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/

L'Artusi NYC Wine Dinner

L'Artusi NYC Wine Dinner features three diverse expressive bold wine selections

Meeting for a gala wine dinner during our weekend in NYC visiting Alec and Viv, we dined at L'Artusi in West Greenwich Village. For the occasion we pulled from our cellar a special bottle of our 'V' series of labels, signature wines for special occasions when we're together with Viviana.

The diversity of the small plate dinner menu selections provided a tasting pairing experience for three wines with different styles and profiles - roasted beets, three pastas including the special highlight Torteloni with guinea hen and mushrooms, charred Octopus and sweetbreads.

We took BYOB this winemaker signed bottle that we tasted and acquired at a winemaker dinner with owner/producer Delia Viader in Chicago back in 2004.

Our visit to the winery on the lower reaches of Howell Mountain overlooking Napa Valley (shown right) was a highlight of our Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 2008.

Viader Estate Proprietary Red 2002

Appellation: Nape Valley Howell Mountain

Winemaker Notes: Scents and flavors of that classic Howell Mountain terrior sweet currant, black cherry, raspberry and hints of plum and  mocha with a long smooth polished finish.

Garnet colored, medium bodied, blackberry and black raspberry fruits accented by spice, hints of black olive, bacon fat and dark mocha chocolate on a pleasant acidic moderate tannin lingering finish.

Varieties:  Cabernet Sauvignon 51%, Cabernet Franc 49%

RM Rating 92

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate gave this 91-93 points
 
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar gave it 90 points
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=40755

Website: www.viader.com

Bodegas El Nido 2015

Frank and Marylisa brought one of their favorite selections, this big bold El Nido.

From Jumilla, Spain, this is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Monastrell. This is the premium flagship El Nido label that consistently gets extraordinary ratings (96-100 points) from The Wine Advocate. This is a big bold concentrated fruit forward style that we love - much like a big Shiraz/Syrah; no wonder as this is a project of the Gil family of Jumilla and Australian Chris Ringland (R Wines) as chief winemaker who also makes big bold Aussie Shiraz's.

Jumilla El Nido - from the 2014 vintage

The second El Nido 'Clio' label offers a similar 'big wine' profile at a fraction of the price offering great QPR. This is a must buy each vintage as it too consistently gets highest marks.

This El Nido wine is not for the feint of heart with its 16%+ alcohol and bold forward profile and style. We love this style with bold hearty cheeses or spicy pasta dishes such as some of our selections this evening.

Bright ruby colored, full bodied, powerful, ripe and concentrated yet nicely balanced, forward bright black berry and currant fruits accented by expresso, black pepper, dark mocha, hints of cinnamon clove spices, cigar box and mineral with smooth approachable lingering tannins.

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2845293

This received 95 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 

Wine Spectator gave it 93 points.

Argiolas Turriga Isola dei Nuraghi IGT 2013

Interesting red blend from Sardinia. I had selected no less than three wines from the wine list shown on the website earlier, but couldn't find them on the actual wine list. I described my preference to the Sommelier and she presented this bottle. Ironically, we tasted this exact label at Italian Village in Chicago last year. 

 

Turriga is a blend of Sardinian grape varietals Cannonau, Malvasia Nera, Carignano, and Bovale Sardo. It is a powerful fruit forward red wine that requires time in bottle to show its full complexity. Upon release, Turriga is densely packed with powerful tannins and tightly wound fruit, thus decanting is recommended. With time in bottle, Turriga reveals multiple layers of Mediterranean herbs, roasted coffee, spices, and licorice with a generous core of black and red fruit.

Bright ruby colored, medium full bodied with bright, vibrant, bold and expressive forward sweet cherry and black currant fruits, integrated with notes of earthy spice, herbs and leather, bright acidity but moderately smooth tannins.

RM 89 2013 points.

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2661079

http://www.argiolas.it/it/index.html

 

Alpha Mare Napa Cab at IV Chicago

Alpha Mare Napa Valley Cabernet and Argiolas Korem at Italian Village Chicago

For a business dinner we dined at Italian Village Chicago and Wine Director Jared Gelband pulled from their extensive cellar this limited production Alpha Mare Napa Cabernet. To accompany the wine, I selected a favorite dish, simple Italian Sausage and Peppers.

Alpha Mare Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

According to the winemaker, this Classic Napa Cabernet "Alpha Mare is a Limited Production Red Blend Wine that represents the Best of the Best in our cellar".

Dark garnet color, medium full body, complex, concentrated but nicely balanced and integrated bright expressive forward black berry and black raspberry fruits with highlights of mocha chocolate, notes of anise, hints of sweet oak, bright acidity punctuating its whopping Edit15.8% alcohol.

RM 92 points. 

Producer Red Mare Wines sources fruit from very small, well-respected vineyards throughout the Napa Valley. The Cabernet Sauvignon fruit is sourced from the Prichard Hill area of Napa Valley where the  mountain fruit is thick and dense, with tiny berries providing the firm backbone for Alpha Mare, giving it firm tannins, depth and minerality that reflects the unique terroir of the location.

The Red Mare project is a partnership of winemaker Anne Vawter and producer Jim Striegel. An avid
horse woman, Anne named her wine label in honor of her red mare, Paradigm, who was a bonus given to her during her time at Paradigm Winery. The inaugural release of Red Mare Cabernet Sauvignon was in 2007. Only slightly more than 100 cases are produced of this limited release premium label.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2024920

http://www.redmarewines.com/

https://italianvillage-chicago.com/

As we did with our dinner at Italian Village two weeks ago when we sampled Argiolas wines from Sardinia, we reached back into IV's deep cellar for another label from this producer.

