David Lynch

It depends on the producer. Ridge, for example, is a great California producer that makes really terroir-expressive wines. I guess what I was getting at in my last post is that California-bashing has gotten a little out of control. Wine geeks claim not to follow the whims of fashion but, man, they (we!) are the worst. The fact of the matter is that EVERYONE, not just the Californians, is making wine to win wine tastings or the approval of critics. When I was in Italy the first thing many wine producers did when I sat down to taste with themn was show me their Parker scores.

Every wine is marked up considerably in the 3 tier process. And yes, that stinks. And by the way, value is relative--"value" by my definition doesn't necessarily mean cheap. I don't like to buy cheap suits because they fall apart. So I pay a little more for a nicer suit and it last me longer, and I make out in the long run. One thing I will say is that if you compare wine prices here to those in Europe, you will drive yourself crazy. No doubt our liquor laws are arcane and antiquated, but when you're paying hundreds for decent Burgundies and $60-$100 for great Barolos, I consider the latter a value. And yes, I do place Barolo on the same plane as Burgundy--maybe not a La Tache plane, but...

I knew that "defective" line would get me in trouble. What I said was that SOME old world wines are defective. Ultimately, to me, Old World means "natural." Using the term defective is dangerous because some really great wines nevertheless have technical defects. But that does not stop them from being great. The ideal of a technically perfect wine is not necessarily an ideal and I think you see a lot of California producers stepping back from that--I think, in fact, the Californians are often unjustly criticized by Euro-centric wine drinkers.

It is very difficult to pair wines with our desserts. Our pastry chef, Gina DePalma, is one of the best in the country, but what I find (and she finds) is that the American palate craves very sweet desserts. I find that a very sweet dessert and a sweet wine make for a cloying pairing. The Italians typically have dry cakes or biscotti with their Vin Santo, so that the unctuousness of the wine is not drowned out by similarly unctuous food. Gina is making a wonderful, simple almond cake right now that is terrific with Vin Santo. In general, keep it simple when trying to showcase this wine. Favorite Vin Santo Producers: Capezzana Isole e Olena Avignonesi (big bucks though)

Thanks so much for the kind words-- books are helpful, and classes are great, but tasting is the best education. Attending guided wine tastings is definitely helpful (for Italian I'd refer you to Italian wine merchants in Manhattan). Wine classes are also great. For me, the Gold Standard remains Kevin Zraly's 8-week course, which of course used to be held at Windows on the World. The class is still going strong and remains the best and most entertaining orientation to the world of wine. His company is called Wine Services International and they are based in New Paltz, NY. And I imagine that if you hit "Zraly" on a web search engine you'd find out everything you need to know about his classes. He's the man!

Yes there are inexpensive Barolos; but understand that Barolo is expensive by nature. Not only is nebbiolo very difficult to grow, but there are only about 3100 acres of vineyards of vineyards in ALL of Barolo. The zone is good for about 7.5 million bottles a year IN TOTAL. Some individual producers make more wine than that! Some Barolo and Barbaresco prices have gotten a little out of control (Gaja), but in general what you're getting now is a much different ballgame than 10, 20 years ago. From my perspective, Barolo rates with the great wines of the world (it is the Burgundy of Italy) and it can still be had for well under $100 a bottle. Barolo is riding a string a great vintages (1995-2001, with 96 & 97 the highlights), so there's lots of good wine to be found right now. Good value Barolo producers: Fontanafredda G.B. Burlotto Rocche dei Manzoni Francesco Rinaldi Roagna Enzo Boglietti Good value Barbaresco producers Produttori del Barbaresco Abbona Moccagatta Paitin La Spinona many others!

see my answer to Macrosan's "unknown" wines

The Sicilian wine you likely had was a wine from the native nero d'avola grape, from a producer named Morgante. Sicily, in fact, is overflowing with good, inexpensive wine right now. Check out Planeta (La Segreta); Santa Anastasia ("Passomaggio"); Cusumano ("Benuara") for other great Sicilian values. Other finds: • wines from the aglianico grape in Campania. The most famous (and more expensive) are wines from the Taurasi appellation, but there are a number of less expensive aglianicos (usually labeled with the grape name) from producers such as Caggiano, DeConciliis, and Cantina del Taburno. • wines from the white vermentino grape, found in Sardegna, Tuscany, and Liguria. This is my pet white grape. Savory and herbaceous, crisp. Check out Sardinian vermentinos from Santadi, Argiolas (called Vermentino di Sardegna). Great new Tuscan vermentino from Antinori's Guado al Tasso estate on the Tuscan coast. • Alto Adige & Friuli wines: my pet regions. World class whites from pinot bianco, sauvignon, gewurz, and, in Friuli's case, the native tocai. A little more expensive but worth it.

