Birthday Dinner at Bern’s

When asked what I wanted for my Birthday, I told my wife, "Dinner at Bern's."  Bern's for those not familiar with is has one of the largest wine lists in the world with 90,000 bottles in their cellar and another half a million plus in backup storage.  Further, their commitment to excellence is unrivaled anywhere.  I've been blessed to eat at 2 and 3 star Michelin star restaurants around the world and still, Bern's is my favorite hands down, bar none.

So, how do you choose a wine from that many? Well, first, you need to study the wine list.  I spent about an hour reading the list and taking notes of my picks so I could order expeditiously.  From my perspective to choose a wine from a list like this you need to 1) determine what you are eating to pair it with; 2) find a wine with a story; 3) look for value in a list that has pages upon pages of wines in the hundreds and thousands per bottle. 

So, here was the evening's gluttony:

Starter #1.  Brown butter poached Octopus with chorizo, jalapeno, green strawberries and fingerling potatoes.  I later learned that this dish was featured on the local news it it so popular.  I embedded a link to the video by clicking on the picture. 

This was paired with a 1983 Leon Beyer Tokay Pinot Gris Reserve.  Mindy and I visited this winery in Alsace a few years ago and had a tour from the 6th generation winemaker and met his father [5th gen] and grandfather [4th gen] during the visit.  The wine was golden in color and delicious.

Starter #2.  Mindy and I visited the French region of Burgundy last fall and learned alot about the region and the immense range of wines.  Bern's has a huge profile of French Burgundy, so in meeting with the sommelier, we were able to find some gems that came in tenths (providing about a glass each) so we could have some special Burgundies side by side.  I showed him my notes, and he sourced 2 Burgundies, a 1964 Morey-Saint-Denis Thorin and a 1966 Louis Latour Aloxe Corton Les Chaillots and a 1968 {my birthyear} BV Pinot Noir Beaumont.

So what food goes with Burgundy?  Duck confit of course.  We shared the confit and paired it with the three wines.  The BV was nutty and still full of flavor.  The '64 tasted of raspberry and the '66, strawberry and we savored these for over an hour as they opened up and changed.

The ‘64, ‘66, and ‘68 side by side

Main.  For the main course we shared their luxury beef pairing which was their prime filet mignon, 100 day aged prime ribeye, and waygu beef.  We chatted about the difference prime beef makes over other grades.  At Bern's, they don't do things half way.  Prime it is.  What to pair with the steak?

I found a 1978 Kaiser-Stuhl Cabernet Sauvignon from the Barossa Valley in Australia.  This winery doesn't exist any longer, but this tiny spot in the Eden Valley (Barossa Valley) is also the name of the state park where Mindy and I have taken our children to do a bush hike and see kangaroos in the wild.  I think it was only still left on the list because not many people would know of this hidden treasure.  Forty years old, the wine was still big and full of fruit.  I kept saying, "this is amazing!”

Last, in visiting with the somm we decided to finish a final bottle of1978 Chusclan, Seigneurie de Gicon, Cave des Vignerons de Chusclan, Cote du Rhone.  Still full of berry fruits, earthiness and tannins, it was a great find.

By this time, we were well on our way to a wonderful evening.

After about 4 hours …. we were given a tour of the kitchen and of the wine cellar.  I’ve done this many times before, but still enjoy it each and every time.  One of Bern’s secrets to success is their transparency and their desire to eductate the customer. It leads to an experience like no other and you can begin to understand how they can handle doing over 700 covers on an average night.

Finally, we adjorned to Bern’s Dessert Room.  Bern created a dessert room upstairs, that then has its own list of cheeses, 30 or so desserts all made in house, and another list of after dinner drinks, and dessert wines that takes a half an hour to get through.  We went upstairs and were seated in a wine barrel equipped with a small radio like you would see in an old diner.  I scrolled through classical and jazz and found a track playing old music from the 1940s.  It was the music of the World War II era, the music that my mom would sing along and dance to in the kitchen when I was a child.  It made for a wonderful conversation remembering her.

We settled on peach melba to share for dessert and treated ourselves to a glass each of Madiera … a 1950 Cossart-Gordon Sercial, and a 1960 Barbeito Bval.  Dry, nutty, and complex, these were the perfect end to one of the best meals of my life.

Thanks, Mindy!