Valpolicella Ripasso Lake Garda Verona Italy

Valpolicella Ripasso

Cecilia Berretto

Movie Wine Pairing with Champagne Mumms

Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts (L)

The POPE of GREENWICH VILLAGE

How to watch a movie? You go to the cinema or pop something on at home, no? Yes that one way. You can watch a movie and maybe it's good and maybe it's not. You got to a movie theater? Well not so much today, with Netflix, Cable TV, streaming, or picking out a Video (yes some still have them), or DVD from your home collection. Nowadays there are many ways to see a movie. There's the old fashion way of going to the cinema, paying money and seeing the latest movie of your choice. That was fun, and it was an event, a night out, and much more affordable than today. "Isn't everything?" Well yeah, most things are a lot more expensive than they were in years past, and somethings not. Candy bars for example are about 20 times more than they were when I was a kid. WHen I first started buying candy bars (Hershey Bar etc.) they were only 5 Cents. And guess what? They were only 5 Cents when my father was a boy, 30 years before. In 30 years, the price of a candy bar (all candy) hadn't gone up at all. When I first started buying Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey Bars, Almond Joys and such, they where just 5 cents, a Nickel a piece. Then they started going up, a nickel at a time, until they got to the point they are now, between 1 Dollar and a Buck 25 depending on where you buy one. That's as muc as 25 times increase since I was a boy. The average workers weekly income has gone up only 2 1/2 to 3 times since then, yet a Hershey Bar has gone up 20 times or more. A home has gone up close to 20 times as well, yet the price of long distance phone calls have decreased 20 times. What's a person to do. The price of a movie ticket? Yes it's gone up about 25 times since I started paying for my own movie ticket 50 years gone buy at the Rivoli Theater in Rutherford, New Jersey when it was just .75 for for a "Double Feature," two movies with Cartoons in between. No more Double Features, no more cartoons, doesn't exist. And boy did I Love, and did I have oh so much fun and fantasy, seeing all those great movies as a boy, back in 1960s America, it was just great, it was a "Wonderland," the movies and movie houses of your.

Well, again, I've gone way off the track again. Weren't we talking about how to watch a movie? Yep. Now watching a movie in your normal way, and watching a movie with my winemaker cousin Joseph Macari Jr. of the North Fork of Long Island, New York is a whole other story. First off, you're got to have a great movie. A movie with great actors and a great director always helps. When Joe and I would be watching movies, most of them would tend to be what you'd call guy films, such as Mob Movies made by the likes of Italian-American Directors Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. Movies like the Godfather I and II, Goodfellas, Casino, and Raging Bull.  The Pope of Greenwich Village by Vincent Partrick, and starring Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts is one of our all-time favorites, as is State of Greace about the Irish Mafia of Hell's Kitchen , New York, and which Gary Oldman turned in one hell of an incredible performance, playing Irish Mob Boss (Ed Harris) crazy brother, Irish Mob Soldier.

So we'd pick a movie, get it ready, then Joe would go down into his wine cellar and grab an amazing bottle of Champagne. And I'm not talking about  Vueve Cliquot (Orange Label) or MOET - White Star, I'm talking some really serious Champagne, "The Best of The Best." Joe came back that night with a bottle of BILLECART - SALMON Rose. "Wow!" Well I never had this Champagne before, I'd never even heard of it. Joe popped the cork and poured me a glass. We toasted, and then I took my first sip. Again, "Wow," It was absolutely amazing. And I was in love. Yes I do love that Champagne, Billecart - Salmon Rose. It is so very delicious, and some have said, the Brut Rose Champagne produced by the Champagne House of Billecart - Salmon is a reference point as to how a great French Rose Champagne should taste, and that's absolutely marvelous. And it should "Blow Your Mind" so to speak as that wine did for my that night, way back in the Fall of the year 2000. Yes Billecart Rose, as we call it, has to be my number 1 al-time favorite of all the great CHampagnes of France. And I've had many great champagnes, and ones that are far more expensive, and some might think better, than the Rose of Billecart Salmon, but not me. It was that special night, hanging out with my cousin Joe, watching Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts in The Pope of Greenwich Village, enjoying the film, laughing, talking about it, and savoring that fine Champagne. 

