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| New Wine Shops for Foodies Silverlake Wine, Los Angeles, CA By Emily Kaiser If I was looking for a cool party in L.A. where I didn't need an invitation, I'd go straight to Silverlake Wine. On Sundays, a rotating cast of local chefs prepares small plates for customers to taste (last fall, Nancy Silverton previewed her menu for Osteria Mozza, now one of the toughest reservations in town). Thursday Night Flights mean wine flights, La Brea Bakery breads and artisanal butters. And Blue Mondays are all about cheeses from the excellent CheeseStore of Silverlake. Silverlake Wine co-owners George Cossette, Randy Clement and April Langford keep much of the space in the shop open for mingling. Cossette and Clement used to run the wine program at Campanile, and their membership in the powerful Campanile clique helps explain why they're able to entice chefs to their shop—and also why they treat customers like diners at a favorite restaurant. Cossette might explain the history of Pignolo, an Italian grape rescued from near-extinction, while Clement might rave about a dry Hungarian white made from the Furmint grape (typically used for the sweet wine Tokaji). "There are thousands of grapes out there, and most people only drink three or four," Cossette says. "We want to show off more, like Carmenère from Chile." |
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© 2001 - 2008 Emily Kaiser |
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