Roasted Bone Marrow, Roasted Yard Long Beans, Campanelle Pork Sugo

ROASTED BONE MARROW

Canoe cut bone marrow.  3 oz portion served in the bone.

Roasted garlic puree, Burgundy snails, pickled shallot, parsley, chives, bread crumb, espelette, fennel pollen.

Roasted Garlic Puree: Roasted garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Pickled Shallot: Rice wine vinegar, sugar, salt, water

Burgundy Snails

The bone marrow is roasted in the pizza oven along with snails butter. finished with garlic puree, lemon juice, snails, bread crumb,spice and herbs.  Served with warm crostini.

Allergies: Allium, gluten (can be omitted), citrus, shellfish


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Roasted Yard Long Beans $9

calabrian chili and white anchovy vinaigrette, mint and basil

Yard long beans: grown in California year round.  They are similar to a green bean but longer, not as sweet, much more vegetal.

Vinaigrette: Calabrian chili, raw garlic, white anchovy, lemon juice, grape seed oil.

Service: Beans will be griller at service. Once cooked, the kitchen will toss them in the vinaigrette, lemon juice, olive oil, mint and basil.  

Allergies:  Fin fish, nightshades, alliums,

*They will need to be served with a steak knife

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Campanelle Pork Sugo 12/18

Pork sugo, black Tuscan Kale, Venetian spices, parmesan

Campanelle:  A house-made extruded pasta that is made with Semolina,00 pasta flour, durum flour, and water. The shape’s english translation is bell flower, and derivation is Tuscan.  There are many different myths, legends and stories that tell of when and how the city of Florence was founded and the subsequent origin of Gigli. For example, Florence was formed during the period of the so-called ‘flower celebration’ honoring the goddess Flora. Another tells that Gigli pasta was inspired because the city is named after its founder Florinus da Cellino – Florentia being Latin for ‘flowering’.

Venetian spice: Cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, paprika, cumin, coriander

Pork sugo: The sugo “sauce” is made from pork shoulder.  The meat is diced, caramelized in a pan with Venetian spices, onion, carrots, fennel, garlic, salt and pepper. The sugo is then deglazed with white wine and a fortified chicken brodo.  The sauce is then let to stew in the oven at low temperature for 3 hours.

Service: The sugo is reduced, black tuscan kale is added with the pasta.  The dish is finish with butter, lemon, parsley, chives, and parmesan.  

Allergies: Pork, alliums, gluten, dairy, cinnamon, nightshades, red bell peppers

2014 Maison Roche de Bellene Savigny-les-Beaune

2014 Maison Roche de Bellene Savigny-les-Beaune

Who: Nicolas Potel
What: 100% Pinot Noir
Where: Savigny-les-Beaune, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France
Tastes Like: Bright cherries and dried purple flowers on the nose, hint of barnyard.  Medium-minus in body, with silky smooth tannins.  Tastes just like you think it will from the nose.
Pairs With: Classic is duck, but excellent with poultry, rabbit sugo, Etruscan Pizza.

The Who:
Maison Roche de Bellene is the négociant (making wine with fruit from other growers) of Nicolas Potel, the well-known and highly regarded winemaker in Burgundy. Founded in 2009, the emphasis at Roche de Bellene is on individual terroirs from vieilles vignes (old vines — 40 years or older) that are farmed responsibly. All of the growers that Nicolas works with are either BIO certified or farming according to the principles of lutte raisonée (“sustainable viticulture”). This enables Nicolas to consistently produce the expressive, terroir-driven style that is his vision.
Nicolas and his winemaker work closely with the growers to make decisions about vineyard practices, crop reduction (“green harvest”), harvest dates and the fermentation regimen. As soon as the fermentations are complete, the wines are put into Bellene barrels and the élevage is done by Nicolas at the Roche de Bellene facility.  Though a negociant, Roche de Bellene focuses their production on boutique, village-level wine, with some holdings at the premier cru level.

The Where: 
Savigny-lès-Beaune is a small village near Beaune that produces delightful red and white wines under its own appellation name. Cut by a river, the vineyards on its southern side have sandy soils that result in charming, floral reds. Premier Cru vineyards on this side include Les Peuillets, Les Narbantons, Les Rouvrettes and Les Marconnets.
On Savigny’s northern side, vineyards are planted on rocky soils and produce juicy and spicy Pinot noir. The village’s best whites, all made of Chardonnay, are full on the palate and abound in texture, complexity and freshness.

The Wine:
The village of Savigny-les-Beaune is in a side valley, a bit to the west of Beaune. This wine comes from a naturally low-yielding vineyard parcel that is 64 years old. Gentle vinification with indigenous yeast and 14 months of barrel aging give the wine a very fruity aroma and a broader structure that is typical of the somewhat more rustic style of this appellation.

2015 Schloss Gobelsburger Gruner Langenlois

Who: Michael Moosbrugger
What: 100% Gruner Veltliner
Where: Langenlois, Kamptal, Austria
Tastes Like: Aromas of cedar, jasmine, and lime peel.  Medium-minus, coats the palate but has a short finish.  Gorgeous, unique combination of tropical citrus with oak-derived creaminess.
Pairs With: Life.  But really, brussels, any pizza, the lobster fra diavolo, Red Sauce Sunday…...

The Who:
SCHLOSS GOBELSBURG, a Cistercian monastic estate, is one of the oldest wineries in the Austrian Danube area with a documented history that dates back to 1171. All the vineyards are located on slopes and terraces around the valley of the river Kamp near the town of Langenlois and the village of Gobelsburg. Schloss Gobelsburg specialises in Grüner Veltliner and Riesling and produces authentic and noble wines from different single vineyard, village and regional appellations. The winery is member of the association 'Österreichische Traditionsweingüter', which is working on a vineyard classification project for the Danube area.

Since 1996, the winery has been run by Michael Moosbrugger (Falstaff Winemaker of the Year 2006, Golden Glass Sweden 2007). As a winemaker, he is particularly interested in the vineyard’s most important varieties, Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, which exhibit very different characteristics. Besides the classic Kamp valley wines, which are bottled in the GOBELSBURGER series, Mr Moosbrugger also focuses on different soil types that are represented by single vineyard wines (SCHLOSS GOBELSBURG). The latest development is the study of winemaking during the winery’s past eras, from which the Grüner Veltliner tradition has evolved. At the Gobelsburg estate, the tradition of 19th-century vinification is both incorporated and honoured

The Wine:
Langenlois is the centre of the appellation Kamptal and is one of the historical and cultural centers of wine in Austria.  The gentle hills around the historical city are known for producing wines of great quality.  Loess--Alpine material sedimented over the past 2 million years--is the fundamental component of this wine.  Soil expression is of the utmost importance, and the wine is made from grapes on the younger vines in some of the Weingut’s finest vineyards.  The wine is harvest late in October, and ages in mostly steel with some Austrian Oak casks until March, when it is bottled. 

2014 Badine de La Patache Pomerol

2014 Badine de La Patache Pomerol

Who: Peter Kwok
What: 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc
Where: Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
Tastes Like: Black & redcurrants, leather, and graphite on the nose.  Smooth and silky, waves of red fruit, dusty earth, and baking spices on the palate.
Pairs With: Game, mushrooms, roasts and stews. 

The Where:
The much-vaunted appellation of Pomerol is both the proverbial black sheep and flashy new kid on Bordeaux’s block. It’s more expensive, doesn’t hold any type of classification ranking system (there are no Grand or Premier Cru vineyards), and covers a truly tiny area--only 3 square miles! Despite all this, many châteaux have released some of the world’s finest wines here (Pétrus being the most famous example), and almost all of them share a sense of prestige and mysticism.

And yet, one of the major advantages of Pomerol is that you can, albeit with a lot of hunting, find affordable gems that are within striking distance of the world’s finest Merlot-growing sites. Even better, Pomerol as a whole is much more enjoyable in its youth than its Cabernet-heavy neighbors on the Left Bank, but can still age with the best classed growths.

