Mise en Place

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Caitlin Cutler, co-owner of Ronan, is very fond of Malvasia. (Photo by Liam Brown)

Ronan’s Caitlin Cutler on Malvasia, Skin-Contact Sauvignon Blanc, and Country Music

June 4, 2021 / / 0 Comments

I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.

In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well. 

From the moment I perused the wine list I knew I wanted to feature its creator in Wine Talk. It (and they) had me at the Claus Preisinger Zweigelt and the Martha Stouman Nero d’Avola, not to mention the Alfredo Maestro “Amanda.” This small, concise list was put together by someone who cares about what her guests drink with their food.

This was in May, and it was my first visit to Ronan, a restaurant in Los Angeles that is now high on my “Brockhaus Approved” list. The meal was something to write home about — read the review here — and I’ve been back once more since then, and plan to be a frequent guest.

Asking around, I was told that Caitlin Cutler was the woman behind Ronan’s wine program. She also co-owns the restaurant with Daniel Cutler, her husband and Ronan’s chef. They have a good thing going on Melrose Avenue.

Caitlin runs the front of the house, and her presence is one of calm and confidence. She’s a welcoming person. Her past work experience includes stints in the corporate finance and real estate development worlds, and then she entered the restaurant industry, serving as general manager at two Los Angeles Italian restaurants: Sotto (now closed, it’s where the couple met and fell in love) and Alimento, Zach Pollack’s Italian restaurant in Silver Lake.

The pair opened Ronan in September 2018. During the first year of Ronan’s existence Caitlin was pregnant — they now have two children — and the couple faced the challenges familiar to all mom-and-pop restaurant owners. Reviews were favorable; Bill Addison, of the Los Angeles Times, loved the French Dip-inspired calzone, and Eric Wareheim’s endorsement of the pies brought scores of people in asking for the “Instagram pizza.”

The inevitable dip in traffic came, as the “see and be seen” crowd came and went, but the restaurant’s team labored on and word about the food at Ronan spread. Then came COVID-19. (Jenn Harris has written a wonderful piece on Caitlin and Daniel’s life the day after Los Angeles ordered all restaurants to cease service; you can read it here — LA Times subscription required.)

It’s been, needless to say, a rough, harrowing time, the days and nights since March 31, 2020, for restaurants and the rest of the world. The National Restaurant Association, in a study published in September 2020, reported that nearly one in six restaurants (representing nearly 100,000 establishments in the United States) “is either closed permanently or long-term,” resulting in the unemployment of nearly 3 million individuals. It added that the industry “is on track to lose $240 billion in sales by the end of the year.”

Some meatballs: Ronan’s pork polpettini are things of beauty. (Photo by The Brockhaus)

Ronan survived, about which I am glad, and if you’ve never been to the restaurant, I urge you to book a table. Order the focaccia and the burrata. If you go on Wednesday, all wines made by women are offered at 30 percent off. Try the meatballs, and if the calzone is on the menu, go for it.

Meanwhile, here’s Caitlin Cutler in Wine Talk.

James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?

Caitlin Cutler: I am able to spend a lot more time at home with my kids. My husband and I co-own Ronan, and prior to COVID, we both worked five to six nights a week. When safer-at-home orders came out, we had to alternate who would come into work, because one of us had to stay home with the kids (no childcare!). It really gave me the personal and professional balance that I was craving, but couldn’t quite allow myself to have, and now I work at the restaurant three nights a week. 

Caitlin Cutler and her husband, Daniel Cutler, are the couple behind Ronan, a great restaurant in Los Angeles. (Photo by Liam Brown)

JB: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one? 

CC: “Bon Jus” Sauvignon Blanc is our skin contact BTG right now, and it just slaps for summertime. I had never had a skin-contact Sauvignon Blanc before this wine, and I’m not particularly partial to the grape in general, but leave it on the skins for 15 days and we’re in business. The wine is unfiltered, no additives, and you can almost taste the coastal Santa Barbara laidback vibes in the glass. Pairing: Sea bass Zarandeado at Ronan.

The “chilled red” is really having a moment, and I am fully behind it. We have three chilled options on the list at Ronan right now, but the one that has my heart is “Soul Love” from Tessier Winery out of Healdsburg. It’s a blend of Riesling (50 percent), Trousseau (20 percent) and Mourvedre (30 percent), and it just sparkles behind its psychedelic label. Don’t let the playful nature of the label fool you, this is a fantastic, nuanced bottle. Tessier is run by a husband-and-wife team, and is 30 percent off on “Women in Wine Wednesdays” at Ronan. Pair with the classic Margherita pizza, do or don’t add anchovies (do).

From Austria, courtesy Claus Preisinger. (Image courtesy Midfield Wine Bar)

I just have to close out this list with the “Puszta Libre!,” a biodynamic Zweigelt from Austrian wine producer Claus Preisinger. This wine never sells unless I suggest it to a table, and it is such a missed opportunity for so many guests who want a bold red, but don’t know how to get out of their comfort zone. I promise you all there are sophisticated reds outside of France, Spain and Italy! Pairing: The pork meatballs at Ronan with a side of some thick focaccia piping hot and dripping in good Sicilian olive oil over the toasted rosemary garnish. 

JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why.

CC: I like collecting wines from significant years. My husband and I were both born in 1985, and for our wedding we got two magnums of Emidio Pepe 1985 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. I would probably get two more from my daughters birth years (2015 and 2019) now, while I can still afford them.  

JB: What is your favorite grape variety, and why?

CC: Hands down, Malvasia. This was the first grape that taught me how much depth there was to discovering wine. I have had bottles that are light and floral, I have had bottles that are earthy and, dare I say, masculine. I have had it still and I have had it sparkling. I have loved it every which way and I can’t wait to try many more iterations. 

JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day? 

CC: I wish I had a good suggestion for this, but I tend to focus on lower cost, newer production on my list. I would say find something sentimental to you and cellar that. Maybe a bottle you had on your first date, or a producer you love from a significant year. Nostalgia can add a lot to your experience years down the road. 

JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside of your home and workplace)?

CC: I adore Esters Wine Bar in Santa Monica. The service, the vibe — it’s all so welcoming and yet special at the same time, and you can find really fabulous wines by the glass that you don’t see everywhere else around town.  

JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?

CC: It’s not about what the restaurant wants you to drink or what will impress the table next to you.  It’s about you. This is your experience, and we are just here to facilitate it. Talk to your server or the person who does the wine list, ask questions and they will lead you to the hidden gems that fit your needs, but make sure you listen to your gut and drink what you want to drink that night. Sometimes it’s what they suggest, but sometimes it’s a dirty martini or your go-to bottle of Chianti, and that’s A-OK too. 

This bottle makes a wonderful gift.

JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?

CC: In 2014, it was my boss’s birthday and I went to Silver Lake Wine to buy him a bottle of wine. He was a chef with many years of wine knowledge under his belt, and I was a novice restaurant worker just beginning to scratch the service of my wine studies. I went into Silver Lake Wine and bought him a bottle of Rojac “Royaz” sparkling Refošk. He opened it for us to share and it knocked his socks off. He put it on the opening list of his trendy new restaurant in Silver Lake and I had never been prouder. 

Ronan’s dining room features communal tables, booths, and bar seating. (Photo Courtesy Ronan)

JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career thus far?

CC: I had a friend of a friend (who I didn’t know and had never even met briefly) email me multiple times and repeatedly ask me to waive corkage for his upcoming reservation for a party of six. Ronan was three months old at the time, and we were still paying off our contractors from the years of construction leading up to our recent opening, never mind tackling paying back our investors. I was so insulted that a stranger thought it was appropriate to bring their own wine in and not expect to pay a fee (mind you, our corkage is VERY reasonable). I am so happy that the pandemic brought to light how hard the financials are from a restaurant perspective, and moments like that seem to be a distant memory. 

JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?

CC: Country music is my guilty pleasure, and any time a female musician talks about drinking red wine and plotting revenge on an ex, I can’t help but smile. 

Want more wine? Read on:

Dan Petroski on Soil and J. Alfred Prufrock
A Canadian Makes Good in Mendocino
Bouchaine’s Chris Kajani Tackles the Challenges of a Pandemic
A Bosnian Winemaker Finds a Home in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA
From a Michigan Backyard Vineyard to Sonoma
Paul Hobbs Knew She Had Talent
Ian Cauble: From ‘Somm’ to SommSelect
Eric Sigmund is High on Texas Wine
Jeff Cole, Sullivan Estate’s Winemaker
Jon McPherson Talks Tokay and His Mentor Father
Two Reds From Chile
An Italian Chardonnay From the Cesare Stable
Mi Sueño’s 2016 Napa Valley Syrah
Joshua Maloney on Riesling and Manfred Krankl
Brothers in Wine
Two Bottles From Priest Ranch
A Derby Day Cocktail
Nate Klostermann is Making Some Great Sparkling Wines in Oregon
Matt Dees and the Electric Acidity of Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay
Baudelaire, Pinot Noir, and Rosé: Kathleen Inman’s Passions
Colombia, France, and California: This Winemaker is a Complex Woman
Michael Kennedy Talks Sailing and Zinfandel
Spain Opened the World of Wine for Spottswoode’s Aron Weinkauf
Alta Colina’s Molly Lonborg Wants a Bottle of Château Rayas
Mumm Napa’s Tami Lotz Talks Wine and Oysters
James MacPhail on Pinot Noir, White Burgundy, and Russell Crowe
A Very Proper Sparkling Wine
Talking With David Ramey
A Merlot That Your Snob Friend Will Love
French Couple Make a Sauvignon Blanc in California
A Perfect Afternoon Chardonnay
Terry Theise Talks Reisling
A New Wine Wonderland
Paris Wine Goddess Tells All
Rice Village Wine Bar Has a Cleveland Touch
A Texas White Blend for Your Table
A Pinot Noir Full of Flavor
This Pinot Gris From Oregon Pairs Well With Cheese
Willamette, Dammit!
A Value Rioja
Drink Pink!
Underbelly Veteran Goes for Grenache
A Man of Letters and Wine
Ms. Champagne Wants a Nebuchadnezzar
The Wine Artist Goes for Chardonnay
This American Loves Spain and Its Wines
Houston’s Wine Whisperer Has a Soft Touch
Blackberry Farm’s Somm Pours in Splendor
Mr. Pinot Noir: Donald Patz of Patz & Hall
A Cork Dork Wants to Spend More Time in Tuscany
Sommelier Turned Restaurateur Daringly Goes Greek
Texas Master Sommelier Debunks Wine Geeks
A Bottle From Gigondas Changed This Houston Man’s Life
Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
Mixing It Up With Jeremy Parzen, an Ambassador of Italy
Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs

Dan Petroski, whose Massican wines have a loyal following, also makes wine for Larkmead Vineyards.

Dan Petroski Talks Soil, T.S. Eliot, and Making Wine in Napa Valley

May 28, 2021 / / 0 Comments

I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.

In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well. 

Dan Petroski is the man behind some of my favorite white wines made in California. His Massican flagship Annia is on my always-have-around list — it’s a blend of Tocai Friulano, Ribolla Gialla and Chardonnay, and I love its versatility with food and its fetching minerality. If you’ve never experienced a bottle of it, find one today.

Dan Petroski named this expressive wine after his mother. (Courtesy Massican)

Petroski is also in charge of the winemaking at Larkmead Vineyards, and I recently had the pleasure of participating in a virtual session with him and others that took a deep dive into the soils at Larkmead and their effect on the estate’s Cabernet Sauvignon. We tasted three barrel samples and examined some of the estate’s soils. Petroski — who graduated from Columbia University with a degree in history (minor in ancient Greek and Roman history) and played football at the school — spoke eloquently and with authority about the topic.

Any semi-serious wine drinker knows that what a vine (or its rootstock) grows in has (or should have) profound effect on what it produces. But listening to Petroski and Brenna J. Quigley, a geologist who is working with Larkmead (among other clients), talk about that relationship was a valuable way to spend an hour.

The Larkmead Estate: Though it is a valley-floor property, its diversity of soils are more typical of hillside parcels.

Petroski has stated that “Larkmead is blessed with a diverse estate that based on soil profile alone is a snapshot of the entire Napa Valley” and he and Quigley conveyed that in an illuminating manner during the online session. The estate comprises 110 acres planted to vines (69.4 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, 12.4 acres of Sauvignon Blanc, 11.5 acres of Merlot, 8 acres of Cabernet Franc, 6.6 acres of Petit Verdot, 1.2 acres of Malbec, and 1.1 acres of Tocai Friulano), and the soil profiles include Pleasanton loam, Cortina gravelly loam, Bale clay loam, Bale loam, Clear Lake clay and Cole Silt loam. (If geology turns you on, I recommend John McPhee’s Annals of the Former World. It’s a fascinating masterpiece, written by a master.)

There’s treasure in these soils.

Larkmead was founded in 1895, making it one of the oldest family-owned estates in Napa Valley. While the original owners did make wine for a period of time after its founding, during the second half of the 20th century Larkmead grew grapes for other wineries and winemakers only. Beginning in 1997 that changed, and wine was once again being made under the Larkmead name. (Larkmead still sells 50 percent of its fruit to other entities).

Petroski joined the team as winemaker in 2007 — current owners Cam and Kate Solari Baker know talent when they see it — and in 2020 the estate established and planted a research block (I’ll have more on that in a later article).

Petroski’s style is enthusiastic, thoughtful and engaging. I’m glad he left his career in publishing at Time Inc. to pursue his passion, because he’s making wines I admire and look forward to drinking and sharing.

Let’s get to Dan Petroski in his own words.

James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?

Dan Petroski: The shelter-in-place conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic slowed my life down for sure, but it also opened a world of virtual meet-ups and cocktail hours to get to know some of our direct customers a little better.

As wine professionals, historically our relationship building has been with our trade partners — wholesale, restaurant and retail buyers — but 2020 turned that upside down a bit and put us directly, virtually in front of the people who drink our wine. That was special.

JB: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one? 

DP: I really love drinking our wines young in fine wine terms — the current release vintages of Larkmead have such great vibrancy that the wines are a joy to drink. I am talking about the 2018, 2016, 2014, 2013 and 2010 vintages specifically for red wines at Larkmead. On a white wine side, I really appreciate our Sauvignon Blanc style, which is a little weightier than a classic table-friendly Sancerre.

A Sauvignon Blanc that “acts like a Chardonnay.”

If I had to host a Larkmead dinner tonight, I would choose our 2018 Lillie Sauvignon Blanc paired with anchovies in butter with crusty bread and maybe a fennel salad. A 2013 Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon paired with a Zuni-style roasted chicken. And a 2010 Larkmead Solari Cabernet Sauvignon with a selection of hard and soft cheeses to finish the night.

Cortina and Pleasanton soils drive this wine.

JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why.

DP: I never drink wine alone, so there is no cost (high or low) that I wouldn’t pay to share a glass of wine with someone. And we all know that a glass of Champagne brings the most joy, so I would love to add as many bottles of my favorite Champagne, Philipponnat Clos des Goisses to my cellar.

JB: What is your favorite grape variety, and why?

DP: Chardonnay in all its forms is one of my favorite grapes. I will go to my grave extolling the beauty of Sauvignon Blanc, and Tocai Friulano is my favorite wine grape that makes the most versatile food-pairing wine. But Cabernet and its sibling Merlot will always haunt me. My top bottles consumed all-time remain Bordeaux blends.

JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day? 

DP: Larkmead or any Napa Valley Cabernet from 2013 or 2016.

Dan Petroski at work in the Larkmead research block. (Photo by Bob McClenahan)

JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside of your home and workplace)?

DP: When in Napa, it is great to sit at a bar at all my neighborhood haunts — DM me for a list. When traveling to my hometown, NYC, I love spending time at the bar at all of Danny Meyer’s restaurants, whether Gramercy Tavern, Maialino or more.

JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?

DP: Drink what makes you feel good — the story, the deliciousness, the price point, the moment. . . whatever makes you enjoy it the most.

JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?

DP: Probably the story I was told of Sean Thackrey and his wines when sitting at Le Bernardin in 1999. To hear the story of a former art gallery owner who moved out to the far Sonoma Coast and studied the history of wine growing back to ancient Greek and Rome. Sean went on to name his flagship wine after the constellation Pleiades because his blend was of seven grape varieties. This was the story that made me change my life five or six years later and pursue a career in wine.

JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career thus far?

DP: Strangest would probably be when I taste a wine that I made and say, “Wow, did I make that?” I am very hard on myself and my winemaking. I always say, the best is yet to come, and I hope you come for the ride with me.

JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?

DP: When T.S. Eliot wrote in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, “Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels, And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells.”

Eliot didn’t mention wine in those lines, but I want a cigarette and a glass of Chablis every time I read them.