Billecart - Salmon

Brut Rose

  The champagnes of Maison Billecart-Salmon are above all created thanks to the knowledge of the men who rigorously cultivate an estate of 100 hectares, obtaining grapes from an area totaling 300 hectares across 40 crus of the Champagne region.

   The majority of the grapes used for vinification come from a radius of 20km around Epernay, where the Grand Crus of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay co-exist, in the ethereal vineyards of the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs.

  Yes, we do love our Champagne, we're music lover, gourmands, and film buffs, and we combine these interests into some very sepcial times. Over the years we watched Man on Fire with Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, The Silence of The Lambs and other great movies. And we drank wines like Solaia, Tiganello, Taittinger's Comtes di Champagne and other great wines, and vintage Champagne. Our, and by the way, I haven't completely set the scene. When Joe and I watched these movies and drank Champagne, it was after the whole family, after a long day at Macari Vineyards, we'd all have a nice dinner together. We cooked, ate, chatted, and drank some nice wine with dinner. Then, as everyone was quite tired and would retire to bed, Joe and I would get our movie, an awesome bottle of Champagne, and we'd dig in. Dig into a classic film and some Vintage Champagne.

"Now that my friends, is How You Watch a Movie. Wouldn't you agree?"


  Basta !

Me and Cousin Joe

Drinking Prosecco in VENICE

.

James Caan, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and John Cazale

As The CORELONE FAMILY

Sonny, Don Vito, Michael, and Freddo

In FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA'S The GODFATHER

"Joe and I drank "MILLE Una NOTTE" from our friends The RALLO FAMILY of DONNAFUGATA , Marsala, SICILY when we watched this one. We had to, great Sicilian Wine and a Sicilian Family, The CORLEONES of Corleone, Sicilia ...

Gary Oldman

STATE of GRACE

Wine Pairing ?

IRISH WHISKEY of Course !

TULLAMORE DEW

PULP FICTION

Our Wine Pairing ?

RUINART BLANC di BLANC

RUINART

BLANC de BLANCS

Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) would approve of the Champagne selection, "I'm sure."

For me, Pulp Fiction was an absolute Masterpiece, and easily director Quentin Tarrantino's greatest film. I really liked Tarrantino's first film Resevoir Dogs, but not nearly as much as Pulp Fiction, which is in my Top 10 Films. 

John Travolta, Ving Raimes, Eric Stolz, Harvey Keitel, and Samuel L. Jackson were awesome in the film, as was Uma.

The screenplay by Tarrantio and Roger Avery was the base of this great film. I'm still waiting for tarrantino to make at least one more great film, but just for this masterpiece alone, for me he's a genius. And I love another screenplay that Tarrantino wrote, but didn't direct the movie. And that would be the movie True Romance, directed by the late great Tony Scott (RIP).

Robert DeNiro as JAKE LaMOTTA

In Martin Scorsese 's RAGING BULL

Wine Pairing ?

KRUG

Grande Cuvee

Raging Bull, another great film classic from director Martin Scorsese. 

KRUG Grande Cuvee, what can you say, "This Champagne is Amazing!" 

It's KRUG after all?

Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper

TONY SCOTT'S "TRUE ROMANCE"

As Vincenzo Cocotti and Cliff Worley

WINE PAIRING for TRUE ROMANCE ?

POL ROGER "SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL"

POL ROGER - SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL

"Dam I Love this Champagne!" What's not to Love? Pol Roger- Sir Winston Churchill is one of the Best Champagne's money can buy, "you just can't get any better." Full of those yeasty bready Brioche flavors that I love in fine Vintage Champagne. And the movie True Romance, what can I say? Dam, I just flipped for this film the first time I saw it. And seeing this movie and Christian Slater's awesome performance as Clarence Worly, just blew my mind, and I finally gained respect for Christian's acting abilities. I've know Christian since he was about 10 years old, and his mother, powerhouse Casting Director Mary Jo Slater used to bring him to a restaurant I worked in long ago (the 1980s).

