Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/402796
2 6 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | N o v - D e c 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m red or a white. "Bridges are the actual pairings," said Brioza. He isn't even fixated on sourcing proteins for State Bird Provisions. "We spend the most part of our week surveying and handling veg- etables. We may work with only a dozen proteins," he said. Curating the produce takes up most of the chefs' time, and they often don't know exactly what their farmer part- ners will bring them on a given day. Protein availability is more pre- dictable and constant, requires less effort, and it's more likely that the restaurant down the street has the same source as another. It's the produce that can really set restau- rant apart. "I pick up beautiful artichokes and say, 'I want this to be the star,'" said Rich Table's Rich. "I base dish- es around vegetables." A d d e d B u r n s : " We u s e t h e phrase, 'meat is garnish,' a lot. It's how we cook." pinot noir and chardonnay, a semi- nar entitled "The Evolution of Cali- fornia Cuisine and Wine" brought together a panel of sommeliers and top San Francisco chefs to address the topic. The panel included Fran- ces sommelier Paul Einbund, Far- ralon sommelier Peter Palmer and chefs Stuart Brioza (State Bird Pro- visions), Evan Rich (Rich Table) and Cortney Barnes (Bar Tartine). The chefs seemed more confi- dent about their own visions for the food than the sommeliers did about their visions for how to comple- ment the food. "In a classical setting you have one wine paired with one thing, but that's not how our restau- rants work. You have to find a way to make all of these things work together," Burns said. "I am no longer interested in opening a traditional restaurant," added Brioza. Taking inspiration from dim sum-style service, State Bird Provisions opened in 2012 and remains one of the most popular restaurants in San Francisco. It's worth noting that Brioza came from a more traditional fine- dining situation at Rubicon, where he worked with legendary somme- lier Larry Stone; he learned plenty about food and wine pairing there. There are, of course, many occa- sions when a diner can go with a WOW conference panelists (left to right) Paul Einbund, Stuart Brioza, Evan Rich, Cort- ney Burns and Peter Palmer discuss the new world of food and wine pairing. Local Bank. Local Lenders. www.exchangebank.com 707.524.3000 Large or Small...to us you are just right! We have a wide variety of loan products available for a business your size MARKET WATCH TIM TEICHGRAEBER