Want more wine? Read on:

Bouchaine’s Chris Kajani Tackles the Challenges of a Pandemic
A Bosnian Winemaker Finds a Home in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA
From a Michigan Backyard Vineyard to Sonoma
Paul Hobbs Knew She Had Talent
Ian Cauble: From ‘Somm’ to SommSelect
Eric Sigmund is High on Texas Wine
Jeff Cole, Sullivan Estate’s Winemaker
Jon McPherson Talks Tokay and His Mentor Father
Two Reds From Chile
An Italian Chardonnay From the Cesare Stable
Mi Sueño’s 2016 Napa Valley Syrah
Joshua Maloney on Riesling and Manfred Krankl
Brothers in Wine
Two Bottles From Priest Ranch
A Derby Day Cocktail
Nate Klostermann is Making Some Great Sparkling Wines in Oregon
Matt Dees and the Electric Acidity of Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay
Baudelaire, Pinot Noir, and Rosé: Kathleen Inman’s Passions
Colombia, France, and California: This Winemaker is a Complex Woman
Michael Kennedy Talks Sailing and Zinfandel
Spain Opened the World of Wine for Spottswoode’s Aron Weinkauf
Alta Colina’s Molly Lonborg Wants a Bottle of Château Rayas
Mumm Napa’s Tami Lotz Talks Wine and Oysters
James MacPhail on Pinot Noir, White Burgundy, and Russell Crowe
A Very Proper Sparkling Wine
Talking With David Ramey
A Merlot That Your Snob Friend Will Love
French Couple Make a Sauvignon Blanc in California
A Perfect Afternoon Chardonnay
Terry Theise Talks Reisling
A New Wine Wonderland
Paris Wine Goddess Tells All
Rice Village Wine Bar Has a Cleveland Touch
A Texas White Blend for Your Table
A Pinot Noir Full of Flavor
This Pinot Gris From Oregon Pairs Well With Cheese
Willamette, Dammit!
A Value Rioja
Drink Pink!
Underbelly Veteran Goes for Grenache
A Man of Letters and Wine
Ms. Champagne Wants a Nebuchadnezzar
The Wine Artist Goes for Chardonnay
This American Loves Spain and Its Wines
Houston’s Wine Whisperer Has a Soft Touch
Blackberry Farm’s Somm Pours in Splendor
Mr. Pinot Noir: Donald Patz of Patz & Hall
A Cork Dork Wants to Spend More Time in Tuscany
Sommelier Turned Restaurateur Daringly Goes Greek
Texas Master Sommelier Debunks Wine Geeks
A Bottle From Gigondas Changed This Houston Man’s Life
Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
Mixing It Up With Jeremy Parzen, an Ambassador of Italy
Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs

Pork meatballs that I'd happily eat every six days.

A Near-Perfect Meal: Ronan Delivers

May 16, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Ordering the focaccia was an afterthought, a recommendation proffered by the waiter to accompany our burrata Genovese. It was, however, a beautiful piece of bread, among the best I’ve had in a long, long time.

It’s served in a shallow bowl, on top of wax paper. The paper prevents the bread from sitting in the copious amount of olive oil that’s been drizzled over the focaccia, quality oil that I, once the bread was gone, spooned into my mouth.

The bread has a crisp exterior, one to which large flakes of salt adhere — some of the salt melts into the (in parts) charred surface of the bread, and a few pieces of fresh rosemary are also there.

A focaccia of supreme quality.

The interior is another story. Moist, warm, chewy, a touch of smoke. This bread’s crisp/chewy ratio is sublime. It’s cooked in Ronan’s wood-fired oven, as are the pizzas — Angela ordered The Brooklyn (shaved mushroom, Parmigiana, red pepper flakes, and oregano) — and the char on the crust is exactly as I like it: fully blackened in some areas, partially at other spots. Prime ingredients, ample olive oil applied after cooking.

The Brooklyn pie at Ronan, more than worthy of that great NYC borough.

It was Mother’s Day, a fine Sunday in Los Angeles, and since we were unable to celebrate with our mothers in person (one lives near Houston, Texas, the other in Jupiter, Florida), this was the next best thing: A meal outdoors, to honor our mothers, at a restaurant that had been on my to-experience list since we moved to LA.

The outdoor patio runs along one side of the restaurant, and it’s a pleasant place, made more exciting on the day because we had the honor of sharing the space with Norman Lear.

Burrata, basil pesto, toasted pine nuts, basil leaves, black pepper, olive oil … and this was a great pair to the focaccia.

We brought a bottle of wine from home, a Vietti Perbacco (2018) — Ronan’s corkage fee is $25 for the first two bottles, $40 per each after that — and began with the burrata Genovese. (I’m looking forward to having a meal at Ronan on a Wednesday, when all wines on the list made by women winemakers are offered at 30 percent off regular price.)

The burrata was the way to start. The inclusion of whole basil leaves injects a spark of additional freshness to the dish, and the cheese is as good as you want from burrata. Slicing into the ball of dairy and gathering a spoon of solid and liquid approaches a magical experience, and the toasted pine nuts and basil pesto and olive oil and salt that completed this course left nothing out in flavor and pleasure. The focaccia, yes, is advised, because you can sop up the olive oil and cheese with pieces of it. You won’t leave anything uneaten.

I like everything from Vietti.

The pork meatballs were my choice. I love meatballs, and make them often. I generally use a recipe I adapted from this one by Michael White, and it’s a good one. Ronan’s version of meatballs has a new admirer, and if they are on the menu when I’m next at the restaurant I’ll be tempted to order them.

lt’s difficult to find meatballs better than these.

A lesson in cooking meatballs: If using a skillet on top of the oven, leave the meat alone long enough to form a crust all around; they do this at Ronan, and the result is a satisfying mixture of textures that, for a moment, will make you feel all is well in the world. The meatballs are served in a small bowl along with a tomato sauce, a liberal amount of Parmigiana, olive oil, and basil leaves. Comforting, yes, and that’s good. But the cooking technique is worthy of adoration.

On this saucer is butter that will make you rethink butter.

I have to mention the butter. It’s listed as “Housemade Cultured Butter” on the menu, and that it certainly is. It’s presented at the table on a small saucer, a saucer that it shares with a pool of olive oil and coarse black pepper and salt. The culture is rich, almost too rich — if such a concept exists. Is it needed on the focaccia? That is debatable. But I applied plenty of that culture to my bread, and I’ll do it again.

Alex MacGregor, a former bartender, is the head winemaker at Saracina Vineyards. No, his actual skin tone does not veer toward magenta.

Alex MacGregor and Saracina: An Unfinished Novel of Craft and Passion

May 10, 2021 / / 0 Comments

I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.

In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well. 

It was a good virtual tasting, the one with Saracina Vineyards in which I participated back in early April. We opened a few bottles, including a 2019 unoaked Chardonnay that I liked very much, and the conversation was witty and engaging.

Alex MacGregor, the winemaker at the Mendocino County-based estate, a man I had never met before the tasting, is now someone with whom I want to share a table, a table reserved for a long meal, because the conversation would, I am confident, be a wide-ranging, eclectic, gratifying adventure. And the wines we open would be just as moving.

MacGregor is a fine conversationalist, an individual who knows how to convey a lot without relying on the feeble crutch of logorrhea. (In addition, David Ramey had a hand in teaching him winemaking, so there’s that.)

He’s a Canadian, and he fell into wine while working at a restaurant in Toronto, one with a stellar list. (His career in the Canadian city included stints at Olivier’s Bistro and Le Select Bistro; he also worked under Héctor Vergara, Canada’s only Master of Wine at the time.) And though he hails from Canada, Mendocino is his home, the land in which he thrives. He made his way to California in 1989 and took a job as an enologist in the Dry Creek Valley. In 2001, John Fetzer and Patty Rock founded Saracina Vineyards, and MacGregor was hired as the first winemaker there (Ramey was consulting with Saracina at the time).

The entrance to Saracina Ranch, in Mendocino County, is a welcoming sight.

MacGregor’s enthusiasm and passion for old vines and family-owned estates is palpable, and there was definitely no reason for Marc Taub (of Palm Bay International and Taub Family Selections), who purchased Saracina from Fetzer and Rock in 2018, to make any changes to the winemaking personnel at the 250-acre property, which, by the way, is Certified California Sustainable. MacGregor is in charge, and I imagine he will be for a long time.

Let’s see what he has to say in Wine Talk.

James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?

Alex MacGregor: It’s been unpleasant and stressful on both counts. I’m hopeful we will have learned from this. 

JB: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one? 

AM: I’m going local value here. Skylark 2019 Pinot Blanc Orsi Vineyard, Mendocino County ($20). Streamlined, austere in all the right ways. Shellfish city. It’s in limited distribution and direct from their website. 

McGregor recommends Skylark.

Saracina 2019 Unoaked Chardonnay, Mendocino County ($20). Cleansing, pure, unadulterated Chard, stone fruits. Great value if I do say so myself. Pair with anything you want (maybe your significant other), though BBQ might be a stretch. It’s in distribution and available on our website and at the winery.

