Italian Wine Dinner Montes Trattoria NYC

 

Rocca Giovani - Nebbiolo D'Alba 2019

Zeni Amarone "Barriques" 2015

I recently attended an Italian Wine Dinner at the venerable 103 year old

Monte's Trattoria in Greenwich Village, New York. The wine dinner was organized by Chef Pietro Mosconi, his sone Peter Mosconi (GM), and representatives of Moinsiuere Touton Wines of New York.

The dinner began with reception at the bar of Monte's, as we sipped Prosecco (Villa Joland) and ate a tasty assortment of Chef Pietro Mosconi's h'orduevures, which included : fresh Mozzarella wrapped with Prosciutto di Parma, roast Asparugus Parmigiano, Shrimp Oreganata, and tasty little Meatballs. The crowd, sipped their prosecco and nibbled on Chef Pietro's little treats, and engaged in spirited conversation before heading to the upstairs dining room, to sit down to 4 courses of Chef Mosconi fare. 

Out came the first course of Baked Clams, Fried Calamari, and baked Eggplant. We were served 

Zeni Lugana to go with the antipasti. Lugana is a lovely white wine from Lake Garda, Italy. The wine zone of Lugana actually is in two regions of Italy, which include both the Veneto on the east side of the zone, and Lombardia to the west. This is a bit unusaual, as wine zone are generally in on region, not two. Lugana is one of the exceptions to the rule. Lugana wines are generally mineral driven, with taste of Green Olives, a tad of salt, pears, grapefruti and green apples. 

The Zeni Lugana lived up to general rules of this lovely wine, exhibiting good minerality, with faint saline notes, Peach and Pinapple fruits on the finsish. It was a good choose for the antipasti, going escpecially well with the Shrimp and Clams, and all items of this first course. 

For the next course, we were treated to some of Chef Pietro's famous homemade pasta, which in this case was Tagliatelle with fresh shaved Black Truffles. Needless to say, the pasta was devine, and all present savored its sublime flavors of the fresh egg pasta, butter and Tartufo Nero (Black Truffles). The Tagliatelle con Tartufo was paired with a wonderful Nebbiolo from the Rocca Giovani Estate, of Monforte d' Alba in Piemonte, a premier area for Nebbiolo and great Barolo wines. 

The Rocca Giovanni Nebbiolo was a great wine to pair with the Chef's Truffle Pasta, as any Nebbiolo based wines, such as; Barolo, Barbaresco, or Nebbiolo D' Alba such as this wine, Nebbiolo with Truffles (Tartufi) is one of the World's Greatest of all food and wine pairings, and this was no exception. The Rocca Giovanni Nebbiolo was a a textbook Nebbiolo D'Alba, with a good stron g rubby color, smelling of Violets and Rasberries, and a hint of spice on the nose. The fragrance was quite lovely. In the mouth, the wine was full of Dark Cherry and Strawberry flavors, with a tad of Licorice and other faint spices. This was a classicly made Nebbiolo D'Alba, that made a perfect accompaniment to the Truffles and fresh pasta. "So, good. Thanks Chef Pietro."

After our tasty truffle pasta with Nebbiolo, we relaxed for a few minutes, chatting about the dinner, the food and wines, and whatever other conversation were occuring around the room.

For the main course, their was a choice of either broiled Salmon, or Chef Pietros famous Braised Short Ribs of Beef with polenta. Now I can not figure for the life of me, why would anyone choose Salmon over the chef's awesome braised Short Ribs, especially when Amarone was to be served with the main course. "OK, I get it. Yes, I realize there are people who don't eat meat, thus opting for the salmon. Sorry guys, your loss." As for me, you know I ordered the Short Ribs. 

And so, a little while after finishing our pasta course, out came the main (secondo) and a gorgeous plate of braised Short Ribs of Beef, with sof polenta was set down in front of me. The wine guys had already poured Amarone into my previously empty wine glass, and it was "Let the games begin." Yes, they had already begun almost two hours ago, but hey, here I was with my Chef Mosconi made Short Ribs and a glass of Amarone.

