Investing in Qupé: Entrepreneur Charles Banks Buys Into Legendary Winery

By Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo
(published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on October 11, 2013)


Qupé, one of the most celebrated wineries in Santa Barbara County, has a new owner.  Charles Banks, an entrepreneur whose portfolio includes high-end wineries throughout the world, has acquired a majority stake in the well-known label, it was announced Thursday.  Its famous founder, Bob Lindquist, will stay on as a partner and as the project’s winemaker.

“It's no secret that the wine business has faced some challenges since the recession… and we've managed to hold our own,” Mr. Lindquist told me.  “This partnership allows me to focus on the vineyards and winemaking and not have to worry as much about the financial and sales side, so definitely a long-term strategic move.”

 

“Bob does what Bob thinks is best and doesn’t follow trends,” Mr. Banks added.  “I want to be a loud voice telling him to follow his passion, not marketing reports.”

 

Qupé’s legendary status among Santa Barbara County wineries has always hinged on Mr. Lindquist, himself, and his prominent presence in the wine region’s young history.  His stint in the late 1970s as a tour guide at Zaca Mesa Winery connected him with other wine futurists, like Jim Clendenen, Ken Brown and Adam Tolmach.  He’d go on to found Qupé in 1982 and, to this day, make his wine alongside Mr. Clendenen’s famous Au Bon Climat label in a facility on the grounds of Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley.  This partnership, which also includes mentoring up-and-coming winemaking personalities like Gavin Chanin, Joshua Klapper and Paul Lato, will continue.

 

Bob Lindquist and Charles Banks (photo by Jeremy Ball)

Specific numbers in the deal were not disclosed, but Qupé now joins a noteworthy list of international wine projects under Mr. Banks’ Terroir Selections portfolio, including Wind Gap, Cultivate, the Mayacamas and Leviathan labels in Napa, the Fable and Marvelous Range projects in South Africa and the Maison d’Orlee venture in France.  “Qupé fits because the wines are a specific style and have stood the test of time,” says Mr. Banks.

 

Locally, Mr. Banks also owns the coveted Sandhi label in the Sta. Rita Hills region, a partnership with famed sommelier-turned-winemaker Rajat Parr, and the recently re-launched Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos, a four-way enterprise with his wife, Ali, and the husband-and-wife team of Chef Robbie Wilson and Emily Perry Wilson.

 

Qupé produces several wines, including grenache, viognier and chardonnay, but its claim to fame has always been syrah.  “You can count on one hand the world's best red wine grapes and syrah is one of them,” claims Mr. Lindquist.  “Our focus is on cool climate syrah with balance, elegance and structure for aging. Santa Barbara County is an ideal place to grow syrah: long cool growing season and great weather in the fall for ripening slowly. I would include the southern part of [San Luis Obispo] County as equally ideal.”

 

Mr. Lindquist makes several vineyard-specific syrahs each vintage from properties throughout Santa Barbara County; he also crafts syrah from the biodynamically-certified Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard, based in SLO County’s Edna Valley, which he owns with his wife, Louisa Sawyer Lindquist.

 

“Sawyer Lindquist will continue to be one of our most important vineyard sources,” adds the winemaker, “along with Bien Nacido, which is still going to be our largest grape source.”

 

Mr. Banks shares his new business partner’s affinity for syrah.  “I have wanted to work on a meaningful syrah project for several years now,” he says.

 

Industry insiders often note that, despite its myriad attributes, from flavors to complexity, syrah can be a challenging sell in the marketplace; on the Central Coast, its demand may sometimes be overshadowed by red wine rival, pinot noir.  But Mr. Lindquist believes that “consumers love syrah – they just have to be educated on the right ones.”

 

And Mr. Banks adds, “I think the future is very bright for syrah.  The cooler-climate Santa Barbara syrahs are a perfect fit for wine lovers looking for balance and power.”

 

Just last week, the federal government gave the green light for Ballard Canyon, a relatively warmer growing region in the Santa Ynez Valley that’s become famous for syrah, to become the county’s next American Viticultural Area.  That designation goes into effect October 30^th.  And while Mr. Banks agrees that the recognition bodes well for syrah’s continued upswing in popularity, he adds, “I hope we aren’t creating more confusion for the consumer with ever-increasing AVAs.”