The Who:
Château la Patache comes from just 3 hectares of land along Pomerol’s most prominent stretch of road.  Purchased by Peter Kwok and his son in 2012, their vines are divided into nine separate parcels, some of which hold proximity to high end vine real estate like Château Clinet and Latour á Pomerol, and yields are kept deliberately low.  The soil is complex, with a gravelly upper layer supported by iron-rich clays known locally as “crasse de fer”. 

La Patache is a locality on the road connecting Bordeaux and Lyon, whose name evokes the coaches which traveled between the cities in the 19th century.  “La Patache” first appeared on Napoleonic maps.  The original stone buildings are a former post office at th entrance of LIbourne.  The stables were renovated in 2012, with a modern winery and barrel cellar installed.

The Wine:
Château La Patache’s holdings are predominately Merlot and today’s 2014—their ‘second wine,’ which is essentially their Grand Vin with slightly less oak influence and aging—is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The soils are plowed, vines are maintained by hand, and harvest varies from plot to plot depending on the state of the individual berries.  Grapes picked by hand and are rigorously sorted for quality. Following a multi-week fermentation in the winery (25% stainless steel, 75% Bordeaux cask), the wine is transferred into 20% new French oak for 15 months. Only 540 cases were produced.  Though pleasing to drink now, bottles of this wine could be cellared for 5-10 years with ease. 

Red Wine BTG -- Fall 2018

2016 Le Coeur de la Reine

What: 100% Gamay
Who: Rudolphe & Ludivine Marteau; Vincent Leclair
Where: Cher Valley, Touraine AOC, Loire Valley, France
Tastes Like:  Bright berry aromas dominate in this light bodied red. On the palate, ripe red fruit flavors (strawberry and raspberry especially) are accented by a delicate spicy note. Smooth and mellow, delicious with just a bit of a chill.
Pairs With: Mild cheeses; Spag Amatriciana; Red Sauce Sunday; Summer; Good Times. 

The Who:
A collaboration with Rodolphe & Ludivine Marteau and Vincent Leclair - both fourth generation families in Touraine. The Marteaus took over their family’s estate in 2010 which is a 29 hectare property is located on South bank of the river Cher, on siliceous-argilo (clay and flint) soils. Vincent assumed leadership in 2014 at his family’s 45 hectare estate in Pouillé, in the Cher Valley.

The Where:
The Touraine AOC stretches from the outer limits of the Anjou region to the gateways of the Sologne, in an area of confluence formed by the Loire river and its tributaries. The soils in the Touraine are very varied, with “perruches” (clay mixed with flint), “aubuis” (argilo-calcareous on a chalky subsoil) and sands on clays in the East. The influence of the sea in the West gradually takes on a continental character as you proceed Eastwards. These climatic differences combined with the different soils determine the selection of grape varieties grow

The Wine:
The vines average 30 years in age and are meticulously tended by the family. Short-cane pruning, selective ploughing, spring de-budding, deleafing, grass cover throughout the vineyard and green harvest practices all lend to limited yields and best quality fruit at harvest.  Harvested by hand with vinification in stainless steel tanks including 8 days carbonic. Elevage in tank until release.

2017 Vietti Barbera d’Asti

Who: Lucca Currado

What: 100% Barbera

Where: Asti, Piedmont, Italy

Tastes Like: Barolo Light!  Strong but integrated tannin with a light to medium body.  Dried fruits and purple flowers, hint of barnyard.

Pairs With: Pates and terrines; Conchiglie with rabbit sugo; Rigatoni and mushrooms

The Who:

The history of the Vietti winery traces its roots back to the 19th Century. Only at the beginning of the 20th century, however, did the Vietti name become a winery offering its own wines in bottle.

Patriarch Mario Vietti, starting from 1919 made the first Vietti wines, selling most of the production in Italy. His most significant achievement was to transform the family farm, engaged in many fields, into a grape-growing and wine-producing business.

Then, in 1952, Alfredo Currado (Luciana Vietti’s husband) continued to produce high quality wines from their own vineyards and purchased grapes. The Vietti winery grew to one of the top-level producers in Piemonte and was one of the first wineries to export its products to the USA market.

Alfredo was one of the first to select and vinify grapes from single vineyards (such as Brunate, Rocche and Villero). This was a radical concept at the time, but today virtually every vintner making Barolo and Barbaresco wines offers “single vineyard” or “cru-designated” wines.

Alfredo is also called the “father of Arneis” as in 1967 he invested a lot of time to rediscover and understand this nearly-lost variety. Today Arneis is the most famous white wine from Roero area, north of Barolo. Setting such a fine example with Arneis, even fellow vintners as far away those on the west coast of the United States now are cultivating and producing Arneis!

The Wine:

 The vineyard is located in the Scarrone area, from the oldest portion of the vineyard, facing south-east. We can count approximately 4300 plants per hectare.

The naturally low yields, due to the age, are further reduced by a strict selection of the grapes.

Vinification starts with a short period of cold maceration followed by 2 weeks of alcoholic fermentation in steel vats, with regular pumping overs. After this, the wine macerates for another week, then it is racked and it is moved to oak for malolactic.

Ageing: 18 months in big oak cask, barriques and steel tanks.

2015 Inama Piu Carmenere

Who: Matteo, Alessio, and Luca Inama

What: 75% Carmenere, 25% Merlot

Where: Soave Classico zone, Veneto

Tastes Like: Vivid purple, with a strong nose of dark cherry, cocoa, and violets.  Fresh and lively on the palate, elegant tannins, and bright fruits characterize this medium plus wine.

Pairs with: Grilled pork, sopressa and other italian cured meats, anything smokey.  BBQ.   

The Who & Where:

The winemaking philosophy of Inama is guided by three points: one, that terroir is the most important point in determining a wine’s style; two, a wine’s caliber is determined by the strength of the ecosystem it is grown in, particularly the soil; and three, improvement is a difficult and continuous journey.  The Inama estate is family owned, and is now being run by the third generation.  The first plot of land on Monte Foscarino was purchased in 1965, but the Vulcaia Fume label did not enter the market for another 30 years.  

The family’s holdings are nestled in the Veneto, between the two provinces of Verona and Vicenza.  The region is marked by gently rolling hills, often forming natural amphitheaters perfectly suited to growing grapes.  They own vineyards in both of the nearby territories: Soave Classico, birthplace of ancient and mineral white wines, and the Colli Berici, wild home of red wines.  

The Wine:

Carmenere is a new grape to the Veneto, and the winemakers strive to make an alternative to the Valpolicella.  Inama is the first estate to create an important project with the Carmenere in the Colli Berici area and to give an identity to this variety with a new DOC: Colli Berici Carmenere Riserva (see: Oratorio di San Lorenzo).  This product, at the moment, has no competitors in Europe.  All the vineyards are set up to produce reserve wines, and each season the winemakers decide which plot will be used for the reserve wines and which for the entry-level wines.  

Più’ means ‘more’ in Italian and there’s more than just Carmenere in this typical blend from the Colli Berici, a line of gently rolling volcanic hills in Italy’s north-east. Merlot is a civilising influence, the plummy accent and refined tannins marry well with a touch of French oak. The iron-rich clay soil of the vineyards over a limestone base is perfect for Bordeaux varieties, of which Carmenere is the long-lost cousin.  A southerly exposure ensures ripeness.

All varieties are 100% destemmed. After 12 days’ maceration in upright stainless fermenters with internal paddles the must is racked and malo occurs in steel. The wine is aged in 2nd fill French oak barriques for 12 months. 

2012 La Rioja Alta, S.A. “Viña Alberdi” Reserva

Who: Julio Sáenz

What: 100% Tempranillo 

Where: Haro, La Rioja Alta, Spain

Tastes Like: Rich, smokey, and lush, with raisinated fruits and tobacco notes.

