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 In yesterday’s post I asked which wine you would have opened with the pasta and shrimp dinner. The Burgundy was favored by most of you. It was a tough decision, but I opened the Burgundy!  The 2014 Domaine Dutron Pere et Fils Saint- Véran is produced by the Dutron family who has owned the estate since 1835. “Pere et Fils” means “father & son” in English. Denis Dutron now continues the family tradition of making these delicious wines. Saint- Véran is located in the southernmost appellation of the Mâconnais region of Burgundy where wines are made exclusively from the Chardonnay grape. The Saint- Véran was pale gold with aromas of pear, honeysuckle, nuts and sweet spice. The palate offered lively fruits such as guava and pear, bursts of citrus and hints of hazelnut and floral. Full-bodied and fresh with a nice finale...it was an excellent choice! It’s a rainy day with snow expected this evening! Spring is taking a backseat this weekend.
Happy Saturday! Cheers! Penina
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 The other evening we celebrated the onset of spring, despite the snowflakes falling. And what better way to toast the season then to drink a nice dry rosé! A bottle of 2013 Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo Colline Novares il Mimo was chilling in the refrigerator and just begging to be opened. This 100% Nebbiolo grape (locally known as Spanna) had an intense salmon color with aromas of strawberry, roses, citrus and hints of spice. The palate offered layers of strawberry, cherry, tart apple and a hint of pepper on the finish. This is a lovely medium bodied rosé that I plan on drinking throughout the summer. The Cantalupo Winery is situated in Ghemme, Northern Piedmont, Italy and is owned by the Arlunno family. http://www.cantalupo.net   My love, thoughts and prayers go out to Brussels. Stay strong. Have a peaceful Tuesday.
Cheers! Penina  I was hoping that the weather would stay warm for this weekend. Although it won’t hit the 70s, I’ll take what Mother Nature is offering, even if it means slipping on warmer shoes while my sandals patiently wait to be worn again. To start the weekend off, I met with a friend on Friday evening for dinner and conversation. We dined at an Italian restaurant with an emphasis on cuisine from central Italy. My friend preferred to drink vodka, so I opted for a glass of wine instead of ordering a bottle for the table. The selection of wines by the glass was limited, but good.  I picked Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Umani Ronchi Podere 2010. I made sure that the waiter opened a new bottle for the pour. The color was deep red bordering on purple. Pleasant aromas of cherry, dark berries and spices were followed by subtle flavors of sour cherry, plum, herbs, pepper and a hint of cocoa. Medium-bodied with soft tannins made this an easy wine to drink. Umani Ronchi produces an impressive 3 million bottles of twenty different wines every year! Click on the website for their fascinating story. http://www.umanironchi.com  Don’t forget to turn your clocks ahead tonight before you go to bed!
Happy Saturday! Cheers! Penina  It’s such a beautiful day. I’ve been trying to spend as much time as possible outdoors. After a long power walk, I’m finally sitting down (outside) to write this short post.  I was expecting a friend over for dinner last night. The Rosé was chilling and the salmon and veggies were ready for the grill. At the last minute, he asked me to come over to his home instead. So, I grabbed everything and off I went. When I arrived, I handed him the food to grill and I opened the wine.  We drank 2013 Belguardo Rosé Toscana, Mazzei. The Belguardo estate is located in the Maremma region of Tuscany that the Mazzei family purchased in the 1990s. The wine is an unusual blend of 50% Sangiovese and 50% Syrah. The color was pale red with floral aromas and the palate offered red fruit flavors which were soft and succulent. It was medium bodied with a lasting impression of berries and flowers. The average price is $18.00. The dinner was delicious with the wine complementing every bite. http://www.mazzei.it/eng Happy Wednesday!
Cheers! Penina  Sunshine and warm temperatures…now that’s what I’m talking about! I feel inspired to fire up the grill later and open up one of the rosés chilling in my refrigerator. As I mentioned in my last post, while dining at The Continental in Naples, FL, we enjoyed a bottle of 2012 J. Lohr Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon from the Paso Robles region of CA. The composition is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec. The color was bordering on royal purple with wonderful plum, dark fruit and floral aromas. The palate was richly layered with plum and dark berries that segued into hints of dark cocoa, oak and spices. It was full-bodied with a long smooth finish of berries lingering on the palate. I have tasted and reviewed many J. Lohr wines, but I think this is my favorite so far! http://www.jlohr.com  I’m off to embrace this beautiful day!
