The wine cellar

Wine director: Phillip Dunn Floor sommelier(s): Rina Bussell (assistant wine director), Eric Denq (cellarmaster), Cristie Norman Number of wines on the list: Roughly 3,000 Number of white/red: About 54.9% red, 45% white, .1% rosé Least expensive: $35 Most expensive: $12,000 Median bottle price: $135 % Domestic/Imported: about 50/50 Number of wines by the glass: 22 Particular strength: California Cabernet, Riesling, Red Burgundy, Champagne Current obsession: White wines from the Iberian Peninsula, like the Albillo from Bodegas Valduero, called Yunquera. “It’s great with our food,” says Dunn. “It’s the right weight as we move into the spring

and summer season, different and also incredible value. Each drinks above its station, you might say.” Wine the chef has with his/her

meal: Chef de cuisine Tetsu Yahagi enjoys a great sake, like the Ichinokura Taru Junmai, from Ace Brewery. As for Wolfgang Puck, says Dunn, “he’ll have Pomerol, like the current vintage of Chateau Clinet, or a California Pinot like Littorai, Hirsch Vineyards, but with one rule: He prefers wines with not too much acidity.” What the wine director would have people drink more of: Syrah. “I’m not sure why this varietal doesn’t do better,” says Dunn, “especially from Côte Rotie, like Bernard Levet’s La Chavaroche or Yves & Mathilde Gangloff’s La Barbarine. Most have the weight and concentration of New World Cabernet, but with so much more character.”