Pairs With: BBQ, pasta, grilled vegetables and meats

La Rioja Alta and the Winery:

Rioja has a long tradition of winemaking stretching back thousands of years.  The arrival of the phylloxera blights of the 1800’s contributed to the elevation of Rioja into the internationally recognized region that it is now.  La Rioja Alta was founded in 1890 by 5 enterprising Spanish and Basque families, in part to capitalize on this shift in demand: with Bordeaux devastated, full bodied reds needed to be found elsewhere.  Mindful of the nature of impermanence, the five families drew up a constitution formalizing the creation of the Sociedad Vinícola de la Rioja Alta and signed it on July 10, 1890.

 

The document, which set out how they would pool resources, craft their wines and make decisions on growing the company, would guide them and future generations. The company’s first president was a woman and its first winemaker a Frenchman. Today, representatives of the fifth generation of all five families are still shareholders in the enterprise and among the social issues it presses today, with its considerable clout, are equal rights for women and the industry’s responsibility for the care of immigrants working its vineyards, and caring for the environment.

Though the region suffered from a drop in reputation mid-century from less scrupulous winemakers flooding the market with mediocre wine, La Rioja Alta has never let their standards of quality or adherence to local tradition slip.  

Few dispute that La Rioja Alta S.A. is the leading quality-oriented producer in the Rioja. With more than 50,000 casks and 6.4 million bottles stored at any one time, the equivalent of about 8 years sales, La Rioja Alta S.A. is unique in its ability to supply large quantities of fully mature wines of world class quality.  They currently own 400 hectares of estate-grown vineyards, believing that great wine comes from an understanding of the terroir and annual experience in the vineyard.  The majority of their plantings are tempranillo, with limited cultivation of other local varietals Graciano, Garnacha, and Mazuelo.  Yields are kept low.  The winemakers take a very hands-on approach to winemaking, embracing modern technology to maintain control over the fermentation process.  

Oak aging is a signature part of the local style, and Vina Alberdi embraces it.  They have an on site cooperage, importing American oak and producing all necessary barrels by hand, using artisan techniques, in the 100-year-old winery in Haro.  All wines spend the the first year in new oak, and the following year in barrels that are 2-3 years old.  Every six months they manually rack the wines (transfer the wine from 1 barrel to another barrel to leave behind unwanted sediment) by candlelight.  Final aging takes place in the bottle.  

The Wine:

Plots for the Reserva are selected from Las Monjas, El Palo and Las Cuevas vineyards in Rodezno and Alto del Rey in Labastida and then manually harvested in late September. After carefully putting the grapes in boxes, they are transported to the winery in refrigerated transport for destemming and light crushing. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation took place naturally in tanks and the resulting wines were prepared for a new blend in January 2013. The wine was aged for two years in American oak barrels manufactured in-house; the first year in new oak and the second in barrels averaging three years in age. The wine was manually racked four times by the light of a candle and was finally bottled in December 2015.

2015 Chateau Val-Joanis Luberon

Who: 

What: 100% Syrah

Where: Luberon, Rhone, France

Tastes Like: Dried cherries & roses, barnyard.  Hint of poopoo on the nose.  Earthy, full, brambly on the palate but very much in balance. 

Pairs With: Cocoa Linguine; roasted meats.  Give me a ribeye any day.

The Who:

Situated on the site on an ancient roman villa, Château Val Joanis was originally the property of Jean de Joanis, secretary to King Louis III of Naples.   The chateau dates back to at least the 16th century, but fell into ruin from the 1800’s onward.  The property was purchased in 1977 by Jean-Louis Chancel, who over the next 20 years planted 185 hectares of vines on the property.  Today the estate covers approximately 990 acres of Luberon countryside and is filled with picturesque gardens, olive groves and rolling hillsides covered in vines. 310 acres of vineyards are planted on clay-limestone slopes, which benefit from the hot sunny days and the cool nights of this part of the Rhone. The nature of the soil and the favorable climate allow Château Val Joanis to produce powerful, yet elegant red wines and fruit-driven rosés made from Syrah and Grenache. The vineyards at Val Joanis are at an altitude only matched by Chateneuf de Pape and Condrieu, two of the most sought after red wines in the world, never mind the Rhone.  The grapes are organically farmed. 

The Where:

Located in the southeast corner of the Rhône Valley, the Côtes du Luberon is a wild and untamed mountain appellation where vines grow at an altitude between 650-1,500 feet. The terroir is rich in clay and limestone soils, giving the wines freshness. The climate is a mix of Rhone influences and benefits from the cooler temperatures of the high Provençal plateau. Here, Château Val Joanis sits on a 1,000 acre estate and features one of the oldest operating vineyards in the Luberon area.  

White Wine BTG -- Fall 2018

2016 Granbazán “Etiqueta Verde” Albarino 

Who: Manuel Otero Candeira
What: 100% Albarino
Where: Rias Baixas (Ree-ass Bye-shass), Spain
Tastes Like: Light and crisp, floral, tree fruit (apples and pears), with a dry finish.
Pairs With: Very versatile; white pizzas, light pastas.


Rias Baixas:
The Rias Baixas DO was founded in 1988.  Though there are 12 permitted varietals, Albarino dominates, making up 90% of the region’s production.  The climate is Atlantic, with wet winters and sea fog. In general rainfall is high and the temperatures mild: maximum temperatures in summer rarely usually exceed 30 °C and only drop to 0 °C in December and January.

The coldest areas are Ribera do Ulla and Val do Salnés due to their proximity to the coast. The warmest is Condado do Tea where temperatures in summer sometimes approach 40 °C, but the winters are cold with frequent frosts and rainfall of over 2,000 mm a year. Granbazan is located in the Val do Salnés, located on the lower reaches of the river Umia and centred on the town of Cambados. The landscape is of low undulating hills and the vineyards are planted both on the slopes and on the flat valley floors. The soil is generally rocky and alluvial.

The Winery:
The Granbazán story starts in the 1960s when Manuel Otero y Otero bought a land parcel planted with eucalyptus wood and feed for cattle. An entrepreneur, Otero dreamed of expanding the family's business of fine foods to fine wines. In the 1980s, his son, Manuel Otero Candeira, realized his dream with the construction of Granbazán, a chateau with a magnificent building surrounded by pergola trained vines. Granbazán’s attention to detail and high quality wine has been instrumental in the quality revolution in Galicia as well as in raising the reputation of Rias Baixas wines to their rightful place among the top white wines of the world.

The Granbazán winery is located in Vilanova de Arousa, very close to Cambados, the "World Albariño Capital." The soils here have a high granite content, grown 262.4 feet above sea level, with over 60 in. of annual rainfall. The maritime influence is very intense, providing a distinctive salty aftertaste, and a consistent ripening cycle. Harvest takes place the second half of September.The fruit is hand-picked, then gently de-stemmed and cooled for 8 hours at low temperatures in rotary macerators. Alcoholic fermentation takes place with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks.

Minimal invasive viticulture is a key practice to capture the elusive essence of the Albariño grape. The ranges of wines produced at Granbazán have a common soul with crisp citrus fruit, and in some wines peach and green apple flavors, bakery aromas and a light musk fragrance. The leading wines are Granbazán Ambar and the Granbazán Verde. Ambar is produced from the property's oldest vines with a gentle lees aging and 100% free-run juice, while the Granbazán Verde is very softly pressed, to produce a typical Salnes Valley Albariño style: dry, crisp and salty.  It is aged on the lees for no less than four months before bottling.

2017 Catine LaSelva Vermentino

Who: Roland Krebser

What: 100% Vermentino

Where: Maremma Toscana, Tuscany, Italy

Tastes Like: Green apples and tropical fruits, with some salinity and savory notes in the finish.   

Pairs With: Everything out of the ocean!  Maremma pizza (yum with that feta!), lobster fra diavolo.

The Who:

Cantine LaSelva is situated in the heart of the rolling Maremma hills in southern Tuscany, near the Tyrrhenian Sea.  Their 25 hectares of vineyards have been certified organic for more than 30 years.  While primarily devoted to the production of Sangiovese, the Cantina also vinifies limited amounts of Vermentino, Ciliegiolo, Pugnitello, Malvasia Nera, Ansonica, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Alicante and Petit Verdot.  The vineyards are predominantly on a slope, with good airflow from the nearby sea.  Soils are made up a mixture of mineral, calcareous and clayey soils, galestro, alberese and erosion rocks, covered by reddish brown clay.  The area feature hot summers mitigated by ocean breezes and wet, chilly winters.  

