Sizing up the wine list at a top East Hampton restaurant. It is large, sometimes redundant and not always balanced. But still quite impressive, especially for the deep pocketed.
Wine Lists: 1770 House
In my visits to the wineries of Long Island I have been impressed with the dedication of the people involved. It is hard to imagine a group who care more and devote more time and energy to their jobs than the men and women I have met. The production of wine here is really coming of age here. I wondered recently if this same seriousness extends to other aspects of the wine world on the East End, and decided to begin my investigation by looking at the wine cellar of a good local restaurant.
I chose The 1770 House, a venerable Main Street inn that was renovated and reborn a year or so ago, and met with B.J. Calloway, a manager and, most relevant to my interests, the wine buyer. Mr. Calloway’s expertise is not the ivory tower sort. He started as a waiter at East Hampton Point in 1993, and continues to direct the wine cellar there. (The restaurants have overlapping ownerships.) He acquired his considerable knowledge on the job as well as in wine courses and by traveling to wineries here and abroad.
Buying for a restaurant is not an easy job. Think of what we all go through planning the wine for a dinner party and multiply those issues. A cellar master needs all the right wines on hand, in the right quantities, but can’t afford waste. He must also prudently buy for the future, anticipating prices and business volume in coming years. Mr. Calloway seems to have thought about all this and dealt with it in a confident manner. For example, he bought heavily in 2000 Bordeaux futures, generally considered a candidate for a great vintage. These wines are being delivered now but most will not mature for another six or seven years and will have to be cellared.
The list at the restaurant contains over 300 wines. Several foreign countries predominate, mainly France and Italy. Domestically, California and Oregon are represented along with a few Long Island wines. It is organized quite logically by characteristics. The whites fall into categories such as fresh and fruity, light and dry, medium-bodied, or rich and full-bodied. The reds are divided under light, medium or full-bodied. This is perhaps the most food-friendly method of presenting a wine list.
The wines are not cheap but thriftiness is not to be expected in the Hamptons. There is a decided preference for big name labels, but overall they provide correct value for the money. Prices for a bottle range from to $31 to $1,275, with the emphasis and greatest selection in wines above $60. While there are many choices in each taste category, medium and full-bodied reds dominate, as you might expect in an ambitious restaurant like this with a wealthy clientele. I counted 130 full-bodied reds, of which 110 (or 85%) were priced over $100, and 6 were priced over $1,000. It goes without saying there are some mighty serious wines on the list, the stuff that dreams are made of.
People ordering at the top end ought to know their vintages well or not care about what they spend, so I’ll restrict my advice to some of the more affordable wines. Depending on the menu, I’d choose the Bedell Cellars Merlot 1999 at $33, a Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir 2001 at $45, or a Joel Gott Zinfandel at $44. If the budget permitted, I might choose one of the superb Far Niente cabernet sauvignons, which range from $210 to $360.
The list is large, sometimes too big, and occasionally imbalanced. It is rich with chardonnay but surprisingly scarce in sauvignon blanc. I found only a handful—one from Napa and a few French appellations. There is a Condrieu at $150, no doubt a wonderful wine. But why not more choice, why not a medium priced wine made from that same viognier grape? Occasionally the list seems redundant rather than expansive. For example, there are 10 rather similar pinot noirs clustered in the $100 range. But no list this comprehensive is without some things for a critic to carp about.
The restaurant lists 10 different Chateau D’Yquem on the dessert menu. Perhaps there is nothing quite like D’Yquem, but there must be some Sauterne style wines that come pretty close in taste while keeping a distance from those stratospheric prices. Mr. Calloway recommended Inniskillin Ice Wine Pearl 2000, an elegant wine, honeyed and aromatic. It was good advice.
The 1770 House has a wine list that any restaurant in the world could be proud of. Just as important, in Mr. Calloway it has the personal expertise to go with it.