 

Under the new partnership with Mr. Banks, Qupé’s production will remain the same, between 35,000 and 40,000 cases a year.  Mrs. Sawyer Lindquist will continue to assist with Qupé sales.  And the Verdad label, a separate project that Mrs. Sawyer Lindquist and her husband manage together, will not be affected.

 

Qupé (pronounced kyoo-pay) is the Chumash word for “poppy,” the bright orange blossom that is California’s state flower, and was chosen by Mr. Lindquist to honor the area’s indigenous dwellers.

Charles Banks Acquires Historic Qupé Winery

10/10/13

Santa Barbara County, CA- Charles Banks and Terroir Selections have acquired a majority stake in Santa Maria Valley’s iconic Qupé winery, long considered one of America’s finest Syrah producers. Founder and winemaker, Bob Lindquist, will assume the role of partner, while Louisa Sawyer Lindquist will continue to assist with sales. Moving forward, both parties are committed to improving quality at Qupé. 

Bob Lindquist, Charles Banks (by Jeremy Ball)

“I am thrilled to work alongside a gifted winemaker and legend like Bob Lindquist,” says Banks. He continues, “Bob has been a steadfast visionary of Syrah for decades. Few have done as much as Bob to advance awareness for Syrah in the United States. I love Syrah and have wanted to work on a meaningful Syrah project for a number of years now. With an infusion of capital from Terroir Selections, Bob and I are both confident that we can strengthen Qupé’s future allowing it to remain the benchmark in American Rhone-inspired wines.”

 

Lindquist has long been considered one of Santa Barbara wine country’s visionaries. While a tour guide in the late ‘70’s at Zaca Mesa, Lindquist learned to make wine from his co-workers and friends; Jim Clendenen, who at the time was assistant winemaker, Ken Brown, who was winemaker, and Adam Tolmach, who was the enologist. All three, who became successful winery owners themselves, worked at Zaca Mesa during Santa Barbara wine country’s nascent era.

 

 

Founded in 1982, Qupé will continue to share a winery with Clendenen’s Au Bon Climat on the esteemed Bien Nacido vineyard; an agreement that was made between Lindquist and Clenenden in1989, when they brought their winery projects together under one roof. Lindquist and Clendenen continue to mentor a new generation of winemakers, including Paul Lato, Gavin Chanin, Gary Burk, Josh Klapper and Rajat Parr, among many others.

 

 

Banks adds, “My wife, Ali, and I have been in Santa Barbara County for 13 years, and we’ve set down some roots here, first with Jonata, and later with Sandhi and Mattei’s Tavern (a four-way partnership between Ali and Charles Banks, and Emily Perry Wilson and Chef Robbie Wilson) and now with Qupé.

 

 

Qupé Winery will join Banks’ Terroir Selections portfolio, which includes Sandhi (Sta. Rita Hills, with celebrated sommelier-turned-winemaker, Rajat Parr), Mayacamas and Leviathan (Napa Valley), Wind Gap (vineyard designates throughout California), Mulderbosch, Fable and Marvelous Range (South Africa); Maison L’Oree (France), and Cultivate, a philanthropically-minded brand sourcing fruit from around the world.

# # #

Club Takes Off: Foley Food & Wine Society Hosts Official Launch

By Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo
(published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on September 30, 2013)

Attendance impressed even the event’s organizers.  Saturday’s (September 28, 2013) launch of the Foley Food & Wine Society drew more than 1200 guests.  And ,insiders say, had ticket sales not been halted earlier in the week, the crowd could have swelled by hundreds more.

The afternoon affair took place at Bacara Resort & Spa, with the crowd meandering through the Forbes Four-Star resort’s expansive ballroom and outdoor, ocean view courtyard.  The foodie draw here was the wine: this was the first time that 15 top-tier wine labels were made available for tasting and buying under one roof.  Among them were the coveted Foley Winery from Santa Barbara County, Kuleto from Napa, and Sebastiani from Sonoma.