The winery (the small square building with the green roof in the the picture above) is mostly underground to protect the aging wines from exposure to the heat of the Tuscan summer.

The Where:

Maremma, only a two-hour drive southwest of the city of Florence, covers an area that roughly corresponds to the coastal province of Grosseto. An extensive and largely undeveloped territory, it stands in stark contrast to the compact, ordered Chianti hillsides around Florence and Siena that have been the traditional draw for visiting wine lovers.  The heart of the Maremma region, near the village of Magliano, is a terrain of softly rolling hills covered by olive groves and vineyards, oak and cypress woods and wide-open fields of poppies and cornflowers. To an American, it may look more like coastal California than traditional Italy, and indeed, it could one day become the Napa Valley of Italy.  

The Maremmani--as the locals are called-have been making wine for centuries, mainly working with Tuscany’s staple red grape, Sangiovese.  The local clone, known as Morellino, is used to produce the region’s mainstay red, Morellino di Scansano.  Morellinos are mainly early-drinking reds that are a softer and moderately priced alternative to others from Tuscany.  “Maremma has a particular microclimate,” explains Adolfo Parentini, manager of historic producer Moris Farms.  “It’s similar to that of Sicily, but less severe.  The sun gives soft tannins, and this is what the modern consumer is looking for.  But the softness here is a product of the vineyard, not the winery.”  The coastal climate also makes for excellent, ripe white wines that are natural pairings with the local seafood.

The Wine:

The wine is 100% Vermentino, a grape native to the Maremma Toscana DOC.  It is fermented in steel and then aged in steel tanks for 6 months and 1 month in bottle prior to release.  Vermentino releases skip vintages, with only a handful made since 2010.  

2017 Dama del Rovere “Tremenalto” Soave Classico

Who: Massimo & Davide Pra 

What: 100% Garganega

Where: Monteforte d’Alpone, Soave Classico DOC, Veneto, Italy

Tastes Like: Florals, bitter almond, tree fruits.  Medium bodied, but clean finishing.

Pairs With: Lighter pastas, seafood, veggie pizzas.  Etruscan & Lecco sound lovely with this.

The Who:

From its perch at the top the Tremenalto hills, Dama del Rovere sets itself apart from the rest of the Soave zone with high-altitude vineyards, strict attention to yields and vibrant character-rich white wines that are the benchmarks of quality for the Soave Classico appellation.  The Pra family owns and works in one of the highest-altitude cellars in the entire Veneto, some 1500 feet above sea level.  Family-owned vineyards, dedicated to local grape varietals Garganega and Durella, also share this wind-swept, refined perch.  Winemaker MAssimo Pra and his brother, Davide, represent the fourth generation of vine growers from their family.  The winery’s name reflects both the family’s dedication to their craft and to local culture.  “Dama” is a shortening of Davide and Massimo; yet it also means “lady,” in reference to a votive Madonna carved into an oak tree (“rovere”) located in the Tremenalto vineyard.

The Wine:

 All grapes come from the Tremenalto vineyard planted on the slopes of Monte Calvarina, an inactive volcano, near the city of Verona within the classico zone.  The vineyard features and east-north east exposure, and the volcanic soils are rich in minerals and ideal for the cultivation of native grapes garganega and durella.  The vines range in age from 1945 to 2008.  They are tended by hand throughout the growing season, and the family practices sustainable farming, avoiding pesticides and herbicides whenever possible.  Harvest is exclusively done by hand, and starts much later than with lower-land vineyards.  Massimo says once “regular” Soave vineyards are finished with the harvest, it’s time for him to start.  Grapes are pressed gently and fermented on indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks.  The wine is aged on fine lees.

The Where:

The Soave DOC was created in 1968 with boundaries revised and expanded periodically over the next few decades. The region is situated in the eastern part of the hills near Verona in the Veneto.  The climate of the area is influenced by the mists that flow from the Po Valley in the autumn and can bring viticultural hazards of mold and other diseases.  The Garganega grape, the primary component of Soave, is a late-ripening variety with a thick skin that can withstand the mist better than some of the other thinner skinned varieties of the region, such as Trebbiano. Within the Soave zone is a smaller region referred to as “Soave Classico,” which is reserved for the product made from grapes harvested from the hillside vineyards around the municipalities of Soave and Monteforte d’Alpone in the original and oldest classic “zone” of Verona. The vineyard soils of this region are considerably less fertile than the alluvial soils in the plains. In the western part of the classico zone near the commune of Soave the soils contain a high percentage of limestone which retains the warmth of the afternoon sun and helps produce fuller, more fruit-forward wines. In the eastern vineyards near Monteforte d'Alpone, the soils are made of decomposed volcanic rock that tends to produce what wine expert Jancis Robinson calls "steelier" wines.

Soave saw a peak of popularity in the US during the mid-20th century Italian wine boom that followed the end of WWII.  Driven by the marketing efforts of large bulk producers, Soave even surpassed Chianti in the 1970s as the largest-selling Italian DOC wine in the US.  Popularity waned toward the end of the century due to the combination of a glut of poorly-made wine, a new-found popularity of Italian Pinot Grigio beginning in the late 80’s, and the entrance of relatively inexpensive southern-Italian DOC’s to the market.

2016 Leitz “Dragonstone” Riesling

Who: Josi Leitz

What: 100% Riesling

Where: Johannisburg, Rheingau, Germany

Tastes Like: Floral, tropical, hint of slate and petrol on the nose.  Lush, honeyed and tasting of nectarines in the front, with balancing acids and tannins in the finish.  Medium plus bodied.

Pairs With: Cheeses, spicy foods. 

The Who:

Josi Leitz took over his father’s winery, Weingut Joseph Leitz in 1985.  Since taking the helm, he has expanded the family’s holdings from 2.6 hectares (a hectare is roughly the size of a football field) to over 40, including many of the Grand Cru vineyards in the area.  

The Where:

The Rheingau is a small region, stretching only 20 miles from east to west. It is marked by a course change in the Rhein River’s flow to the North Sea from its origins in the Swiss Alps. As the Rhein flows north along the eastern edge of the Pfalz and Rheinhessen, it runs directly into the Taunus Mountain range which has a subsoil comprised of pure crystalline quartzite. Rivers, no matter how mighty, are lazy and the Rhine has yet to break through the quartz infrastructure surrounding the town of Mainz. At Mainz, the Rhein turns west and the 30 km stretch between Mainz and Rüdesheim makes up the majority of the Rheingau. Even though the region is further north than the middle Mosel, its south facing slopes get hotter than the narrow Mosel Valley which therefore provides important diurnal temperature variation.

Leitz’s estate vineyards lie entirely on the westernmost part of the Rheingau on the Rüdesheimer Berg—a steep, south-facing hillside of extremely old slate and quartzite—planted entirely to riesling, encompassing the Grand Crus of Schlossberg, Rottland, and Roseneck. Leitz trains his vines in a single-cane, cordon system to improve the quality and character of the fruit, differing from the majority of Rheingau growers where the practice has long been to prioritize yield via a double-cane system. Johannes is a firm believer that the crucial work of the vigneron takes place in the vineyards. Focused on farming as sustainably as possible and working by hand, the grueling hours of labor on the ultra-steep slopes allow these ancient vineyards to reach their maximum potential.

The Wine:

The grapes are sustainably grown and hand harvested.  Fermentation occurs in stainless steel.  Coming from the Rüdesheimer Drachenstein, the pure quartzite soil, being a silicate, lends a saltiness to the orange citrus-flavored wine which buffers the acidity and counterbalances the palpable sugar.  After harvest, Josi is equally focused on working gently in the press house and ageing the wines on their gross lees. Johannes selects bottle closures to reflect, and more crucially serve, the individual cellar practices employed for each wine; Stelvin closures are used for wines raised in stainless steel to preserve freshness while wines raised in cask are bottled under cork to allow for a long development in the cellar.

