"All four elements were happening in equal measure - the cuisine, the wine, the service, and the overall ambiance. It taught me that dining could happen at a spiritual level." Charlie Trotter
I stepped outside and the rain started. Not an auspicious beginning to a night promising fine food and wine under the stars, but even this unexpected change in the weather did not dampen my spirit. Tonight we were headed off to a Sommelier dinner sponsored by FISAR (Federazioni Italiana Sommelier Albergatori e Ristorantori) the Italian Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Sommeliers. Our destination was Villa Marchese del Grillo, a four star Relais hotel and restaurant sitting on a hill surrounded by the Apennine mountains. The villa was built in the 18th century by the Marchese Onofrio del Grillo, whose life was remembered in an Italian film of the same name in the 1980s. My husband Jim and I had been invited to this event by our friends Cristina and Massmiliano. The methodo classico, Luigi Ghislieri, from Massmiliano's cantina, Colonnara, would be one of the featured wines of the evening.
I was excited about attending this event and saw it as an opportunity to discover the answer to one of life's great questions: "What wines do sommeliers drink when they go out for dinner?" Okay, it is not up there with the meaning of life, the universe and everything, but I was curious to see what wines would be served and how they would be paired with the foods.
As we exited the super strada, the rain stopped and ahead of us, on a hill sat the villa Marchese del Grillo crowned by the sun's rays. Walking from the parking lot, I could see the front of the villa graced by an expansive veranda. There, on the veranda, the tables were set with four wine glasses at each place setting leaving no doubt that this was a dinner for wine lovers.
I was excited about attending this event and saw it as an opportunity to discover the answer to one of life's great questions: "What wines do sommeliers drink when they go out for dinner?" Okay, it is not up there with the meaning of life, the universe and everything, but I was curious to see what wines would be served and how they would be paired with the foods.
As we exited the super strada, the rain stopped and ahead of us, on a hill sat the villa Marchese del Grillo crowned by the sun's rays. Walking from the parking lot, I could see the front of the villa graced by an expansive veranda. There, on the veranda, the tables were set with four wine glasses at each place setting leaving no doubt that this was a dinner for wine lovers.
The crowd begins to gather on the veranda, and the tables wait expectantly
Across the veranda champagne flutes and buckets of sparkling wine were arranged on a separate table. Seeing this, I was immediately getting thirsty, and I hoped it would not be too long before the event commenced.
All those glasses, all that wine, and not a drop to drink. . . yet!!
And when the event did commence, it started not with a bang but a POP!! How else should a sommelier event begin but with the popping of a cork with a stroke of a short sword. Well, actually I had never seen this done before and it was rather a surprise, but it had the desired effect giving an official beginning to the event and the pouring of the sparkling wine.
Popping the cork with a short sword. Warning, do not try this at home!!!
Below is a recounting of the food and wine pairings from the event with tasting notes.
Up first, hors d'ourves and a Peruzzi Brut methodo classico, dosage zero. The Peruzzi family has been producing sparkling wine in Le Marche from the Verdicchio grape since 1988, and biological wines since 2002. The Peruzzi Brut is a limited production organic wine with approximately 5,000 bottles made per year. It is bottle aged for a minimum of 3 years. This wine is made without the liqueur d'exposition (the added sugar after the disgorgement). In the glass, the color is a pale yellow and the perlage is happy. This was an interesting organic wine that did not have the typical nose and palate of a verdicchio. For me, it was lacking the almond and honey sweetness and was more dry with a more spare palate. I have decided that one day soon I will go to visit the winery to try this again as I had mixed feelings about the wine.
Up first, hors d'ourves and a Peruzzi Brut methodo classico, dosage zero. The Peruzzi family has been producing sparkling wine in Le Marche from the Verdicchio grape since 1988, and biological wines since 2002. The Peruzzi Brut is a limited production organic wine with approximately 5,000 bottles made per year. It is bottle aged for a minimum of 3 years. This wine is made without the liqueur d'exposition (the added sugar after the disgorgement). In the glass, the color is a pale yellow and the perlage is happy. This was an interesting organic wine that did not have the typical nose and palate of a verdicchio. For me, it was lacking the almond and honey sweetness and was more dry with a more spare palate. I have decided that one day soon I will go to visit the winery to try this again as I had mixed feelings about the wine.
Pouring the Peruzzi, the first of the five wines to be served during the course of the dinner
The second offering was a Tortino of Asparagus paired with one of my favorite sparkling wines, Colonnara's Luigi Ghislieri methodo classico Brut. What can I say that I have not already said about this wine. YUM!!! (Read the posts below on the Sboccatura and the Visit to the Colonnara winery for more info.)
The primi was a beautiful pasta with a sauce of goose accompanied by Vallerosa-Bonci's San Michele, 2012, a Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, D.O.C. Superiore. San Michele is a single vineyard wine from the San Michele area of the Jesi D.O.C. which sits about 400 meters above sea level. In the glass the wine had a deeper golden hue than many verdicchio wines. I found this wine to be very interesting as it went through a transformation the longer it sat in the glass. We think of red wines as needing to breathe, but this white wine from the verdicchio grape, only got better over time in the glass. The nose started out very floral with the scent of acacia dominating other sweet aromas like peach and a little anise. But after the wine sat for a while, the mineral notes came through more strongly and it smelled of the sea. In the mouth the wine, was soft, but carried a depth atypical of many verdicchio wines. It made me think of California wines but without the heavy oak flavor.
