Saturday, March 1st, 2008

Uncorked!

Your Guide to Milwaukee’s Best Wine Bars

By Kristine Hansen Illustrations by Ilana Kohn

Inside this 37-year-old restaurant on Milwaukee’s East Side, with dim lighting, love notes carved into its wooden booths and walls, and classical music playing, it is the wine list that sparkles.

Most of Pizza Man’s wines—aside from a few from Italy and France, Washington and Oregon—are from California. Boasting more than 500 bottles, it’s among the best California-focused wine lists in the country.

“We probably have the largest selection of California wines by the bottle, certainly around here,” says General Manager Curtis Strohl. “And we also have more California wines by the glass than anywhere. I don’t know anyone in Vegas doing this, not even in San Francisco or Napa.” Wines are poured in Riedel stemware and range from $4 (house wine) to $66 (1991 Spottswoode 10th Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon) a glass.

Michael Amidzich opened Pizza Man in 1970, during a time when he and his friends were deeply interested in California wines. He put the wines on the menu despite their lack of popularity. “At the time, it was part of a subculture, certainly not part of the fine-dining scene,” Strohl says.

The menu includes snails marinated in white wine for three days, tossed with a butter and garlic sauce, then cooked in wine, sherry and brandy. The perfect complement to the dish is Syrah, says Strohl.

Contrary to popular belief, white wines pair well with a pizza’s sauce, cheese and toppings. “California Chardonnay goes great with pizza, as does a Chenin Blanc or a dry Riesling,” Strohl says. Also, “American Pinot Grigio is fleshier than the Italian Pinot Grigio, but both go great with pizza.”

Today, Milwaukee is brimming with sommeliers and well-endowed wine lists, as well as wine bars. Even as few as five years ago, there weren’t this many options.

Cuvée, the city’s first champagne and sparkling wine bar, opened in the Third Ward in September. Owners Kimberly Floyd and Kris Gorski opted for a glam design in the 6,500-square-foot space. Bamboo flooring was installed and brick walls preserved. The color gold was chosen for its grandeur, as was the lamé over fiberglass panels accenting one wall. The focal point of the venue is a circular granite bar that sports more than 120 champagnes and sparkling wines. On Tuesday evenings, you can order pulled pork on baguettes paired with carefully selected vintages. Other nights are reserved for milk-chocolate truffles and cheese with more delightful pairings.

In the heart of the city’s Italian-immigrant neighborhood, which sports a funky collection of bars, cafés and vintage-clothing shops, is Balzac Wine Bar, an upscale spot that opened its doors two and a half years ago. An eclectic mix of music plays nightly (softly, so as not to disrupt conversations) in this dark-walled space that features intimate nooks and mood lighting, perfect for cozying up to your date. Near the entrance is the wine-storage area, where many gems are kept. During the warmer months, patrons spill onto the outdoor seating areas in back and front.

The wine list is written in a quirky manner, for example, the description for N/V Moët & Chandon Whitestar contains a reference to Manager Peter Bressert: “Diddy’s fav, and mine too. The P. The E. The T. The E. The Y. It’s Petey. Hold Up.” Bar manager Nathan Rosenbalm says about the list, “It’s a huge spectrum. We include as many less-known wines from as many regions as we can. We had a Lebanese wine this summer. It just blew people away. It was one of the most popular wines.”

Flights (three wines in each, $10-$22) are always changing and have included “I Want My A.O.C.” and “Spanish Skittles.” If you’re hungry, munch on small plates that range from sweet to savory and include granita with Grand Marnier cream cheese-stuffed strawberries and rum-buttered mussels.

Popular with both business travelers and locals, Blu is an intimate lounge on the top floor of The Pfister Hotel. Two crystal and gold chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and there’s a breathtaking view of Milwaukee’s skyline out of floor-to-ceiling windows. On Friday and Saturday nights, the lounge is filled with live music. The wine list offers selections by the glass or bottle, from Pinot Noir to Riesling. “Pinot Noir is hard to keep on the list due to popularity, especially those from Oregon,” Manager Julie Haurston says. “They are the hottest wines right now.”

Flights ($12-$15) vary, but reds and whites are always available. They serve cheese flights for pairing, and goodies like tapenade and chocolate-covered strawberries.

The classic bar has quickly become a popular spot for marriage proposals and celebrations. Recently, the kitchen staff-at the request of a visitor-placed an engagement ring among chocolate-covered strawberries and brought it out to the soon-to-be engaged woman. With all the choices Milwaukee offers vino lovers- whether it be red or white, romantic occasion or night out with colleagues-why not stop in and enjoy a glass or two?

TASTINGS ABOUT TOWN

Several wine shops host tastings, a no-cost (or low-cost) opportunity to drop in and sample what’s for sale.

Vintage Fine Wine Selections’ tastings are free on Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoons. Monthly classes ($30-$80) offer up eight different wines each. 262-250-1602; www.vintagegermantown.com

Balzac’s Wine School meets on Thursday nights, and each class features a different speaker with a different speciality. Past lectures include “Wine 101: Why it’s not rude to spit” and “Terroir: Why we love the French.” 414-755-0099; www.balzacwinebar.com

Just down the street on Wednesday nights, Waterford Wine Co. hosts a class ($25-$50) taught by owner Ben Christiansen. “I want people to have a lot of fun, but also get to know the wines and understand them better. There isn’t a topic I rule out,” he says. Ten wines that share a common theme are sampled in each class, such as “A Tour of Napa Valley Cabernet: Mountain vs. Valley Floor” and “Champagne’s Tête de Cuvées.” 414-289-9463; www.waterfordwine.com

Up on the North Shore, Mequon’s Grapes and Grain hosts classes ($20-$40) Monday and Wednesday nights that range from cognac and rum to wines of France. 262-240-0206; www.grapesandgrain.com

And southwest of downtown, in Franklin, Chuckie’s House of Wine hosts wine tastings from time to time (free-$20). 414-425-9800; www.chuckieswine.com

TOP WINE PICKS

Every sommelier or wine buyer has his or her favorites, though it may be difficult to choose just one.

For PETER BRESSERT of Balzac, one favorite is the 2005 Domaine Serene Coeur Blanc, a white Pinot Noir from Oregon. “It’s kind of a coup d’etat for a little wine bar in Milwaukee to have such an amazing wine,” he says. The 5H Riesling is another of his favorites. Bressert says it’s “loaded with minerality and high acidity, which is great with food pairings.”

Cuvée owners KIMBERLY LLOYD and KRIS GORSKI have no problem choosing five staples on their menu:

• Cristalino Extra Dry Cava
• Zardetto Prosecco
• Gruet
• Raumland Prestige Brut
• Shingleback Black Bubbles, because, Gorski says, “I took it off the menu for a week and got a lot of flack for it.”

In December, BEN CHRISTIANSEN hosted a class called “Top 10 Wines of 2007.” His three top favorites are:

• 2000 Vilmart Grand Cellier d’Or champagne, “an exceptionally well-made bubbly.”
• 2006 Domaine Ostertag Vignoble d’e
• 2005 Schwarz, “made by the butcher of Illmitz, a village in Austria.”

JULIE HAURSTON, manager at Blu, likes:

• Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay
• Michel Torino Don David Malbec
• Peter Freymuth Piesporter
• Jeckel Riesling. This wine is a favorite. “Rieslings are really growing in popularity right now,” she says.