2016 Domaine Sylvaine et Alain Normand Macon La Roche-Vineuse

The Who: Sylvaine and Alain Normand

The What: 100% Chardonnay

The Where: La Roche-Vineuse, Macon, Burgundy, France

Tastes Like: Brioche and warming spices give way to cooked pears and tropical fruits.  Full bodied with nice minerality in the finish, making a very food-friendly full bodied white.

Pairs With: Panzotti; Conchiglie with Pork Sugo; Lecco Pizza

Who

Sylvaine and Alain NORMAND lend all their enthusiasm to creating the best white and red wines of the Mâconnais at La Roche Vineuse: Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint Véran, Mâcon La Roche Vineuse and Bourgogne.  The estate is situated at La Roche Vineuse, a Mâconnais village nestled between the rocks of Solutré and Vergisson, the home of exceptional Terroirs which have, for generations, given rise to the most prestigious wines of southern Bourgogne.  In 2010, the estate grew considerably, from 13 to 32 hectares of vines, distributed across the villages of Solutré, Chaintré, Prissé and La Roche Vineuse.

Sylvaine and Alain Normand grow their vines with respect for their natural environment. The winegrowers control the production of grapes, respect the Terroir and produce the wine as naturally as possible on its lees.  The vintages are matured in vats for balanced or fruity wines, or in barrels for complex wines for laying down.  They are fairly unique in Burgundy, in that they use no artificial fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides.  They say that they “don't want to dominate nature, we accompany it to make it grow and to bring out the best from it!”

The Wine:

This comes from roughly 13.5 acres and is made in a distinctly artisan style with native yeast in vat and an extensive upbringing on its fine lees (that spicy zesty quality in the finish of the wine comes from this lees contact). The bottling is usually in the summer following the harvest, but can easily wait until the autumn if the wine isn’t ready. Production averages 2,500-3,000 cases in normal years.

Where:

The Mâconnais is the soul of southern Bourgogne, celebrated by its native son, the poet Lamartine. It extends over some 40 km of the Côte Chalonnaise as far as the Rock of Solutré. Lying between the rivers Saône and Grosne, its valleys and hillsides seem to make the vines welcome. Indeed, vines have been grown here since Gallo-Roman times. The town of Mâcon has strong links with the wine industry. The surrounding villages have a smiling and good-natured appearance, reminiscent of water-colour paintings, with their galleried houses and Romanesque church towers. The wines of the M CON appellation (which dates from 1937), whether red, white, or rosé may also label themselves with the name Mâcon plus the name of their commune of origin.

Separated by a serie of parallel faults, the hills of the Mâconnais are linked along axes which give them either a North/North-westerly or a South/South-easterly exposure. The vines readily take to these hillsides. Limey or calcic brown rendzinas suit the Pinot Noir grape and long-keeping Chardonnays. Elsewhere, flinty sands and clays, often mixed with “chailles” or sandstone pebbles favour the earlier-drunk Chardonnay or (in reds) the Gamay, which is equally at home on granitic soils which point up the nearby presence of the Beaujolais

2016 Leitz “Dragonstone” Riesling

2016 Leitz “Dragonstone” Riesling

Who: Josi Leitz
What: 100% Riesling
Where: Johannisburg, Rheingau, Germany
Tastes Like: Floral, tropical, hint of slate and petrol on the nose.  Lush, honeyed and tasting of nectarines in the front, with balancing acids and tannins in the finish.  Medium plus bodied.
Pairs With: Cheeses, spicy foods.

The Who:
Josi Leitz took over his father’s winery, Weingut Joseph Leitz in 1985.  Since taking the helm, he has expanded the family’s holdings from 2.6 hectares (a hectare is roughly the size of a football field) to over 40, including many of the Grand Cru vineyards in the area. 



The Where:
The Rheingau is a small region, stretching only 20 miles from east to west. It is marked by a course change in the Rhein River’s flow to the North Sea from its origins in the Swiss Alps. As the Rhein flows north along the eastern edge of the Pfalz and Rheinhessen, it runs directly into the Taunus Mountain range which has a subsoil comprised of pure crystalline quartzite. Rivers, no matter how mighty, are lazy and the Rhine has yet to break through the quartz infrastructure surrounding the town of Mainz. At Mainz, the Rhein turns west and the 30 km stretch between Mainz and Rüdesheim makes up the majority of the Rheingau. Even though the region is further north than the middle Mosel, its south facing slopes get hotter than the narrow Mosel Valley which therefore provides important diurnal temperature variation.

Leitz’s estate vineyards lie entirely on the westernmost part of the Rheingau on the Rüdesheimer Berg—a steep, south-facing hillside of extremely old slate and quartzite—planted entirely to riesling, encompassing the Grand Crus of Schlossberg, Rottland, and Roseneck. Leitz trains his vines in a single-cane, cordon system to improve the quality and character of the fruit, differing from the majority of Rheingau growers where the practice has long been to prioritize yield via a double-cane system. Johannes is a firm believer that the crucial work of the vigneron takes place in the vineyards. Focused on farming as sustainably as possible and working by hand, the grueling hours of labor on the ultra-steep slopes allow these ancient vineyards to reach their maximum potential.

The Wine:
The grapes are sustainably grown and hand harvested.  Fermentation occurs in stainless steel.  Coming from the Rüdesheimer Drachenstein, the pure quartzite soil, being a silicate, lends a saltiness to the orange citrus-flavored wine which buffers the acidity and counterbalances the palpable sugar.  After harvest, Josi is equally focused on working gently in the press house and ageing the wines on their gross lees. Johannes selects bottle closures to reflect, and more crucially serve, the individual cellar practices employed for each wine; Stelvin closures are used for wines raised in stainless steel to preserve freshness while wines raised in cask are bottled under cork to allow for a long development in the cellar.

2016 Domaine Sylvaine et Alain Normand Macon La Roche-Vineuse

2016 Domaine Sylvaine et Alain Normand Macon La Roche-Vineuse

The Who: Sylvaine and Alain Normand
The What: 100% Chardonnay
The Where: La Roche-Vineuse, Macon, Burgundy, France
Tastes Like: Brioche and warming spices give way to cooked pears and tropical fruits.  Full bodied with nice minerality in the finish, making a very food-friendly full bodied white.
Pairs With: Panzotti; Conchiglie with Pork Sugo; Lecco Pizza

Who:
Sylvaine and Alain NORMAND lend all their enthusiasm to creating the best white and red wines of the Mâconnais at La Roche Vineuse: Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint Véran, Mâcon La Roche Vineuse and Bourgogne.  The estate is situated at La Roche Vineuse, a Mâconnais village nestled between the rocks of Solutré and Vergisson, the home of exceptional Terroirs which have, for generations, given rise to the most prestigious wines of southern Bourgogne.  In 2010, the estate grew considerably, from 13 to 32 hectares of vines, distributed across the villages of Solutré, Chaintré, Prissé and La Roche Vineuse.

Sylvaine and Alain Normand grow their vines with respect for their natural environment. The winegrowers control the production of grapes, respect the Terroir and produce the wine as naturally as possible on its lees.  The vintages are matured in vats for balanced or fruity wines, or in barrels for complex wines for laying down.  They are fairly unique in Burgundy, in that they use no artificial fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides.  They say that they “don't want to dominate nature, we accompany it to make it grow and to bring out the best from it!”

The Wine:
This comes from roughly 13.5 acres and is made in a distinctly artisan style with native yeast in vat and an extensive upbringing on its fine lees (that spicy zesty quality in the finish of the wine comes from this lees contact). The bottling is usually in the summer following the harvest, but can easily wait until the autumn if the wine isn’t ready. Production averages 2,500-3,000 cases in normal years.

