to showcasing California and even New York wine. In 1976—the same year as the Judgment of Paris in which California wines beat out the French in blind tasting—the then owner Paul Kovi organized the first of its barrel tastings of these wines and brought the word of Napa’s emergence to the most important market in America. Twenty years later, Warren Winiarski of Stag’s Leap vineyard said, “When Paul first invited us back in 1975, it was the first time we were taken seriously outside of California. It was a gesture that gave us all enormous confidence.” The barrel tasting was replaced after a decade by an annual dinner featuring the latest vintage of the top growths of Bordeaux, an event that understandably remains hugely popular. In the meantime, shortly after the first barrel tasting, Kovi and his partner, Tom Margittai, hired Niccolini away from the Palace, then the most expensive restaurant in the country, to run their ailing Grill Room, and he turned it into New York’s premier lunch spot for titans of media, advertising, finance, and fashion.
Niccolini more or less grew up in the food and hospitality business. A former resistance fighter, his father owned a small allpurpose general store in a hilltop town in Tuscany that sold food, wine, and dry goods and served homemade meals. From an early age, Julian was gathering wild porcini, transferring bulk wine from demijohns to small bottles, and helping his mother in the kitchen. At the age of sixteen he went to hotel school in Rome and from there to the Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo. Along the way his passion for wine, since he spent most of his vacations exploringthe world’s best vineyards, blossomed into expertise. He first visited Napa in 1977, and in 1979 he got to Montalcino, long before Brunello di Montalcino became famous in this country.
Although Kovi and Margittai had originally hired him for his smooth front-of-the-house skills, they soon handed him responsibility for the cellar and the dinners. Niccolini put together dinners featuring the wines of Montalcino and the Piedmont (home of Barolo and Barbaresco), anticipating and contributing to the explosion of interest in Italian wines in this country.
Today, years after Niccolini and von Bidder took ownership of the restaurant, the urbane Tuscan still runs the wine program single-handedly with a combination of great zeal and insouciance. (“Don’t drink it, it’s crap,” he tells me, without tasting, when a customer sends a carafe of red over to the table.) In an era of wine directors and multiple sommeliers, Niccolini remains something of a passionate amateur, and while his by-the-glass selection is limited and his list conservative, his markups are also blessedly conservative, especially for a restaurant this expensive. The Mont-Redon Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the great 2007 vintage, for instance, was listed for just $77 in October 2011. The 1998 Krug might sound expensive at $390, unless you know that it goes for about $250 at retail. The cult Cabs—Colgin, Araujo, Bond—are represented. The plutocrats can order the 2007 Screaming Eagle for $2,500, while the more frugal may notice the 2007 Newton Unfiltered Cab for $95.
Much as he loves wine, you get the idea that Julian Niccolini wants us to keep it in perspective as an accompaniment to good food, conversation, and flirtation. “Is she attractive?” Niccolini asks, when a captain informs him that a patron wishes to say good-bye. Without waiting for an answer, he gets up and leaves his glass of Condrieu on the table in order to bid farewell to the lady in question.
Not Just Mario’s Partner:
Joe “Vino” Bastianich Breaks Out
Although he’s shrunk considerably since I first met him thanks to a long-distance-running habit, Joe Bastianich is cutting a very large figure these days. Once best known as the partner of the chef Mario Batali and the son of the chef Lidia Bastianich, both stars of the small screen, the newly svelte
Niccolini more or less grew up in the food and hospitality business. A former resistance fighter, his father owned a small allpurpose general store in a hilltop town in Tuscany that sold food, wine, and dry goods and served homemade meals. From an early age, Julian was gathering wild porcini, transferring bulk wine from demijohns to small bottles, and helping his mother in the kitchen. At the age of sixteen he went to hotel school in Rome and from there to the Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo. Along the way his passion for wine, since he spent most of his vacations exploringthe world’s best vineyards, blossomed into expertise. He first visited Napa in 1977, and in 1979 he got to Montalcino, long before Brunello di Montalcino became famous in this country.
Although Kovi and Margittai had originally hired him for his smooth front-of-the-house skills, they soon handed him responsibility for the cellar and the dinners. Niccolini put together dinners featuring the wines of Montalcino and the Piedmont (home of Barolo and Barbaresco), anticipating and contributing to the explosion of interest in Italian wines in this country.
Today, years after Niccolini and von Bidder took ownership of the restaurant, the urbane Tuscan still runs the wine program single-handedly with a combination of great zeal and insouciance. (“Don’t drink it, it’s crap,” he tells me, without tasting, when a customer sends a carafe of red over to the table.) In an era of wine directors and multiple sommeliers, Niccolini remains something of a passionate amateur, and while his by-the-glass selection is limited and his list conservative, his markups are also blessedly conservative, especially for a restaurant this expensive. The Mont-Redon Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the great 2007 vintage, for instance, was listed for just $77 in October 2011. The 1998 Krug might sound expensive at $390, unless you know that it goes for about $250 at retail. The cult Cabs—Colgin, Araujo, Bond—are represented. The plutocrats can order the 2007 Screaming Eagle for $2,500, while the more frugal may notice the 2007 Newton Unfiltered Cab for $95.
Much as he loves wine, you get the idea that Julian Niccolini wants us to keep it in perspective as an accompaniment to good food, conversation, and flirtation. “Is she attractive?” Niccolini asks, when a captain informs him that a patron wishes to say good-bye. Without waiting for an answer, he gets up and leaves his glass of Condrieu on the table in order to bid farewell to the lady in question.
Not Just Mario’s Partner:
Joe “Vino” Bastianich Breaks Out
Although he’s shrunk considerably since I first met him thanks to a long-distance-running habit, Joe Bastianich is cutting a very large figure these days. Once best known as the partner of the chef Mario Batali and the son of the chef Lidia Bastianich, both stars of the small screen, the newly svelte
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