Gotham Steakhouse, located at 615 Seymour Street in Vancouver, is one of the city’s premier steakhouses. The beautiful art deco-inspire space boasts an extensive wine list that includes our very own Vanessa Vineyard 2012 Syrah. We recently had the chance to sit down with Gotham manager, Brian Parker, to talk all things wine and steak.
VV – Hi Brian, thanks for having us in. First things first – Have you tried either of the Vanessa Vineyard wines?
Brian – Yes, and I’ve actually had the barrel samples for next year 
as well. I really enjoy the Syrah because I like white pepper and I think it’s the best Syrah out of BC yet. I find it’s a great steak wine. The Meritage doesn’t insist on having a big piece of red meat with it, so for our purposes the Syrah works beautifully.
VV – Which dish on your menu do you feel pairs best with the Syrah?
B – I think the Syrah goes well with rib steaks, as there’s a higher fat content. The Syrah has slightly more acidity so it’s actually going to rinse your palette and make you anticipate the next bite better, whereas the Meritage is more suited to something softer in flavour. I would have it with, maybe, a lightly charred tenderloin.
VV – When choosing red wines for your wine list, what do you look for?
B – I always say that if a red wine doesn’t immediately make you crave red meat then it doesn’t belong on our wine list. There’s a lot of ways how that happens. I put Vanessa Vineyard on the wine list because it makes me want to eat red meat.
VV – How do you feel about wines coming from BC?
B – Now that the BC wineries are in the right place in the province – they’ve actually gone down towards the border – I think the evidence shows that you can make great red wine around the 49th parallel. Washington has been proving it for the last forty or fifty years with some of their great red wines. As a general rule, I’d rather drink central Washington than Napa wines, because I find they’re earthier and more interesting. And I think that a lot of the wines that are coming out of the parts of BC, just above the 49th parallel, are really starting to emulate the great Washington wines. And I think the Similkameen is a highly underrated part of the province.
VV – What is your favourite dish on the menu here at Gotham?
B – It depends on the weather. If it’s a raining November night, there’s no question that my body is going to crave fat so I’m going to have a rib steak without evening thinking about it. On a hotter Summer day or if I’m sitting out on a patio, I would have a tenderloin or maybe some lamb. We use Australian spring lamb here, which is phenomenal. We also just put a veal chop on the menu with an absolutely preposterous wild mushroom sauce. It’s phenomenal.
VV – Sounds delicious. Thanks Brian!
You can find out more about Gotham at http://www.gothamsteakhouse.com/
Cheers!