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Troy Beeler, Black’s Bar & Kitchen
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Greg Whitesell/Examiner
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Troy Beeler ran the wine program at the Morrison Clark Inn in the late 1990s before moving to Los Angeles for three years.
“On the West Coast, you’re so much closer to wine,” he said. “It’s easier to get; you see wines that you don’t see on the East Coast. In general, I prefer Old World wines, but I’ll always have a soft spot for California wine.”
Then it was back to the East Coast, where he worked at Restaurant Nora and finally landed at Black’s just in time for the restaurant’s summer renovation.
Chef/owner Jeff Black spiffed up the place, added a wood-fired grill and revamped the menu. Taking care of the wine was Beeler.
He now oversees a wide-ranging, 250-label list that includes an impressive list of wines available by the glass and by the “quartino,” which are quarter-bottle servings, slightly more than a glass.
Q How did you go about reimagining this list?
A Well, all of Jeff Black’s restaurants are known for seafood, but we now have a wood-fired grill and steakhouse-style options. The whites and light reds are important for the seafood, but we need steakhouse wines — big, bold reds. I want to have good representation of most of the world’s wine regions.
Q Where do you try to deliver value?
A We try not to mark up too much in general, although it’s tough in Montgomery County. They have a monopoly on distributions. The wholesalers have to sell it to the county and the county sells it to us.
[Specifically] we have a 2005 Falanghina Terradora DiPaolo Irpinia from Italy. It was on the Wine Spectator’s “100 Most Exciting” list. We sell it for $5 for a taste or $10 for a quartino. A Vente Mazzaron, Zamora, which is a wine I just absolutely love from Spain, is $44. Spain has some of the best value in the world right now.
Q What’s one region, style or grape you see as up and coming?
A Portuguese red table wine. Some of the Quintos are importing good winemakers from Bordeaux, so they’re taking it seriously. Great grapes are getting grown for Port and what doesn’t get turned into Port is being made into table wine. It’s like Spain was 15 years ago. The wines remind me of zinfandel in a way — round, blackberry fruit. It’s not as tannic as cabernet or temperanillo. Eastern Europe is next. Some of the Eastern Bloc countries that were so underfunded and undercapitalized are growing great wines but haven’t seen any money in 100 years.
Q How do you recommend that novice wine drinkers gain some appreciation and knowledge?
A I would try to taste across varietals. That comes from learning in America. I’d just try cabernets side by side. Try all varietals. You miss out when you say, “I don’t like merlot.” Well, that only means you don’t like what you’ve tasted, not that you don’t like the grape.
Q What’s your desert island bottle?
A Oh, if I could only have one, it’d have to be Champagne. The 1996 Perrier Jouet Fleur de Champagne.
Black’s is located at 7750 Woodmont Ave. in Bethesda; 301-652-6278.
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