Brunello Italian Wine Tasting NY 2014

BRUNELLO Di MONTALCINO

BRUNELLO TASTING NEW YORK Today

January 27, 2014

NEW YORK, NY

Benvenuto Brunello

"Going to Tasting and Brunello Seminar in an hour. Will report back later or tomorrow ..

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

Brunello Tasting New York 2014

Precious Vines

of

Sangiovese Grosso 

aka Brunello

Montalcino

Near Sant Antimo

Dam, another year has come and gone .. It's hard to beleive another year has already gone by.

Seems just like yesterday the last Benvenuto Bruneelo Tasting at Gotham Hall in New York, happily tasting Montalcino's latest release of the 2008 vintage Brunello's along with Brunello Riserva 2007 and Rosso di Montalcino's of 2011 .. Some really wonderful Brunello last year .. i can remember loving the offerings of; Donatella Cinelli Columbini 2008, Col d'Orcia 2008, Barbi Resierva 2007, and Uccelliera 2008, and Silvio Nardi 2008 ..  

I attended a great Siminar on Brunello conducted by the great Kevin Zraly where we tasted some wonderful current vintage Brunello including the just mention offerings as well as

Il Poggione Riserva 1999 and Col d'Orcia Brunello 2001, both great vintages and now aged quite well.

The seminar conducted by Mr. Zraly was phenominal as usual and when I inquired if Kevin was going to do it again, I was dissapointed to hear he wasn't .. They got someone else whose name I do not recognize .. Hopefully the lady will conduct a fun, informative seminar, but after attending Zraly's last year, I doubt if  very many could match Kevin's wonderful performance. "Cie la Vie."

At the tasting last year, one of my suppliers asked if he the Count Francesco Maroni Cinzano by, as he wanted to give me a personal 1-on-1 tasting of his latest offerings. Of course I said yes, "Do you think I'm a Mad-Man?" Maybe? Well the Count came by the next day with some phenominal Brunello's, including; his 2008 Vintage, Rosso di Montalcino 2010, Col d'Orcia Brunello 2001, and the amazing Col d'Orcia Brunell "Col Vento Riserva" 2004 .. That wine is amazing and one of the best bottles of Brunello I tasted all year. And Poggio Al Vento 2004 was just being released in 2013, it was incrediable .. All the Counts wines are quite wonderful, and he also brought along a nice wine he makes at his property in Chile .. The wine "Erasmo" is a very fine Bordeaux Blend that I quite like, I put on my list, along with The Counts Brunello both 2005 and 2008 vintages which have been selling extremely well and our customers just love them ...

"DON'T TOUCH IT !!! DON'T TOUCH IT !!! " Cried Kevin Zraly, startling some, scarring others at last years Brunello Seminar he conducted at Benvento Brunello 2013 at Gotham Hall in New York ...

You can read more on Mr. Zraly and the 2013 Brunello tasting in my article "Brunello Tripel Header" at Ny-Foodie

JUST CLICK HERE ...

Fattoria di Barbi Table at NY Brunello Tasting 2013

BARBI BRUNELLO "One of My Favorite Brunello Houses"

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke & Count Francesco Maroni Cinzano

Drinking The Count's Famed Brunello

NEW YORK, NY

Poggio AL Vento

Brunello Di Montalcino

Riserva

2004

"one of the Best Brunello's I've ever had, and I've had some Great Ones;

Val d' Cava Madonna 1990, Angelo Sassetti 1990, Barbi Riserva 1995, Poggio Antico 1997

and many more ....

The FOLLOWING Is From The BRUNELLO Di MONTALCINO CONSORZIO Website

Brunello di Montalcino is a visibly limpid, brilliant wine, with a bright garnet colour. It has an intense perfume, persistent, ample and ethereal. One can recognize scents of undergrowth, aromatic wood, berries, light vanilla and jam. 
To the taste the wine has an elegant harmonious body, vigorous and racy, it is dry with a lengthy aromatic persistence.
 

Because of its characteristics, Brunello can be aged for a long time, improving as the years go by. It is not easy to determine exactly for how many years it improves. It depends on the vintage. It varies from a minimum of 10 years to around 30 years, but it can be kept for even longer. Naturally it must be kept in the right way: in a cool cellar, but above all with a constant temperature, in the dark, without noises and smells; the bottles should be laid horizontally.

