The debut of Marc Forgione’s One Fifth restaurant in Greenwich Village was one of New York’s most anticipated restaurant openings in summer 2022. For Katharine Hooper, charged with building and helming the Italian-focused wine list, it was a return to a familiar location: She had “cut her teeth” as a sommelier at Otto, the Mario Batali–Joe Bastianich enoteca and pizzeria that used to occupy the 100-year-old Art Deco building. “It’s been really heartwarming to see the neighborhood crowd coming back in and showing us love,” she says.
Originally from the Midwest, Hooper moved to New York City in 2012 and honed her wine chops at fine-dining destinations auch as Eataly, Gramercy Tavern, Maialino and Cookshop, and also helped open Ammazzacaffè in Brooklyn. A brief stint working as a production assistant in the film industry illuminated “how fulfilling working with wine is for me,” she explains.
At One Fifth, Marc Forgione’s Respect Hospitality group has teamed up with Apres Cru Hospitality, co-founded by Sabato Sagaria and Dustin Wilson—both Master Sommeliers and restaurateurs—so from the restaurant’s inception, wine has been a central pillar. The mostly Italian list is rounded out with U.S. bottlings and some Champagne, plus one of the city’s most robust selections of amaros—a particular passion for Sagaria and Hooper. The result: In its first year, One Fifth earned a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence for its wine program.
Wine Spectator senior editor Kristen Bieler spoke with Hooper about the philosophy behind her list, the best values and splurges in the wine world today, and why everyone should be drinking amaro.
Wine Spectator: How did you end up in wine?
My dad is an oil painter, and his studio was attached to the house. The smell of turpentine makes me nostalgic. For a long time, I thought I would become an artist myself, but during college, I realized I needed to feed the analytical side of my brain as well. I pinballed between fine art, film, formal logic and language studies before falling in love with the wine industry. The fact that you can delve deeply into so many different aspects of wine—sensory perception, geography, economics, culture, biology, chemistry, language—is what keeps me constantly excited and engaged.
What is the philosophy behind the list you’ve built at One Fifth?
I entered the industry via Italian wine, so it will always be my home base, and I find that folks are always down for a vacation in a glass. The list specifically looks at the relationship between the wine cultures of the U.S. and Italy.
I’m not buying based on winery size or hype; I respect old, multi-generational estates as well as newer generations who are pushing the boundaries of winemaking. On the list you’ll see everything from Mascarello and Biondi-Santi to Rajat Parr’s newest releases [such as Domaine de la Côte, Sandhi and Evening Land], off-the-path producers and everything in between. The movement towards Italian varieties being grown along the California coastline also captures my interest, so you’ll see those sprinkled throughout as well.
Your list is organized by variety rather than region—unusual for an Old World–focused selection. Why did you decide to categorize this way?
It helps underline the philosophy of the list and hopefully gets people thinking more broadly about the relationship between Italy and the U.S. Say you’re looking for Nebbiolo: Will you land in Piedmont, Lombardy or California? Each has a distinct character and shows another facet of the famous varieties we know and love. Nerdy as I am, I am fascinated by these comparisons and the resulting three-dimensional picture they create.
One Fifth has a very extensive selection of amaro (the bittersweet Italian digestif that can be an acquired taste for many people). How do you get your guests excited about trying them?
Overall, the people who are interested in amaro are either completely new to the concept, or they’ve had a few that they loved and want to find a new favorite. Each is so distinct, and since it’s a 2-ounce pour rather than a 750ml bottle, guests are generally happy to be surprised. We make it approachable fairly easily by asking the right questions: How do you feel about menthol or licorice notes? Looking for something smooth and gentle or rugged and intense? I’m constantly surprised by the degree of interest that already exists. We have some regulars who are systematically crossing off every amaro on our list over their visits.
How did you hunt down so many rare and vintage bottlings?
Sabato Sagaria went to some pretty great lengths to represent every region of Italy on the amaro list, as well as some top local offerings. The dozens of vintage bottlings he’s sourced are some of the rarest anywhere. Amaro matures more slowly than wine, given the high alcohol and sugar levels, which also means that they can act as a kind of time capsule for the recipes of their day. My favorite right now is the Cinzano Savoia, inspired by the herbal remedies of neighboring Switzerland and dating to the 1950s.
What's a trend you have seen in your guests’ wine-drinking preferences lately?
I’ve spent the majority of my career working with Italian wine, and I’ve seen a shift from Sangiovese to Nebbiolo as the guest favorite at a variety of price points. It used to be that in a more moderate price point, Sangiovese would be the first request guests had, but more and more folks seem to have caught the Nebbiolo bug.
What was your “aha moment” wine, or a bottle that set you on your wine path?
The first bottle that let me peek behind the curtain of uber-cheap, full-bodied reds was Cantina Mesa’s Buio Buio Carignano from Sardinia. It was salty, fresh-fruited and juicy, showing a joyful side to wine I hadn’t experienced before. I keep this memory in mind a lot; it’s a good reminder that wine doesn’t have to be expensive to blow your mind.
My personal unicorn wine is the Paolo Bea Pipparello 2003, which I opened for a guest at Otto. When I first tasted it, I thought it was muted. I went to break the news to the table but, as I left the station, the palate began to slowly unfurl. It showed elegance and strength in perfect harmony, and it evolved over the course of many minutes. Tragically, I’ve heard that even the winery is sold out of that vintage. If you ever come across a bottle, please let me know!
Where are you seeing good value in the world of wine today?
Watching the developments in New York’s wine industry over the last 10 years has been very exciting. In the Finger Lakes region, Red Newt, Terrassen, Silver Thread, Boundary Breaks and Bloomer Creek are among my favorites. Kelby James Russell’s eponymous wine label makes one of the best rosés I’ve ever had in its price point ($18). For an everyday red, I can’t beat the Bloomer Creek Cabernet Franc, which sits at a comfy $65 on the wine list.
How about the best wine splurge?
Cappellano. Dollar for dollar, it’s my favorite Barolo and I’m always surprised that it doesn’t get more attention. In his time, Teobaldo Cappellano was as revered as Mascarello. The wine itself is infinitely elegant and somehow both joyful and austere. The best versions of Barolo are both, in my mind. The Piè Franco cuvée [made from a parcel of non-grafted vines] always takes my breath away and is really worth hunting down.
If you had to pick just one, which wine region do you think is the most dynamic?
I’d have to say that what’s going on in the northern end of Willamette and southern Washington is really exciting to me. I love wines from regions that have a little “extreme” in them, and these wines show a sense of wilderness that can’t be fabricated. Hiyu, Analemma, Grape Ink and Mimi Casteel of Hope Well (slightly farther south) are making some fascinating wines—unusual, yet friendly and compelling. I taste something different each time I revisit them, not unlike playing a favorite album.
What’s your favorite pairing on chef Marc Forgione’s menu?
We do a lightly smoked, whole Cornish hen that we carve tableside over marble potatoes, charred spring onion and romesco. It’s full of flavor and almost backyard BBQ-esque, meaning it goes beautifully with a wide range of wines, from a fuller white to a bright, juicy red or a savory rosé.
But my favorite pick off the list is the De Sterlich Pecorino from Abruzzo, which is a steal at $85. They’re a newer producer working with old vines, as well as new plantings. By using concrete in the production process, they allow the wine to develop the texture that comes with oxygen exposure, but without any oak interference. It’s arguably the best Pecorino I’ve ever had, marked by flowers, ripe pear, sweet herbs and a lively vein of acidity. It manages to lift up the sweetness of the peppers in the romesco and marries beautifully with the onion and smoke. It’s my ideal midweek supper.