This film was awesome from beginning to end, and is one of Quentin Tarrantino's greatest works. he wrote the screenplay, but didn't make the movie, which was directed by Tony Scott. The movie is filled with one awesome ensemble cast which includes: the stars Slater and Patricia Arquette (ALabama), along with cameos by Dennis Hopper (Slater's father), Christopher Walkin as Mob Boss Vincenzo Cocotti, Brad Pitt as Michael Rappaport's "Stoner Friend," Val Kilmer plays ELVIS PRESLEY, Gary Oldman is aboslutely Electrifying as wannabe Rastafarian Drug Dealer / Pimp called Drexl.

Anyway, I love the movie, and was oh so happy to turn Joe on to it. He had never seen it before, and he abolutely loved it. We had a great time watching it together, and The Sir Winston Chruchill Champagne did not hurt at all. "It was incredible!"

to be Continued .... 

I will add to my reviews of both the Movies, Actors, and Champagne's at a later date. Hope you all enjoy this for now. So until the next great movie, and the next great French Champagne. As Arnold would say, "Hasta la Vista Baby!"

SUNDAY SAUCE

WHEN ITALIAN-AMERICANS COOK

GREAT RECIPES For MOVIES

The GODFATHER

GOODFELLAS

The IRISHMAN

STATE of GRACE

AMAZON

.

Champagne Watch a Movie Goodfellas

 

Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts (L)

The POPE of GREENWICH VILLAGE

How to watch a movie? You go to the cinema or pop something on at home, no? Yes that one way. You can watch a movie and maybe it's good and maybe it's not. You got to a movie theater? Well not so much today, with Netflix, Cable TV, streaming, or picking out a Video (yes some still have them), or DVD from your home collection. Nowadays there are many ways to see a movie. There's the old fashion way of going to the cinema, paying money and seeing the latest movie of your choice. That was fun, and it was an event, a night out, and much more affordable than today. "Isn't everything?" Well yeah, most things are a lot more expensive than they were in years past, and somethings not. Candy bars for example are about 20 times more than they were when I was a kid. WHen I first started buying candy bars (Hershey Bar etc.) they were only 5 Cents. And guess what? They were only 5 Cents when my father was a boy, 30 years before. In 30 years, the price of a candy bar (all candy) hadn't gone up at all. When I first started buying Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey Bars, Almond Joys and such, they where just 5 cents, a Nickel a piece. Then they started going up, a nickel at a time, until they got to the point they are now, between 1 Dollar and a Buck 25 depending on where you buy one. That's as muc as 25 times increase since I was a boy. The average workers weekly income has gone up only 2 1/2 to 3 times since then, yet a Hershey Bar has gone up 20 times or more. A home has gone up close to 20 times as well, yet the price of long distance phone calls have decreased 20 times. What's a person to do. The price of a movie ticket? Yes it's gone up about 25 times since I started paying for my own movie ticket 50 years gone buy at the Rivoli Theater in Rutherford, New Jersey when it was just .75 for for a "Double Feature," two movies with Cartoons in between. No more Double Features, no more cartoons, doesn't exist. And boy did I Love, and did I have oh so much fun and fantasy, seeing all those great movies as a boy, back in 1960s America, it was just great, it was a "Wonderland," the movies and movie houses of yor.

Well, again, I've gone way off the track again. Were'nt we talking about how to watch a movie? Yep. Now watching a movie in your normal way, and watching a movie with my winemaker cousin Joseph Macari Jr. of the North Fork of Long Island, New York is a whole other story. First off, you're got to have a great movie. A movie with great actors and a great director always helps. When Joe and I would be watching movies, most of them would tend to be what you'd call guy films, such as Mob Movies made by the likes of Italian-American Directors Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. Movies like the Godfather I and II, Goodfellas, Casino, and Raging Bull.  The Pope of Greenwich Village by Vincent Partrick, and starring Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts is one of our all-time favorites, as is State of Greace about the Irish Mafia of Hell's Kitchen , New York, and which Gary Oldman turned in one hell of an incredible performance, playing Irish Mob Boss (Ed Harris) crazy brother, Irish Mob Soldier.

