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About this Episode

Grace Hood, wine educator and certified sommelier, and Robert Tas visit Dama, a Latin fusion-inspired restaurant Dama in LA’s fashion district where the tapas are a must-try and Grace identifies the best wines to pair with the small plates. She points out a sparkling Austrian that will delight, a Spanish sparkling rose that will not disappoint, and an interesting, effervescent blend from the Talai Berri winery in Spain.

Wines reviewed include:

2016 Melon de Bourgogne
2016 Lingua Franca, Willamette Valley
2016 Listan Negro Lanzarote

Transcript: Dama

RT: Hello and welcome to CorkRules!

A podcast where we will review a wine list from your favorite restaurants. I’m your host Robert Tas along with Grace Hood, wine educator and certified sommelier. Hello Grace, it’s great to have you!

GH: Hola Roberto como estas?

RT Bien Bien! Before we jump in, let’s talk about those wine lists. We created CorkRules to help demystify wine list’s because we know from experience, that sometimes when we get that list handed to us, well… it can be intimidating, and even a little daunting.

Our aim is to help prepare you to navigate that list, find those hidden gems, or value wines or that special bottle that will take your dining experience over the top.

RT: So Grace today we’re chatting about the Latin fusion-inspired restaurant Dama in LA’s fashion district. What are your initial thoughts?

GH: Well, it definitely looks like we’re all about the shared small plates at this spot. I love a tapas menu – you get to try so many delicious different options. So many culinary experiences to have!

RT: Totally - Who doesn’t love tapas? Now how is their wine menu looking?

GH: It’s very approachable! About 5 pages, and broken down by style and by country, which is always nice. But the curious thing is that they don’t have prices on their wine menu! Which is a first for me. I could probably make some educated guesses on how much everything will cost, but I guess this episode will be more focused on styles of wine and what will complement the tapas menu.

RT: How interesting! I’d be interested to know the strategy behind that. But let’s get into some wines Grace! Should we start with sparkling?

GH: Never a bad idea! They have a really tasty looking Non-vintage gruner veltliner Austrian white blend sparkling that I’d definitely be ordering since I don’t often see a lot of Austrian sparklings on menus. But gruner veltliner is one of my favorite light white grapes so I would love to try that. They also have a cava sparkling rose from Spain that would be really lovely and aromatic. And if you wanted to go with a really nice vintage champagne, the 2008 Vilmart and Cie would be mwah chef’s kiss.

RT: Sparkling Gruner? That does sound interesting. Thanks for pointing that one out Grace. Now, what are you thinking for whites?

MV: So starting with your lighter whites, I would pick one of my favorite effervescent whites, this 2017 txakolina hondarrabi zuri blend from the Talai Berri winery in Spain. You could also go with 2016 Melon de Bourgogne which is muscadet from France.

RT: Yum, those both sound really refreshing. What about some richer heavier whites?

GH: Oh that has one of my favorite styles of domestic chardonnay on the menu – the 2016 Lingua Franca from the Willamette Valley. If you wanted to go with an old-world chardonnay, I would do the 2014 Premier Cru Chassagne Montrachet from the Ramonet winery in Burgundy

RT: Oh delicious. Those sound divine. Now, how about some roses?

GH: Rose would be a great option for tapas, especially in a sunny warm place like LA. A really unique rose that caught my eye is this 2016 Listan Negro Lanzarote blend from the Canary Islands in Spain. I’ve had wine from the Canary Islands a few times and they’re always very light and approachable. Or if you wanted a more traditional rose, you could go with 2016 Bandol from the classic producer Chateau Simone from the rose capital of the world, Provence France

RT: Rose all day in LA hahah I love it. Now you know we have to talk reds. What caught your eye on the Dama menu?

GH: Oh man well I gotta come out the gate swinging – they have one of my favorite Spanish producers on there – Vega sicilia – and to top it off it’s a 2005 tempranilla from ribero de duero. That is going to be rich lush decadent and just divine! Another Grace hood favorite on the list is the 2007 Syrah from Cote Rotie producer Jean Michel Stephan. Order those and thank me later hahah.

RT: Awesome Grace. Thank you so much for all your great suggestions and helping us navigate the Dama wine list.

To our audience, Thank you all for joining us here on CorkRules. If you would like us to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to: Info@CorkRules.com or visit our web website where we have a request form available and we will do our best to get it in the queue as quickly as possible.

We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime, please check out our website for other episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists. Follow us on social media @CorkRules and @wineswithgrace

And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

Thank you.

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