These wineries, all considered to be among the industry’s most celebrated, have something in common: they’re all owned by the same man – Bill Foley – and they’re all part of the brand new Foley Food & Wine Society.

Though Saturday’s event became its first public splash, this unique lifestyle club launched in June, and marketing began in earnest last month.  In that short time, it’s managed to secure 40,000 members; many of them were grandfathered in as members of the affiliate wineries’ clubs.  But Mr. Foley, who attended the weekend launch event with his wife, Carol, is aiming “for 100,000 – or more – by the end of the year.”



Bill Foley

The Foley Food & Wine Society is a conglomerate of myriad wine, cuisine and travel companies, and members get access to them all through exclusive invitations, events and discounts.  On the wine front, the 15-plus companies include Mr. Foley’s local endeavors, including the Foley and Lincourt Wineries that he founded.  In the 15 years since, Mr. Foley has acquired – both aggressively and strategically – an impressive portfolio of upscale projects in coveted wine growing regions.  That includes Santa Barbara County’s Firestone Winery, which he bought in 2007, and the four Napa wineries, Merus, Altus, Foley Johnson and Kuleto; the latter, a 90-acre property planted to 11 grape varieties, poured a luscious and balanced 2009 estate Zinfandel at Saturday’s event.  Foley’s Sonoma properties include Chalk Hill, Lancaster and Sebastiani, whose 2010 Alexander Valley merlot wowed attendees with its robust and supple mouth feel.  The Society’s Washington State property is Three Rivers Winery.  In New Zealand, it produces award-wining wine under the Vavasour, Clifford Bay and Te Kairanga labels.  And in Paso Robles, it owns Eos Winery, which satisfied the sweet tooth Saturday with a honeyed 2011 Late Harvest Moscato and an elegant 2009 Zinfandel Port.

Mr. Foley, who’s the Chairman of the Board at Fidelity National Financial Inc., admits that he’s got a few more buys in the works, including potential winery and high-end hotel deals in Napa.  He’s also got significant development plans for Langtry Estates & Vineyard, an expansive Lake County property which will see 800 acres of new vineyard plantings and the development of a handful of onsite boutique wine brands in the years to come.  But he admits that “it’s really not about acquiring right now.  It’s about making all of these brands work together and to make them all more accessible.”
 

And that’s the push behind his new Society, which aims to enhance members’ experience by also offering unique access to the various resorts that Mr. Foley has either partnered with or acquired in the last several years.  That includes the 78-acre Bacara Resort and other properties of the boutique Meritage Collection, like the AAA 4-Diamond Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa in San Diego and the posh Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach.  Crossroads Estate is also in the mix; the four-bedroom, historic 5,000-square-foot property, which was once home to Brooks and Kate Firestone, is located in Los Olivos.  And members get dibs on stays at upscale resorts in Montana, Idaho, Napa, Sonoma and New Zealand, as well.

On the food front, membership includes high-end eateries throughout the West.  “And we have four chefs under our umbrella that we can call on to put on special events anywhere,” adds Mr. Foley.

Bacara Resort is also home to the Society’s first physical location, a beautifully decked out tasting room adjacent to the lobby that’s open to the public and open daily from 11am to 7pm.  It offers tastings of more than 70 wines from the Foley portfolio, and the onsite concierge can also schedule educational seminars and cooking classes for members.  Mr. Foley is looking to open brick-and-mortar outposts at other resort properties in the near future.

The entry level membership to the Foley Food & Wine Society, or FFWS, is free.  Members who sign up receive a regular newsletter, special event invitations and exclusive discounts; membership knocked $20 off the $60 tickets to Saturday’s events.  There’s a top tier, reserved for members who spend at least $12,000 a year on wine, hotel stays and events and who get rewards redeemable for future purchases with every dollar spent.
 

Saturday’s affair brought Society members out in force.  “I love that I can travel around California and pop into any of the other wineries under this umbrella,” said Frank LoMonaco of Santa Barbara.  His wife, Barbara, added, enthusiastically, “The tastings are free and we can bring friends!" 

“I like that I’m being exposed to great wine,” said Shirley Edwards of Lompoc.  “Plus, I love to travel.”

