Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/402796
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m N o v - D e c 2 014 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 2 5 ometime around 2000, a change began brewing in the restaurant world. The word "tapas" and the Spanish notion of passing around small plates of food began to influ- ence the U.S. restaurant scene. It's a style of dining that appeals to those who want to try a variety of flavors at a rapid-fire pace and don't mind sharing. As an alternative to the formal appetizer- entrée-dessert order in fine-dining res- taurants, the new format made sense to younger food enthusiasts looking to enjoy a variety of flavors on a budget, and who weren't particularly interested in spending $60 on a 32-ounce steak that they probably couldn't finish anyway. This trend is a national one, and it's here to stay, it appears. Small-plates eat- eries State Bird Provisions, Bar Tartine, Commonwealth and Rich Table are among the hottest restaurants in San Francisco. There's the newly opened Penrose in Oakland, Calif., The Girl and the Goat in Chicago, Bar La Grassa and 112 Eatery in Minneapolis, and Parallel 38 in Charlottes- ville, Va., to name but a few of the hun- dreds of restaurants focused on serving portions smaller than main courses. More and more, you'll see three to five plates on the table at any given time. One might be a vegetable dish, another a meat dish and another a seafood dish, all shared MARKET WATCH TIM TEICHGRAEBER among several diners. It's a cacophonous environment for wine pairing. I personally love the variety, but what's the best wine to enjoy in that sort of setting? Maybe peo- ple simply decide to drink what they like. So what does that mean for wine ser- vice and wine lists? How does that style of dining affect what sommeliers put on the list or suggest to customers? MAKING IT ALL WORK At the recent West of West conference, which spotlights West Coast cool-climate Small-plates dining alters the wine-with-food landscape + Small-plates restaurants appeal to adventurous chefs, eaters and drinkers. + The new breed of small-plates eateries is not guided by traditional strategies of matching a particular wine with a particular course. + These restaurants favor a broad range of wines by the glass, allowing each customer to have his or her own experience with the food. + Versatility with food is something wine directors look for in a small-plates setting. AT A GLANCE Tapas-style dining, where several small plates are shared by the table, calls for a new approach to wine pairing. Photo: Thinkstock