White Wine
Goldmuskateller, Thurnof, Alto Adige 2010 – one of the most aromatically intense wines ever. Very muskat with citrus, floral and mineral notes. Dry, rich, bright and equally intense on the palate, this is a unique and delicious drinking experience with lots of food pairing options. Artisan Wines
Hippolyte Reverdy, Sancerre, France 2010 – this is our “house” Sancerre, imported by the great Kermit Lynch. It is classic with citrusy notes and tons of flinty mineral aromatics and flavors. Bright and alive with palate refreshing acidity – so good with lots of different fish dishes. Winebow
Chardonnay, Neyers, Carneros, 2009 is a perfectly balanced, all-purpose California chardonnay. Rich but not heavy, toasty but not oaky, fruity but not sweet - everyone likes this wine, a lot! Bruce Neyers has taken a page from his Burgundian conterparts and crafted a chardonnay that goes with food! Winebow
Hippol
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Duemani Altrovino Cabernet Franc/Merlot 2008, from a well known practitioner of bio-dynamic farming and winemaking, this cuvee is delicious and affordable – and bio-dynamic! Medium bodied and elegantly structured, the smooth tannins make it very drinkable now. There are higher end (more expensive) cuvees to lay down and a lesser cuvee that was pretty good too. I really like the wines from Duemani, an excellent producer worth seeking out. Acid, Inc.
Domaine De La Solitude Cotes Du Rhone 2009, one of our favorite Chateauneuf Du Pape producers, this little village wine has a beautiful perfume of ripe fruit and earth, a medium weight and silky palate and a mouthful of juicy berries, bright acidity and soft tannins. We love this producer. Langdon-Shiverick
Ladera Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 2007, what a crowd pleaser! Perfectly balanced and very approachable, a classic Napa Cab on the less extracted end of the spectrum that goes great with lots of our food. They have a couple of high end cuvees that were outstanding, but for the price this is very hard to beat. Winebow
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Crabtree Kittle House's wine director and general manager, Glenn Vogt, in the wine cellar.
This is not only the best wine list in Westchester County, but likely one of the very best in the state.
Kittle House’s wine director and general manager, Glenn Vogt, assembled the sprawling list in two stages. The first was during his tenure in the mid-’90s; the second began in 2008, when he returned to the restaurant to resume his post(s).
While the wine list was impressive in its first incarnation (I visited a few times back then), it has developed into something even more prodigious Mr. Vogt’s second time around. Not only are there all those thousands of selections currently on the list, but another 350 or so wines and some large-format bottles remain unlisted for one reason or another, according to Mr. Vogt. Until a few years ago, the cellar was famously—and, to the minds of many, delightfully—cluttered, so much so that even Mr. Vogt sometimes wasn’t sure what he’d find. It was less professional storage than treasure hunt.
Some famous treasure hunters have turned up some very nice bottles—such as the rare 1970 Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de Latour Cabernet that musician Steve Winwood snapped up during a cellar tour. (Mr. Winwood liked the wine so much that he hosted some Kittle House staffers at his next concert.)
While the Kittle House has its share of celebrity diners, its customers are more commonly a mix of oenophiles and impassioned locals, like the woman sitting at the table next to me who directed me to “write something nice” about the Kittle House when she saw me taking notes. “We’ve been coming here for years. We love John Crabtree,” she added, naming the proprietor whose family attached its name to the restaurant and inn following the purchase of the Kittle House in 1981.
The Crabtree family restored and renovated the big Colonial house that was originally built in 1790 as a barn for the Ivy Hill Farm. (Earlier owners attached their names to the Kittle House, too; during the 1940s and ’50s it was known as Carlson’s Kittle House.) The Kittle House has also operated as an inn, a roadhouse and even a boarding school.
Today, the Kittle House is an inn with 12 guest rooms, a restaurant that includes a tap room and a formal dining room; it is a special-occasion destination, especially for weddings. (Mr. Vogt estimates that there are about 100 held at Kittle House each year.)
There are also various special menus and deals on different days of the week. The day I visited (a Monday) turned out to be half-price Chardonnay and BYOB night. Happily, I’d managed to time my visit to the cheapest night of the week—which would have been even more exciting if white Burgundy were part of the deal. It was not. “Only California Chardonnay,” said the bespectacled, affable Mr. Vogt.
“But it’s Chardonnay, too,” I protested. “When is half-price white Burgundy night?” Mr. Vogt merely laughed and walked away, saying: “I find that if people want to drink Burgundy, they will drink Burgundy.”
There were a lot of Burgundy temptations—pages and pages of three- and four-figure Montrachets, Chassagne Montrachets and Meursualts, not to mention a lengthy list of Chablis producers that included many vintages of Dauvissaut and Raveneau—as well as that $26 Chablis from Jean Marc Brocard.
But a special deal always holds an allure for me (I actually ordered a bottle of that $26 Brocard last year; it was good). So I thumbed through the 10 pages of California Chardonnays and found more than a few possibilities from star producers such as Dumol (whose 2004 Russian River Chardonnay was $60 at half-price) and Kistler (whose 1999 Les Noisetiers at $65 seemed worth a try), as well as a 2002 Mark Aubert Ritchie Vineyard—a wonderfully decadent Chardonnay from a top producer whose half price of $112.50 was less than retail. But there were so many choices that I decided to put the burden on Mr. Vogt to name his best deal.
He suggested I try either the 2006 Stonestreet Upper Barn Alexander Mountain Estate from Sonoma ($65 half price) or the 2007 Hartford Court Stone Cote Vineyard Sonoma Coast Chardonnay ($75). Both were drinking beautifully, but he had to choose the Hartford Court, a much-acclaimed winery.