Andrea Smalling, chief marketing officer for FFWS, described membership as exposure to the finer things “with a safety net.”  She added, “Experiences are intimate, you know the level of quality is going to be high and you’re discovering little gems under one roof.”

Saturday’s launch included a bevy of food stations, including a few manned by Bacara’s own chefs; Chris Turano, who became  executive chef at the resort’s Bistro by winning a grueling competition on Food Network’s Chef Wanted, doled out melt-in-your-mouth short ribs of beef braised in Barolo wine.  Invited gourmands included local catering star Chef Michael Hutchings, who served up his signature potato cakes with caviar, and Chef Stephanie Rapp of SBCC’s School of Culinary Arts, who presented endive barquettes with salmon caviar and crème fraiche.

Proceeds from this event will go to scholarships at the City College’s School of Culinary Arts, under a non-profit endowment that bears Julia Child’s name.

The open-to-the-public launch party was preceded Saturday by a VIP reception inside the FFWS Tasting Room sponsored by the producers of The Inn Crowd.  The cooking show, which stars Ballard Inn & Restaurant Chef Budi Kazali and which airs on both newspress.tv and KEYT, starts its third season on October 24^th.  The Foley Food & Wine Society is its new title sponsor.

For more information on FFWS, click here.

(Photos by Brent Winebrenner)

 

Gourmet Wheels: Four Seasons Hotels Take Food on the Road

By Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo
(published in the Santa Barbara News-Press September 20, 2013)

 

Several Four Seasons Hotels have found an ingenious way to share their gourmet fare with the public: they’re taking it to the streets.

 

The Four Seasons Taste Truck

The Four Seasons Taste Truck, a four-wheel truck outfitted to resemble a classic woody and decked out with a bevy of gourmet cooking appliances, hit the road this week on a culinary pilgrimage.  By the end of its promotional run, which includes one-week stops at eight Four Seasons resorts, including the AAA 5-Diamond Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara, it will have covered 1,133 miles across three states and over 55 days.  At each sojourn, the truck will become a kitchen-away-from-home for each property’s executive chef.

“I have about 50 cooks at the resort, so I don’t get to cook every meal,” says Executive Chef Alessandro Cartumini, who took the kitchen helm at the luxury hotel brand’s acclaimed Montecito property in 2010.  “But now I’ll be on the truck every day – just me and one sous chef – so I can tell guests that I cooked every one of your meals.  And that’s the exciting part for me.”

 

Click to enlarge

The Taste Truck turned its engines this week with a visit to the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley at East Palo Alto; coincidentally, Chef Cartumini was part of this property’s launch in 2006, before transferring to the Biltmore.  Next week, it’ll pay a week-long visit to the 5-Star Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco before making the coastal drive south to Santa Barbara for a local visit September 30^th through October 6^th.  From there, it’ll visit Four Seasons properties in Westlake Village, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Scottsdale and Santa Fe.  (Find a detailed schedule here.)

While in town, Chef Cartumini will bring a bevy of dishes to the public by parking the Taste Truck at various venues.  In its first two days, it’ll welcome walk-ups along Butterfly Beach, right across from the resort.  In the days that follow, it’ll visit West Beach, the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Telegraph Brewing Company, Santa Barbara’s Saturday morning farmers market, Oreana Winery in the Funk Zone and East Beach.  Times vary each day – twice, the chef will be doling out breakfast.  And there will some themed serving as well – on two days, the menu will include several Oktoberfest-inspired menu items.
 



Sweet Potato Fries w/Oregano Aioli

The main drive behind this unique culinary promotion is “to make food accessible, to take our food out on the streets and to show people what we can do,” says Chef Cartumini.  “People sometimes think of a resort like ours just for a special occasion.  What we want to show is that we are not just a big corporation, but that we also embrace our community.”

Translating the daily production and presentation of award-winning fare from a gourmet kitchen to a food truck offers challenges, to be sure.  But for the Four Seasons The Biltmore’s director of food and beverage, Bixente Pery, “it’s all about thinking outside the box.”

The way the food is made inside the Taste Truck will employ the same techniques used onsite.  “The produce is the same, the chef is the same, the preparation is the same,” says Mr. Pery, who will be with the truck each day.  “We just eliminate the china and the silverware, but the final product is still the same.”