So we'd pick a movie, get it ready, then Joe would go down into his wine cellar and grab an amazing bottle of Champagne. And I'm not talking about  Vueve Cliquot (Orange Label) or MOET - White Star, I'm talking some really serious Champagne, "The Best of The Best." Joe came back that night with a bottle of BILLECART - SALMON Rose. "Wow!" Well I never had this Champagne before, I'd never even heard of it. Joe popped the cork and poured me a glass. We toasted, and then I took my first sip. Again, "Wow," It was absolutely amazing. And I was in love. Yes I do love that Champagne, Billecart - Salmon Rose. It is so very delicious, and some have said, the Brut Rose Champagne produced by the Champagne House of Billecart - Salmon is a reference point as to how a great French Rose Champagne should taste, and that's absolutely marvelous. And it should "Blow Your Mind" so to speak as that wine did for my that night, way back in the Fall of the year 2000. Yes Billecart Rose, as we call it, has to be my number 1 al-time favorite of all the great CHampagnes of France. And I've had many great champagnes, and ones that are far more expensive, and some might think better, than the Rose of Billecart Salmon, but not me. It was that special night, hanging out with my cousin Joe, watching Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts in The Pope of Greenwich Village, enjoying the film, laughing, talking about it, and savoring that fine Champagne. 

   

Billecart - Salmon

Brut Rose

The champagnes of Maison Billecart-Salmon are above all created thanks to the knowledge of the men who rigorously cultivate an estate of 100 hectares, obtaining grapes from an area totaling 300 hectares across 40 crus of the Champagne region.

The majority of the grapes used for vinification come from a radius of 20km around Epernay, where the Grand Crus of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay co-exist, in the ethereal vineyards of the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs.

Yes, we do love our Champagne, we're music lover, gourmands, and film buffs, and we combine these interests into some very sepcial times. Over the years we watched Man on Fire with Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, The Silence of The Lambs and other great movies. And we drank wines like Solaia, Tiganello, Taittinger's Comtes di Champagne and other great wines, and vintage Champagne. Our, and by the way, I haven't completely set the scene. When Joe and I watched these movies and drank Champagne, it was after the whole family, after a long day at Macari Vineyards, we'd all have a nice dinner together. We cooked, ate, chatted, and drank some nice wine with dinner. Then, as everyone was quite tired and would retire to bed, Joe and I would get our movie, an awesome bottle of Champagne, and we'd dig in. Dig into a classic film and some Vintage Champagne.

"Now that my friends, is How You Watch a Movie. Wouldn't you agree?" Basta !  

Me & Cousin Joe

Drinking Prosecco in VENICE

 

.

 

James Caan, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and John Cazale

As The CORELONE FAMILY

Sonny, Don Vito, Michael, and Freddo

In FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA'S The GODFATHER

"Joe and I drank "MILLE Una NOTTE" from our friends The RALLO FAMILY of DONNAFUGATA , Marsala, SICILY when we watched this one. We had to, great Sicilian Wine and a Sicilian Family, The CORLEONES of Corleone, Sicilia ...

 

Gary Oldman

STATE of GRACE

Wine Pairing ?

IRISH WHISKEY of Course !

TULLAMORE DEW

 

PULP FICTION

Our Wine Pairing ?

RUINART BLANC di BLANC

 

RUINART

BLANC de BLANCS

Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) would approve of the Champagne selection, "I'm sure."

For me, Pulp Fiction was an absolute Masterpiece, and easily director Quentin Tarrantino's greatest film. I really liked Tarrantino's first film Resevoir Dogs, but not nearly as much as Pulp Fiction, which is in my Top 10 Films. 

John Travolta, Ving Raimes, Eric Stolz, Harvey Keitel, and Samuel L. Jackson were awesome in the film, as was Uma.

The screenplay by Tarrantio and Roger Avery was the base of this great film. I'm still waiting for tarrantino to make at least one more great film, but just for this masterpiece alone, for me he's a genius. And I love another screenplay that Tarrantino wrote, but didn't direct the movie. And that would be the movie True Romance, directed by the late great Tony Scott (RIP).

 

Robert DeNiro as JAKE LaMOTTA

In Martin Scorsese 's RAGING BULL

Wine Pairing ?

 

KRUG

Grande Cuvee

Raging Bull, another great film classic from director Martin Scorsese. KRUG Grande Cuvee, what can you say, "This Champagne is Amazing!" It's KRUG after all?

 

Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper

TONY SCOTT'S "TRUE ROMANCE"

As Vincenzo Cocotti and Cliff Worley

WINE PAIRING for TRUE ROMANCE ?

POL ROGER "SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL"

 

POL ROGER - SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL

 

"Dam I Love this Champagne!" What's not to Love? Pol Roger- Sir Winston Churchill is one of the Best Champagne's money can buy, "you just can't get any better." Full of those yeasty bready Brioche flavors that I love in fine Vintage Champagne. And the movie True Romance, what can I say? Dam, I just flipped for this film the first time I saw it. And seeing this movie and Christian Slater's awesome performance as Clarence Worly, just blew my mind, and I finally gained respect for Christian's acting abilities. I've know Christian since he was about 10 years old, and his mother, powerhouse Casting Director Mary Jo Slater used to bring him to a restaurant I worked in long ago (the 1980s).

This film was awesome from beginning to end, and is one of Quentin Tarrantino's greatest works. he wrote the screenplay, but didn't make the movie, which was directed by Tony Scott. The movie is filled with one awesome ensemble cast which includes: the stars Slater and Patricia Arquette (ALabama), along with cameos by Dennis Hopper (Slater's father), Christopher Walkin as Mob Boss Vincenzo Cocotti, Brad Pitt as Michael Rappaport's "Stoner Friend," Val Kilmer plays ELVIS PRESLEY, Gary Oldman is aboslutely Electrifying as wannabe Rastafarian Drug Dealer / Pimp called Drexl.

Anyway, I love the movie, and was oh so happy to turn Joe on to it. He had never seen it before, and he abolutely loved it. We had a great time watching it together, and The Sir Winston Chruchill Champagne did not hurt at all. "It was incredible!"

to be Continued .... 

I will add to my reviews of both the Movies, Actors, and Champagne's at a later date. Hope you all enjoy this for now. So until the next great movie, and the next great French Champagne. As Arnold would say, "Hasta la Vista Baby!"

Some Yummy Italian Wine FLACCIANELLO 2010 LOVE IT

The Vigna della Piave Vineyard

In The CONCA d'ORO

FONTODI ESTATE

PANZANO , ITALY

"Oh My God" is what I sputtered after taking a taste of some Flaccianello the other night. OMG as the kids say, and it was just the natural reaction of tasting one of the tastiest wines I've ever tasted in my life, and I've tasted quite a lot: many great Barolo's of all the best vintages, Brunello, Barbaresco, Amarone, Champagne, Burgundy's, and all the great Bordeaux 's. The Flaccianello 2010 I drank the other night at Trattoria Monte's in Greenwich Village was absolutely spectacular, it was a perfect wine, and I don't often through that phrase out there other than a couple times a year, after drinking hundreds of wines a year, each and every year for the past 25 years or so, this was one of the best, and I'm sure one I'll long remember.

There have been other wines like this, one that stick out in my mind and will always remember, while thousands of others I don't. Yes I'll long remember that I drank that Flaccianello 2010 that night at Monte's, it was that good. I poured some of the wine into my glass, not knowing that it would be one of those great ones, an unforgettable wine. I poured it in the glass, smelled it, it smelled good, but I didn't know that once I drank it, and took that first sip, "Wow," was not all I could say. I told my friends, "Oh my God, this wine is amazing, I love it." I don't need to go into a whole "it taste like this (adjective) and that (adjective)," I don't like doing that. What I do like saying, is that it tasted so dam good, and I just loved it. It was delicious and in perfect balance, and a wine I'm sure that I'll remember drinking for a long time.

The Fontodi Estate, nestled in the famed "Conca D'Oro" (Gold Shell) in thee town of Panzano in the Chianti Classico zone in Tuscany is about 22 miles south of Florence. It's a beautifu estate sitting there in the Golden Shell. Fontodi was one of the first vineyards I had ever visited, way back in 1996 when I was doing research for the Venetian Wine Bar / Trattoria that I created in 1997, hwich just so happened to be the Vintage of the Century for wine all over the World. Anyway a friend set up the visit with the owner Giovanni Manetti to have a private tasting and tour of Fontodi, needless to say we had a wonderful time, and I have loved Mr. Manetti's wines ever since, especailly the Chianti, Chianti Vigna del Sorbo, and of course the Flaccianello elle Piave. I a have tasted almost every vintage of Flaccianello since, and have enjoyed many of them, but I teell you, none as much as the 2010, the wine is phenomenal, and I'm looking forward, I hope to drinking it again. Bravo Giovanni.

