Cyrano's Springs Forward With Updated Wine List

With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, along with its tradition of beer drinking, perhaps it’s time to get back to basics with a trip to a venerable wine-focused institution, at of Webster Groves.

The current incarnation of Cyrano’s is the third home of the restaurant, which started in a basement location in Clayton in the early 1960s, as a place to “take a date” and have dessert.

Fire brought an end to the original Cyrano’s, and the restaurant relocated to the spot Harvest currently occupies on Big Bend Road. After a couple of decades, and following a substantial move toward a dinner menu format, the restaurant changed hands, transferring to its current owners, Carolyn and Charlie Downs.

The Downs brought the restaurant to Webster Groves in 2003. A former general manager brought wine into focus before handing it off to current general manager, Melissa Smith.

Smith promotes Cyrano’s wines by the glass. With the restaurant located adjacent to the Repertory Theater, this creates an opportunity to generate a tidy wine business while also delivering pleasantly surprising tastes to theatergoers and everyday patrons alike.

The spring wine list revamp (the restaurant rolls out a new list twice a year, in the fall and spring) features nine reds and nine whites, with a diverse lineup touching on European, South American, and U.S. vineyards. Additionally, there are a couple dozen bottles and half-bottles to choose from.

Smith recommended a white and red for tasting, offering up, first, the 2009 Peter Lehmann Layers Blend ($8.50 per glass).

“The Lehman Blend is only in its second year of production, and you don’t find a lot of white blends,” Smith said. “It is an easy, approachable wine we think will pair well with some of our salads or our seared Ahi tuna dish.”

The nose on the Lehman Layers was crisp with lime and tropical flavor and led to an aromatic finish of melon, rounded out by a hint of the traditional, buttery chardonnay grape present in the mix.

Smith also recommends a modest pinot noir, in the form of the 2007 Gerard Bertrand ($7 per glass), from Languedoc, France.

“I wanted to put a pinot noir on our list, which varies from the California styles people are accustomed to, something more earthy, dusty, and not with quite as much fruit on it as the California offerings,” Smith said.

The Bertrand carried a ripe raspberry nose, and spoke up to claim its place in the tradition of solid, burgundy reds. The finish was soft with tannins, encouraging a pairing with a more complex dish such as Cyrano’s Beef Brochettes, served with roasted red peppers, bleu cheese and horseradish sauce.

Among the bottles offered, a Shaya Old Vine Verdejo 2009 white, from Rueda, Spain, appeared inviting. The new wine list introduced some new half-bottles, as well, including the 2007 Steele Zinfandel, which would pair well with several of the sandwich and burger options on the menu. 

Cyrano’s offers several tasty red and white alternatives to the beer-oriented rituals, colored green and orange this time of year.