THE WINE LIST

Certain winery names have a startling effect on the wine-collecting set: Forman, Stony Hill, Grgich, Chalone, Swan, Williams Selyem and Grace.

You have to have connections to get these wines. Few of them are found on store shelves, fewer of them are on restaurant wine lists, and the chances of finding all of them on a single list are almost nil. Unless that list is the one at Yujean Kang’s in Pasadena.

I was particularly impressed by the range of prices; if $50 seems a bit high for the 1985 Forman Chardonnay, you can choose a Chardonnay of character such as the 1989 Shafer at $17 (just $2 above its retail price). The list offers seven different Pinot Noirs from Williams Selyem, including a magnum of the sublime 1985 Williams Selyem Rochioli Vineyard at $150.

Other rare choices include wines from such respected (but little known) producers as Sean Thackery, Kent Rasmussen, Kalin Cellars and Calera. There are similarly great but unheralded French wines, all at fairly reasonable prices.

With a list like this, it’s best to try wines not widely available, such as the 1989 Flora Springs Soliloquy ($30), a handsome, complex Sauvignon Blanc. Best red: the 1988 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir from the Howard Allen Vineyard ($35).

The best wine with the food, however, may well be the rare 1985 Chateau Y ($35). It is the “second label” of Chateau d’Yquem, a dry wine made on the same property and from the same grape varieties as Chateau d’Yquem.

If you’re looking for something great that’s also scarce, the wine to buy--despite its $100 price tag--is the 1988 Grace Family Cabernet. Only about 300 cases of this wine are made, they are almost always sold out the day of release and almost never show up in shops or restaurants.

There are a few drawbacks to this list. It offers only three Sauvignon Blancs, no California Gewurztraminers (a must for Far East cuisine) and no Rieslings at all. And the sparkling wine list has only one California bubbly--Kalin Cellars’ 1986 Cuvee Rose--and that one’s $50.