Well, I already knew how amazingly succulent and tasty Short Ribs of Beef cooked by Chef Pietro Mosconi are. I have had them dozens of times, and they are without question, one of my favorite things to eat in this whole wide World. And I've eaten at all of the great restaurants in the World, including in : Paris, Rome, Venice, New York, Florence, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Saigon, Verona, Havana, San Francisco, New Orleans, and? Need I go on. No, It's quite hard to think of anything tastier than these tasty Braised Short Ribs. Well, Foe Gras at Polidor, maybe? I don't know? Kind of close, but I'm goign to have to give the Short Ribs a slight edge. 

Now, I'm eating the Short Ribs, and so you know, just how amazingly great they are? As great as anything could possibly be. Now how about the wine werved with them? The Amarone from the House of Zeni, Bardolino, Italy, on the shores of Lake Garda. Thsi wine is Zeni Amarone "Barriques" 2015 ... And what an Amrone it is. From the very first sip, this wine blew my mind. It was phenonminal, and one of the best Amarones I have ever had, including the one that I hold as the greatest Amarone I ever drank, which would be the Zenato Amarone Reserva 1981 vintage that I drank in 2005, when that wine was 24 years old, and perfectly cellared in the cellars of Barbetta Ristorante on 46th Street in New York, NY ... 

Now that wine was much older, and you have a different experience with an older aged wine, than with a wine much younger. But all I can say, is that the Zeni Amarone 2015 was a wine that is in perfect balance, super tasty, and a absolute pleasure to drink. "I loved it."

Now if you know me, you will know that if I say things like, "the wine was perfectly balanced, tasty, and that I loved it." you will know that the wine in question is a wine that is just about a perfect wine, and I don't need to go into a bunch blibber blabber, in describing the wine. But in addition to saying it was in perfect balance and that I loved it, I will tell you that it was full of wonderful black fruit taste, with hints of exotic spice, and Desert Dates notes. This wine was a gem, and I can't wit until I drink it again.

After all that, I'm starting to fade. Chef Pietro treated as to a tasty poached pear with Mint Zabiglione Sauce for dessert. This lovely dessert was paired with a Moscato d' Asti Santo Stefano 2020 from Ceretto. The Moscato was quite nice, with good acidity to balance the sweetness, and tasty peach and appricot flavors that dominated its wonderful flavor profile. And yes, it paired perfectly with the Poached Pear Zabiglione dessert from Chef Pietro. 

So, the dinner was quite wonderful. A great menu from Chef Mosconi, wonderful wines from 

M. Touton Wines of New York, good friends and conversation in one of the great Italian Restaurants of New York, the 103 year old and still going strong, Monte's Trattoria, headed by Chef Pietro Mosconi and his son Peter. Thanks guys. We loved it.

... Daniel Bellino Zwicke, October 23, 2021

NYC

Zeni LUGANA Vigna Alte

2020

Gaetano Zeni, referred to as Nino by everyone, was the real innovator of the modern era of the winery: a number of small and big changes initiated by him lifted the winery to its level of today. It was Nino who decided to move the production in the 1950s from the small winery in the historic centre of Bardolino to its present location,with more space and improved practicality, in the hills above the village with a spectacular view of Lake Garda. In the new winery he also decided to establish the wine museum to promote the culture and the story of wine growing and wine making. The philosophy of the winery, which was implemented by Gaetano Zeni, is pursued today with the same enthusiasm and dedication by his children Fausto, Elena and Federica and includes in particular the meticulous selection of both vineyards and grapes. The separate vinification of the grapes from the different wine areas is today still one of the fundamentals of the winery, giving the wines local character and high quality. The continuous improvement both in the production processes and in the winery’s management enabled the winery to obtain the UNI EN ISO 9001:2000 quality certification.

Ceretto Moscato di Asti "Santo Stefano" 2020

POSITANO The AMALFI COAST

COOKBOOK / TRAVEL GUIDE

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Chianti

 

CHIANTI GALLO NERO

The BLACK ROOSTER

There are eight Chianti zones in Tuscany. The biggest, oldest, and the one that may produce the best wine is the Chianti Classico zone. It is called Classico because of it is the oldest zone of the region and it is in the center of the region.  The Chianti Classico zone, a very large area between Florence and Siena, includes all the territories of the communes of Castellina in Chianti, Gaiole, Greve, and Radda in Chianti and parts of Barberino Val d'Elsa, Castlenuovo Berardegna, Poggibonsi, San Casciano Val di Pesa and Tavarnelle Val di Pesa.