I'm afraid direct experience will have to be your guide when it comes to Vini da Tavola. One thing I will say is that, with "super-Tuscans," for example, price is actually a pretty good guide as to what you're going to get. Usually when people order these wines they're looking for a particular grape variety (sangiovese, cabernet, syrah, whatever) and essentially order by varietal, which is not exactly traditional Italian. As for other navigating Italian lists in general, it will come as your knowledge of the wines increases. We, for example, organize our list by region. Unless you know that sangiovese is the principal grape in Chianti, you're not going to learn that from the list (I would assume the same of French and Spanish lists). We try to help out with grapes here and there, but what you've got is 21 wine regions to tackle--and in each there are some key grapes/flavors to know. It's not as daunting a task as it seems--especially with a book like "Vino Italiano" in hand. Other wine list tips: 1) Look to the middle of the price scale for value; cheapest wines are always the ones marked up most 2) Use the sommelier! Engage them, make them work! 3) Look for lesser-known regions/wines; work the fringes

Is there a difference between OLD WORLD and NEW? Yes. But I do believe the lines of distinction are blurring as winemaking technology diffuses. Generally speaking I would characterize an Old World wine as having more earthiness, funkiness, and, frankly, more defects. The whole New World thing (Aussies and Californians in particular) is about clean, correct wines, and often with a distinct presence of oak. Neither is a bad thing. And increasingly, New World is the direction people are going. But I do think distinctions remain, and they are useful to me in describing wine to customers.

tough to pair wine with soups/broths, etc. I'd go with a clean, crisp white like Soave or Orvieto

I am omnivorous when it comes to alcohol, and I almost always consume in moderation. After wine, these are my top 10 favorite beverages (both alcoholic and non): 1) Bourbon 2) Seltzer Water 3) Espresso 4) Guinness 5) Single Malt Scotch (particularly Islay malts, like Bowmore) 6) Grapefruit Juice 7) Good pilsner-style beers 8) Tequila 9) Beer 10) Beer

I don't know who told you that, but next time you see him/her give 'em a quick backhand to the head, a la Tony Soprano to AJ. We decant both young and old wines, for two different reasons--young ones to aerate them and "open them up," old ones to leave sediment behind and, in some instances, open them up, too. One thing I will say is that I tend to consider how old an old wine is before decanting. Any Italian wine older than, say, 1985, I would strongly consider pouring gently from the bottle. It might fall apart too quickly in the decanter.

There aren't a ton of bottles sent back at Babbo b/c we prime glasses and therefore can tell if a wine is corked before we put it down. However, in ourt haste some do slip thru the cracks... People are very shy about sending wines back, because they are worried about being bullied into accepting them by the sommelier. But I will say this: the tasting ritual at the table is NOT designed to determine whether you like the wine or not. It is to determine whether the bottle is "sound," i.e., that it is not corked or shot (oxidized). If you order a bottle and simply don't like its particular flavor profile, that is not, in my opinion, grounds for sending it back. However, if you believe the wine to be faulty, stand your ground and politely but firmly ask for it to be removed. But do it right away--at the point of tasting. Differences of opinion do exist as to whether a wine is shot or corked, and you can expect more debate from the sommelier as the price of the wine goes up. But detecting a corked wine is not rocket science--if it smells like a moldy cork, it's corked, bottom line. The smell is derived from molds that grow in an improperly sanitized cork. Just send it back right away--if you are way off and the wine is perfectly fine, I will sell you something else and then, if I think the wine you sent back is sound, sell it by the glass to someone else.

ITALIAN WINE MERCHANTS, BABY!! Italian Wine Merchants 108 E. 16th St, NYC 10003 212-473-2323 www.italianwinemerchant.com (no "s" in web address) tell them Lynch sent you...and look for me at some tasting seminars at their "Studio del Gusto" in the fall

I think, hopefully, that the sommelier field is becoming populated with passionate, professional, and (mostly) friendly people who genuinely want to help customers. Are there sharks out there? Absolutely. Jerks? Sure. But I think that, unlike other "front of the house" jobs in restaurants, that of sommelier is becoming more and more desirable. That said, here are a few tips for getting good service from the sommelier: 1) complement the wine list ("wow, there are some great choices here...") 2) don't be afraid to give price parameters (this may seem uncouth to you, but on my side of aisle it helps immensely) 3) try to articulate the STYLE of wine you're looking for, particularly the SCALE--give the guy or gal something to work with 4) don't be afraid to ask questions. engage the sommelier. make him work for the sale. it shouldn't be a standoff.

