Georgia P makes headlines in Houston (and best meals 2011: Al Covo, Venice)

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Georgia P had her name in the paper today: here’s my post for the Houston Press on the wines we paired with hospital food and “what they meant to us.”

That’s the three of us, above, as we were about to leave the maternity ward on Wednesday afternoon. We were exhausted but overjoyed.

At 3 a.m. this morning, as I cradled Georgia P in my arms after she and Tracie P had finished nursing, it felt like my whole life were flashing before me: the highs and the lows, the joys and the heartbreaks, “my devil and my deep blue sea”… I love Georgia and Tracie P so much my heart could burst… somehow those “twenty thousand roads” led me here and I have my lucky stars to thank for that…

*****

Here’s one of our “best meals of 2011”: our first anniversary dinner Al Covo, Venice…

For our anniversary dinner, Tracie P said she wanted to eat seafood and so after much consultation and discussion with friends and colleagues, we decided on Al Covo.

We started with the mixed seafood appetizer: baby squid, shrimp and prawns, clams, and snails. Delicious…

I managed to snag the last portion of handmade noodles dressed with granceola (spider crab) and its corallo or “coral”: pink roe, a delicacy that you find only at this time of year when the crabs mate. Unbelievable…

Tracie P had the cod with prunes and potatoes.

The potatoes had been cooked in the tocio or jus of the fish and their starch had imparted a wonderfully delicate and creamy texture to the sauce. This was simply one of the best fish dishes I’ve ever tasted… Stunning confluence of flavors and textures…

We drank an 07 Malvasia by Zidarich and after our meal we munched on cheese and sipped an 06 Recioto di Soave by Fasoli. I can’t think of a better meal to have here…

Owner Cesare offered us a Capovilla distillate (such beautiful, delicate aroma) and with bellies full and warmed by the excellent brandy, we made our way back to our hotel across a deserted and chilly Piazza San Marco, the Basilica of St. Mark and her mosaics watching over us like a fairy godmother, and we tumbled into each other’s arms and into bed…

Georgia comes home, fav photos, and what we drank at the hospital…

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We’ll be bringing little Georgia P home today. She’s passed all her tests with flying colors and she and Tracie P are doing great. We loved how the last page of her birth certificate form welcomed our “new little Texan.” :)

I know that every new father thinks that his little girl is the most beautiful of all and I’m no exception. I’ll have two gorgeous girls at home now… I’m the luckiest guy ever…

We are so lucky to have the support of our family: it’s been a joy to have Rev. and Mrs. B here with us and they’re staying at the house all week to help us get settled.

What a joy to watch Rev. B. rocking his new granddaughter! He’s so big and she’s so little! :)

Modesty won’t allow me to reveal a photo of Tracie and Georgia P nursing. But to see Georgia “latching” just minutes after she came into this world was like viewing a living and breathing allegory of maternity. This drawing by Raffaello will have to suffice: words cannot express the emotion we both felt in that precious, precious, unforgettable moment. We’re happy to report that nursing is going great.

The staff at the Seton maternity ward was fantastic. Maybe it’s Texas: everyone was so friendly and sweet and all the nurses shared their own personal experiences. Dr. Abikhaled, our ob/gyn, was awesome. And our anesthesiologist — the only male health care provider in the crew — wore cowboy boots.

And what did we drink to celebrate our joy? As if you have to ask…

Georgia P, Tracie P, and I would like to thank all the folks who commented, tweeted, texted, emailed, and posted on Facebook from the bottom of our hearts. Our lives are so rich right now: full of joy, full of happy tears, full of laughter, brimming with love for a newborn child, overflowing with love for each other… Our virtual community — spanning the Atlantic ocean and the continental U.S.! — means so much to all of us. G-d bless you all…

Georgia Ann Parzen

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Georgia Ann Parzen

6 pounds, 14.5 ounces

20 inches

December 12, 2011

3:52 p.m.

We had a really tough labor but once we were admitted this morning things started moving quickly and Georgia was born at 3:52 p.m., with just a few pushes.

Tracie and Georgia P are both doing great and everyone’s healthy and happy…

It’s a miracle… a beautiful, glorious miracle and we are so thankful for the many blessings in our life…

She’s a beauty!

More later… Thanks, everyone, for your support, wishes, and love these last 9 months… they have meant so much to us!

She’s so beautiful!

News of Baby P…

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We’re still not quite ready to be admitted to the hospital but the process has begun. It sure ain’t easy… But we are blessed to have the loving support of our family and Rev. and Mrs. B will be arriving in Austin later today…

In the meantime, I wanted to share the gift (above) that Baby P received from our good friends Lucia, Federico, and little Santiago in Montepulciano.

We sure can use the comic relief!

Best meals 2011: Osteria al Cacciatore, Cison di Valmarino (Treviso)

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What an incredible year 2011 has been for us!

Our first anniversary, our pregnancy (any day now, folks!), and some of the most memorable meals of our lives. Here’s one of the “bests” in what I can say has truly been the best year of my life…

*****

With our good friend Riccardo Zanotto, posted January 31.

in the land of Prosecco… just up the hill from Rolle…

Osteria al Cacciatore… “dove fanno da mangiare come la zia…”

The Magic of Brunelli’s Brunello (and tasting notes)

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There are times when my ability as a photographer fails me. My October visit to the Brunelli farmhouse was one of those times.

I simply cannot express how beautiful the family’s farm is.

The Brunelli estate is situated in the center of the appellation, along the road that leads to Barbi: heading north from Sant’Angelo in Colle, you turn right and head east about halfway between Sant’Angelo and Montalcino.

And when they arrive at Laura Brunelli’s home, her visitors are rewarded with what I think is one of the most spectacular views in one of the most photogenic landscapes of Italy.

As your eye scans the horizon, looking south-southeast toward Mt. Amiata, there are few signs of modernity. It is Tuscany as it probably looked 50 years ago.

As Tracie P once wrote on her blog, if I were a grape, I would want to grow here.

The Vigna Olmo is Brunelli’s top growing site: its gentle slope faces south and is ideal for the cultivation of thin-skinned Sangiovese Grosso. Standing atop the vineyard, you can feel a gentle breeze from the valley below. It’s simply magical.

The entire estate is biodynamically farmed and even the Brunelli house was constructed using organic precepts — bioedilizia as it is called in Italian, Baubiologie in German or building biology.

The beloved, visionary Gianni Brunelli left our world just over three years ago (see this beautiful tribute by Avvinare). But he lives through the estate that he and Laura built together. I never met Gianni but I could feel his presence that day.

Laura and I tasted three wines together. Here are my notes.

2009 Rosso di Montalcino

Brunelli’s signature acidity and bright, bright red fruit. More savory in the mouth. Alcohol very well integrated. This wine is sourced from the estate’s Oliva and Chiuse vineyards, said Laura.

2006 Brunello di Montalcino (classic)

Elegantissimo nose! Meaty in the mouth but so bright and elegant! This wine is sourced from Chiuse, Olmo, and Rada.

2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

YES! Acidity! Fruit! Savory and very tannic. Fantastic! One of the best wines I’ve tasted on this trip. Sourced mostly from Olmo with some fruit from Oliva.

Of all the great wine made in Montalcino, Brunelli’s wines are among my all-time favorites. They always have been. They’re pure, they’re focused, they’re clean but meaty and savory. They’re delicious. They’re like a favorite song: they make me feel high…

And the family’s farm is one of the most magical places on earth.

Thank you, Laura, for our visit. And thank you for these exquisite wines.

Goumenissa, mon amour @Boutari

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Una faccia, una razza… One face, one race… The Greeks love that Italian saying (which refers to the two nations’s shared Mediterranean kinship).

Some people call me a Zelig: I have one of those faces and no matter what Mediterranean country I visit, I generally fit in. And such was the case when I visited Greece in June for the Boutari blog.

But when we visited the small and wonderful village of Goumenissa in Northern Greece, the villagers could pick me out as a foreigner from a mile away.

And they couldn’t understand why an American, with a camera, was so fascinated by their town.

My money was no good there: when I photographed the fish monger, he prepared a package of fish for me; at the bakery, the baker wouldn’t let me pay for her breads…

Sometimes, when life becomes to hectic and I feel overwhelmed by the rhythms of modern living, I think about and long for Goumenissa, mon amour…

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Infant car seat safety…

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I’d like to think of myself as a pretty bright guy… capable and a quick study… When I took Baby P’s new car seat to be inspected, however, I learned that the folks at Austin Safe Kids could sure teach me a thing or two (my mistake, btw, for the record, was that I read and studied the manual for the car seat but I neglected to read and study the manual for my car).

We used a website called SeatCheck.org to find car seat inspection services and instruction in our area (it covers the entire U.S. btw). And I’m sure glad that we did: I learned that only 1 in 5 car seats in the U.S. are installed correctly. I’m happy to report that our car seats are now among the 1s.

The service is free (and you can donate on the spot) and the ladies who inspected my vehicle and schooled me were super nice.

I highly recommend them…

Keeping the world Texas safe for Italian wine…

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Above: the architects of Italian unification (1861). To the far left, Count Camillo Cavour, Italy’s first prime minister, a winemaker (Piedmont). To the far right, Baron Betting Ricasoli, Italy’s second prime minister, a winemaker (Tuscany). In the center, unified Italy’s first king, Vittorio Emanuele II, a winemaker (Piedmont). Ricasoli’s estate Brolio and Vittorio Emanuele’s Fontanafredda still produce wine today.

One the top wine professionals in Texas chided me yesterday on the Twitter. “Many other iconic Brunell(i?) are available” in Texas, he wrote. There’s “no great market demand” for Biondi Santi here, he Tweeted.

He was commenting on my post yesterday for the Houston Press (Absurdity of Texas Wine Shipping Law Reaches New Heights) and the heated dialog that followed on the Twitter. There was so much discussion that my editor at the paper asked me to write another, follow-up post today, which I playfully called Me and the TABC.

He had asked me to offer a few examples of iconic Italian wines that are not available in Texas (and I had been bemoaning the fact that I have to resort to unauthorized channels to obtain certain wines that I just cannot live without).

I responded with Biondi Santi and Castell’in Villa (the latter was also the subject of the post at the paper).

He responded nonchalantly, as if to say, well, if there’s no demand for those wines here in Texas, what does it matter?

Well, folks I’m here to tell you that in fact, it does matter.

It’s one thing to assume that if a wine isn’t available in Texas, it must not be “important.” And it’s another thing to take into account the fact that Italians consider Biondi Santi to be the greatest producer of Brunello di Montalcino, an icon, a benchmark, a historic domaine that reshaped the appellation. The same holds for Castell’in Villa in Chianti Classico. Or Bartolo Mascarello and Giuseppe Mascarello in Barolo. Or Emidio Pepe and Valentini in Abruzzo. Or Venica and Ronchi di Cialla in Friuli. I could go on and on: none of those wines are available in Texas.

But what’s worse is the fact that I cannot legally obtain them from an out-of-state retailer while in Texas (even though they’re readily available in the U.S.).

Of course, I travel to Italy 3 to 4 times a year, New York City 2 a year, and Los Angeles once a month: I can find and taste these wines whenever I want.

But young wine professionals in our state do not have access to these historic, not to mention delicious, wines.

My Texan colleagues and fellow wine educators can continue to base their course curricula on the Wine Spectator Top 100 list and the wines that score high with its editors and create “market demand”: Casanova di Neri is available here in Texas as is La Spinetta.

But a generation of young wine professionals in Texas will grow up without knowing the wines that the Italians consider to be the greatest expressions of their land, their history, and their (viti)culture.

It’s time for me to get off of my soap box. Thanks for reading… and thanks for loving Italian wine as much as I do…

Here’s a link to a post I wrote a few years ago: Why Italians are offended by our ratings and rankings. You might be surprised by some of the wine professionals who weighed in in the comment section.

I’m just trying to keep Texas (and the world) safe for Italian wine…