Happy Tuesday! Cheers! Penina  My beautiful niece came to visit on Thursday. At the age of twenty, she has had more travel adventures than most of us achieve in a lifetime! She attended her first year of college in Florence, Italy with weekend trips all over Europe. The first half of her third year of college was spent in Paris. She plans on a 3-week excursion to Southeast Asia during her senior year and upon graduation, a month in Viet Nam. She has visited many museums, wineries and attended numerous cultural events throughout Europe. I asked her if she would please pack me in her suitcase next time she goes away! We shared many stories and got caught up on life while dining at an upbeat restaurant called Willy Nicks in Katonah, NY. Although the waiter kept calling us “girls” one too many times, the food was delicious! We dined on Sesame Tuna Crunch salad made with water chestnuts, carrots, pickled ginger, peppers and wakame with a chile-lime vinaigrette. The tuna was seared to perfection and every mouthful was a wonderful taste and texture sensation.   I enjoyed a glass of 2012 Rainstorm Pinot Noir from Oregon with the meal. The Pinot Noir grapes come from vineyards located in the Willamette and Umpqua Valleys. The Willamette Valley is situated in northern Oregon, which produces Pinot Noirs with more earthy tones and complexity. While the hotter and drier climate of Umpqua Valley located in southern Oregon produces a richer and fruitier flavor Pinot Noir. Rainstorm’s Pinot Noir is a 50/50 blend of these two wine regions. The color of the wine was soft ruby with subtle berry aromas. The palate had a fresh fruit feel, offering cherry, cranberry and a little spice. It was a little “chewy” with a warm finish. The label is a whimsical depiction of Portland showing salmon, coffee, guitars, clouds and wine grapes. http://pinotpassion.com This is going to be a whirlwind weekend. I’ll be back on Monday!
Happy Saturday! Cheers! Penina Sight, taste, smell, hearing and touch are the fundamental senses that allow us to experience and express our perception of the world around us. We rely on our sight, taste and smell to communicate impressions of wine and food. Donnafugata, a family owned winery situated in western Sicily, has taken the “sensorial experience” to a whole new level! On Wednesday, I had lunch with the delightful Josè Rallo, one of the family members of Donnafugata. I tasted elegant wines and learned all about this magical family and winery, as we dined on local, artisanal food in a private room at Black Barn Restaurant in NYC.   The Rallo family began their trek into the world of wine in 1851. In 1983, Josè’s parents, Giacomo and Gabriella created Donnafugata. The name means “woman in flight” and refers to a story from a piece of literature called “Il Gattopardo”. Most of the Donnafugata labels and names of wines, which are very whimsical, pay homage to various works of art and literature. In 1990, their children, Josè and Antonio joined them with Josè as head of management control & communication and Antonio as a dedicated agronomist, wine maker and head of the Consorzio Sicilia DOC. Together, the Rallo family has dedicated themselves to eco-sustainable management, biodiversity and paying special attention to their carbon footprint.  Credit: Fabio Gambina copyright of Donnafugata and the name of the photographer mentioned. Contessa Entellina, Donnafugata’s wine estate, is comprised of 667 acres and seven vineyards. They cultivate 17 varieties of grape, both indigenous varieties and Italian and international vine varieties. The Donnafugata vineyards are spread throughout 10 districts, each having uniqueness in soil, altitude, exposure and micro-climatic conditions. In addition, Donnafugata has a winery and vineyard on Pantelleria, a volcanic island situated between Africa and Sicily. Zibibbo (Moscato d’Alessandria) is the wine variety grown on their 168-acre vineyards, located in 12 different areas of the island. Some of the plants are more than 100 years old! The vines are cultivated by hand, planted in a basin and trained to grow low and horizontally. This system of planting allows the vines to withstand the wind on the island. The winery is located in the Khamma district of the island. Wines produced at Contessa Entellina and Pantelleria are brought to the Marsala Aging Winery, Donnafugata’s production facility, for refinement and bottling. And now, back to my lunch with Josè!  As we nibbled on appetizers, Josè introduced us to SurSur 2014, a 100% Grillo grape, that is an ancient indigenous variety from Sicily. The color was pale straw with lovely aromas of green apple, peach and grapefruit. The palate offered a perfect balance of citrus and floral. At an average price of $19.00, this is a great wine to keep stocked in the refrigerator, especially with the warmer months on the way. We continued to drink the SurSur as we ate a delicious Kale Salad. Josè, who is also an accomplished singer with a beautiful voice, sang us a song that she felt paired the wine with the music, giving us the ultimate “multi-sensory” experience! In fact, she sang a song with every wine poured, sending us on an incredible sensory journey each time.  Josè serenading us!  Before the main course arrived, a bottle of 2011 Tancredi Sicilia and 2010 Mille e Una Notte Sicilia were opened. The Tancredi is made with Cabernet Sauvignon and Nero d’Avola. The aromas of dark fruit, light oak, spices and herbs gave way to earthy flavors, rich berries, licorice, spice and soft tannins. The average price of this wine is about $36.00. The Mille e Una Notte is made with Nero d’Avola, Petit Verdot, Syrah and other grapes. Deep red in color, the aromas were heady and intense with dark fruit and spices. The palate was layered with plum, cherry, pepper and a hint of cocoa. Soft tannins accompanied a long finish. This is one of Donnafugata's more expensive wines, with a price tag averaging around $60.00 a bottle, but well worth it!  