Results tagged: The French Laundry

Tomorrow evening Per Se kicks off its An American Table at Per Se dinner series with special guest Wells Guthrie of Sonoma County's Copain Wine Cellars. The series will allow guests to experience limited production American wines alongside a seven-course tasting menu, "specially crafted to highlight the old world nuances and flavors reflected in the wines." In addition, each guest winemaker will lead a discussion around their techniques, influences and personal winemaking style.

We spoke with Guthrie recently to learn about Copain, his background and his past experience working with the team at The French Laundry and Per Se.

How long has Copain been around?

1999 was our first vintage. We did a whopping 300 cases.

How much are you producing now?

For our vineyard designated wines, we do about 4,000 cases. That's split over six different Pinots, a few Syrahs, so about 10 wines. We have an appellation wine called Tous Ensemble, which means "all together." The appellation wines that we make are more readily accessible.

How did you get into winemaking?

I started working at Wine Spectator. I worked there for two years as their tasting coordinator in San Francisco. I set up all of the tastings for the domestic wines. I got to taste all of the wine, which was cool. Getting to taste 3,000 to 4,000 wines a year gets your palette honed for what you do and don't like.

New Videos Added This Week:
The French Laundry with executive chef/owner Thomas Keller and chef de cuisine Corey Lee (SF)
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon with executive chef/owner Joël Robuchon (NY)

And the Stars Shined
This week Joël Robuchon received three stars from The New York Times food critic, Frank Bruni, and Thomas Keller became the first American chef to have two restaurants receive three star honors from Michelin. Chef Keller's restaurant is truly an extraordinary experience and if I had to give stars out for the meal I enjoyed there, I would bestow a kajillion, or in fellow blogger Augieland terms, perhaps 874 unquestionablezillion stars. But this week, the Michelin man is under fire - and burning tires smell bad.

Just one day after being released, many San Francisco bloggers have already weighed in with opinions on the Michelin stars. Similar to many New Yorkers reaction to Michelin's arrival, a lot of people in the know are doing some serious head scratching. Perhaps most surprisingly, the accuracy of the new guide has been brought into question. Ouch.

Chocolate expert, former Chez Panisse pastry chef and Paris resident, David Lebovitz's post was probably our favorite and one comment he made really stood out to us. In his post he says, "if a guidebook told me I had to go [to Manresa], I most likely wouldn't. But I had met the chef, David Kinch, and really liked him a lot, and the way he talked about food was not reverential or pretentious, but calm and sensible. He had a great spirit and humor about what he does and I really anticipated eating his food." That connection to the people behind the place is an element that tends to be missing from restaurant guides that only offer a rating or a short paragraph in summary of a restaurant. You might guess that we prefer a combination of reviews, ratings and a "get to know your chef" approach made possible through video.

Here are some other interesting comments worth reading...

• Making Sense of the Michelin Stars on Michael Bauer's Between Meals on sfgate.com
• Oy Vey, Michelin! on Confessions of a Restaurant Whore
• Michelin Guide Results Announced on San Francisco Gourmet

...and an interview with Jean-Luc Naret, Michelin Guide Director, at Via Magazine.

If you haven't yet seen them, videos for a number of Michelin-starred restaurants are available on Savory San Francisco: Michael Mina (2), Chez Panisse (1), Fleur de Lys (1), Quince (1) and Range (1).

Enjoy!

New Listings on Savory New York: Sakagura -- Una Pizza Napoletana -- Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano -- Dylan Prime -- STK -- Porter House New York -- Da Silvano -- The Water Club -- Brasserie Ruhlmann -- Crema Restaurante

New Listings on Savory San Francisco: Cafe Maritime -- Bong Su -- El Raigon -- Mantra