The History of SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS

THE GENESIS of MEATBALLS

Spaghetti & Meatballs

MEATBALLS  ...  Excerpted From Daniel Bellino-Zwicke's SUNDAY SAUCE

"Whne Italian-Americans Cook"

Many people will tell you that that Spaghetti and Meatballs or Veal Parmigiano are not Italian. Well Italians do eat Meatballs, but not with pasta.  The Meat-balls are served on their own  with Tomato Sauce or with Polenta and sauce, and even mashed potatoes. Yes Italians in Italy eat mashed potatoes.  It was our Italian immigrant ancestors who first put the two together, Spaghetti and Meatballs that is! Although I must say, that I feel that although it may not have been a known practice, that over time, there must have been quite a good number of Italians in Italy who over the years put maccheroni together with Meatballs on the same plate.  “It would be utterly impossible that of the Billions of meals cooked in Italy over the years, that somewhere in homes in Sicily, Campania, Puglia, Calabria, or even Tuscany for that matter,  that no Italian mothers or grandmas did not put  Meatballs and Pasta on the same plate. “Impossible I tell you!  The odds are way against it!”

    So, what I’m saying is that, although it was not documented, I’m sure that in some households in Italy,  over the years, there had to be families who cooked  Meatballs in Sauce (Gravy), dressed the pasta, Spaghetti, Rigatoni, Ziti with the Sauce, and threw a couple Meatballs on the same plate as well. I guarantee this happened. And if it did, that makes it Italian.

    Yes, the Italian immigrants at the turn of the 19th Century were primarily a poor lot.  Meat was a bit expensive, and any meal that might include it, might have to be stretched with much cheaper ingredients in order to feed the entire family. That cheaper ingredient was none other than, “Yes, you guessed it, “Pasta” or as most Italians in Italy call it “Maccheroni,” Spaghetti, Ziti, Rigatoni and such. I’m sure, some of these Italian ladies who came to America from Campania, Sicily, Calabria, Genoa, and Apulia, as a treat, would put one or two Meatballs on a plate with pasta, and on the same plate in order to have less work by washing less dishes, the “invention” of Spaghetti & Meatballs, the Genesis so to speak.

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

SUNDAY SAUCE Is AVAILAIBLE on AMAZON.com .. CLICK HERE !

THE BELLINO FAMILY

1943

My Granfather Phillipo

My Mother LUCIA

My UNCLE TONY

and 

Mi Nonna JOSEPHINA

PATSY'S 56th STREET NEW YORK, NY

FRANK SINATRA'S Favorite Restaurant

And Thee # 1 BEST PLACE To GET MEATBALLS

In NEW YORK

BASTA !!!

WHAT WINE For SUNDAY SAUCE "GRAVY"

Wine for Sunday Sauce? What do you drink? Which wine pairs best with Sunday Sauce, thee Supreme Dish of Italian-America? Is it Chianti, most iconic of all Italian Wines? Perhaps Aglianico or Piedrossa from the region of Campania where the roots of Italian-American Sunday Sauce Gravy begin? Or a Sicilian Wine like Nero d’Avola or Norello Mascallese? If you trace the roots of Italian-American Sunday Sauce and the people who created it, Sicilians are among the top of the list. Now, I know since you came to this page that bottle of Carlo Rossi “Paisano” just had to catch your eye. And I’m sure most of you are asking the question, “Carlo Rossi Paisano, are You Kidding?” The answer. “No, Not Really.” Well I’m not saying it’s the best choice. OK so we have to match a good wine with that fabulous Sunday Sauce of yours. What to drink?

I’m here to tell you, it can be one or more of many wines, and don’t count a wine like Carlo Rossi Paisano out. “You’re Joking?” You say. No. Listen, this can be your wine, maybe not. I myself have drank some of the World’s Priciest, and so-called greatest wines in the World, “Trophy Wines,” like; Sassicaia, Gaja Barbaresco. La Tache, Chateau Petrus, Chateau Haute Brion, Petrus, Chateau Cheval Blanc, Chateau Latour, all the great Brunello and Barolo wines, great vintage Champagnes, you name it, “I’ve had it.” And with my knowledge of wine, I can tell you, a lot of it is hype, and Marketing BS, and sometimes not. And I’ll tell you this, do not be so much of a snob, a Wine Snob. You see that Carlo Rossi, with all the prestigious wines that I’ve consumed over the years, I’m not above drinking that. Carlo Rossi .. The wine has special meaning and affection for me. It’s one of  the two wines my uncles always bought for our Sunday Family Meals. Meals of Meatballs, Sunday Sauce “Gravy,” Ravioli, Veal Marsala, Chicken Cactitore. My Uncles Tony and Frank always had either Carlo Rossi paisano or Gallo Hearty Burgungy on hand. They were their wines, and they only had other wines if someone brought something like Bolla Valpolicella, Rufino Chianti or some other wine. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Paisano or Gallo Hearty Burgundy are great wines, “No.” But they are not that bad. They are Italian-American Wines made by Italian-Americans and have social significance to Italian-Americans. These wines are part of our history, as are the wines from the great Robert Mondavi, The Mondavi Family, Francis Ford Coppola and other Italian Families in America.

