The San Francisco Giants have upped their wine game by offering a curated selection of wine for fans at games. In fact, serving wine at Giants&rsquo; games is so popular with fans that, in 2022 they hired their own Master Sommelier, Evan Goldstein. The goal is to enhance the gameday experience and we at CorkRules wholly agree.

Master Sommelier at the SF Giants

Wine writer, educator, and Master Sommelier, Evan his written three books on wine and has been twice cited in the &ldquo;Top 100 Most Influential People in the U.S. Wine Industry&rdquo;, by IntoWine.com. Evan&rsquo;s vision to improve the Giant&rsquo;s wine program included encouraging Giants fans to learn more about wine by conducting in-person and virtual wine tasting sessions and increasing the selections of wines featured by introducing fans to a variety of regions and profiles.

To expand the Giant&rsquo;s relationship with the wine industry, he collaborated with current and former Giants players who are involved in the wine industry, and this win-win relationship was further strengthened by curating wine-related programs for the Giants community, including field trips to wine country, member discounts, and other wine-related activations such as wine pairings and Giants&rsquo; specific culinary events. In fact, the Trefethern Family Vineyards website clearly welcomes and offers free shipping to SF Giant fans.

Pairing Wines at Baseball Games

Despite the perception that quality wines are best paired with haute cuisine, Evan reminds us that there is no need to be snobbish about pairing wine. It&rsquo;s all about what taste good to you. A good wine can be paired with hot dogs and traditional game food, yes we said it. Gilroy&#39;s Garlic Fries and Gerwutzrtaminer sounds absolutely binge worthy.

As the wine industry grows by popular demand in North America, and more celebrities step into the industry, Evan also sees his role&nbsp;as wine educator and consultant for players who want to invest in a business outside of the game.

The San Francisco Giants are also partial to quality bubbles. They have a long-time partnership with Mumm Napa, and when the SF Giants wone the 2012 and 2014 World Series, Mumm Napa issued a limited-release good luck elixir to celebrate.

The experience at the hot dog stand and sitting in the stalls has just taken a Giant leap forward.

To listen to Evan&rsquo;s interview on curating wine for the SF Giants, check out <a href="https://corkrules.com/san-francisco-giants/episodes/359">Episode 261 of CorkRules.</a>

Evan&rsquo;s&nbsp; books are : <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Pairings-Sommeliers-Practical-Partnering/dp/0520243773/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&amp;keywords=Perfect+Pairings%3A+A+Master+Sommelier%E2%80%99s+Practical+Advice+for+Partnering+Wine+with+Food&amp;qid=1629248122&amp;sr=8-3">Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier&rsquo;s Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daring-Pairings-Sommelier-Distinctive-Favorite/dp/0520254783/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=Daring+Pairings%3A+A+Master+Sommelier+Matches+Distinctive+Wines+with+Recipes+from+His+Favorite+Chefs&amp;qid=1629248184&amp;sr=8-1">Daring Pairings: A Master Sommelier Matches Distinctive Wines with Recipes from His Favorite Chefs</a>; and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wines-South-America-Essential-Guide/dp/0520273931/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&amp;keywords=Wines+of+South+America%3A+The+Essential+Guide&amp;qid=1629248259&amp;sr=8-3">Wines of South America: The Essential Guide</a>.

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The San Francisco Giants have upped their wine game by offering a curated selection of wine for fans at games. In fact, serving wine at Giants’ games is so popular with fans that, in 2022 they hired their own Master Sommelier, Evan Goldstein. The goal is to enhance the gameday experience and we at CorkRules wholly agree.

San Francisco Giants' Master Sommelier, Evan Goldstein is Upping the Wine Game

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

The Morris

Grant Wood, wine educator and certified sommelier, and Robert Tas review the wine list at The Morris in San Francisco

Wine List Review of The Morris, San Francisco

Grant Wood

The Morris

RT: Hello and Welcome to CorkRules!&nbsp;

A podcast where, in each episode,&nbsp;we will 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,&nbsp;it&rsquo;s great to be back together for another episode.

GW: Hi 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 when we get that list handed to us, well&hellip; it can be intimidating, and even a little daunting.

Our aim is to help prepare you to navigate that list, find those hidden gems, or 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.

The Morris SF

The Morris is located in Patrero Flats and is a food, wine, and Chartreuse lover&rsquo;s dream. It was founded by Paul Einbund to be an unpretentious bistro where you can eat and drink at a world-class level. With help from Chef Gavin Schmidt, they&rsquo;ve truly created the perfect, laid-back playground for wine nurds like me. I got to dine here recently and their level of focus, attention to detail, and precise service and hospitality was inspiring. I can&rsquo;t wait to go back, order the skewered duck hearts, and dig deep into their wine list.

First, I love to start with cocktails and they&rsquo;re making magic with theirs so don&rsquo;t hesitate to start you evening with a fun and thoughtful libation to start off your dining experience. One popular drink that is a must get is the Chartreuse Slushy, which is bright and fun, but I personally love a good Hanky Panky which is gin, Antica Torino, and Amaro and is stellar.

Moving on to the wine, I always love ordering bubbles to go with apps, cheese, and charcuterie so I would go for the Bereche &amp; Fils Brut Reserve from Rilly-la-Montagne in Champagne. It&rsquo;s coming from old vines and represents all three classic Champagne varieties, CH, PN, and PM. It&rsquo;s got just the right balance of tension, fruit, and toastiness. Alternatively, though, I love the 2016 Under the Wire Sparkling Chardonnay Sangiacomo Vineyard from the Sonoma side of Carneros but I do have a bias for Under the Wire  It is one of my favorites though and for a California sparkler, it does an amazing job of showing a sense of place and feels like a Carneros t&ecirc;te de Cuv&eacute;e.