Basta!

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

June 14, 2019

.

The CELLARS at FONTODI

FLACIANELLO della PIAVE 2010

100% Sangiovese

FONTODI ESTATE , Panzano in Chianti Classico

Giovanni Manetti

THIS is what ROBERT PARKER Said about the FLACCIANELLO 2010

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Now to a superstar of Italian enology: The 2010 Flaccianello della Pieve will take your breath away. This is a seriously beautiful Sangiovese-based wine with the kind of intensity and aromatic purity you only experience every 1,000 wines or so. There's a lot to say here. First, the wine’s beautiful appearance shows dark garnet colors with highlights of ruby and purple gemstone. The bouquet delivers a steady and seductive evolution with dark cherry, chocolate, spice, tobacco and sweet almond all seamlessly balanced one against the other. Its texture and inner fabric is rich, velvety and firm. There's a brilliant spot of acidity that hits you at the back of the mouth and helps the wine from feeling too heavy or dense. In fact, outstanding elegance is what ultimately sets it apart. The temptation to drink it now is huge, but those still young tannins definitely need a few more years to unwind. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2035.

.

FLACCIANELLO

Back Label

I'm looking for the pictures that I took when I visited the Fontodi Estate back in 1996. If I find them, I'll post here at a later date.

Giovanni Manetti

At FONTODI

"He Makes OLIVE OIL Too"

.

Tre Bicchieri New York 2019 ITALIAN WINE

FERRARI

 

 

Great Italian Sparkling Wine

 

TRE BICCHIERI 2019

 

 

NEW YORK

It's taken me a couple weeks, but here it is. My take and thoughts on the 2019 TreBicchieri Italian Wine Tasting - New York. Was disappointed the last 2 years, but this year was great. Back to the good old days of Tre Bicchieri.

  

I am always excited at the prospect each and every year of going to the most important New York Italian Wine Tasting of the Year, The Tre Bicchieri Italian Wine Tasting of Italy's finest wines. This wine tasting which historically is conducted by the magazine that is known by American Italian Wine people as the "Wine Spectator of Italy," Gambero Rosso whose book Gambero Rosso - Italian Wines is the Premier Wine Tasting of the year.

 

This book published by Gambero Rosso Publications, of the organizations Best Italian Wines of The Year, which are Tre Biccheri Award Winners, Tre Bicchieri translating to "Three Glasses," whereby wines from every corner of Italy are meticulously tasted and judged by Italian Wine Experts of Italy. Wines are awarded 1, 2, or 3 Glasses for the best wines. A book is published of all the wine estates of any importance from all over Italy, from each and every wine region, and all the estates from these regions.

 

The TRE BICCHIERI Wine tastings which are held in Italy and all throughout the World in cities like; New York, Chicago, SanFrancisco, Boston, Milan, Rome and ...

 

 

 

 

MY FAVORITE PROSECCO of Them ALL !!!

 

VILLA SANDI PROSECCO CARTIZZE

 

 

This Prosecco is absolutely The BEST !!! Trust me on this one. You will not find a better Prosecco anywhere. If you Love Prosecco and the "Finer Things in Life" then this is the Prosecco you should be drinking, Villa Sandi - Prosecco "Cartizze"  , from the Cartizze Zone of the Valdobbadene where the World's Finest Prosecco comes from. 

 

TASTING NOTES : Villa Sandi Prosecco Cartizze

 

COLOR

 

Very pale straw yellow and an intense, fine and persistent perlage.

BOUQUET

Intensely fruity aroma with clear hints of ripe golden apple, exotic fruit salad and citrus fruits; a persistent flowery aroma reminiscent of acacia and wistaria flowers.

FLAVOUR

Fresh, dry and austere but at the same time agreeably smooth. A fine froth develops in the mouth liberating soft fruity sensations.

WHY is It Calle CARTIZZE ?

Superiore di Cartizze. The hill of Cartizze is a 305 metres (1,001 ft) high vineyard of 107 hectares (260 acres) of vines, owned by 140 growers. The Prosecco from its grapes, of which comparatively little is produced, is widely considered to be of the highest quality, or even the "Grand Cru" of Prosecco.