Yeah, the bar can definitely get smoky here--and while I'm typically not getting my glasses from the bar, the bartenders are. So they prime, too.

For Prosecco: Ruggeri Mionetto Desiderio Bisol Bellenda For other sparklers: Check out the wines of Franciacorta, a growing zone in Lombardia devoted to Champagne-method sparklers made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These wines compare very favorably to Champagne and don't (yet) carry prices to match. Franciacorta is a beautiful little zone just west of Brescia, not far from Lake Garda. Probably the premier sparkling wine zone in Italy. Check out the wines of Ca'del Bosco, Bellavista, and Cavalleri. Good stuff.

It is not just for show. The way I describe it is as an "extra step of service" we do to enhance one's enjoyment of the wine. The idea behind priming a glass is to literally rinse it out with a little bit of the wine the customer is drinking. We tilt the glass to the side, put it up against a service towel, and twirl the glass so that the wine coats the entire glass, right up to the rim (the towel preventing spillage, of course). With the big Spiegelau stems that we use, priming is invaluable--it infuses the glass with the scent of the wine, giving the customer a much more accurate read on the wine's aroma. There are no food odors, or detergent smells, or smoke odors from the bar to muck up the smell/taste of the wine. Priming is especially useful if you keep your glasses in a cabinet and they pick up a woody/varnishy smell from the cabinet. Along with rinsing them out with water it is advisable to prime them with a little of your wine so that all you smell is the wine. That's the point, right?

I am pathetically un-organized. I don't even have a palm-pilot. I have a ratty notebook that I use but for the most part I go on memory. But you've given me something to think about...thanks.

Good Chiantis for copious quaffing: Isole e Olena 2000 Chianti Classico Fontodi 99 Chianti Classico Villa Cafaggio 99 or 00 Melini 97 or 98 "La Selvanella" CC Riserva Dievole 99 Chianti Classico

Marty: A touchy subject in NYC, to be sure. We do not offer any BYOB at Babbo. This occasionally ticks people off. Here are some of our reasons for not allowing corkage: a) we are very proud of our "all Italian" list and feel that these are the best wines to complement Mario Batali's food b) our investment in our wine program, in terms of storage and personnel, is staggering. It is not economically feasible for us to offer corkage. And to those who say they'll pay "any price" to uncork their Chateau Lafite 61, I'll reply, "see (a) above." (we've had guys more than willing to shell out top dollar to uncork their brought-in wines, and have still refused) c) while there are many restaurants who jack up their wine prices, we are not one of them. In fact, our buying power allows us to pass considerable savings on to customers. This, of course, is a Babbo-specific argument.

Bux: Stated simply, Italian wines remain very much a new frontier--but one that people are very eager to explore. As such, I'm pretty pleased to be in the market with our book, because I believe the timing couldn't be better. As I've replied (or will reply) to other queries, Italian wine is more exciting than it has ever been, with a HUGE number of new or relatively new wine estates raising the bar at every price tier. And indeed, where Italian wines couldn't once compete at that "under $20" price point, they are now doing so more and more effectively. At the same time, the wines at the higher end are starting to stand alongside the greats of the world, quality-wise. One thing that has surprised me here at Babbo is how much of a new frontier Italian wine remains. I would say that 1 in 10 customers that walk through our door is savvy about Italian wine. Most customers begin their conversations with me by saying "I know French and California, but..." The less insecure simply say they know nothing about Italian and ask for advice. We have only 95 seats here but there are always 2 wine guys in the restaurant each night (one on each floor) to answer questions and serve wine. It is very labor-intensive wine service, but very rewarding, because I'm not just an "order-taker." We like to think of ourselves as something of a wine "salon," where you get an education as well as a glass of wine, so in that sense my writing experience dovetailed nicely with working here. And I've worked off all my desk-jockey baby fat to boot! But to get back to the heart of the matter, Italian wine remains either unknown or completely misunderstood. Best example is Chianti, one of the more radically transformed wine zones in Italy but still one that elicits the occasional sneer from wine snobs. Ditto Soave. Come to Babbo and I'll pour you examples of both that will blow your mind! DRL

Lord Mike: Most of my ideas are born of great internal strife combined with copious amounts of Chianti. DRL