Jim Rollston, Cyrus Restaurant, Healdsburg, CA
Jim Rollston certainly has a passion for wine. Rollston has been involved in many aspects of the wine world from vineyards to wineries to fine dining. His diverse wine list at Cyrus contains over 900 selections from all over the world.
What did you learn as a winemaker that helps you with your job as a sommelier?
The jobs of winemaker and sommelier are very different: both require a profound and deep engagement with wine, but from very different perspectives. The biggest thing I learned from being in winemaking is to take each wine individually, regardless of reputation or pedigree – attempt to look at each wine for what it is, discounting the influence of marketers and media. Is it balanced, is it representative of its culture and place, is it sweet, what are its flaws?... These questions help determine your feeling for a wine and an understanding of its “skeleton” – then you can determine whether or not it has form and soul.
What are some of the differences in grape growing and wine production between the regions you have worked in California and France?
Almost every single detail of grapegrowing is radically different in France compared to California – climate (rainfall, temperature, and heat summation), soil, vine training, yield potential and critical/consumer expectations. I think what struck me the most about the differences in the two countries is how culturally ingrained wine is in France, it is literally in every Frenchperson’s blood (though sadly changing in the young). I think that is why in nearly every region in Frnace (outside of Bordeaux and to a certain extent Champagne), the people making the wine are almost always involved personally with managing the vineyards, nearly unheard of in California. Remember, in French there is no word for “winemaker”.
How was the transition from winemaker to sommelier? What were some of the challenges?
The transition from winery cellar to restaurant floor was really easy for me – making people happy in a restaurant service environment is very natural for me. The hardest part was having to dress nicely and shave regularly, no more wine stained jeans at work and baseball caps!
As a Sommelier, what are some of the tricks you tell your customers when pairing wine with food?
The main things I tell my guests to keep in mind when pairing wine and food are to use wines that are balanced (particularly with respect to alcohol levels), to match the weight of the wine and the food, and then look for flavor affinities between the strongest flavor on the plate and the wine in question.
What are some of your favorite food and wine pairings?
I love the classics: caviar and champagne (especially Blanc de Blancs), striploin of beef with mature Bordeaux, Epoisses with red burgundy. My absolute favorite match with Doug’s cuisine is pairing Riesling, dry or off-dry, with his signature dish, Thai Marinated Lobster.
What is your favorite bottle at the moment from your current wine list?
My favorite bottle from the wine list right now is a Riesling Spatlese from Ziliken – Saarburger Rausch 1989 ($80). Mature and gorgeous, only in Germany can you find such value in a mature wine!
Any possibility that you might decide to increase your personal wine production so that you could sell it to the public?
I planted my small vineyard so I could personally be involved in every step of winegrowing from digging the holes to bottling the wine, but I did it just for the experience, not to sell. If I was to want to make wine commercially again, ideally it would be from vineyard to bottle, and I would do it only after leaving the restaurant floor. The wines that interest me most reflect the personality of their maker (as well as their place), and I think that is best achieved by doing the work personally, not sending faxes, emails and visiting the vineyard and winery occasionally.
We have had a lot of interest on CorkSavvy on the subject of home winemaking, what are some tips you can give our readers on getting started?
Anyone wanting to make wine at home should do as much reading as possible on the subject, and help a friend do it first, to observe the process. Some of the most important things to consider are: get the best grapes possible, be as clean as possible, and don’t worry about the chemistry too much (except for the proper timing and amount of sulphur to add – this is where too many home winemakers falter). Making wine is both easier (and harder) than you think!