As we got ready for dessert, a bottle of 2013 Ben Ryé was opened. It was exquisite! This naturally sweet wine is made with 100% Zibibbo grown on the island of Pantelleria. The color was brilliant amber with intoxicating aromas of apricot and floral that segued onto the palate and lingered. The wine was concentrated and intense, but beautifully balanced. Although I would have been quite happy drinking this as my “dessert”, it complemented the Chocolate Cremeux passion fruit gelee, nougaline. I found the average price to be around $45.00 a bottle.  Delicious wines! Donnafugata wine is distributed in 60 countries and can be found in most wine shops, online and in many restaurants. To learn more about this innovative winery, visit their website at: http://www.donnafugata.it/pagine/Homepage.aspx
Josè’s exuberance and passion for her wines, music and life was the sweet pearl that I took with me when I left. It was a very enjoyable afternoon! Cheers! Penina  We have beautiful blue skies and temps in the mid 50’s degree range. I’m putting on my sunblock and heading outdoors! This is perfect weather for a long power walk.  Last evening I got together with a dear friend who was visiting from California. Perhaps he brought the sunshine and good weather with him! We ate at a local restaurant and dined on simple fare and drank a nice bottle of 2012 Frog’s Leap Zinfandel from Napa Valley. Blended with Petite Sirah and a little Carignan, this ruby colored wine had alluring aromas of raspberry, cherry and spices. The palate offered Bing cherry, mellow fruit and a complementary dryness that might have been produced with the Carignan. Tannins were tight, but softened as the wine opened. The finish was spicy with a tease of fennel. Delicious! http://www.frogsleap.com  We are a week away from the Oscars and parties are in the making. I must confess that I haven’t seen most of the nominated movies. I may sit this one out! Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Happy Saturday! Cheers! Penina  It was a busy Wednesday and in between dealing with business, I was on a search for fresh escarole. None was to be found. It seems that due to the weird weather we’ve been experiencing, the winter crops are not fairing well and most markets aren’t selling escarole right now. I was hoping to put together a pasta dish of sautéed escarole, cannellini beans and shrimp. So, I improvised and used broccoli rabe, which actually ended up giving the dish a little more dimension. We started the meal with a small serving of Tomato Basil Bisque and homemade peasant bread.   Prior to serving the soup, I opened a bottle of 2010 Tommasi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. Instead of rich dark fruit aromas, there was an overwhelming mustiness that carried over to the palate. By the time we finished our soup, the wine had developed a small trace of cherry and plum on the palate with the mustiness still in the forefront. I was disappointed to say the least, but it was not worth waiting to see if the wine got any better. So we left “Italy” and traveled to “Spain” and opened a 2009 Bodegas San Prudencio Depadre Rioja. I reviewed this wine in June and it was even better than I remembered. My previous review: “The color was a dark Syrian amethyst with heady aromas of dark fruits and floral bouquet. Made from Tempranillo and Garnacha, this multi-layered wine exploded on the palate with blackberry, cherry, anise, espresso beans and a hint of vanilla. It was quite impressive with a long finish. This is a wine with a lot of character and depth.” And, it is a full-bodied wine with medium tannins. Alcohol: 13.5%. http://bodegasanprudencio.es  The wine paired well with the rest of the meal.  Happy Thursday!
Cheers! Penina This past weekend was all about friends, food and drink. I came across a quote recently that made a lot of sense. “Don’t let anyone rent space in your head, unless they’re a good tenant.” And that’s what it’s all about…surrounding oneself with positive people that are optimistic, joyful and trustworthy. I’ll drink to that!  And speaking of drink…Six months ago I wrote a review about Shingleback’s 2011 The Gate Shiraz that is produced in the McLaren Vale area of South Australia. It was an amazing wine and I promised myself that I would keep the other bottles under wrap for a few years. But I couldn’t help myself and opened another bottle last evening. As before, the aromas of lush fruit and spice were heavenly. Cherry and candy apple dominated. In my last review, I said: “The palate was a feast of layers, oozing dark jams, cherry, oak, pepper, spices and a hint of vanilla. Silky tannins and a solid backbone gave way to a long finish.” In addition, this time the wine had a hint of marzipan that teased the palate. This full-bodied wine paired well with the meal and dessert! http://www.shingleback.com.au  I served baked salmon and cherry tomatoes with a wine, shallot & mustard sauce accompanied by asparagus and mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and shallots. I also made my famous mashed potatoes. The dessert was Molten chocolate cake. Click on each image for a closer look. The evening segued into watching a silly but funny movie and sipping the last of the wine. Perfect!
Have a great Monday! Cheers! Penina |
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