 

Many of the items featured in a specially-designed menu for the Taste Truck’s visit will come off menus featured on the Montecito property’s restaurants, including the Bella Vista and the Ty Lounge; other items were custom-made for the occasion.  But one thing that will be different will be the price tag: most offerings range from $4 to $7 and no item is priced over $9.

“The food has to be good, it has to be quick and it has to be priced right,” insists the chef. 

Chef Cartumini's food truck menu features several items that highlight his knack for combining fresh California produce with flavors and techniques from his native Italy.  The Local Sea Bass Fritto Roll-Up ($9) features avocado and a pepperoncino aioli.  The Quinoa Sweet Potato Lettuce Burger ($6, pictured) comes with goat feta cheese and an avocado relish.   The BBQ Angus Beef Short Ribs ($8) features smoked mozzarella, arugula and salsa verde.

“Of course there will be some bells and whistles, since this is the Four Seasons,” says Chef Cartumini.  “But for me, it’s going to just be about the food, about what you’ll get for your money and about showing the community what we are doing at the resort every day.”

The Taste Truck’s Santa Barbara visit will also include a cocktail giveaway at the resort’s Bella Vista Restaurant.  Guests who share a photo or video of the truck, or food from the truck, on Instagram, using the #FSTasteTruck hashtag and the resort’s @FSSantaBarbara handle, can show it to their server in return for a signature sipper of their choice.  The eatery will feature a special food and drinks Food Truck menu during the month of October.

The truck’s local stint, in fact, coincides with the start of epicure.sb, Santa Barbara’s month-long culinary showcase, now in its fifth year, which will feature more than 100 events during the month of October.

In November, at the end of the Taste Truck’s 55-day tour, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts will donate a portion of total proceeds to Chefs to End Hunger, a charity that benefits local food agencies. 

 

 

New Vintage: Oreana Winery Founder Switches Gears with New "Avelina" Brand

By Gabe Saglie
(Published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on September 12, 2013)

 

The final touches are now going up at the tasting room for the brand new Avelina Winery in downtown Santa Barbara.  But nostalgic touches still prevail.  Like the old typewriter on the corner, which guests will use to join the mailing list.  And the sparkling jukebox by the front door, which feeds on quarters.  And the old 1959 GMC farm truck parked in the middle of the room, encircled by stools and its bed covered by wooden doors to create a no-frills, but very cool, wine bar.

 

Avelina's farm truck-turned-wine bar

Avelina is the brainchild of Christian Garvin, best known (until now) for Oreana, the Funk Zone winery that’s been drawing patrons as much with its wines as with its quirky events for almost a decade now.  Oreana changed hands about two months ago, when Garvin sold it to his friend and to his winemaker for the last eight years, Danny Miles.  The new proprietor will move forward with a brand that features pinot noir, syrah, chardonnay and a handful of affordably priced blends.

Garvin, himself, is now fully focused on Avelina.  He was ready for something new, he tells me.  A new creative outlet.

And although Avelina is brand new, it smacks of something nostalgic for its owner, too.  Avelina references Garvin’s Italian roots, for one.  “It’s a town so small, you can’t really find it on a map,” he says with a laugh.  It’s also a name Garvin used more than a dozen years ago on his first independent wine project – Kahn Winery – to denote a line of red wines.  “I bought the trademarked name back for $350,” he says.

The premiere release of Avelina wines – a 4000-case project with a focus on Italian varieties – includes a pinot grigio, sangiovese and freisa.  Its crowning jewel, though, may be a 2010 nebbiolo, sourced from the legendary Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley.  It’s supple, smooth and generous with its fruit flavors.  All the Avelina wines will sell for $25 in the tasting room.

This project also includes a second label – Sands Point – which features non-Italian wines like chardonnay, pinot noir, merlot and cabernet sauvignon.  The price point on these is affordable by design – $15 a bottle, and probably less when it hits supermarket shelves – and will be available to taste at the winery, too.

