Italian Wine Month Dinner at Wine Bar Destin

Italian Wine Month Dinner at Wine Bar Destin

During our getaway to The Cove, our Destin, FL vacation rental home, we dined at The Wine Bar, another favorite eatery that we try to visit when in town.

As luck would have it, this week they featured one of their wine producer dinners. Like VinTij Wine Bar and Restaurant on Grand Boulevard in (San)Destin where we dined earlier this week, as featured in this blogpost David Arthur Chardonnay at Vintij Grand Blvd VinTij, they are a combination wine bar, restaurant and retail wine shop. 

The Wine Bar is co-located with Chan’s Wine World wine and cheese shop in Destin, one of seven locations in the Emerald Coast and western Panhandle area. The Destin Wine World and Wine Bar feature a great selection of wines, available for take home, or for enjoying in the restaurant. This allows a broad selection of fine wines at retail prices, as opposed to the typical restaurant mark-up of 2 to 2.5 or three times or more.  

They offer wine dinners several times each year and we attend whenever we are in town. 

Tonight’s dinner was kicked off and hosted by emcee Wade Starwalt, Wine Sales Director of The Wine Bar, Destin. Wine World is celebrating Italian Wine month and to that end, tonight’s dinner featured Italian wines from La Mangerina Italian wine brand produced by Tenute Piccini.

Some of the previous wine dinners we attended there were Massolino Wine Dinner Destin, featuring the world-renowned wines of Massolino, guided by fourth generation producer Franco Massolino, visiting from the heart of Italy’s Langhe region. This was the same format as the "Tour of Bordeaux Wine Dinner at The Wine Bar Destin, the same format as tonight. 

Tonight’s dinner wine was curated by Ethica Wines, an Italian wine importer and distributor, based in Miami, Florida. Established in 2016, they are a licensed wine importer in the US and import 56 producers’ brands. They have coverage across the US, Canada and Southeast Asia operating out of offices in Miami, New York, San Diego and Bangkok, and a ‘ready to ship’ warehouse in Italy. 

EthicaWines’ representative Niccolò Rossi presented the La Mangerina Italian wine brand produced by Tenute Piccini, featuring Vermentino from Sardinia, an Barolo, and Tuscan regional labels including Chianti Classico, Bolgheri, and Brunello di Montalcino Reserva. 

 

The wines were presented by Niccolò Rossi, regional sales manager for the importer and distributor Ethica Wines of Miami, FL.

Niccolò Rossi Is from his hometown in Buccinasco, Italy near Milan, and attended high school at Liceo delle Scienze Applicate Ettore Conti (Milano). He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in both International Business and in Psychology from Cardinal Stritch University, then went on to pursue his MBA at Coastal Carolina where he also played on the tennis team. 

His passion for wine goes back to his childhood and his family roots owning a winery in Chianti. He began his wine career with an internship in the Off-trade department of a prestigious Tuscan winery and is pursuing his WSET studies.  

Niccolò Rossi presented the La Mangerina Italian wine brand produced by Tenute Piccini, featuring Vermentino from Sardinia, an Barolo, and Tuscan regional labels including Chianti Classico, Bolgheri, and Brunello di Montalcino Reserva. 

The dinner featured five courses each paired with an appropriate wine. As I write often in these pages, a proper pairing and food and wine is a force multiplier and ameliorates and enhances the enjoyment of both.

The Wine Bar culinary and wine team did a masterful job crafting a broad imaginative menu with each course enhanced by a wonderful complementary wine. 

The first Antipasti course featured Red snapper ceviche with lotus root chip , Seared fole gras with cocoa and port sauce on focaccia toast, Deviled egg with smoked tuna and caviar. 

The wine accompaniment was Salimare di Sardegna Vermentino 2025. 

This is 100% Vermentino grape from the Salimare di Sardegna wine district of Sardinia. 

The secondi, second course: 

Barolo-braised rabbit stew with wild mushrooms, blood orange and sage crème fraîche. 

Cascina Bochetti Barolo Vecchi Filari 2022  

Cascina Boschetti 'Vecchi Filari' Barolo DOCG is a 100% Nebbiolo red wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, produced by Cascina Boschetti. 

Located in northwestern Italy near the Italian Alps, Piedmont is home to two of Italy's more famous wines: Barolos and Barbarescos, both made with the Nebbiolo grape, the premier red grape in the region. Piedmont's capital city is Torino which we visited back in the late 1980’s. 

This was rated 92 points by James Suckling. 

Producer’s notes - Ruby red with garnet reflections that deepen with age. The bouquet is ethereal and refined, revealing ripe red fruit, rose petals, and blackberry, followed by evolving notes of licorice, and sweet spices. Elegant and well-balanced, with soft tannins, graceful structure, and a long, spicy, mineral-driven finish.

Ruby colored, medium bodied, red cherry and pomegranate fruits, floral, subtle spices, hints of licorice with bright acidity and subtle smooth tannins on the finish. 

The Third Course:

Grilled hanger steak with bordelaise, goat cheese and tomato risotto, and broccolini. The food highlight of the evening with the brown sauce and out of this world risotto.  

La Mangerina Bolgheri 2022 

Features notes of dark cherry, spice, ginger, and round tannins.

 

Fourth course:

Veal saltimbocca with beurre blanc, tomato and feta spaghetti squash with basil 

La Mangerina Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2022 

Winemaker’s notes - “Ruby garnet color. Aromas and flavors of toasty vanilla, fallen apples, berries, and smoked meat with a bright, dry medium-full body and a nuanced, medium-long finish displaying elements of black pepper, vanilla, and strawberry with silky tannins. With a modern approach to oak, the smoked cherry-blackberry-stone flavors in this wine provide for a delightful old world wine with a splash of new world wine style.”

Final course:

Selection of Italian cheeses and meats with toasted nuts and dried fruit

La Mangerina Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2020 

This was by far the best, WOTN - Wine of the Night, the most premium, complex, full round, elegant sophisticated wine. A Super Tuscan style with black currant, vanilla, and bright acidity, complex notes of leather, dark cherry, and dried herbs.

We were seated with Brock and Brenda, from Destin. 

https://www.thewinebarfl.com/

https://www.ethicawines.com/

Return to Cellar Wine Bistro, Lafayette

Return to Cellar Wine Bistro, Lafayette

For the second time in as many weeks, we found ourselves in Lafayette (IN). Unfortunately, it was for another Celebration of Life of a recently departed dear friend of wife Linda, from her hometown. 

Following the gathering, we went back to the Cellar Wine Bistro in downtown Lafayette, which we enjoyed so much on our previous recent visit - featured in this blogpost - Kosta Browne Chardonnay at The Cellar Wine Bistro Lafayette.

Tonight, we had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Michelle, whose love of wine and hospitality was the impetus for opening the establishment. She personally manages the wine program. It was a pleasure meeting her and showing our support for the business, and learning more about her background, and wine country insights and experiences. 

 

We ordered the plate of olives, the bread plate of house-made Focaccia & whipped berry flavored butter …

And the Baked Brie with Tart black cherry, sage and crostini … 

And the Roasted Asparagus with whipped ricotta, jammy egg, parmesan, wtih lemon-dijon vinaigrette …

Invariably, when visiting a wine centered venue, I will customarily ask the server if they have any wines that are not on the winelist. Typically, there are, given the challenges and dynamics of keeping an extensive wine list up to date. So it was, tonight, that there were several recent acquisitions that had not been updated on the published list.

We selected a unique appellation varietal combination, never experienced before, a Tuscan Chardonnay, from a top reputable producer, whose wine we have enjoyed in the past. 

Isole e Olena Collezione Privata Chardonnay 2022

We discovered and enjoyed Isole e Olena wine at a spectacular wine and dinner outing at Bruna’s Ristorante in Chicago’s Little Italy as featured in this post - Wine & Dinner at Bruna’s in Chicago’s Little Italy.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2025/10/wine-dinner-at-brunas-in-chicagos.html 

Having enjoyed that label from this producer, I was eager to try another wine from their portfolio, especially a unique varietal and appellation offering such as this. 

This unique limited release Tuscan Chardonnay is from the historic Chianti Classico estate Isole e Olena. Founded in 1956 by Francesco De Marchi, Isole e Olena is located in the western part of the Chianti Classico denomination, near the village of Castellina in Chianti, in the commune of Barberina Val d’Elsa.

