Certified sommelier and CorkRules&rsquo; resident Somm, Michaela Quinlan shares her expertise on the wine list of <a href="https://ilbuco.com/">il Buco.</a>&nbsp;il Buco&rsquo;s wine cellar holds a selection of over 400 wines and includes an exciting range of lesser-known, artisan wines from Europe.

This restaurant has been called &quot;one of the best and most exciting in America&quot; by Gourmet magazine and the wine list has won <a href="https://www.winespectator.com/">Wine Spectator&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;&quot;Award of Excellence&quot; several times.

The wine cellar was created by Roberto Paris, a childhood friend of Alberto Avalle&#39;s, the co-owner. Roberto is from the small town of Foligno, Umbria and he has brought his knowledge of the artisan producers to il Buco. The selection of wines is dedicated to small lesser-known producers of artisan wines that are expressions of the soils and cultures However, on a 400-wine list, you&rsquo;d expect to see wines from the world&rsquo;s more renowned wineries, and indeed, you will find a large selection of well-known and well-loved wineries.

In the by-the-glass section, try the La Lecciaia Brunello Riserva, Toscana. Made from sangiovese from a winery in central Italy, this wine is light, fruity and dry with notes of ripe red fruit, raspberry and cherry.

Another must-try on the by-the-glass section is the Arnaldo-Caprai &#39;Cuvee Secret&#39;, Umbria. Umbria is a region famed for the quality of its wine, and this one lives up to expectations. It&rsquo;s round and soft, at the same time fresh with notes of delicate flavors and citrus. It also comes from central Italy and is made from the grechetto grape.

Moving to the north of Italy, the Magia Lambrusco 2016 from Emilia-Romagna has a dark purple hue that pours a beautiful purple fizzy head. The bubbles are small and light, the notes are floral with red fruits. Delightful on a hot summer night.

Taking a break from Italian wines, let&rsquo;s move on to Slovenia and try a bottle of the Simčič Ribolla Classic 2016. The ribolla varietal is indigenous to Slovenia and is best grown in the mild Mediterranean climate. The bouquet is soft with notes of lemon, green apple, citrus and grapefruit. This wine would pair well with the Tagliatelle (house-made egg pasta, Perigord black truffle, parmigiano or the Risotto (Principato di Lucedio carnaroli rice, Oregon porcini, thyme, pecorino di noce).

If a trip to wine country in Italy is out of the question, may we suggest a visit to il Buco where you can peruse artisan wines&nbsp;at your pleasure.

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 thanks to sommelier&rsquo;s 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. &nbsp;CorkRules will help you 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;

Certified sommelier and CorkRules’ resident Somm, Michaela Quinlan shares her expertise on the wine list of il Buco. il Buco’s wine cellar holds a selection of over 400 wines and includes an exciting range of lesser-known, artisan wines from Europe. This restaurant has been called "one of the best and most exciting in America" by Gourmet magazine and the wine list has won Wine Spectator’s "Award of Excellence" several times.

Artisan Wines at Il Buco

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

Foreign Cinema

Grant Wood, wine educator and certified sommelier, and Robert Tas visit Foreign Cinema, a vibrant location in San Francisco

Wine Review of Foreign Cinema, San Francisco

Grant Wood

Foreign Cinema

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.

Foreign Cinema

Here we have a one-of-a-kind, nationally acclaimed restaurant combing indie films with California-Mediterranean cooking located in the Mission. This is a very popular restaurant with great cocktails and a wonderful wine list as well. Let&rsquo;s dive in!

Let&rsquo;s start with bubbles! Right away, I like that they&rsquo;ve highlighted a section of their favorites so I&rsquo;d go for the Domaine Vouette et Sorbee extra brut &lsquo;blanc d&rsquo;Argile&rsquo; from the Cote des bar in the south of Champagne. You can&rsquo;t go wrong with Ulysse Collin extra brut BdN &lsquo;Les Maillons Congy, Cote Sezannais of course and I like the Egly-Ouriet Brut rose grand cru from Ambonnay if you want something pink!

Moving to lighter whites, the 2016 Dom Albert Boxler &lsquo;Dudenstein Sommerberg Riesling grand cru from Alsace is one of my favorites which is fresh, high acid, mineral-driven Riesling to pair with the oysters on their menu. Something fun from the Jura is the Dom Du Pelican Savagnin Ouillee from Arbois is a great choice as well. Moving over to the Loire, I like the 2017 Nicolas Joly &lsquo;Les Vieux Clos&rsquo; from Savennieres and is a leader in Biodynamics.

Stepping things up a bit if you want to splurge and impress your guests the you can&rsquo;t go wrong with the 2016 Coche-Dury Bourgogne which has all of the classic reductive and mineral characteristics that they&rsquo;re known for. A great value on here moving south into the Rhone, I love the 2016 Yves Cuilleron Roussanne, Vin des Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes which is a great producer that makes some of my favorite whites in the Rhone. Another great value is the 2019 Clos Sainte Magdeleine from Cassis in Provence. There are a lot of great Italian and Spanish whites on here as well so don&rsquo;t pass up on those either.

Let&rsquo;s move on to reds now. There&rsquo;s a great selection of red Burgundy but let&rsquo;s look at their other great reds on here for the sake of diversity. The 2018 Agostino Pavia &amp; Figli, Grignolino d&rsquo;Asti is a really fun and easy value wine to consider. I know you like your Barolo, Robert, so I&rsquo;s go for the 2011 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva, Vignolo would be a stellar wine to go with. I also love the 2012 Padelletti Brunello di Montalcino Riserva which is classic Brunello that never disappoints.

If you want to stick to some California favorites, then I&rsquo;d go for the 07&rsquo; Cain Five from Spring Mountain or even the 2014 Forman Cabernet if you want Napa Cabernet. The 2019 A. Rafanelli Dry Creek Zinfandel warms the soul for me and is a classic for Dry Creek. I also love the 2016 Cruse Wine Co. Heintz Vineyard Syrah which is peppery and floral. If you&rsquo;re feeling weird you should try the 2017 Forlorn Hope Mondeuse from the Rorick Vineyard in Calaveras County. Lastly, the 2019 Jolie-Laide Gamay Noir from El Dorado County is a really fun and food-friendly wine for a dinner at Foreign Cinema.

I think this is a really cool and friendly wine list that is meant to warm the soul and spice on your movie nights with great food and great wine.

Cheers!

Grant, thank you so much for all your great suggestions and helping us navigate Foreign Cinema&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;

&nbsp;

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