Châteauneuf-du-Pape: a Love Letter
Nikita Malhotra
February 13, 2025
The thing that keeps us wine lovers infatuated and committed to our relationship with wine is the ever-changing and constantly evolving nature of the wine world. Yet, on the eve of Valentines Day, I can’t help but want to talk about one of my first loves in terms of wine regions, Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Nostalgia is at play here, not just because of the red hearts and cupids adorning store windows and bar shelves, but because it has come to light that one of the first restaurants I worked at as a sommelier, Tribeca Grill, is closing; it’s last day at the end of this short month. And that was the restaurant that taught me and nurtured my love for this region in the Southern Rhône.
We had a whole cellar dedicated to our Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines, magnums occupying the upper shelves, majestic with their papal seal adorning the neck of the bottle. Our wine director, David Gordon, was gifted the keys to this esteemed region, further solidifying our ties with Châteauneuf-du-Pape. On Valentine’s Day, when other restaurants would talk about the iconic heart on the label of Château Calon Ségur or the not so subtle romantic notion of Les Amoureuses, the sommeliers at Tribeca Grill would lovingly go over verticals of Domaine Marcoux, Domaine de la Janasse, Henri Bonneau and of course Rayas. I can’t think of anything more romantic than someone pouring me Rayas!
Châteauneuf-du-Pape represented
A normal night of service back in 2015 at Tribeca Grill
The region is also featured in ‘Drops of God,’ the French-American-Japanese series on Apple TV, that is inspired by the Japanese Manga series. I recently watched the episodes, falling in love with the scenic landscapes of the vineyards and following Camille, the heroine, as she learns about wine in scenes shot at Chateau de Beaucastel. The story follows two people, a Japanese man, Issei Tomine, who has been studying wine for sometime and feels the weight as an outsider in terms of fine wine and a French woman, Camille Léger, who has to overcome familial trauma in regards to wine and unlock her destiny. It is a series I would recommend outside of the parameters of wine, good storytelling and compelling characters, but as a wine lover it is refreshing to see winemaking and a region told with integrity and care. It was inspiring to see the sun soaked vineyards of the region. I usually imagine cooler climates when I conjure up an image in my mind. It’s great to see more representation for this region.
What Tribeca Grill instilled in me was the continuation of a legacy of spotlighting this region, a very important and historical region in France. These wines barely have room on lists devoted to other regions like Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne in New York; not many sommeliers or wine programs outside of Tribeca Grill championed them when they also had a cellar full of Burgundy. When I applied to Tribeca Grill, to be terrifyingly transparent, I wanted to taste Coche-Dury, it was this mythical wine for me. And I got to taste a good amount of Coche over the years there. But it is a map that Isabelle Sabon from Domaine de la Janasse gave me that remains on my apartment wall, showcasing the complexity and various soils and climates throughout the region. It is a map that most people have if they like the region, a good accompaniment to Harry Karis’ book Châteauneuf-du-Pape. But I treasure this map because Isabelle gave it to me with the promise that I could come work harvest whenever I wanted to in the future. My worn out maps of Burgundy that were printed prior to service, so that we could fill out the maps with the Premier Cru and Grand Cru vineyards in between serving guests wine, are tucked away in old notebooks and drawers. You had to study to talk about Burgundy, but with Châteauneuf-du-Pape, I got to listen to stories from winemakers and that is probably key to why this region became my first love.
Côtes du Rhône to make someone smile - an ideal bottle at the bar at Tribeca Grill