Garvin made the first batch of Avelina wines at the Lucas & Lewellen Winery facility in Buellton.  But his downtown Santa Barbara space will feature all the winemaking equipment he’ll need moving forward.  Already, some gear, like fermentation eggs and a fruit crusher, grace the sleek, slip-resistant concrete floor.



Jen Gonzalez joins the Avelina mailing list

Avelina’s new home is in the heart of the humming Funk Zone.  Across the street, actually, from Oreana, and flanked by the new Figueroa Mountain Brewery tasting room and the railroad tracks.  It’s in the same building as Santa Barbara’s brand new and most buzzed-about eatery, The Lark, in a space formerly used to process fresh fish.

Aside from the production of wines, Garvin’s vision for his new space hinges on tapping into the Funk Zone’s still-ballooning appeal: a social spot, a watering hole of sorts, with an outdoor courtyard and a spacious interior that will also be marketed for private events.  “We’ll have a large movie screen here,” he says, pointing to the ceiling above stacks of sealed cases, “and we’re getting a digital projector delivered for movie nights.”

 

Those who know Garvin probably expect neat things to come, including unique events and memorable promotions.  The 39-year-old, after all, is as much a winemaker as an entrepreneur, with a knack for drawing crowds to wine not merely for the sake of sipping but, instead, to let the good times roll.

Avelina is the newest member of Santa Barbara’s Urban Wine Trail (which now boasts 26 member wineries!) and is located 131 Anacapa Street.  Its grand opening party is Friday, September 20^th.  For details, call the winery at 770-7210.

Retrospective Tasting at Fess Parker Winery

On August 17^th, at the inaugural SummerFess event at Fess Parker Winery, I got to moderate a special retrospective tasting inside the barrel room.



Winemaker Blair Fox pours for the crowd

Winemakers Eli Parker (Fess’ son) and Blair Fox (who became head winemaker in 2005) and winery president Tim Snider (Fess’ son-in-law) led the sell-out group through Ashley’s Vineyard chardonnays and Bien Nacido pinot noirs dating back to 2002, and Rodney’s Vineyard syrahs from as far back as 1999. 

My own take-away?  The ageability of these wines, even the whites, was remarkable.  With the chards – all from Ashley’s Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills – Fox credited the grapes’ remarkably high acidity, which have allowed these wines (especially the 2004, 2005 and 2006 vintages) to retain their freshness and zing. 

With the pinots – all sourced from the legendary Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria, which celebrates its 40^th anniversary this year – the consensus was unanimous: age does these wines well.  Snider pointed out that even the 2002 vintage pinot retained its vibrancy, and I thought the 2005 pinot noir was beautifully structured, supple and lengthy.

The syrahs were a crowd favorite and would have made Fess Parker, who declared his preference for syrah to me on a few occasions, very proud.  Sourced from the winery’s estate Rodney’sVineyard off Foxen Canyon Road, even the 1999 vintage revealed balance of fruit and earth and I thought the 2002 and 2006 syrahs – full-bodied, layered and sophisticated – were gems.

In other Fess Parker Winery news: with Dave Potter having recently left the winemaking team to pursue his own endeavors full time (including Municipal Winemakers and GoodlandWines), David Baird has just been appointed assistant winemaker; previously, he was cellar master at Justin Winery in Paso Robles.

Blair Fox, and his wife Sarah, are also the powerhouse couple behind the ultra-boutique wine project, Blair Fox Wines.

Food Truck Confessions: BBQ Pro Muses on Wine

By Gabe Saglie

(published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on August 29, 2013)

Brian Parks knows barbecue.  He’s made it the cornerstone of his business, after all – a roving food truck that draws crowds by doling out grub that’s tangy as it is sweet and as saucy as it is good.  When I ask him about the name speckled throughout his truck – Georgia’s Smokehouse – he tells me that it personifies “the Southern charm and girl-next-door image that we wanted to have.”

Chef Parks was the Executive Chef at Coast Restaurant inside Santa Barbara’s Canary Hotel for four years – and one of the best things the property had going for it – until the boutique Kimpton brand took it over last year.  He turned the engine on his new culinary venture-on-wheels just this past March.  But, with a tasty blend of culinary prowess and approachable food, he’s quickly enticed a following, especially in the local wine scene.

