Eataly NYC Wine and Cheese Dining

Wine and Cheese Dining Experience at La Piazza Eataly Flatiron NYC

As I wrote the other day, we dined at Eataly in the NYC Flatiron district during our getaway weekend. We stopped back in again for a simple pleasurable wine and cheese experience. We dined in the La Piazza village center of the always bustling vast site that offers eight different dining experiences, each centered around a different cuisine and food type in an associated village market setting.

We selected the La Piazza for a Taglieri sampling of cheeses and a couple of glasses of wines. Its in the village center surrounded by a cheese bar, olive oils, breads, wines and the fish market setting.

The menu offers cheese plates and charcuterie selections accompanied by a selection of wines by the glass including some aged vintage select wines. We ordered the daily cheese plate - a selection of five cheeses and selected two wines by the glass (WBTG). The cheeses were accompanied by spreads of fig, apricot and honey and nuts with fresh baked bread.

The cheeses:

Liuzza Riccato Fresca

Gorgonzola Dolce

Taledoigo Dop

Fiore Sardo

Parmigiano Reggiano

The wines:
 
Poggio al Tesoro Meditérra Toscana IGT Syrah Blend 2016


The Syrah profile really shone through as the predominant varietal in the blend of 40% Syrah/Shiraz , 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 30% Merlot.

Dark inky purple colored, full bodied, concentrated forward structured and robust fruits of blackberry, black raspberry accented by spice and white pepper with herbs, licorice and tobacco notes on a long lingering approachable tannin laced finish. 

RM 91 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3298769

https://www.poggioaltesoro.it/en/index.php

@PoggioalTesoro

Fontanafredda Serralunga d' Alba Barolo Nebbiolo 2014 

Winemaker notes for this release: "The results of lengthy ageing, above-all on account of their natural qualities, these robust, well-bodied wines are packed with structure and are well capable of withstanding the test of time. Barolo has an attractive ruby-red colour with garnet highlights which become orange with the passing of time. Its bouquet is clean, full and intense, with the wine's typical traces of withered flowers, dry leaves and underbrush."

Bright ruby colored, medium full bodied, tangy spicy notes of black berry and black cherry fruits. fruits with black truffles, tangy notes of dusty rose, hints of cedar and earth on the lingering finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3044382

http://www.fontanafredda.it/site/en/home_en/

Queensyard Hudson Yard NYC Dinesite

Queensyard Hudson Yard NYC Restaurant

Sunday afternoon dinner in NYC we visited the spectacular new megaplex Hudson Yards mall with its twenty plus dining options. We traversed the six levels exploring several checking out the view, ambiance and menus. We settled on Queensyard for our Sunday afternoon dinner site.

Hudson Yards is located in Manhatten on Tenth Avenue between 30th and 34th streets above the railroad yard at the Hudson River. It is the largest private real estate development in the history of the United States with investment exceeding twenty-five billion dollars. It is the new heart of New York and is a metroplex where people come together to work, live and play, and enjoy chef-driven restaurants or shop the world’s iconic brands. 

queensyard is a British restaurant where the layout is inspired by the rooms of an English country home. The all-day dining destination has seating for numerous styles - a wine bar in the café, a light lunch in the Kitchen, a board room for business or private dinners adjacent the wine cellar, and an airy light filled open dining overlooking the Hudson Yard Grand Plaza, the river and views of Hoboken across the river.

Having been to Britain literally two hundred times over the decades, having worked for a British company for over a decade, I am only too familiar with British 'cuisine', or lack thereof. I accepted queensland as our dining destination presuming it was Australian. If I had known it was British themed, I would have likely been resistant. What a pleasant surprise that the food was so good, and the ambiance and setting so delightful!

There are three dining options in queensland, the bar, the cafe or the restaurant. Sunday afternoon dinner in the restaurant is a two course price fixe menu, which we chose for our dining experience. It was spectacular in almost every aspect.

The north and south ends of the grand dining room features two great murals that pay homage to the English countryside entitled St. James Park and Somerset Countryside, created by Sarah Moore, a well-respected American artist.

The queensyard menu is modern British fare, that focuses on British cooking but features influences from both sides of the Atlantic.

For our starter course we chose three different selections. Each was tremendous. 

