CONVIVIUM
Table Talk with Food, Wine & Spirits Professionals
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Archive for June, 2010
Last Tuesday, the first of a series of innovative pairing dinners was held at Jardinière restaurant in San Francisco. Co-hosts Traci Des Jardins, Michael Mondavi, and Gary Shansby got together a group of San Francisco press, chefs and mixologists to experience a special menu that paired with Mondavi’s wines and Shansby’s Tequila Partida. Usually pairing dinners are focused exclusively on wine and focus on either press or trade, but Gary and Michael wanted to bridge this gap with the more ambitious task of pairing each dish with wine and tequila. The special menu prepared by Des Jardins included Hudson Ranch Pork Three Ways and Seared Scallops with Chipollini Onions and Fava Beans, Tomato Nage and Cilantro Coulis. A number of well-known San Franciscans were present, including Donna Scala of Bistro Don Giovanni and Nick Peyton of Cyrus.
The dinners will be reprised in the coming months across the US. Next up, Chicago, which will be co-hosted at Blackbird by chefs Paul Kahan and Mike Sheerin, followed by Miami co-hosted by chef Paul Ruiz at La Palmde d’Or at the Biltmore. Future dinners will take place in Dallas, Los Angeles, and finally New York in January 2010.
We’re looking forward to continuing to explore the similarities between fine tequila and wine – their similiarities are numerous and quite suprising. And bringing together a diverse group of people involved in creating, writing about, and enjoying all facets of gastronomy is always a fun (and interesting) time.
 Related posts: Posted in: Events , Spirits , Uncategorized , Wine | Comments Off Heading to Williamsburg for the evening? I’ve got your game plan. For those in Manhattan who are reluctant to venture past the bridge for a night out, there is a ton going on just a train stop off the island on the L. First off, check out the Brooklyn Brewery, where for $20 you can get 6 locally brewed and delicious beers, from a Pilsner to a Buzz Bomb and everything in between. Make sure to bring a fun board game. Last call is around 7:30 pm, so if you get in early enough for a tour certainly take the time to see how everything goes down, otherwise make sure to get there by 6 to fully appreciate your brew. For dinner, head a few blocks down to Fornino, where the pizza is fresh and the sangria is strong. The truffle oil will hit you on the way in, but don’t be pressured into ordering a large pizza with it or you will be tasting it all night. On your way back towards Berry Street, stop by the Van Leeuwen ice cream truck, where they might be out of your favorite flavor but this is the place to experiment and find a new one. Catch a breath on one of the many sitting-friendly stoop and do a little people watching. Finally, make your way to The Counting Room at 44 Berry, head downstairs and ask for Vince. Provide him an ingredient for the Dealer’s Choice and he will provide you with a great cocktail, or pick any off the ever-changing cocktail menu. This bar is a real gem, and if you skip any other parts of the night this is the one to not miss. The full evening out will cost you around $50, and worth every penny for 6 hours of fun! No related posts. Tags: Cocktails, Food, Spirits I was thrilled and honored to be invited on a tour of Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi and Arnaldo Caprai estates recently. An immersion into the world of Tuscany and Umbria winemaking was the opportunity of a lifetime, and I loved every minute of the trip! We began our visit in Florence, home of the Frescobaldi family which has been producing elegant and delicious wines for 700 years. Standing in Piazza de’ Frescobaldi, facing the Ponte Santa Trinita—the site of the first wooden bridge built across the Arno river in 1252 by the Frescobaldi family—gives you a real sense of their history and deep connection to the city. The Frescobaldi family owns and operates several wine bars and restaurants, and I was lucky enough to dine twice at dei Frescobaldi in Florence. After several days in the urban heart of Tuscany, I headed to wine country. First up was Tenuta di Castiglioni, built in 1050AD. It’s a beautiful estate, the ancestral home of the Frescobaldi family and current home of Marchese Leonardo Frescobaldi. We spent the remainder of our day in Montalcino at Castelgiocondo, where we had a wonderful lunch with Lamberto Frescobaldi complete with extraordinary Brunello before heading to Luce della Vite. Our next day began in Castello di Nipozzano, the estate which produces the flagship wine, Nipozzano Riserva. Castello di Nipozzano, located in Chianti Rufina, also produces the fruit used for Mormoreto, the most prestigious wine of the estate. We were lucky enough to attend an amazing vertical tasting with Marchese Leonardo Frescobaldi of the 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 vintages. From there, we visited Castello di Pomino built in 1894. Pomino DOC is the smallest DOC in Italy at less than 750 acres. The estate, part of Chianti Rufina until 1983, produces lovely and interesting Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The second half of the trip was spent in Umbria with Arnaldo Caprai. I was very excited to explore Umbria, because unlike Tuscany, this was my first trip to the region! We began our day in Bevagna, where Arnaldo Caprai maintains vineyards planted with Sagrantino, Sangiovese, Grechetto, and several other varietals. Sagrantino is king in Umbria, and winemaker Marco Caprai is synonymous with producing the truest and most delicious expression of the grape. After a phenomenal lunch at the town macceleria (butcher) and Enoteca La Bottega di Assu, we headed to the winery—a beautiful, state of the art building—set among working and experimental vineyards. We had a wonderful tour and tasting with Marco Caprai of the current releases of Grechetto Grecante, Montefalco Rosso, Sagantino di Montefalco Collepiano and Sagrantino di Montefalco 25 Anni. All delicious and distinctive. Our next day saw us in Perugia, Assisi and Spello, which included a visit to the Basilica di San Francesco d’Assisi. No related posts. Posted in: Uncategorized | Comments Off Summer is certainly the season for cocktail events. With restaurant openings, conventions, seminars, food pairing events, cocktail parties, competitions and more, the warmer months host the revival of many spirits and traditional summer cocktails. In the last month in New York, we have participated in the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, the Gourmet Latino Festival and the buzz continues to grow around the upcoming Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. As the weather heats up, summer editions are taking center stage like Beefeater’s Summer Edition Gin and Classic & Vintage’s June. Keeping in the spirit of the World Cup and Mexico’s great win yesterday, we at Colangelo and Partners ask everyone to raise their glass to the team from Mexico and indulge this weekend with a Partida Margarita! Partida Margarita 1 ½ oz Partida Blanco Tequila 1 oz Fresh squeezed lime juice ¾ oz Agave Nectar ¾ oz Water Shake all ingredients with ice in a shaker. Strain over fresh ice into a Margarita glass or Old-Fashioned glass. Taste for balance.
