Menu and wines for a dinner we are doing next week (food for thought)

[Botafogo]

Italia vs Il Mondo!

Reception

Fongaro Lessini Durello Spumante Riserva 1991, Veneto Organic
A newish DOC dedicated to method champenoise sparklers made from Durella (which means “the hard woman”) growing at high altitudes in extremely mineral rich soils. The result is fabulously refreshing and aromatic, a great apertivo or a new and interesting sushi solution.

Desiderio Bisol Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore Cartize, Veneto
Prosecco is not trying to be Champagne, it has a higher goal: a direct bottling of La dolce Vita at a price you can afford. It is is not about being super dry and toasty and yeasty and all those things we love in great fizz from la Champagne....it chooses to forgo the cerebral path and head straight for the pleasure centers of your brain. It is lighter and zestier and more aromatic but never actually sweet and has plenty of refreshing acidity to take on anything from chicken salad to ceviche to serious BBQ. This is one of the very best, produced from highly aromatic low yield grapes grown on the picturesque hillside known as Cartizze.

Marinated Octopus, Shrimp, Calamari, Garlic Sauce

Martilde Piume Oltrepò Pavese Malvasia 2000, Lombardia Organic
Crisp, dry and refreshing with no annoying tree sap flavors: “Young man, I nearly fainted with delight when I tasted that Piume Malvasia last night...” So said a customer in a lilting Brit accent as she grabbed a case. The sheer audacity of the aromas and flavors of Martilde Malvasia Piume coupled with its bone dry, “give me some more right now!” finish makes it a no-brainer with any Pacific Rim cuisine, Sushi, Fruit & Cheese or just sipping while watching Beat the Geeks on Comedy Central.

La Cappuccina Sauvignon Blanc 2001, Veneto Organic
Intense aromas that remind us of a vegetable garden in the morning, aged 5 months on the lees but without oak.

lluminati Cerasuolo Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Campirosa 2000
Bone dry Rosé is just the ticket for almost any food in hot weather. Try it, you’ll like it!


Fresh Soft Shell Crabs on Spicy Tuna Tartar

Stiftskellerei Neustift Praepositus Weiss 1998, Alto Adige
This was an absolute sensation at numerous tastings recently: 70% crisp, minerally Sylvaner for backbone, 15% Pinot Grigio for aromatics and 15% Chardonnay for a little stuffing, all glazed with just enough oak to frame it nicely. We have rarely seen such intense reaction to a white wine and it will make a great “stump the Wine Geek” contestant.

Doro Polencic Ribolla Gialla 2001, Collio
One of our all time favorite whites for a mixed menu: aromatic in a caraway seed and anise sort of way rather than the citrus and flower notes of Riesling or Muscato. Perfect with any seafood, pork or chicken dish with ginger or fennel elements or just fine with fruit & cheese, this will leave your guests begging for more.

Salis Terrazze Retiche di Sondrio Bianco Torre della Sirena 2001, Valtellina
An ethereally scented blend of Rossola and Pignola ( which are lightly colored RED varietals) with luscious textures sure to please the resident Chard-0-Holic yet bringing something more interesting to the table.


Braised Wild Boar Ribs, Caramelized Beef Tripe
with Pine Nuts, Black Rice and Epice Sauce

Livon Schioppettino 1994 Picotis, Venezia-Giulia
This is nearly exploding with deep red fruit flavors and the explosively zesty spice that led the Friulani to name this grape after the sound of a shotgun: Schioppettino means ricochet or buckshot in the local dialect!

Picchioni Buttafuoco Oltrepò Pavese Vigna Riva Bianca 1998, Lombardia
A Certified WINE EXPO-ista Cult favorite in past vintages, this is huge, rich and velvety, with coffee, spice and red fruit on the nose and an endlessly evolving palate of darker fruit, earth, dried meat and more. A field blend of Barbera, Vespolina, Bonarda, Ughetta and Croatina from old vines with southwest exposure, this is the top wine of a future super star, an outstanding value and it always disappears quickly.

