Tablas Creek Vineyard Blog: 2019's Most Memorable Meals

Our Favorite Stories of the Decade

An Interview with Wine Speak Co-Founders Chuck Furuya, MS and Amanda Wittstrom-Higgins

After a year on the road selling Tablas Creek to many of America's coolest restaurants, it's time to sift through the photos of the most memorable feasts I've faced and my bloodwork analysis from the local laboratory. The bar for well orchestrated and flavorful cuisine continues to be lifted no matter which part of the US you're in, but I must confess I did not work the Dakotas in 2019. Some of the restaurants I featured in last year's post were worthy of a return, but I wanted to highlight some new tasty terrain. As much as I love the extravagant plate I'm also a fan of casual simplicity, and thanks to the array of wines we produce, there's a bottle for everything in that spectrum, be it a boot-scooting steakhouse, ramen bar, or raw oysters at home. Warning: this will cause both hunger and thirst.

Mamanoko, San Francisco

Remember when most American sushi restaurants had the most generic wine offerings (and massive corkage fees)? In San Francisco, this Marina-district gem has been flowing through Patelin de Tablas Rouge and some bright minerally European whites on their glass list for a refreshing change of pace. Our California distributor Regal introduced me to Mamanoko early in 2019, and the least I could do was open a bottle of Esprit de Tablas Blanc 2014 for the group to go with fresh simple sushi courses and crunchy rolls like these, as well as lightly seared albacore tataki. I looked around the crowded dining room and most tables were having wine instead of sake. (Warning: the chocolate chip cookie dough roll on the dessert menu was the best dessert I've ever encountered).

Cotogna, San Francisco Holy Ravioli! Use the base of the wine glass in the upper right of the frame to size this monster up. Part of the Quince group, which has featured our wines on their Biblical wine list for years, their North Beach sister kitchen is churning out some classic and fun comfort food like this. I could've used this ravioli as a pillow halfway through it.

ETTO Pastificio, Paso Robles

Speaking of ravioli... Not only do I represent our wines, I work alongside our spirited shepherd Nathan Stuart to sell our biodynamic lamb to chefs, including the boutique pasta maker Etto in Paso Robles Tin City neighborhood. On social media I saw that Etto was handcrafting a limited batch of Lamb and Mint raviolis, so I rushed down and picked up one of the last bags in stock. Intended to feed four of us, my five year old daughter and I crushed the entire bag standing in the kitchen, just while tasting to see if they were ready or not! They needed nothing more than a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Humboldt County Wine Guild

A platter of just plucked and shucked Kumamoto Oysters was how the Humboldt County Wine Guild welcomed me to their Monday night blind tasting group in April. There was a back up cooler that got devoured too, mostly while paired with Vermentino and Patelin de Tablas Blanc. Simple, saline and perfect.

Bibi Ji, Santa Barbara

In February we joined the owners of Ember in Arroyo Grande for dinner at Bibi Ji in downtown Santa Barbara. With a cool India-meets-Santa Barbara menu and a wine bar aesthetic, we lucked into an older Grand Cru Alsatian Riesling for a relative steal, to pair with their notorious Uni Fried Rice.

Prince's Hot Chicken, Nashvillle TN

My friends and family know that I can't do spice. So when our Nashville Vineyard Brands rep Melissa Wilkinson and I were killing time before an incredible ten course Tablas Creek wine dinner at Tailor Nashville, she drove me to Prince's Hot Chicken for lunch, which was profiled in a wild New Yorker article this year. Going with the flow so to speak, I asked Mel which option to go with. There was no spice, mild, spicy, or hot, and rumor has it the next level off menu spice option required a note from your doctor (for real) to even order. This pictured here was mild, and the flavor was so radical, so perfect in salt, heat and all things red, that I soldiered through it in awe, respect, and disbelief that I was even digesting such a thing.

Amuse, Ashland, OR

I ended my year of travel in beautiful Ashland, Oregon, home to many of the vines we sold out of our nursery. Southern Oregon has done an incredible job growing Rhone varietals, and at this dinner at Amuse many local winemakers and industry turned up in gratitude for what Tablas Creek has provided to their wine country. We had sent an entire lamb up the week before to chef Erik Brown for the event, and this particular dish, listed as "Charcoal Grilled Tablas Creek Lamb Sausage, Kohlrabi-Tabouleh and Spiced Yogurt" was the digestible highlight of my year. Paired with Patelin de Tablas Rouge, it vanished within a minute's time.