Camino Restaurant was opened a year or two ago by Russell Moore who prior to that spent 13 years as produce buyer and in the kitchen at Chez Panisse. That background under Alice Waters served him well. Camino is a simple concept and one that seems sustainable — and probably profitable — in these tough economic times: Have a daily changing menu of just a few items made from locally available ingredients and do it extremely well. A small menu is easier to plan, execute, and manage inventory. But hey, that is just me being my analytical self. One can go to Camino and not even think about business stuff. Just enjoy the delicious, fairly priced fare. Last night there were 6 appetizers and 3 entrees (one vegetarian) on the menu. I’m the kind of guy who ultimately likes trying new and interesting foods but I am often initially intimidated by descriptions of dishes that use ingredients not part of my usual diet. (Sardines come to mind and some Camino dishes use sardines.) But, even with so few choices that often don’t read like I would want them, I have never been disappointed by a dish at my many visits to Camino. The food from their simple, open kitchen and wood burning oven just works.
Our choices:
Sheepsmilk ricotta grilled in a fig leaf with herb salad and almonds $10
Fresh shellbean, beet and greens salads $9.50
Chicken soup with wild nettles and rice $10
Grilled and braised duck with spätzle, cabbage, red wine and duck cracklings $24
Everything was fantastic.
The bar and wine list work the same way. They stock the bar with only the items necessary to make their own, ever-changing offerings of clever cocktails. The wine list is affordable and well chosen. We had a deliciously aromatic 2007 François Chidaine Vouvray Sec “Les Argiles”, Loire ($11.50 glass) with our startest and a rich 2007 Combier Crozes-Hermitage, Rhône ($12 glass) with the duck.
Camino Restaurant
3917 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610
(510) 547-5035
There is much talk about which wines consumers are buying and this is of great interest to me. But just as telling is which wines the wine trade buyers are purchasing.
Consumers are likely to being making their decisions based on what is offered to them at their local wine store or restaurant.
Rather than make any sweeping generalizations or assumptions, I decided to reach out to a few wine buyers who purchase for some highly respected venues, both restaurants and retail shops.
You will see from their thoughtful answers that there is no one secret to success for wine sales. The one unifying theme I saw was passion. All of the people quoted below are clearly wine lovers, in addition to being wine professionals.
“I like to buy wines that I would enjoy in my own home. They should have elegance, balance, finesse, authenticity, typicity and value. Value at any price level is paramount in this economy. Ego-driven, trophy wines are so passe! Our customers are looking for wines that are delicious, have good table manners and don’t require a second mortgage to acquire.”
Lance Storer
Corporate Fine Wine Buyer
Centennial Fine Wine and Spirits
Texas
“1.quality of the wine – personality, terroir-driven, the wine has to tell me a story, to show me a landscape, etc. – to be multidimensional (multilayered, with acidity, bitterness, balanced, little tannins, etc.), the “buvabilité” – very little additives, natural, etc.
2.the price according to the quality – I want good quality wines affordable for everybody – it is very easy to create a grand award wine list if you have the money (it is just verticals of big names), it is harder to create a short list accessible to everybody”
Pascaline Lepeltier
Sommelière Executive
Rouge Tomate Group, Paris and New York
“On a list the size of ours, each wine needs to have a reason for being because for the most part I can’t bring in duplicates of varietals or regions. As to how I decide, I start with my palate and sensibility, based on what pairs well with the food on our menu. Is it something that my guests will love even if I don’t? (Malbec for example.) Is it something that I need to bring on because I have a hole in the list that needs to be filled? (currently Champagne) Is it something that is worth paying a bit extra for because of the name recognition that guests will pay extra for, even though equally good products exist at a lower cost? (Caymus, Molly Dooker)
In all honesty, though, proceeding this pragmatic process, are the combined factors of relationship and convenience. There are some reps and companies that I just really like working with.”
Marisa Gierlich
Street Restaurant, Los Angeles
“I’m not trying to express myself through my wine list–I feel a bit like a
traveling ethnographer reporting on the interesting things I’ve seen. I am
always interested in tasting new wines from everywhere wine is made. That
said, I admit to being a biased taster with strong feelings about the wines
I love and the wines that I do not love. I only pour wines that I
love–perhaps this doesn’t make me such a great business person, but I need
to feel passionate about the wines that I sell. I mostly drink old
world wine and that’s what you’ll find in the main at my place. I am madly in love with gamay so you’ll always find a really good cru Beaujolais on my list, or something from Italy’s val d’aosta, or Steve Edmund’s Bone Jolly gamay. You’ll typically find two or more wines from the south of France, a place where there’s a lot of very
exciting winegrowing going on right now.
