WineBizNews: Graham's at Squaw : Great Wine List, Great Food, Warm Ambiance!

There are many places to enjoy Holiday dinners with great wine selections around Tahoe. My choice this year is Graham’s at Squaw Valley. For warmth of both surrounding and personnel, a classic dinner with classic wines, and very attentive wine experts, it’s hard to beat. You’ll find it tucked away behind Granite Chef at 1650 Squaw Valley Road.

Rich Trattnow is the well-versed sommelier who took almost two decades to build the wine list from 45 to over 600 wines. When you go onto their website, http://www.dinewine.com/, you can pull up the 37-page wine list to peruse before you go. My advice? Let Rich guide you with your selections.

He selected the 2006 Barton & Guestier Sauternes to pair with the pear & foie gras appetizer. The aroma of honeysuckle is immediately noticeable, and the taste was the classic dessert wine profile. An interesting pairing, and it worked beautifully. $12/glass.

What’s a sauterne? Here’s a useful tidbit from snooth.com: “The great sweet wines of Bordeaux, Sauternes, are among the most decadent, complex and simply enjoyable wines. Based on a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc that has been infected with the "noble rot", Botrytis Cinerea, Sauternes are rich, honied wines bursting with notes of vanilla, coconut, dried apricots and subtle spice tones. They are usually very sweet and rich with a soft quality to them that makes them appealing in their youth yet they can age and improve for decades. “ Alcohol content is usually 14% or higher.

Our next small plate was fig wrapped with bacon and served on a bed of watercress. To pair, Rich chose the 2007 Castello Banfi Pinot Grigio San Angelo Toscana. The grassy character of this wine is evident on the nose, and carries through to the palette also. Although most Pinot Grigio is associated with Northern Italy, the climate of Tuscany, where this wine is from, indicates a good growing region here too. This wine has an aroma that is fruity and intensive, and a taste that is clean and refreshing. Some wine writers see if as a superb aperitif wine as well as a food wine. $30/bottle. 12.5% alcohol.

The lambchop with mashed potato paired well with the 2006 Chateau de Pez Bordeaux, Saint Estephe. In a few words, it is ripe and attractive. A blend of 70% cabernet, 15% cabernet franc, and 15% merlot, this wine hails from the Haut Medoc region of Bordeaux. The importer’s notes: ”Warm and spicy fruit, nutty oak, and a ripe and supple character on the palate. It has a well composed style, with a vigorous acid backbone and plenty of tannic grip beneath." In Graham’s wine cellar, the 1995 sells for $95/bottle. See if he has any of the 2006 around, it is quite good. 13% alcohol traditionally.

What to pair with the beef filet with wild mushroom demi-glaze and white truffle mashed potatoes? Rich selected McDowell Valley 2002 Syrah, sourced from the winery’s vineyards 100 miles north of San Francisco nestled in the Mayacamas Mountains of southeastern Mendocino Count. These vineyards are home to some of the oldest Syrah vines in the United States, dating back to 1919. This is a well-priced wine that received an 88 point rating in Wine Spectator, which reviewed it thus: “Lots of ripe, up-front floral and lavender aromas, with spice, wild berry, cedar and black cherry fruit, offering intensity and richness, with firm tannins and a touch of tar and spice.” $44/bottle. 15% alcohol.

There are many other interesting wines to taste: let Rich guide you! Graham’s is located at 1650 Squaw Valley Road in Olympic Valley, California. Call (530) 581-0454 for hours and reservations.