Where:
The Mâconnais is the soul of southern Bourgogne, celebrated by its native son, the poet Lamartine. It extends over some 40 km of the Côte Chalonnaise as far as the Rock of Solutré. Lying between the rivers Saône and Grosne, its valleys and hillsides seem to make the vines welcome. Indeed, vines have been grown here since Gallo-Roman times. The town of Mâcon has strong links with the wine industry. The surrounding villages have a smiling and good-natured appearance, reminiscent of water-colour paintings, with their galleried houses and Romanesque church towers. The wines of the M CON appellation (which dates from 1937), whether red, white, or rosé may also label themselves with the name Mâcon plus the name of their commune of origin.

Separated by a serie of parallel faults, the hills of the Mâconnais are linked along axes which give them either a North/North-westerly or a South/South-easterly exposure. The vines readily take to these hillsides. Limey or calcic brown rendzinas suit the Pinot Noir grape and long-keeping Chardonnays. Elsewhere, flinty sands and clays, often mixed with “chailles” or sandstone pebbles favour the earlier-drunk Chardonnay or (in reds) the Gamay, which is equally at home on granitic soils which point up the nearby presence of the Beaujolais

Wine Study Aide Fall 2018

WHITES

2017 Granbazan “Etiqueta Verde”
Grape: Albarino
Where: Rias Baixas, Spain
Crisp, clean, light bodied.  Green apples and tree fruits.

2017 Cantina LaSelva
Grape: Vermentino
Where:  Maremma Toscana, Italy
Dry, intense, and fruity.  Hint of black pepper and savory behind tropical fruit.  Best enjoyed young and fresh; a great pairing with seafood, white meats, or as an aperitif. 

2017 Dama del Rovere “Tremenalto” Soave Classico
Grape: Garganega
Where: Soave Classico, Veneto, Italy
All hand harvest, stainless steel fermentation.  Lighter side of medium, with a lush texture.  Florals.

2016 Leitz “Dragonstone”
Grape: Riesling
Where: Rheingau, Germany
Lots of tropical fruits!  Peach, pineapple, grapefruit, and lime.  Strong minerality and high acid keep the wine in balance despite the residual sugar.  Off dry, but versatile.

2016 Domaine Sylvaine e Alain Normand Macon La Roche-Vineuse
Grape: Chardonnay
Where: Macon La Roche, Burgundy, France
Incredibly well-balanced.  Brioche and warming spices give way to cooked pears and tropical fruits.  Full bodied with nice minerality in the finish to keep the wine very food friendly.


REDS

2016 Le Coeur de la Reine
Grape: Gamay
Where: Touraine, Loire Valley, France
Bright red fruits, hint of vanilla and spice box.  Light, bright, and flirty.

2016 Vietti Barbera d’Asti
Grape: Barbera
Where: Asti, Piedmont, Italy
Dried flowers and earth, with dried red fruits.  Light plus, excellent pizza wine.

2015 Inama “Piu”
Grape: 75% Carmenere; 25% Merlot
Where: Veneto Rosso, Italy
Vivid ruby core with a narrow purple rim.  Elegant nose of small dark berries, black pepper, and cacao.  Balanced, fresh, and flirty, fruit and spice are your dominant flavors.

2012 La Rioja Alta “Vina Alberdi” Reserva
Grape: Tempranillo
Where: Rioja Alta, Rioja, Spain
Rich, smokey, and lush, with raisinated fruits and tobacco notes.

2015 Chateau Val-Joanis “Tradition”
Grape: Syrah
Where: Luberon, Rhone, France
Earthy, barnyard, and prunes on the nose.  Layered, intense tannin; an excellent wine with meaty pastas. 

New Cocktail: Arrivederch Kiki

ARRIVEDERCH KIKI

2 Aperol

.50 amaretto

1 lime

.50 orange juice

Cava

Shake.  Top with Cava in Collins glass. Grated nutmeg.

What can I even say?  This cocktail is a parting gift from Ms. Kirsten DeChristopher.  It fits all of the hallmark qualities of that most Italian of cocktails designed to go with that most Italian of concepts: Aperitivi.  The sun goes down, let’s take a quick break from work and head to the cafe for sprizze and snacks.  And just not go back.  Though the Aperol Spritz gets all the credit in the States, Spritzing is a lifestyle choice, not a single cocktail.  It’s low ABV, to be enjoyed with friends in multiple rounds, wakes up the palette, and should always be snack friendly.  This cocktail has it all and will make me wish I’m sitting on the sidewalk at a cafe in Rome all winter long.  Arrivederci, mi Kiki.  Grazie per l’impegno!

Fall 2018 Charcuterie Descriptions - Complete

PIG BOARDS
MEATS

Prosciutto di Parma (Parma, IT)
Cured, uncooked, aged for 16 months. Allergy: Nitrates

American Ham (SP)
Boneless pork shoulder brined for two days in white wine, water, lemon, rosemary, salt, pink salt, sugar.
Marinated for two days in tomato paste, garlic puree, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, roasted red peppers, paprika
Smoked and cooked.
Allergies: Red bell peppers, alliums, nitrates, nightshades.

Duck Liver Terrine ***
Duck livers are rinsed, then seasoned overnight using salt, curing salt,  sugar, five spice.   Pork fat back is cooked in chicken stock.  Eggs are mixed with cream and corn starch. Shallots, and garlic are sweated. The Livers, pork fat back, stock egg cream mixture, and alliums are all emulsified together.  The mousse is baked and then cooled.  Finally the terrine is topped with a Madeira gelee.
The gelee has Madeira, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper and apple cider. 
Allergies: dairy, pork, nitrates, fortified wine, apple, alliums, cinnamon,

Chorizo Olympia
Made by Olympia Provision in Portland, Oregon, this is an excellent domestic example of a classic Spanish style.  Pork, pork fat, pimenton, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Pork and Veal Pate en Croute:
Farce: Ground pork, duck livers, pate spice, shallots, garlic, Thyme, madiera, congac, bread, milk, and eggs.
Inner garnish: Prunes, pistachios, chicken consomme gelee.
Pate dough: Flour, pork fat, milk and eggs

Ingredients in the farce are ground together.  The inner garnish is mixed into the meat, and then spread into a dough-lined terrine mold.  The terrine is cooked and then cooled.  The Consomme Gelee is then poured into the mold and allowed to set, helping to support the contact between the crust and the pate. 

Allergies: Dairy, Gluten, Nuts, Alliums, Stonefruit

Pork Rillette- 
Pork shoulder is cured overnight with curing salt, salt, and sugar.
The meat is cooked the next day in pork fat until tender.  The meat is then seasoned with the cooking fat, orange zest, orange juice, pink peppercorns, rosemary.
Allergies: Pork, nitrates

Bratwurst:
German style sausage that contains Pork and pork fat back, veal.  The meat is ground and seasoned with eggs, heavy cream, salt, white pepper, dried ginger, curing salt and nutmeg.  The meat is then stuffed in beef middle casings and cooked. 
Allergies: dairy, beef, pork

Chicken Gallantine: 
Chicken mousse filled inside of a whole chiken that has been pounded flat with breast around and skin covering. 
The mousse has ground chicken thighs that are emulsified with eggs, cream, shallot, garlic, cognac, madiera, thyme pork fat back.  The galantine is rolled and cooked.  Chilled and then fried to caramelize the skin.

Allergies: Alliums, dairy, pork, fortified wine

New Cocktail List Descriptions, Complete

GIVE IT A GO-GO
1.5 Brennivin
1 Beet Syrup
1 Lemon
Soda

Shake.  Strain to collins.  Top with soda.  Thyme Sprig.

Beets??? In a cocktail???  Heck yeah! When all the fruits are in season in the spring and summer we use them.  Well, ‘tis the season of the root vegetable, and with all of their natural sweetness beets are pretty much dirt candy.  We make the syrup by just chopping up beets and adding a little bit of sugar, water, and fresh ginger.  Cook it down, and  you get this lovely, earthy sweetness that gives a drink the same color a blueberry would.  From there it is just a beet-flavored Tom Collins.  Refreshing, pretty, and yet still a product of the cold. 

FRAN’S TRANS AM
1.5 Mezcal
.5 Kina L’Aero
.75 Grenadine
.5 Lime
Dash Angostura
Pinch salt
Soda

Shake.  Strain to collins over fresh ice.  Top soda, garnish with lime wheel.

