Would you eat at restaurant that featured no Ontario wines on its list? That question is at the heart of a debate over the newly opened restaurant at the boutique hotel Thompson Toronto.
Last week a tweet went out from a Niagara wine rep. looking to sell some his wines at the Toronto outpost of Scarpetta . It read " 'I have no North American wines on my list and never will.' sommelier of Scarpetta."
That's a bold statement for any business that relies on pleasing people, let alone a newly opened restaurant in a luxury hotel where the average room rate is around $300 per night. Curiously it was proceeded by an open letter praising Niagara farmers, purveyors and chefs—it even mentioned the quality of the wines. As you can imagine the initial responses were swift and passionate on Tuesday. Things got even more heated after Friday's retweet.
Now if I can digress for a moment, Twitter is unparalleled in its instantaneous ability to share our experiences and create an environment for a lively conversation. We're certainly all the richer for it. Unfortunately the 140 character limit means there's often no room for context, tone or anything beyond the barest of ideas. It also means that sometimes consequences aren't fully considered and information can move faster than it can be verified.
Given the bold statement and the reactions I decided to phone the restaurant and find out for myself. It was confirmed that there were no North American wines carried. The wine list was primarily focused on Italy with some Old World (read other European countries represented). The chef thought the Italian wines fit best with the food, I was told. When I pointed out that no Ontario options was an odd disconnect, given the praise for them in the open letter, the response I got was an agreement that it was a little confusing. I wasn't speaking to the sommelier, manager or anyone who had input into the list's creation, so the staff member's ability to speak to the matter was limited. But I was told that the position could change and the young restaurant is looking into improvements based on customer feedback. Although these were fair answers I decided to contact chef Scott Contant. After all as the author of the letter and the executive chef he is probably the authority best suited to speak on the matter.
Excutive Chef Scott Contant was polite, professional and responsive throughout our email exchange. He certainly had no obligation to speak to me especially given that I haven't spent a penny at his restaurant.
Regarding the tweet about North American wines Contant wrote "I can assure you that quote was never uttered from someone on my team. I take pride in being inclusive as opposed to ex-clusive."
I have no intention on getting into a debate over exactly what was said. I wasn't there but the parties involved know what was said. An Ontario wine representative has nothing to gain by potentially alienating restauranteurs in the province's biggest market. Similarly in a business where reputation is everything and there is a high first year failure rate, a newly opened high-end restaurant has nothing to gain by potentially turning-off pro-local customers.
Conant went on to stress that all suggestions and the criticism are key to helping him remain relevant to his customers. Contant also wrote that staff are considering and exploring many things to improve the restaurant, including expanding the wine list with local options, particularly those made with Italian varietals. If Scarpetta does do this in the future the options might include Pillitteri wines from the newly planted Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara (these were the first of their kind planted in Canada). There's also Alvento's Nebbiolo or Ridgepoint's. And the wines of Foreign Affair are made using the appassimento method.
The larger part of the debate that occurred in wake of the tweet was whether a diner should expect a local option at a restaurant, especially an ethnic one. I talked to Conant about what I saw on his menu. It largely draws on the cusines of Piemonte and Alto Adige with hints of Emilia–Romagna.
It's important to recognise that Italy is still very much a regional country with people being unable to understand the other's regional dialect. Where, this really expresses itself is in the cuisines. People the next region over not only don't, but won't eat the same dishes because their food is 'best'. So naturally it makes sense to feature the wines of a region with its cuisine. The aforementioned regions have a long history of hundreds of years where the cuisine and wine developed and evolved side-by-side and naturally are crafted to complement and enhance one another.
Interestingly the Northern Italian regions of Piemonte and Alto Adige are as much if not more influenced by boarding Swizterland and Austria as they are by the rest of Italy. So they grow and drink Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris & Pinot Blanc. There are plenty of great Ontario examples of those varieties.
A restaurant is certainly free to stock whatever it feels matches best with it cuisine & what will sell. Like a menu, a particular focus to a wine list is always best, but it does help to have some breadth to cover a range of tastes and preferences—otherwise you risk losing sales. Still it certainly can be interpreted as bit of a snub to open-up a high-end restaurant in Toronto and not list any Ontario wines. Granted Niagara is a very young wine region, but if a similar restaurant opened in San Francisco and did not list any Napa-Sonoma wines there would likely be some controversy.
Despite the email exchange I never got a reason why Conant writes "I don't think I need to tell you how great the [local Ontario] wines are, either." in the open letter, yet Scarpetta carries no local (or North American) wines on its list. It certainly seems like a contradiction given the praise for the Niagara farmers & local suppliers in the letter and the use of them.
If this is a non-issue by all means make a reservation and enjoy Scarpetta. If the responsiveness I've received is indicative of the level of service you're in for a wonderful meal. But if this bothers you don't merely vote with your dollars. Let the staff of Sacrpetta know that the lack of Ontario wine options is what's preventing you from trying the food.
