Several summers ago I spent a weekend camping lakeside with old friends. It was late in the season and the fishing was terrible, so we amused ourselves day drinking and meandering about the shore. At one point on our walk, someone began hollering, noting that we'd stumbled absentmindedly into a grove dense with poison oak. While most of us attempted a slow, nervous retreat, my friend from Chile continued onward, through the brush, in his shorts and T-shirt. Another friend called out to him, worried perhaps there was something lost in translation. "Se-BAS-ti-AN! Those leaves are poison oak! POI- SON. An exaggerated charade of clawing at ourselves followed. But with his thick accent and insouciant smile, Sebastian replied calmly: "It's Oh Kay. I salute the chief...". He flashed a brief gesture of benediction (or perhaps a cub scout's honor?) and sauntered on, carefree - hand in palm comfortably behind his back, chest out and chin high. We collectively shrugged. He'll learn the hard way...
It's odd, I suppose, but we never even asked what he meant by that. And odder still was the fact that by the next day nearly everyone had some rash on their arms or legs to tend to, and Sebastian was untouched, happy as a clam, right as rain.
Sebastian and I remain friends to this day. And while I still don’t understand many of his expressions, he has introduced me to many wonderful things: art, music, Chilean completos... and was also the first to offer me some of the more noteworthy and 'next level' wines from his homeland.
This SUNDAY we'll be featuring some of the most dynamic Chilean wines we have tasted, from ancient vines (most 100-200 years old!). We'll be pouring four beguiling wines from the same producer, Louis-Antoine Luyt. From the importer of natural wines, Louis/Dressner: "Luyt has quickly become a seminal voice in the fight for independent, terroir driven winemaking in Chile. In a country where wine production is run almost entirely by enormous industrial wineries, [he] has managed to source fruit and rent vines from independent farmers throughout the Maule Valley. Furthermore, his insistence on dry farming, horse plowing, organic viticulture and native yeast/intervention free winemaking are welcome proof that wines outside of Europe can successfully be produced with this work philosophy". Come taste the Pipeños of Luyt SUNDAY, 9/15. FOUR Wines (Pet Nat, Blanco, Rosé, and Tinto) - Flights $15 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 8pm.
TONIGHT: Thursday Night Flights! All FRENCH lineup this evening, featuring new arrivals and staff favorites. Red and White Flights just $12 from 5-9 and wines by the glass all evening.
SATURDAY 9/14: Natural Italian Bubbles! Col Fondo style Frizzante wines from Veneto: Le Moss, Menti, Casa Coste Piane. Cloudy and complex and irresistibly refreshing. Flights $15 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm.
See you soon,
Daniel