Photo by (and smile for) Aunt Misty. :)
she can change my whole wide world
February 24, 2012
2 Comments | 
de rebus familiari | 
Permalink
Posted by Do Bianchi
California sunset (heading back to Austin), 2010 Tempier, 2006 Vodopivec
February 18, 2012
Our trip to California has come to an end. Today we head back to Texas…
We’ve had a lot to celebrate out here in the land where I grew up: Georgia P met her grandma Judy and her Parzen cousins, my band Nous Non Plus had a super fun mini-tour, and it was great to get back to work at Sotto in Los Angeles (where I’ll be launching a new wine list early next month).
Last night, together with Jayne, Jon, and daughter Romy, we celebrated our BFF Yelenosky’s umpteenth award as “best Southern California sales person 2011″ for Southern Wine and Spirits. Yele is the sweetest guy and the bestest friend and we love him a lot. Mazel tov, Yele! You rock…
To commemorate the occasion and our trip Jayne and Jon opened one of our favorite wines from their awesome list at Jaynes Gastropub, the 2010 Tempier Bandol Rosé. Still so young and tannic but drinking gorgeously… so fresh and just slightly oxidative… delicious…
Yele treated our party to a bottle of 2006 Vitovska by Vodopivec, one of my favorite wines in the world. So tannic and so glorious and with so many layers of dried fruit and nutty nuance… An unforgettable treat for us…
And little Georgia held her daddy’s hand all through dinner… She’s such a miracle and we love her so much.
Arrivederci, California! We’ll miss you!
2 Comments | de cibo, de rebus californicis, de rebus familiari, de vino | Tagged: Jaynes Gastropub, Tempier, Vodopivec | Permalink
Posted by Do Bianchi
our little ballerina
February 17, 2012everything was beautiful at the ballet…
We love her so much!
2 Comments | de rebus familiari | Permalink
Posted by Do Bianchi
Georgia P’s first Valentine’s @JaynesGastropub
February 15, 2012
Georgia P wore her new flower-power headband for her first Valentine’s Day at Jaynes Gastropub last night in San Diego.
Seven-and-a-half-month-old Romy, Jayne and Jon’s daughter, showed her the ropes of her new favorite restaurant.
How adorable is that?
Mommies and daddies enjoyed a SUPERB bottle of 2008 Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets by Pousse d’Or (Landanger), still very tight, but rich with savory and fruit flavor and bright, bright acidity, delicious with the bacon-wrapped filet mignon.
2 Comments | de cibo, de rebus familiari, de vino, de vinographia | Tagged: Caillerets, Jaynes Gastropub, Volnay | Permalink
Posted by Do Bianchi
Happy Valentine’s Day, Georgia P!
February 14, 2012
1 Comment | de rebus familiari | Permalink
Posted by Do Bianchi
Babes in Hollywood
February 13, 2012We just couldn’t resist…
Everyone says, this is the time you can travel with them: it’s been great to have little Georgia P on the road with me. She couldn’t come to the shows, of course, but she did come to our sound check in LA (although we kept her in one of the club’s other rooms to protect her little eardrums from the loud music).
She sure loves her bunny and we love her so much… :)
1 Comment | de rebus familiari, de urbe angelorum | Permalink
Posted by Do Bianchi
Georgia P’s first plane ride
February 8, 2012
She slept through the whole flight and this morning she woke up to the sound of waves crashing on Seal Rock in La Jolla.
6 Comments | de rebus californicis, de rebus familiari | Permalink
Posted by Do Bianchi
California, I’m coming home… @SottoLA @NousNonPlus
February 7, 2012
You can catch me as Dr. Jekyll tomorrow night (Weds. Feb. 8) at Sotto in Los Angeles where I’ll be working the floor pouring and talking about wine or you can catch me as Mr. Hyde (aka Cal d’Hommage) on guitar with Nous Non Plus on Thurs. in San Diego, Fri. in SF, or Sat. in LA.
Ever since I was a child (when I lived and grew in California), the song has had a profound meaning for me… Nostalgia and longing played out in falsetto and dulcimer… Will you take me as I am?
