Swirl owner's spin on buying wine
Stacy Finz, Chronicle Staff Writer
This story was originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Friday, November 17, 2006
It's been nearly a year since Jerry Cooper and his longtime partner opened Swirl on Castro, a San Francisco wine shop. Cooper, 51, had been wine director for the Kimpton Group, a company that operates boutique hotels and restaurants, for seven years, devising wine lists at numerous restaurants including Kuleto's in San Francisco and in Burlingame.
Eventually, he and Christopher Von Laufen decided to open Swirl. Cooper wanted to make buying wine easy for his customers, so instead of categorizing bottles by varietals, he separates them by weight and style.
"This way if you're having steak for dinner, you just go for the shelves where the big, heavy reds are," he said. "It just makes it nice for people who want to pair their wines with food."
He also specializes in carrying international wines from small producers, who farm using only biodynamic methods. About 40 percent of the store's inventory is biodynamic wines, he says. These growers don't use pesticides or chemicals and rely on astronomy and natural techniques in an attempt to make their vineyards sustainable.
Q: What got you interested in wine?
A: I had just turned 21 and was a waiter in Beverly Hills at a restaurant in L'Ermitage Hotel. I had a sip of my first good wine. All I can remember is that it was a red from Burgundy. It felt so mysterious that it made me want to explore more.
Q: What was the first great wine you remember having?
A: In 1976, when I had a Chateau Mouton Rothschild.
Q: What wines are you drinking most right now?
A: I'm on a white Burgundy kick. I can't get enough of them -- especially ones made with organic grapes. I just bought 10 cases of 2001 Pierre Morey Bourgogne Blanc. It's also biodynamic.
Q: What wine did you have last night with dinner?
A: I had a 2004 bottle of Jelly Roll Syrah from the Santa Ynez Valley.
Q: What wine do you think people don't drink enough?
A: Syrah. There's a Pinot Noir craze going on right now because of the movie "Sideways." But Syrah is so much more interesting. They are also more versatile with food than Cabernets and Merlots.
Q: If you were on Death Row and the warden let you have one glass of wine, what would it be?
A: It would be a 1995 Pierre Morey Batard-Montrachet from Burgundy.
Q: How many wines are in your cellar?
A: 450 bottles. Of those, a third are magnums because I collect them.
Q: What's the best wine you've ever had?
A: A 2003 Henri Perrot-Minot Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. There was a heat wave that year so the wine is opulent and sublime.
Q: What's the worst wine you ever had?
A: A 1993 Opus One. It tasted like potting soil from my garden. They're trying so hard to be Bordeaux in California. One hundred dollars for it was just ridiculous.
Q: Have you ever had a wine that changed your life?
A: It was an Alfred Gratien Cuvee Paradis Rosé. It was one of the most gorgeous, beautiful Champagnes with such amazing finesse. I had it at the house of some friends. We were on their balcony, overlooking the city during a heat wave. It was definitely the wine, the place and great friends.
Q: If you were to compare yourself to a wine, which wine would you be?
A: It would be a 2005 Holus Bolus Syrah. It's a serious wine from Santa Ynez that doesn't take itself too seriously.
Q: What was the last wine you gave as a present?
A: I gave a Craggy Range Pinot Noir from New Zealand. It's one of the best Pinots I've had in years. I gave it to a good friend going through a hard time. I said, "Drink this and you'll feel better."
Q: What's your favorite wine-food pairing?
A: Lamb and a Domaine du Pegau from the Chateauneuf-du-Pape region.
Q: How much do you think is too much for a bottle of wine?
A: Anything over $200.
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 Jerry Cooper. Chronicle photo by Jim Merithew |