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Five Impressive Wines Under $25 DETAILS MAGAZINE:By Rob Willey,
12 22 2009
Five Impressive Wines Under $25 By Rob Willey, Photographs by Lucas Zarebinski One certainty of the looming holiday season is that you and your extended tribe will guzzle vast quantities of alcohol in the name of togetherness. When you tire of the standard fare, uncork a surprise: red wine. Not those Australian and American fruit bombs or the ritzy French and Italian offerings. There's a world of curveballs built for breaking with tradition, and most are more drinkable than the stuff you're used to knocking back. THE BOTTLES 2008 Enologica Temera Alodio Ribeira Sacra [$15] The unlikely product of the insanely steep hillsides of Spain's Galicia region, this bracing, peppery red has the sort of insider cachet that should motivate you to buy a case—assuming you can track one down. 2008 Occhipinti IGT Sicilia SP68 Nero d'Avola [$22] Sicilian wine gets no respect, but this organic knockout—both savory and intensely refreshing—makes the definitive case for reappraisal. It's like a palate cleanser you can't stop drinking. 2006 Leo Hillinger Zweigelt [$22] Austrian wine got a big profile bump from all the Grüener Veltliner sloshing around of late, but polished reds made from the Zweigelt grape are the real score. This one is packed with bold cherry flavors. 2007 Grosbois Chinon [$17] Saying this 100 percent Cabernet Franc tastes like delicious dirt is high praise. Coming from an overlooked area of the Loire Valley, it has flashes of anise, chocolate, and strawberry amid its winning earthy funk. 2007 Georges Descombes Régnié Beaujolais [$21] Forget about that blah Beaujolais Nouveau punch. This Gamay-based red is a shining example of the French region's might: a mouthwatering treat with zero pretense. Go right ahead and pair it with a hunk of meat and a mountain of fries. THE BEST STORES FOR FINDING A NEW FAVORITE SAN FRANCISCO: Biondivino This well-curated Russian Hill boutique goes deep into Italian grapes, familiar and offbeat alike, but it also dabbles in the lesser-known wines of Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia. 1415 Green St., 415-673-2320; biondivino.com NEW YORK: Chambers Street Wines There are no old standbys at this Tribeca shop, which stocks sleeper-hit bottles of Burgundy and Barolo and star examples of lesser-known Loire Valley reds and Beaujolais. 148 Chambers St., 212-227-1434; chambersstwines.com SEATTLE: Garagiste Wine If you want to feel like a trendsetter, try this online purveyor, which searches the globe for obscure wines an d e-mails daily updates. Your job is to pounce before they sell out. 707 S. Lander St., 888-264-0053; garagistewine.com Keywords style and advice, food and drinks, red wine, alcohol, chambers street wines, Garagiste Wine, Biondivino
12 22 2009
Five Impressive Wines Under $25 By Rob Willey, Photographs by Lucas Zarebinski One certainty of the looming holiday season is that you and your extended tribe will guzzle vast quantities of alcohol in the name of togetherness. When you tire of the standard fare, uncork a surprise: red wine. Not those Australian and American fruit bombs or the ritzy French and Italian offerings. There's a world of curveballs built for breaking with tradition, and most are more drinkable than the stuff you're used to knocking back. THE BOTTLES 2008 Enologica Temera Alodio Ribeira Sacra [$15] The unlikely product of the insanely steep hillsides of Spain's Galicia region, this bracing, peppery red has the sort of insider cachet that should motivate you to buy a case—assuming you can track one down. 2008 Occhipinti IGT Sicilia SP68 Nero d'Avola [$22] Sicilian wine gets no respect, but this organic knockout—both savory and intensely refreshing—makes the definitive case for reappraisal. It's like a palate cleanser you can't stop drinking. 2006 Leo Hillinger Zweigelt [$22] Austrian wine got a big profile bump from all the Grüener Veltliner sloshing around of late, but polished reds made from the Zweigelt grape are the real score. This one is packed with bold cherry flavors. 2007 Grosbois Chinon [$17] Saying this 100 percent Cabernet Franc tastes like delicious dirt is high praise. Coming from an overlooked area of the Loire Valley, it has flashes of anise, chocolate, and strawberry amid its winning earthy funk. 2007 Georges Descombes Régnié Beaujolais [$21] Forget about that blah Beaujolais Nouveau punch. This Gamay-based red is a shining example of the French region's might: a mouthwatering treat with zero pretense. Go right ahead and pair it with a hunk of meat and a mountain of fries. THE BEST STORES FOR FINDING A NEW FAVORITE SAN FRANCISCO: Biondivino This well-curated Russian Hill boutique goes deep into Italian grapes, familiar and offbeat alike, but it also dabbles in the lesser-known wines of Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia. 1415 Green St., 415-673-2320; biondivino.com NEW YORK: Chambers Street Wines There are no old standbys at this Tribeca shop, which stocks sleeper-hit bottles of Burgundy and Barolo and star examples of lesser-known Loire Valley reds and Beaujolais. 148 Chambers St., 212-227-1434; chambersstwines.com SEATTLE: Garagiste Wine If you want to feel like a trendsetter, try this online purveyor, which searches the globe for obscure wines an d e-mails daily updates. Your job is to pounce before they sell out. 707 S. Lander St., 888-264-0053; garagistewine.com Keywords style and advice, food and drinks, red wine, alcohol, chambers street wines, Garagiste Wine, Biondivino
Five Impressive Wines Under $25 DETAILS MAGAZINE by Rob Willey
12 22 2009
Five Impressive Wines Under $25 By Rob Willey, Photographs by Lucas Zarebinski Also on Details.com * Your First-Date Guide to Ordering Wine * Really, Excellent Canned Beer * Get Grown-Up Pop with Craft Sodas One certainty of the looming holiday season is that you and your extended tribe will guzzle vast quantities of alcohol in the name of togetherness. When you tire of the standard fare, uncork a surprise: red wine. Not those Australian and American fruit bombs or the ritzy French and Italian offerings. There's a world of curveballs built for breaking with tradition, and most are more drinkable than the stuff you're used to knocking back. THE BOTTLES 2008 Enologica Temera Alodio Ribeira Sacra [$15] The unlikely product of the insanely steep hillsides of Spain's Galicia region, this bracing, peppery red has the sort of insider cachet that should motivate you to buy a case—assuming you can track one down. 2008 Occhipinti IGT Sicilia SP68 Nero d'Avola [$22] Sicilian wine gets no respect, but this organic knockout—both savory and intensely refreshing—makes the definitive case for reappraisal. It's like a palate cleanser you can't stop drinking. 2006 Leo Hillinger Zweigelt [$22] Austrian wine got a big profile bump from all the Grüener Veltliner sloshing around of late, but polished reds made from the Zweigelt grape are the real score. This one is packed with bold cherry flavors. 2007 Grosbois Chinon [$17] Saying this 100 percent Cabernet Franc tastes like delicious dirt is high praise. Coming from an overlooked area of the Loire Valley, it has flashes of anise, chocolate, and strawberry amid its winning earthy funk. 2007 Georges Descombes Régnié Beaujolais [$21] Forget about that blah Beaujolais Nouveau punch. This Gamay-based red is a shining example of the French region's might: a mouthwatering treat with zero pretense. Go right ahead and pair it with a hunk of meat and a mountain of fries. THE BEST STORES FOR FINDING A NEW FAVORITE NEW YORK: Chambers Street Wines There are no old standbys at this Tribeca shop, which stocks sleeper-hit bottles of Burgundy and Barolo and star examples of lesser-known Loire Valley reds and Beaujolais. 148 Chambers St., 212-227-1434; chambersstwines.com SEATTLE: Garagiste Wine If you want to feel like a trendsetter, try this online purveyor, which searches the globe for obscure wines and e-mails daily updates. Your job is to pounce before they sell out. 707 S. Lander St., 888-264-0053; garagistewine.com SAN FRANCISCO: Biondivino This well-curated Russian Hill boutique goes deep into Italian grapes, familiar and offbeat alike, but it also dabbles in the lesser-known wines of Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia. 1415 Green St., 415-673-2320; biondivino.com Keywords style and advice, food and drinks, red wine, alcohol, chambers street wines, Garagiste Wine, Biondivino
12 22 2009
Five Impressive Wines Under $25 By Rob Willey, Photographs by Lucas Zarebinski Also on Details.com * Your First-Date Guide to Ordering Wine * Really, Excellent Canned Beer * Get Grown-Up Pop with Craft Sodas One certainty of the looming holiday season is that you and your extended tribe will guzzle vast quantities of alcohol in the name of togetherness. When you tire of the standard fare, uncork a surprise: red wine. Not those Australian and American fruit bombs or the ritzy French and Italian offerings. There's a world of curveballs built for breaking with tradition, and most are more drinkable than the stuff you're used to knocking back. THE BOTTLES 2008 Enologica Temera Alodio Ribeira Sacra [$15] The unlikely product of the insanely steep hillsides of Spain's Galicia region, this bracing, peppery red has the sort of insider cachet that should motivate you to buy a case—assuming you can track one down. 2008 Occhipinti IGT Sicilia SP68 Nero d'Avola [$22] Sicilian wine gets no respect, but this organic knockout—both savory and intensely refreshing—makes the definitive case for reappraisal. It's like a palate cleanser you can't stop drinking. 2006 Leo Hillinger Zweigelt [$22] Austrian wine got a big profile bump from all the Grüener Veltliner sloshing around of late, but polished reds made from the Zweigelt grape are the real score. This one is packed with bold cherry flavors. 