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The Concept:

Leave it to the Swiss to come up with such a fantastic and original idea: a wine bottling party to promote Swiss wines in New York City! Swiss wine journalist Chandra Kurt came up with the idea. She then pitched her proposal to two world-renowned Swiss wineries, Jean-René Germanier and Provins, both of which graciously consented to have their wines bottled in a special event at the City Winery.

The Venue:

The City Winery, located at the heart of Soho, is the only winery in the City of New York. It was founded by Michael Dorf in 2008. It is a fully equipped winery, producing wines using wine grapes from all over the world. French winemaker David Lecomte heads the City Winery’s professional wine making team. Next time you are there, try his Petite Syrah. You’ll find it hard to believe you’re drinking wine made in NYC. The City Winery is a great place for hanging out. It is place where people can get together, enjoy wines produced on-site and listen to live music. Artists like Suzanne Vega and Elvis Costello have performed there. Want to try your hand at wine making? The City Winery also offers aspiring wine makers and hobbyists the opportunity to make their own wines.

The Wines:

Two wines, one from each participating Swiss winery, were selected for bottling. One of them is a white wine, a Petite Arvine “Cru des Domaines” 2007 from Provins. The other is a red wine, a Syrah “Cayas” 2008 from Jean-René Germanier (see Jean-René Germanier Winery post for my Cayas wine review and tasting notes).  A barrel of each wine was shipped to NYC with the help of Laurent Crolla of Swiss Cellars, a distributor of Swiss wines in the United States.

The Party:

Winemakers, sommeliers, wine experts, gourmands, wine importers, wine enthusiasts, and members of the media were amongst those invited to attend this first-of-its-kind event for Swiss wines. Swiss Wines in the City started with a “bottling party.” It went exactly as you imagine: the wines described above were bottled right in front of the guests. After the bottling party, there was a dinner party. The guests were then able to sample a wide variety of wines from the cellars of Provins and Jean-René Germanier.

After Party:

After dinner, we headed to Terroir, Paul Grieco’s latest wine bar and a top NYC hot spot located in Tribeca. We were just in time to share some of the Swiss wines with sommeliers and food critics from all over the country who had just attended the 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards. Cheers!

Typical Format

First, the theme and the basic criteria are set. Next, the competing sommeliers are selected. Up to three sommeliers are chosen to compete. The competing sommeliers have to volunteer, of course; these sommeliers compete for personal glory and do not represent their establishment. Once the candidates have been selected, the location (usually a private residence) is selected next. During the contest, the competing sommeliers may be required to prepare as many as three dishes. Most of the cooking must be done on-site. The sommeliers must not only cook the best dishes; more importantly, they must pair their dishes with the right wines. The “best somm in the kitchen” is chosen by a panel of three judges who can be chefs, sommeliers and/or food critics. Typically, the judges select the winner based on food presentation, originality, taste, and wine pairing.

A Toast-Worthy Experience

Let me tell you. There really is nothing better than when gourmands get together and show off their hidden culinary skills, share their favorite dishes and pair them with the perfect wines. If you get lucky enough to get invited to “Somms in the Kitchen,” don’t forget to bring the required bottle of wine. And it had better be decent wine! When you have twenty plus sommeliers in the house – sommeliers, I might add, who work in some of the most prestigious restaurants in the country – the last question you want to hear anyone asking about your wine contribution is, “Who brought this bum wine?” Cheers!