This time around the song has a whole new meaning as Tracie P bundle up our “little green” Georgia P for her first trip to meet her California family and see where her daddy grew up. Just the thought of her seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time fills my heart with a joy that I could never have imagined before she came into our lives…
California I’m coming home
I’m going to see the folks I dig
I’ll even kiss a sunset pig
California I’m coming home
…
Oh California I’m coming home
Oh make me feel good rock n roll band
I’m your biggest fan
California, I’m coming home
Will you take me as I am?
Photo by the amazing Nichols family.
5 Comments | de cibo, de musica, de rebus californicis, de rebus familiari, de vino | Permalink
Posted by Do Bianchi
1971 Monsecco (Gattinara) and Rock ‘n’ Roll Baby G
February 6, 2012
A couple of my favorite rock stars were over on Friday night, to meet Georgia P and to share a special bottle of a wine.
The 1971 Gattinara Monsecco by Conte Ravizza was vinified the same year that David Garza was born: David (above, center) is one of the greatest musicians I’ve ever had the fortune to work with and he played on our last album “Freudian Slip.” And he’s also just a super cool dude to hang with.
Céline Dijon (right, holding Georgia) currently calls New York (not Paris anymore) her home and she was in town because we’re working on material for our new album. (BTW, our band Nous Non Plus playing in San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles this week, Thurs.-Sat.; click here for the show details.)
I had saved the 1971 Monsecco for David. It had been given to me by Brooklyn Guy’s good friend Dan when we visited in Brooklyn in January 2011 (when we tasted a bottle of it together; here are my complete notes together with the research I did on the bottling).
After a Texas summer in my home cellar (the hottest on record), I wasn’t sure how the wine was going to stand up but we were all impressed with how bright the wine was, with healthy acidity and gorgeous fruit — thoroughly delicious paired with Tracie P’s risotto al radicchio veronese served all’onda. It just goes to show that even in tough vintages, great producers can make great wine (I reported Wasserman’s notes on the harvest here).
David was so sweet: he taught me how to play a new lullaby he wrote and he sang it for Georgia… too cute for words…
If you’re in California this week, come see me and Céline at one of the shows!
Here’s another shot from Georgia P’s recent photo shoot (by the amazing Nichols family):
2 Comments | de musica, de photographia, de rebus familiari, de vino | Tagged: Brooklyn Guy, Céline Dijon, David Garza, Monsecco | Permalink
Posted by Do Bianchi
Susumaniello, what a sususurprise! (and Georgia P’s photo shoot)
February 3, 2012
Honestly, I really didn’t know what to expect from a 2010 IGT Tarantino Susumaniello (100%) by the Poderi Angelini winery in Manduria (west coast of Puglia).
The craze for indigenous varieties has inspired a number of producers to deliver monovarietal bottlings of grapes that were used strictly for blending in the past.
In the entry for Susumaniello in the landmark Vitigni d’Italia (Grape Varieties of Italy), last revised in 2006, the editors underline the fact that “the grape is never vinified on its own” and is used strictly to produce vino da taglio, i.e., blending wine (employed historically to beef up otherwise “thin” wines).
Unfortunately, some of the well intentioned efforts to champion such indigenous grapes has been misguided (Uva di Troia in purezza, anyone?).
But Angelini’s 2010 Susumaniello was delicious last night: bright and surprisingly light on the palate, with the acidity that we crave, high but balanced alcohol, and juicy, chewy red berry fruit. I loved it, as did the group of wine professionals with whom we tasted it.
Inspired by our tasting, I went into the stustustudio and dug out some footage of my good friend Paolo Cantele pronouncing the grape’s name for us. Phil Collins ain’t got nothing on this baby!
In other news…
Georgia P went to one of her first photo shoots (I am such a stage father!) yesterday with our good friends and AWESOME photographers the Nichols here in Austin yesterday (remember when they shot our wedding?). Here’s a preview… WE LOVE HER SO MUCH! :)
6 Comments | de austinopoli, de rebus familiari, de vino | Tagged: Angelini, Apulia, Paolo Cantele, Phil Collins, Puglia, Susumaniello | Permalink
Posted by Do Bianchi
