Gala Family Celebration Dinner at Angelis Italian - Naperville
The family successfully pulled off a surprise birthday party for wife/mom/grandmother Linda for her deca-milestone year. We gathered in the private dining room at
Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria (
Naperville, IL). We ordered a broad array of appetizers, our favorite dinner entrees from the menu and daily specials, followed by celebratory birthday cake, accompanied by our special BYOB wines.
All our kids and their kids were able to attend, including a surprise pop-in visit from Alec and Vivianna, only hours after release from the hospital, with less than 48 hour old, just arrived, daughter, grand-daughter, Marylin - named after her grandmothers Mary-Lisa and Linda. This was everyone's first encounter meeting her and the first time hearing her name as this was announced as part of her introduction at the gathering. All this further amplified the excitement and special circumstances of the occasion.
To accompany the dinner I brought BYOB, from our wine cellar a magnum of champagne and two reds - Del Dotto Napa Cabernet and a Venge Vineyards Sangiovese.
Piper Heidseick Brut Champagne (Magnum)
There's nothing like Champagne served from a large format magnum bottle - especially for special occasions. This bottle is even more festive with its red holiday packaging. We acquired several cases of these commemorative bottles upon release last year and have had fun serving them at weddings, holidays and special family occasions such as tonight.
Venge Vineyards Sangiovese Family Reserve Penny Lane Vineyard 2010
I pulled this bottle for its traditional Italian Sangiovese varietal composition to accompany our Italian cuisine dinner. This is from Venge Vineyards, one of the earliest growers and producers of this varietal based wine from Napa Valley sources. Nils Venge has long been a pioneer and thought-leader in Napa Valley.
The Venge (ven-ghee) family has
farmed vitis vinifera varieties in Napa Valley for nearly half a
century dating back to Knud Venge who emigrated from
Denmark to the US in the early 1900’s. Knud's son, Per Venge,
was passionate about wine and spirits and imported Western European fine wines and
spirits. Per's son, Nils Venge started in the family business in
the 1960's before leaving to study viticulture at UC Davis and then went on become an icon in the Northern California winegrowing community.
Venge family viticultural took root in Napa Valley in 1976 with the purchase of a
17-acre vineyard in the Oakville District that was planted to Cabernet
Sauvignon and Merlot.
We've met Nils and Dianna Venge on numerous occasions at Napa events and
visiting the Venge Vineyards in Oakville during the nineties. We first
met their son, Kirk Venge, who engaged in winemaking from an early age
while they were developing the Rossini Ranch Vineyards, Winery and caves
up in Calistoga.
Nils' and Dianna Venge's
son, Kirk Venge, engaged in winemaking at an early age and has emerged as a talented winemaker like his father.
I've written often in these pages how we have fun with this label with the prominent "V" in the branding, for special dinners with daughter-in-law Vivianna, such as tonight.
This is 90% Sangiovese and 10% Charbono from the Venge estate Penny Lane vineyard in Oakville.
Dark inky colored, full bodied, rich concentrated extracted fruit,
aromatic,almost intense black cherry and black raspberry with notes of
tobacco leaf, tea and hints of tar on a smooth silky tannin laced
finish. This was and ideal accompaniment to our zesty
Italian pasta!
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/12/venge-napa-valley-oakville-penny-lane.html
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1351252
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1351287
http://www.vengevineyards.com/
https://twitter.com/VengeVineyards
@VengeVineyards
Del Dotto Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 (Magnum)
We've been collecting Del Dotto Family Wine for over twenty-five years, since their inaugural release of this Napa Cabernet in 1993. The Del Dotto brand, holdings, portfolio and presence have grown substantially over those years, yet they still maintain their focus on small production, premium wines.
Over that time Dave Del Dotto has
acquired vineyards in some of the best American
Viticultural Areas (AVAs) including Rutherford, Oakville, St. Helena,
Howell Mountain, and Fort Ross-Seaview Sonoma Coast. The portfolio and brand has grown proportionally as well.
