This month we’re looking ahead to some changes in the wine menu. For all you red heads, we’re approaching a shift we think you’ll love: we’re moving on from our opening wine list lauded for its unlikely emphasis on riesling, to a new list debuting tomorrow, March 18th, that will center grenache. In this issue, Nikita Malhotra’s “No Spitting” column gives us a bit more insight into her perpetual yearning for revisions and surprises, her thoughtful curation, and her consequential meet cute with grenache at the just-shuttered Tribeca Grill.
If you’ve taken a peek at our wine menu before—whether the one at your table or the beloved "book”—you’ve likely caught on to Nikita’s penchant for weaving in the odd (and apt) literary reference or quotation, such as Victor Hugo’s “God made only water, but man made wine.” Her own notes are in there too, like this one recounting bringing a piece of chalk back from Champagne, which finds a home alongside a slab of slate brought back from the Mosel Valley, rocky mementos illustrating the geography of these regions:
Nikita came to wine by way of books—before becoming a sommelier, she worked as a bookseller at several indie bookstores in the city. Long before she convinced us of the virtues (and variations) of riesling, she convinced readers to pick up Raymond Queneau’s Zazie in the Metro or Sylvia by Leonard Michaels. In other words, she was already curating the unexpected for anyone who would listen.
In the wine list at Smithereens, Nikita has married her interests to create a tightly curated wine selection that hovers around 70 bottles—issued daily and constantly changing—that’s woven together like a collection of short stories pulling from a 500-bottle cellar. And in each new edition of the wine list, Nikita tells a story to convince you of the worthiness of the unexpected. Red wine and seafood? Sure, why not.
“I’ll give you the whole secret to short story writing. Here it is.
Rule 1: Write stories that please yourself. There is no Rule 2.”
– O. Henry
Cheers to trying new things,
Smithereens
No Spitting
A Love for Grenache by Way of Tribeca
Just last November, as our first guests were glancing at a list dominated by German riesling and asking questions concerning sugar levels and perceived degrees of dryness, I already found myself wondering about what would come next. The list at Smithereens wasn't conceived on being contrarian or revolutionary; it was a way for me to earnestly explore different themes and regions and ideas in wine. So, as the shock of only serving white wine has somewhat faded, the nervous, fluttering feeling in the pit of my stomach—the same feeling I had while collecting all the German white wine—has consumed me once again. I want this to be a place where the list can evolve, grow, and change. It’s exciting to me that just a month after we pour grenache (and a little pinot noir) we will pour a good amount of skin-contact wine alongside white wine. This shifting, this giving into that nervous feeling that bends towards change, is both comforting and challenging.
Most have heard me preach about wine in Germany, about the dizzying greatness of riesling; but those close to me know how much I adore grenache. My early days at Tribeca Grill provided a framework for this; with pages devoted to Châteauneuf-du-Pape and bottles of grenache on the pages from California, Australia, and Spain, I began to enjoy the full spectrum of the grape. While riesling is polarizing, grenache is a grape for all, and maybe in that simplicity it has been cast aside for more temperamental varieties. It is a grape that can easily be made into bulk wine, and even when made into "fine wine," it has the reputation for being big and exuberant. Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a favorite of Robert Parker, a retired critic and influential wine personality, and even today—years since he wielded power with numbered scores and his adoration of a particular style of wine—sommeliers and winemakers are still wrestling with that influence. Clunky, bold, and robust are some of the words that spill out when you ask a wine professional about grenache. But my favorite bottles of grenache are always accompanied by descriptions like “elegant,” “graceful,” and “balanced.” There isn't another grape that can get you those particular kirsch notes of strawberry and cherry, all met with a gentle inflection of spice.
Red wine and seafood is a pairing that has been courageously defended over the years, and I can't think of anything else I would want more than a chilled glass of grenache with simply grilled Japanese mackerel. The warmth of the mushroom broth in our swiss chard dish is another moment where I think grenache will pair particularly well, and our beloved beans dish will perform quite differently with grenache—riesling added a hit of acid, whereas grenache will add to the dish's layered texture. This switch to grenache will be a chance for me—and you!—to revisit some dishes and see them in another light.
Tribeca Grill closed its doors last month, and so this period of exploring grenache feels especially timely, serving almost as an homage to that program. And just as I preached the virtues of riesling, so I will be the evangelist for grenache. There is such good wine being made in the world today, and our wine lists don't have to be ubiquitous or homogenous. One of the joys of trusting wine professionals with different tastes and preferences is the chance to try something new. Although I have championed grenache for many years, this is my chance to explore certain producers and regions I don't usually get to work with.
And if you come in expecting a glass of riesling, no worries: there will always be riesling at Smithereens.
—Nikita Malhotra, Wine Director/Owner
Turning the Tables
Nikita answers the Smithereens Questionnaire
What wine do you dream of opening one day?
Any vintage of Domaine Leflaive Montrachet.
Where in the world would you most like to travel to at this moment?
Delhi is the first place that comes to mind, because I haven’t seen my family there in almost two decades.
What’s your favorite wine to convince people to try?
I loved starting with reisling at Smithereens because the preconceived notion that all rieslings are sweet is really fun to break when you pour a dry riesling, any Trocken style riesling.
What is your go-to song before service?
Vamos a la playa.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
At a table with a group of friends and loved ones, good food and good bottles of wine to share.
Favorite book about wine?
Wayward Tendrils of the Vine by Ian Maxwell Campbell.
Reading anything good right now?
I’m about to read Butter by Asako Yuzuki.
Before You Go...
Congratulations to Nikita, who just won a StarChefs 2025 Rising Star Award: Sommelier!
A refined St. Patrick’s Day cocktail? Over at Forbes, Logan Rodriguez convinces us tasteful holiday-themed cocktails do exist.
Loving the company on The Infatuation’s Best Restaurants in the East Village.