On to whites, I love the 2018 Gonon Chasselas from the Northern Rhone. It has a brightness and a roundness to it that is very approachable and is a very unique wine for the region. Another fun wine white to look out for is the 2021 Sigalas Assyrtiko from Greece which is a wine I like a lot and would be a great wine to match with food. If you want to get a little out there and explore something with some history behind it, then the 2001 Kalin Semillon from Livermore is a truly unique wine that barely exists. It come from Semillon vines supposably from Ch. Y&rsquo;quem, planted in the 1880&rsquo;s. 2001 was the last year Kalin produced this wine since the vines have sadly been ripped out. I had this wine last year and thought it was quite magical. There is also a ton of great Burgundy on here, unsurprisingly, but I would go for the 2010 Ganevat &lsquo;Chamois du Paradis&rsquo; which is Chardonnay from the Jura and will be sure to blow your mind.

Moving to reds, right off the bat, I would go for the 2021 Les Aricoques &lsquo;Pan! Le Rouze&rsquo; which is Gamay from Savoie and is just so bright and easy going so you can&rsquo;t go wrong. A great domestic Pinot Noir to look out for is the 2017 Dom de la Cote &lsquo;La Cote&rsquo; from the Sta. Rita Hills which is from all-star Raj Parr who is making some of the most exciting PN in the central coast. I&rsquo;ve been to this vineyard and what they&rsquo;re doing and how they&rsquo;re farming is super interesting and is worth checking out.

For something a bit bigger, I would ball out with the 2011 Allemand Syrah from Cornas in the Northern Rhone. Allemand is one of the leading producers of Cornas for a reason and the wines are truly special. A domestic alternative that is killer as well is the 2019 Pax &lsquo;Sonoma Hillsides&rsquo; which is coming from great vineyards and his Syrah always has beautiful freshness, finesse, and balance.&nbsp;

If you want something Italian, I would go for the 2018 Nervi Nebbiolo from Gattinara which is always incredible quality and a very reasonable price point. If you want to expand your horizon&rsquo;s a bit, however, then try the 2011 Paolo Bea &lsquo;Vigneto Correte&rsquo; from Montefalco which is Sagrantino from one of my favorite producers in all of Italy.

For you Robert, since I know you love wine with age, and you loved the old Ravenswood that I got you. I would order the 1997 Ravenswood &lsquo;Salina&rsquo; Cabernet from Moon Mountain in Sonoma which I&rsquo;m sure would blow your mind. Joel&rsquo;s wines from the 90&rsquo;s are some of my favorites.

To finish things off, why not try a bottle of the 1875 D&rsquo;Olivera Moscatel from Madeira for under $200?

One last thing to mention is that they have an extensive selection of Chartreuse that they&rsquo;ve collected from Paul&rsquo;s travels. This not my area of expertise so I would ask for dealers&rsquo; choice and let the amazing team at the Morris take you on a journey.

The Morris has a new special place in my heart and I can&rsquo;t wait to go back and go on an adventure of taste and intrigue.

Cheers!

RT: Grant Thank you so much for all your great suggestions and helping us navigate The Morris&rsquo; wine list. I can&rsquo;t wait to go try them myself. &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 all our episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists and of course please download the CorkRules app to help you navigate all your favorite restaurants.

And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

Thank you.

End

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BRAT

Bocca di Lupe

Gap Weekend: A Film Shoot in Wine Country

Alba Restaurant

Alba

10 Greek Street

L'Auberge Chez Francois

Andrew Edmunds

Salt Seafood and Oyster Bar

Matteos Ristorante Italiano

Matteo's

Beringer is one of the oldest and most respected wineries in California, known for producing high-quality wines that showcase the unique terroir of the region. The winery is located in the heart of Napa Valley and has been making wine for over 140 years.

Relaxed spot set in an old schoolhouse, serving steak, pasta & burgers plus cocktails & microbrews.

Per Se

homepage

CorkRules application allows you to discover wines at your favorite restaurants, learn with friends and be confident with price transparency. Order wine with confidence at restaurants and retailers. Get personalized recommendations. #DrinkWhatYouLove

Madison Crossing Lounge

Alto Molino

Malbec 2017

Malbec

Cafayate, Argentina

Riff

Pinot Grigio NV

Pinot Gris

Venezia, Italy

Three Elms

Flying Wild Sauvignon Blanc NV

Sauvignon Blanc

Western Australia

Cellars

Isenhower, 'Photobomb' Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley 2018

Walla Walla Valley (OR), USA

Librandi

Critone Bianco 2018

Chardonnay

Italy

That's Why!

Original Cabernet - Zinfandel 2018

Blend

Puglia, Italy

Domaine Lafage

Bastide Miraflors Vieilles Vignes Syrah - Grenache 2016

Shiraz/Syrah

Cotes Catalanes, France

Smith & Hook

Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Cabernet Sauvignon

Central Coast, California, USA

Catena Zapata

Malbec Argentino 2018

Malbec

Mendoza, Argentina

SIMI

Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2020

Chardonnay

Russian River Valley, USA

Scarpetta

Prosecco NV

Glera

Prosecco, Italy

H3 Wines

Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Cabernet Sauvignon

Washington, USA

Vietti

Moscato d'Asti 2020

Moscato Bianco

Moscato d'Asti, Piedmont, Italy

Spier

Signature Pinotage 2019

Pinotage

Western Cape, South Africa

Roustabout

Meritage Red Blend 2020

Blend

Paso Robles, USA