2007-01-12
Tasting Room of the Week:
Reserve Room Healdsburg
Mayo Family Winery
by Brittany Cohen
It’s a simple concept. It’s natural. It makes sense. And it works. Seven wines, seven food pairings. To be enjoyed at your leisure; in chairs, at tables, with napkins. Conversations are encouraged and relaxing is almost required. “Rather than jostling to get a sip of wine,” says General Manager Frank Dye, “you can have a more refined experience here.” Small-lot, single-vineyard tastes from carefully selected Sonoma and Napa county vineyards await, alongside bite-sized dishes of gourmet comfort foods. At the Mayo Family Reserve Room in Healdsburg, it’s all about enjoying the food and the wine, naturally.
The service is polite, friendly, immediate (“Sparkling, or still?”) in a minimalist setting of contemporary elegance. Depending upon the season, the five groups of tables and chairs lining the long, narrow room may be full, so reservations are recommended. If there is a short wait, it is hardly noticed by either wandering next door to check out partner Bottle Barn’s latest tasting list, or heading outside to peruse the Plaza (just a block away). Once seated, however, the education begins. “It’s like a mini class,” admits Dye. “We touch on all the basics.” Such as the two main approaches to food and wine pairing: complementing or contrasting. Mayo does both, with simplicity being the key. “We work with one or two flavors,” says Dye. “It’s straightforward, not entirely complex. We want people to leave with the perfect taste in their mouths.”
Chef Jeff Mall prepares everything fresh daily. And while the portions may be smaller than you’ll find at his ZIN Restaurant next door, no corners are cut. “It’s the same amount of time and preparation [as spent on a main dish]” notes Dye, though these nibbles don’t come with utensils. “Get over it,” he says with a laugh, reiterating the mellow, laid-back accessibility of the experience. “We’re pretty easy here. Just enjoy it.” As far as how-to, “our chef recommends taking a sip of wine, a bite of food, and [going] back to the wine,” Dye instructs, who himself enjoys “seeing people ‘get it.’ My favorite part of the job is watching someone with no food experience. It makes more sense to people when they taste wine with food. It’s a natural pairing. You don’t have to be a 4-star chef to enjoy it.” As for feedback on the experience, “people say, ‘this is such a good idea.’ We hear that a lot.”
Originally, this “good idea” was simply to grow grapes. But the allure of turning those grapes into wine quickly became much too tempting, and in 1993, thirty-five years after moving to Sonoma County and just two years after planting vines on their Sonoma Valley property, Henry and Diane Mayo produced their first bottle of Chardonnay. Son Jeff was asked to come home to run the new family business in 1995, and quickly adopted the philosophy that certain varietals grow best in particular places. Purchasing most of their grapes from vineyards that “properly match varietal to terroir,” the Mayos note that their own estate vineyards “are planted with varietals we think absolutely belong there.”
Producing just 9-10,000 cases annually, Mayo is considered a small, boutique winery that is both approachable and available. Each wine is a single vineyard designate (25 bottlings of 18 different varietals), made in 400-500 case lots, and sold primarily through their four Sonoma County tasting rooms: adjacent to the main winery in Glen Ellen, on the plaza in Sonoma, the original Reserve Room (complete with its own in-house chef) in Kenwood, and the newest experience just off Healdsburg’s main square. “We’re not traditional in terms of distribution,” explains Dye. “We’ve made every effort to sell directly to the customer.” It’s easier for folks to more intimately know and ultimately love Mayo in this casual, sit-down setting, he notes. “You can pace yourself, have a conversation, relax.”
Plan to spend at least 30-45 minutes with the current holiday menu, beginning with “crab and avocado mango tango” paired with Dry Gewurztraminer, landing in the middle with Syrah and pineapple-glazed ham with mashed sweet potatoes, and finishing with a bittersweet chocolate truffle and a swig of Old Vine Zinfandel Port. (You’ll have to visit to discover the other four tasty treats.) The menu changes every couple of months, or as wines sell out, which they typically do. “Our wines are designed to be food-friendly and drinkable young. If you like something,” Dye warns, “get it now.” And having educated your palate a bit, he adds, “when you take a bottle home, you’ll at least have some idea what to serve with it.”
Mayo Family Winery’s Reserve Room at 340 Center Street in Healdsburg is open Thursday through Monday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The pairing is $20, though you can opt for simply liquid samples for half that. If only your tummy’s rumbling, or you have children in tow, savor just the snacks for $10. Reservations are recommended but not required, (707) 433-9400.
Related Information
|
