While Yotam Ottolenghi was taking a breather in Thailand before scheduled opening of his new venture Nopi on February 15, Gal Zohar who's in charge of the wine list has been tasting away to pick the right mix.
For the longest time, convention for wine lists has been to produce a big fat book with selections ordered by country, appellation, variety, vintage, price. Add to that a few verticals and you might be on your way to winning a coveted award.
Except for self-proclaimed wine experts, many restaurant goers ended up feeling lost.
Another issue is that with 'list designers' following the same script, wine lists tended to stand out mostly for their sameness.
Gal Zohar had all that in that mind when he started going through the tasting marathon and decided to map Nopi's wine list by demolishing the usual structure.
You can follow his work in progress on Zohar Wine starting with latest instalment (January 6, 2011).
Amongst 4 favorites that day, I will have to taste Wild Yeast Chardonnay from Springfield Estate (South Africa). He made me thirsty for this unoaked (naked) offering.
Reading Gal Zohar's take and ideas gave me food for thought as an importer sent me their book so I can pick wines I will taste 10 days from now, my homework for the week-end.
(* image above from tasting line up on January 6 by Zohar Wine)