Despite its status as a pillar of Atlanta's fine dining scene, Lazy Betty is plain fun—a menu full of wonderfully executed experiments and a pinnacle of the slow-food/high-end phenomenon. Customers often leave dazzled by the restaurant’s seven-course tasting menu. Wine Director Janice Shiffler’s selected wine pairings are equally ambitious and match the sustainable, adventurous ethos at the heart of Lazy Betty.

“We want to work with sustainable sources, small producers,” says Shiffler. “Our wines tend to come from small spots that have an eye toward sustainability. I personally enjoy finding wines that are a little bit harder to get. You have to come to Lazy Betty to drink them.”

Dish: Celery Root Bavarois, Roasted Beets, Cherry, Pickled Jimmy Nardello Pepper, Celery Root Crumble

Wine Pairing: Clos de la Briderie, Cremant de Loire Brut Pureté de Silex, Loire Valley, France, NV

This was tricky because of the marinated beets. That means vinegar. And you’ve got celery root, crème fraîche and breadcrumbs. Those are richer elements. Luckily, it's a first course and it is always a great idea to start with sparkling wine.

Getting into fall, I wanted something to work with the richer flavors of the dish. It's less about bright sunny wines now and more moving into snuggly wines.

This wine is a blend. There’s a little Cabernet Franc and a little Cabernet Sauvignon in it. It's crisp and toasty, but it kind of has this root vegetable flavor. The Loire Valley makes great sparkling wines and the fact that it's a blend of different grapes helps round out the flavors and makes it easier to match with a dish that's not very simple.

Dish: Foie Gras and White Peach Terrine, Amaretto, Peach Compote, Candied Pecans, Sorghum Tuile, Lemon Basil

Cocktail Pairing: La Spinetta “Biancospino” Moscato d’Asti, Piedmont, Italy, 2021

This is a fun pairing. Moscato d'Asti is a nice, light, bright wine. Usually, foie gras is paired with a Sauternes because it's often served as a big slab of liver and it's really rich and intense. You need a dessert wine to match that. But this dish is on the lighter side with the peach compote and everything. The foie gras mousse is almost whipped, so it's a lighter texture.

Originally, we'd had this wine paired with one of the lighter desserts, so I couldn't use it for the foie gras, and I had a heavier dessert wine paired instead. Once the dessert changed, I was able to put this with the foie, which I liked better because it is lighter. 

The method produces a light wine with low alcohol and gentle fizz and a little bit of sweetness. You still have the sweetness and the acidity and the bubbles to work with the richness of the foie, but it's really harmonious with the ingredients on the plate because it's a slightly peachy wine.

Dish: Sacramento Delta Asparagus, Parmesan Sabayon, Billecart-Salmon Bottarga, Ramps, Spring Herbs

Wine Pairing: Weingut Nigl “Freiheit” Grüner Veltliner, Niederosterreich, Austria, 2021

Asparagus is tricky because it's such an assertive green flavor. Luckily there's that strong cheese component to the dish. The Parmesan is very prevalent because the asparagus is cooked in Parmesan broth. And then there's the Parmesan sauce on the plate. So, there are a few elements to play with, but Gruner Veltliner is one of my favorite grapes. It tends to have some spicy white pepper and vegetable notes to it. So, it's a great wine to go with green vegetables.

Dish: Sweet Corn Ravioli, Huitlacoche, Corn Pudding, Chanterelles, Cultured Butter

Wine Pairing: Arendsig “Inspirational Batch 3” Chenin Blanc, Robertson, Breede River Valley, South Africa, 2021

This is my favorite pairing. The corn is very sweet and there's butter in it—then there's the mushrooms and the truffle element, so there's a lot happening.

The wine has this depth to it because it's aged in oak. It's rich and earthy. Its richness matches the richness of the dish, but the acidity of the Chenin means it’s also still really bright. I could wax on.

This dish wants something kind of rich and creamy. White wine, if you oak it a little bit and give it some oxidation, it'll get richer and deeper. I was thinking Chenin and then I remembered this wine in particular. I called the distributors and said, “Please tell me you have a lot of this in stock.” We tasted it with the dish and it was perfect.

Dish: Grilled Maine Lobster, Charred Tomato Miso, Caramelized Nutritional Yeast

Wine Pairing: Carboniste Rouge Brut, Merlot & Albariño, California, 2021

This was a tough one because we were doing a red wine with the dish that had been in this spot previously, and red wine drinkers are often a little disappointed in our pairing menu because it's a lot of white wines. The dishes are light. It's fish, it's vegetables, it's things that work great with a white wine. I wanted to keep it red in this spot, but it's a lobster! Then I tasted the sauce, which was butter and cream and toasted nutritional yeast, which gives it that interesting umami and richness.

This wine I tasted was a complete accident. I happened to taste these wines the same day the chef had me taste the lobster sauce, and I was like, “Oh, I think this would really work.”

It was complete luck. That wine kind of fell into my lap. But it’s really interesting because it's a sparkling Merlot and Albariño blend. The Merlot still does have some of that tannin stickiness, but with those dark fruit notes. The Albariño lightens it up with a bright lemoniness, and Albariño usually has a nice briny note. It's really refreshing and crisp, but it has weight.

Dish: Roasted Lamb Loin Crepinette, Onion Tapenade, Lamb Bordelaise, Chive Blossom Capers, Crusted Salsify

Wine Pairing: Tait Wines, “The Wild Ride,” GSM Blend, Barossa Valley, Australia, 2019

This is a newish dish. It's got a lot going on. Lamb has such a specific flavor. It's not just meaty. It's sort of sweet. Then you add spicy sausage and all those other elements. 

I am a big fan of the “what grows together, goes together” philosophy. I associate lamb with Australia and New Zealand. So, it’d be really fun to have an Australian or New Zealand wine.

Once again, this was a coincidence! I was looking to pair a lamb dish for a special event menu. The list of wines included this Barossa Valley wine. They're calling it a GSM blend because it's mostly Syrah or Shiraz. It just had a wonderful fruitiness to it. It wasn't too heavy because, like I said, our menu is not that heavy. Even a lamb dish still has some lightness to it.

Australians know lamb. They know wine. Sometimes, it's as simple as that. This wine is delicious and I think it tastes very good with the lamb.

Dish: Coffee Chocolate Mousse, Caramel Center, Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Crème, Amarula Ice Cream

Wine Pairing: Bodegas Barbadillo, “Cuco,” 12-Year-Old Oloroso Sherry, Andalucia, Spain

We have such a talented dessert chef. This is chocolate coffee and caramel and chocolate and all those things want salt, especially the caramel. So, when I tasted it, I could have gone with a port or something sweet, but I wanted that salty garnish. 

Oloroso Sherry is rich. This one in particular is aged for 12 years. It has those almost whiskey-toasted nuts and dried fruit notes to it, but it's still also just a little bit salty and briny. It has an intense flavor, so it's kind of like having a salted nut garnish on the dish.