The De Marchi family were originally from the north of Piedmont, between Val D’Aosta and the Italian side of Switzerland, where they had very small vineyards which were abandoned after World War Two. 

The Isole e Olena estate was bought by Francesco De Marche, Paolo’s father in 1956. It consisted of two abandoned hamlets, Isole and Olena, and the surrounding vineyards. 

Francesco’s son, Paolo De Marchi, took over the estate in 1975. De Marchi was born in Turin and studied agricultural sciences, viticulture, and winemaking at the university there, and as soon as he graduated and finished his training, he moved to the estate in Tuscany, and was responsible for Isole e Olena until its eventual sale in 2022. 

When he arrived in Tuscany in the mid-1970s, the Chianti appellation required “a huge number” of white grapes in the blend. The appellation rules changed in 1984, greatly reducing the requirement for white grapes in the Chianti blend which dramatically improved the wines. From his second harvest, Pablo  tagged the best Sangiovese vines, through what was known as “massal selection” based upon how the grapes perform in the vineyard, and transitioned to making a 100% Sangiovese wine from these better-quality vines.

In 1980, De Marchi started bottling this wine under the name Cepparello, named for the little creek which runs dry most of the season through the estate, a Sangiovese from old vines, aged in barrique. At the time, pure Sangiovese wines could not legally be called Chianti Classico. This wine eventually became the flagship signature wine of Isole e Olena and one of the first Super Tuscan wines. 

After ten years of working with these tagging and tracking the wines, in 1987, he planted a vineyard grafted from the best vines to concentrate in one vineyard, vines of the same age with the same rootstocks.

In the end, the vine selections were registered by a nursery and ultimately many new vineyards in the Chianti Classico DOCG were planted with vine selections from Isole e Olena, becoming a standard bearer of quality for the area. 

When De Marchi was considering retirement, there were no direct family members to take over the estate. De Marchi’s son Luca was already running the original family estate Proprietà Sperino in Lessona.

In 2022, De Marchi sold the estate to the French luxury group EPI, whose portfolio includes Champagne houses Rare and Charles Heidsieck as well as Biondi Santi in Montalcino. 

De Marchi remained as CEO through the transition to new estate director Emanuele Reolon who was appointed to continue the vision of Paolo De Marchi’s legacy of quality and excellence in viticulture and winemaking in a faithful expression of the domaine’s terroir.

The Isole e Olena estate covers 138 acres of vineyards, sitting at 1,148 – 1,476 feet above sea level on soils of galestro and marly schist. 

This Tuscan Chardonnay release was rated 95 points by Jame Suckling and Robert Parker, 94 points by Wilfred Wong of Wine.com and 92 points by Wine Spectator.

My thoughts were the same as expressed by Wilfred Wong of Wine.com, who wrote, “ I admit it, I rarely think of Tuscany as a place to satisfy my Chardonnay cravings. The remarkable 2022 Isole e Olena Collezione Privata took me by surprise. At first sniff, I thought, "Hmm, pretty interesting!" As I continue to savor it, I realize how significant this experience was going to be.”

Winemaker Notes - “Light greenish gold in color, the Chardonnay is aromatic on the nose, with spicy, buttery perfumes. On the palate it balances ripe fruit, fresh bread crust from the oven, with a hint of spice from the oak aging and a long, slightly citrus finish.”

Pale golden, greenish straw colored, medium bodied, polished, balanced and somewhat elegant with subdued poached pear , peach and citrus notes on a layer of cinnamon spice, hints of stone fruits, vanilla, toasty oak and butterscotch, integrated acidity, a zesty acidic grip on the long persistent finish.

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4966621

https://cellar422wines.com/

Birthday dinner celebration at Petit Vie Western Springs

Birthday dinner celebration at Petit Vie Western Springs

February is a busy birthday month in our family, … naturally, with 22 members, there are lots of birthdays, especially this time of year when we have four birthdays in a three week span. 

So, we joined two of our kids and their spouses for a birthday celebration dinner at Petit Vie Restaurant in nearby suburb, Western Springs (IL), home to daughter Erin, and son-in-law Johnny. 

