Wine Wisdom: Q & A with Bernard Sun

Bernard Sun oversees the wine program at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurants, including Jean Georges, which won the 2010 James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Service. Here he tells us about his preferred summer wine and notable green producers.

Q: What are your favorite wines to drink in the summer?

A: That’s easy: a Rosé from either Provence or Tavel. I look to Provence for something light and with minerality, Tavel for something flavorful and rich. As a matter of fact, we are serving a 2009 Château de Manissy Tavel Rosé at Matsugen right now, and it’s delicious.

Q: What are some under-the-radar wine regions that you think consumers should get to know better?

A: The world is pretty small now. There are not too many places left that are truly “under the radar,” although I did recently taste some fairly impressive wines from Canada’s Okanagan region in British Columbia.

Q: You recently appeared on Martha Stewart Radio to talk about green wines. Are there any particular green-wine producers that you recommend?

A: At our newly opened ABC Kitchen, where the theme is green and local, I created a 90-bottle wine list that’s 90 percent biodynamic/naturalist; and the rest is certified organic or about to be. There are quite a few organic producers who choose not to market their wines that way, omitting any mention of the organic pedigree on any part of their bottle, like Domaine Leflaive in Burgundy and Domaine de Marcoux in the Rhone Valley. Other “green” notables are Nikolaihof from Austria and Brick House Vineyards from Oregon.