“We do go to several wineries for weekly stops,” he says.  “We stop at Carr, Pali, and AVA Santa Barbara [in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone] on a regular basis and have visited Bridlewood, Longoria, Fess Parker, Kalrya, Sunstone, Coghlan, and Koehler for special events.”

Suffice it to say, pairing wine to barbecued food is not necessarily intuitive.  Flavors are pronounced and diverse, and the sides that complete a great barbecue meal add myriad layers of tastes and textures.  Parks, himself, admits that the perfect wine match “really depends on the style of BBQ.  Our Southern style has more acid and spice.  I have found that pinot noirs and zinfandels go really well with it, even a fruity and crisp sauvignon blanc.”

When he’s enjoying his own fare, Parks confesses that he’s partial to pinot by Carr Winery’s Ryan Carr, which “pairs nicely with the spice on the ribs.”

 I was thinking lunch, not wine, when I and my two boys – Gabriel and Greyson – approached the order window last week.  Our choices hit the spot.  But, after the crowds had dispersed to enjoy their own tastes of Southern hospitality, they also gave me a chance to explore wine options with the man behind the grill.

The Georgia’s Smokehouse burger is like a canvas, in that it allows patrons to get creative with their own add-ons, from bacon to fried egg; we chose smoked cheddar in all its melted glory.  “We use a third-pound patty and season it with kosher salt and smoked black pepper,” he says.  “Every burger starts with whiskey-caramelized onions and herb-roasted tomatoes on a toasted brioche bun.”  My own match for this would be a juicy red, like a grenache on Mikael Sigouin’s Kaena label or the Hitching Post Hometown pinot by Gray Hartley and Frank Ostini.  But Parks’ pick strikes me as refreshing: “I think a nice, stainless steel-aged chardonnay might work with this because of the herbs and onions on the burger,” he suggests.

The Brisket Sandwich was hearty and flavorful, and the beef was sumptuously tender, cradled by a roasted brioche hoagie roll.  Parks smokes the meat over hickory wood for up to 12 hours before it’s set to rest overnight, trimmed off the fat and then rubbed with proprietary BBQ spices.  It's topped generously with coleslaw – red cabbage, thyme, caraway seeds, red wine vinegar and salt – and crowned with homemade BBQ sauce.  “It has some spice, a little smoky flavor and that great meaty texture,” says the chef.  “I would think a rich cabernet or maybe an old-vine zinfandel would hold its own with brisket and sauerkraut.”

Georgia's Smokehouse making a lunchtime pitstop

If we’re talking favorites, I pick the Pulled Pork Sammy.  Boneless pork shoulder is seasoned with Parks’ BBQ rub, hickory-smoked for six hours and baked with a touch of BBQ sauce for another two.  Once it’s shredded, it snuggles into that toasted hoagie roll along with coleslaw – this one’s made with green cabbage, carrots, Brussels sprouts, Granny Smith apples and an apple cider vinegar-oregano dressing – and crispy onions.  Delectable.  And it “goes best with a pinot noir,” according to Parks.

I agree, especially if it’s a nuanced pinot with natural fruit and earth flavors by the likes of Drake Whitcraft or Byron’s Jonathan Nagy.

Yet, this sandwich has me thinking of a dry riesling by Graham Tatomer, too, with its elegant flavors, shapely frame, mineral overtones and generous dose of acidity.  Or a glass of rosé sparkling wine by Flying Goat Cellars’ Norm Yost, with bouncy berry flavors that lead the way to an effervescent finish.

And therein may lay the key to matching those varied barbecue flavors in the first place – in experimentation and in the willingness to put up several wines to food that’s as satisfying to savor as it’s fun to eat.  Just make sure you’re starting out with really good barbecue. 

Georgia’s Smokehouse has a concise menu, and each item’s a sure bet; the pillowy bacon-and-cheddar Hush Puppies and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich with smoked cheddar and bacon are also standouts.  Specials are often featured depending on the stop.  A three-week schedule of upcoming stops is kept on its web site – www.georgias-smokehouse.com – and updated on its Twitter and Facebook pages.