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Matt Kramer At Moonstruck

    A pleasant March evening.  A Wednesday.....   Two circumstances that would not normally find me travelling to the distant, Northeastern part of the city where there is a fine restaurant called Moonstruck.  I had been there before when it had a different name and was one of Philadelphia's hottest restaurants.  Some of the same personnel are still involved, providing the same gracious service and fine food. But for an automobile-less, Center City resident, Moonstruck mid-week seems like a trip, well, to the Moon.

    This was not an ordinary week, though.  This was the week of Philadelphia's famed Book and Cook festival, in which many famous chefs and authors host events at Philadelphia restaurants.  The lure for a wine person was that wine writer Matt Kramer was going to be there with his new book.  In fact, Matt seemed to be the only person on the list this year with a strong wine background, so how could I not attend?    I was a little worried about how this would turn out, though. How many Philadelphians were going to trek out to the Northeast to meet a wine writer? This seemed like a "niche" dinner, and in a difficult location at that.  In fact, 120 people turned out, a testament to Matt Kramer, Moonstruck, and the Book and the Cook Festival.

    And what, you might ask, is Matt Kramer's new book?  When last we left Matt, he was bicycling through Burgundy and writing a charming book called "Making Sense of Burgundy."  In the process, he made a lot of us extremely jealous.  Matt  claims to have a new amore, though. His new book is a "Passion for Piedmont," and Moonstruck is decidedly Northern Italian; hence, the location. 

    Somehow, though, we could not find the time to talk much about Italy.   Matt's new lover may be occupying his mind these days, but he hasn't quite abandoned the old one.  Burgundy is a jealous mistress. We heard that Matt thinks that the Piemonte and Burgundy regions are very similar in many respects.  Regarding the wines, he said that those of both regions have a certain "grace" that you don't get in heavier [the innuendo seemed to be, clumsier] wines like Bordeaux. Hmmmm. "Grace" and "nebbiolo" are not words I would have used together as noun and modifier.   Well,  such is the fun of wine conversation.  I wanted to continue this line of inquiry, but .....

And then off we went, back to France. Not that we discouraged this; in fact, blame us, we provoked it.  So, wrapped around Moonstruck's gorgeous, flavorful roast loin of veal, Piemontese style, which we were happily washing down with Barolos  (see the Tasting Notes section of this web site),  we somehow talked only of Burgundy, about which Matt holds many strong and controversial opinions. One does not always have to agree in order to be entertained and enlightened, and Matt is a personable and charming guy.  It is fun watching Matt stake out a clear, uncompromising position, even if  you don't agree and even if it sometimes turns out to be somewhat inconsistent with other positions taken. In a recent review of his Piedmont book, a columnist for the Oregonian wrote that "[s]ometimes I wonder how the Wine Spectator would fill its Letters to the Editor page if it didn't publish Matt Kramer's columns. It seems like at least half the letters in any given edition are from readers elated or infuriated....."   For instance, and this was hardly news for a reader of his books,  Matt believes that a  basis for criticism of a Burgundian's wines is simply that you can pick out the style of  the winemaker in the wine. Matt is a dedicated terroir-ist, you see.  And Matt loves Leroy's Burgundies....I rather do, too, but that is not exactly the house I would pick to epitomize graceful, elegant pinot noir, if that is one's most prized characteristic.

    Is Burgundy a mystical event for you? Matt's your guy. For me, it is wine. Sometimes good, occasionally exceptional, often disappointing.  For Matt, if you did not already know from his book, it is a religion.  You have to take it on faith, accept the disappointments.  Burgundy, says Matt, "is Catholic."   Mixed in with the religious metaphors are religious experiences, provoked by the occasional stunning bottle like a Leroy Corton-Charlemagne. And, yes, there is an admission of what I have always suspected of the most fanatical Burgundy lovers: part of   the fun is the challenge of finding the special bottle. Bordeaux is "too easy."  

    One last controversy before he had to leave to entertain others. Port? He doesn't like it at all.   This explains a lot. Can one really trust the palate of someone who sees no redeeming value in Port? ;)

   The food was superb (in this neck of the woods, Moonstruck is the place to go),  the service unbelievably hospitable, Matt was informative and personable, and we ate and drank too much for too many hours. The most important lesson from this evening, however, was the reminder of how many people are seriously interested in wine and related things.   Over a hundred people turning out for a multi-course dinner with a wine writer from Oregon, in the middle of the week, in a distant part of Philadelphia is pretty impressive.   Those who think the art of joie de vivre is dying, think again. And welcome to Philadelphia.
   

Copyright © 1998, all rights reserved, Mark Squires.