The new location is chic and stylishly decorated with seating adjacent the bar, and a small dining room in the rear. 

 

Saturday nights are prime time in the restaurant business, hectic and chaotic, and with a full house, this night at Petit Vie, service was challenged and a bit disjointed. Petit Vie is the reincarnation of the former Vie Restaurant that was around the corner in downtown Western Springs. Despite the delays in getting seated, and snafu’s in service, it was wonderful being together, despite the long, late evening, for parents that had to get back to relieve babysitters. 

 

Due to the wait, and disruptions we were treated to complimentary Champagne as a starter with the baguette and cheese puff selection. 

Vouvray Champagne NV

For starters we had the Foie Gras Mousse sauternes gelée, seasonal compote with crostin and the Steak Tartare (shown). These were okay, but generally uninspiring …

Sean and Michelle had the Escargot à la Bourguignonne - braised burgundy snails, crostini, garlic & pernod butter. 

For entree’s …  

Johnny had the Steak and pomme frittes. 

Even though one of the evening specials was Duck L’Orange, Erin, Sean and I all had the regular Duck Confit menu selection - Duck Confit beluga lentils, hakurei turnips, red wine duck jus, & apple cider, which was excellent. 

Linda ordered the Sabelfish (Black Cod) - Sablefish avec Flageolet bacon braised french beans, herb aioli, & fall vegetables a la grecque.

I brought BYOB from our home cellar a special bottle for the occasion.

Clos Marey-Monge Monopole Pommard 2011 

This bottle from our cellar was gifted from friend Tom R who obtained it at the Château in Burgundy nearly a decade ago. The historic property and producer, Clos Marey-Monge, dates back to the Famille of Vivant Micault, who in 1726 laid the foundation what became a winemaking empire, building the first Château Pommard. Micaults were proprietors from 1726 – 1763 and were known as “The First Family of Pommard”.

The long-surviving dynasty, Famille Marey-Monge, through the marriage of Marey and Monge, two iconic Burgundy families of the Côte d’Or occupied the property from 1763 to 1936 and were considered “Burgundy’s Greatest Family”. 

The Famille Laplanche, France’s most famous psychoanalyst, Jean Laplanche, and his wife Nadine, took over the property in 1936 and occupied the estate until 2003 when it was taken over by Famille Giraud.

During the Famille Giraud reign of ten years, Château de Pommard underwent major restoration and emerged as one of Burgundy’s must-visit domains.

Today, the Clos Marey-Monge estate vineyard is Burgundy’s largest privately-owned Clos.

Clos Marey-Monge, located in Pommard, in the Côte d’Or, consists of 7 cuvées or vineyards covering nearly fifty acres. The estate is sub-divided based on different soil types, each having distinctive composition of limestone, iron-rich clay, alluvium and other minerals essential to producing premiere Pinot Noir. 

Clos Marey-Monge produce a portfolio of single vineyard designated wines representing each of the seven sites. This label, Clos Marey-Monge Monopole is their signature wine and is crafted in a blend of all seven cuvées from the Clos Marey-Monge. Each year, they adjust the blend with the vintage to create a layered wine that is deep, rich, complex and approachable.

Winemaker Notes - Known for giving body and structure to their Clos Marey-Monge Monopole, the Grands Esprits cuvée makes a Pommard of great quality and structure. With its intense ruby color and expressive nose marked by aromas of red fruit and spices, it stands out as a perfectly balanced wine. The palate is clean, with structured and dense tannins. A long finish brings a touch of elegance to this complex cuvée.

This release was rated 93 points by James Suckling, 92 points by Wine Enthusiast, and 88 points by Wine Spectator.

Ruby colored, medium to full-bodied, concentrated, muscular but well-integrated and nicely balanced black currant and black cherry fruits dusty rose, clove and cinnamon spice, earth and black tea notes with fresh acidity and moderate smooth polished tannins on a lingering finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?3168180

https://www.chateaudepommard.com/our-wines/clos-marey-monge

We also ordered from the wine list this Chianti Classico Sangiovese. 

Tenuta di Bibbiano Chianti Classico 2022

This Chianti Classico is from producer Bibbiano, founded in 1865, in the historic Chianti region, in the municipality of Castellina in Chianti, overlooking the Elsa Valley towards the castle of Monteriggioni. Today it is operated by fifth generation owners Tommaso and Federico Marrocchesi Marzi, and is one of the oldest estates in the Chianti Classico belonging to the same family.. 

The Bibbiano estate consists of its over sixty acres of vineyards surrounded by extensive olive groves consisting of over three thousand trees. The vineyards are planted primarily to Sangiovese and Sangiovese Grosso grapes as well as a smaller quantity of Colorino. They sit at an altitude from 270 to 300 meters, with ideal exposure and microclimate.

Tenuta di Bibbiano wines were crafted for decades by famed winemaker Giulio Gambelli, who also trained the current winemaker. They maintain a traditional approach to winemaking producing 100%-pure Sangiovese wines according to the traditions and stipulations of the Chianti Classico DOCG.

The Chianti Classico DOCG is in Tuscany's historic heartland between Florence and Siena. Chianti Classico DOCG designation requires a minimum of 80% Sangiovese with other red grapes (like Colorino, Canaiolo, or international varieties) allowed up to 20% in the blend. It must be subjected to 12 months aging (from Jan 1 after harvest). (Chianti Classico Riserva: Minimum 24 months aging, including at least 3 months in bottle.)

Tommaso Marrocchesi Marzi is a leading voice in the push to establish formal village appellations in Chianti Classico and is a great supporter of the new Gran Selezione category, which requires wines labeled as such to be made exclusively from estate fruit and bottled at the origin.  

This entry level label provides great value QPR - quality price ratio and is popular as a restaurant selection. 

This release was rated 93 points by Wine Spectator,  92 pts by James Suckling, 91 pts by Decanter,  90 pts by Wine Enthusiast and 89 pts by Vinous.

Sixty thousand bottles were produced.

Ruby colored, medium bodied, nicely balanced ripe cherry and plum fruits with notes of herbs, earthy spices and  hints of licorice, tar fine tannins on the lingering moderate finish.

RM 89 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/4981952

https://www.bibbiano.com/?lang=en

https://www.petite-vie.com/

Italian Dining at Bacchanalia Little Italy Chicago

Italian Dining at Bacchanalia Little Italy Chicago

We dined at Bacchanalia Italian Restaurant in Little Italy, Chicago, named after the Roman God Bacchus. This follows our wonderful, memorable Sunday afternoon alfresco dinner at another neighborhood restaurant a couple weeks ago featured in this blogpost - Wine & Dinner at Bruna’s in Chicago’s Little Italy.

The Oakley Street barricades are gone as autumn wanes so we dined inside in the small intimate dining room in the rear of the small neighborhood trattoria. 

Since its founding in 1979, Bacchanalia has been continuously family owned and operated by The Pieri Family from Pisa, Italy (Tuscany). It purports to be the longest single-family owned Italian Restaurant in the Heart of Chicago's Heart of Italy area on famous South Oakley Avenue.

Belfonte and wife Noemi Pieri moved to the US in 1958 to pursue their lifetime dream opening their own Italian Restaurant. 

Using recipes they brought from their families in Tuscany, they opened Bacchanalia in 1979, just blocks away from their home. The Pieri’s remained fulltime in the business until 2000 when their daughter and son, Paula & Dante, took over the business. 

Pieri continued to develop new recipes until he passed away in 2006. Today, Noemi still contributes in the kitchen hand making the ravioli.

Entering through the quaint cozy bar, the intimate old fashioned dining room is in the rear, with white table cloth covered tables.

For our dinners we both selected ‘signature dishes’, Linda ordering the baked clams and I had the signature Veal Lombardo.

The Veal Piccata Lombardo is represented as ‘Veal medallions sauteed in a lemon, wine Sauce with Capers and topped with Mozzarella Cheese’, but somehow they forgot the capers. 

Had I ordered the basic Veal Medallions sauteed in a light Lemon Brown Gravy, it might have been more complete and tasty. 

When I questioned the preparation and presentation, they brought me a ramekin of fresh capers, which I added to my now cold entree! Presumably, these are normally cooked in for a more tasty sauce.