My list is organized by tasting profile rather than country. I like to offer
two or whites or roses that have fresh acidity, zingy wines that work great
as an aperitif, and on my list I have a heading right now for “Fresh and
zingy whites,”. I will change up my list based on the headings I use. When I taste a new wine that I like I try to see how it can fit into one of the categories on my list.
I’m not dogmatic about it, however: the rubrics are there just to help me
stay focused.
I taste between 40 and 300 wines a week. Tasting wine makes me happy; I am
always pleased and interested to taste new wines from anywhere wine is made
(except prison–I draw the line at pruno). Oxidative winemaking is one of those doors–once I begin to”get” these wines I started falling for a constellation of other oxidative wines, e.g., starting with Amontillado sherry -> sur voile wines from the
Jura -> Madeira -> Amphora wines from Slovenia -> oxidative solera Banyuls,
& etc.”
Lou Amdur
Lou’s Wine Bar, Los Angeles
“There are several factors that I consider when selecting wines for K&L.
1. Relevance; i.e. does the wine represent a particular wine region or style for the areas that I am buying for:
For instance, I try to have a well rounded and thorough selection of wines from the Languedoc. Perhaps one or two from Pic St. Loup, Corbieres, Minervois, Limoux etc. If I taste a wine and I a) like it b) and feel that it will represent the category well, I will select it.
2. Price/quality ratio. These I consider to be workhorse wines. Although they do not need to necessarily express a tremendous sense of place or terroir, they need to represent an excellent quality price ratio. In addition, their flavor profile needs to be one that many customers will enjoy. An entry level cotes du rhone might be such a wine, or perhaps a picpoul de pinet from the Languedoc.
3. Vintage. More applicable to higher end and collectible wines. Certainly if a particular vintage is given high marks or highly praised, chances are I will go broader and deeper in my selections for that particular vintage.
4. Critics reviews. certainly help drive sales and most retailers greatly depend upon them to help drive sales.
If a particular wine receives high marks from say Robert Parker, Wine Spectator, Tanzer or the New York Times, this will highly influence my decision in purchasing the wine for the store.
5. Customers will often inquire about a particular wine and the possibility of me bringing it into the store.
Often, I will take them up on their suggestion and in fact do so, especially if it fits into criteria #1 above.
Two recent examples include: 2007 Clos Marie Jurancon Sec and the 2007 Domaine Sang de Cailloux Vacqueyras “Floureto”.”
Mulan Chan-Randel AIWS
Rhone Valley & French Regional Wine Buyer
K&L Wine Merchants
638 4th Street
San Francisco, Ca 94107
Here are a few thoughts on how we decide on selections for our wine lists:
1. Menu
2. By the glass pours at various price points with both well recognized and obscure grape varietals
3. Pricing to value perception
4. The mix of product
Virginia Philip M.S.
Master Sommelier
The Breakers
One South County Road
Palm Beach, Florida
Continue reading about In Their Own Words:What Wine Buyers Want Now
Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s
What They Said:
Per
Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Santini Fine Wines
What They Said:
Per the bottle “Trentatre in Italian means: Thirty-three. We came up with this belnd of three exciting varietals quite by chance when barrel tasting “TATA” a Montepulciano is the winemaker’s cellar. Amongst the barrels of Montepulciano ageing in the wine cellars, we [...]
- 2002 Kistler Chardonnay Vine Hill Vineyard – USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (10/24/2009)
Wonderfully mature but still vibrant. Golden color. Perfect for the season because it is like biting into a caramel apple without anything getting stuck to your teeth. Touch of lemon pudding, tropical fruit bowl, and mineral notes too. This wine is like a classic book… I feel like each time I would revisit the glass, new complexities would emerge. Drink now, the time is right. It’s really rare for me to score a wine this high, but this is incredible. (95 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
Continue reading about Tasting a stunning 2002 Kistler Chardonnay Vine Hill Ranch
Price: $19.99 @ K&L Wines
What They Said:
Per K&L Wines “Like a domestic Chinon, the Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc showcases the varietal at its best. Sourced from the High Chaparral, Cross Springs and La Sierra vineyards in Lake County, with small amounts of fruit from the Cafferata and Stanton vineyards in the Napa [...]