Boonville Road 2018 Mourvedre Alder Springs, Mendocino County, around $30? Super cool, nervy, slightly green, delicious. I’ve had a few bottles paired with owner Ed Donovan’s smoked brisket (his smoker has a license plate, that’s how serious it is). Amazing pairing. Available direct from the website. 

JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why.

AM: 1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin. It’s transcendent, beyond wine. I was speechless. 

Not much of this is made. If you can afford a bottle, and find one available, do not hesitate.

JB: What is your favorite grape variety, and why?

AM: Old-vine field blends, like Casa Verde in Mendocino County; Grenache, Carignane, a mystery red and French Colombard, head pruned, 76-year-old dry-farmed vines grown organically. Sum is greater than the parts, crunchy wines. (Plus no trellis or wires so I can walk in any direction I please,which suits me)

JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day? 

AM: The 2019 Saracina Sauvignon Blanc Lolonis Vineyard will be neat in 10 years. Oldest Sauvignon Blanc in the country, planted in ’42. Tons of depth with acid and length. Our older SBs from this vineyard go to a great place with age.

A 2019, and at least one individual recommends that you cellar this until 2029. Give it a go.

JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside of your home and workplace)?

AM: With my good friends John Lancaster (wine director at Boulevard) and Robert Perkins (artist, Skylark Wine Co.) in either of their dining rooms. They are both generous, knowledgeable and charming (most of the time). Raveneau, Leflaive, Chave, Huet, Alban, Sine Qua Non, Le Pergole Torte, Quintarelli, always great bottles.

JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?

AM: Buy more?

JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?

AM: Sailing (floating?) down the Guadiana between Spain and Portugal, 1986. We would get our flagon filled at the local bodega after throwing anchor, mostly great fino, buy some fresh fish, good to go. Lovely, simple food and wine experience nightly. I remember it like it was yesterday.  

Allen Ginsberg took this photo, in 1996, in North Beach San Francisco.

JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?

AM: Cliché: War, “Spill the Wine”
Cooler: Lawrence Ferlinghetti, “Drinking French Wine in Middle America”

Bought a bottle of Vouvray
and poured out its bouquet
of the French countryside
on the plains of Middle America
and that fragrance
floods over me
wafts me back
to that rainy hillside
by the banks of the Loire
Vouvray tiny village
where I sat with rucksack
twenty-eight years old
seafarer student
uncorking the local bottle
with its captured scent of spring
fresh wet flowers
in first spring rain
falling lightly now
upon me-

Where gone that lonesome hiker
fugace fugitive
blindfold romantic
wanderer traumatic
in some Rimbaud illusionation-

The spring rain falls
upon the hillside flowers
lavande and coquelicots
the grey light upon them
in time’s pearly gloaming-
Where gone now
and to what homing-
Beardless ghost come back again!

How to Paint Sunlight: Lyric Poems and Others (New Directions).

Want more wine? Read on:

Bouchaine’s Chris Kajani Tackles the Challenges of a Pandemic
A Bosnian Winemaker Finds a Home in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA
From a Michigan Backyard Vineyard to Sonoma
Paul Hobbs Knew She Had Talent
Ian Cauble: From ‘Somm’ to SommSelect
Eric Sigmund is High on Texas Wine
Jeff Cole, Sullivan Estate’s Winemaker
Jon McPherson Talks Tokay and His Mentor Father
Two Reds From Chile
An Italian Chardonnay From the Cesare Stable
Mi Sueño’s 2016 Napa Valley Syrah
Joshua Maloney on Riesling and Manfred Krankl
Brothers in Wine
Two Bottles From Priest Ranch
A Derby Day Cocktail
Nate Klostermann is Making Some Great Sparkling Wines in Oregon
Matt Dees and the Electric Acidity of Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay
Baudelaire, Pinot Noir, and Rosé: Kathleen Inman’s Passions
Colombia, France, and California: This Winemaker is a Complex Woman
Michael Kennedy Talks Sailing and Zinfandel
Spain Opened the World of Wine for Spottswoode’s Aron Weinkauf
Alta Colina’s Molly Lonborg Wants a Bottle of Château Rayas
Mumm Napa’s Tami Lotz Talks Wine and Oysters
James MacPhail on Pinot Noir, White Burgundy, and Russell Crowe
A Very Proper Sparkling Wine
Talking With David Ramey
A Merlot That Your Snob Friend Will Love
French Couple Make a Sauvignon Blanc in California
A Perfect Afternoon Chardonnay
Terry Theise Talks Reisling
A New Wine Wonderland
Paris Wine Goddess Tells All
Rice Village Wine Bar Has a Cleveland Touch
A Texas White Blend for Your Table
A Pinot Noir Full of Flavor
This Pinot Gris From Oregon Pairs Well With Cheese
Willamette, Dammit!
A Value Rioja
Drink Pink!
Underbelly Veteran Goes for Grenache
A Man of Letters and Wine
Ms. Champagne Wants a Nebuchadnezzar
The Wine Artist Goes for Chardonnay
This American Loves Spain and Its Wines
Houston’s Wine Whisperer Has a Soft Touch
Blackberry Farm’s Somm Pours in Splendor
Mr. Pinot Noir: Donald Patz of Patz & Hall
A Cork Dork Wants to Spend More Time in Tuscany
Sommelier Turned Restaurateur Daringly Goes Greek
Texas Master Sommelier Debunks Wine Geeks
A Bottle From Gigondas Changed This Houston Man’s Life
Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
Mixing It Up With Jeremy Parzen, an Ambassador of Italy
Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs

Chris Kajani took over at Bouchaine Vineyards in 2015. (Photo by Bob McClenehan)

Pandemic Pivot: Chris Kajani Has Bouchaine Vineyards in Fine Form

May 3, 2021 / / 0 Comments

I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.

In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well. 

I was already planning to visit Bouchaine Vineyards this year (as soon as possible) when I heard about the falcons.

It was during a recent Zoom tasting with Chris Kajani, the estate’s winemaker and general manager, and the images of the raptors — I am a hopeless and indefatigable admirer of birds — transported me.

We tasted some delicious Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier with Kajani that day, who was stationed in Bouchaine’s well-appointed kitchen, and I was impressed with the wines and Kajani’s stories of her father’s wine collection, as well as the way she and rest of the Bouchaine team responded to the demands and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This kitchen is usually full of activity.

Bouchine took the now-universal Zoom tastings to new heights, and featured chefs and cooking classes and dining, as well as live music and falconry demonstrations, all paired with Bouchaine wines, of course. (These programs continue today, and have proved popular with individuals, groups, and corporations.)

A Bouchaine initiative I find especially appealing is called B-Together, a collection of recipes and videos featuring chefs including Martin Slavin, Scott Warner, and Joey Altman (along with tours of the estate’s vineyards and some musical performances). You’ll find recipes for, among other dishes, Mongolian lamb, Serbian sun bread, Dan Dan noodles, and Shangai-style pork belly sliders.

And those falcons. In addition to scaring away pesky birds, the raptors, overseen by Kate Marden, owner of West Coast Falconry, star in demonstrations that visitors to the estate can experience.

“Falconry helps us maintain our commitment to sustainable farming, but it’s also just an amazing thing to witness,“ says Kajani.

Kajani has a background in biotech, the field in which her career began, but journeys to Europe worked their way on her already strong passion for wine — which had been kindled and nurtured by her Napa upbringing — and she enrolled at UC Davis and earned a master’s degree in viticulture and enology.

She began working at Saintsbury in 2006 as associate winemaker, and in 2013 became the winemaker there. In 2015, she moved to Bouchaine, accepting the position that she holds today.

This Carneros AVA estate was founded in 1981 by Tatiana and Gerret Copeland.

Bouchaine is one of the oldest continuously operating family-run properties in the Carneros AVA. Of the estate’s 87 planted acres, 46 are dedicated to Pinot Noir and 31 to Chardonnay; the remaining 10 acres grow Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Meunier, and Syrah.

Let’s talk to Kajani, and hear what she has to say about, among other things, sneaking a bottle of Riesling into a movie theater.

James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?

Chris Kajani: Professionally, it was incredibly lonely. No guests at the winery, no travel to enjoy winemaker dinners with fans or at events, and a constant anxiety over the health of our team, our families, our community, and our industry. Personally, I was strengthened by family and community bonds. I drew, and continue to draw, a deep satisfaction from working with a team that is world class in the wine business. 

Our team pivoted with grace and seized a moment to cultivate a robust virtual tasting program that has propelled our business forward. Bouchaine was one of the first wineries to introduce virtual tastings that offer guests a variety of different experiences, from a tasting of Pinot Noir blends versus single clones, to wine and chocolate or cheese pairings, and even virtual falconry demonstrations. Upcoming — wine and bourbon tastings, and also pairing Bouchaine wines with music selections from the Philadelphia Orchestra. Because of our team’s hard work we are hosting corporate and group virtual tastings multiple times a day, which has allowed Bouchaine to thrive throughout a challenging time.

JB: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?

CK: 2020 Bouchaine Vin Gris of Pinot Noir ($29): Just released and bursting with guava, watermelon, and nectarine flavors. The bright acidity and tangy mouthfeel work with a multitude of dishes but sings with anything off the grill (scallops, chicken, salmon). It can be purchased on our website.

A beautiful shade of Pinot Noir.

2018 Bouchaine Pommard Clone Pinot Noir, Estate Selection ($65):  All blue fruit (plum, blueberry) with hints of mocha and cigar tobacco. The Pommard clone showcases a lush creamier palate, a huge crowd-pleaser. Try with lamb chops, or cocoa/espresso-rubbed hangar steak.

The 2013 Domaine Carneros Le Reve Blanc de Blancs ($120): A favorite of Team Bouchaine. Their winemaker, Zak Miller, was one of my interns when I was making wine at Saintsbury, and he is gifted in the magic of crafting sparkling wine. We love the nutty character, texture, and play on beautiful fruit layers and ginger spice.  

This one is worthy of cellaring until 2035, at least.

JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why.

CK: I need a bottle of the 170-year-old Champagne that was discovered in the shipwreck off the coast of Finland in 2015. As a Champagne junkie, that would be the ultimate wine experience.

JB: What is your favorite grape variety, and why?

CK: Pinot Noir is my first love; I like the yin/yang of its character. It’s a shapeshifter — so intoxicating, yet fickle. Pinot Noir showcases layers of depth and intrigue, but it’s also thin-skinned. It grows more succulent over time and also has a legitimate reputation for being difficult. There is no shortage of personality in great Pinot Noir.  

Chris Kajani working in a Bouchaine vineyard. (Photo by Bob McClenehan)

JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day? 

CK: Pick a cooler vintage full of tension, texture, and bright acidity. The 2008, 2009, and 2010 Pinot Noirs from Carneros are gorgeous right now. For more current releases, try the 2018 Bouchaine Swan Clone Pinot Noir, Estate Selection, which is bright and graceful, but with an underlying current of strength and ageability.

JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside of your home and workplace)?

CK: I love the Carneros Resort and Spa and spend as much time as I can on the lovely patio outside of FARM restaurant. FARM has an amazing wine list (thanks to the über talented Zion Curiel) and delectable food (Chef Aaron Meneghelli rocks) I am also devoted to Bistro Don Giovanni (Chef Scott Warner’s pastas and salmon!).

Bouchaine Vineyards, where the views are things of beauty.

JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?

CK: Drink what you like. Then find a local wine shop and link up with someone who can recommend wines based on what you enjoy. This opens up another exciting dimension of wine when you can taste what is happening across the wine world.  And travel! Visiting wine regions brings not only the wine, but the culture, people, and history into your muscle memory when you open those bottles. Every bottle of wine tells a story; the more you know about where it comes from or who made it, the greater the enjoyment.

JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?

CK: My dad’s wine cellar, circa 1990. Napa Valley showing off beautiful wines from the 1970s and 1980s.

JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?

CK: We snuck a bottle of Riesling into a movie once and during one of those quiet emotional scenes we knocked it over — with the entire theater listening to it roll down many rows (screw top, thankfully). The people that caught it handed it back to us and the entire theater cheered.

Unoaked and ready for a new season in the EPL.

JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?

CK: “In victory, you deserve Champagne. In defeat you need it.”

― Napoleon Bonaparte

Or when our 2018 Bouchaine Unoaked Estate Chardonnay was compared to Ted Lasso by R.H. Drexel – I fell on the floor laughing.  So perfect.

Want more wine? Read on:

A Bosnian Winemaker Finds a Home in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA
From a Michigan Backyard Vineyard to Sonoma
Paul Hobbs Knew She Had Talent
Ian Cauble: From ‘Somm’ to SommSelect
Eric Sigmund is High on Texas Wine
Jeff Cole, Sullivan Estate’s Winemaker
Jon McPherson Talks Tokay and His Mentor Father
Two Reds From Chile
An Italian Chardonnay From the Cesare Stable
Mi Sueño’s 2016 Napa Valley Syrah
Joshua Maloney on Riesling and Manfred Krankl
Brothers in Wine
Two Bottles From Priest Ranch
A Derby Day Cocktail
Nate Klostermann is Making Some Great Sparkling Wines in Oregon
Matt Dees and the Electric Acidity of Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay
Baudelaire, Pinot Noir, and Rosé: Kathleen Inman’s Passions
Colombia, France, and California: This Winemaker is a Complex Woman
Michael Kennedy Talks Sailing and Zinfandel
Spain Opened the World of Wine for Spottswoode’s Aron Weinkauf
Alta Colina’s Molly Lonborg Wants a Bottle of Château Rayas
Mumm Napa’s Tami Lotz Talks Wine and Oysters
James MacPhail on Pinot Noir, White Burgundy, and Russell Crowe
A Very Proper Sparkling Wine
Talking With David Ramey
A Merlot That Your Snob Friend Will Love
French Couple Make a Sauvignon Blanc in California
A Perfect Afternoon Chardonnay
Terry Theise Talks Reisling
A New Wine Wonderland
Paris Wine Goddess Tells All
Rice Village Wine Bar Has a Cleveland Touch
A Texas White Blend for Your Table
A Pinot Noir Full of Flavor
This Pinot Gris From Oregon Pairs Well With Cheese
Willamette, Dammit!
A Value Rioja
Drink Pink!
Underbelly Veteran Goes for Grenache
A Man of Letters and Wine
Ms. Champagne Wants a Nebuchadnezzar
The Wine Artist Goes for Chardonnay
This American Loves Spain and Its Wines
Houston’s Wine Whisperer Has a Soft Touch
Blackberry Farm’s Somm Pours in Splendor
Mr. Pinot Noir: Donald Patz of Patz & Hall
A Cork Dork Wants to Spend More Time in Tuscany
Sommelier Turned Restaurateur Daringly Goes Greek
Texas Master Sommelier Debunks Wine Geeks
A Bottle From Gigondas Changed This Houston Man’s Life
Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
Mixing It Up With Jeremy Parzen, an Ambassador of Italy
Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs

Yxta Cocina Mexicana makes good things. (Courtesy Yxta)

What James Is Eating: Three Fine Tacos From Yxta Cocina Mexicana

April 9, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Dining out of doors is always a good idea, especially during a viral pandemic, of course. I do miss sitting at a table and soaking in the ambiance and environment of a well-designed space, but I’ll survive. Indoor dining will resume for me …

Last night a patio in the Arts District, in downtown Los Angeles, was the venue, and the happy hour menu at Yxta Cocina Mexicana was the occasion. It was our first time there, and it’s been added to our recommend list, because the food was excellent.

Guacamole with toasted pumpkin seeds, tortilla chips warm and salty and fresh, and six well-made tacos, starting with Lela’s Ground Beef and continuing with Tacos de Carnitas, the latter featuring blue-corn tortillas.

Moist, succulent pork and a perfect tortilla

The pork had been cooked with care, and it was flavorful and moist, and crisp in all the right places. The cilantro, onions, and guacamole completed the plate.

Ground beef, tomatoes, potatoes, jack cheese, and a fried tortilla

My mother often made tacos and filled them with seasoned ground beef, and we — my father and sisters and I — loved them. I have in my heart a soft spot for such tacos, so when we saw a version on the menu at Yxta we didn’t hesitate. And the decision paid off.

I love the way the ground beef tacos were sat on chipotle mashed potatoes, so they would stand upright and allow one to handle them neatly. The potatoes, here, had a dual purpose, because we ate them all, with relish. Spicy, rich, comforting they were, and if you dine at Yxta do not leave them on the plate.

The tortillas were fried in oil, an oil that we could not taste, because the cook knew what he or she was doing with temperature and time. They were crisp and hot and melted in the mouth, combining with the meat and salsa and cheese and lettuce in a beautiful way.

I ordered a final plate during our meal, Tacos de Papa. I thought I could eat them, but I was wrong. I put them in a box, and had them for lunch today. The chipotle mashed potatoes star in this taco, pairing with tangy cabbage, queso fresco, and salsa brava. I warmed them gently in a convection oven, and lunch was good.

Samra Morris, who became the head winemaker at Alma Rosa Winery in 2019, hails from Bosnia.

Bosnia’s Loss is California’s Gain: Samra Morris Takes the Lead at Alma Rosa

April 7, 2021 / / 0 Comments

I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.