            In 1924, 33 producers get together in Radda in Chianti and founded a consortium to defend and promote Chianti Classico wine and its symbol of origin, the black rooster.

          This symbol has always appeared on the bottles of Chianti Classico produced by consortium members. Not all of the producers of Chianti Classico belonged to the consortium and only members were able to use the black rooster on their bottles. In 2005, however, the black rooster became the emblem of the entire Chianti Classical zone.

            The Chianti Classico Consortium had the words Gallo Nero printed over the head of the rooster on the neck label of all of its bottles. A few years ago the Gallo winery in California sued the Consortium and won the case. The words were removed from the label.

            The black rooster symbol has origins in both the history and legends of Chianti.  It was depicted in a painting by Giorgio Vasari on the ceiling of the Salone del Cinquecento in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence to indicate the military league of Chianti. There is also the legend of the Black Rooster.  Florence and Siena in the Middle Ages were always fighting each another over land. The leaders of the rival cities decided to have a horse race to determine the boundary lines.  A rider would depart from the capital of each republic and the border would be drawn at the point where the horsemen met. They would set out at dawn by the crowing of a rooster. Siena picked a white rooster and Florence a black rooster. The night before, the black rooster was not fed.  It awoke early and the Florentine rider almost reached the gates of Siena before encountering the other rider.  The rest is history.

            Baron Bettino Ricasoli in the middle of 19 century devised the formula for making Chianti Classico:   Sangiovese with such native varieties as Canaiolo and Colorino.  Two white grapes had to be included, Trebbiano and Malvasia.  It could not be 100% Sangiovese. Many producers back then used the governo method.  Ten percent of the grapes (Canaiolo) were dried and then added to the wine. I believe that there is only one producer today, Querciavalle, that still uses this method.

            Over the years the percentages and the grapes have changed.  Currently, the percentage of Sangiovese is 80% to 100%.  Native varieties such as Canaioio and Colorino or foreign ones including Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot can be added up to 20%. As of the 2006 vintage, the white grapes are no longer allowed.

            Chianti Classico can be aged in wood, steel tanks or glass lined cement tanks; the normale is aged for one year before it is released. The riserva must be aged at least two years and an additional three months in bottle and have an alcohol content of at least 12.5% before it can be released. The riserva is a wine that can age for a number of years. The riserva  had  a gold circle around the black rooster but that stopped in 2005.

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SUNDAY SAUCE

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Godfather Sunday Sauce Gravy

 

Pete Clemenza teaches Micahel how to Make SUNDAY SAUCE

ITALIAN GRAVY

Richard Castellano as Perer Clemenza

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone

Mario Puzu - Francis Ford Coppola

The GODFATHER

ABOUT SUNDAY SAUCE

The aroma of a garlic-laden tomato sauce spiked with Sausage, Meatballs, and rolled-up meat Braciola can bring tears to the eyes of many Italian-Americans.

Sunday Gravy, also known as Sunday sauce, evokes memories of weekend family gatherings in which mom or grandma presided over the constantly stirred pot of sauce and meat, and various relatives were tasked with procuring the essential provisions—the cannoli and sesame bread from the bakery or the wine from the cellar.

Sunday gravy was more than just a big, belt-loosening meal. In close-knit Italian-American homes, it was a virtual religion. “Each Sunday, we were constantly traveling to homes of different relatives,” says John Mariani, a New York food author whose books include How Italian Food Conquered the World. “It truly was a moveable feast.’’

The proprietors of Frankies Spuntino restaurant in Brooklyn, Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, write that “Sunday sauce—the meal, the menu, the way of life—is the source and summation’’ of their restaurant business.

They recall how on Sundays their family kitchens would “start to fill with that hunger-inducing humidity, the tomato and pork simmering away in the pot.’’

Castronovo remembered that Sundays “even when I was a teenager and wanted to be a punk … I’d still stop and eat at my grandma’s house before the rest of the day went down.”

