If wine is your thing, then there may be no greater dining experience than visiting Bern’s Steakhouse in Tampa, Florida. The highly-abridged version of what is an amazing story of triumph, perseverance and a beautiful, not-so-subtle insanity is as follows:

Bern Laxer and his wife Gert launched the steakhouse in the 1950’s, slowly acquiring adjacent spaces as the businesses left over time. Concurrently, Bern also developed what was probably the first large scale organic farm to serve the restaurant, roasted his own coffee, raised his own cattle, and most important for wine-lovers, pursued with maniacal devotion one of the most comprehensive cellars on the entire continent. Now exceeding 700,000 bottles, Bern’s wine cellar is either a confounding labyrinth or celestial playground of wine experience, depending one’s temperament.

Since endless ink has been spilt on the food, the wine, and the dessert room (yes, a special room for dessert, which deserves its own book), I would like to paint a brief picture of my first “Bern’s experience”, and provide some pointers for those who haven’t been there before.

We arrive at 5:30PM for a 6:00PM reservation. This was a horrible mistake as we should have arrived a full hour early to enjoy the bar area which is resplendent with classic Americana of the 1950s and 60s. While there is an endless list of cocktails available, we were there for wine and instead perused their “by the glass” list. After a glass of Burgundy and Champagne, we also had a 1979 Cornas (for $6 a glass!). The Cornas was nothing short of outstanding, having just hit its stride and showing plenty of spice and dark fruit and a sublime mouthfeel. If there is another restaurant with a 35 year old wine by the glass on the list, especially at that price, I am not aware of it.

We were seated for dinner in the Burgundy Room; each room being named for a different wine growing region (with accompanying maps and photos of the region displayed prominently on the walls). We each had a glass of Billecart Salmon Blanc de Blanc 2002 to start, which was racy, crisp, and showed marvelous nervosité, but not much in the way of the honeyed fruit or honeycomb I expect from a 13 year old Champagne. We ordered the black truffle steak tartare, jumbo shrimp, and foie gras two ways, to start. To accompany this wide array of flavors and textures, our sommelier, Brad Dixon, selected the 1990 Jaboulet Hermitage Blanc Chevalier de Sterimberg (a blend of Marsanne and Roussanne). Though Robert Parker predicted in 1997 that this would be past its prime by now, the bottle I had not only still had legs, but ranks among the finest white wine experiences I’ve had in my career. Impeccably-balanced and vibrant, it offered tons of honeyed stone fruit, fantastic minerality, and had the most beautiful fragrance.

We also each had a glass of the 1978 Chateau Guiraud Sauternes with the foie gras. This is a beautiful wine and I thoroughly enjoyed it with the dish. It is difficult to assess this wine on its own terms since the foie gras was so well composed, but we loved the fresh orange citrus and vanillin it brought to the experience.

We had steak for dinner (of course), so Brad selected two more wines: the 1969 Maison Remoissenet Gevrey Chambertin 1er Combettes and the 1980 JL Chave Hermitage Rouge. The Remoissenet was so young and fresh it’s hard to believe it is in fact a 45 year old Pinot Noir. Assuming it didn’t get any “help” from a dollop of Grenache from the nearby southern Rhone, it was a terrific wine. Polished and round, it offered up plenty of red fruit and spice. It had begun developing truffle notes and became ever more powerful as it opened up. The Chave, for me anyway, was the superior of the two wines. Made from 100% Syrah, it demonstrated the virtue in allowing wine to age in the cellar. Layers of black cherry, raspberry, and spice complimented the meal – and vice versa; the wine and the food attained the symbiosis that one always hopes for in such pairings.

After this, were given a tour of the kitchen and the cellar (part of it, at least), and then escorted to the “Dessert Room.” As I mention above, this experience is worthy of a book, as opposed to a brief article. Suffice to say, there is a plethora of ports, sherries, and other dessert wines. I had Scotch and stand by that decision.

All in all, we were there for 7 hours and never once felt rushed or a burden to the staff. Bern’s provided top-shelf service from the moment we arrived until we left. I personally find it gauche to assign a score to a wine when it is singular to a dining experience, so I cannot provide one for any of the wines we tasted. I can say that each wine was perfectly-aged in the cellar and served at the perfect temperature. There is not more a restaurant can do in this regard.

Some suggestions:

1. If you are going to Bern’s in order to truly experience the wines, contact them ahead of time and get in touch with one of the somms. The wine list list is gargantuan and though it is fun to look through, you will waste immense amounts of time trying to decide on a wine.
2. Set a budget for yourself and inform the somm. I found the experience to be far more enjoyable when I wasn’t thinking about the price of each bottle. The check came, it matched my budget, and I didn’t have to concern myself with any other details that might have detracted from the experience.
3. Allow yourself plenty of time.
4. Assume you will never come back. Tampa is quite a haul from California. Operating under the assumption that I would never come back allowed me the freedom to experience the heady heights that Bern’s cellar has to offer without concerning myself with postponing a monumental experience for any reason.

http://www.bernssteakhouse.com