Interview with Sommelier Ken Freeman of Italic Restaurant in Austin, Texas

 

Me: Your list is almost all Italian save a few Champagnes, what are some of the challenges you face with an all Italian wine list? Are people more or less willing to explore?

Ken: Yeah 4 Champagnes, other than that all Italian. Just about everything is a challenge, but in the best way. The main thing is that it’s all about the guest. How do we translate, convey, talk about the meanings of Italian wine to people who have no idea what that is? Don’t know grape varieties, don’t know places outside of Tuscany. Maybe Piedmont….they might have been to Sicily but still don’t know what Etna Rosso is. People when they go to Italy typically don’t experience much of the wine culture.

Me: It’s more travel….

Ken: Yeah, I would say 99% of our guests are unfamiliar with Italian wine, and I think part of that has to do with us being in Texas. Though I am glad to be in Austin. The restaurant scenes in Dallas and Houston haven’t done much to push Italy foreword from a beverage standpoint, and that’s really what we are trying to do at Italic, to be the flagship for Italian wine in Texas.

Me: I find that with Italian wine, people are often really willing to try things. The fact that it’s so complex and hard to understand kind of works to its advantage, particularly if the list is only Italian. Do you think that if you had a more international list, that people would still mostly order Italian wine, given the cuisine is Italian?

Ken: No.

Me: You don’t?

Ken: I absolutely do not think so. I think tomorrow, if I wanted to change to an American wine list, I would sell more expensive bottles and I would sell more of them.  The challenge that we are accepting, is something that is of our own volition. If we wanted to just make the most money possible that we could make, we would switch to more of a world wine list.

Me: So, for you it’s more about really representing Italy?

Ken: Absolutely. I mean with Craig (Master Sommelier and Beverage Director) falling in love with wine when he was in Italy and Drew (Executive Chef/Owner) falling in love with Italy and cooking in general while he was there, and me really discovering my love for wine with Italian wine. I think we all really have the heart and willingness to bear that burden. And I think someone needs to do that, because no one else is really doing it in this neck of the woods.

Me: No one is doing it as well that I’ve seen.

Ken: Yeah I mean you have like Barbutto in New York and some awesome restaurants in Chicago, San Francisco, but no one really here in Texas that I know of.

Me: The service is always fantastic at Italic; how do you go about training your staff?

Ken: The key to talking about wine and making guests feel comfortable is informing your staff. The biggest piece of the puzzle we tried to conquer coming out of the gate, was how to get our staff excited and on board. Because they didn’t know what Italian wine is either, right? Teaching them flavor profiles and giving them things to talk about that are similar to what they are likely to be asked for. Talking about Cabernet and what that means in Italian wine, or what to recommend a guest asking for Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, hell Zinfandel even, these are the major wines of the world that people are familiar with and ask for. We educate on a daily basis. We’re always talking about how we talk about wine. For instance, our focus this week is salesmanship. Every server needs to know exactly what’s in the dish, if it’s a complex dish or a simple dish it’s important to know exactly what’s in the food. But if you go up to a table and explain exactly every element in a dish, it’s not going to sound that good. So how do we break that down, and how do we talk about it?  Our servers know that Sangiovese is going to have notes of tart red fruit, leather and clay, and herbs….

Me: Because you guys list everything by Grape variety, first, right?

Ken: Right! Yes, and that’s back to the guest again. How do we make a menu legible to a guest? If we put COS 2013 Cerasuolo de Vittoria – $56. No one’s gonna buy that. They don’t know what that means, they don’t know where it’s from and they don’t know who’s making it, they might know it’s from 2013…. But…. other than that they don’t know much so we always list varietals first, and that gives people something to latch on to. If you look at our list we have Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon blanc, we actually have a section on our menu right now called “Familiar and Awesome” for people to easily recognize them. A lot of what we do for beverage demands a little bit of curiosity from the guest, and a lot of trust, and that’s something that we need to develop with the staff on our end.