The path to this one took me on many strange turns.  What initially started as a Ward 8 with mezcal evolved into crushable spritzable-land, which, though not what was intended, is still never a bad place to find yourself.  Mezcal is known for its smokey quality, and there is much debate about whether an original Ward 8 should be rye or scotch.  Kina L’Aero provides a bitter back bone, and house grenadine and lemon brighten it up to make a refreshing, food friendly cocktail.  Spritz that ish, and it moves from quaffable to downable.  Grenadine, contrary to popular opinion, is not a cherry flavored syrup, but instead on based on pomegranates.  We use pomegranate juice, pomegranate molasses, orange blossom water, sugar, and a touch of cinnamon to make ours.

So who’s Fran?  Well, Fran is my grandmother.  When I was a wee lass she had a ‘78 Firebird Trans AM T-Top, and I thought I was the coolest kid in the entire world when she would pick me up from preschool in it.  The car was made famous by the movie “Smokey and the Bandit.”  Before we spritzed it, the first person I had taste this cocktail just said “wow, that’s good like Smokey and the Bandit.”  But when I made it bubbly, suddenly a different side showed: smokey and intense, but sweet and soft at the same time.  Kinda like my grandma picking up a 4-year-old me in an old muscle car. 

LAST GIRL LAURIE
1.5oz pisco
.75 oz Halloween Shrub
.5 oz becherovka
.5 lemon
Cava

Shake.  Strain to collins.  Top with cava.

This is a Jill.  Fall makes her think warming spices, honey tones, and some roasty toasty notes.  Pisco is a grape brandy from Peru that should taste clean with an earthy sweetness.  It is most famous for the Pisco Sour, but it is so underutilized elsewhere in the cocktail kingdom that it makes Jill want to work with it.  Becherovka is a Czech digestif that smells like Christmas.  Halloween Shrub?  Shrubs are a type of vinegar solution used a mixer in cocktail.  They originated as a way of preserving fresh, seasonal ingredients in a liquid form back in the days before refrigeration.   They work very similarly to pickling: fresh ingredients plus vinegar, sugar, and spices will make them keep for an extended period of time.  Jill took some carrots and ginger, added red wine vinegar, white and brown sugars, and baking spices to create a really beautiful fall spice mixer with none of the artificial stuff you find in anything commercially made.  This is a cocktail all about the spices; if you like mulled cider, mead, or wine, this a great cocktail for you. 

Laurie is Laurie Strode, the heroine of “Halloween.”  She was the first iconic Last Girl Standing of slasher films, and in many ways was a feminist icon for her refusal to simply be hunted, eventually choosing to fight back.   If Mr. Myers is lurking around 707 Meridian, Last Girl Laurie is here to provide balance and an eventual downfall for him.

SOFTLY SPOKEN WORDS
1.5 Clement
.75 lime
.5 raw honey syrup
Dash Angostura
Cava

Shake the first 4 ingredients together.  Strain to collins.  Top with cava.

This little lovely is a play on an Airmail.  The Airmail first appeared in the 1940’s, and is much akin to a French 75, with silver rum instead of gin or cognac.  Airmail itself was a fairly new method of correspondence, and added a touch of glamor to the sending of a letter. 
So what are we working with here?   Artisanal, estate made rum.  Raw, hand-harvested local honey.  Hand squeezed lime.  Small production bubbles.  All of these ingredients combine to make a lovely, delicate cocktail that whispers to your palate the sweet nothings it wants to hear. 

STEVE MCQUEEN
1.5 Mezcal
.75 lime
.5 Green Chartreuse
.5 Lavender Syrup
Shake.  Double strain.  Coupe, no garnish.

This cocktail is much akin to a Last Word (equal parts gin, Green, Maraschino, and lime).  We sub out the maraschino for a bit of lavender, and tone down the Green to adjust for the smoky quality of the mezcal.  The cocktail itself is delicate, citrusy-floral, with a hint of fireplace in the back.  It’s named for the biggest action star of the 70’s, Steve McQueen, who was also a huge fan of tequila and helped to bring agave spirits to the American mainstream.  He also drove a green Mustang in his hit film Bullitt, which featured in what is popularly argued to be the best car chase scene ever to be filmed. 

CREOLE CANOE
2 Clement Barrel Select
House Suger Cube
1 dash Peychauds
Ouzo rinse

Muddle sugar cube and bitters.  Add rum, rocks, and stir.  Mist rox glass with ouzo.  Strain to rox glass over new ice.  Flamed orange coin.

This cocktail is a fairly straightforward riff on a Sazerac, which happens to be my favorite cocktail.  The Clement drinks remarkably like a whiskey, despite being an agricole rum.  Even the way the Select Barrel is produced (hand picked barrels chosen for their vanilla and caramel tones; minimum of 3 years spent in wood) mimics the laws of bourbon country.  Fall and winter lead people toward the darker spirits, and if we cannot carry a straight American whiskey, let’s evoke that spirit in the form of a rum. 

The Sazerac is traditionally made with rye, and is one of the classic New Orleans cocktails.  The entire point of the drink is that you’re just dressing up the spirit itself, so less is more.  Peychaud’s is a style of bitters that is native to the city and is the definitive ingredient to making a Sazerac.  It is Gentian-based, but adds an intense licorice and floral aroma to a drink, with a hint of mint (it’s not a bad idea to throw some Peychaud’s in a Julep).  We make our own sugar cubes but infusing sugar with Peychauds and then baking them.  This means less processing, and a more consistent size for the cube than store bought, which in turn means a more consistent cocktail.  Ouzo is a Greek anise-flavored aperitif, and we source ours local from Short Path in Everett.  We only rinse the glass so that we gain the complexity of the aromatic, but we avoid watering down the true spirit to the drink.  Sante!

BETTY WHITE
1 Brennivin
1 Gran Classico
1 Carpano
Dash Coffee Bitters

Stir.  Coupe.  No garnish

Betty White.  You all know Betty White.  Sliced Bread is actually the best thing since Her.  She’s a classic, and a classy lady, who attributes her incredibly long life and career to vodka, coffee, and hotdogs.  This cocktail is a Negroni variation (classic), using Brennivin (Icelandic aquavit, very similar to a vodka).  Gran Classico takes the place of the Campari, with a more citrus-focused bitter.  Carpano Antica is the original red vermouth.  All classic ingredients, with a splash of that caffeine to keep us all going.  For drinkers that love spirit-forward cocktails.

BELLADONNA
1.75 Gin
.75 Lemon
.5 Simple
2 dash Cardamom Bitters

Shake.  Dbl strain to coupe w/ ½ sugar rim.

This cocktail is deceptively simple.  It is simply a sour, but with the addition of a home-made Cardamom bitter that adds an incredibly alluring floral aroma.  There is a delicate subtlety to this cocktail that makes you want to just keep sipping.  Belladonna (which means “beautiful lady” in Italian) is an alternative name for Deadly Nightshade, a poisonous flower in the tomato family.  It is also the title of Stevie Nicks’s most celebrated solo album.  Seriously, give it a listen.  Or better yet, check out concert footage from this era of her career.   She’s alluring, delicate, and dangerous, just like this drink.

707 MERIDIAN
1 Mr. Katz
1 Applejack
.5 Amaro del Etna
.5 Anise & Black Pepper Syrup
2 dash Peychauds
1 dash Mezcal

Stir.    Coupe.  No garnish.

If I had to place this cocktail into a family, it’s kindof an exploded Manhattan.  Mr. Katz and Applejack combine to form your whiskey base, and the Amaro del Etna and pepper syrup would make up your sweet vermouth.  Peychauds and Mezcal round out the edges as your bitters.  Note that on the menu mezcal is not mentioned: we are using just a dropper full, wherein it acts almost like a pinch of salt would in cooking.  It doesn’t add much to the flavor, but the texture of the cocktail and harmony of the other components are enhanced by it. 