The primi was a beautiful pasta with a sauce of goose accompanied by Vallerosa-Bonci's San Michele, 2012, a Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, D.O.C. Superiore. San Michele is a single vineyard wine from the San Michele area of the Jesi D.O.C. which sits about 400 meters above sea level. In the glass the wine had a deeper golden hue than many verdicchio wines. I found this wine to be very interesting as it went through a transformation the longer it sat in the glass. We think of red wines as needing to breathe, but this white wine from the verdicchio grape, only got better over time in the glass. The nose started out very floral with the scent of acacia dominating other sweet aromas like peach and a little anise. But after the wine sat for a while, the mineral notes came through more strongly and it smelled of the sea. In the mouth the wine, was soft, but carried a depth atypical of many verdicchio wines. It made me think of California wines but without the heavy oak flavor.
The San Michele arrives. Notice the distinctive, tall bottle used for this Verdicchio Superiore.
| Next, for the secondo, slices of veal with small dollops of pureed carrots and zucchini on the side served with a Rosso Conero Riserva D.O.C.G., the Strologo Decebalo, 2008. The Strologo winery is a small family run winery started by a farming family in the 1960s. They make approximately 3,000 bottles of Decebalo per year. This is a wine made from the Montepulciano grape that has been aged in new French barriques for 12 months followed by an additional 12 months in the bottle prior to release. In the glass, the Decebalo was a deep red with purple hues. The nose was intense and complex with cherry, vanilla, cinnamon, and a pale scent of liquorice. In the mouth it is soft and warm and flavorful. Normally, I am not a red wine drinker, but I did taste this one and thought it would be nice to drink red wine again. |  Strologo Decebalo |
| And, finally, for the dessert lover in me, there was a fruit torta with orange and apricot cream served with the Moncaro's, Tordiruta, 2008. Tordiruta is a passito made from 100% Verdicchio grapes, aged one year in barrique and one year in the bottle. Tordiruta is just what I expect from a passito. It is amber in color with an intensely warm and mature bouquet of candied fruits and spice. In the mouth it is soft and mellow with just the right degree of sweetness. Well, I had to have a second glass of this one. |  Moncaro's award winning Passito, Tordiruta |
Now that the dessert had been served, it was time to get down to the business of the evening. I did not really know there was a business component; however, it made sense. It was a sommelier dinner after all and it was time for the conferring of diplomas and the tastevin on the graduating class of 2015. What is a tastevin? You know, that shallow, faceted silver cup that sommeliers often wear around their necks and the graduates proudly display in the photo below. The tastevin (French for taste wine) was not originally designed for sommeliers. It was originally used by winemakers for tasting in candle-lit cellars because the tastevin could reflect whatever light was there making it easier to judge the color and clarity of a wine.
The graduates proudly display their tastevins.
As the photo so clearly demonstrates, the graduating class was a diverse group - young, old, men, women, all sharing one thing in common - a passion for wine. Massmiliano, the President of the Colonnara winery, presented a magnum of Luigi Ghislieri 1993 to the top performer in the class. Oh, the green goddess of envy raised her ugly head . But, my curiosity about this 20 plus year old wine will have a chance to be sated next week at a Slow Foods tasting of a number of older vintage Colonnara methodo classico wines: Ubaldo Rossi and Luigi Ghislieri. (More on this in an upcoming blog.)
Finally, the graduation ceremony, complete with a commencement speaker, concluded; photos were taken; and the class began to disperse. (Of note, Jim says this was the best graduation ceremony he has ever attended. I guess I would have to agree with him. After all, it was the first I have ever attended where not only was wine served, but it was a focus of the event.) But before Jim and I depart, we have been invited to tour the Marchese del Grillo's renowned wine cellar with Cristina and Massimiliano. The beautiful vaulted cellar housed an amazing collection of wines some dating from the 19th century. I tried to take some photos, but with the exception of the one below, they all look like they were taken by someone who had a little too much wine. Hum, I can't imagine how that happened.
Finally, the graduation ceremony, complete with a commencement speaker, concluded; photos were taken; and the class began to disperse. (Of note, Jim says this was the best graduation ceremony he has ever attended. I guess I would have to agree with him. After all, it was the first I have ever attended where not only was wine served, but it was a focus of the event.) But before Jim and I depart, we have been invited to tour the Marchese del Grillo's renowned wine cellar with Cristina and Massimiliano. The beautiful vaulted cellar housed an amazing collection of wines some dating from the 19th century. I tried to take some photos, but with the exception of the one below, they all look like they were taken by someone who had a little too much wine. Hum, I can't imagine how that happened.
A small corner of the wine cellar - there was a lot more space, but the camera did not cooperate
On the ride home, I looked back on the evening wishing that I had taken some photos of the beautiful food. I guess it will just have to live on in memory until Jim and I return to the Marchese del Grillo. Until then, I will remember this evening as one of the most memorable meals I have ever had in Italy- delicious, beautifully presented, and perfectly paired with wines.
Okay, I did get one photo of some of the older wines collecting dust in the cellar
For more information on the wineries whose wine was served at this dinner, you can visit their websites with the links below:
The Peruzzi Website: http://www.spumantebio-peruzzi.it/
The Colonnara Website: http://www.colonnara.it/en/
The Vallerosa Bonci Website: http://www.vallerosa-bonci.com/
The Silvano Strologo website: http://www.vinorossoconero.com/
The Moncaro website: http://www.moncaro.com/en/
The Peruzzi Website: http://www.spumantebio-peruzzi.it/
The Colonnara Website: http://www.colonnara.it/en/
The Vallerosa Bonci Website: http://www.vallerosa-bonci.com/
The Silvano Strologo website: http://www.vinorossoconero.com/
The Moncaro website: http://www.moncaro.com/en/
