The Wine Hit List, Peak Summer Edition: Dame, LittleMad, Da Toscano, and More

Well of course folks notice when half your list is a tribute to Austin Powers, and the other half to James Bond. But chef Ed Szymanski has pulled off a lot more than a party trick here. In addition to building the menu of one of New York’s most shimmering spots right now, Szymanski has put together a perfectly bifurcated wine diptych: one side for when you want to behave, one when you want to bee-HAAAYVE.

The more shaggish half leans into a natural-minded avant garde, with current pop faves (Joe Swick, Dirty & Rowdy, Fred Cossard) but also a whole lot of unheralded gems (California’s Thee & Thou, the Loire’s La Porte Saint Jean). The 007 side is less outré but no less cutting-edge: Champagne from rising star André Heucq, rosé from California’s Matthiasson, Beaujolais from Yvon Métras.

Speaking of which, the final category on that side: “Red wine with fish. Well, that should have told me something.” (It’s From Russia With Love.)  Yes, Szymanski’s menu is seafood-driven. But Dame isn’t going to play by your rules, Mr. Bond; reminiscent of handful of other bold fish-focused spots (Sur Mer in Paris comes to mind) it is willing to be red-plentiful. Which is a delight, because there’s plenty on the menu, like tuna tartare with bottarga, to accompany perfectly — and prove that 007’s old suppositions are just that: old.

La Grange de l’Oncle Charles Alsace Pétillant Naturel, 2019  ($62)
One of Alsace’s new talents making fizzy wine from the underappreciated auxerrois grape. Here’s your wine for Dame’s now Insta-famous fish and chips.

Amid the brilliant handful of new New York restaurants focused on new-wave Korean cooking, LittleMad blends in the twist of chef Sol Han’s experience cooking in Western European-minded kitchens, including Le Coucou and Ai Fiori. So there’s a torchon made from the dried sliced meat known as pyeonyuk; and branzino with ramp kimchi. And operations manager Christina Jasmine is overseeing a list that plays to the best in all the traditions Han is bringing to the table — namely in wines that show a savory edge.

While the tilt here is largely French, it’s never obviously so; you might encounter sparkling gamay from Bernard Vallette in deep southern Beaujolais, or pinot noir from California’s hard-to-find Rhys Vineyards, or the white Coucou Blanc from Elian Da Ros in the little-known Cotes du Marmandais, just south of Bordeaux. Also, should you feel like going big, a “Mädder Wine” section goes into rare air: Krug and Cristal, and Burgundies from Denis Mortet and Domaine Tessier, but also a 1999 pinot noir from Oregon’s Eyrie. Plus a handful of picks of makgeollli, the Korean rice beverage, and other Korean distilled spirits.

2020 Karine Lauverjat Sancerre Rosé ($16 glass, $64/bottle)
Lauverjat is one of the roster of emerging talents in a region (Sancerre) that’s popular if not super dynamic.  But Sancerre is the new benchmark for great rosé, typically made of pinot noir, and here’s a prime example: mineral-driven, edgy, distinctive. 

COS Maldafrica Sicilia Red, 2017 ($90)
You may well have encountered wines from Sicily’s Occhipinti family and their COS label. What you likely haven’t seen is their Maldafrica, a Bordeaux-style blend grown on Sicilian limestone and aged in buried amphorae — too far south for those grapes, typically, and very much not Italian. Except it is, in that COS has leaned into a taut, energetic aspect that gets better as it breathes in the glass.

In an era when the newest Italian restaurants tend to make their presence known, Michael and Caitlin Toscano’s place made a subtle entrance in early 2020. The space on Minetta Lane was a familiar one to them, having housed the Perla, where Michael ran the kitchen. Having endured a long pandemic slog, they’ve quietly built a gem, with a stellar team that includes beverage director Madeline Maldonado, a veteran of Eataly, Vestry Wines, and more.

Toscano’s cooking thrives on its little twists — sour beer in the scialatelli with clams, the broccoli rabe for orecchiette done in pesto form. And Maldonado’s extensive list does much the same. So there’s a roster of classic Italian reds, including Tuscans like Il Palazzone and Le Pupille, but also ​​Bradisismo, a cabernet-driven red from Soave producer Inama. And a fair dose of France and California in the mix. (Pro tip: Don’t sleep on Sébastien David’s Hurluberlu, from the Loire.) Plus cellar selections reminiscent of the Barolo and Barbaresco deep cuts that once defined the list at Babbo, mere blocks away.

Fratelli Alessandria Rossoluna Langhe Rosso,  2016 ($80)
If you’re feeling Piedmont but not necessarily the big sluggers, this longtime property in in Verduno has you, with a blend that hits a trifecta of local grapes: nebbiolo, barbera, and freisa, and brings the best qualities of each for a red that’s gutsy, fragrant, and endlessly versatile.