Me: That’s one of my favorite things about Italic. My wife and I love to go there, we brought my Mother there when she was in town. There’s something for just about everyone, even if you don’t know much about Italian wine, it’s easy to navigate. If you’re a Chardonnay drinker, you’ve got Chardonnay, if you want a Pinot Grigio, you guys have great examples… But if you want to go off the beaten path, there are knowledgeable people there to help you get where you want to be, at a price that’s very attractive.

Ken: Yeah!

Me: What regions in Italy are you really excited about? Where’s your passion?

Ken: Well we do a featured producer every month on the wine list, and that might co-inside with a visit from a winemaker or grower. To provide a cool perspective on a style or provide historical context.

Me: Yeah because you guys did Vietti awhile back right?

Ken: Yeah! We did Vietti……Scavino…..but I have some really exciting plans to do Mastroberardino…..

Me: Ooh Taurasi!!

Ken: Taurasi, and some Pompeii ruin wine you’ve never had…. great white wine too though. Greco di Tufo, Falanghina, Campania is so important to the history and culture of Italian wine and not that many people touch it. Right now, though we are serving some wines from Meroi, a fantastic father and son team from Friuli.

Me: I remember you poured the Merlot for me blind, and I had no idea it was Merlot, but it had a distinctive Italian nose and palate, just a delicious wine.

Ken: That’s what’s great about that wine, it’s Italian first, and Merlot second.

Me: But great Merlot, and really high quality.

Ken: Exactly. Getting to put that together and establish events to market the restaurant is a very fun challenge for me. So, Friuli is always a big part of us, like if you go to our indigenous ancient white section we have around 20 selections from Friuli. Another region that I’m really excited about is Lessona from Alto Piemonte. Gattinara and Ghemme are historical ones we always learn about, but farther beyond that Lessona and these other subregions are making really beautiful wines. The cool thing about that region, is that everyone is going to be on the same page. Like we are all going to make throwback traditional styles of Nebbiolo and we are going to hold them for a long time before release. Like the current release is often 2008-2010, they are holding on to their wines longer than Brunello even.

Me: And often at a much better price point than Brunello, Barolo or Barbaresco.

Ken: Definitely and they are much more dynamic wines, I mean we’re talking high elevation Nebbiolo so you’re getting all of the tar and roses and tree bark and intense fruit, but in a Pinot Noir-style dress. They just have so much going on and they age so well.

Me: So, say I’m headed to Italic tonight, what is the best food and wine pairing on the menu currently?

Ken: So, I’ll say, we did develop a menu around Meroi when we got excited about them and we’ve kept some of those items from that menu and my favorite is the Duck dish. Parsnip puree, blackberry mostarda and cabbage that is sautéed in the duck fat. Paired with the Meroi Nestri, a cool blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Refosco. Highly tannic and highly acidic, with black pepper and rhubarb tones that really play well with the chocolatey-cocoa tones of the Merlot in that blend. That pairing with our duck is magic.

If I could also steal a second to talk about one more dish, we have a duck pappardelle on our menu right now which uses all the parts of the duck so like the kidney, liver and such with some Calabrian chile for a bit of heat, and fried casteveltrano olives. The red heat of the chiles combined with the richness of the duck pappardelle and the amazing smell of the fried casteveltrano olives aroma is one of the most challenging things I’ve come across in a long time. So, I think of Serra Della Contessa, Benanti’s single vineyard “cru” Etna Rosso made from Nerello Mascalese. That beautiful pure red fruit with that peppery quality, the soft green notes and flowers just excites you, and keeps making you want to go back for more.

Me: You are competing in TEXSOM again this year, what are you most worried about?

Ken: Third times a charm! (laughs) I did well at service for the advanced exam so I feel pretty good about that, and I’ve been tasting consistently. So honestly, I feel like theory would be what I’m most worried about. Just because there is so much to know, and that was the only part of my advanced exam I didn’t pass.

Me: Where do you see Italian wine heading in the next 20 years? What will people be drinking?

Ken: Sicily. I mean it’s kind of having its heyday, but I don’t think it’s topped out yet.

Me: Oh really? Why?