Continue reading about 2007 Lang & Reed North Coast Cabernet Franc
1999 Castello del Terriccio Tassinaia Maremma Toscana IGT – Italy, Tuscany, Maremma, Maremma Toscana IGT (10/22/2009)
Dark and brooding with a wonderful nose of freshly turned earth, ripe plums, and cedar. The wine is refined and tannins smoothly integrated. The fruit, however, seems to be a little too delicate and I wonder if it will last in this wine. I think they’re fading too quickly. Finish is very dry and dusty. I’d drink up. (88 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
Continue reading about Tasting 1999 Castello del Terriccio Tassinaia Maremma Toscana IGT
Not sure why, but ever since moving to California, I’ve been attached to Big House Wines. Maybe it’s the name. Maybe the interesting labels and graphics. Maybe the great pricing. Who knows. What I do know is that I’ve kept them on my list of wines to pick up when they’re released and that list is pretty short for wine in the $10 or less category (I depend a lot on my friend Jason over at Jason’s Wine Blog to let me know what’s good in the $5 – $10 category).
Three wines from Big House today – the Pink, the White and the Red.
2008 Big House Pink The usual caveat here – not a fan of pink wine (unless it’s the Domaine Tempier or Blackbird Vineyards Arriviste) so keep that in mind. Overall, not too bad. Lots of strawberries, minerals and a touch of pear, this one is a very smooth, easy drinker. Not a bad Rosé, actually, especially for the price of $8.
Ken’s Wine Guide has this to say about it: This very affordable bright strawberry colored wine opens with a mild cherry bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied and balanced. The flavor profile is a mineral infused spicy strawberry. The finish is dry and subtle. This easy to drink wine is very refreshing. It would be a good option on a hot summer day. Pair it with pork chop.
What you should do: Buy it, if you like
Rosé.My rating: 85
2008 Big House White
Hadn’t tried the Big House White until this tasting and although it’s not the best white I’ve ever had, it’s quite nice. A good blend of peach, pear and apricot, with mid-level acidity (but not as much as I expected). I found it to be a little hot on the finish, but the colder I tasted it, the less I picked up the alcohol, making this one reserved only for summer, straight out of the fridge or cooler.
Ken’s Wine Guide says this: If you like refreshing summer white wines that have some ripe fruit flavors, then this white blend may be the wine for you. It opens with a very attractive and aromatic floral bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced, and shows a touch of sweetness. The flavor profile is a pleasant blend of ripe peach with hints of pear, light lime, and lychee. Overall it was very tasty. The finish is very refreshing. This very affordable white wine was my favorite from the Big House lineup. Enjoy it chilled this summer by the pool.
What you should do: Buy it. At $10, it’s hard to lose on the Big House White. But, I would serve it nicely chilled, so that the alcohol doesn’t come out to bite you.
My rating: 86
2007 Big House Red
This was the first Big House I tasted – the red. 4 years ago, I was impressed with the wine, something that stood out for under $10 and showed some complexity that I did not expect. Cherry, raspberry, vanilla and white pepper are all major players in this wine. Some heat on the back end, but not too much to make it unbearable. The acidity is just right and is what brings this wine to life. Definitely a good weekday burger or pizza wine.
Big House Wines has this to say about it: Each variety selected for this blend brings its individual characters and distinct personality: spiciness from the Syrah, cherry and raspberries from the Sangiovese and Barbera, blueberries from the Tannat, cassis from the Grenache and chocolate from Mourvèdre. A wonderful mix of the best each variety has to offer.
What you should do: Buy it. A great value at $9, this will no disappoint.
My rating: 87
NOTE: the Big House Wines were sent to me as a sample from the winery.
I read an interesting post over on Steve Heimoff’s blog recently. For those that don’t know Steve is the long time West Coast Editor for the Wine Enthusiast. The topic highlighted restaurants that pride themselves on serving local foods and the accompanying wine lists which, at times, tend not to be all that [...]
2006 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne – France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (10/22/2009)
Not hugely expressive at this time, with aroma of cloves and subtle flavors of lemon peel, green apple, river rock, and roasted nuts. Nicely balanced and delicate now but I suspect a few years in the cellar would be the right call with this wine. Excellent but I wish I had paid retail rather than wine list prices for this wine. (91 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
Continue reading about Tasting 2006 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne