Only Darrell Corti's at a loss for words at Vintners Hall of Fame honors

When Sacramento grocer Darrell Corti was inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame on the Napa Valley campus of the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, he was uncharacteristically concise and to the point.

"Thank you very much," Corti said Friday night in accepting a plaque that lauds him for the role he has played in popularizing zinfandel, encouraging the planting of Italian grape varieties in California, raising the profile of the Sierra foothills as a fine-wine region and mentoring "a generation of seminal food and wine professionals with his impeccable taste and articulate discourse."

But while Corti had little to say, other attendees welcomed a chance to chat about him, including his uncanny knack for talking with authority, and usually at length, about not only culinary topics but religion, language, opera, art and a host of other topics.

Here's what some of them had to say when asked whether they'd ever been able to stump Darrell Corti:

"Never, never. I recently discovered a nut that is grown in the Middle East, but all I know about it is the Arabic name, which sounds like 'sissa.' I've looked everywhere I can look and given up on finding out anything about it, but I have a suspicion he will find it for me. I really want to know the Latin name, or the common English name."

– Narsai David, food and wine editor, KCBS radio, San Francisco, a Corti cohort for more than 40 years

"I think a number of years ago, he confused one particular type of cake recipe with another, but it was minor. I would have to say no, not really."

– Kevin Hamel, winemaker at Pellegrini Family Vineyards and his own Hamel Wines, both in Sonoma County, and a former wine clerk at Corti Bros.

"Of course not. Here's a better question: Have you ever been able to ask Darrell a question that he could answer in 10 words or less?"

– Michaela Rodeno, CEO, St. Supéry Vineyards and Winery, Rutherford, Napa Valley

"Yes, he gave me an answer that was incorrect, but fortunately, (veteran wine writer) Gerald Asher also was sitting at the table and corrected Darrell. Then Gerald said, 'Stop the presses.' I forget what the question was."

– Dan Berger, writer of the weekly wine commentary Dan Berger's Vintage Experiences, Santa Rosa

"I've probably never tried, not that I could have. He's so incredible in terms of his memory and knowledge."

– Paul Draper, longtime winemaker at Ridge Vineyards of Cupertino and a fellow inductee into the Vintners Hall of Fame

"Yes. One day we were walking in Beverly Hills, and we went into a clothing store, Jerry Magnin, and I ran into a friend of mine, Henry Winkler. 'Darrell, I want you to meet Henry Winkler.' They shook hands and we left. This was in the 1970s or 1980s when Henry Winkler was the rage.

"So I asked Darrell, 'Do you know who that guy was?' He said, 'No.' I said, 'That was the Fonz!' He said, 'What's a fonz?' That stumped Darrell Corti, OK? That's the only time I've stumped him."

– Steve Wallace, owner of Wally's Wines & Spirits, Los Angeles, and a friend of Corti's for more than 30 years

"Sissa? I have no idea. I've never heard of the nut. It's probably Turkish, from the sound of it, but I don't know."

– Darrell Corti

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Mike Dunne, (916) 321-1143.