2007 Grosbois Chinon [$17] Saying this 100 percent Cabernet Franc tastes like delicious dirt is high praise. Coming from an overlooked area of the Loire Valley, it has flashes of anise, chocolate, and strawberry amid its winning earthy funk. 2007 Georges Descombes Régnié Beaujolais [$21] Forget about that blah Beaujolais Nouveau punch. This Gamay-based red is a shining example of the French region's might: a mouthwatering treat with zero pretense. Go right ahead and pair it with a hunk of meat and a mountain of fries. THE BEST STORES FOR FINDING A NEW FAVORITE NEW YORK: Chambers Street Wines There are no old standbys at this Tribeca shop, which stocks sleeper-hit bottles of Burgundy and Barolo and star examples of lesser-known Loire Valley reds and Beaujolais. 148 Chambers St., 212-227-1434; chambersstwines.com SEATTLE: Garagiste Wine If you want to feel like a trendsetter, try this online purveyor, which searches the globe for obscure wines and e-mails daily updates. Your job is to pounce before they sell out. 707 S. Lander St., 888-264-0053; garagistewine.com SAN FRANCISCO: Biondivino This well-curated Russian Hill boutique goes deep into Italian grapes, familiar and offbeat alike, but it also dabbles in the lesser-known wines of Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia. 1415 Green St., 415-673-2320; biondivino.com Keywords style and advice, food and drinks, red wine, alcohol, chambers street wines, Garagiste Wine, Biondivino
Italians Pursue ’Lunatic’ Sommeliers, Revive Indigenous Grap
12 22 2009
Italians Pursue ’Lunatic’ Sommeliers, Revive Indigenous Grapes Share Business ExchangeTwitterFacebook| Email | Print | A A A Review by Ryan Flinn Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Ceri Smith likes to fantasize about a world without the big three -- chardonnay, merlot, cabernet sauvignon. “Maybe you would walk into a restaurant and order a lagrein or ruche or pelaverga,” said Smith, the owner of wine shop Biondivino, in San Francisco. I sought her out to learn more about a hard-to-find yet wonderful Italian red wine I’ve had several times in the past year, Lacrima di Morro d’Alba. While most shops in the San Francisco Bay area didn’t have a single bottle, Smith had several from two producers. “It’s one of those wines people absolutely love or absolutely hate,” Smith said. “It evokes a strong reaction from people. It’s a conversation starter.” That had been my experience as well. The grape, grown in central Italy’s Marche region, between the Adriatic and the Apennines, is an old local variety whose production has increased steadily since it received a Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or DOC, rating in 1985. It was up to 13,174.7 hectoliters (348,039 gallons) in 2004-05 from 4,192 hectoliters in 1999-2000, according to the most recent figures available from the Istituto Marchigiano di Tutela Vini, or Marches Wine Consortium Institute. The region as a whole produces about 1.8 million hectoliters annually. What makes the wine so special is its amazing aromatics -- think rose petal, lavender and tangerine -- unusual for a red wine. Italy has hundreds of indigenous grape varieties and a winemaking culture that stretches back millennia, though the country focused on planting so-called international varieties such as merlot and cabernet sauvignon during the last century. High Scores Wines made from a blend of these and native grapes such as Sangiovese scored high with critics in the 1990s and prompted some producers to disregard or even pull up older vines. Now, a countermovement is under way. “A lot of people saw embracing indigenous varietals as a way of combating the Italian trend toward Bordeaux varieties and California winemaking techniques,” said Jeremy Parzen, 42, an Austin, Texas-based marketing consultant who specializes in Italian wines. “There’s a type of nostalgia in Italy for drinking your grandfather’s wine.” Improvements in winemaking techniques have also allowed these wines to shine, said Emily Wines, master sommelier for Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group. “Instead of fermenting their wines in a concrete vat in the ground, they have temperature-controlled, stainless-steel tanks, and are making these wines that, as opposed to backward and funky and rustic, they demand notice,” said Wines. New York Interest As Italian winemakers began working to resurrect these vintage vines, they started seeing interest from New York sommeliers with a taste for the different, said Jan D’Amore, a Brooklyn, New York-based importer. “I have better luck with obscure grapes than mainstream ones,” said D’Amore, 45, who rides his Vespa around Manhattan to visit clients. “The stranger the grape, the harder to come by, the more they’re interested.” D’Amore’s portfolio includes wines made from native grapes such as vespaiolo from Veneto and vernaccia nera in Marche, among others. “I think it takes a lunatic wine buyer like myself to get jazzed about vespaiolo,” said Stephen Mancini, 28, wine director for Danny Meyers’s Union Square Cafe. “What’s happening right now in New York City, and I would say across the country, is people are really exploring Italian wines for what I believe Italian wines are, and that’s local indigenous varietals.” Watching