The best Sunday gravy simmers on the stove for hours, permitting the ingredients (the meat choices are seemingly limitless) to infuse the sauce with an unparalleled meatiness that no quickie marinara could ever hope to replicate. The long, slow cooking time was also time for families to spend with each other, reinforcing ties that could withstand the harsh realities of the outside world.

In a way, the history of Sunday gravy encapsulates the story of Italian immigration to the U.S. and the prosperity succeeding generations found in America. “Very, very impoverished Southern Italian women, whose only reason for living was giving birth to children and feeding them, suddenly found an abundance of cheap food in the U.S.,” Mariani says. “It radically changed their self image.”

The meats in the sauce became a symbol of plenty. Meat had been a rarity in the old country, and if there was any of it at all in a meal, it was usually pork. But in the U.S., immigrant women bought beef “because they could."

Before his father’s parents would bless the marriage, Mariani’s grandmother “demanded that my mom must learn how to make Sunday gravy.”

Along with the other staples of Italian-American cuisine, Sunday gravy has vaulted from family food to the culinary mainstream, even as a once-in-a-while treat for today’s health-conscious eaters. TV food stars Rachael Ray and Giada De Laurentiis regularly feature touched-up variations on the classic Italian-American repertoire. And, although “The Sopranos” is widely despised by Italian-Americans for its twisted depiction of their cherished family values, the show often featured sumptuous Sunday meals with pots and pots of sauce, meat, and pasta—and the cookbook spawned by the show features a Sunday gravy recipe.

For better or worse, 21st-century America has made celebrating the Sunday tradition much more difficult for families. “Sunday is now a time for attending soccer games, getting in 18 holes of golf … or watching three NFL games without interruption,” Mariani says.

But Mariani and other Italian-American food advocates nevertheless remain intent on keeping tradition alive. “My family still gets together on Sunday afternoons just as it always has, and the food is as good as it ever was,” Falcinelli wrote in The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual. “Growing up, I didn’t see it as an amazing culinary tradition, but I did appreciate how good the eating was.”

HOW to MAKE SUNDAY SAUCE

RECIPE

CLEMENZA 'S GODFATHER SUNDAY SAUCE

ITALIAN GRAVY RECIPE

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Negroni Cocktail Recipe Campari

 

The NEGRONI

    The Negroni? A question? A question to some? Most of America probably. Many so-called sophisticates have been drinking this “The Negroni” quite a bit in the past 4 years or so. The truly sophisticated, worldly folks have known about them far longer. Me? I’ve been drinking this great Italian-Cocktail for some 28 years now. Yes, I’ve been drinking Negroni’s ever since my first at a Bar in la Bella Roma back in the Summer of 1985. Rome, “The Eternal City” is where I had my first, on that marvelous first trip to Bella Italia. I was quite a young man, and that trip was completely magical, discovering real Italian “Italian Food” for the very first time, I had my first true Bolognese, Spaghetti Carbonara, Coda di Vacinara, Bucatini Amatriciana, Gelato, and a true Italian Espresso, “Oh Bliss!” Yes it was. I saw The Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s Moses at San Pietro en Vincole (Saint Peter in Chains), I saw the Coliseum, The Roman Forum, The Duomo in Florence, Venice and The Grand Canal, Positano, Capri, Napoli, and so much more. Yes the trip was magical. It was magical hanging out at a Bar in the Piazza Popolo drinking my first Campari, and that first of a thousand Negroni’s, or more. Many American’s are just discovering its charms, “me and the Negroni,” we go way back; in Rome, Venice,  , Positano, Capri, Verona, Bologna, I’ve had Negroni’s all over. And many in New York in restaurants and bars all over Manhattan, and Staten Island where I drink some of the best Negroni’s I’ve ever had, certainly in New York, at my buddy Pat Parotta’s house in Staten Island.

Pat pours an awesome Negroni better than any bartender in the city. He makes them with love and when I go to one of his wonderful little dinner parties, that’s the first thing I have. It’s tradition for us now. Leaving my house in Greenwich Village, I hop on the 1 Train and take it down to the Battery to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. I hop on the ferry, ride across New York Harbor, passing the gorgeous Lady Liberty (The Statue of Liberty) along the way.  I get off the ferry.

Pat picks me up at the terminal on the Staten Island side. We go to house, and I’m not through the door two minutes and he’s mixing up a nice one. A Negroni that is!

