Cat: “Always lands on its feet.”
* HRII : HGGHOO KaV EHHQ WKH VRPPHOLHU aW WKLV YHQHUaEOH CaQaGLaQ VWHaNKRXVH IRU VLx years and was recently appointed General Manager. Yet he insists that the success of the restaurant’s wine program has nothing to do with his personal whims. “I’m a traditionalist,” he says. “In my opinion, a cellar should reflect the menu and clientele, not the tastes of the Sommelier. I’m not going to introduce any whacked- out Italian varietals that no one’s ever heard of. I haven’t changed anything.” ( We think he’s being modest.) Classic steakhouse such as it is, Hy’s leans toward red wines, which comprise 75 per cent of the cellar. “Tannin structure is the single most important component of pairing wLWK VWHaN,” : HGGHOO HxSOaLQV. “7KH SURWHLQV SUHVHQW LQ WKH VWHaN PaNH WKH wLQH’V astringent tannins melt into juicy fruitiness, but the tannins have to be strong enough VR LW’V a VyPSKRQy, QRW a ERxLQJ PaWcK.”
Pairing: La Stella Maestoso ‘ Solo’ Merlot 2009 with Gorgonzola Filet Mignon
Maestoso is a term used by conductors and composers to indicate when a musical passage is meant to sound large and triumphant. This hot- vintage merlot from the southern Okanagan Valley certainly is massive. The wine is darkly opaque, layered with jammy fruits, high in alcohol ( 15 percent) and propped up by chalky, bone- dry tannins. BXW wKHQ SaLUHG wLWK WKLV EHaXWLIXOOy charred medium- rare steak topped with melted blue cheese, everything tones GRwQ LQWR VRIW UaVSEHUUy QRWHV. “BaP!” says Weddell, striking the table. “I hope the difference is quite dramatic.” , W LV. BUaYR.
604- 905- 5555, hyssteakhouse. com