Prices The key is keeping bottles affordable, Mancini said. Drinkers are apt to try something they’ve never heard of if it’s less than $100. Union Square Cafe diners will find an $80 bottle of timorasso, a vespaiolo for $55, and a $90 sagrantino on the 39-page wine list. “You can get many very good examples of these wines, and in some cases, even some of the best examples, for under $20 retail,” said Oliver McCrum, an Oakland, California-based importer. McCrum, whose portfolio includes wines from native grapes such as lagrein and pelaverga, has seen sales increase 25 percent this year. He said the revival of the white arneis grape from the Roero area of Piedmont by producer Vietti is one of the first examples of the trend. Vietti winemaker Alfredo Currado started experimenting with arneis in 1967 and succeeded in turning it from a grape that had been largely unknown outside of Italy into an internationally sold and respected white wine that’s now being planted in California. ‘Folk Memory’ “That variety in the ‘70s was like a folk memory,” McCrum said. Now, “it’s the flagship of that area, and very, very successful.” Mauro Cirilli, 33-year-old wine director at San Francisco’s Perbacco restaurant, moved to the U.S. from Italy five years ago. He has built a list of more-obscure wines by the glass to entice customers to try something new. Of the two pages of white Italian wines, only five bottles cost more than $100. A tart 2007 Prie Blanc he poured had striking acidity and a citrus tinge, while a 2007 pelaverga had aromas of fresh cracked black pepper and flavors of cranberries, cherries and a cool mint finish. “It’s really fun to talk about these wines,” Cirilli said. “I’m on the floor talking about these wines, about the producer, the history.” Back at Biondivino in San Francisco, Smith opened up a 2007 Derthona Timorasso produced by Vigneti Massa from Colli Tortonesi in Piedmont. Priced at $28, the highly aromatic wine displayed aromas of brown sugar, honeysuckle and lemon citrus, while tasting buttery and tart, with an orange-peel finish. “Every time I try to stop talking about timorasso I start talking about it again,” Smith said. “You can see where it has a lot of life in it.” (Ryan Flinn is a reporter for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.) To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Flinn in San Francisco at rflinn@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: October 20, 2009 00:01 EDT
12 22 2009
Italians Pursue ’Lunatic’ Sommeliers, Revive Indigenous Grapes Share Business ExchangeTwitterFacebook| Email | Print | A A A Review by Ryan Flinn Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Ceri Smith likes to fantasize about a world without the big three -- chardonnay, merlot, cabernet sauvignon. “Maybe you would walk into a restaurant and order a lagrein or ruche or pelaverga,” said Smith, the owner of wine shop Biondivino, in San Francisco. I sought her out to learn more about a hard-to-find yet wonderful Italian red wine I’ve had several times in the past year, Lacrima di Morro d’Alba. While most shops in the San Francisco Bay area didn’t have a single bottle, Smith had several from two producers. “It’s one of those wines people absolutely love or absolutely hate,” Smith said. “It evokes a strong reaction from people. It’s a conversation starter.” That had been my experience as well. The grape, grown in central Italy’s Marche region, between the Adriatic and the Apennines, is an old local variety whose production has increased steadily since it received a Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or DOC, rating in 1985. It was up to 13,174.7 hectoliters (348,039 gallons) in 2004-05 from 4,192 hectoliters in 1999-2000, according to the most recent figures available from the Istituto Marchigiano di Tutela Vini, or Marches Wine Consortium Institute. The region as a whole produces about 1.8 million hectoliters annually. What makes the wine so special is its amazing aromatics -- think rose petal, lavender and tangerine -- unusual for a red wine. Italy has hundreds of indigenous grape varieties and a winemaking culture that stretches back millennia, though the country focused on planting so-called international varieties such as merlot and cabernet sauvignon during the last century. High Scores Wines made from a blend of these and native grapes such as Sangiovese scored high with critics in the 1990s and prompted some producers to disregard or even pull up older vines. Now, a countermovement is under way. “A lot of people saw embracing indigenous varietals as a way of combating the Italian trend toward Bordeaux varieties and California winemaking techniques,” said Jeremy Parzen, 42, an Austin, Texas-based marketing consultant who specializes in Italian wines. “There’s a type of nostalgia in Italy for drinking your grandfather’s wine.” Improvements in winemaking techniques have also allowed these wines to shine, said Emily Wines, master sommelier for Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group. “Instead of fermenting