chenin blanc

Three wines come chilled in filled-to-meniscus 8-ounce pours: Radley & Finch chenin blanc, mildly lemony-tart to cut the chicken fat, salve any spiciness and ready the maw for the next bite; Two Shepherds sparkling orange for a more puckery, citrus-rind pairing; and a sparkling red, also from Two Shepherds, for fans of a little astringent bitterness.

Monsoon was also the first Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle to advocate wine pairing such as caramelized catfish claypot with chenin blanc and lúc lắc shaking beef with a light pinot noir.

And he has to remind himself, in interviews, to drop his voice down to basement tones and swear a lot, and maybe not order “a dry chenin blanc” when meeting with potential Hollywood agents.

“American Fiction” is a lot like Monk’s drink of choice, Chenin blanc: dry, bracing, elegant and a bit unexpected.

There she offers a line of wines called Fifth Moon made with grape varieties not common in California, such as grüner veltliner, malvasia bianca and chenin blanc.