One of the great(est) privileges of life in the Garden State for this oenophile is its BYO restaurants. After decades of drinking extensively—and expensively—in New York, it’s such a pleasure to be able to bring the wine of one’s choice – grand cru Burgundy or Kirkland Signature Merlot to a New Jersey restaurant, thanks to the state’s antiquated liquor laws.
Both first-rate Burgundy and bargain-priced Merlot have been brought to the tables of Turtle + the Wolf—sometimes by the very same diners, according to longtime staffer Ben Sanders, adding that restaurant patrons are a mix of serious wine lovers and casual drinkers—and plenty of non-Jersey residents too, many of whom have never heard of the practice of BYO. “Then it’s fun to do the whole history lesson of New Jersey and its blue laws,” said Sanders, estimating 40 percent of their customers arrive bottle-less.
Those in search of wine are directed to one of the two nearby wine shops: Angelbeck’s Wine Merchant across the street or Grape Collective located next door. They may also be handed a binder of wines sold at Merit Fine Wines in downtown Montclair, as Merit delivers to the restaurant and is open late on Sundays, unlike the other two stores.
Fried Chicken, Meet Your Match
A perfect pairing: Turtle + the Wolf chef and owner Lauren Hirschberg with Lo’s Famous Fried Chicken and Roeno Trentodoc Extra Brut ($34), a sparkling wine from Italy’s Trento region. (PHOTOS: TURTLE + THE WOLF / LETTIE TEAGUE)
On my most recent visit to Turtle + the Wolf, I brought a bottle I’d purchased at Grape Collective the day before: Roeno Trentodoc Extra Brut ($34), a Metodo Classico (aka Champagne method) sparkling wine from Italy’s Trento region.
Grape Collective proprietor Deborah Block assured me the wine, made entirely from Chardonnay, would pair well with Turtle + the Wolf’s famous fried chicken. She was right. The wine and the chicken proved a seamless fit – the bright acidity of the wine a perfect counterpart to the richness and slight spiciness of the chicken. In fact, fried chicken and sparkling wine is one of my favorite pairings at Turtle + the Wolf and one that I’ve put together many times.
Lo’s Fried Chicken (COURTESY TURTLE + THE WOLF)
For wine drinkers who might want to leave the bottle choice to a pro, Turtle + the Wolf chef and owner Lauren Hirschberg regularly hosts wine dinners in conjunction with Amanti Vino wine shop. The next dinner – scheduled for later this fall- features Spanish wines paired with tapas and a whole roasted pig. These dinners are “a fun change of pace where we get to create special menus outside our normal offerings.” They also take place on Tuesdays when the restaurant is normally closed.
Did Hirschberg have any favorite BYOs in town? I asked. He named two nearby spots—SLA Thai (his wife’s favorite) and Minoru. But he added, “I don’t visit BYOBs as often simply because my family tends to stick to a regular rotation of restaurants with full bars.”
Lettie Teague was the The Wall Street Journal wine columnist for 16 years, the wine columnist and executive wine editor of Food & Wine magazine, the winner of three James Beard awards, author of multiple wine books and one biography of a best-selling children’s author. She writes a weekly Substack column “Wine in Words”. Teague explores the local wine and dining scene for Drink Local, a Feast series pairing bottles from area wine shops with dishes from local restaurants.