Argiolas Korem Isola dei Nuraghi IGT 2007

A more modest selection than the premium Argiolas Nurriga we tasted the other evening, this Korem was a perfect compliment to my Italian Sausage and Peppers entree.

Colleague and dining guest Michael S selected this wine based on personal experiences with the producer and this label and his numerous visits to the region. Michael actually owns an authentic artifact of the ancient coin that adorns the label of this wine.

This is a blend of Sardinian varietals Bovale Sardo, Carignan and Grenache. Resembles a Southern Rhone Gigondas or even a more complex CDP (Chateauneuf du Pape) which also features these varietals.

Bright ruby colored, medium bodied, full forward tangy bright plum, cherry and berry fruits with notes of kirsch, spice and tones of cedar on the long moderate tannin finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=989407

http://www.argiolas.it/it/index.html

 

03 and 13 Argiolas Turriga M Coz

Duo vintage comparison of  2003 and 2013 Argiolas Turriga - Old World vs New World 97 M Coz Meritage

For a special business dinner we dined at Italian Village in the City Centre Chicago for a classic Italian wine and dine experience. Wine Director Jared Gelband pulled from the IV extensive wine cellar two vintages of this unique Italian varietal label for a mini-comparison tasting - 2003 and 2013 Argiolas Turriga.

For an old world vs. new world comparison tasting Jared pulled a 1997 vintage Napa Valley Meritage Bordeaux Blend from Napa Valley, Consentino M. Coz.

Both labels were great complements to our varied selections of classic Italian cuisine.

The Argiolas brand consisting of ten different labels  is one of the most popular and widely distributed brands from the Island of Sardinia. Turriga is a blend of native Sardinian varietals - Cannonau, Malvasia Nera, Carignano, and Bovale Sardo, and is considered a benchmark red wine showcasing the best of Sardinia. It has been produced by the Argiolas Family and Giacomo Tachis since 1988.

The brand is named for the family patriarch Antonio Argiolas, who was born in 1906. He was the first to plant vine rows to join vineyards together, and strived for the highest possible quality in his winemaking in this label. His two sons, Franco and Giuseppe took over the business with their wives, Pina and Marianna, and then with their own children. Today, the Winery is run by the third Argiolas generation: Antonio’s grandchildren.

The impetus for this flagship label was to create a great Sardinian wine capable of long aging using only Sardinian varietals. It is aged two years in French barriques. It is named for The Venus or "Turriga" that graces the label that was found in the vineyards of Argiolas back in 1935.

The estate is on the Island of Sardinia in the middle of the Western Mediterranean, facing south looking across to Africa. The total Serdiana estate has about 40 acres of vines in the Sibiola countryside, in the Municipality of Serdiana with another 90 acres of vineyards in the Parteolla area, on hilly land at an elevation of about 1000 feet above sea level.

The Turriga vineyard is comprised of 15 acres of wines sitting at an elevation of 750 feet overlooking the Mediterranean to the southeast towards Africa. It was first planted in 1970 and was used in the first release of this wine in 1988. Today 50,000 bottles are produced per year. 

Tonight we compared the 2003 and the 2013 vintages of Argiolas Turriga Isola dei Nuraghi IGT

Turriga is a blend of Sardinian grape varietals Cannonau, Malvasia Nera, Carignano, and Bovale Sardo. It is a powerful fruit forward red wine that requires time in bottle to show its full complexity. Upon release, Turriga is densely packed with powerful tannins and tightly wound fruit, thus decanting is recommended. With time in bottle, Turriga reveals multiple layers of Mediterranean herbs, roasted coffee, spices, and licorice with a generous core of black and red fruit.

Both were bright ruby colored, medium full bodied with bright, vibrant, bold and expressive forward sweet cherry and black currant fruits. The 2003 was a bit more subdued, more polished and balanced, more complex with the fruit less obtuse and more integrated with notes of earthy spice, herbs and leather, bright acidity but moderately smooth tannins.

RM 89 (2013) and 90 (2003) points.

http://www.argiolas.it/it/index.html

Cosentino Winery M. Coz Napa Valley Meritage Red 1997

For a comparison of old world vs new world, Jared presented this Cosentino Winery M. Coz Napa Valley Meritage Red from the classic 1997 vintage. Meritage (rhymes with heritage) is the name given to a US wine comprised of the Bordeaux varietals, hence a Bordeaux Blend. Meritage is a trademarked name and accordingly licensed from the Meritage Society.

The 1997 vintage of Napa Valley Cabernets was much heralded and expected to be long lived vintage of highest quality. Many of the '97's have been confounding being closed and subdued in revealing their true potential. Some believe its still aging gracefully, yet to emerge to reveal its true greatness. I'm holding off judgement, standing the belief that perhaps the vintage was over-hyped and may be just so. I've been wrong in such matters before and look forward to being proven so if my extensive collection of '97's start to awaken.

Tonight this '97 was showing well revealing bright, vibrant black berry and black current fruits. Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, the fruit was accented with tones of cedar, tobacco leaf and hints of sweet oak and dark mocha, turning to a moderate, soft tanning finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=11807

http://www.cosentinowinery.com/

https://italianvillage-chicago.com/