In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well. 

The world of wine never fails to provide me with pleasure. Opening a bottle, walking through a vineyard, tasting a barrel sample, meeting a fellow traveler in l’univers du vin … the discovery and exploration never end.

The journey continued last month on a beautiful expanse of land in Santa Barbara County, a property that played a major role in the formation of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. (If you don’t know the name Richard Sanford, go ahead and learn about him, because he is truly the “Godfather of Central Coast Pinot Noir.”)

Samra Morris: “I think that would be my guidance: Drink what you love.” (Courtesy Alma Rosa Winery)

We had driven up from Los Angeles, and Buellton was my destination, specifically the Alma Rosa Winery tasting room. I was there to meet Samra Morris, Alma Rosa’s winemaker since 2019, for a tasting and a tour of the estate. (Note: For those who may not know this, the small complex in which the tasting room is housed is a must-visit when/if you do visit the town. One of my favorite restaurants in California — Industrial Eats — is also located there, and its food alone is worth the trip, especially the beef tongue pastrami reuben and the white shrimp wrapped in pancetta.)

A beef tongue pastrami sandwich extraordinaire …
White shrimp, pancetta, garlic, butter …

We sampled a bit of Alma Rosa sparkling at the tasting room; it was a warm afternoon, and the wine was good. What followed was a 10-minute drive to the estate along a quiet, nearly traffic-free road, and then, beauty.

Alma Rosa’s 628 acres (38 acres planted to vines) spread from the valley floor to the top of the Santa Rosa Hills. The estate vineyard, El Jabali, originally planted by Richard Sanford in 1983, has been joined by four non-contiguous plots of Pinot Noir (55 percent), Chardonnay (30 percent), and Syrah and Grenache (15 percent), all farmed using sustainable practices.

Sanford and his wife, Thekla, sold the estate to Bob and Barb Zorich in 2014. Zorich is a businessman in the oil industry who now resides in Houston, Texas, but he and his wife both attended school at the University of California Santa Barbara and have a home in the coastal city. They were introduced to the Sanfords in 2013, and, upon discovering that the property was for sale, took a leap into the world of winery ownership.

A ride through Alma Rosa Winery is a feast for the senses.

When we arrived at Alma Rosa, Morris took us on a quick ATV ride to a vineyard planted with Syrah — no bud break yet. Along the way we spied a few turkeys. Bobcats, deer, and mountain lions are also denizens of the property, the latter rarely seen.

Vines and hills …

Back at the ranch house on the valley floor we tasted with Morris and Debra Eagle, Alma Rosa’s general manager. Both women are engaging, passionate about wine and the estate, and great ambassadors for the brand.

Morris was born and raised in Bosnia, and attended the University of Sarajevo, where she studied agriculture and food sciences, receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She met an American in the U.S. Air Force who was stationed overseas, and they moved to California when his duty took him back to the states.

She interned at St. Supéry in 2014, and worked three harvests with Thomas Rivers Brown as a cellar intern at Mending Wall. In 2017, Morris began working as a lab assistant at Free Flow Wines, and by 2019 was a quality control manager there. She became Alma Rosa’s winemaker later that year.

Here is Morris in her own words.

James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?

Samra Morris: I think Covid-19 has affected me more personally than professionally. As a winemaker, I have been fortunate to be able to go to work every day and enjoy my cellar duties. It was a good escape from reality and what is happening in the world. It gave me a sense of peace that I needed. 

Personally, it affected me in that I didn’t have the opportunity to go home to see my family in Bosnia and enjoy my time with them. I had already been missing them a lot, so I was very disappointed when my flight was canceled. I’ve been very homesick recently, so I hope that by the end of this year we all get vaccinated and I have an opportunity to see my family next summer. 

JB: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?

SM: I will start with Alma Rosa’s 2018 El Jabali Pinot Noir ($68). It is a gorgeous Pinot Noir that represents our beautiful Sta. Rita Hills in the glass. You can purchase this wine through our website or at our tasting room in Buellton. I would pair this wine with red meats. 

An estate Pinot Noir

The second wine is Alma Rosa’s 2020 Grenache Rosé ($30) from our Sta. Rita Hills estate vineyard. This rosé is beautiful, and salty strawberry notes and bright acidity make this gorgeous wine perfect to drink in the summertime. Growing up in Bosnia, we often took summer vacations on the Croatian coast. The salinity and acidity in this wine reminds me of the Old World Adriatic wines I loved from home. I would pair this wine with a light shrimp salad.

The third bottle would be the 2017 Foxy Bubbles ($55) by Blair Fox Cellars, located in Los Olivos. This is a delicious sparkling wine, and I don’t need an excuse — an occasion or food — to enjoy a bottle of it. 

JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why.

SM: If cost were not an issue, I would choose a bottle — or a few cases — of the 2014 Maybach “Materium” Cabernet Sauvignon.

I call it a perfect glass of wine. Also, this was the first bottle I had the opportunity to share with my family when I went home for the first time after moving to California, and while sharing this bottle with them we also shared laughs and good conversation that we needed to catch up after so many years apart.

JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?

SM: As a winemaker and as a wine drinker, my favorite grape to work with is definitely Pinot Noir. Due to its thin skin, tight clusters and late ripening, Pinot Noir can be a fragile variety that always challenges me as a winemaker. As a wine drinker I just love the aromas and perfume notes.

JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day? 

SM: The one bottle I’d buy to cellar for the next 10 years is Saxum’s 2018 Paderewski Vineyard. This wine is spectacular, and it’s worth opening for your next major celebration. 

JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside of your home and workplace)?

SM: It would be somewhere I get to look at the ocean. We have so many beautiful places in Santa Barbara County where I can experience that. The ocean is so powerful, and looking at it while sipping wine is so relaxing for me. 

JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?

There are so many times when people ask me what my favorite wine is that they should buy, and I always reply by asking them about their favorite wine and what they like to taste when drinking wine. 

I think that would be my guidance: Drink what you love to taste.

JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?

SM: I think when I made wines for the first time as a winemaker. It created a different relationship between me and wines, it became much more personal. I became more passionate and think of my wines in cellar as my babies. Having the wine that I made in a bottle and sharing it with friends, family, and our customers makes me so happy. I know that all of my hard work has paid off when I see smiles on their faces. 

JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?

SM: The strangest moment involving wine that I have experienced in my career is my relationship with forklifts. When I first became a winemaker, I thought I would never be able to drive a forklift like a professional. One of the skills of being a winemaker, besides producing wines, is needing to be extremely handy in the cellar. At first it was a very daunting task, but every time I was on the forklift I became more familiar.

Now, I am so proud of my forklift skills and my forever connection to them! At Alma Rosa we use forklifts throughout the year, moving barrels and pallets of wine around the cellar and dumping bins of grapes into the press during harvest. When visiting the winery, you can often find me on the forklift. 

JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?

SM: In Vino Veritas. It’s a phrase I learned while studying about wine at college.

Want more wine? Read on:

From a Michigan Backyard Vineyard to Sonoma
Paul Hobbs Knew She Had Talent
Ian Cauble: From ‘Somm’ to SommSelect
Eric Sigmund is High on Texas Wine
Jeff Cole, Sullivan Estate’s Winemaker
Jon McPherson Talks Tokay and His Mentor Father
Two Reds From Chile
An Italian Chardonnay From the Cesare Stable
Mi Sueño’s 2016 Napa Valley Syrah
Joshua Maloney on Riesling and Manfred Krankl
Brothers in Wine
Two Bottles From Priest Ranch
A Derby Day Cocktail
Nate Klostermann is Making Some Great Sparkling Wines in Oregon
Matt Dees and the Electric Acidity of Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay
Baudelaire, Pinot Noir, and Rosé: Kathleen Inman’s Passions
Colombia, France, and California: This Winemaker is a Complex Woman
Michael Kennedy Talks Sailing and Zinfandel
Spain Opened the World of Wine for Spottswoode’s Aron Weinkauf
Alta Colina’s Molly Lonborg Wants a Bottle of Château Rayas
Mumm Napa’s Tami Lotz Talks Wine and Oysters
James MacPhail on Pinot Noir, White Burgundy, and Russell Crowe
A Very Proper Sparkling Wine
Talking With David Ramey
A Merlot That Your Snob Friend Will Love
French Couple Make a Sauvignon Blanc in California
A Perfect Afternoon Chardonnay
Terry Theise Talks Reisling
A New Wine Wonderland
Paris Wine Goddess Tells All
Rice Village Wine Bar Has a Cleveland Touch
A Texas White Blend for Your Table
A Pinot Noir Full of Flavor
This Pinot Gris From Oregon Pairs Well With Cheese
Willamette, Dammit!
A Value Rioja
Drink Pink!
Underbelly Veteran Goes for Grenache
A Man of Letters and Wine
Ms. Champagne Wants a Nebuchadnezzar
The Wine Artist Goes for Chardonnay
This American Loves Spain and Its Wines
Houston’s Wine Whisperer Has a Soft Touch
Blackberry Farm’s Somm Pours in Splendor
Mr. Pinot Noir: Donald Patz of Patz & Hall
A Cork Dork Wants to Spend More Time in Tuscany
Sommelier Turned Restaurateur Daringly Goes Greek
Texas Master Sommelier Debunks Wine Geeks
A Bottle From Gigondas Changed This Houston Man’s Life
Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
Mixing It Up With Jeremy Parzen, an Ambassador of Italy
Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs

Alexandre Burgaud: His Way With Gamay Impresses Me

March 29, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Alexandre Burgaud is a name with which you might not be familiar, but if you like wine, you need to get to know it.

