Jon McDanielSanta Ynez, CA
Marital Status - Single (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)
Wine Director of the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe and our e-commerce site .
I am the wine director of one of the most unique wine programs in the country. Whether you come in to enjoy our fabulous locally inspired cuisine or stay to have a glass or bottle of wine, our entire wine list is available for purchase to take home with you. One step further, because of the massive influx of tourists from around the country, our wine list is available through the website www.buysantabarbarawine.com.
I am only 28, but have had a lot of experience in the wine industry already. I have run an e-commerce wine retail company, a sommelier for one of the most eclectic wine programs in the country, a sales manager for a fine wine distributor, and an Italian importer. My current job as wine director of the cafe, its' retail program and e-commerce opportunities is the most challenging and biggest opportunity to take a great idea and grow it to new heights.
My focus for the wine program is on the amazing and diverse wines of the Central Coast. Guests come from across the country not to drink Austrian Gruners or Pouilly-Fume, but wines of the region. Much like wine lists in Europe, the focus is on the surrounding producers. If you go to a restaurant in Beaune, good luck finding a Pinot Noir from California! That philosophy is what inspires my program. Our wine list has Nebbiolo from Santa Ynez, Gruner Veltliner from Santa Barbara and Albarino from Paso, as well as the phenomenal Pinot, Syrah and Chardonnay that graces this region. We don't use tomatoes from Chile, so why would we drink Cabernet from there!
In my off-time, I love exploring the region, whether it be running through the valley, taking a drive through Foxen Canyon or a stop at the beach. When I can, I play a lot of tennis and am still searching for the perfect risotto.
Growing up, I never really was exposed to great food, nor was I very interested in it. I grew up as an only child to a single mother and with both of our hectic schedules, the chinese delivery guy was as close as a brother!
I really discovered great food when I moved to Washington, DC to go to George Washington University. From there, I just couldn't eat at Applebee's ever again. I have never really been a recipe guy, but rather just experiment with a lot of different flavors. I love Asian cuisine and food with a lot of heat to it. I really find that my love of Rieslings and fruit-forward wines come from this obsession with spice!
As an Italian importer, I discovered that Italian food was far more than just the menu of Olive Garden. Each region is so diverse in its' expression of local produce, that it is like looking at many different culinary events all within the same country. I have never had any sort of culinary training, just seeing and being inspired by so many of my friends who are chefs makes me want to explore the flavors that I see around me. Being able to cook makes me better at my job as well. To really understand what flavor profiles in food pair well with wine makes the understanding of wine as a part of a great experience that much more meaningful and expressive.
I work in a pretty hectic, always busy environment, so I don't have a lot of time to cook, but when I do, by far my favorite meal to cook is breakfast. A great breakfast has always been such a comfort to me. It's a great way to start the day and enjoy a wide variety of flavors. I have Sundays off, so Sunday breakfast is a must, and there are a lot of great wines that can be paired with breakfast foods, not just Mimosas and Bloody Marys! I am also a single guy, so throwing down a full 3-course meal when I live alone is not always the most wise decision. However, I do love to get friends together and really bring that European sense of the community table to life with food and wine.
My recipe is a spin on classic French toast. French toast has always been my favorite breakfast food and reminds me of my grandmother's cooking whenever I would go visit her (probably a reason why I was a fat kid!).
I am also fascinated with kitchen gadgets, with my favorite being.....that's right, a kitchen torch. I love Creme Brulee, so while making French toast one day, I decided to pull out the kitchen torch and light my syrup on fire......which really didn't do anything. So from there the experimentation began to what is now my French toast recipe.
Challah French Toast "Torch-on"
Serves 4-6 people
1 loaf Challah bread or other egg-based bread
6 large eggs
1/2 cup almond milk (I like to use almond milk as it gives a richer flavor to the final product and pairs really well with the wine!)
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons of butter
10 slices of Challah (cut it about 3/4" thick)
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
Your favorite syrup - I am a classic Maple guy
Take your eggs, cream and cinnamon and whisk them together in a large bowl, big enough to dip the bread in. After whisked, add in the almond milk, preferably at room temperature. Whisk again
In a large pan, turn on to medium high heat.
Put it about 1/2 of the butter and heat it until melted
Take a slice of bread and dip it in the bowl, making sure it is fully coated, but allow all the excess to run off
You can fit in about 3 pieces of bread at a time into the pan, so it's a good idea to turn your oven on to a warm setting (200-250F) to keep finished toast
Cook each slice of bread in the pan for about 2-3 minutes on each side, then put it in the oven. Make sure they are all laying in a single layer
When you are done with all of the slices of bread, pull the baking sheet out of the oven and cover each piece with an even layer of turbinado sugar (a sifter may help you in this).
Once you are done, torch away! Brulee each piece of bread until it turns a dark brown color and a layer of caramelization forms.
Then plate and serve!
WINE
The wine that I love with this breakfast is Alvear Pedro Ximenez Solera 1927 from Montilla-Moriles in Spain. This region is just outside of the Sherry district, but the PX grown here is some of the best in the world! This wine gives a lot of dense caramel, raisin and hazelnut flavors that bring out not only the syrup, but these really amazing Creme Brulee notes in the French toast. What I like about the wine is that it isn't terribly heavy, sugary or cloying. It has great acid that pairs nicely with the creaminess of the Challah and egg. Typically in French toast recipes, you will find vanilla extract, but I find that the Alvear does fill the void of vanilla without overpowering the other toasty flavors. Just an awesome wine that, if you run out of syrup, you could just pour it on the French toast and make a day out of it! I am also fascinated by the fact that this wine started over 80 years ago in the solera method of winemaking. It's sort of an homage to my grandmother who was born just before this wine was.
My favorite chef - This is really a tie for me between two restaurants that do amazing, amazing food with every meal. First is Frasca Food & Wine in Boulder, Colorado. Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey have taken Friuli and gone deeper into this region than anyone with inventive food and great wine. The other is Restaurant NoCa in Phoenix, AZ. Chef Chris Curtiss is much like me I think. A young guy who has a lot of great ideas and is all about the details. He puts out creative dishes and some of the best seafood I have ever had. And, I grow more impressed every day with the great food created by our Executive Chef, Shaun King.
My favorite winery......well as I am in the Central Coast, I would have to say that I have a ton of favorite wineries, but more importantly, I have a favorite winemaker. Sashi Moorman, who is the head winemaker for Stolpman Vineyards, Evening Land Vineyards-California, and Piedrasassi and Holus Bolus.
Sashi Moorman is a guy that I think truly understands this area and doesn't try to make wines that are trying to compete with Napa or Paso or even France. He is making wines that express the balance and ability to make great wines here in Santa Barbara County. That is a truly talented winemaker.
Also, I have to say that any wine that Jorge Ordonez from Spain touches has found its' way into my cellar. They are all amazing!
~Jon
Jon McDaniel
Wine Director
Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe
2879 Grand Ave.
P.O. Box 205
Los Olivos, CA. 93441
(805) 688-7265
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