English Rose / chicken liver & foie gras parfait, bittersweet chocolate & stout,
pickled mushroom & pumpkin

Brooklyn Burrata / muscat grapes, local wax beans, pear mustard

 Marinated Yellowfin Tuna / avocado wasabi, fermented kohlrabi, lychee, finger lime 

For our main course, we all chose the Braised Atlantic Halibut with carrot & ginger purée, yuzu glaze, lobster grapefruit sauce. It too was delicious except for the fact that the lobster accompaniment was not fresh and was gamey or a bit too strong fishy. The lobster meat was not of the tail but rather from the claw, but that was not the reason for its diminution. Furthermore, Linda's Halibut was a bit undercooked, while Viviana's and mine were good. 

For dessert we shared Sticky Toffee Pudding with caramel sauce, rocky road and ginger ice cream.

Interesting that even the selection of sparkling water was British from Wales.  

To accompany our dinners, we chose from the winelist this white wine - a French Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc. 

 Jack Pinson Sancerre Domaine de la Voltonnerie Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2018

'Old World' wines are named for the region or area from which they are sourced such as, in this case, the commune of Sancerre in the Loire Valley. Those wines invariably are sourced from a single predominant varietal grape. Wines from Sancerre are generally comprised of Sauvignon Blanc. In the New World, wines are named for the predominant grape that is in the bottle, and this would be referred to as Sauvignon Blanc. 

Jack Pinson founded his 2.5-acre domaine in 1970 in the village of Crézancy-en-Sancerre. Today, the property is overseen by his daughter Alix. The property includes 31.5 acres planted in Sauvignon Blanc and 8.5 acres of Pinot Noir.  The terrior soil is generally clay and limestone. 

This was straw colored, light-medium-bodied, dry with aromas of orange blossoms and honey with a notes of lemon citrus, grapefruit, and herb turning to notes of with minerals on a crisp mildly acidic finish. 

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3447970 

https://www.queensyardnyc.com/ 

Bobo NYC French Wine Dine Experience

Bobo NYC French Wine Dine Experience

Visiting NYC we dined with son Alec and fiance Viviana at Bobo's in the West Village. For the occasion, celebrating their engagement, I brought a birth year vintage Bordeaux from our cellar to take BYOB with dinner. We also had a recent release Bordeaux with our French faire from the winelist.

Bobo is set in a stylish hundred year-old brownstone in the heart of the West Village. Opened in 2007 it is one of Carlos Suarez's Casa Nela restaurants, that include the Village hits Rosemary's, Claudette, and Roey's.

Like its sister restaurants, Bobo is a residential setting, 'paying homage to La Maison de Campagne - a neighborhood restaurant inspired by nature and by family.'

Bobo is entered off the bustling street corner to the subterranean street level into the bar, then upstairs are multiple levels of dining rooms. The restaurant is decorated in natural French country decor to match its country French cuisine.

Bobo's offers an imaginative well selected wine list of French wines from small and interesting producers as well as well known houses. The selection is superbly chosen for the menu with excellent wines at reasonable prices. They also accommodated our BYOB for a fee ($35).

For our dinner selections we ordered: 

Rainbow Trout Almondine with haricots verts, toasted almonds
Duck Leg Confit with  orange-scallion salad, green olives, truffle vinaigrette
Roasted Sasso Chicken with pommes purée, roasted brussels sprouts

Filet mignon au poivre with pommes frites 

The Menu

Château Calon-Ségur St. Estephe Grand Cru Classe 1990

From our cellar collection I brought BYOB this special birth year vintage selection. This label is famously popular for occasions such as the engagement celebration with the predominant heart on the label. This was also a special selection as we visited the Chateau in St Estephe during our visit to the Medoc this summer.

At twenty-nine years, while showing its age in the somewhat 'tired' color as being a slight bit cloudy, the full aroma and taste profile was predominant floral with hints of mushroom over the black berry fruit. This is still drinking very nicely, thoroughly enjoyable. It is time to drink over the next couple of years as it will not improve with further aging and will diminish further as the fruit gives way to non-fruit flavors.

The fill level was good, the cork was very saturated almost 7/8 of the way. I had my two pronged cork puller with me in my wine carry bag which I used to open the bottle. It would not have surrendered intact to a traditional cork screw.