Ken: I don’t think so because I think we will see more people gravitate towards that as we continue to see interest in Burgundy increase. There are so many similarities based on the cru the site and the producer, as well as the weight and freshness for such a fair price, it’s hard to look the other way. I mean even if you come off Etna, you have a substantial number of producers from Occhipinti to Cos and they aren’t even on the mountain and they are making great wines as you know, whites and reds.

The other area is the Alto Piemonte. I think where Sicily is now, in the next ten years the Alto Piemonte will be getting there.

Me: And those wines are phenomenal.

Ken: Yeah, they’re unbelievable.

Me: But I don’t think that Valtellina is going to have the ability to garner such an enthusiastic and passionate following as something like Sicily, because it is so small and the wines and region are so specific. Whereas Sicily is really experimenting what they are going to hang their hat on, I mean they have numerous varieties that are intriguing and cerebral and delicious, and not really expensive. I mean Occhipinti’s Frappato is still coming in around $40-$50 retail.

Ken: Yeah and you are also purchasing like the top stuff, I mean $40 for the top wines? C’mon! That’s incredible value for money!

Me: Well thanks a lot I’ve really enjoyed our conversation and I guess I’ll see you at Texsom!

Ken: Yeah maybe we’ll talk again after! Cheers!

Bottle Spotlight: 2012 Qupe Syrah – Santa Barbara, California

A lone ranger, or a Rhone Ranger? Bob Lindquist of Qupe has become synonymous with Syrah, and with bottles like this it’s easy to see why. After tasting so many disappointing examples of over-extracted, lavish oak bomb Syrahs from California, it’s a breath of fresh air to imbibe something as mouth-wateringly scrumptious as the 2012 Qupe Santa Barbara Syrah.

98% Syrah and a meager 2% Grenache sourced primarily from the famous Bien Nacido vineyard, as well as Sawyer Lindquist vineyard. Organic and biodynamic farming. This is the first vintage of this bottling, prior to the 2012 vintage, Bien Nacido and Sawyer Lindquist were single vineyard wines.

This bottle seriously delivers on all promises at it’s very attractive $25 retail price tag. It’s everything great Syrah should be: Smoky, spicy and peppery with fresh violets, dried lavender, sage, and gobs of sun-kissed black and blueberries. An impressive thread of graphite and crushed stones runs seamlessly through a long and refreshing finish.  It’s hitting a powerful stride in quality drinking right now, but should keep well for several years in the cellar. Superb.

I love Sherry, but I understand why you may not

Sherry. Few beverages are so commonly misunderstood. It’s still worth it to wrap your head around the complex system of classification that makes sherry what it is.

I love Sherry. I can’t think of another wine that takes more work to make, that ends up across the pond at a more reasonable price than sherry. And yet, for all it’s complexity and nuance, Sherry sales are still on the decline.  I find dry Sherry delicious. But most people don’t. There is a common thread among those who really get into wine that you do get bitten by the sherry bug at least once. From there you begin what I can only describe as a long and desperate plea, trying to win people over to Sherry’s charms. I feel it’s my responsibility as a beverage professional to try and spread the gospel of sherry, before this amazing beverage becomes lost to the ages.

Sherry’s challenges:

1) It doesn’t have the “delicious factor”.

Sherry is a challenging beverage for most people. While it’s flavors are complex and it’s aromatics powerful, it misses the mark for most folks on sheer deliciousness. 

2) If you haven’t tried sherry before, it almost certainly won’t taste like what you expect.

Sherry has multiple styles, which range from bone dry all the way to painfully sweet. This is the first hurdle people encounter when attempting to even purchase a sherry.  Because of this lack of delivering on expectations, most people just write it off.

3) It’s really freaking confusing

The way sherry is classified makes for some very confusing terms and the deeper you go, the more rabbit trails are laid out before you. Tread carefully when learning of sherry, it’s so easy to get lost along the way. 

Sherry’s Strengths:

1) It’s cheap.

Truly great sherry can be had across most of the styles for between $10-15 USD. While getting the best of the best will definitely run you a couple hundred dollars, you can still try the different styles and find something you like and it won’t destroy your pocketbook.

2) It goes with almost everything.

