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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/41359
meant a lower check average and required that Zimorski fi nd quality wines for customers who were not looking to splurge. "We needed wines that came in at one quarter to one third At Jaleo (above) value wines are a focal point on the list. of the cost of a meal," she said. Her lists emphasized Spanish wines from as many diff erent appellations as possible including La Mancha (located near Madrid), which she cites as delivering some of the best values including those of Bodegas Alejandro Fernandez, a Ribera del Duero producer who expanded to La Mancha. "One of my favorite ways to introduce customers to a new region is to look to a proven producer who has a new project in that area." Initially, Zimorski off ered Spanish wines by the carafe but she quickly moved to a by-the-glass and bottle format, "Seeing wine bottles on the table can be an eff ective marketing technique, she says. "With the carafes, we were missing the opportunities to upsell and here in D.C., guests are allowed to take an unfi nished bottle home with them." operating costs and sometimes benefi t from purchased fruit. In the Pacifi c Northwest, lesser-known regions like the Yakima Valley, midway between Seattle and Walla Walla in Eastern Washington, produce many solid wines at high volume; a dynamic that keeps the relative price to value ratio of the wines in check. SPANISH REVIVAL Spain has historically been a solid producer of food-friendly wines by the bottle and the glass. However operators have often looked to better-known—and sometimes costlier—regions such as Rioja and trendy big, red wine blockbuster regions like the Priorat. However other areas of Spain are hitting restaurant lists in a dynamic way. In his search for wines of value, Marc Sachs hunts for the sweet spot from classic regions. Sachs, who is director of hospitality and beverage at Salvatore's, a regional 100 to 200 seat chain based in Boston with a fourth location slated to open in September, said, "We're seeing some of the best values from Old World regions like Spain that are innovating and relaxing the rules." Sachs often looks to producers from La Mancha and Campo de Borja. Eighty percent of wine sales at Salvatore's are by the seven- ounce glass, with prices that range from $5 to $11. He strives for synergy between the restaurant's cuisine and wine program and he routinely features a selection of lesser-known wines by the glass to encourage experimentation. Jill Zimorski had been the former beverage director for Jose Andres' Washington, D.C.-based Th ink Food Group—which primarily features Spanish and Mexican small plate concepts— and is now the the wine director for Volt Restaurant in Frederick, Maryland. She had made value wines the focal point of her lists for the group's Jaleo restaurants. Th e restaurants' shared-plate menus 42 | SEPTEMBER 2011 PARTIAL TO PORTUGAL Portugal has been primarily known for its Port stateside, although many of the country's regional table wines are emerging as unique, great-value off erings. On Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island, Brad and Anne Marthens own the Atlantic Inn, a 21-room Victorian inn that operates seasonally from April through October. Situated on six ocean-front acres, the Inn's 48-seat global, seasonal cuisine restaurant Eli's emphasizes a 3,000-bottle wine list priced from $35 to $3,500 and off ers tapas nightly on the lawn. With a dozen wines off ered by the glass, Brad Marthens cites Portuguese whites including Herdade Do Esporâo "V" Verdelho from Alentejo that he lists by the glass for $8 as one of the best value wines he off ers. "Verdelho is a hidden value; it's an easy drinking wine that pairs well with our popular shellfi sh platter priced at $49." With an average ticket price of $100 per person, Eli's has a deep inventory of Old World classics and a high percentage of bottle sales, but Marthens looks to Paso Robles, Mendocino and Lake county producers for by-the-glass values from California. He lists Steele Federal Hill "Zif" zinfandel from Mendocino for $11 and Sebastiani Paso Project Red Blend for $7. REDISCOVERING CALIFORNIA Despite the reputation that California has had in recent years for pricey and iconic wines, there are an increasing number of value wines being produced and often in regions that are off the beaten track. At Brothers and Sisters, a 32-seat contemporary California cuisine restaurant in San Francisco, wine director Carlin Karr looks to Edmunds St. John which sources fruit from Mendocino, Paso Robles and El Dorado County in the Sierra Foothills for their labels. www.cheersonline.com