Burgaud is a young producer whose five-hectare estate lies in Lantignié, a tiny place (population of 886 humans in 2015) about 5 kilometers from Beaujeu and 10 kilometers from Chiroubles, in the Rhône department.

Alexandre Burgaud is making some very good wines in Beaujolais. (Photo courtesy Les Grappes)

Gamay is what we have here, and Burgaud does it well. I tasted his 2018 Beaujolais-Lantignié (SRP $23) and his 2018 Brouilly (SRP $21), and I want more. These bottles are perfect for your case-purchase plans, and once the COVID-19 pandemic allows dinner parties, the Brouilly will be paired with lamb shanks and mushrooms on a Brockhaus menu. I like the structure of this wine; tannins here are in harmony with the marvelous red berry fruit.

As for the Beaujolais-Lantignié, it is something I am going to add to my regular lineup. The ripe cherry and dark berry aromas rise from the glass in an enticing manner, and the black peppery/herbaceous flavors induce taste after taste. I paired this wine with a saucisson sec and some Comté, and it was wonderful.

Alexandre’s cousin, Jean-Marc Burgaud, is a talented Morgon producer, and he has shared a lot of his winemaking knowledge and techniques with Alexandre. That includes the practice of never destemming, and the use of concrete for aging.

A wine of which I’d never tire. (Courtesy Alexandre Burgaud)

The vines planted on Alexandre Burgaud’s five-hectare estate — which was established in 2013 — average 60 years in age and produce the Beaujolais-Lantignié and Beaujolais-Villages; the soils here are rocky, predominantly blue slate, similar to those found in the Côte du Py. The Brouilly’s source is a few hectares of rented vines (average age of 70-plus years) that Burgaud hopes to purchase.

Burgaud’s wines present great value, and the quality in the glass is remarkable. I’m impressed with his approach to winemaking, and look forward to enjoying more of what he makes.

Want more wine? Read on:

From Backyard Vineyard in Michigan to Ram’s Gate Winery
Paul Hobbs Knew She Had Talent
Ian Cauble: From ‘Somm’ to SommSelect
Eric Sigmund is High on Texas Wine
Jeff Cole, Sullivan Estate’s Winemaker
Jon McPherson Talks Tokay and His Mentor Father
Two Reds From Chile
An Italian Chardonnay From the Cesare Stable
Mi Sueño’s 2016 Napa Valley Syrah
Joshua Maloney on Riesling and Manfred Krankl
Brothers in Wine
Two Bottles From Priest Ranch
A Derby Day Cocktail
Nate Klostermann is Making Some Great Sparkling Wines in Oregon
Matt Dees and the Electric Acidity of Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay
Baudelaire, Pinot Noir, and Rosé: Kathleen Inman’s Passions
Colombia, France, and California: This Winemaker is a Complex Woman
Michael Kennedy Talks Sailing and Zinfandel
Spain Opened the World of Wine for Spottswoode’s Aron Weinkauf
Alta Colina’s Molly Lonborg Wants a Bottle of Château Rayas
Mumm Napa’s Tami Lotz Talks Wine and Oysters
James MacPhail on Pinot Noir, White Burgundy, and Russell Crowe
A Very Proper Sparkling Wine
Talking With David Ramey
A Merlot That Your Snob Friend Will Love
French Couple Make a Sauvignon Blanc in California
A Perfect Afternoon Chardonnay
Terry Theise Talks Reisling
A New Wine Wonderland
Paris Wine Goddess Tells All
Rice Village Wine Bar Has a Cleveland Touch
A Texas White Blend for Your Table
A Pinot Noir Full of Flavor
This Pinot Gris From Oregon Pairs Well With Cheese
Willamette, Dammit!
A Value Rioja
Drink Pink!
Underbelly Veteran Goes for Grenache
A Man of Letters and Wine
Ms. Champagne Wants a Nebuchadnezzar
The Wine Artist Goes for Chardonnay
This American Loves Spain and Its Wines
Houston’s Wine Whisperer Has a Soft Touch
Blackberry Farm’s Somm Pours in Splendor
Mr. Pinot Noir: Donald Patz of Patz & Hall
A Cork Dork Wants to Spend More Time in Tuscany
Sommelier Turned Restaurateur Daringly Goes Greek
Texas Master Sommelier Debunks Wine Geeks
A Bottle From Gigondas Changed This Houston Man’s Life
Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
Mixing It Up With Jeremy Parzen, an Ambassador of Italy
Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs

Joe Nielsen has been director of winemaking at Ram's Gate since 2018. (Photo by Dawn Heumann)

Joe Nielsen’s Journey From Backyard Vineyard to Ram’s Gate Winery

March 24, 2021 / / 0 Comments

I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.

In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well. 

Joe Nielsen has a wine story that I love. It’s the tale of how his journey as a winemaker began. The teenager was living in Lansing, Michigan, and in 2003 enrolled at Michigan State University, planning to become a doctor and enter the medical field.

At Michigan State, Nielsen was introduced to an exploratory winemaking program the university was conducting, but his age prevented him from taking classes in it. He was too young. He was not going to let that inconvenient fact stop him, however, so he took up the study of viticulture on his own, and received permission from his parents to plant some vines in the family’s 20-acre backyard. A career was budding …

He was eventually admitted into the program at Michigan State, and graduated in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture. Next came a winemaking position at Black Star Farms, located in northern Michigan. In 2008, Nielsen moved to California for a yearlong internship at Merryvale Vineyards. Then, in 2009, at 23, Nielsen was named cellar master at Donelan Family Wines. In 2013, he was promoted to the head winemaker position at Donelan — and also finished the Executive Wine MBA program at Sonoma State University during that time.

Which brings us to the present, and Ram’s Gate Winery. Nielsen has been the director of winemaking at the Sonoma estate since 2018, and from what I’ve tasted recently — Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, reviews to come — he’s found a great home (and one that he is pushing to become 100 percent organic in the next five years).

The Berler Vineyard, source of some outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ram’s Gate is owned by Michael John, Jeff O’Neill, Paul Violich, and Peter Mullin, and their 28-acre estate is the ideal laboratory for the winemaker’s craft.

Here is Nielsen in Wine Talk.

James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?

Joe Nielsen: I think COVID-19 has shown me how connected we are as a civilization and how globally we are all connected. Personally, I have traveled much less and enjoyed fewer great meals at restaurants, but overall I know personally I am very lucky. Professionally our job continues as grape-growers and winemakers, it is an agrarian process that does not stop for anything.

In addition, in the last year our team at Ram’s Gate has really grown our digital presence in order to connect with our consumers. I am finding myself participating in a lot of content creation for our winery, from long-form videos, to Tik Toks and Reels. I hope that through these social-media initiatives we have been able to educate and connect with people during this year.  

JB: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?

JN: 2018 Ram’s Gate Estate Chardonnay ($75): I really love the way this wine is tasting. It was my first vintage at Ram’s Gate Winery, and it was my first chance discovering the estate terroir. What make’s this wine special is that in my opinion it is a study in the art of nuance and balance. We elected to do to minimal malolactic fermentation, and it is neither the heaviest or most alcoholic of our line-up, yet it is subtle, engaging, and elegant. Time in bottle has been terrific for this wine and we are currently serving it at our Tasting Hall, as well as selling it on our website. The wine is paired with Dungeness Crab Spaghettini and it is simply a dynamite pairing.

An estate Chardonnay

2017 Ram’s Gate Berler Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($115): This wine is the second vintage of what originally started out as a passion project between my wife and I. Prior to my start at Ram’s Gate, I began making this Cabernet from Berler Vineyard in Fountain Grove District. The vineyard is nestled up into the Mayacamas Mountains on the back side of Spring Mountain in Sonoma County about 1600 feet above sea level. The location continues to blow me away; it’s a Shangri-La oasis tucked away that is fairly exposed to the cool ocean breezes coming up through Santa Rosa.