Sherry truly does perform magic at the table. Particularly the dryer styles. And since there are so many different styles to choose from, I’ve found it often intriguing and delicious to serve only sherry during multiple course meals. The more powerful  and oxidized styles are great with richer dishes. 

3) It’s incredibly unique

No other beverage in the world tastes quite like sherry. It’s the benchmark, so much to the point that in the trade often we describe other oxidative styles of wine as “sherry like”. It has developed over a very long period of time to become an iconic wine of the world.

Sherry is made from 3 grapes: Palomino, Moscatel, Pedro Ximenez

Dry styles are typically made from Palomino, while Moscatel and Pedro Ximenez can more typically be found in sweeter expressions.

Sherry hails from the region of Jerez, in the province of Cadiz in south-western Spain. In this extraordinarily hot and dry climate, the chalk white and moisture retentive Albariza soils are extremely important. After a strong rain, an ensuing blast of hot sunlight “bakes” the soil into a hard, impenetrable top layer a few inches thick. This layer combined with the light-reflective quality of the soil, keeps the root system of the vines cool, and prevents undue heat stress to the vines. A truly remarkable and unique terroir.

Photo: Albariza soils in Jerez

Another interesting thing about sherry is that the vast majority of it is made from multiple vintages blended together. Much like in champagne this technique helps to create consistency of flavor and is part of sherry’s extraordinary character. While I could get into the Solera System – (barrel aging system for sherry), I’m looking to keep this somewhat short and sweet, so I’ll save that for another article.

DRY SHERRY

In an attempt to make this easier, it’s important to note that dry sherry styles can first be split into two categories: biologically aged, and oxidatively aged.

Biologically aged = Aged under Flor

Flor – a living, breathing, and dying yeast that under just the right conditions will develop as a soft white film on top of the wine in barrel, effectively protecting it from oxygen. 

These wines are produced from the primera yema, or “first press” of grapes and fortified to 15.5 percent before aging:

Fino – light, dry, delicate and floral. The perfect accompaniment to fish and shellfish dishes.

Manzanilla – also light, similar in style to Sherry, but must by law be aged in the seaside town of San Lucar de Barrameda

Amontillado – while amontillado begins it’s life as fino typically, for whatever reason the flor either dies off or doesn’t completely form, this gives Amontillado a bit of oxidation but also has  the character of being aged under flor. Amontillado is more nutty and has stronger caramel and toffee notes. It is fortified to 17-18% alcohol and so is a bit more full bodied than fino or manzanilla

Palo Cortado – a rare and ambiguous wine in that the only legal definition of a Palo Cortado is that it must have the aromatics of an amontillado, with the flavor and palate richness of an oloroso

Oxidatively Aged = Not aged under flor

Produced from the segunda yema or “second pressing” of the grapes. The base wines are richer and more textured to begin with.

Oloroso – nutty caramel flavors with dried yellow fruits and spices. Very complex and intense palate

Sweeter Styles:

Cream sherry- can be broken up into Pale/Medium/Cream sherry styles. These are Oloroso wines sweetened with naturally sweet Pedro Ximenez or Moscatel wines.

Pedro Ximenez – intensely sweet, Pedro Ximenez sherry or “PX” as it sometimes goes by is made by either picking the grapes extremely ripe, or by drying them out in the sun. The resulting style is so sweet and viscous it almost resembles dark maple syrup or molasses. It has flavors of figs, raisins, dried plums with lots of spice and oak character. Make sure you have something to eat with this stuff. Fantastic with chocolate.

Moscatel – made from one of the great ancient grapes of the world: muscat de alexandria, the naturally sweet sherry style of Moscatel. Also intensely sweet much like Pedro Ximenez the moscatel variety produces powerful floral and honey aromatics. 

Sherry will always have it’s advocates, and I will be one of them. I will spend my life serving it to unsuspecting guests, and watching their elated, or crest-fallen expressions after tasting it. I will be traveling to Jerez at least once to get a better grasp on this remarkable beverage I so heartily enjoy. But I don’t expect everyone to love it as much as I do. It is my wish and hope however, that at the very least everyone give sherry a chance. It deserves our attention.