Wine & Spirits - Summer 2022 - 28

quality turned bitter at the fi nish
when it met the horserad " When
I think burgers, I
think juicy, " she says. " We
could call that higher in acid,
but something juicy, fresh and
mouthwatering in my wine is
also what I want in my burger.
Chillable red is always my go-to
because a burger and fries still
feels lighter than a steak and
potatoes. I don't want something
big and overpowering. "
Her pick, Post Flirtation, is a
spicy, fruity blend of carignan
and zinfandel from Mendocino
County, California.
In the blind tasting, Den Haan
found the wine " interesting and
diff erent " with the In-N-Out
Double-Double, but that " some
of the other wines are more harmonious. "
Kurland described " an
herbaceous green tinge at the fi nish.
I'm not sure how I feel about
it with In-N-Out, but I like the
wine. " Frick added, " It's so gluggable.
If I'm eating a burger at
noon, I just want to dump this
wine into a Mason jar and drink
it like water. "
That stemmy, herbaceous
ish on the Stout burger but the
wine was winning match with
Mr. Charlie's vegan burger. The
ripe, round fruit was more pronounced,
and the tart green
quality helped to clean the palate
from the rich, sticky vegan
cheese. Phillip Dunn mused,
" When you taste the wine, then
the burger, and back to the
wine, it completely changes
in the best way. It becomes
brighter, more streamlined,
fruity and juicy. " Den Haan
proclaimed, " I think the vegan
burger has found a wine! "
● JULIAN KURLAND STARTED AT
Cannibal, a beer and butcher
shop in New York City, before
moving into wine. He now manages
Domaine LA, a Hollywood
wine shop focusing on natural
wines from Europe. " First and
foremost, I hear fat with burgers
and think acid, " Kurland states.
" I chose a wine that has a little bit
of tannin but is sharper in acidity
to cut through a big melty, fatty
burger. It refreshes the palate
for the next bite. " The wine he
brought is a fi eld blend of abouriou,
colombard, carignan, valdiguié
and a touch of zinfandel
from Mendocino County, California.
At ten percent alcohol, it's
easy drinking-a perfect wine to
drink outside while grilling.
Kurland's acid theory didn't
hold when we paired the wine
with the In-N-Out Double-Double.
" The acidity of the sauce
is a little higher than I thought
it would be, " he mused while
blind-tasting his wine. " It's not
quite melding together. " But
with Mr. Charlie's Double Not,
the wine quickly became one of
Julian Kurland
DOMAINE LA
6801 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
IG: @JULIANKURLAND
BURGER PAIR: Emme 2021
Mendocino Pink Lemonade $29
MICHELLE GONZALEZ OF SILVERLAKE
WINES ENJOYS THE STOUT
BURGER. HER WINE, GUIMARO MENCIA,
WAS THE GROUP'S TOP PICK TO
PAIR WITH THE BURGER'S HORSERADISH
CREAM AND BLUE CHEESE.
Ryan Frick
BAR AND GARDEN
6142 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
IG: @RYANFRICK
BURGER PAIRING: Trail Marker
2021 Lodi Mokelumne Glen
Vineyard Blaufränkisch $30
● RYAN FRICK STARTED AS A WINE
buyer for Whole Foods before
moving into importing. Now,
he owns his own shop in Culver
City. Bar and Garden off ers
around 450 selections and
focuses on organically and sustainably
farmed wines. Describing
his wine-pairing philosophy
with burgers, he said, " My m.o.
is wines that are medium-bodied
but extremely bright, to give lift
to a food that can be very heavy.
Obviously, the wine should have
a little acidity to cut through the
fat, but also a tinge of smoke,
so something like Mt. Etna reds
would be my go-to. " Keeping it
28
WINE & SPIR IT S
SUMMER 202 2
the group's favorites. Again, the
vegan cheese was the biggest factor
for the pairing. The thick consistency
the cheese developed as
it cooled needed a high-acid wine
to cut through it, and Kurland's
wine did the trick. Den Haan
nodded after she took a bite and
a swig: " It lifts the vegan cheese
off the roof of my mouth. " Dunn
agreed, adding, " The fruit is coming
out of the wine more now. "
This wine also elevated the fl avors
of the Stout burger, cutting
through the horseradish cream
and bringing out the fl avors of
the onion jam. " The fruit really
stands out, yet balances all the
fl avors, " Bolaños said. The consensus
was that Pink Lemonade
needed rich cheese and toppings
to work with its high acidity.
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