If Applejack and Rye are the flavor and liquor of the season (cold weather = brown booze), the title is a nod to this time of year.  707 Meridian Avenue is the home of one Mike Myers.  And I don’t mean Austin Powers. 

CRIMSON & CLOVER
1.5 Gin
1 Cranberry syrup
1 Lime juice
1 egg white

Dry Shake.  Add ice, and shake wicked hard.  Strain to rocks glass.  Angostura paint.

One of my most favorite classic cocktails is the Clover Club: gin, fresh raspberry syrup, lemon, egg white.  It’s frothy, it’s fruity, it’s herbal, it’s not too sweet.  The recipe appears by 1917 in print, and it was named for a Philadelphia men’s club doing business at that time.  The club and the cocktail faded over the years, but new school mixology types love it so much that it gave its name back to a now-prominent Brooklyn cocktail bar. 

The trouble with it is that fresh raspberries for the syrup are a must, and they are in season here for all of 5 minutes and right in the middle of our patio season.  Egg drinks take time, and I know from experience how hard it can be to crank them out when one is on the list when volume is at its highest.  Well, with fewer seats, let’s show some extra love.  Cranberries are native to this area and grow abundantly.  Though not as naturally sweet as raspberries, they have a great sweet-tart quality and make for excellent cocktails.  We’re making a natural puree of them with sugar and orange zest.  The rest is a straightforward interpretation of a cocktail that has long withstood the tides of time. 

Fall 2018 Cocktails, Round 1

CREOLE CANOE
2 Clement Barrel Select
House Suger Cube
1 dash Peychauds
Ouzo rinse

Muddle sugar cube and bitters.  Add rum, rocks, and stir.  Mist rox glass with ouzo.  Strain to rox glass over new ice.  Flamed orange coin.

This cocktail is a fairly straightforward riff on a Sazerac, which happens to be my favorite cocktail.  The Clement drinks remarkably like a whiskey, despite being an agricole rum.  Even the way the Select Barrel is produced (hand picked barrels chosen for their vanilla and caramel tones; minimum of 3 years spent in wood) mimics the laws of bourbon country.  Fall and winter lead people toward the darker spirits, and if we cannot carry a straight American whiskey, let’s evoke that spirit in the form of a rum.  

The Sazerac is traditionally made with rye, and is one of the classic New Orleans cocktails.  The entire point of the drink is that you’re just dressing up the spirit itself, so less is more.  Peychaud’s is a style of bitters that is native to the city and is the definitive ingredient to making a Sazerac.  It is Gentian-based, but adds an intense licorice and floral aroma to a drink, with a hint of mint (it’s not a bad idea to throw some Peychaud’s in a Julep).  We make our own sugar cubes but infusing sugar with Peychauds and then baking them.  This means less processing, and a more consistent size for the cube than store bought, which in turn means a more consistent cocktail.  Ouzo is a Greek anise-flavored aperitif, and we source ours local from Short Path in Everett.  We only rinse the glass so that we gain the complexity of the aromatic, but we avoid watering down the true spirit to the drink.  Sante!

BETTY WHITE
1 Brennivin
1 Gran Classico
1 Carpano
Dash Coffee Bitters

Stir.  Coupe.  No garnish

Betty White.  You all know Betty White.  Sliced Bread is actually the best thing since Her.  She’s a classic, and a classy lady, who attributes her incredibly long life and career to vodka, coffee, and hotdogs.  This cocktail is a Negroni variation (classic), using Brennivin (Icelandic aquavit, very similar to a vodka).  Gran Classico takes the place of the Campari, a more citrus and gentian focused bitter.  Carpano Antica is the original red vermouth.  All classic ingredients, with a splash of that caffeine to keep us all going.  For drinkers that love spirit-forward cocktails.

BELLADONNA
1.75 Gin
.75 Lemon
.5 Simple
2 dash Kirsten's Cardamom Bitters

Shake.  Dbl strain to coupe w/ ½ sugar rim.

This cocktail is deceptively simple.  It is simply a sour, but with the addition of a home-made Cardamom bitter that adds an incredibly alluring floral aroma.  There is a delicate subtlety to this cocktail that makes you want to just keep sipping.  Belladonna (which means “beautiful lady” in Italian) is an alternative name for Deadly Nightshade, a poisonous flower in the tomato family.  It is also the title of Stevie Nicks’s most celebrated solo album.  Seriously, give it a listen.  Or better yet, check out concert footage from this era of her career.   She’s alluring, delicate, and dangerous, just like this drink.

707 MERIDIAN 
1 Mr. Katz
1 Applejack
.5 Amaro del Etna
.5 Allspice & Black Pepper Syrup
2 dash Peychauds
1 dash Mezcal

Stir.    Coupe.  No garnish.

If I had to place this cocktail into a family, it’s kindof an exploded Manhattan.  Mr. Katz and Applejack combine to form your whiskey base, and the Amaro del Etna and pepper syrup would make up your sweet vermouth.  Peychauds and Mezcal round out the edges as your bitters.  Note that on the menu mezcal is not mentioned: we are using just a dropper full, wherein it acts almost like a pinch of salt would in cooking.  It doesn’t add much to the flavor, but the texture of the cocktail and harmony of the other components are enhanced by it.  

If Applejack and Rye are the flavor and liquor of the season (cold weather = brown booze), the title is a nod to this time of year.  707 Meridian Avenue is the home of one Mike Myers.  And I don’t mean Austin Powers.  

GIVE IT A GO-GO
1.5 Brennivin
1 Beet Syrup
1 Lemon
Soda

Shake.  Strain to collins.  Top with soda.  Thyme Sprig.

Beets??? In a cocktail???  Heck yeah! When all the fruits are in season in the spring and summer we use them.  Well, ‘tis the season of the root vegetable, and with all of their natural sweetness beets are pretty much dirt candy.  We make the syrup by just chopping up beets and adding a little bit of sugar, water, and fresh ginger.  Cook it down, and  you get this lovely, earthy sweetness that gives a drink the same color a blueberry would.  From there it is just a beet-flavored Tom Collins.  Refreshing, pretty, and yet still something that will keep during the cold.  

2016 Inama Vulcaia Fume

2016 Inama Vulcaia Fume

Who: Matteo, Alessio, and Luca Inama

What: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Where: Soave Classico zone, Veneto

Tastes Like: Intense golden color, with notes of coffee and tropical fruit on the nose.  The palette is intensely tropical, with a lush texture and smokey finish.

Pairs With: Smoked fish, caviar, oysters, liver, onion soup.  Decadence.

The Who & Where:

The winemaking philosophy of Inama is guided by three points: one, that terroir is the most important point in determining a wine’s style; two, a wine’s caliber is determined by the strength of the ecosystem it is grown in, particularly the soil; and three, improvement is a difficult and continuous journey.  The Inama estate is family owned, and is now being run by the third generation. The first plot of land on Monte Foscarino was purchased in 1965, but the Vulcaia Fume label did not enter the market for another 30 years.

The family’s holdings are nestled in the Veneto, between the two provinces of Verona and Vicenza.  The region is marked by gently rolling hills, often forming natural amphitheaters perfectly suited to growing grapes.  They own vineyards in both of the nearby territories: Soave Classico, birthplace of ancient and mineral white wines, and the Colli Berici, wild home of red wines.  

The Wine:

This wine is the darling of the Inama line.  The winemakers wanted to highlight the impressive nature of the Soave Classico territory as it applied to a grape other than the native Garganega.  The grapes all come a single volcanic basalt vineyard on the slopes of Monte Foscarino and off of vines with an average age of over 20 years. Grapes are hand selected, then destalked and crushed and left to rest on the skins for about 3 hours.  After the grapes are pressed the must is allowed to settle for 12 hours at cold temperature. Alcoholic fermentation followed by malolactic fermentation takes place in 30% new barriques made from heavy toasted wood. Prior to racking, batonnage is carried out every 6 weeks for about 7 months. Fining for 6 months in stainless steel vats, ltration, through a coarse lter (without fining) occurs prior to bottling.  Production of this wine transcends styles and trends of the moment, creating a truly unique offering. There are no similar wines made in this category.