Walking through the large teak doors at the entrance of Gar Woods Grill and seeing the panoramic lake views evokes the days of grand vacations and leisure boating on The Lake of the Sky. On the right lies the spacious open dining room, on the left the welcoming lounge, and both open to one of the finest decks on Lake Tahoe. Hospitality is the name of the game here from the welcoming staff to the seasonally changing food and wine offerings.
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“The team here has really upped its wine game with an increased emphasis on high-quality wines.”
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Courtesy Gar Woods
The team here has really upped its wine game with an increased emphasis on high-quality wines and an exceptional selection of wines by the glass. Many restaurants limit by the glass choices to lower-end wines, but that’s not the case at Gar Woods and we feature by-the-glass choices and prices in the wine and food pairings.
Match No. 1 was the NV Mumm Brut Sparkling Wine served in a 187ml bottle, $14, that is equivalent to a generous glass pour and perfect for sharing. We matched this with the Ahi poke stack with mango-ginger relish, Wasabi cream and crisp wontons and were off to a great start.
Sauvignon Blanc is a natural match for feta cheese so we selected the 2014 Frog’s Leap, $14, with the house salad featuring fresh spring greens with feta, candied and spiced walnuts and a roasted red pepper vinaigrette. The Frog’s Leap is super-crisp version of sauvignon blanc that has lovely citrus and sweet herb flavors that complement the salad.
The Ahi poke stack paired well with the NV Mumm Brut Sparkling Wine.
Napa’s Carneros region is a hot bed for great Pinot Noir and is the source of Frank Family’s 2013 Pinot, $17. The wine brings dusty cherries, Indian spices and a touch of earth, and it danced beautifully with the herb-roasted chicken in a wine-rosemary jus and garlic mashers.
2013 is a stellar vintage in Napa, and the Whitehall Lane Merlot, $17, shows why with a perfect combination of ebullient dark fruits and tannic structure that is Napa at its finest. This wine was a rock star with the lamb chops with a lavender-honey glaze napped in a roasted garlic demi-glaze with a warm tomato couscous salad.
Dessert usually calls for a sweet wine, but not always, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to pair one of our favorite chocolate matches, the luscious 2011 Stag’s Leap Petit Sirah, $19, with the Oreo-crusted mocha crunch ice cream. A perfect ending to a stellar experience.
Overall, the wine list at Gar Woods focuses on new world favorites such as Rombauer, Duckhorn, Sonoma-Cutrer and Jordan. By the glass or bottle, pricing is quite reasonable with many choices between $30 and $50.
Gar Woods Is located at 5000 N. Lake Blvd.in Carnelian Bay and can be reached at (530) 546-3366. For more information, visit garwoods.com.
Lou Phillips is a Level 3 Advanced Sommelier and his consulting business WineProwest.com assists in the selling, buying and managing wine collections. He may be reached at (775) 544-3435 or lou@wineprowest.com. Visit TheTahoeWeekly.com for more wine columns.
