Really fun to connect with Jayne and Jon (above) at San Diego British Car Day where they were showing their 1970 MG. Pretty friggin’ bad ass…
Thanks, Jon and Jayne, for the Bolly! :)
Monthly Archives: October 2012
@ZanottoColFondo at Spicy House, best pairing for Asian imho
Move over Josmeyer, Prosecco Col Fondo (in this case, Zanotto) is the new Riesling when it comes to pairing with Asian cuisine imho. Its refreshing saltiness and crunchy mouthfeel just take it over the top… Dinner last night at the excellent Spicy House in San Diego…
dan dan noodle
eggplant and green beans
twice cooked pork with leeks
beef rool
thanks again, Mary, for taking such good care of us! :)
allo fräuleins! Oktoberfest @JaynesGastropub is rocking
Tracie P, Georgia P, and I stopped in for an early dinner on our way back from Los Angeles yesterday at Jaynes Gastropub in San Diego.
We may have been part of the “early-bird” crowd but that didn’t stop us from getting a taste of the Oktoberfest celebration there.
Schnitzel, spätzl, bratwurst… and of course, Schneider-Weisse beer.
But I still couldn’t resist getting my favorite, the Jaynes Burger (Vermont cheddar, house-pickled onions, and aioli).
Oktoberfest continues this evening at Jaynes… definitely worth checking out…
what makes my world go round (I love you so much @MyLifeItalian)
Luigi Tecce: “what I don’t put in my wine”
Luigi Tecce’s wines first came to my attention two years ago when I was visiting and tasting in southern Italy. They blew my mind… They’re some of the best wines I’ve ever tasted… period… end of report…
And I’m very proud that we have the 2009 Satyricon (Campi Taurasini) and 2007 Poliphemo (Taurasi) on our new fall list at Sotto in Los Angeles.
These are native-yeast-fermented, large-cask aged STUNNING expressions of Aglianico from Campania. I’ll never forget the look on Tracie P’s face when she tasted the wine with me last night at dinner.
“This,” she said, “THIS is what Aglianico tastes like.”
She would know: she lived between Ischia and Naples for nearly five years.
I loathe the saying that Aglianico is the Nebbiolo of the south. If anything, Nebbiolo is the Aglianico of the north!
But I will say that there is a virtual kinship between Luigi Tecce and Bartolo Mascarello. Here’s a translation of the back label:
cultured [pharmaceutical] yeast NO
enzymes NO
malolactic bacteria NO
added tannins NO
de-acidification NO
clarification NO
filtration NO
gum Arabic NO
No need to call this wine “Natural.” It’s just wine… great wine… friggin’ brilliant wine…
incredible dinner @SottoLA last night with my ladies
Georgia P has so much fun in restaurants… she LOVED Sotto last night in Los Angeles (where daddy works).
Involtini di melanzane, classic eggplant rolls cooked in tomato. Chefs Zach and Steve are really reaching new and even greater heights with their cooking these days…
Fusilli di grano arso al ragù di coniglio e porcini, toasted wheat fusilli with rabbit and porcini ragù. This dish was tough to photograph but amazing, balanced in its flavors and textures, and the pasta cooked perfectly al dente. This might be my top dish for 2012.
Rapini (cime di rapa) con collatura, broccoli raab with garum (anchovy sauce), so simple and so delicious.
Sardinian pane frattau, classic Sardinian pane carasau (crunchy, thin, savory flatbread) that has been soaked in water, layered (in this case) with pork innards, topped with an egg (look at the color of that yolk!), and baked. This dish will definitely go in my top dishes of 2012 post at the end of the year.
Many erroneously believe that frattau means fretta or hurry in Sardinian. But it’s more likely that it means grated, possibly akin to franto.
Amazing meal… truly amazing… a note on the wine will follow later today… stay tuned!
Amphora-aged Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, almost as good as sex cc @SottoLA
“Just one look…”
There are certain wines that seduce you from first glance. Their color and visual texture alone are enough to make you horny.
Such was the case yesterday early evening when I opened a bottle of Francesco Cirelli’s amphora-aged Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo for some of our best friends. I’ll never forget the moment when I poured it into the glass and the whole table collectively sighed…
Beyond its hue, Francesco’s wine achieves a benchmark balance of savory and sweet and its mouthfeel and finish are toe-curling.
