The $245 Decision You Should Not Skip at Smyth
The wine pairing at Smyth does not follow the usual rules about what goes with what.
The first glass arrived before I had finished reading the menu, pale and taut, smelling faintly of salt and Atlantic air.
That was Harri Ta Zur from Makatzak Wild Wines, a txakoli from the Basque Country in northern Spain, and it set the register for everything that followed at Smyth. The wine pairing here is $245 and runs alongside the Chef's Menu for the duration of the evening. Wine Director Louis Fabbrini built it around small-production, minimal-intervention wines that move with the food rather than alongside it. The sequence that came out that evening moved across six countries and two decades without losing the thread. You can read more about the full dinner experience in the Smyth dining review here.
The Sommelier
Louis Fabbrini spent nearly fifteen years moving through some of the more interesting rooms in the world before landing at Smyth. Carbone Hong Kong. Toklas London. Estela and Altro Paradiso in New York. He has described himself as a long-time admirer of Chef John and Karen Urie Shields going back to their work in rural Virginia. The pairing works as well as it does because he did not arrive to impose a program on the kitchen. He arrived because he already understood what the kitchen was trying to say.
The Pairings
Harri Ta Zur, Makatzak Wild Wines, Basque Country, Spain opened alongside the kakai pumpkin tart and Dungeness crab. Citrus and green apple up front, then something saline and mineral underneath that doesn't quite resolve. There is a nervous, almost fizzing energy to it. Next to the sweetness of the pumpkin and the ocean softness of the crab, it was the right kind of tension.
Christian Tschida Himmel auf Erden Grande Cuvée 2023, Burgenland, Austria followed. Made from Grüner Veltliner and Sauvignon Blanc from 60-year-old vines, it opens with ripe stone fruit and grapefruit, then pulls into something more mineral and composed. There is a chewiness that gives it presence without weight. It sat well next to courses with layered, fermented flavors where a lighter white would have disappeared.
Ça Boit Libre "Ton Rouge du Lac" 2023, Savoie, France arrived with the rainbow trout poached in barley koji butter. A light red that behaved more like a white at the table. Bright red fruit, cool and mineral, almost no tannin. The kind of wine that does not announce itself but makes everything on the plate taste cleaner.
G.G.V. Reserva Especial, Goyo García Viadero, Castilla y León, Spain came with the meat courses. Dark cherry, dried plum, leather, warm spice that builds slowly. Five years in barrel, 80-year-old vines, and tannins that have had time to settle into something smooth without going soft. It held its ground next to the venison without disappearing.
Roagna Barbaresco Gallina 2019, Piedmont, Italy was the pour that stopped me. Cherry and violet on the nose, rose petal and lavender, then blood orange and white pepper underneath. Silky, bright, with a cool menthol finish that lingers. Next to the venison bouillon with shaved Alba white truffle, the floral lift of the Nebbiolo pulled the whole course into focus.
J.B. Becker Wallufer Walkenberg Spätburgunder Weissherbst Beerenauslese 1994, Rheingau, Germany closed the pairing with the rice pudding and foie gras. Thirty years old and still holding together. Deep gold, honey and dried apricot, warm stone fruit on the nose. On the palate it is rich but never heavy, with an acidity that keeps the sweetness honest and a finish that goes on longer than it has any right to. Next to the foie gras ganache in koshihikari rice porridge, it felt less like a pairing decision and more like someone knew something I didn't. I would have been unwell if I had skipped this.
Notes
Address: 177 N. Ada St. #101, Chicago, IL 60607
Reservations: Via Tock at exploretock.com/smyth
Phone: +1 773 913 3773
Format: Wine pairing $245 per person, available alongside the Chef's Menu ($550) and classic tasting menu ($420). Full dining review [here].
Wine Director: Louis Fabbrini
Instagram:@smythchicago
About the Author
Kelly Gomez is a creative director who eats well, travels far, and lives with intention. She has sat at tables that required months of planning, flown routes that cross a dozen time zones, and found herself in rooms most people never find. She is precise about what she loves and honest about what falls short.
A WSET Level 2 Wine Certified writer and Advanced Open Water Diver, Kelly covers luxury travel, hotels, fine dining, wineries, diving destinations, and the trips built around them.
Her work reaches a US-based audience of travelers between 25 and 44, with a near-even gender split and a meaningful following.