Tomasso Bussola Valpollicella Classico Superiore TB 1999, Veneto
Tomasso Bussola operates at a different level than most of his neighbors: his Valpos are richer than a lot of Amarone, his Amarones are a big as ports (but dry) and his Reciotto could be packaged in toothpaste tubes.


Roasted Colorado Leg of Lamb, Sauteed Yukon Potato, Herb Dijon

Montecalvi Alta Valle della Greve 1998, Greve in Chianti, Toscana
Produced from the Rauscedo R23 clone of Sangiovese which has extremely small berries for maximum extract, this is further intensified by planting 9000 vines per hectare and performing an extreme green harvest in July (throwing half the bunches to the birds) resulting in less than one kilogram yield per vine.

Vinicola Savese Primitivo di Manduria Tradizione del Nonno 2000, Puglia
This one reminds us of our Grandfather (Tradizione del Nonno means “Grandfather’s style”) seeing “supermodels” like Kate Moss and Linda Evangalista on TV and going off about how “they don’t make broads like they did when I was young anymore: Jayne Mansfield, Ginalolla Brigida, Marilyn, Sophia freakin’ Loren...now THOSE were WOMEN!”. But seriously, folks, this is one of the most concentrated, full bodied, phat like that reds you will come across, made from late harvest Primitivo (which we know as Zinfandel here in California) fermented dry but with serious meat on its bones.

Tezza Amarone della Valpolicella 1998, Veneto
Terrifically complex, terroir driven, BONE DRY Amarone, sort of the Veronese answer to Brut Zero Champagne: with not even a hint of sweetness to cover up any flaws your wine HAS to be great or it will be a disaster. You can taste the rocks underlying the vineyard here as well as perfectly balanced fruit from prize old Corvina vines. Perfect for cool foggy nights.


Apple Cinnamon Crepe

Cascinacastle’t Moscato d’Asti 2002, Piemonte
The piemontese call this “bottled smiles” and we rarely meet ANYONE who does not want more upon first tasting! Yes, it is sweet but so are stolen kisses and homegrown tomatoes so just relax and enjoy this when you need to be reminded of the joy of life and the beauty of nature. It smells like orange blossoms and honey and tastes like love and you just can’t put a numerical score on that....

Colosi Passito di Pantelleria 1999, Sicilia
Warm fusion in a bottle: a stunning encapsulation of the hot sun of Pantelleria (an island closer to Tunisia than Sicily but still Italian soil) with rich flavors of bitter almonds, blood orange rind, oriental spices, sandalwood, frankincense and myrrh...sure to bring a smile to anyone you share it with.


Restaurant 2117
2117 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles 90025 (310-477-1617)

[Innkeeper]

Mmmmmmmmmmm good!!!

[hotwine]

Holy cow! That would be worth the price of admission, whatever it is.

[Botafogo]

$79.99 including tax, tip and parking, you bet it is a deal. We are sold out though....

[ShortWiner]

I have a feeling that whatever I have for lunch today is going to seem pale and thin... [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

[winedope1]

so much for tuna and a glass of milk...

[Georgie]

I had peanut butter and jelly...

[hotwine]

I had tuna and a big Ra-ah-cee Diet Cola (gag).

[winedope1]

too true, Hotwine. (the gag part, I mean). I can't abide diet drinks. The taste is awful. That dinner howevere, is making my not-yet-fed stomach growl. Wish I was in LA. WD

[quijote]

Hey, I had a very elegant lunch: two Frankfurt-style beef cutlets wrapped in corn pone fritters, then painted with a jus of vinegar and mustard seed. In others words, corn dogs with mustard. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

[This message has been edited by quijote (edited 05-27-2003).]

[winedope1]

Gee, Q, why'd ya have to go and spoil the illusion by translating??

[quijote]

Ah, but they were upscale (pupscale?) corn dogs! (Maize canines)

[This message has been edited by quijote (edited 05-27-2003).]