 

 

 

 

 

 

LAURA FELUGA

 

Of LIVIO FELUGA

 

 

Laura Felluga, holds just one bottl of her family's famed White Wines from Collio, Friuli in North Eastern Italy, where Italy's and The Best White Wines in the entire World are made.

It was great seeing Laura Felluga at this years Tre Bicchieri NY. I've long loved her family's fine wines, especially their Pinot Grigio, which is my all-time favorite of any Pinot Grigio at all, of which this wine and grape varietal are often maligned as being tasteless and of low class as far as the wine world is concerned. "Not," especially in the case of Liveo Fellugo who to me makes the benchmark of the species, a wine that is always a great pleasure to drink.

The Livio Felluga premium wine "Terre Alte" was their Tre Bicchieri award winner, and a fine wine it is. Laura gave me a taste, I took a sip, made an assessment and we discussed. "I loved it," I let Laura know. It tasted quite fine, with rich creamy Tropical Fruit and Almond flavors, the wine was a delight to drink. It's a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Baino, and Friuliano (Tocai) grapes, and is the estates premier wine, and though it is a great wine and nice to drink every now and the, I'll take the Pinot Grigio almost every time. 

I told Laura how much I love their Pinot Grigio and that I feel it is the best one on the market, a feeling I've had ever since I first tasted it, way back in 1997 when I opened America's 1st ever Venetian Wine Bar (Bacaro), Bar Cichetti in Greenwich Village New York. I remarked to Laura how I loved the Copper Color that Felluga's Pinot Grigio usually has, a true sign of the highest quality when it comes to Pinot Grigio. Laura agreed. I thanked her for the tasting and little chat, I told her to say hello to her Dad, and I said goodbye (Ciao).

 

 

TERRE ALTE

 

Created in 1981, Terre Alte is considered one of Italy's most prestigious white wines. The balanced blend of Friulano, Pinot Bianco and Sauvignon grapes, estate-grown at Rosazzo in the historic Terre Alte vineyards, yelds a superbly elegant wine with a profusion of intense fruit and flower aromas. A wine of outstanding structure, Terre Alte acquires a wonderfully complex bouquet of tertiary aromas with bottle aging. 

 

 

 

In Friuli, and far beyond this special land of very special people and wines, the name Livio Felluga is synonymous with all that is best in the oenological heritage.

The long family tradition extends over five generations, back to the days when the Felluga's were making Refosco and Malvasia in their native Isola d’Istria. 
Seventy years ago, the family’s skills were transferred to Friuli by the eldest son of the fourth generation, Livio, whose great privilege it is to be regarded as the patriarch of viticulture and winemaking in the region.

In the 1950s, Livio set up the cellar at Brazzano, sealing his love for the hill country with the far-sighted purchase of the first Felluga vineyards at Rosazzo.

 

 

PINOT GRIGIO GRAPES

 

LIVO FELLUGA VINEYARDS

 

 

 

Pinot Grigio "Livio Felluga." This celebrated variety derives from a bud mutation of Pinot Noir. Pinot Grigio favours cooler climates and finds its ideal habitat on the hillsides. Livio Felluga's vinification technique gives the wine finesse and elegance while preserving the faint coppery highlights that are Pinot Grigio's hallmark. Without doubt, it is the best-known Friulian wine around the world. 

 

CASTELLO ALBOLA CHIANTI CLASSICO Riserva

At TRE BICCHIERI

NEW YORK 2019

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New York Brunello Tastnig 2019

CARPARZO BRUNELLO

At The NEW YORK BRUNELLO TASTING 2019

 

 

Brunello di Montalcino means “Brunello of Montalcino” with Montalcino being a hilltop village located south of Siena in Tuscany and Brunello being a very specific clone of Sangiovese called “Sangiovese Grosso” which means ‘little dark one.’ It’s grapes are full and dark, and it is the only Tuscan red wine that is not a blend so you get the absolute purest expression of the grape. It’s classic flavor profiles include blackberry, black cherry, chocolate and leather. Is it just me or is that not insanely delicious sounding?

Just like France, Italy takes wine making very, very seriously. The DOCG rules there are strict and wine makers are held only to the highest standards. Case in point: Brunello vineyards can’t be planted at a higher altitude than 1968ft above sea level in order to guarantee that the grapes reach the highest flavor and ripeness. Additionally, Brunello can’t be bottled until after it has aged no less than 4 years; 5 years for the Reserves. This is because it takes THAT long for the strong tannins to soften. These are just a couple of the reasons why Brunello is so unique and truly special.