The Hartford Court Chardonnay was a big, rich wine: decidedly California in style but not without some grace and restraint. It was delicious—and a perfect match to the John Boy Roast Chicken—from a local purveyor whose first name is actually John Boy (though his last is not Walton).
I returned to the wine list and leafed through the pages of bargain-priced German Rieslings (an entire page devoted to the wines of Muller Catoir and the not-so-bargain-priced Burgundies and Bordeaux) until I reached the section of California Cabernets. There were all the superstar names (Arajuo, Colgin, Bryant Family) at superstar prices (though much less than many restaurants in Manhattan), but there were also more obscure finds like the under-valued but brilliant 1996 Seavey Cabernet ($175) and the 1993 Cathy Corison Cabernet ($95).
Mr. Vogt soon returned. “When is half-price California Cabernet?” I asked. The Seavey, I decided, would be a real steal—though I was plenty tempted by the 2004 Bryant Family Pritchard Hill, half price at $375, a great Napa Cab from a top vintage. Mr. Vogt said he’d let me know.
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Kittle House featured in NY Post
Hey City Dwellers! Spring has sprung and it’s time to trade the concrete jungle for greener pastures. Thanks, New York Post!
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Food and Wine Magazine
It’s been a long-time insider secret, but now the word’s gotten out! As named by Food and Wine Magazine in the April 2010 edition, Crabtree’s Kittle House is one of the top five wine pairing destinations in the country!
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John Boy
Those in the know know this: the finest chicken and pork in the Northeast come from just up the road in Pound Ridge at John Boy’s Farm. There, John Ubaldo is committed to raising the most flavorful, healthful — and cheerful — English Berkshire pigs on the market.
A number of his products can be purchased at another hometown favorite, Table Local Market, or served up nightly by Chef Brad at the Kittle House. Recently John came to sample some of his goods….Here’s the review from his newsletter:
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John Boy’s Farm Newsletter
Kittle House Review…Better Late Than Never….
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Hey Everyone, Sorry I am late with the review but I had to jump in the van after the animals and deliver most everything last night seeing as most restaurants are closed today. Finished off this morning and I am back at the farm chomping at the bit to go see my piggies and play in the snow.
OK, So Saturday night I ate at the Kittle House in Chappaqua. They are a very big supporter of mine so I figured I would go in and see what was going on. The Kittle House has a long history but I was there for the food. I walked in and immediately decided I wanted to eat in the Tap Room. A beautiful old room with copper ceilings and a table by the fire, perfect for the farmer. Our wait staff was nothing short of excellent, probably the best I have come across. Very attentive the entire meal.
From the first sip of Cabernet I knew the dinner was going to be a treat. A perfectly picked wine. I started getting flashbacks of how life used to be before these pigs consumed me.
We picked our main courses and left the rest to chef Brad. Chef Brad came to the Kittle House last year and immediately started sourcing fresh local foods. He has an excellent intuition as a chef of what flavors and textures blend and what people really would enjoy in a meal.
We started with potatoe croquettes in a green veloute with shaved parmesan as well as a roasted baby beet salad with sour cherries (excellent touch), balsamic and peanut meringue. Both had great flavor and I started to get excited.
Things got interesting when the next three dishes showed up, ready? Foie Gras torchon over baby arugula with a sour cherry puree, Nantucket bay scallops accompanied by some really fresh chanterelles and Terrine of Rhode Island sardines with potato confit, meyer lemon, piquillo peppers, chorizo and fried parsley. Now, I do not like sardines but this dish was excellent. The foie gras melted on your mouth and the scallops were so tender and flavorful. Every dish had great combinations and flavors that came from all angles and we were ready to get down to business.
NEXT was the test: Sweet and sour confit of JB’s Berkshire pork belly over fingerling potatoes and apple cider foam! Yes apple cider foam. So simple, he really let the pork speak for itself and it was fantastic! JB’s chicken breast was served next, accompanied by some butternut puree, bluefoot mushrooms (yum!) and a sauce perigourdine that I hate to say, made my chicken (ouch!). It really made it all come together.
DINNER! yes I had to have dinner after I tasted everything. Hudson valley duck breast and confit leg, vanilla scented parsnip puree and trumpet mushrooms. I must say, the mushrooms were some of the finest I have had that I didn’t find in the woods myself. Oh yes, 10 hour braised oxtails with cauliflower puree, hen of the woods mushrooms (again excellent) smoked bone marrow and an oxtail and onion sauce!!!!!!!
Almost forgot DESSERT! A piece of cheesecake, chocolate something with cranberry dust and last but not least, an amazing piece of pecan pie.
All in all I found the meal, the setting and the service excellent. Nothing let me down bite after bite. I am grateful to the Kittle House for being so supportive of me. Thank you Mr. Crabtree for a beautiful restaurant and thank you chef Brad for a wonderful meal. You all really should go and try the tasting menu. Last night I dropped off a monster loin and am very anxious to see what comes of it.
I am off to see my piggies!
Have a great night and eat well,
John
johnboysmarket@aol.com
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Travel with Val
New York 1′s Valarie D’Elia featured the Kittle House in her Travel with Val segment. Take a cue from Val, grab your pup and come on up.
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Haiti
Join us for dinner on Sunday, January 24 and Sunday, January 31 in support of the Earthquake Relief Effort in Haiti. We will be donating 20% of the evening’s sales to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.
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