Josh Ardizzoni, certified sommelier and cellar consultant, reviews the wine list of <a href="https://thegrillnewyork.com/">The Grill</a>, &nbsp;a mid-century American Steakhouse inside the iconic Seagram Building in Midtown East. It&rsquo;s expensive, glitzy, and definitely smacks of mid-20th-century fat-cat dining, but it&rsquo;s well worth dining here. Whether you are in the mood for land, sky, or sea, the menu offers a delicious array of dishes, and the extensive wine list offers an impressive selection of champagnes, an impressive Premier Cru selection, and many exciting wines from Europe and beyond.

If celebration is on your mind, and you&rsquo;re in the mood for a little decadent indulgence, The Grill offers a classy, classic New York experience.

They offer several vintages of Louis Roederer, Cristal, ranging from 1997 to 2013, Moet Chandon, Dom Perignon, and more, and you can choose a three-litre bottle, six litres, or a magnum.

Champagne engages all the senses, from the first pop of the cork to the fizz when pouring, and the light pop of the bubbles in the glass. Then there is the delicate color, aroma, and texture on the tongue. It&rsquo;s light, delightful, and a downright joyous way to kick off an evening with friends.

Identifying the delicate tasting notes of champagne is no easy task, it takes dedication, focus, and the arduous task of drinking lots and lots of different types and styles of champagne.

The tasting notes in Champagne wines are subtle but every bottle has unique characteristics that have developed over time, and of course, are derived from the grape, age, producing and bottling. All elements converge and merge and mature into their own, unique bottle with notes that can range from fruity to floral, wood or spice.

At The Grill, consider kicking off the evening with a bottle of Dom P&eacute;rignon, Lady Gaga, 2010, the floral aromas, nuttiness, toast and a tight salinity, this wine is full-bodied and dry, and wonderfully fresh.

A champagne that offers value in addition to sparkle is the Mouss&eacute; L&#39;Or d&#39;Eugene, Perpetuelle, it&rsquo;s a blend of 80% pinot meunier and 20% pinot noir. This wine has a deep and complex bouquet of golden orchard fruit, honeycomb, and candied peel. It&#39;s medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, and would complement many of the appetizers on the menu.

To learn more about the wine list at The Grill, <a href="https://uat.corkrules.com/the-grill/episodes/7">check out the CorkRules podcast</a>&nbsp;with Josh Ardizonni.

Josh, a CorkRules&rsquo; sommelier, talks about where the exciting side of where champagne is going, and he identifies those exclusive and beautifully-aged bottles as well as the extraordinary value wines on the list such as Les Beaux Regards from B&eacute;reche &amp; Fils, the 2015 Volnay-Champans from Marquis d&rsquo;Angerville, and the 1986 Ch&acirc;teau Rauzan-S&eacute;gla from Margaux.

The tasting notes in Champagne wines are subtle but every bottle has unique characteristics that have developed over time, and of course, are derived from the grape, age, producing and bottling. All elements converge and merge and mature into their own, unique bottle with notes that can range from fruity to floral, wood or spice.

Tasting Notes in Champagne at The Grill

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 review the delicious wine list at The Progress, a restaurant defined by the chef proprietors as: a vehicle for a completely local production. Innovative banquet-style meals served with memorable wines. 

Wine Review of the Progress, San Francisco

Grant Wood

The Progress

The Progress

RT: Hello and Welcome to CorkRules! 

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.&nbsp;

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.

&nbsp;RT: So, sit back and listen as we review your favorite wine list.

The Progress is part of the restaurant group behind State Bird Provisions and the Anchovy Bar in Sf and has a super passionate team that is dedicated to great, innovative food, fantastic cocktails and a very well-thought-out wine list. I&rsquo;m excited to take a look at what they have to offer as they&rsquo;re a favorite of mine in SF.

RT

Let&rsquo;s kick it off with some cocktails. I&rsquo;d go for the Last Voyage featuring Jamaican Rum, sesame, banana, almond and lime to be a nice way to ease into my evening but if you like something with a little more depth then go for the Alter Ego with Japanese whisky, lapsang, and amaro.