I always wonder why Sommeliers don't use such a tool, also known as an 'ahso', especially in such cases. It's hard to believe they don't have the skill or technique for using such. I use mine almost always except when the cork is synthetic for which they do not work.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, nicely balanced, elegant and refined, Jancis Robinson speaks of its "very attractive voluptuousness.. .and beautifully balanced". Aromas and bright taste profile of floral and violets, the layer of black fruits accented by the floral and tones of mushroom, spice, licorice, earth and leather and soft, velvety tannins.

RM 91 points. 

Wine Spectator gave this 93 points, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 90 points, and Jancis Robinson 18.5 on her 20 point scale.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5039

@ChateauCalon 






 


Grand-Puy-Lacoste Lacoste-Borie Pauillac 2012
 
From the winelist, we also ordered this Pauillac from the legendary Borie family who also own Ducru-Beaucaillou and Haut-Batailley. Our visit to the classic second growth Ducru-Beaucaillou was one of the highlights of our trip to the Medoc.

The history of Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a family saga going back to the 16th century.

The name Grand-Puy comes from the ancient term "puy” which means "hillock, small height” as true to its name, the vineyard sits on outcrops, with a terroir similar to that of the Médoc's first growths. The property was held by a single family from generation to generation, in a direct line through marriage from the 16th century until 1920, before connecting with another family in 1978—the Borie.

The family's history took a decisive turn in 1978 when the owner of Grand-Puy-Lacoste "chose” Jean-Eugène Borie to buy the property. Borie and Raymond Dupin, owner of Grand-Puy-Lacoste since 1932, were close friends which led Dupin to sell him the domain. After acquiring the estate Borie turned to his son François-Xavier to manage it; his challenge was to awaken this "sleeping beauty”.

François-Xavier Borie has directed the estate since its acquisition in 1978. He lives on the estate in the at the château, a rather rare occurrence in the Médoc. With him at the estate is his wife Marie-Hélène. Also involved in the business are their three children, the next generation who will manage the property.

Over time, the château became a true family home, with its traditions, celebrations, and ceremonies in its chapel. The three Borie children, Emeline (1982), Laurence (1983) and Pierre-Antoine (1986) were born there, grew up at the property, and attended school in Pauillac.

Today, François-Xavier and Marie-Hélène's eldest daughter Emeline is in charge of communication and public relations at Grand-Puy-Lacoste. She travelled widely as a student and received valuable international experience during two years with an importer of wines in Vietnam. I've had the pleasure of meeting Emeline at industry events over the years. 

François-Xavier Borie on the brand, "Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a classic Pauillac, that is to say, characterized by class, allure, harmony. We are fortunate to have one of the finest terroirs in Pauillac and our wines display what may be called a French taste: aromatic, with body and a great sense of balance."

We drove by the estate during our visit to Pauillac this summer. 

"These wines are structured, with a fine attack, great presence in the mouth and a remarkable length. Each stage of tasting gives harmonious pleasure. The tannins are never aggressive, an expression of elegance is always present."

Wineamaker notes on this label, "This wine presents a very ruby red color. The nose is dominated by black fruits with black cherry very much to the fore and by coffee aromas. The mid palate has the sweetness of ripe fruit and rounded tannins. The richness is well balanced by some bilberry freshness. This wine will need a little bite of patience before starting to enjoy it."

This is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, nicely balanced and structured, black berry fruits, notes of coffee, hints of anise and forest, well integrated tannins and some nicely balanced acidity.

RM 88-89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1646786

https://www.chateau-grand-puy-lacoste.com/en/#/en/ 


https://www.bobonyc.com/menus/#dinner

https://twitter.com/boborestaurant

Eataly NYC Flounder Seafood Dinner

Eataly NYC Flounder Seafood Dinner

Our first night in NYC for a getaway weekend, we dined with son Alec at Eataly in the Flatiron neighborhood, one of our favorite visits when there. Eataly is a unique destination experience of all things Italian food and drink in a small village market like setting. There is a an Eataly in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, LA, two in New York, Toronto and in Las Vegas.

Dining at Eataly is an experience of an Italian village market with a market section featuring meat, cheese, seafood, pasta, wine, desserts, and a corresponding adjacent restaurant for that selection. Restaurants at the Flatiron location include Serra which means  “greenhouse” in Italian,, a seasonal rooftop restaurant, Il Pastaio di Eataly, which means "pasta maker,", a new fresh pasta bar, Manzo, meaning "beef" in Italian, a vibrant butcher-focused restaurant offering meat of all kinds, La Pizza & La Pasta featuring two of the best-loved Italian dishes: Napoli-style pizza and al dente pasta, and Il Pesce offering fresh seafood that is also sold in a market type seafood counter. There is also a wine bar with adjacent restaurant, and a Piazza village like setting offering wine, cheese and charcuterie.

