Everyone Needs a Nancy
Posted by melissamccart on August 28, 2006
When I first moved from New York, I missed about a thousand things about the city: the energy, the arts, the feeling that I could walk out the door and something unusual or exciting could and often did happen. Now that the dust has settled and it’s been nearly two years since I’ve moved to D.C, I’ve assessed what I really miss and what I can do without.
Even though I’m not necessarily a wine fiend, one of places I miss most is Nancy’s Wines for Food on Columbus at 85th on the west side. Nancy’s is known for having the largest Austrian and German selection in New York. She has over 100 Reislings in stock. And for any of you who are Terri Theise fans, that’s a big deal. Nancy and her staff are always helpful and knowledgeable, lucky for us. When I lived nearby it was a rare day when my old roommate or I would take home a bottle of wine we didn’t like.
It was there I learned how interesting a Gruner Veltliner can be. They’re yet to be discovered or in demand in D.C.(with the exception of Joe Riley’s), since Calvert Woodley and Whole Foods rarely have more than two. If only we had a Nancy.
The other reason I’m grateful to Nancy is because she introduced me to the best novice’s wine manual of all time, Willie Gluckstern’s Wine Avenger. With chapters entitled, “Restaurant Markups: Those Bastards!” and assessments of Chardonnay as “oak bludgeoned” and “the world’s most overrated grape,” its a funny, quick, wry read. More important, Gluckstern delivers good advice:
Where food is concerned, . . . lighter, fruiter, more acidic wines (usually whites) are better. Heavier, higher alcohol, oaky wines (usually reds) are far less versatile. In short, white wines go better with more food than red wines. And, what’s more, you might say that the best red wines for most foods. . . are those that behave the most like whites.
Gluckstern lists Reisling, Chenin Blanc, and Savignon Blanc as most versatile whites and Cab Franc, Barbera, Gamay, and Pinot Noir as the most food friendly red grapes. He also has a section on Gruner Veltliners, in which he says– if you can find them– “Get some! Now!”
Had I not had access to Nancy, I would have thought he was full of it. Now I know better.