The 2017 Berler captures my desire to craft wines that are timeless; this wine reminds me of the elegance and refined pleasure of old California Cabernet Sauvignons from the 1970s and 1980s. I recently tasted this wine, and I am thrilled with the quality and that many of the primary notes are so vivid still. I can’t wait to see how this wine develops with several more years in bottle. It can be purchased on our website. I would pair it with braised beef short ribs and honey-glazed carrots.

2011 Felsina Rancia Chianti Classico Riserva ($50): I love the wines of Italy and they make up a very large percentage of my cellar that I did not personally make.  The wines of Chianti are rustic and delicious to me, with plenty of verve and focus on the palate. I tend to gravitate to wine regions where the cellaring time of the wines can range several decades; as a collector I like the notion that whether I open it tomorrow or in 10 years I’m going to find joy in that bottle. And it’s something I also strive to produce professionally.  Felsina is a great producer, and ever since visiting, in 2012, I have been a loyal follower. I recently opened a bottle with friends and paired it with their homemade brick-oven pizza, a total must. This wine can be purchased on the K&L website. 

JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why.

JN: If cost were no consideration, I would want an unlimited supply of Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc. This is one of the most intensely texture wines I have ever had and I can’t imagine ever getting tired of drinking it.

JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?

JN: Hard to have a favorite when I enjoy making so many different varieties.  Ultimately, the grape I am often the most passionate about is Syrah. It is such a complex wine that can be made in so many different styles. Not to mention, I think it is so transparent with terroir. We are looking forward to releasing our 2018 Hyde Vineyard Syrah and the 2018 Durell Vineyard Syrah in the next month.

JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day? 

JN: From a cellar-worthy standpoint, I believe our Estate Pinot Noir is going to be one of those wines that continues to reward patience. It is an ethereal wine that continues to evolve long after it leaves the barrel. I have multiple different formats of the 2018 for this very case; it is the birth year of my son and I feel comfortable that we will be enjoying that on his 21stbirthday.

Joe Nielsen, who was raised and educated in Michigan, has found his home in California. (Photo by Dawn Heumann)

JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside of your home and workplace)?

JN: Quite literally, outside of my home on my patio is a great place to have a glass of wine. Honestly though, my favorite place to enjoy wine is with friends, wherever that may be.

The tasting hall at Ram’s Gate Winery (Photo by Dawn Heumann)

JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?

JN: Wine continues to evolve, and not all wine will last forever. I’m guilty of this, too, but sometimes people hold onto wine well beyond its peak and miss out on all the fun. I love making wine that can age, but part of the joy is checking in, popping a bottle, and seeing where it is at. Cellaring is not an exact science, and it ultimately depends on a ton of factors. I drink wine that is often too young (side-effect of the job), and I also enjoy really old wines, but it is OK to drink them somewhere in between!

JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?

JN: I have told this story so many times that it has become my “big fish” story, but simply put, my friend told me in college that I should not pursue medicine; rather, he insisted, I was destined for something interesting like being a winemaker. Being from Michigan, and seeing that winemaking was not a common profession in the area, it was such a strange comment that I had to “Google” it.  

From that moment, I was introduced to an exploratory winemaking program. However, because I was underage, I was not permitted to apply. After some research, and with my parents’ blessing, I planted an experimental vineyard in their 20-acre backyard. While at school, I continued to lobby for entrance to the university’s winemaking program. Eventually, the faculty granted my request. For whatever reason, my first “Google” search was enough of a catalyst that, roughly 18 years later, here I am.

JB: What has been the strangest moment/incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?

JN: That is a tough one … I can’t think of anything too strange. I suppose what is kind of strange is the ability to travel the world and taste wine with people who don’t speak the same language that I do. Despite that, we are able to have a meaningful exchange entirely based on gestures and sound effects — apparently there is a universal way to describe wine without the use of actual words.

(Bartolome Esteban Murillo, ‘The Marriage Feast at Cana’, 1672)

JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?

JN: Still impressed with the whole water into wine reference!  

Want more wine? Read on:

Paul Hobbs Knew She Had Talent
Ian Cauble: From ‘Somm’ to SommSelect
Eric Sigmund is High on Texas Wine
Jeff Cole, Sullivan Estate’s Winemaker
Jon McPherson Talks Tokay and His Mentor Father
Two Reds From Chile
An Italian Chardonnay From the Cesare Stable
Mi Sueño’s 2016 Napa Valley Syrah
Joshua Maloney on Riesling and Manfred Krankl
Brothers in Wine
Two Bottles From Priest Ranch
A Derby Day Cocktail
Nate Klostermann is Making Some Great Sparkling Wines in Oregon
Matt Dees and the Electric Acidity of Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay
Baudelaire, Pinot Noir, and Rosé: Kathleen Inman’s Passions
Colombia, France, and California: This Winemaker is a Complex Woman
Michael Kennedy Talks Sailing and Zinfandel
Spain Opened the World of Wine for Spottswoode’s Aron Weinkauf
Alta Colina’s Molly Lonborg Wants a Bottle of Château Rayas
Mumm Napa’s Tami Lotz Talks Wine and Oysters
James MacPhail on Pinot Noir, White Burgundy, and Russell Crowe
A Very Proper Sparkling Wine
Talking With David Ramey
A Merlot That Your Snob Friend Will Love
French Couple Make a Sauvignon Blanc in California
A Perfect Afternoon Chardonnay
Terry Theise Talks Reisling
A New Wine Wonderland
Paris Wine Goddess Tells All
Rice Village Wine Bar Has a Cleveland Touch
A Texas White Blend for Your Table
A Pinot Noir Full of Flavor
This Pinot Gris From Oregon Pairs Well With Cheese
Willamette, Dammit!
A Value Rioja
Drink Pink!
Underbelly Veteran Goes for Grenache
A Man of Letters and Wine
Ms. Champagne Wants a Nebuchadnezzar
The Wine Artist Goes for Chardonnay
This American Loves Spain and Its Wines
Houston’s Wine Whisperer Has a Soft Touch
Blackberry Farm’s Somm Pours in Splendor
Mr. Pinot Noir: Donald Patz of Patz & Hall
A Cork Dork Wants to Spend More Time in Tuscany
Sommelier Turned Restaurateur Daringly Goes Greek
Texas Master Sommelier Debunks Wine Geeks
A Bottle From Gigondas Changed This Houston Man’s Life
Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
Mixing It Up With Jeremy Parzen, an Ambassador of Italy
Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs

"Never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth."

In Which We Wish Happy Birthdays to Ibsen, Skinner, and Mr. Rogers

March 20, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Ibsen, B.F. Skinner, and Mr. Rogers. It’s a glorious day, March 20, because those three men were born on this date — in 1828, 1904, and 1928, respectively. It would perhaps be more glorious if the trio was still alive, of course, working and creating and breathing, inspiring, but that’s a matter for another time.

When I saw it was Ibsen’s birthday, my mind went immediately to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, one of my favorite cultural organizations. It was there, in 2006, that I saw a performance of Hedda Gabler, with Cate Blanchett in the title role. It was moving, and powerful. It was, as Ben Brantley wrote, a hurricane of a performance.

Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving in ‘Hedda Gabler‘ (Ari Mintz/Newsweek)

I miss the stages and screens at BAM. In fact, not being able to sit in an audience at a theatre watching a live performance is one of the things I’ve most missed this past year …

Skinner. When did I first hear his name? Box and rat are the words that come next to my mind. And the joy of learning, in which Skinner, along with Abraham Lincoln and Napoleon and Shakespeare and George Washington and Helen Keller (among others), played a major role during my early school years. I was fascinated with the pigeons and the rats and recall thinking that they were not so different from humans, from my classmates and teachers and me.

Skinner was a “failed” writer, and had gone to New York City after graduating from Hamilton College to write fiction.

The major difference between rats and people is that rats learn from experience.

B.F. Skinner
Happy Birthday, B.F. Skinner. (Harvard University)

Mr. Rogers is the third birthday boy I celebrate today. He was — and still is if we allow him to be — a helper. How many children looked to him for help and guidance? Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood is timeless, though its final episode aired on PBS in 2000. What began there in 1968 was a good and fine thing.

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'”

Fred Rogers and François Clemmons on the set of ‘Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood’ … life lessons taught well. (By John Beale/Courtesy Focus Features

That quote has stuck with me since I first heard it. My thoughts about it have changed over the years, but I’ve kept it in my head for a while now. I believe that Mr. Rogers taught the young me who’d grow into an older me how to speak to children. I thank him for that.

Happy Birthday, gentlemen.

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