A SPECIAL COLLECTION

The Mar-a-Lago Club’s wine program features special-order, rare vintages, generation-spanning favorites, and winemaker dinners

BY MARK SPIVAK

Wine plays a vital role in the culinary program at Mar-a-Lago, and the club makes a special effort to accommodate the wishes of members who have requests for allocated and rare bottles.

“Many of our members have their own cellars and are extremely wine-knowledgeable,” says General Manager Bernd Lembcke. “We research their requests, and always try to locate and procure the wines they want.”

At Mar-a-Lago, as elsewhere in Palm Beach, tastes in wine have changed greatly over the past few decades. Traditionally, members had a preference for classic French wines such as Bordeaux and Burgundy, but in recent years, California wines have been gaining in popularity. Hard-to-find Chardonnays from the Golden State such as Kistler, Three Sticks, and Konsgaard are now fixtures on the club’s list, and complex Sauvignon Blanc such as Peter Michael’s L’Après-Midi are also favorites.

Bordeaux remains popular, of course, and several dozen Grand Cru Classé are offered from every region of the Gironde, from Château Pavie and Ausone in Saint Emilion to the first growths of Lafite, Latour, and Haut-Brion. Château Petrus 2009 is the most expensive bottle on the list at $5,000, but there are occasions when even that won’t do.

“One of our members wanted Château Pe-

trus 1982 for a dinner party,” says Lembcke. “He had the wine in his home cellar, but of course he couldn’t bring it into the club, so we found several bottles for him.”

JERRY RABINOWITZ

TRENDS & TASTES

By and large, member preferences at Mar-aLago tend to mirror national trends. Growth in Pinot Noir has been explosive over the past few years, given its approachability and ability to pair with a wide range of foods. The popularity of Pinot Noir has sparked a renewed interest in the red wines of Burgundy, and the club offers the best of artisan growers from both the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. Regardless of the category, members are gravitating toward small, hand-crafted selections from dedicated vintners around the world: The list offers Syrah from Arnot-Roberts and Sine Qua Non, as well as the rare 2000 vintage of Dom Perignon P2, cellared at the property and re-released in perfect condition.

There are more than 300 selections, and the hallmark of the list is its balance. Grower Champagne is offered alongside the Grande Marques. In addition to the best-known names in Chardonnay from America and France, there is German Riesling, whites from the Rhône Valley, and selections from Spain, Italy, and Australia. The famous Cabernets of Napa and Bordeaux are complemented by the very best of Tuscany.

The wine cellar is located in the basement, in a space formerly used by Marjorie Merriweather Post to store her furs. No modifica-

As taste in wines evolves, so does the club’s collection.

The club’s wine collection features a balanced, curated list of more than 300 selections. Members can also make special requests.

tions to the historic building are permitted, so the space can’t be enlarged; the staff orders in small quantities and pays close attention to inventory management. The heavy steel door of the fur vault is an architectural legacy.

Above all, the wine program is responsive to the needs of the membership.

“There was always a wine program at Mar-aLago, but it wasn’t as well-defined as it is now,” says Rick Orsi, director of food and beverage services. “Starting with our previous sommelier, Briana Pestano, we went through a process of eliminating unnecessary selections that had accumulated over time before we could focus on building a new list.”

Pestano “worked closely with the members and got to know their likes and dislikes,” Orsi says. “As a result of that relationship, we were able to pay increased attention to what members were asking for, and the wine list became more user-friendly—both in terms of bottles and wines by the glass.” Orsi agrees that wine preferences change with generations, and he observes that a new group of members is driving the shift toward boutique California wine. “We still have members who love Bordeaux and Burgundy,” he says, “but the trend in the wine industry is definitely toward the New World. Our younger members are more knowledgeable about cutting-edge California wines, and those bottles form the foundation of their comfort zone.”

Ten or 20 years ago, members would have been likely to order cocktails before and even during a meal; today, wine has become a normal and expected part of dinner. “The whole nature of a wine list has changed as well,” says Orsi. “In the past, many of them were written to impress diners. Now it’s all about substance and drinkability.”

Not surprisingly, selections from the Trump Winery appear both on the main list as well as wines by the glass. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains along central Virginia’s Monticello Wine Trail, the estate spans 1,300 acres and is the largest winery both in Virginia and on the East Coast. Winemaker Jonathan Wheeler turns out a lineup including whites, rosé, sparkling wine, and age-worthy reds. The Trump wines are a popular selection for banquets, and they have become the personal favorites of many club members.

Mar-a-Lago wine dinners focus on the world’s top estates, with guests guided through the evening by an owner or winemaker.

WINEMAKER DINNERS

The club’s unique series of wine dinners illustrates how tastes are adapting and changing. Many dining rooms host winemaker dinners, but Mar-a-Lago has traditionally focused on the world’s top estates, with the requirement that either an owner or winemaker be present that evening to guide the guests through the wines. Orsi observes that the club’s younger members are more likely to have visited emerging California wineries, and in many cases have developed personal bonds with them.

Highlights from last season’s dinners included an evening with the wines of Paul Hobbs, an acclaimed winemaker for the past 35 years with properties in both California and Argentina, as well as consulting projects around the globe. His brother, Matt Hobbs, the winery ambassador, was on hand to showcase the selections. On another special evening, Dr. Madaiah Revana—proprietor of Revana Family Vineyard in Napa, Alexana Winery in Willamette Valley, and Corazon del Sol in Argentina—was in the spotlight with Alexana winemaker Bryan Weil.

Boich Family Cellar—a small property in Napa’s Mount Veeder appellation dedicated to producing limited quantities of world-class Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah—will be one of this season’s featured events. Winemaker Jeff Ames crafts unforgettable reds from iconic vineyard sites in the Napa Valley, including several from Beckstoffer Vineyards, as well as a stunning Chardonnay from the Ritchie Vineyard in the Russian River Valley. The winery’s tiny production is generally available only through a mailing list.

One of last year’s innovations that will be repeated this season is a dinner organized by a master sommelier, who chooses the wines to pair with the chef’s menu for the evening. This year’s event will feature Master Sommelier Andrew McNamara, vice president of wine development for the Breakthru Beverage Group. McNamara will be on hand during the dinner to present the wines and explain how and why he chose them, and he’ll be available to interact with members and answer questions.

Of course, the role of the sommelier extends beyond helping members select wines with dinner. At Mar-a-Lago, the sommelier also runs an educational program for the staff, holding training seminars in wine etiquette and bringing in distributors and winemakers to conduct tastings. In this way, the wine program becomes dynamic and interactive for the members, even at times when the sommelier may not be physically present in the dining room. d