New Year 2014: Felice Anno Nuovo

It's been a good year, with lots of good wine, great food and incredible people.
I've tried more new wines this year than the year before, met new people in the wine industry and tried different types of winery work. Safe to say it's been an amazing year "wine wise". 

Hopefully next year will be equally great or perhaps even better. Maybe I'll get to try Harvest, something I always miss due to school. Since I graduate in May, I hope that I'll be able to go to Harvest, even though I'll have to go to the gym everyday if I want to be any help at all. 

 

Thank you to everyone who made this year great! Especially my friends in Italy! I miss you guys and hope to see you soon!

Felice Anno Nuovo!

Wine in Brazil

I have been so lucky when it comes to wine. I started with Barolo and Burgundy, at the top. It's a blessing and somewhat of a curse, because I missed out on the journey of trying other wines. 


 


Now that I am in Brazil with the Dias family, I am surrounded by  restauranteurs and winemakers and wine people, all who are from Brazil or Portugal. 

So, in the next few days I will be trying a lot of different wines, expanding my horizons and experiencing different cultures. 

Safe to say I am super excited!

Christmas Eve

In Norway it's tradition to eat what we call "stick meat" which is lamb, and it does not really go with any wine. But we chose Bartolo Mascarello's Barbera, because of all the wines, Barbera is one of the ones that goes best with "stick meat", but most importantly, it's because Maria Teresa likes Lamb.

The wine was amazing as always, smooth and easy to drink, yet complex, and you can tell it was made with love and passion.
More winemakers should make wine like this, and if you ever have the pleasure of meeting Miss Barolo Mascarello, she will blow you away with her enthusiasm for her work and her passion for the grapes and her wine. And if you don't get to meet her, Alan will probably show you around, and he is also wonderful, sharing Maria Teresa's passion and enthusiasm for the wine.

Favorite Wine Stores in NYC

Astor Wines
Astor wines has a large selection, and you can find both Cavallotto and Vietti. What I like about Astor Wines is they don't just have the Barolo's, they have Barbera and Dolcetto, and also inexpensive white wine.  Check out their website here.

Moore Brother's Wine Company
Discovered completely by accident, this wonderful wine store is located right next to La Pizza Fresca. To my delight, I found Ettore Germano's wines there! Dolcetto, Barbera, Langhe Nebbiolo, Barolo and his Langhe Chardonnay! I did not see his Herzu, which is my favorite, but I am still impressed! Learn about their impressive efforts to bring great wine to the US here.

Flatiron Wines
This store is small, yet has a great selection. Their burgundy sections is great, along with their Piemonte section. The staff is helpful and friendly, and the prices are pretty good. Definately a go to when in New York. Check out their website.

Chamber Street
Although I have never actually been here myself, I know this is one for the books. At Chamber Street you can find old gems at a decent price, and from what I hear, the staff is very knowledgeable and helpful. It's on my "Barrel list" for sure! You can find more information on their website.

Christmas Wine Wish List

Like many other people in the wine world, I have put together a little wish list for those who are interested in wine.

Blindtasting Sleeve

If you are a blindtasting lover, these wine sleeves are awesome. Many different colors make it so you can blintaste many wines at a time. Learn more about them here.

 

Wine Tumbler
If you live in a college apartment, travel a lot or just in general, wine tumblers are great! I have them in my college apartment and use them when I want to drink on the boat or go on a weekend trip. You never know which glasses you will get when you travel, so I always bring my own. Look at them here.

Wine Skin
Something less fun, but necessary for the wine traveler, is the Wine Skin. It makes it possible to buy wine when you travel, giving you the change to bring home wine that you can't buy it where you're from. You can buy it here.

Wine Glass Identifier
If you have dinner parties with many people, it can be hard to keep track of who has which glass. Here's where wine identifiers come in handy. You can look at a past post about them on my blog. Check them out here. 

World Atlas of Wine
If you don't already have one, or the person you are giving a gift to doesn't already have one, the World Atlas of Wine is a great book to learn about wine. It's the book I used for my wine course. 
You can buy it on Amazon, and you can learn more about it here.