their wines in a concrete vat in the ground, they have temperature-controlled, stainless-steel tanks, and are making these wines that, as opposed to backward and funky and rustic, they demand notice,” said Wines. New York Interest As Italian winemakers began working to resurrect these vintage vines, they started seeing interest from New York sommeliers with a taste for the different, said Jan D’Amore, a Brooklyn, New York-based importer. “I have better luck with obscure grapes than mainstream ones,” said D’Amore, 45, who rides his Vespa around Manhattan to visit clients. “The stranger the grape, the harder to come by, the more they’re interested.” D’Amore’s portfolio includes wines made from native grapes such as vespaiolo from Veneto and vernaccia nera in Marche, among others. “I think it takes a lunatic wine buyer like myself to get jazzed about vespaiolo,” said Stephen Mancini, 28, wine director for Danny Meyers’s Union Square Cafe. “What’s happening right now in New York City, and I would say across the country, is people are really exploring Italian wines for what I believe Italian wines are, and that’s local indigenous varietals.” Watching Prices The key is keeping bottles affordable, Mancini said. Drinkers are apt to try something they’ve never heard of if it’s less than $100. Union Square Cafe diners will find an $80 bottle of timorasso, a vespaiolo for $55, and a $90 sagrantino on the 39-page wine list. “You can get many very good examples of these wines, and in some cases, even some of the best examples, for under $20 retail,” said Oliver McCrum, an Oakland, California-based importer. McCrum, whose portfolio includes wines from native grapes such as lagrein and pelaverga, has seen sales increase 25 percent this year. He said the revival of the white arneis grape from the Roero area of Piedmont by producer Vietti is one of the first examples of the trend. Vietti winemaker Alfredo Currado started experimenting with arneis in 1967 and succeeded in turning it from a grape that had been largely unknown outside of Italy into an internationally sold and respected white wine that’s now being planted in California. ‘Folk Memory’ “That variety in the ‘70s was like a folk memory,” McCrum said. Now, “it’s the flagship of that area, and very, very successful.” Mauro Cirilli, 33-year-old wine director at San Francisco’s Perbacco restaurant, moved to the U.S. from Italy five years ago. He has built a list of more-obscure wines by the glass to entice customers to try something new. Of the two pages of white Italian wines, only five bottles cost more than $100. A tart 2007 Prie Blanc he poured had striking acidity and a citrus tinge, while a 2007 pelaverga had aromas of fresh cracked black pepper and flavors of cranberries, cherries and a cool mint finish. “It’s really fun to talk about these wines,” Cirilli said. “I’m on the floor talking about these wines, about the producer, the history.” Back at Biondivino in San Francisco, Smith opened up a 2007 Derthona Timorasso produced by Vigneti Massa from Colli Tortonesi in Piedmont. Priced at $28, the highly aromatic wine displayed aromas of brown sugar, honeysuckle and lemon citrus, while tasting buttery and tart, with an orange-peel finish. “Every time I try to stop talking about timorasso I start talking about it again,” Smith said. “You can see where it has a lot of life in it.” (Ryan Flinn is a reporter for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.) To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Flinn in San Francisco at rflinn@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: October 20, 2009 00:01 EDT
Rome Food Movie
04 09 2009
Ceri: OK Zach, it's your turn to write the email since it's for your fund-raising event here at the store from: 6:00 to 8:00 on Friday, April 10th um, make sure you get the day and date right, because I always seem to mess it up... Zach: Really, you want me to write the email? Ceri: Mmm hmm, and you should make the window display and somehow work in those cool business cards you've been making out of Real Foods bags. Zach: But what about the email? What should I write? Ceri: Why don't you just talk about how you first got the idea to make this movie. Tell everyone about why your doing this - oh... and be sure to mention why your leaving me for another two months, you little &^#$%&#$!!!(said with a wicked teasing grin). Zach: I know, I know. Well, it's pretty simple. I quickly put this video together before I left the academy for all the people I worked with. theromefoodmovie. This time --- I'm going professional. Robert Libetti, who I worked with at Lupa and is co-founder of What Productions in NYC, is heading over with me in May to start filming. Ceri: Zach, cut to the chase - you love food, you love sustainability, you live and breathe it and you always always always talk about it! Wait!! Did you see this??? Society of Fellows Zach: Right! That's what is so special about the Rome Sustainable Food Project. They were getting all their food from the freezer two years ago--- literally.