As has become almost a ritual for our visits east, we ate in the Eataly Il Pesce (seafood) restaurant. We ordered for sharing the grilled flounder, one of our favorite dishes.  It is such a large portion that it is easily shared by two people and could probably accommodate another person as well.

Alec order one of his favorites, octopus.

From the winelist we ordered this white wine as an accompaniment to our seafood dinner selections.

 Bastianich Vespa Bianco Friuli-Venezia Giulia 2016

The winemaker notes say of this wine; "A tightly-wound balance of minerality and citrus, evolving over time into a denser expression of wildflowers, honey and ripe pear. Its tannic structure and acidic backbone lend it not only immediate impact, but also a long life."

This is a white wine blend of mostly Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, with a touch of Picolit. It is from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, from the most north eastern corner of Italy, one of the twenty different wine regions of Italy.

One of the reasons I don't invest intellectually and economically in Italian wines is the complexity of having more than 500 different grape varietals, from twenty different wine regions. 

Picolit is one of those obscure grape varietals, also known as Piccolit and Piccolito. It is a white Italian wine grape varietal that is primarily grown in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. Historically it was planted in poor and infertile vineyards. It reached its height of popularity in the 1960s & 1970s, however Picolit's extremely small yields made it economically difficult to grow and therefore has limited the number of plantings.

Butter colored, light body, nicely balanced, bright tangy flavors of crisp green apple with accents of pear and citrus, nice acidity and minerality on the pleasant lingering finish.

RM 90 points.

This got 94 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 90 points from Wine Spectator.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3276554

Louis Phillips Ambassador Wines New York

Louis Phillips Ambassador Wines New York

During my trip to New York, I stopped in Ambassador Wine and Spirits at Second Avenue and 54th Street and met Louis Phillips, President and owner. he took me on a tour of the lower level cellars where there are showcase rooms dedicated to French wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne. There is also a section on cognacs and armagnacs, dessert wines and other specialities.

Also downstairs is Ambassador's tasting room which serves as Louis's classroom, laboratory, office and library. He had the room set up and was preparing for a wine class and tasting that evening.

There, also, Louis proudly displays his certificate of Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne Ce Grand Chapitre de New York.

The Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne is the official fraternity of the major Champagne brands of France. Its mission is to promote the variety, versatility, taste and other unique characteristics that make Champagne wines synonymous with success and celebration everywhere.

The Ordre des Coteaux organizes Chapters, tastings and other activities, spreading the message of the Comité Champagne worldwide through a network of committed supporters who are drawn from all parts of the world – professional restaurateurs and sommeliers, famous connoisseurs, people in show business, politics and the media.

Established in 1656 by aristocrats in the court of French King Louis the XIVth, the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne is responsible for managing a global communications policy of essential information concerning the wines of Champagne, France through a worldwide network of highly-knowledgeable staunch supporters. These individuals are prudently chosen from all over the globe and include renowned restaurateurs, sommeliers, connoisseurs and international personalities in politics, media, stage and screen.

 Gregarious Louis is a wealth of knowledge on wines, vintages and labels from around the world. He has entertaining and informative stories on winemaker producers, their personalities, their wines, heritage, handicraft and special release products.

We talked about my recent visit to South Africa and our respective discoveries and experiences with Pinotage. He gave me a bottle of Pinotage to try and suggested several more.

We discussed my upcoming trip to Bordeaux and his insights and suggestions for estates, and then talked extensively on his selection of my favorite Bordeaux labels across the various vintages and several other label discoveries new to me.

Ambassador has an extensive collection of domestic wines and from around the world and a knowledgeable staff to help with your selection. If you're lucky, you'll meet Louis Phillips who will educate, entertain and inform you with his wealth of knowledge and gregarious elucidation.

When in New York, stop in Ambassador and enjoy the experience and pick up a bottle of a new discovery something unique for sipping, collecting or serious drinking for a special occasion.