Related posts: Tags: Cocktails, Spirits, Tequila Partida  Michael Colameco in deep discussion with Tony May  Cesare Casella makes a point
Colangelo & Partners Public Relations organized a GRI (Gruppo Ristoratori Italiani) Symposium entitled, ‘Italian Cuisine: A Victim of Its Own Success?’ The Symposium debated authenticity of Italian cuisine in the US, the need for a ‘seal of authenticty’ for true Italian products and the apparent favortism food critics in the US show toward Americans cooking their versions of Italian cuisine vs. the authentic Italain cuisine prepared by Italian chefs working in this country. There were 3 panels over 2 days. Participants included renowned chefs like Massimo Bottura from Francescana in Modena (voted the #6 restaurant in the world this year), Paul Bartolotta from the Las Vegas Wynn and Gennaro Esposito, a 2-star Michelin chef from Campania, in Italy; food journalists including John Mariani and Michaeel Colameco (an accomplished chef in his own right and host of television and radio programs); leaders in the Italian food trade incuding Lou Di Palo of Di Palo’s Fine Foods and Tom Gellert of Atalanta Corp.;and leading culinary eductaors including Dr. Tim Ryan, president of the Culinary Institute of America, Cesare Casella of the International Culinary Center and Ferdinand Metz of the NRAEF (National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation). Tony May, GRI chairman, and Gianfranco Sorrention GRI president, lent their voices to the debate also. The debate was spirited (to say the least) with great commentary including, ‘Italian cuisine is like a Ferrari: Everybody has their own idea of what it is, but only a few get to experience it.’ And, “American chefs prepare Italian cuisine like a drag queen dresses: Overdone and trying too hard to be the ‘real thing.’” On a more serious note, the panel discussion concluded with a consensus on what should be done to maintain the integrity of Italian cuisine in America: Write a boooklet on key precepts of Italian cuisine to be taught in America’s culinary schools, initiate a ‘seal of authenticity’ to allow Americans to know when they’re buying true Italian products vs. Italian sounding products and most importantly, focus on education as the key to improving understanding of Italian cuisine in America — all lofty yet achievable ambitions. Related posts:
Tags: Gruppo Ristoratori Italiani, Italian cuisine, Lou Di Palo, Tony May If you dig a little beneath the surface of the debate surrounding how best to promote ‘Made In Italy,’ I think you’ll find a fair amount of irony. Lets de-construct this for a minute. Specific to the food realm, Americans think that the more sauce or ingredients you add to a dish the better it will be. Compare that to the Italian way of using less ingredients of higher quality. But when it comes to marketing ‘Made in Italy,’ it’s the exact opposite. Italians pile on a ton of unnecessary messages that, much like a dish of pasta at the Olive Garden, detract from the core message. Conversely, American marketers of Italian (or Italian style) products seemingly borrow a technique from top Italian chefs; they employ a ‘less is more’ approach that resonates with a larger cross-section of Americans. Hence why we have the ongoing debate of what exactly constitutes ‘Italian’ cuisine in the United States. Italian cuisine is consistently ranked as the favorite ethnic cuisine amongst Americans. I’m fairly confident, however, that most who proclaim their love for Italian food have no idea that Italy has 20 regions, that Asiago is also a town and that there is no such thing as fettuccine Alfredo. If you could lock the two sides in a room and force them to negotiate a unification treaty, you’d have the formula of how to package and sell the message Italian producers want to convey to the US market. I have a suggestion my own. To combat the rampant Italian imitation products that pervade store shelves and mind share of countless American consumers, Italian producers need to look to the less is more theme. Focus on the one fact that is required by law. If an olive oil says ‘packed in Italy,’ it is not Italian. If a product is in fact 100% Italian, the package by law must state ‘product of Italy.’ This is simple and powerful message is the sure-fire way for consumers to know the products they are purchasing are in fact Made In Italy. This will not, of course, resolve the problem entirely but a campaign focused on this simple message would be a monumental step in the right direction. So do your part. When you pick up a package of pasta – even is the Italian flag is plastered all over it – look on the back to see where it was actually made. When you go to the deli and ask for Prosciutto, Speck or Mortadella, specify ‘imported’ vs. ‘domestic.’ Just look how Crisco – YES, CRISCO! – has hopped on the band wagon. As always, don’t misconstrue the message. I am not advocating Crisco for the quality of their olive oil. I do, however, acknowledge the intelligence behind their marketing.
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