Levi Dalton, Sommelier, Boulud Sud (New York City). A few years ago I realized that what are now commonly called orange wines were the solution to a vexing problem I was experiencing. As the sommelier at a southern Italian restaurant, I was frequently being called upon to pair wines to tasting menus that progressed from seafood pasta and antipasti to meat-heavy pastas, to a fish course, and then finally to a red meat main course. The problem was finding a wine to serve with the fish course. READ MORE »

Jake Kosseff, Company Wine Director, Wild Ginger (Seattle). At Wild Ginger we love orange wines: the complexity and depth that extended skin contact provides for whites is often a treat. But they aren’t always a perfect fit for our restaurant, so we are very careful in our choices. Many of these wines also have pronounced oxidative character (i.e., nutty, caramelly, even occasionally volatile or vinegary notes) that aren’t delicious with the clean, bright flavors that are the building blocks of Southeast Asian cuisine. We have had some great luck in Friuli in Italy, and just over the border in Gorska Brda in Slovenia. Usually it’s a matter of choosing wine by wine (even vintage by vintage) rather than by producer. When we do have this type of wine on our list, we pair it with dishes that have rich, straightforward flavors, rather than dishes that have lots of vinegar, spice or fruitiness. READ MORE »

Jim Clarke, Sommelier and Beverage Manager, Armani Ristorante (New York City). For parties I try to have something middle-of-the-road in style, not quality. For whites, that means no new oak, and nothing assertively aromatic like a sauvignon blanc. Something like a pinot gris or pinot blanc often works out well: perhaps the Anne Amie Pinot Gris 2010 from the Willamette Valley—medium-bodied, with a pleasant roundness on the palate and a fresh finish. For a red, medium-bodied but fresh seems to reach the widest range of people and suits a cocktail party where the drinking may go on for a while without a lot of food to go with it. The Renati Ratti Torriglione Barbera d'Alba 2010 would work well: typical cherry notes, but with a bit of a darker cast; smooth but firm mouthfeel. READ MORE »

Eric Zillier, Wine Director, Gotham Bar and Grill (New York City). For a cocktail party it’s best to keep it light. In the interest of serving something that's interesting and local, I would select Dr. Konstantin Frank's 2009 Pinot Gris. It’s light and dry for maximum versatility, while exhibiting wintery aromatics to keep things interesting. As for the red, it would be Marcel Lapierre's 2010 Morgon out of magnum. Beaujolais is no longer the underdog it once was, thanks in part to Mr. Lapierre. This is one of the best Beaujolais I have ever tasted and an appropriate way to honor a legend. READ MORE »

Chuck Furuya, Master Sommelier, DK Restaurants (Honolulu). With high-quality steaks, one sure can be adventuresome and have a lot of fun pairing wines. Plus, the scope of wines can be quite  diverse. For instance, my partner at DK Steakhouse, DK Kodama, loves drinking high-impact red wines with our "vintage" steaks. With the dry-aged rib-eye "on the bone,” DK especially likes hearty, rustic Paso Robles syrah-based reds from producers such as Linne Calodo, Saxum and Epoch, where the wine's innate rusticity works well with the steak's gaminess from the aging process. Plus, the limestone soils where the grapes are grown create an amazing buoyancy in the finished wines which just further adds to the overall enjoyment. READ MORE »

Jim Clarke, Wine Director, Megu New York (New York City). I think a lot of emphasis is put on the body of the wine when it comes to pairing with steak, when it can be the tannins that make the real difference. Last January I had a delicious cut of steak during a visit to the Chianti producer Badia a Coltibuono, paired of course with their wines, which are by and large in a traditional, dry, lighter-bodied style. The pairing was great; even the regular Chianti Classico had firm, dry tannins that perfectly addressed the fat of the beef. I actually serve it by the glass now at Megu and it does just as well with our kobe. Overall I think the body, alcohol and dark fruit that characterize today's California cabernets are just window-dressing as far as the pairing goes; they're great if that's the style of wine you or your guests enjoy, but it's structure and tannin that does the heavy lifting. READ MORE »

Steven Grubbs, Wine Director, Five and Ten Restaurant (Athens, GA). I think that making consistent, articulate pairings of wine and cheese is one of the harder tricks to master. The nuances of particular wines (all of which are in constant flux) meeting with the nuances of particular cheeses (all of which are also in constant flux) brings about some pretty rampant variables, and to herd them all into a workable formula is close to impossible. READ MORE »

Christopher P. Bates, GM/Executive Chef, Hotel Fauchere (Milford, PA). I always find that for my palate, Champagne works much better in places you would not expect it to work than in places you would. While it is always easy to reach for Champagne with a raw or cured (or smoked) fish dish at the beginning of the meal, I often find the bubbles to be too aggressive for this type of delicacy in a dish. I rather prefer to use Champagne as the dishes kick up a few notches and in fact are in need of lightening. A pork roast or belly with a little smoke to it and some sweetness from fruits and heat from chilies works counter-intuitively with a fruity style of non-vintage rosé. READ MORE »

Steven Grubbs, Wine Director, Five and Ten Restaurant (Athens, GA). I am a big fan of Champagne with charcuterie. Ryan Smith, our chef at Empire State South, cranks out new little varieties of meat products all the time, and recently we started serving a rabbit sausage that is seasoned with pork fat, fennel seed, chili flake and orange zest. I like the way it pairs with Chartogne-Taillet's spicy-chalky Cuvée Sainte-Anne. A grower in a village called Merfy (in the Montagne de Reims region), Chartogne makes wine from what is basically an ancient beach, so it has the addition of sand along with Champagne's typical limestone and chalk. Sand gives you finesse (for the tender rabbit meat), and limestone/chalk gives you vibrant, spicy seashell acid, which bleeds into a taut brininess (for the fennel seed and orange zest). READ MORE »

Jim Clarke, Wine Director, Megu New York (New York City). Dry riesling from New York’s Finger Lakes has been a regular in my fridge this summer. They’re light and high-acid, and the best have a great combination of subtle fruit and stony minerality to them. I like the Keuka Lake Vineyards 2008 Evergreen Lek Vineyard very much, or Fox Run's 2008 Reserve Riesling when I want a bit more power. A new discovery for me was Thirsty Owl, who also do a great job with the riesling. I really enjoy these wines with oysters, a pairing I got to play with during a seminar I did last year. READ MORE »