 

 

 

 

Tasting Ticket

BENVENUTO BRUNELLO

NEW YORK 2019

 

"I Miss GOTHAM HALL"

 

Yes, I miss Gotham Halle where the New York Benveuto Brunello tasting was helf for a number of years. Gotham Hall is one of the most beutiful event spaces in all of New York. Gotham Hall is in gorgeous hall that once housed The Greenwich Savings Bank. This year, the Brunello Event was moved to  Tribeca 360, which is a nice enough space with a fantastic view of lower Manhattan to the Hudson River and New Jersey beyond. I'd rather be in the beautiful NeoClassic Building that houses Gotham Hall, you feel as if you're in a Beautiful Palazzo in Venice or some other grand Italian city. Tribeca 360 has way too much light, and the vibe is completely different than a Brunello Italian Wine Tasting at Gotham Hall, Tribecca 360 justed can't compete with the Beauty and Granduer of Gotham Hall.

Anyway, "Nuff Said," lets move on to talking about Brunello and the tasting itself.

IL POGGIONE

 

Great VIN SANTO and of course Brunello Di Montalcino

 

IL Poggione was one of my favorite producers showing at the 2019 Benvenuto Brunello New York Tasting. I really liked the Il Poggione Brunello 2012 as well as they IL Poggione Brunello riserva 2012 ... The IL Poggione VIN SANTO was Text-Book Vin Santo with that wonderful Walnut Tasting taste that all properly made Vin Santo has. 

 

Sangivovese Grosso

 

aka BRUNELLO Grapes

 

On Vines in MONTALCINO , ITALY

 

in TOSCANO

 

 

 

 

The Brunello di Montalcino Consortium, the association that promotes and safeguards the celebrated Tuscan wines, will host the annual Benvenuto Brunello event in the United States on Monday, January 28th at Tribeca 360 in New York. Benvenuto Brunello is an exclusive wine tasting experience for trade and media during which the latest vintage release from 30 renowned Brunello producers is previewed.

Producers will showcase their 2014 Brunello di Montalcino and 2013 Riserva, as well as the 2017 vintage of their Rosso di Montalcino, Sant'Antimo and Moscadello di Montalcino. This year's participating wineries include Altesino, Carpineto, Fanti, Fattoria La Magia, Le Chiuse and Villa Poggio Salvi, among many others. 

 

 

 

The events will feature a walk-around tasting, as well as select seminars, which will be led by Sotheby's Master of Wine Candidate Nick Jackson and Giacomo Pondini, Director of the Consortium of Brunello di Montalcino. 

"Benvenuto Brunello in New York is an incredibly important event for us, as America is one of our largest export markets and one of the global wine capitals," says Consortium President Patrizio Cencioni, "challenging, wet and cool, 2014 harvest yielded limited quantities of supple and delicate Brunello".

 

 

 

Overall, I wasn't too crazy about many of the wines at this tasting as opposed to other years like; 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2010, the Brunello Vintage of 2014 was not a very good year. It was good enough to meet all the criterior to make Brunello, it's just that it was little better than a mediocer year. Sorry, but I'm not the only one who feels this way.

 

 

 

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conti Francesco Cinzano (Owner of Col D'Orcia)

 

with Author/ Italian Wine Guy - Daniel Bellino-Zwicke .com

 

 

 

 

 

MARCHESE FERDINANDO FRESCOBALDI

 

of FRESCOBALDI WINES

 

with AUTHOR DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE

 

BEST SELLING ITALIAN COOKBOOK AUTHOR

 

ITALIAN WINE GUY

 

CREATOR of "BAR CICHETTI"

 

AMERICA'S 1st Ever BACARO

 

aka VENETIAN WINE BAR

 

 

 

 

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Actor James Starace

 

with Author Daniel Bellino Zwicke

 

At CASTELLO VERAZZANO

 

GREVE in CHIANTI

 

TUSCANY, ITALY

 

 

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SUNDAY SAUCE

 

 

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"I MISS GOTHAM HALL" !!!