Cheers from shore’s beverage director!

Jul 18

Graham Beck, Brut, Western Cape, South Africa, NV

Nothing compliments a meal like a beautiful glass of wine. Depending on what you’re having, there’s a wine to go with it. In-house Sommelier Laura Laukoter knows all about wine, and she’s our GM too!

What started as a quick family visit to Austin, progressed into a meeting with Shore’s owner Rick Wahlberg. The two hit it off quickly and used the opportunity to do a complete revamp of Shore’s Beverage Program. Laura quickly found her place within the restaurant and was offered a permanent position as GM and Beverage Director. It didn’t take her long to understand the Austin market and beefed up the beverages to reflect the taste of the community after seeing what our customers wanted. She creates fresh and exciting drinks built on “classics with a twist” focusing on items people love.

“Texans love tequila!”

Besides her beverage knowledge and expertise, Laura brought elevated service and hospitality to the restaurant that we see today. She instituted a training program for the waitstaff to ensure staff knowledge of all food and beverage. “If the service isn’t there, it doesn’t matter,” and thus the level of service was enhanced to meet the level of food and beverage that the restaurant is known for.

As a Level 2 Sommelier, one of the first things she did when she started was to expand the wine list and add a respectable selection of high-end wines. Features are a great way to test the waters on what our guests like and don’t like. Many features have found their way to the permanent menu because they turned out to be fan favorites. As the restaurant grows, so does the wine list. Wine is also a unique way for guests to experience other cultures and parts of the world. Every wine has a story, and if you couldn’t tell, we like telling stories.

Most Sommeliers remember the wine that made them say - this is what I want to do. For Laura, it was an Alsatian Riesling Vintage 2007 Trimbach’s ‘Frederic Emile’. It was one of those wines where you want to “fall into the glass” as she says, “I didn’t know wine could be this beautiful.” It’s this sentiment that is exciting as she tastes new wines to add to the list.

Tempranillo, El Coto, Crianza, Rioja, Spain, 2019

“The more adventurous pairings are sometimes the most exciting.”

Being a seafood and oyster restaurant, showcasing wines that naturally pair well with these items is important. Our Leduc-Frouin’s ‘La Seigneurie’ Chenin Blanc is her favorite by the glass, it’s “super approachable and a classic pairing for oysters, seafood, and a great patio-pounder”. One of our top-selling items, Lobster Roll, pairs beautifully with Charly Nicolle’s ‘1er Cru Les Fourneaux’ Chablis from Burgundy, France. If you’re looking for a white by-the-glass option the Albarino, Morgadio from the Rias Baixas region in Spain has “more body, aromatics, and is a classic Spanish white wine from a region known for their elegant white wines, home of the Albarino grape.”

Over the years we have seen how much “Texans love red wine!” so we’ve introduced new, fun reds to make a “well-rounded list”. The Te Mata, Gamay Noir from Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand is “something new, something fun, a lighter style red with a slight chill. Gamay is a classic red wine from the Beaujolais region in France and because Beaujolais is so close to my heart, and I love it so much, it’s really interesting to see what other parts of the world are doing with classic grapes.”

When it comes to suggesting wines, Laura approaches it the same way she does music…

“What are you in the mood for?”

Sommelier’s Top Picks:

“One of my personal favorites, which has such value with age, and it’s drinking super well is the Carpineto, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Riserva, Tuscany, Italy Vintage 2016.”
“If you’re looking to splurge on a special occasion with some unique bubbles the Gamet Rose, Brut, Vallee de la Marne is very special. Gamet Rose is a sparkling rose from Champagne made with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes, a very limited bottle with minimal production and we got some of the last bottles in Texas. It’s a ‘grower champagne’, meaning the estate grows and bottles the grapes. From vine to bottle.”

Fun, Exciting Wine Pairings with Popular Dishes: