Oz Clarke, the U.K.’s most popular wine critic, met representatives of the wine trade at San Francisco’s Slanted Door to discuss his new books, Kiwi wines, and food pairing.

Oz Clarke is indeed the U.K.’s best-known wine personality. He’s written several books and regularly appears on BBC radio and television and has the unique distinction of getting busted by Christopher Reeve in Superman (1978)--awesome movie BTW. Clarke also enjoys a good amount of popularity on this side of the pond, although his wine criticism comes more often in the form of good writing rather than the scoring and rating of wines popular here in the States.

There is a well-worn copy of Clarke’s excellent topographical wine atlas sitting on my bookshelf at home. The binding has been taped up and the pages are often out of order as they freely fall to the floor whenever I open its cover. Its tattered condition is the result of me compulsively carrying it wherever I went while studying for the Master Sommelier exam. With Clarke’s atlas, I was able to visualize the dramatic slopes of the Mosel and the gradual undulations of Bordeaux’s terroir long before I was able to visit these places in person. It’s truly one of my favorite wine books.

Clarke is credited with coining the phrase “cat’s pee on a gooseberry bush,” which he used to describe the pungent green character typical of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The phrase is off-putting to some, but Clarke meant it as a compliment, and it certainly is accurate. We tasted several Kiwi Sauvignons, as well as Rieslings, Gewurztraminers, and Pinot Noirs with Chef Charles Phan’s excellent Vietnamese cooking at the Slanted Door on Sunday night.

Clarke has a take on food and wine pairing that I wish more wine drinkers would adapt. From his new Pocket Wine Guide 2011:

The pleasures of eating and drinking operate on so many levels that hard and fast rules make no sense. What about mood? If I’m in the mood for Champagne, Champagne it shall be, whatever I’m eating. What about company? An old friend, a lover, a bank manager—each of these companions would probably be best served by quite different wines. What about place? If I’m sitting gazing out across the Mediterranean, hand me anything, just as long as it’s local—it’ll be perfect.

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Without Jesse here, I'm indulging all my guilty pleasures: sleeping late, Kojak on Hulu, vinofilic lunches and Nutella at every meal...and often in between. Up at the crack of 11:30am, I walked to the Farmers Market and found it loaded with fruit! Beautiful cherries, strawberries, citrus and tree fruit--the latter still a skosh hard, but by tomorrow they'll be ready for fruit salad. Lunched on the patio at Lafitte-what a nice way to spend the afternoon. The service was my favorite type, gracious and natural, thanks Deborah. The pheasant rillette is killer and six hours later, I'm still thinking about the soup. I love that they have Villa Sparina splits on the list--perfect for the single soul who wants to linger. The people watching rating is high--Embarcadero is the quintessential strolling spot and those skaters are extremely well-behaved--really, they are.
After my afternoon nap (again with the guilty pleasures) dinner is green salad and Mt Difficulty Roaring Meg Riesling--floral, fresh pink apple and quartzy mineral. Chuck Hayward has opened my eyes to New Zealand wines.