Linda’s Baked Clams stuffed with Homemade Filling were okay. 

Perhaps the highlight of the mean was the dessert course. The dessert menu is presented in a quaint colorful booklet with photos of each of the selections. 

I had the Tiramisu which came in a large portion, while Linda had the cannoli. 

Both desserts were delectable. 

From the minimalist wine list we ordered a basic Chianti Classico Reserva. 

Ruffino Chianti Classico Reserva 2021

This over-achieving label is the base entry of the Ruffino family and represents high QPR in this release at retail prices - not so much at tonight’s restaurant price at nearly 3x retail. 

Ruffino apply their century-long Tuscan traditions with new state-of-the-art cellar technology and modern winemaking, operating seven prominent estates in Tuscany, all situated within the major DOCG production regions including Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Chianti and Chianti Classico. 

Founded in 1877 by Illario and Leopoldo Ruffino, their winery in Pontassieve is just outside of Florence. In 1913, the Folonari family purchased Ruffino and started a nearly century-long pursuit to develop and consolidate a collection of estates in Tuscany. Producing wines according to a strict quality standards and  rigorous technical research, Ruffino have became an international symbol of the Chianti region having won numerous awards including the prestigious gold medal at the Bordeaux Wine Fair in 1895.

Winemaker’s notes - “Intense ruby red. This complex wine is characterized by cherry and violet notes with delicate hints of tobacco, white pepper, and a touch of flint. This complex wine is characterized by cherry and violet notes with delicate hints of tobacco, white pepper, and a touch of flint”.

This is 80% Sangiovese augmented with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

This was rated 93 Points by Wine Spectator and 92 Points by James Suckling.

Bright ruby red, medium bodied, a bit disjointed, yet, expressive plum, cherry and boysenberry fruits with notes of tobacco, forest floor, thyme and baking spices, with juicy acidity and a tangy texture on the lingering finish. 

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?5096899

http://www.bacchanaliainchicago.com/home2.html

Wine & Dinner at Bruna’s in Chicago’s Little Italy

Wine & Dinner at Bruna’s Ristorante in Chicago’s Little Italy for classic authentic Italian cuisine and wine 

We ventured into the city (Chicago) to attend grand-daughter’s traveling soccer game in the Pilsen, ‘heart of Chicago’ neighborhood with views of the spectacular skyline in the distance. 

After the game, we ventured in to the historic ‘Little Italy’ ‘business’ neighborhood of south Oakley street for dinner. For literally decades, we’ve traveled to Taylor Street, the traditional popular ‘Little Italy’ restaurant district, as we watched the diminishment and closure of the classic historic trattorias there over the years. Indeed, the remaining restaurant that we now frequent there is Chez Joel, a classic French bistro. 

I’m frustrated and regret that somehow we missed or lost track of, and have overlooked this historic Italian ‘business’ neighborhood on South Oakley street, that still features no less than five historic authentic Italian restaurants clustered together on this street. Linda reminded me we dined there together with friends no less than thirty years ago. And, before that, she worked for a brief period just four blocks away and used to dine there with colleagues from work.  

We were delighted to rediscover this historic neighborhood that had blocked off South Oakley street between 24th Street and 24th Place to accommodate dinners on this exceptional, spectacular end of summer, autumn evening.    

We dined at Bruna’s Ristorante, situated on the corner of 24th Place and Oakley. Opened by Bella ‘Bruna’ Cani  in 1933 – the same year prohibition was repealed, it is the third-oldest Italian restaurant in Chicago. (Of course readers of these pages know we feature often Italian Village, THE oldest Italian Restaurant in Chicago.)

The story goes that when Bruna wasn’t cooking for her patrons, Bruna would dance on the bar while her customers sang. Bruna’s legacy continued as, until recently, you could find her daughter Marylyn (Mickey), who passed away in 2013 at the age of 94, relaxing on a neighborhood bench when the weather was right.

Bruna sold the restaurant in 1981 to Luciano Silvestri who shared her same heritage, being from the central Italian region of Tuscany, and shared a passion for authentic Italian food. Luciano still prepares many of Bruna’s original recipes, while also introducing several of his own family’s prized Italian dishes.

