July 2003

Stellar Cellars: Nothing to Whine About

Sommelier presents more than 700 wines at Todd Jurich’s Bistro

by Lauriston Hardin

While the dining public has eagerly awaited the reopening of Todd Jurich’s award-winning restaurant, the wine drinking contingent has focused on the changes and expansion of the wine service directed by Marc Sauter, the bistro’s sommelier. From the general buzz, it seems that the results were worth the wait.

“It has been both an exciting and challenging time for us on the wine side,” said Sauter, who is pursuing the difficult process toward Master Sommelier status. He has overseen the creation of an onsite climate-controlled cellar for over 3,000 bottles of wine, as well as licensed offsite storage for up to 120 cases (1400 bottles). This allows the bistro to offer one of the broadest wine lists in the area, including 700 different selections.

The wine list has a decidedly American flavor. “We are an American bistro and the list needs to be true to our style of food”, Sauter said. “However, we do provide a range of other wines, including Italian, Australian and French, to name a few.”

For the rest of this story, you can order the July 2003 issue of Hampton Roads Monthly magazine.