Wine Glass Writer
Another prop that goes well with blindtasting is the Wine Glass Marker, a marker that you can write on your glass with. 
Learn more about them here.

 

Blenheim - Pictures

 Cavallotto Pinner - always a winner

 Home made syrup- YUM!

Blenheim NYC

Blenheim is owned by a Norwegian, Morten Sohlberg. The restaurant, located in West Village NYC, is named after his farm outside of the city, where they grow their own vegetables and raise their own meet (animals). The restaurant takes on a farm-to-table approach, which is impressive for a restaurant in NYC.
The Team at Blenheim include Morten, Min Ye and the chef Ryan Tate. 

The food was incredible, the service great and ambiance spectacular. Their wine list included Cavallotto's Pinner so I was very happy. 

This place is definitely worth a visit. It was just such an amazing food experience. I will be coming back for sure. 

Learn more about them here: http://www.blenheimhill.com/

Sorbet: Thyme, Cider and Citrus

#tbt France Summer 2014

Wish I was back in France, drinking white burgundy and eating amazing food. Hope I get to go back soon!

DIY: Wine Bottle Candle Holder

 

If you are looking for more DIY related to wine, here is another! This one required some tools, and apparently you can buy those online!
I found the G2 Bottle Cutter online, ordered it on Amazon, and two days later it was here! 
Assembling it was interesting, but the directions were pretty good, so I was ready to score the glass bottle in no time. 

Here's what you do:
1) Boil water in a pot + make an ice bath in a bowl
2) Score the bottle 
3) When the water boils, dip the bottle in the water making sure the scored line is submerged. Keep in the water for 5 seconds.
4) Quickly dip the bottle in the ice water, making sure the line is submerged.
5) Repeat the dipping until the bottom of the bottle separates from the top.
And voila! 

 This is the bottle cutter.                  

DIY: Night Stand Lamp

A new little DIY project, now taking up residence on my night stand. 
All you need is a empty wine bottle, without the label and some twinkle lights. Super easy, you just thread the lights into the bottle, plug it in and Voila!

La Morra - Brookline

I found La Morra - in Brookline.

Looking for restaurant choices on Open Table, La Morra came up. Since I frequent the city of La Morra, and love Italian food,  I thought it would be interesting to check it out. As soon as I got in the door, I was greeted by a giant Vietti poster. The funny thing is, I spent a few hours rolling those posters together, so it brought back fond memories.

We had to ask about their connection with Vietti, and it turned out the owners, Josh and Jennifer Ziskin, have lived in La Morra in Piemonte, and worked at a restaurant there. What are the chances?! They are also familiar with the Vietti family and their wines, and have most of their wines on their wine list. It was nice to be surrounded by people familiar with La Morra, the people of Barolo and of course, the wine.

The food was good, the staff was friendly and the wine amazing. It's nice to know a little piece of La Morra is close by. 

Check out the website here.
Their wine list online is not comprehensive, but the wine list in the restaurant is quite impressive. 

Elio Altare Dinner

Fantastic. Just fantastic. 
The Elio Altare Winemaker Dinner overcame all expectations. First of all, it was great to see Elio again. Second of all, the restaurant La Pizza Fresca in  New York, was quite nice. I have never been before, but I was quite impressed and their wine list is quite impressive.

We sat at our own table, was served a four course meal and had 7 glasses of wine.
Dolcetto
Barbera
Barolo (La Morra) 2004 and 2010
Barolo Arborina 2004, 2007 and 2010.

Elio looked great as always, was modest as always and still believes he can't speak English. He still made a speech, in Italian, and one of his Skurnik representatives translated. 

If you want to know more about La Pizza Fresca, check it out here.

Flatiron Wines

Flatiron Wines in New York is a little wine shop with a surprising selection. It can be hard to miss this New York Gem, but it is a must to go if you are looking for good wines. 
The Italian section is larger than many other stores, and you can find both Elio Altare and Bartolo Mascarello. 

The French section holds the "cheaper" Comte Lafon, but also many other great wines, if you are in a Burgundy kind of mood.
The wines are fairly priced, and their selection fairly wide. 