It could possibly be my favorite wine for 2012, almost as good as sex.
Earlier this year, I asked Francesco to pose for my video camera and pronounce Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo for the Italian Grape Name and Appellation Pronunciation Project (see below). And I’m extremely proud and thrilled that we will be debuting the wine this week on my fall list at Sotto in Los Angeles (I’ll be at the restaurant tonight and tomorrow).
Cultural entrepreneurship on the rise among Italian winemakers
A photo of Vigne del Vulture’s vineyards in Aglianico del Vulture, taken September 20. Image via Gabriele Ladislao Moccia’s Facebook.
While Tracie P, Georgia P, and I were in Melfi (Basilicata) a few weeks ago, we had the chance to meet and taste with a young producer, Gabriele Ladislao Moccia. His winery, Vigne del Vulture, is new on the scene: a native of Vulture and purveyor of fine food products, Gabriele has been using his contacts in the nordic countries to distribute his wines with great success.
Above: I wouldn’t call Gabriele’s wines classic in style but they are a true expression of the grape variety. Note the dark color and transparency of his 2007, which I liked a lot.
His wines aren’t yet available in the U.S. but I wanted to write a note about them because I believe that Gabriele represents a new trend of young Italian entrepreneurs who recognize the value of authenticity in their wines.
Vigne del Vulture’s wines are a little rough around the edges and they still need to come into focus. But I was impressed by Gabriele’s resolve to make wines that truly reflect the appellation.
A generation ago, many Italian winemakers set out to make wines for the American market: if you follow along here at Do Bianchi, you’ve seen my reportage on wine industry greats like Ezio Rivella who have declared — very publicly — that they were “deliberately adopting a California style.”
Above: I thought that Gabriele’s 2007 showed the best in the flight we tasted. It tended toward modernity but didn’t ever lose its continuity with true varietal expression and the appellation.
As we traveled through Italy on this last trip, I found more and more signs of a new generation of young Italians who are looking to enter the U.S. market with wines that reflect their local traditions, even if they do lean toward modernity.
Of all the winemakers we visited, Gabriele was one of a score of thirty-somethings who embrace authenticity (if not tradition) in their approach to their products.
This trend is the opposite of the generation that came before them. Perhaps they take their inspiration more from a renewed sense of identity and purpose than from old man Mondavi and the Napa Valley revolution.
I liked Gabriele a lot and I’m looking forward to tasting the new releases next year when they arrive.
What wine didn’t Romney drink in Boca Raton?
@SottoLA new list this week (Aglianico on my mind)
One of the reasons that Tracie P, Georgia P, and I were so geeked to get to Melfi (Basilicata) on our recent trip to Italy and to visit Vulture where Aglianico del Vulture is made is that I have Aglianico del Vulture on my mind.
This week at Sotto in Los Angeles (where I curate the wine list together with my bro Rory Harrington), we’ll be launching our Fall 2012 list, including — what I hope will be — the largest selection of Aglianico del Vulture in the U.S.
That’s Mt. Vulture in the photo above, btw.
Another reason I was excited to get to Melfi and Vulture was that I was looking forward to seeing my dear, dear friend Filena Ruppi (in the photo above, left, with Tracie P and Georgia P).
Filena and her husband Donato d’Angelo make some of my favorite Aglianico del Vulture and Donato is considered by many to be the “father of Aglianico del Vulture.”
(BTW, if you’re having trouble pronouncing Aglianico del Vulture, click here to hear my good friend and Aglianico del Vulture producer Sara Carbone say it for my camera.)
I’m very proud that we will be featuring Filena and Donato’s wine on our new list. They’ve had some trademark problems lately (a tragedy, really) and I’ll address what happened in a future post. But in the meantime, I’m thrilled to be able to share the wine with our guests at Sotto (and I’m thrilled to get to drink it myself). It’s fantastic…
That’s the Castello di Melfi, above.
I’ll be at the restaurant on Wednesday and Thursday nights this week. If you’re in town, please stop by and I’ll pour you some Aglianico del Vulture and tell you about our visit. Sara Carbone’s wine isn’t in yet but it should be in time for my visit in November when I’ll also be hosting a dinner with Frank Cornelissen and Lou Amdur.
Do Bianchi 