Folk Machine California Gamay Noir Rosé, 2020 ($65)
Kenny Likitprakong’s eminently versatile label taps a new source of the ever-growing roster of domestic gamay, this time in Monterey County’s Arroyo Seco. The latest in a great lineage of California pink wine that’s both serious and deeply summery.

Much has been written about this Harlem spot’s groundbreaking efforts with accessibility, but there’s also the important matter of wine director Yannick Benjamin’s actual wine selections. And no doubt, Benjamin’s long experience (including a lengthy stint at the pioneering retailer Le Du’s, and as founder of Wine on Wheels) shows that perfect mix of curiosity and confidence. 

The list at Contento isn’t as gonzo in format as Dame, but it’s split into five sections: “East Coast Terroir,” “The Lost Wines,” and so on — thought-provoking thematic bundles that reveal of a long view of wine rarely seen these days. So, yes, 2009 riesling from the Mosel’s Von Hovel and, yes, a 1995 Napa cabernet from California’s Silver Oak. (Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it.) They just don’t built wine lists like this much anymore, so enjoy the deep effort Benjamin put in. 

Domaine Génot-Boulanger Beaune Blanc En Lulunne, 2017 ($90)
This Meursault estate certainly should know its way around white wine, but Guillaume and Aude Lavollée looked a bit further north here — namely to Beaune hill itself, whose wines aren’t often seen, and certainly not its whites. This bottle, from a cold plot nestled all the way up top against the Beaune woods, is likely to change that.

Analemma Wines Mosier Hills Grenache, 2018 ($85)
Stephen Thompson runs one of the Northwest’s most exceptional wineries — and while he often is known for sparkling wine, he’s also fixated on grenache, here grown in the temperate Columbia Gorge. One of the most unique and ethereal Oregon wines you’ll find.

Since its inception in 2019 from the Hart’s/Cervo’s team, this Classon Ave. chicken joint has exuded a very chill confidence in its tightly edited, naturally-tilting wine selections. That continues now, as its doors are fully back open. And much like the simplicity of the menu (half chicken, whole chicken, chicken sandwich) it’s easy to just give into the good choices already made for you, and not overthink it — doubly so for prices that feel closer to retail.

It looks as though the list is actually slightly bulked up from the before times, with handy picks of not only white and red, but also orange, rosé and chilled reds — a full spectrum. So choices like Uivo’s Curtido, a skin-contact Portuguese white can make friends with Henry Marionnet’s Terres Blondes gamay from the Loire. None of which is to say you should skip the cocktails; the white Negroni is a keeper.

Meinklang Prosa, Österreich Sparkling, 2020 ($13/glass, $45/bottle)
Fizzy wine is just the thing with chicken of any sort, and this Burgenland producer continues to rally with its eminently drinkable bubbles. This is all pinot noir, young and salmon-colored, vivacious and probably what you want to drink all of August.

Antonio Pereira Tinto Bom Vinho Verde, 2017 ($46)
If you’re thinking “vinho verde” and white wine, guess again. Pereira has tapped the touriga nacional grape, grown biodynamically in Portugal’s northwest, to make a lightly frizzante red wine. Don’t hesitate to ask them to put a slight chill on it.

Few places bask in summer like King, doubly so with its Italianate patio — and even more with its recently debuted King rosé, its provenance familiar to longtime pink fans: Domaine de Fontsainte, whose Gris de Gris from Corbières has fueled many an oyster party.  

But every corner of Annie Shi’s list is dynamic, and with hot season here, which means she’s leaning a bit heavier into Italian whites — perfect accompaniment for the Mediterranean-tinged cooking from Jess Shadbolt and Clare de Boer’s kitchen. But there’s also no shortage of buoyant reds, like cesanese from Lazio’s Damiano Ciolli or the mineral thwack of Danjou-Banessy’s Raboul from the Roussillon. The reserve list has bulked out a bit too, if you’re feeling like a summer splurge: Barolo from Bartolo Mascarello, white Burgundy from Coche-Dury (!) and more. 

Domaine Terrebrune, Bandol Blanc,  2020 ($75)
You might know Bandol rosé, and even red Bandol, if you know the wines of Domaine Tempier. But there’s so much more to this most iconic of Provençal appellations.  Terrebrune’s Georges Delille has long shown its less-known side — not just with rosé that can age for decades, but a white Bandol, mostly from clairette, that telegraphs this less trafficked part of the southern French coast.

Riccardo Bruna, Le Russeghine Liguria Pigato, 2019 ($75)
Moving slightly further along the coast, to Italy, here’s one of the greatest examples made of the pigato grape. Which, if that doesn’t sound familiar, is the wonderful grape vermentino. (Or is it?) In any case, the Bruna family is the standard-bearer for pigato, with the property now run by Riccardo’s daughter Francesca. And much like the Terrebrune, this is a coastal summer white on overdrive.