One Fifth is a five-year project that changes restaurant concepts each year, adapting its wine list to match. To date, the venue has taken on three different iterations, Romance Languages, Steak and, the most recent, ending July 31, Mediterranean.
From The Sommelier: “Our Mediterranean concept has forced me out of my wine comfort zone and into countries and regions that I was not overly familiar with. It has been a fun learning experience exploring wines from Turkey, Lebanon—that aren’t Chateau Musar—and Israel, Morocco, Armenia etc. These are wines that I’ve rarely, if ever, been asked about and therefore never really explored personally. Unlike European countries, wine and food in the Middle East did not ‘grow up’ together so there are no hard and fast rules, which to me, makes pairing that much more fun. This is a cuisine that many people are not familiar with, and it seems to spur their adventurous side with wine as well.” —Matthew Pridgen, One Fifth
Dish We Loved: Crispy pickled cauliflower with black shallot tehina and black lime