Tonight we'll be tasting one of the discoveries that I picked found there.

https://www.theambassadorsofwine.com/

https://twitter.com/AmbassadorNY

Pride Mountain Napa Valley Chardonnay 2016

Pride Mountain Napa Valley Carneros Chardonnay 2016

We dined at Seafire Grill in Midtown NYC and ordered this Pride Mountain Napa Valley Chardonnay 2016 with our seafood entrees.  Seafire Grill has been on my to-do list for quite a while so it was nice to get this in this trip.

I ordered the roasted Nova Scotia Halibut in beurre blanc sauce with lemon gnocchi, fava beans, and kale chimichurri (left). I was hoping for more boldness and rich flavor in the beurre blanc sauce but it was too subtle and benign to spruce up the mild fish. The fish preparation was excellent and the full gnocchi was a nice complement to the Halibut. 

Similarly, the cous cous starter was rather bland and uninspiring. The tuna tartar starter was the most expressive and enjoyable of our selections. All the better to order a rather bold forward Chardonnay to fill in the blanks. The Pride Mountain Napa Chardonnay turned out to be more modest as well, hence not overpowering to the more delicate subtle dishes, although that was not planned. 

Unlike the food, the atmosphere at Seafire Grill was boisterous and outgoing, bordering on overhearing, almost difficult to have a conversation, overly cosmopolitan and certainly lacking intimacy.

Pride Mountain Napa Valley Carneros Chardonnay 2016

Pride Mountain Vineyards are most noted for their mountain grown Cabernets from their vineyards high atop Spring Mountain. 

This Chardonnay is sourced from three different vineyards in Carneros down at the bottom of the Mayacamas Mtn range that separates Napa and Sonoma Valley. The area with its cool breezes and fog that wafts in from nearby San Pablo Bay is known for Burgundian varietal wines, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 

Pride has long term supplier agreements with its growers there, hence, while not Estate grown, there is a history to compare this wine over many vintages for collectors and brand loyalists. 

While this is aged in 25% new French oak, the oak is subdued and well behaved, straw colored, light medium bodied, fresh, crisp lively acidity, moderate fruit tones of pear, citrus, melon and hint of spice.  

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2802580

https://www.pridewines.com/

Cakebread Cellars Napa Chardonnay at Il Postino NYC

Cakebread Cellars Napa Chardonnay at Il Postino NYC

Visiting NYC on business, I had dinner with son Alec and roomate Dean. We dined at Il Postino on East 49th Street, a favorite neighborhood ristorante, a short walk from the apartment. The ambiance is cosmopolitan and stylish, the menu offers a broad selection of Italian specialties including pesce and pasta favorites. The signature artwork of a 19th century bicyclist rises over a corner table (shown left) and is their branded identity on their business cards and matches.

Their daily specials menu is so extraordinary that Alec had never seen their actual menu. The recitation by the server is worth price of admission. While not necessarily an Italian specialty, I couldn't resist the Dover Sole and it did not disappoint, being as good as any I've ever had.

As a wine geek, I tend typically order the wine to complement and pair with the food, and tonight was no exception.

To pair with my Sole and Alec's shrimp dish I ordered a bottle of Cakebread Chardonnay of the wine list.



Cakebread Cellars Napa Chardonnay 2015

Cakebread Chardonnays are  classic Napa Valley Chardonnay, crisp, ripe and round. The style reflects the range of vineyards from the lower Carneros to the central Napa Valley floor.

Straw colored, medium full bodied, aromas of green and golden apples, pear and citrus with notes of citrus spice and mineral.

This is a blend of 90% Carneros district, 10% Napa Valley.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=2470938

http://ilpostinony.com/

Authentic French Cuisine & Wine at Le Rivage NYC

Authentic French Cuisine & Wine at Le Rivage NYC

Visiting NYC for the week for industry conference provided opportunity to have a couple of dinners with son Alec. Our first outing took us back to the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood and Restaurant Street in the theatre district for authentic French cuisine at Le Rivage.

Not certain what we'd find for wine selections on the winelist we stopped at the neighborhood wine shop to pick up some wine as a backup safety net and/or for back at the hotel for the week. They graciously offered to serve our BYOB bottle for a corkage fee of $30.

Le Rivage is a third generation Denamiels family operation sited on Restaurant Row since 1984. Its
an authentic, quaint, cozy, even romantic, French country atmosphere with traditional French cuisine.

The narrow dining room is lighted by the art gallery along the walls covered with oil paintings of the rural French countryside and Cote' d'Azure. The candle-lit tables have white tablecloths and fresh flowers.