So what am I saying? What wines to drink with the Sunday Sauce or any home-made Italian American Meal? Well, actually most of the time I do drink wines from Italy with my Sunday Sauce or whatever Italian food we’re making. The Carlo Rossi is just when we eat over Uncle Tony’s house with Uncle Frank and all the wonderful meals with Aunt Fran, Aunt Helen, Mommy, Cousin Tony, and my brothers and sister and the whole family. No, I’m not above drinking Carlo Rossi or Gallo if my Uncles are serving it. When we’re eating at home, we usually love to drink Chianti, most times, sometimes Barolo, Barbera, or Brunello. But most often it’s Chianti which I love and it goes quite well with just about anything we eat, especially Meatballs, Sausage, and Sunday Sauce. Chinati comes from Tuscany and is a medium bodied wine made mostly from Sangiovese (The Blood of Jobe), and with small percentages of other native Tuscan grapes like; Colorino, Malvasia Nero, Cannaiolo, or Ciegolo. 

One thing I must say is, that I usually don’t like wines like Big, concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah from California or Australia. To me, these are the last wines I would ever want to drink with Italian food. Reason. These wines are usually to rich, and because of that, they clash with the food instead of complementing them. the wines you want to drink should have good flavor, but be light to medium in body and weight. Not Bif, Fat, Rich, and concentrated. “No Bueno!”

TRAVAGLINI GATTINARA In NEW YORK

The special rare wine in question was il Sogno, which was a special project created by Cinzia's father Giancarlo Travaglini in 2004 ... Giancarlo wanted to make a dry table wine using the appassimento method of drying grapes before the fermentation process as with the famed wines of Amarone and the lesser known Sforvato of Lombardia. Giancarlo picked some of his best Nebbiolo Grapes and set them out to dry on matts. Unfortunately Giancarlo passed away in November of 20024 when the grapes had only been drying for 1 month. Cinzia and her winemaker husband continued the project.  They finished drying thr Nebbiolo grapes, fermented them and made the wine that tey called il Sogno "The Dream." 

Donnafugata Sicilian Wine

Jose Rallo

at

Tre Bicchieri Tasting

New York

with a bottle

of Tancredi

Donnafugata in Marsala

ITALY

Donnafugata Cellars

Marsala, Italy

MILLE UNA NOTTE

Antonio Rallo

Partner Winemaker Donnafugata

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

With His Friends Wines TERRABIANCA VENICA DONNAFUGATTA

BARBI BRUNELLO PLANETA

SUNDAY SAUCE

ITALIAN COOKBOOK of The YEAR

Donnafugatta's Renowned Dessert Wine

"BEN RYE" PASSITO di PANTELLERIA

The Beautiful Label 

of

Mille Una Notte

and All Donnafugata Labels

Shows The Great Attention to Detail

and Excellence

in Everything The Rallo Family Does

at DONNAFUGATTA

Making Some of The World's Tastiest and Greatest Wines

BRAVO !!!

TONY SOPRANOS GABAGOOL

Gabagools

TONY SOPRANOS GABAGOOL SANDWICH

 

 

 

1. Gabagool

Definition : "Gabagool" is slang for "capicola." It is not a mispronunciation, but is instead in Napolitan dialect, which is what the Sopranos and many Italian-Americans use. The rule in this dialect is to chop off ending vowels and to voice unvoiced consonants.Ricotta-"rigot"

2. Manicotti-"manigot ...  gabagool= Capicola Ham.  "My wife sends me here to shop because they got good gabagool."  3. Gabagool

The Sicilian pronunciation for the spicy deli ham "Capicola".  "Do you want provologne on your gobagool sandwich?" 4. Gabagool - The americanized version of the Italian word "Capicola" made popular by Tony Soprano and other ignorant 2nd & 3rd generation Italo-Americans who have forgotten how to speak italian properly. Capicola is a spicy deli meat similar to ham or salami.

Learn How to Make

a GABAGOOL SANDWICH

SUNDAY SAUCE / ITALIAN GRAVY

PASTA FAZOOL

and More ....

READ ABOUT TONY SOPRANOS GABAGOOL SANDWICH

in DANIEL BELLINO'S

SUNDAY SAUCE

WHEN-TALIAN-AMERICANS COOK

Available on AMAZON.com ... CLICK HERE !

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