Drive for Bor(deaux): The Genesis, Riviera Country Club, February 15-18, 2024
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Look, we know there’s a lot of great wine to be had in LA. But after a long day at Riviera, do we really want to sit in traffic for hours to get to a restaurant? That’s a big fat no. So we’re going to arbitrarily limit our drinking radius to about 10 miles/30 minutes from Riviera in normal traffic conditions, if such a thing exists. That still includes Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Hollywood, Santa Monica, and whatever falls in between. We got options. Just so you don’t get mad at us, we’re including the official Google Maps travel time from Riviera to each recommendation, but we take no responsibility for its accuracy.
Restaurants
I’m tempted to simplify the entire decision-making process for you and just tell you go to the Wally’s outlet in Santa Monica (4.4 miles/12 minutes). This combination gourmet emporium, restaurant and wine store has everything. I’m thinking I’d just head over as soon as I left the golf course. If you need time to make a bottle selection from the 123-page wine list, you can figure it out after ordering something from the six pages of wines by the glass. Honestly, the list is so big and so good I could do a separate post just about this place. The retail store has 453 cabs to chose from. And to make matters worse for the competition, they have a sister store in Beverly Hills if you happen to be staying there (7.5 mi/24 minutes).
Maybe it was just out of range of Riviera but the list at The Terrace at the Maybourne is sensational. It covers all important regions with multiple verticals. Outstanding Red Burgundy and Bordeaux, but that’s the cherry on top. Prices are predictably steep but some relative value can be found.
Capo in Santa Monica (5.5 mi/15 minutes) lives up to its name. The list is stacked with talent like a PGA Tour designated event. Phenomenal breadth and depth, it’s a truly great list. Extraordinary strengths in California, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone and of course Italy with four full pages of Barolo and a 10-vintage vertical of Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo back to 1974. An offer I can’t refuse.
How could you go wrong at Spago in Beverly Hills, Wolfgang Puck’s flagship? (8.6 miles/30 minutes). The answer is you can’t. It’s compelling in its global scope and cavalcade of treasures from every region. I was particularly awed by the commitment to German Riesling, but Burgundy and Bordeaux are second to none. Big horizontal collections of top producers like Spottswoode, Heitz, Quintarelli, D’Angerville, Raveneau and too many others to count. Prices are high so check your credit limit but it’s a wow moment for sure.
Culina has a relatively compact list with an Italian focus. Would like to see a little more unpredictability but there are plenty of good, familiar choices. Prices appear steep with one glaring exception I’d jump on in a heartbeat. As is my practice, I won’t say its name in case I ever go there.
The compact list at Michael’s is whimsical, well-curated and full of surprises. Places like this remind us a wine list doesn’t have to be monumental to be good if it offers diverse, artisanal, food-friendly options at mostly reasonable prices. Unless you’re a geek like us you might not recognize a lot of names but rest assured the program is guided by a practiced palate . The list has playful captions like “large & in charge,” which aren’t actually that helpful but it’s all good fun. (4.4 miles/14 minutes)
While admittedly in a different category, Fia Steak has a very solid list with good representation spanning most of the globe. Easy to find something here at many different price points even though there are some steep and perhaps unjustified mark-ups if you aren’t paying attention. (2.6 miles/15 minutes)
Modo Mio would not ordinarily get any kind of nod except for their free corkage/BYO policy Monday-Thursday. Hard to beat if you’re in for the Pro-Am. On the other hand, their small strange published list mentions an undisclosed producer’s Bonnes Mares for $85. Maybe I’m missing something. (2.6 mi/7 minutes)
Retail
Don’t forget Wally’s (see above!!)
Beverly Hills Wine Merchant (8.7 miles/25 minutes) is a tremendous source if you want something really high end to bring to your dinner with an NBA superstar turned wine lover or Hollywood mogul. They have a reserve section so exalted that prices are simply not listed at all. Think ’85 Jayer Richebourg and you’ll get the idea. The website is somewhat unhelpful, as if they ran out of energy listing all these great wines. For example, five vintages of Chave Hermitage are only visible by sorting “Other wines” from high to low prices.
The charmingly named Stanley’s Wet Goods 9.9 miles/30 minutes is a quirky store that clearly isn’t trying to compete with the likes of Wally’s. Although there are some exciting high-end offers, their so-called “luxury” category is $50-100. Lots of fun, natural-leaning wines too. They carefully pick their spots, but the level of curation is such you can still make your way from Giuseppe Rinaldi to Frank Cornelissen. The store seems to tilt strongly Old World so just be warned.
Epilogue
I read about dozens of other restaurants with good wine programs that were either just outside the boundaries we set or don’t publish their lists online. Perhaps unfairly, I tend to get overwhelmed and exhausted just thinking about LA and this experience did nothing to diminish the impression. I promise to attack with renewed energy at next year’s Genesis.