Today Del Dotto produce wines based on cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, sangiovese
and sauvignon blanc from their Napa Valley vineyards, as well as pinot
noir, chardonnay and limited amounts of syrah, sauvignon blanc,
sparkling grenache and mourvedre from their Cinghiale (wild boar) Vineyard
in the King Ridge region of the Sonoma Coast.
We still hold nearly two decades of Del Dotto wines dating back to that 1993 inaugural vintage release.
Over the years we've held Del Dotto wine dinners with Dave and Yolanda such as our Napa Wine Experience back in 1999, and attended numerous Del Dotto hosted special events. More recently, our Pour Boys wine group did the Del Dotto Napa Valley Cave Tour and Barrel Tasting at the magnificent St Helena estate winery and caves. And, our Del Dotto Piazza DELICACIES Food and Wine Experience at the then new Piazza Del Dotto estate and winery (and now caves) was one of the memorable highlights of our Napa Wine Experience in 2018.
Our collection of Del Dotto family wines remains one of the largest holdings in our cellar with both vertical and horizontal collections of favorite labels. Hence it was only fitting for a special occasion family dinner that I took a Del Dotto estate label, in magnum - especially since it was held at our local Italian trattoria.
Our -https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/08/del-dotto-napa-valley-cave-tour-barrel_12.html
Its hard to believe that with
published tasting notes of no less than sixty-five different labels and vintage releases - and countless iterations thereof, I have not tasted, or published a tasting note or blogpost of this particular label vintage release.
At twenty years, the fill level, label, foil and cork were all essentially perfect - indications of the aging environment in our cellar as we acquired this bottle upon release. This is probably at the peak of its drinking character and profile and not likely to improve with any further aging, but showed no sign of diminution whatsoever.
This vintage release was awarded 92-94 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.
Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, bright vibrant ripe concentrated blackberry and black currant fruits with notes of earthy leather, tobacco, hints of spice and cassis with moderate tangy acidity and tannins on the lingering finish.
RM 92 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1158239
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=84270
https://www.deldottovineyards.com/
https://twitter.com/DelDottoWine
@DelDottoWine
Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Brut Limited Edition Red Magnum Bottles NV
The Winemaker Notes for this release: "The Brut NV represents the epitome of the Piper-Heidsieck
style: a classic, well-structured, and fruit forward champagne.
Piper-Heidsieck carefully selects fruit from more than 100 of
Champagne’s crus to blend the Brut NV. This adds great complexity and
dimension to the wine and allows the bold Piper-Heidsieck style to shine
through.
A majority blend of Pinot
Noir provides structure to the composition while Pinot Meunier expands
the wine with its brilliant fruit expression and fleshiness and
Chardonnay bring elegant tones and acidity. The precious reserve wines
create a consistent flavor profile year after year.'
"This Champagne teases and allures us with its festive,
light-drenched, pale gold shimmer and joyful display of neat, lively
bubbles. Notes of almond and fresh hazelnut accompany the precise ascent
of its bubbles. It is lively, subtle and light, leaving a deliciously
incisive sensation of smoothness, marked by the pureness of fresh pear
and apple and a delicate hint of citrus fruits. A harmonious mixture of
bright, crunchy pomelo, blonde grapes and juicy white fruits creates the
delightfully surprising sensation of lightness embraced by the
structure and depth from the Pinot Noir; all beautifully balanced."
This release achieved Critical Acclaim having been awarded
WS 92 points by Wine Spectator, 91 points by Jeb Dunnuck and 90 points each by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast.
White-golden straw colored, balanced, fruity, fresh and elegant,
medium-bodied, stimulatingly fresh and well-structured blend with
gorgeous fruit and a clean, persistent finish, a mineral edge and final
fruitiness, beautifully textured with a solid
mid-palate, good density, and a clean, crisp finish.
RM 90 points
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2651727
