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“For one thing, I had to plough through many, many pages of Rieslings, an odd obsession that would be frustrating to most wine drinkers.”
Well, that’s ONE opinion…
There was a single Riesling on the per-glass list, offered only as a $15 three-ounce tasting. Weird for a place that is hyping Rieslings. (If they wanted to win you over to that august grape, why not offer several in full glass servings at reasonable prices?) Even though I speak some German, I didn’t realize what the “auslese” in the wine’s name meant. I ordered it to go with the dinner that my pal and I were contemplating. Not only did the bartender not warn us that this term designates late-harvest wines that are extremely sweet, the menu made no mention of it either. In other words, we ended up drinking what constituted a pricey dessert wine, falling just short of ice wine in sweetness.
As they say, in the internet age, we’re all critics now. Once upon a time, writing such as this would have appeared in the Voice as satire.
Yes, Claude, especially after this bit: “If Terroir is a place aimed at the wine enthusiast, then I’m their baby. I love wine in all its forms, and try to sample as widely as possible.”
village voice used to be my favorite read… did not know standard has become this low.
Too bad. they used to know the difference between Maui, Oaxaca, Columbia, Peru, Thai, etc.
Exactly. Germany may be a bit outside the consumer mainstream, but it’s not Uruguay. A person who does not know the meaning of “Auslese” (or can’t be bothered to learn about it when going to review a restaurant with a Riesling-heavy list) is ill-equipped to write professionally on the subject.
And of course, it’s not the bartender’s job to assume that a wine bar patron has no idea what he ordered. When we go into a restaurant with a list outside our comfort zone (we’re unfortunately Italian-ignorant, for example) Steve and I speak to a knowledgeable member of the staff. You can’t just pick something at random and then blame the staff for not reading your mind, understanding your preferences, and making a different suggestion. How hard is it to ask for help?
OK, while it may be fun to trash the writer, let me play devil’s advocate:
While a wine bar may attract wine geeks, a lot of patrons won’t know that much about wines. Thus, the menu ought to be laid out in a way that the average person–not just the wine geek–can navigate and understand. If the menu didn’t make it clear that “auslese” was a sweeter wine, then frankly that is a failing.
If the patron orders a wine at a wine bar that clearly doesn’t go well with the food ordered, then the staff ought to have the knowledge and training to politely have a conversation with the patron to make sure it’s what they want. I suspect the average patron may not know that “auslese” is a sweeter wine, and so the staff ought to be alert to that sort of thing and be prepared to steer patrons to a more appropriate selection.
Bruce
Bruce, these guys are the Father’s Office of NYC only MUCH MORE so. They make no bones about the fact that they do what they do and they don’t CARE if you don’t like it. Wine Bar as Punk Rock Record Store.
I am certain they are LOVING this review and that it got them a lot of business besides. Plus they sell these great Bartolo Mascarello T-shirts that say “No Barrique! No Berlusconi!” on the back:
" If the patron orders a wine at a wine bar that clearly doesn’t go well with the food ordered, then the staff ought to have the knowledge and training to politely have a conversation with the patron to make sure it’s what they want."
Can you IMAGINE the bitching there would be here (and especially THERE) if some server told someone that a nice crisp Rosé or a Lambrusco would be a better match with the house BBQ than a bottle of Turley?
Apples and oranges. It’s not the job of staff–either in a wine bar or in a restaurant–to give unsolicited advice that a different wine would pair better than the patron’s selection, and you know that.
Here, the patron ordered a dessert wine with the meal, which should have given a clue to staff that the patron might have been unaware that the wine was sweet. A simple and subtle reference to the sweetness of the wine by staff would have been appropriate.
As for your preceding post, if it really IS the attitude of the wine bar that they don’t care if the patrons like the wine, then I’m even less bothered by the tenor of the review.
Bruce
Re: your first point, I don’t entirely disagree. Wine bars often include descriptors on their lists for wines offered by the glass. It’s a good idea, especially if the whole point is to encourage customers to try new things. On the other hand, and this ties in to your second point, it’s a reasonable assumption that a customer who doesn’t ask questions knows what he or she is ordering. Most of us encounter menu items we’ve never heard of-- an unusual cheese, for example. Is it reasonable for me to order the salad with Fourme d’Ambert and then gripe because I didn’t know it was a blue cheese and I don’t like blue cheeses?
Remember, the author ordered four wines by the glass and an assortment of dishes. This was not a one-on-one pairing. It’s not unreasonable by any stretch to think a patron would want to try an Auslese with dinner. I don’t consider a good Auslese a dessert wine, per se.
Auslese is dessert wine? I would rock it with a spicy lobster salad or a rustic cheese / hard sausage plate in an instant.
“As for your preceding post, if it really IS the attitude of the wine bar that they don’t care if the patrons like the wine, then I’m even less bothered by the tenor of the review.”
No, they know that their real customers love what they do. They don’t care that they are not playing to the masses. In all of their materials this is aggressively self evident. I think the Punk Rock record store is the best analogy. In NYC you can be as niche as you wanna be and I think that’s great.
Plus, the way I read it, the ordered the Auslese intending to have it with the meal they were contemplating, i.e., they ordered it before they ordered the meal. It’s not unusual to have a sweet wine as aperitif.
The comments are getting fun: the author questions if they actually HAVE the wines on their list as he finds the Riesling focus (a seasonal thing) absurd. Fun!
We often take nicely aged Auslesen to Thai restaurants. Dessert shmessert ![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}
I agree–Auslese is not necessarily a dessert wine.
Bruce
Roberto–Anyone who walks into their bar and orders a beverage is a “real customer.” I don’t have a problem with their going for a “niche” vs. playing to the masses. I also think it’s OK for the review to point out that this is not a wine bar to go to if you’re a relative newbie and you’re looking for a helpful menu and helpful staff.
Bruce
Wow, the comments are getting bubbly. This is from the AUTHOR (an employee of the Voice):
“rsietsema says:
Hi Jesse – Didn’t order the pork steak, because it wasn’t on the menu when I got there. Josh: Please introduce me to your friend Jack Shit, he sounds like an interesting fellow. notwineguy: so glad I don’t know you, but if you and your contemptuous pals are the types who hang around Terroir, I’m so glad there are other wine bars in the East Village, where I can count on friendly people hanging out.”
Someone needs to get the guys in PR (and maybe HR) to go talk to that guy about managing reader comments.
Sounds like Roberto nailed it.
Sietsema in the comments section:
“Nevertheless, I detect a snottiness on the part of Terroir and its advocates that is totally unnecessary, and a willingness to render insult where none is needed.”
That sure sounds like most every indy record store circa around 15 years ago.