Passionfish wines: Huet and Gonon, added Hirtzberger and 2016 Gonon

2015 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (9/25/2018)
From a half bottle: dark, meaty crushed fruit nose, then deep, brooding dark red fruit, fairly strong fine tannins, a beam of mouthwatering acidity cuts through the dried herbs and mild spice. so lively and delicious at this young stage, will be interesting to follow over the years - though it’s hard resist drinking now. (93 pts.)

2017 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (9/25/2018)
Opens with a pleasant, lightly herbal/fruity nose, showing medium depth of slightly reserved fruit, some nice umami/saline notes, and a touch of mouthwatering tartness, with some nice minerality showing up late through the finish; not overly deep or complex but nicely balanced, low alcohol/sweetness, a good sign for the vintage, and the heavier hitting Bourg and Mont bottlings. (90 pts.)

I went to Passionfish once. Once. We brought our wine from my date’s 13,000 bottle cellar. The food was inedible. Sent it back twice. Maybe for out of towners looking to try some wine stuff off the menu, but I really do not understand the love for this place. And Alan, why would you go there? I think you have a decent cellar, no?

I have only heard good things about Passion Fish and planning to go soon. Eager to hear

My meals have been perfectly fine there, nothing groundbreaking or exciting but a fun place to hang out casually and take advantage of retail pricing on some fun wines. Why wouldn’t a wine lover want to go to one of the fairest priced wine list restaurants in the country? Sounds like you had a bad night Merrill, but unless it’s changed lately I’d go again. Not every meal need be Michelin star worthy, sometimes you just like to go out and not get raked over the coals for a decent wine.

A little pretentious there don’t you think? I was chastised once for “bringing” wine to Passionfish…you don’t bring wine to a place that has a pretty strong list of wines that are largely mailing list, low production, and quite sought after…and they ONLY charge a small markup over COST!! Not your typical 300% restaurant gouge! The food is just fine…but people go for the wine imo.
I take it they don’t serve your wine there?

I went to Arby’s once. Once. We brought our bottle from my date’s purse. The food was inedible. Sent it back twice. Maybe for out of towners looking to try some beef and cheddar, but I really do not understand the love for this place.

Yeah, pretty tough comment coming from Merrill… we had a very nice meal. Been there 3 times all solid. I would never bring wine to Passionfish. They do one of the best jobs in the US providing amazing wines at amazing prices. I have not been to a place that compares with their prices. I feel we need to support places like Passionfish and promote more places to do the same with their wine program. Just my 2 cents…

Alan, how was the food ?

I had to go look at their list, of course. Wow. I cannot think of another restaurant in the US that has such as great list with so many things I’d be delighted to drink and such reasonable prices. All recent vintages, so not a Bern’s (which I’ve never been to sadly). But still would be a delight to frolic in that cellar. Which I mean figuratively. Probably.

Merrill, I’m really sorry you had a less than satisfying experience. I’m not sure how to counter that, except to say I’ve been there on the order of a couple dozen times (I used to attend conferences regularly at nearby Asilomar). I have always enjoyed the experience, my wife is always happy to go back, and colleagues and customers I’ve taken there have enjoyed it as well. You must have hit it on a particularly off night. While it’s not “fancy”, it is still a nice place to dine (particularly the front room which I much prefer to the more claustrophobic tables that run down the side of the restaurant). They do specialize in seafood, so if you were looking for something else, I can understand it might be disappointing (they usually have only one non-seafood dish, I’m not even sure I’ve ever seen a pasta dish). My wife had a very nice piece of halibut, perfectly cooked and very flavorful, while I went with three starters - a raw hamachi, their always present calimari, and an heirloom tomato & nectarine salad. I was very happy. Only once have I brought a wine in: last year for our 30th anniversary, when I brought a 1987 Mondavi Reserve (and bought a white off their list). I did fail to mention that the two bottles I posted here were halves. I don’t know many restaurants that would have those wines available at all, let alone as halves - for not much over retail pricing.

Fortunately, there are a number of other alternatives in Pacific Grove, Monterey, and Carmel, so you have lots of good options next time you are down there

Agree with you Alan. Have close friends in Pacific Grove only a few blocks from there and eaten their a dozen+ times over the last 10 years and never had a disapointing meal. Great wine selection as well and totally unpretentious.

Mr.Buzz: no, I do not offer my wine for sale at Passion Fish. But I have wine. And access at good prices for great wine. No pretention. “Just fine” is not what I am looking for in food. I have wine.
My daughter was in school in Monterey (Santa Catalina) for a few years, so I became a"regular" at many of the places in the area. That restaurant was pretentious in their attitude that their food only needed to be “perfectly fine.” This does not mean you can’t enjoy the place. But to bring your own wine and wish you had brought your own food does not cut it for me.

I guess everyone is too polite to say anything about the irony of some of the comments here .

That’s quite a wine list! And extremely well-price (Gonon 2014 @ $52!). Would love to see a restaurant like that in Orlando.

There are those who are passionate about fish, and others who are not.

In my experience also a wonderful restaurant with a wonderful list. Maybe Merrill you had a less than sterling meal there once and/or were p.o.ed that they did not want to open your wine? But the wine list, as others have said, is the thing and is a gem, and they are not pretentious about the food, which on its own terms is damn good. Is there anywhere else nearby where the cuisine is actually better? (When I used to go, mainly around “the turn of the century”–omg–there was not. But interested to know if that has changed.)

I think you’ve already cornered the market for Gonon in Florida that there’s nothing left for restaurants!

I had mediocre food at Troquet, twice, and a negative experience at Taillevent, so like bottle variation, it happens.

This does not mean that all others who have enjoyed these restaurants are wrong and it doesn’t mean I am wrong, but it certainly doesn’t make me the arbiter of whether these restaurants are good or not in other peoples’ experiences.

Jimmy Buffett’s?

What a fun list! Especially at those fair prices. I wouldn’t mind having a restaurant like that locally. Better for my wallet since I’d be tempted to purchase wines to take home with me =)

They opened 2 bottles of wine from my date’s cellar. That was fine. The food was not. My opinion (and my date’s). I’m going to ask Todd if I can have 2 accounts - one for me as a wine-lover/buyer/consumer like most on the Board, and then an account for me as a grower/winemaker. This post has nothing to do with my wine or my position in the wine business.

I like Luca in Carmel, but have not been in a few years. The “oyster place” on the main drag is a fun place for bloody marys and fish and chips.

Now I am going to span both of my “accounts” and say that for many of us who grow/live/make/produce in Napa Valley, we are not looking at a wine list as others who come from other parts of the country. That is just the way it is. I won’t apologize for that. But anyone headed to Passionfish for food might benefit from my post. If you do not like it, put me on ignore.