Being adjacent to the theatre district, Le Rivage offers a good value pre-theatre pric fixe dinner with starter, entree and dessert. I had a lineup of my wine-friendly favorites, Pâté de Campagne, Canard à L'Orange Roast Duck with Triple Sec Sauce Bigarade, and the raspberry sorbet. Linda had the Baked Seafood Crêpe with Bay-Scallops, Shrimp, Mushroom Duxelle, Cream, and Caramelized Onions. Alec had the Gambas Le Rivage Shrimp with Mushrooms and Onions, Merlot. All the food was delectable served by personable, professional, efficient attentive waitstaff.

From the winelist I chose this 2014 Philippine de Saint-Cyrille Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grand Réserve. For a modest price CDP, this exceeded my expectations, presenting a good QPR (quality price ratio), nice, easy drinking nice complement to the French cuisine.

Philippine de Saint-Cyrille Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grand Réserve 2014

Garnet colored, somewhat opaque, medium bodied, moderate black cherry fruits with notes of herbs, leather and hint of black olives.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2537490

http://www.lerivagenyc.com/
 

Marchesi Antinori Chianti Classico Reserva 2013

Marchesi Antinori Chianti Classico Reserva 2013

On a getaway weekend in NYC to visit son Alec and see the MOMA FLW exhibit, we dined at Coppola's Restaurant East in the Kipp's Bay neighborhood for a wonderful dining experience. The food was spectacular in a setting with a comfortable ambiance and attentive service.

My Veal Scallopini with peppers, mushrooms, onions and marinara sauce was a standard bearer, the best I have ever experienced. Linda enjoyed the Eggplant Parmigiana, Viv had the Pan Seared Crusted Bronzina in garlic butter white wine sauce, and Alec had the Penne in Vodka Cream Sauce - all were outstanding.

From the wine list we ordered this is Marchesi Antinori Chianti Classico Reserva, a perfect accompaniment to the dinner entrees.


Antinori Chianti Classico Marchese Antinori Riserva Tenuta Tignanello 2013 

This was dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, nicely balanced and structured with dark cherry and plum fruits accented by notes of black tea, earthy tobacco, leather with moderate lingering tannins and tangy acidity on the finish. Call this a poor man's Tignanello.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2324410

http://www.coppolas-nyc.com/

Bedell Cellars First Crush Red Wine 2014

Bedell Cellars 'First Crush' Red Wine 2014

I first discovered Bedell Cellars during my visit to the North Fork Long Island, New York winery/cellar visits in the early winter of 2001. At the time, my cellar notes record that I tasted their Bordeaux varietal wines, 1997 Beddell Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and their 1999 vintage Chardonnay and Chardonnay Reserve.

We then tasted Bedell Cellars wines at Murray's Cheese Restaurant and wine bar on Bleeker Street in the Greenwich Village, one of Son Alec's favorite eateries in the City. Again, we tasted Bedell Bordeaux varietal wines there based on Cabernet Franc.

What a fun surprise to find this Bedell Cellars artist series Bordeaux varietal release in our local wine shop, Sav-Way in nearby Hinsdale, IL. I must admit, were it not for the catchy artsy Artist Series label, I may have missed it.

Bedell Cellars are the namesake winery and vineyards of founders Kip & Susan Bedell who planted their first grapevines on their acquired fifty acre former potato farm on eastern Long Island back in 1980. Kip's passion and dedicated work over the next two decades earned him the moniker ”Mr. Merlot” in Wine Spectator magazine.

Bedell cellars was bought in 2000 by Michael Lynne, a New York film executive and art collector. Continued investment in the property and brand propelled Bedell to one of the benchmark wineries in the eastern US producing the best wines of the Long Island appellation.

The acquisition of Bedell allowed Michael to combine lifelong passion for wine and food with his love of the theater, film and art. A graduate of Columbia Law School, he leads an entertainment law firm with a long running association with New Line Cinema one of the world's most successful independent film companies. Today he is Principal of Unique Features, a film production company and an esteemed contemporary art collector and Trustee of New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

That convergence of his love of art and wine are manifested in the Bedell Artist Series featuring specially commissioned works by world renowned contemporary artists on the labels of special release wines.