Current owner Luciano is a native of Siena, Italy, and has worked in the restaurant industry from a young age, working extensively in Switzerland and London. Before coming to Chicago in 1977, Luciano worked at the renowned Villa d’Este resort in Como, Italy, as well as on the Sitmar and Princess cruise lines.

Today, Bruna’s offers a wide assortment of pasta dishes, tender veal, and, of course, Bella Bruna’s original roast chicken recipe, still served every Sunday. They also boast what many say is the city’s best tiramisu, which Luciano makes himself.

Luciano remains involved greeting customers as well as pouring wine and making espresso.

We dined al fresco on the barricaded street, set up with the tables for diners from the group of restaurants up and down the block on both sides of the street.  

Following fresh Italian bread with virgin Olive Oil and fresh parmigiana cheese, Linda ordered from the classic authentic Italian menu for her entree, the appetizer bowl of fresh mussels in white wine sauce. 

We were served by Josef who has been on the waitstaff there for a mere seventeen years, having also worked previously at the legendary former Como Inn, another Chicago Italian cuisine institution in its day. He followed his father who also served in the notable Italian restaurants in the city and the neighborhood. 

At Josef’s recommendation, I ordered from the Chef’s Specialties, Veal Saltimbocca Alla Romana from the broad selection of Veal and Chicken dishes on offer, along with a side dish of Fettucini Alfredo.

Bruna’s offers an extensive wine list featuring mainly Italian wines with some Californian selections. Bruna’s also imports a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a wine made near Luciano’s Italian hometown which is offered by the glass and by the bottle.

They also offer a full page Reserve “Cellar Selections” that includes many classic premier Italian producers and labels including Biondo Santi, Casanova de Neri, Masseto, Gaja, Solaia, Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Valdicava and Tignanello. 

The Cellar Selections Reserve list also offered well known super premium American California classics including Dominus, Quintessa, Phelps Insignia, Opus One, Schafer Hillside, Caymus Special Select, Plumpjack, Far Niente, Groth Reserve and Darioush. 

We ordered this classic traditional Chianti Classico Sangiovese as a perfect wine accompaniment to our Italian cuisine. 

Isole e Olena "Cepparello" Toscana 2018

This highly regarded Isole e Olena is from producer/winemaker Paolo de Marchi. Isole e Olena is named for the formation of the two estates that were purchased by the De Marchi family in the 1950s. 

Fourth generation winemaker Paolo De Marchi studied Agriculture at the University of Turin and worked harvests in California and France before returning to the family estate in 1976. He improved the property in the Chianti Classico region through redevelopment and modernization.

De Marchi earned a reputation as “Mr. Sangiovese” and also the “Dean of Chianti” gaining notoriety balancing tradition with innovation by planting international varieties. 

This label of Cepparello was first produced in 1980 and is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest expressions of Sangiovese.  

He sold the estate and completed his last vintage for Isole e Olena in 2022 after 50 years. His final releases got rave reviews with ratings in the high nineties - the 2021 getting 99 points from James Suckling, 97 from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, and 96 points from Wine Spectator. 

Winemaker notes and description of the complex 2015 Cepparello: “Shows lots of black cherries, cranberry tea, caramelized orange peel, roasted herbs and citrus peel. Full-bodied with ripe and quite round tannins that frame layers of cherries. Bright and fresh, yet rich and long at the same time. The Sangiovese character really springs out of the glass.”

This 2018 Isole e Olena "Cepparello" Toscana was rated 96 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, 95 points by James Suckling, 94 points by Decanter and Vinous, and 92 by Kerrin O’Keefe.

This was my first experience with this producer and I’ll be on the lookout for it in the future while the current era vintages are still available. 

Dark red/purplish colored, full bodied, rich, concentrated, bold, bright expressive bright dried cherry and dark berry fruits, notes of cassis, balsam herb spice, lavender finishing with menthol and exprsso with round tannins on a savory slightly aggressive expressive finish.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3956336

We moved to dessert - Linda ordered the Cannoli and I had the Tiramisu. Both were delicious. Linda raved about the Cannoli - said it was the best ever!

https://www.brunasristorante.com/