(NY Times feature) Now, since Alice Waters put Chef Mona Talbot in place, the emphasis is seasonal, local and organic! The more I thought about it, the more interested I became in the relationship between farmer, cook and consumer. How do they all work together? Do they know each other? Do we know where our food comes from? Really comes from? That ease/purity, that natural kind of way of life is what I want to share with people - that it is attainable without being preachy-preachy...it's just 'normal'. Ceri: Keep writing........... and the event Friday? Zach: Well, I think we should do something simple -10 different crostini- one with brandade and pickled red onion, another with sweet peas mint and ricotta salata... another with braised greens, egg and anchovy... and more. Ceri: yes - things you don't have to mess with to make taste great! Zach: My dear friend Melissa Fernandez, who is an amazing chef has offered to help make the food! We cooked together in New York, she's been at Chez Panise for the last five years and just left to start her own business. Ceri: That sounds good, and we'll serve wine - from all over Italy. Zach: Yes, of course! And I didn't tell you, Thad Vogler a great friend and someone who I really admire, wants to make a Rhine punch! You know Thad, he built the bar program at Slanted Door, Coco 500, Beretta, Camino, Jardiniere, Presidio Social and more - his latest project (which is his own) is Bar Agricole, set to be the most sustainable bar in the world! Ceri: you're such a dork!(laughing) Zach: I get excited about this stuff! Ceri: So... now invite everyone ~ Zach: um... what do i say?? "6-8pm Friday 10th of April" my goal is for 333 people to donate $33. But of course, any donation is helpful and appreciated - hope to see everyone here! Ceri: perfect. yes - i think it will be great!
04 09 2009
Ceri: OK Zach, it's your turn to write the email since it's for your fund-raising event here at the store from: 6:00 to 8:00 on Friday, April 10th um, make sure you get the day and date right, because I always seem to mess it up... Zach: Really, you want me to write the email? Ceri: Mmm hmm, and you should make the window display and somehow work in those cool business cards you've been making out of Real Foods bags. Zach: But what about the email? What should I write? Ceri: Why don't you just talk about how you first got the idea to make this movie. Tell everyone about why your doing this - oh... and be sure to mention why your leaving me for another two months, you little &^#$%&#$!!!(said with a wicked teasing grin). Zach: I know, I know. Well, it's pretty simple. I quickly put this video together before I left the academy for all the people I worked with. theromefoodmovie. This time --- I'm going professional. Robert Libetti, who I worked with at Lupa and is co-founder of What Productions in NYC, is heading over with me in May to start filming. Ceri: Zach, cut to the chase - you love food, you love sustainability, you live and breathe it and you always always always talk about it! Wait!! Did you see this??? Society of Fellows Zach: Right! That's what is so special about the Rome Sustainable Food Project. They were getting all their food from the freezer two years ago--- literally.(NY Times feature) Now, since Alice Waters put Chef Mona Talbot in place, the emphasis is seasonal, local and organic! The more I thought about it, the more interested I became in the relationship between farmer, cook and consumer. How do they all work together? Do they know each other? Do we know where our food comes from? Really comes from? That ease/purity, that natural kind of way of life is what I want to share with people - that it is attainable without being preachy-preachy...it's just 'normal'. Ceri: Keep writing........... and the event Friday? Zach: Well, I think we should do something simple -10 different crostini- one with brandade and pickled red onion, another with sweet peas mint and ricotta salata... another with braised greens, egg and anchovy... and more. Ceri: yes - things you don't have to mess with to make taste great! Zach: My dear friend Melissa Fernandez, who is an amazing chef has offered to help make the food! We cooked together in New York, she's been at Chez Panise for the last five years and just left to start her own business. Ceri: That sounds good, and we'll serve wine - from all over Italy. Zach: Yes, of course! And I didn't tell you, Thad Vogler a great friend and someone who I really admire, wants to make a Rhine punch! You know Thad, he built the bar program at Slanted Door, Coco 500, Beretta, Camino, Jardiniere, Presidio Social and more - his latest project (which is his own) is Bar Agricole, set to be the most sustainable bar in the world! Ceri: you're such a dork!(laughing) Zach: I get excited about this stuff! Ceri: So... now invite everyone ~ Zach: um... what do i say?? "6-8pm Friday 10th of April" my goal is for 333 people to donate $33. But of course, any donation is helpful and appreciated - hope to see everyone here! Ceri: perfect. yes - i think it will be great!
