Producer Spotlight: Herman Story

There are producers in this crazy world of wines that make enough different wines that we can hold an event dedicated to one producer. One such producer is Herman Story. While these wines are young (all 2022 and 2023), I'd like to try them out as I am considering buying more from this vintage.

Here is what Herman Story has to say about themselves (on their website), "We're cooks, not chemists. You might be saying, what about terroir? Science? The technical details I read on that one critic's vintage report? Don't worry, that's all part of it. Get grapes from exceptional vineyards, make careful decisions in the cellar, be relentless about quality, you'll be turning out showstoppers.
At the end of the day, we make wines that'll pair just as well with a triple-stacked bacon cheeseburger as they will with an extravagant eight-course tasting menu. Wines you can contemplate at a massive mahogany desk or chug while your friend falls from a keg-stand into an inflatable pool of Jello. Either way, they're a damn good time."

This will be an 8 person dinner at one of my Monday night favorites, Nice Matin. There will be 4 red wines from Herman Story, and one white wine from a different producer since to the best of my knowledge, they don't make a white wine.

Here is a link to their menu:
Nice Matin Dinner Menu

Nice Matin is located at 201 W. 79th Street, the corner of Amsterdam Ave.

** The cost of this event is $51 and is for the cost of the wines.

NOTE: Meetup has started charging a "Partner Fee" that is above and in addition to the listed price of the event. It is annoying and confusing, but there is nothing I can do about it. It comes to approximately $4 more for each RSVP. You will see this charge when you complete your rsvp and pay for the event. MEETUP+ members are exempt from this charge.

Just a reminder of our usual rules:

You will also have to pay the cost of your food (plus 33% for tax and tip). You will be expected to order at least 2 dishes (an appetizer and a main, or main and dessert) to help support the restaurant.

Please read and understand the group's cancellation policy. If you take spot, then cancel, and no one else takes the spot, you will not receive a refund or credit. No refunds or credits will be given for no-shows or late cancellations (unless someone else takes your spot). All cancellations are subject to a $6 service fee.

The Wines (notes will be distributed at the dinner):

2022 Clos des Lunes Lune d'Argent ($18) - I didn't get any of the Herman Story Chards, so I'm including this bargain priced white Bordeaux to keep the price of the event down. Besides, its a QOR winner! CT 89.4, WA 89, JD 92 points, "(Clos Des Lunes Lune D'Argent Blanc) The 2022 Clos Des Lunes Lune D’Argent Blanc is clean, bright, and pure, with notes of lemon curd, white flowers, and crushed stone. Vibrant, focused, and elegant on the palate, it has impressive precision and a great finish, all making for an outstanding, incredibly satisfying white. Brought up in a mix of stainless steel and oak, drink bottles over the coming 5-7 years. (Drink between 2025-2032):

2023 Herman Story Pinot Noir Smash City ($85) - Their only Pinot Noir. Aged in 70% New French Oak for 12 months. 14.8% Alcohol, from the Bien Nacido vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley. A full-tilt repertoire of Darjeeling tea chassés, garrigue hip pops, petrichor pliés, with jasmine incense and Tahitian vanilla shimmies.

2023 Herman Story Petite Sirah First Time Caller ($85) - JD gave the 2021 94 points. From the HS website, "Headed your way is a coveted package including a full truckload of blueberry coulis, Violet-lavender mead, and herb-charred tenderloin. But that’s not all. We’re throwing in an all-inclusive trip to black-licorice shores, Black Amber plum paradise, cacao molé trails, and bramble mountain. 15.7% alcohol, Aged in 85% New French Oak for 18 months, from Paso Robles, CA.

2022 Herman Story Grenache On The Road ($85) - From the HS website, "If they brought the running of the bulls to New Orleans’ French Quarter, this is the bottle that would stoke the mozos’ courage. Earthy, red-cherry rampage kicking up graham cracker dust, trampling fresh-baked beignets, sending red macarons flying in all directions, spilled sazerac cobblestones, rose petals cast from balconies on the runaway beasts—all to the tune of rich, chocolate-mousse jazz. The type of orchestrated, yet feral, energy you’d love to sit and watch… If you weren’t running for your life. Aged in 80% New French Oak for 30 months. 15.8% Alcohol.

2022 Herman Story Syrah Bien Nacido ($85) - From the HS website, "There’s a man who lives in a 1961 Shasta Airflyte on the shore of Loch Ness, and word is he can talk to Nessy. So hike out into the berry-strewn, brambly hills, through herb-laden forests and along crumbling slate crags, until you smell the stewed plum and pepper-crusted venison backstrap. There, he’ll outfit you with a huckleberry-flint bowie knife, vanilla-clove paracords, and an old Polaroid 600, then take you paddling in a dinghy, trying to fathom the boundless depths below. Aged in 100% New French Oak for 30 months. 15.8% alcohol. From the Bien Nacido vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley.