This weathered issue of Wine Spectator seems to serve as the “mishnah” guiding the selections in the Fortezza tasting room. Wow, have things changed since I first came here in 89!
Castelnuovo dell’Abate
That’s us yesterday in Castelnuovo. Photo by our good friend Federico. This area is one of the less-talked-about terroirs of Brunello. But more on tha t later.
01 and 03 Poggione
The 01 was stunning in its elegance. The 03 a unique expression of terroir, lip-smacking and powerful. I had never tasted the 03 riserva which is the first to be labeled “Paganelli.”
Tasting notes to come.
Images from Tuscany
Still can’t get online and so posting from the phone but here are some images. Our trip has been amazing so far and to share this (for the first time) with her is to fall in love with Tracie P all over again. :-)
Chestnut flour polenta last night in the home of the Bindocci family. What an amazing dinner and stimulating conversation!
Pici with tomato, sausage, and mushrooms
@ trattoria il pozzo in sant’angelo in colle (montalcino) last night. The star of an amazing menu. Pici or pinci are hand-rolled long noodles made using only flour and water. The magic lies in how they absorb the savory components of the sauce.
Gianni Brunelli 04 Brunello stunning acidity
Some might be turned off by the “unpolished” tannin of this wine but the gorgeous acidity, earth, and fruit blew me and tracie p away. So good. The pairing with pici with tomato, sausage, and mushrooms (acidity, fat, and earth) was unbelievably good.
The best airplane wine we’ve ever had…
G-d bless British Air… All Tracie P had to do was say that magic word, honeymoon, and the bottle miraculously appeared… :-)
One more leg…
Want an upgrade? Just say H-O-N-E-Y-M-O-O-N!
Photos from the wedding are beginning to trickle pour in. We haven’t been able to get online… too busy with other “pressing” matters… ;-) And so we’re having a blast finally viewing them, as we wait for our flight to Europe at JFK (please don’t forget to tag us on Facebook!). Thanks, Ben for the photo above!
Want an upgrade? Just say H-O-N-E-Y-M-O-O-N! Tracie P and me woke up to this view of Central Park this morning at Essex House. New York is winter gray but the whole world seems to appear in Technicolor right now. :-)
Nougatine at Jean Georges was just a hop, skip, and a jump away from our hotel and NYC Restaurant Week made the deal even sweeter (the fixed price lunch menu at Jean Georges is ALWAYS the best lunch deal in town, as my friend Scott Luetgenau well knows).
I couldn’t resist the Jean Georges cheese burger (!) topped with Russian dressing (the French fries sopped in Heinz!). Paired beautifully with Les Avaux 1er cru 2005 by Jadot (dig that wine!) by the glass.
Tracie P knows that one of my few dessert weaknesses is crème caramel… Soooooo goood… it’s got to have that consistency matched with delicacy to make it from A to A+…
We’re finally catching up online at Terminal 7 heading to Terminal 5 and then Fiumicino! OUR FIRST TRIP TO ITALY! WE ARE SO GEEKED.
Did someone say “upgrade”?
Words could never capture…
Someday Tracie B will be is now Tracie P!
Photo by Alfonso.
An earthquake struck San Diego early Monday morning but Tracie P and me didn’t have anything to do with that… ;-)
How could our wedding be complete without ceviche at Bahia in Bird Rock? That’s where we had our rehearsal dinner.
Only one of the Texans present had ever had a camaronilla. Guess which one! ;-)
We were geeked to share the Bahia experience with best man Alfonso and SO Kim.
Brother Tad gave a toast, welcoming the Branch/Johnson family to La Jolla.
Uncle Terry “preached” to the choir and welcomed me to the Texas family.
We love Bahia for the view, we love Bahia for the “ambiance,” and the food is always good. But when Dora is in the kitchen, it’s our favorite.
“De parte de tu restaurante favorito,” wrote my friend Roberto who works there, “les deseamos mucha felicidad y realmente todos estamos muy contentos por ustedes. Felicidades.”
I wrote this post on the plane. We’re in NYC on our way to Italy! Stay tuned…
Do Bianchi 