"A First Taste" - Giovanni Arcari | Franciacorta This Wednesday
03 23 2009
this wednesday march 25th 6-8pm - giovanni arcari presents the wine of franciacorta ____________________ this will probably be the most unusual tasting we have had at biondivino. i don't know how to express in words how unique this tasting will be - but, i'll try... the wines we will be showing, are NOT imported into the US, they are from exceptionally small hand-crafting producers and they just made their "debut" showing at a featured dinner at the historically famous Four Seasons Restaurant in new york this past friday and now the second showing here - at biondivino this wednesday. amazing. why i think this is so unusual is that Giovanni Arcari believes so much in his wines he air freighted them here for this event and flew from ny to sf on the recommendation of Jeremy Parzen to present his wines here at biondivino. i have never tasted the wines, have never met Giovanni and what i know about the wineries comes from a leap of blind faith in the trust of my friends palates. the friends being Jeremy Parzen and Franco Ziliani. Jeremy 'introduced' me to Giovanni via email. he told me how he and Franco (Franco is from Brescia - land of Franciacorta) had a tasting of Giovanni's wines in Italy and were "blown away". as you know, i do not believe in parker - points - spectator etc... but, i do believe in Jeremy and Franco and when they say something is good --- it is. period. without any other motives involved they constantly promote great Italian wines. With that same spirit in mind when someone here asked me "what's the point? the wines are not available for sale (yet), not imported (yet) why do it?" my response, "so what!" - these are the wines you want to try - the truly undiscovered gems - the wines that stir a little buzz of anticipation inside creating a feeling and somehow a knowing... that these are the wines that could be great - pure, untouched by marketing and that you are among the first to discover them i always feel you'll never learn anything unless you open yourself to trying. i want people to try something new - learn something different - gain an understanding of themselves through something wonderful --- one way is through wine, with nothing to gain but knowledge, understanding and enjoyment. So, with some additional help from my friend Antonio Tartaglione, who has a like mind and passion where wine is concerned, we have "samples" here for you to become among the first in America, to taste these rare hand-crafted wines from Lombardia's Franciacorta. (additional information on the wines/franciacorta below) _____________________ I sincerely hope you will join us this Wednesday for a unique opportunity with Giovanni Arcari we will be tasting these 9 wines from 3 wineries: Azienda Vitivinicola Camossi di Camossi Dario e Claudio e C. S.S. Franciacorta Brut DOCG Franciacorta Brut Saten DOCG Franciacorta Brut Rosè DOCG Azienda Agricola Colline della Stella di Arici Andrea società agricola S.S. Franciacorta Dosaggio Zero DOCG Franciacorta Dosaggio Zero Rosè DOCG Azienda Agricola Cantrina di Inganni Cristina NEPOMUCENO 2005 IGT Benaco bresciano Rosso (merlot, marzemino, rebo) RINE' 2007 IGT Benaco Bresciano Bianco (Riesling, chardonnay, incrocio manzoni) SOLE DI DARIO 2005 VINO DA TAVOLA bianco-dolce ( uve appassite : sauvignon, semillon, riesling) ERETICO 2005 VINO DA TAVOLA rosso - dolce (uve appassite di Pinot nero ) wednesday 25th of march 6-8pm biondivino wine boutique 1415 green street 415.673.2320 $10. tasting Giovanni and Franciacorta I spoke earlier with Jeremy - looking for more information on these wineries as he has first hand experience and the web is turning up nothing. Jeremy said, "these franciacorta's are equivalent to grower champagne, but they show the terroir of Lombardia and that Franciacorta can stand on it's own - with it's own style not mimicking the terroir of Champagne and separating itself from being constantly called "the little sister to Champagne". He told me that Giovanni who is also a winemaker, worked with the wineries he represents and convinced them that rather than sell their fruit to the larger franciacorta producers, that they should instead use their fruit and start producing their own wines. He is OBSESSED with disgorgement - and believes that knowing when the wine should be disgorged is the key and magic touchto producing great sparkling wines.Here is a link to many articles Franco has included on Giovanni Link (you'll need to use the translate tool, but well worth the read) and a link to information on the region click here.