RT

There is a great BTG selection as well so I&rsquo;d go for the 2020 Hammerling Gamay/Pinot noir brut rose which is a really cool sparkling producer over in Berkeley doing a great job with bubbles. A fun white btg is the 2020 Maison des Ardoiseres Silice from Savoie in the Alpine eastern part of France making clean, crystalline whites like Jacquere that is always great value for buck. For an interesting red btg I&rsquo;d get a glass of the 2017 Stumpf Pinceszet Kekfrankos from Hungary which is medium to lighter body red that is really easy and fun to drink and definitely out of the box thinking.

Let&rsquo;s move on to by the bottle, shall we? For bubbles, I&rsquo;d go for the Pierre Peters Grand Cuvee de Reserve from Le-Mesnil sur Oger in Champagne. Piere Peters is an iconic grower producer that makes benchmark sparkling wine of distinction and age-worthiness. Another great option is 2016 Under the Wire sparkling pinot noir from Hirsch in Fort Ross Seaview. Under the Wire is the sparkling passion project from Chris and Morgan from Bedrock Wine Co. so of course, I must make a shout-out for this wine. It&rsquo;s very rare to see this wine anywhere so this is a great chance amazing domestic bubble.

Moving on to whites, I love the Orxite Sotelo &lsquo;Nebola&rsquo; from Monterey and is a blend of Arinto and Albarino which is super bright, fresh, and easy drinking and a great value. If you want to splurge a bit then the 2015 Dagueneau Silex from Loire&rsquo;s Pouilly-Fume is an iconic SB from a legendary producer and is packed with minerality, drive, and focus which is also a fun wine to play around with food pairings as well. I would also point out the 2018 Von Winning, Kalkofen GG from the Pfalz as another great wine to match with various courses on their menu as well.

There is a great selection of white burgundy and a lot of interesting wines from else ware as well but we don&rsquo;t have too much time to get into the other great options on this list.

On that note, let&rsquo;s move on to reds. There is a very good selection of California Pinot noir but one that stands out to me is the 2018 Radio-Coteau Direke vineyard on the Sonoma Coast which is an organically farmed hillside just off of the Bodega highway. This is a beautiful Pinot Noir with lots of structure, perfume, and lift in the glass and would be an ideal wine with food. If you&rsquo;re looking for Burgundy, though, then a great splurge would be the 2016 Bruno Clair 1er cru Clos du Fonteny from Gevery Chambertin. Talk about another benchmark producer from one fo my favorite villages in Burgundy. These wines are some of the best expressions of Pinot Noir in the world and are made with such distinction and care for a love of place.

For you Robert, I&rsquo;d go for the 2016 Brandini Resa 56 Barolo which is a fabulous year for Barolo and I love the wines of Brandini for the weight and intensity while still maintaining perfume and grace and a truly wines to be an extension of the table.

One other honorable mention for me is the 2018 Bucklin Ancient flied blend Zinfandel from Old Hill Ranch in Sonoma Valley. I think Will Bucklin is such a thoughtful grower and winemaker. His vineyard is one of the oldest vineyards in Sonoma planted around 1885 and these wines age beautifully as well.

Lastly, I&rsquo;d cap off my evening with a nice glass of Amaro Montenegro to serve as the perfect chef&rsquo;s kiss to a wonderful evening at the Progress.

Cheers!

Grant , Thank you so much for all your great suggestions and helping us navigate The Progress&rsquo; 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: 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 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.

And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

Thank you.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

BRAT

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Alba Restaurant

Alba

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Matteos Ristorante Italiano

Matteo's

Sycamore Lane is a popular wine brand that offers a range of varietals, including Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and others. The wines are known for their consistent quality and affordability.

Sleek Korean steakhouse offering premium beef cuts & veggies to grill at your table, plus cocktails.

Steak Frites

Alexis Percival is a New York City based CMS certified sommelier, consultant and event planner who puts the art in party.

Certified sommelier Alexis Percival

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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

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