 2018 Ansitz Dornach Pinot Bianco, Vigneti Delle Dolomiti from Alto-Adige is a great choice but for you Robert, I&rsquo;d suggest the 2017 Jean-Francois Malsert from Saint-Joseph which is peppery, perfumed and elegant.

Lastly, a great way to fortify your evening would be the 1929 D&rsquo;Olivera, Tinta Negra which is a great opportunity to drink a little bit of history.

Moving on to bubbles, I love the Egly-Ouriet &lsquo;Les Crayeres&rsquo; V.V Grand Cru which is 100% PN from a single vineyard in Ambonnay but you also can&rsquo;t go wrong with the likes of Cederic Bouchard and Ulysse Collin of which they have multiple bottlings.

For the big houses, I&rsquo;d go for the 08&rsquo; Bollinger La Grande Annee or anything from Krug of course.

Now it&rsquo;s time for whites to keep things moving. For the lighter more linier side, I absolutely love anything from Peter Lauer making beautiful and pure styles of Riesling from Saar, a sub-region of the Mosel in Germany and on their list I&rsquo;d go for his Ayler Fass 3 Troken which is a favorite. 

Another great Riesling but from Austria that could be really fun is the 2000 Jamek &lsquo;Ried Klaus&rsquo; Smaragd from the Wachau.

If you&rsquo;re feeling a little natty and funky but still want an iconic wine from Italy then look no further than the 2009 Gravner Ribolla is just the kind of skin fermented &lsquo;orange wine&rsquo; that you need in life.

I also love seeing the 2018 Monteraponi, Colli Della Toscana which is one of my favorite Tuscan producers and makes a great 100% Trebbiano.

Moving up the scale and if you want white Burgundy then I think the 2018 Alice et Olivier De Moor &lsquo;Coteau de Rosette&rsquo; from Chablis is really awesome but you can also ball out with Raveneau if you want Chablis. Something a little rounder and further south, I&rsquo;d go for the 2013 Dominique Lafon from Meursault is a great direction to go. A great domestic alternative from here in California is the 2017 Racines &lsquo;Sanford &amp; Benedict&rsquo; Chardonnay from the Sta Rita Hills or the 2009 Stony Hill Chardonnay from Spring Mountain would be fabulous since those older Stony Hill&rsquo;s age so well.

Now for your reds, Robert, and particularly if I&rsquo;m dining with you, I&rsquo;d order the 2012 Lorenzo Accomasso &lsquo;Rocche dell&rsquo;Annunziata, Vigna Rocchette is an amazing Barolo if you want to ball out. I know you love wines with some age as well so I point you towards the 1964 Oddero which would be a really interesting time capsule.

One more Italian favorite for me at a better value is the 2013 Giuseppe Quintarelli &lsquo;Primofiore&rsquo; is a favorite of mine from the Veneto and always delivers.

If you want Grand Cru Burgundy then I&rsquo;d go for the 1995 Jacques-Frederic Mugnier &lsquo;Bonnes Mares&rsquo; which is a splurge for sure but a wonderful producer championed by the late Becky Wasserman.

But if you&rsquo;re a baller on a budget then I&rsquo;d order the Jean-louis Dutraive &lsquo;Champagne&rsquo; from Fleurie would be a better way still being able to pay the rent and is of course a delicious option. If you want California PN then I&rsquo;d go for the 2015 Ceritas &lsquo;Coastalina&rsquo; from the Sonoma coast but the 2019 Hirsch &lsquo;The Bohan Dillon&rsquo; is a great value as well and an amazing vineyard in Fort Ross Seaview.

or California Cab there is a lot of great options to choose from, but my eye immediately goes to the 2011 Corison &lsquo;Kronos Vineyard&rsquo; which is an undervalued vintage which is aging beautifully. Another no brainer is the 1990 Dunn &lsquo;Howell Mountain&rsquo; which has some great age on it. I just had the 92&rsquo; for my 30th birthday and it was perfect.

Lastly, to finish on a sweeter note, I&rsquo;d go for the 2009 Paolo Bea, Montefalco Sagrantino, Passito from Umbria.

Final thoughts, this is an incredibly detailed list that spares no expense but offers great depth and has something for everyone and at every price point. This was a great list to go over and I look forward to dining there soon.

Cheers!

Grant, thank you so much for all your great suggestions and helping us navigate Quince&rsquo;s wine list. I can&rsquo;t wait to go try your great suggestions.&nbsp; &nbsp;

To our audience, thank you all for joining us here on CorkRules.

If you would like Grant to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to: <a href="mailto:Info@corkrules.Com">Info@CorkRules.Com</a> or visit our web website where we have a request form available and we will do our best to get it in the queue as quickly 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.&nbsp;

And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

Thank you.

&nbsp;

BRAT

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Alba

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L'Auberge Chez Francois

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Salt Seafood and Oyster Bar

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Cakebread Cellars is a family-owned winery located in the heart of Napa Valley. Since its founding in 1973, the winery has been dedicated to producing exceptional wines that showcase the unique terroir of the region.

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Il Capriccio

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Bellissimo

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Mirabelle Restaurant & Tavern

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