Check out their website for more information. 

New York Wine Experience

I have never been to the New York Wine Experience, but it's on my Barrel List. 

This year, my "boss" Elena Penna with Vietti will be there, and I am sad to miss her.

You can read more about the event here. 

The Wine Spectator hosts the Wine Experience, and the event consist of seminars and tasting. There is a program with sit down tastings, lunches with wine parings and a Grand Award Banquet. 

Burlotto - Pelaverga 2013

<sup>Burlotto is one of the oldest producers of Barolo. Today Fabio Allessandria, is the winemaker. 

Pelaverga is an old, grape variety, and a rare grape variety as well. The Burlotto family has grown the grape since the1800's. The pelaverga grape is know to make lightly sparkling, strawberry flavored wines.


The Pelaverga 2013 has a cherry red color and the aromas include cherries, notes of bourbon, and even hints of white pepper. The wine is dry, but fruity, medium bodied and rich.


You can visit the Burlotto website to learn more about their wines.</sup>

Lupa Osteria Romana

If you are ever in NYC, check out Lupa in Greenwich Village on Thompson street. 
Lupa is one of Mario Batali's restaurants, one tier above Otto and one tier below Babbo.Mr. Batali openened Lupa in 1999 with Joseph Bastianich, Mark Ladner and Jason Denton.

Just make sure you book a table, they fill up quickly. You can drop by, they have a few tables available for walk-ins, but reservations are recommended.  

The food, mainly Roman, is superb, wine list wonderful and staff exceptional. You can look at their Wine List.

I have been going to Lupa for years, and will keep going. My usual dinner consists of assorted meats for an antipasti, Bucatini al'amatriciana as a main course, and cheese for dessert. I usually also go for the Ettore Germano Herzu, one of my favorites. 

Check out their website here.  

 Cheers!

Nino Negri

Nino Negri is a winery located near Lago di Como. I first discovered the wine when I was in Bellagio a few years ago, in a little wine bar. I had the Ca' Brione, which is my favorite wine of theirs.
Their reds are fairly good, however very different from what I usually enjoy.

At the MS Walker tasting in Boston, I found the Ca' Brione and two reds. Hopefully I'll be able to find it in a store nearby. 

You can read more about Nino Negri here.

Cinque Terre

Elio Altare is famous for his Barolo's, Barbera's and hi Dolcetto's. What fewer know about, is his project on the edge of Cinque Terre. 
Altare produces white and red wine on the edge of a cliff along the ocean in Cinque Terre. The work is hard, the hills are steep, but the final product is very good. His white from this area is one of my favorites.

The project interests me for many reasons. He is, of course, Elio Altare. His passion for wine is contagious and it was on that cliff in his vineyard along the coast that I first started to love wine; and that was before I had even tasted it. 

A more practical aspect of the project: it helps keep the earth in tact and prevents mudlsides. Mudslides have been a problem in the area, and Altare's vineyard is part of preventing future ones.

Wine production is expensive and hard work, but this little adorable man eagrly runs up and down those hills. And there are no machines. I repeat, there is no tractor or car or anything. They carry the grapes on their backs. 

You can check out the project on their website here.

Toni Fadnes, author of How To Wine Travel wrote a wonderful article about Altare's project in Cinque Terre. You can find the article: here.

Read about Cinque Terre and Elio here: TheVipTable

Father and Daughter Wine Makers

This summer, my Dad joined me at Vietti for a day and Altare for a day.

 

When we worked for Vietti, we went to their Vineyard near Asti, where they have some Dolcetto and Barbera. We did what is called de-leafing, where we cut off the leaves to expose the grapes to the sun. Due to the wet weather this year, the grapes need to be exposed to the sun more than if it had been a dry year. Working so close to the grapes is amazing. You actually feel like you are making a difference, even though we may not have made any difference.

At Altare's, we did some labeling and packaging, preparing a shipment. Working with Silvia is always fun, and we played music and had some fun.
Labeling involves putting the full bottles onto the machine that labels for you, the packaging the bottles. Everything is done by hand, other than the actual labeling. It may not sound that way, but it is hard work. But we had some fun too!