Well 2 that is, one for me, and a Negroni for himself. We drink great Italian Wine at those dinner parties, and some of Pat’s tasty food. But we always start it off with our ritualistic Negroni’s alla Patty “P” and you should too.

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THE NEGRONI Basic Recipe:

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 1 ounce Campari

1 ounce Sweet Vermouth

1 ounce Gin

Ice

Orange

1. Fill a Rocks-Glass or Highball Glass with Ice.

2)  Add Campari, Sweet Vermouth, and Gin.

3) Stir ingredients. Garnish with a piece of Orange Peel or slice of Orange.

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Note: Orsen Wells after discovering the Negroni while writing a screenplay in Rome, wrote in a correspondence back home thathe had discovered a delightful  Italian Cocktail, “The Negroni.” Welles stated, “It is made of Bitter Campari which is good for the liver, and of Gin which is bad. The two balance each other out.”

"NEGRONI" T-SHIRT

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photo Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

THE BELLINO NEGRONI

    For me, this is the Perfect Negroni. The basic Negroni recipe calls for 3 equal parts(1 oz.) each of Camapari, Sweet Vermouth, and Gin in a glass filled with ice, and garnished with an Orange Peel.    For the most perfectly balanced Negroni, I put in slightly less Campari  (3/4 oz.),  ¾ ounce of Gin, a little moreSweet Vermouth with 1 ¼ ounces, over Ice, add  a tiny spalsh of Club Soda and Garnish with a good  size  piece of Orange. Voila! The Perfect Negroni. Enjoy!

THE NEGRONI is Excerpted From Daniel Bellino-Zwicke 's  SUNDAY SAUCE

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READ :  "ITALIAN COCKTAILS in NEW YORK"

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At  theDannyReport.com

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A Brief History of Italian Wine

CHIANTI

VILLA CALINAIA

GREVE

 

AMARONE Producer Owners of BOTTEGA del VINO

VERONA, ITALY

People have enjoyed drinking wine for thousands of years ever since its ancient origins in Mesopotamia, near present-day Iran. Italian and French wines are among the best and Italy is the largest producer of wine. This makes sense because the Romans made the most contributions to the ancient art of viniculture.

The Greeks, who settled in southern Italy and Sicily, exported the art of wine-growing to Italy. They were so impressed with the mild Italian climate which was perfect for producing wines that they called Italy, Oenotria, or the land of trained vines.

The Etruscans, who settled in central Italy, also produced wines. The Romans improved the techniques that the Greeks and Etruscans used.

Demand for wine increased greatly with the population explosion in Rome from 300B.C. to the beginning of the Christian era. It increased to over one million people and, as even the slaves drank wine, much more wine had to be produced.

The Romans loved their wine, drinking it with every meal. However, as the alcohol content was stronger than ours, they mixed it with large quantities of water. They preferred sweet wine and strangely enough their most prized wine was white. This came from the area that they thought was the best wine-growing region, the Falernian region near Naples.

Unusual flavors were often added to the wine. The Romans liked to mix honey with this drink to make an aperitif called mulsum. They often added herbs and spices, but were known to mix wine with salt water which must have given it an extremely bitter taste. Even chalk was sometimes mixed with wine to reduce acidity!

The many contributions the Romans made to the art of wine-growing included using props and trellises, improving the Greek presses used for extracting juice, classifying which grapes grew best in which climate, and increasing the yields.

The Romans exhibited good taste by deciding that aged wines tasted better and preferred wines that were ten to twenty-five years old. They discovered that wines which were kept in tightly closed containers improved with age and became the first to store it in wooden barrels. They may also have been the first to use glass jars and they also used corks.

They exported their excellent wine-growing techniques to other areas of Europe and these were not changed for centuries. But demand for wine decreased with the fall of the Roman Empire. Surprisingly Roman Catholic monks continued to produce wine during the Dark Ages but it only became popular again during the Renaissance.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Italian wine was often criticized for its poor quality and the government decided that steps had to be taken. DOCG or new wine regulations were introduced to improved the quality of the wine.

Today Italian wines are considered by critics to be amongst the best in the world. As there are twenty different regions to choose from, each with different varieties, it is never difficult to find a fine Italian wine!

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