This label, Bedell Cellars First Crush Red Wine features the artwork of  Mickalene Thomas, an internationally renowned artist and filmmaker. Her work explores the intricacies of female beauty through painting and collage. Her installation 'Better Days' was featured at Art Basel and her documentary, 'Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman' premiered on HBO. She painted the official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama for the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery.

For Bedell's First Crush labels Mickalene selected a collage from her 2014 series, Tête de Femme, portraying abstracted female faces constructed from abstracted geometric cutouts. In this work, Mickalene combines art-historical, political, and pop-cultural references to comment on notions of beauty and gender in the 21st century.

Is it coincidence or inspired that this label has similar design and color schemes of this legendary premium Italian label? In any event its a fun and interesting comparison in style and design between Mickalene Thomas' work and the Azienda Agricola Montevertine Le Pergole Torte Toscana IGT Italian Sangiovese.

First Crush is a red blend of young vine Merlot (75%) and Cabernet Franc (25%) fruits, aged in stainless steel. Dark garnet colored with purple hues, it is medium light bodied with initial aromas of damp wood, leather and dusty rose petals, gripping tannins are pervasive from the initial bright vibrant red berry and cranberry fruits through to the layer of spice, dusty rose and cedar with tones of green bell pepper and tangy black cherries on the lingering finish. The tangy notes of the fruit may be attributable to the youthful vines. The finishing floral aromatics are more desirable than the opening.

The bright tangy fruits go better with forward moderately spiced food.

At the release price of $30 there are better values out there, but at the 'street price' below $20, this provides good value QPR - quality price ratio. 

RM 87 points. Wine Enthusiast gave this 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2212217

https://store.bedellcellars.com/product/BEDELL-2014-FIRST-CRUSH-RED

NYC Restaurant Row offers wine - dine - entertainment options ...

NYC Restaurant Row offers widest range of wine - dine - entertainment options ... Don't Tell Mama!

One of the stops during our NYC getaway weekend was a short stopover visit to Restaurant Row near the theatre district. Linda discovered this by accident with the kids on a previous trip and it was on our visit list to see and experience this weekend. A drop in snack and wine tasting turned out to be one of the highlights of our weekend.

Our kids who are Manhattan residents had heard about but never been there - what a surprise when we discovered it was near one of their offices and they were in the nearby neighborhood almost daily.

Restaurant Row is simply two blocks of 46th Street, between Broadway and 9th Streets - a neighborhood with over twenty restaurants - one after the other, adjacent to the Theatre District.

There is an amazing wide variety of cuisine from all around the world, according to their promotional website, the range is: American (New), American (Traditional), Asian Fusion, Brazilian, Breakfast, Brunch, Burgers, Cajun/Creole, Chinese, French, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Pizza, Russian, Seafood, Soul Food, Spanish/Basque, Sushi Bars, Tapas Bars, Thai, Turkish, Vegetarian and Vietnamese. There is a choice of a half dozen Italian eateries, and a couple each American, Latin, French, Spanish and so on.

Legendary Restaurant Row is an authentic Times Square and New York institution where you can choose from cuisine from all over the world, sample the styles of celebrity chefs, and join Broadway stars at some of their favorite haunts.

In between meals, we dropped in for a mid-afternoon respite for some small plates and wine. We stopped at "Don't Tell (your) Mama", which has a bar, a restaurant, a piano bar, two separate cabarets, and outside alfresco dining in one small compact site (see gallery, below).

According to their website, luminaries that have come through their doors include "Liza Minnelli, Paul Newman, Joan Rivers, Bette Midler, Rosie O'Donnell, Chita Rivera, Kathy Griffin, Audra MacDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Mario Cantone, & Cuba Gooding Jr., to name but a few!"

We selected four wines by the glass (WBTG) and three small plates, shrimp cocktail, crab cakes, and a salad. It was a perfect setting for enjoyable, casual food and wine tasting in a picturesque, cosmopolitan, fun setting.

From my seat, I was able to watch the cabaret rehearsal in the club to the rear.

For our Wine Flight, we selected a Russian River Valley (RRV) Sonoma Chardonnay, a RRV Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blancs from Sonoma and Napa Carneros.  Unlike usual custom in this blog, I don't have the label specifics of the different wines and hence don't offer a review. You'll have to visit Don't Tell Mama for your own tasting flight. We'll be back, our next trip to NYC!

My Gallery of Don't Tell Mama NYC ...