03 23 2009
this wednesday march 25th 6-8pm - giovanni arcari presents the wine of franciacorta ____________________ this will probably be the most unusual tasting we have had at biondivino. i don't know how to express in words how unique this tasting will be - but, i'll try... the wines we will be showing, are NOT imported into the US, they are from exceptionally small hand-crafting producers and they just made their "debut" showing at a featured dinner at the historically famous Four Seasons Restaurant in new york this past friday and now the second showing here - at biondivino this wednesday. amazing. why i think this is so unusual is that Giovanni Arcari believes so much in his wines he air freighted them here for this event and flew from ny to sf on the recommendation of Jeremy Parzen to present his wines here at biondivino. i have never tasted the wines, have never met Giovanni and what i know about the wineries comes from a leap of blind faith in the trust of my friends palates. the friends being Jeremy Parzen and Franco Ziliani. Jeremy 'introduced' me to Giovanni via email. he told me how he and Franco (Franco is from Brescia - land of Franciacorta) had a tasting of Giovanni's wines in Italy and were "blown away". as you know, i do not believe in parker - points - spectator etc... but, i do believe in Jeremy and Franco and when they say something is good --- it is. period. without any other motives involved they constantly promote great Italian wines. With that same spirit in mind when someone here asked me "what's the point? the wines are not available for sale (yet), not imported (yet) why do it?" my response, "so what!" - these are the wines you want to try - the truly undiscovered gems - the wines that stir a little buzz of anticipation inside creating a feeling and somehow a knowing... that these are the wines that could be great - pure, untouched by marketing and that you are among the first to discover them i always feel you'll never learn anything unless you open yourself to trying. i want people to try something new - learn something different - gain an understanding of themselves through something wonderful --- one way is through wine, with nothing to gain but knowledge, understanding and enjoyment. So, with some additional help from my friend Antonio Tartaglione, who has a like mind and passion where wine is concerned, we have "samples" here for you to become among the first in America, to taste these rare hand-crafted wines from Lombardia's Franciacorta. (additional information on the wines/franciacorta below) _____________________ I sincerely hope you will join us this Wednesday for a unique opportunity with Giovanni Arcari we will be tasting these 9 wines from 3 wineries: Azienda Vitivinicola Camossi di Camossi Dario e Claudio e C. S.S. Franciacorta Brut DOCG Franciacorta Brut Saten DOCG Franciacorta Brut Rosè DOCG Azienda Agricola Colline della Stella di Arici Andrea società agricola S.S. Franciacorta Dosaggio Zero DOCG Franciacorta Dosaggio Zero Rosè DOCG Azienda Agricola Cantrina di Inganni Cristina NEPOMUCENO 2005 IGT Benaco bresciano Rosso (merlot, marzemino, rebo) RINE' 2007 IGT Benaco Bresciano Bianco (Riesling, chardonnay, incrocio manzoni) SOLE DI DARIO 2005 VINO DA TAVOLA bianco-dolce ( uve appassite : sauvignon, semillon, riesling) ERETICO 2005 VINO DA TAVOLA rosso - dolce (uve appassite di Pinot nero ) wednesday 25th of march 6-8pm biondivino wine boutique 1415 green street 415.673.2320 $10. tasting Giovanni and Franciacorta I spoke earlier with Jeremy - looking for more information on these wineries as he has first hand experience and the web is turning up nothing. Jeremy said, "these franciacorta's are equivalent to grower champagne, but they show the terroir of Lombardia and that Franciacorta can stand on it's own - with it's own style not mimicking the terroir of Champagne and separating itself from being constantly called "the little sister to Champagne". He told me that Giovanni who is also a winemaker, worked with the wineries he represents and convinced them that rather than sell their fruit to the larger franciacorta producers, that they should instead use their fruit and start producing their own wines. He is OBSESSED with disgorgement - and believes that knowing when the wine should be disgorged is the key and magic touchto producing great sparkling wines.Here is a link to many articles Franco has included on Giovanni Link (you'll need to use the translate tool, but well worth the read) and a link to information on the region click here.