Buon Anno!

Let Vino put the sparkle into your New Year!

Celebrations for 2009 are already underway in Beijing, but these young revellers have missed out on a great sparkling tasting at Vino.

As the tumultuous twelve months that were 2008 draw to a quiet close, many of us face the oncoming 2009 with a rare sense of trepidation and optimism. At Vino we always look on the bright side of life, but then again it’s hard not to when you’re surrounded by such great Italian wines. Join us tomorrow for a very special all-day tasting, as we put the sparkle back into New Year’s and toast the imminent arrival of 2009!

These four white sparklers are guaranteed to put you in the bubbliest of moods for the long night ahead, and with all four wines available at 10% off (20% on six bottles or more), why not take some home to pop as the ball drops? We can’t think of a better way to end the year in true Italian style and get 2009 off to the best possible start.

Labrusca Bianco 2007 Lini
was $15, now $13.50

Prosecco Brut NV Col de’ Salici
was $18, now $16.20

Erbaluce Cuvée Tradizione 2004 Orsolani
was $29, now $26.10

Metodo Classico Bianco 2002 Lini
was $32, now $28.80

Save 10% on bottles 1 through 5, 20% on any six or more!

Sparkling New Year’s Eve Tasting
All-day Wednesday, December 31

Vino
121 East 27th Street
New York, NY 10012

For more information call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com.

Vino, I Trulli and Centovini wish you a sensational New Year and a peaceful and prosperous 2009!

Three courses for $38 every day!

Starting January 2nd: Centovini’s dinner menu goes prix-fixe

Lovers of Italian food, wine — and design — have descended on Centovini since 2006. Join them in 2009, where a three-course meal is just $38!

A new year is almost upon us, and at Centovini we’re welcoming 2009 with a new approach to our celebrated menu. Beginning January 2nd, our full dinner menu will be available both à la carte and as a three-course prix-fixe: choose any appetizer, entrée and dessert for just $38!

Our three-course prix-fixe Sunday dinners proved such a success in December, in 2009 we’re offering this menu every night of the week. Start the new year in style with an unforgettable dining experience at one of New York’s most inimitable restaurant spaces. Book now!

For further information and reservations call 212-219-2113 or email events@centovininyc.com.

New Year’s Sparklers

Let Vino help you welcome 2009 in style!

Another year is almost over, and as we look back at 2008, we can only gasp at what a twelve months its been. War, scandal, gossip, the Olympics, financial meltdown, an historic election… and if you’re us, a lot of great wines. Two of our favorites this year have been these two sparklers from Lini. Fabio Lini took Pinot Nero grapes grown in his own backyard to create Metodo Classico Bianco, a sparkling white wine to rival the best Champagne but at a fraction of the cost. Described by Gambero Rosso’s Daniele Cernilli as “the best Lambrusco in the world”, Corrigia Brut Rosso uses Lambrusco Salamino and is also fermented with the Champagne method. Offering an opulence of purple bubbles, it’s a great wine to serve with Italian cured meats and hard cheeses. Pop open both as the ball drops and welcome in the New Year in true Italian style. We can’t think of a better way to start 2009.

Metodo Classico Bianco 2002 Lini
was $32, now $28.80

Corrigia Brut Rosso 2003 Lini
was $27, now $24.30

Save 10% on bottles 1 through 5, 20% on six or more!

For more information call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com.

Discover Vino’s vast selection of holiday wines on our website, www.vinositeshop.com!

Christmas Card from Loughborough

In which your intrepid blogger returns to England for some home holiday comforts

My hometown of Loughborough as photographed from atop Beacon Hill, the highest point in Leicestershire.

VinoNYC is coming to you from the road this week, as I have been spending the holidays with my family in my hometown of Loughborough, Leicestershire. This has so far meant an awful lot of lounging, but I have also made room to focus on the more important task of refueling on some sorely-missed English holiday treats.

The snack cornerstone of any festive period in the UK is the widely enjoyed yet oft-botched mince pie. The recipe calls for a small dollop of mincemeat (rich, candied fruit held together in syrup) encased in pastry with a lid on and baked. Though it would seem no-one could cock-up this simple procedure, you’d be amazed how many bad mince pies I’ve been served in my relatively short lifetime. Though my Dad is partial to Tesco’s iced-top variation, I prefer my mother’s mince pies which are never a let down (more fruit than pastry — not viceversa). These are typically served warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar and washed down with a cuppa (tea). And if you happen to be fireside watching Premier League highlights on BBC1’s Match of The Day all the better.

The living room mantelpiece and original fireplace at my parent's Victorian house in Loughborough, Leicestershire.

Christmas Day in my house usually begins with a glass of Champagne and a hefty wedge of panettone — as mentioned in a previous post, I have mine shipped from Florence by an elderly friend named Professoressa Fortunata Maria Lelmi, affectionately known as “Bibi”. Every year, Bibi sends us a Tre Marie Panettone Classico (universally considered the best on the market) which arrives via Poste Italiane with all the aroma of a bustling Florentine bar at breakfast.

My Mum's brussels sprouts and parsnips on Christmas Day.

It’s a hard task to try and pair wine with turkey and roast potatoes, but I think this year we got it about right, uncorking a bottle of Barolo 2004 Oddero with dinner. It had a slight twinge of caramel which I felt was the perfect festive accompaniment to the brussels sprouts and parsnips.

The meal concluded, naturally, with Christmas pudding — the rich, fruit-based steamed pudding (not to be confused with Christmas cake, which is a cake and not a pudding). My mother likes hers with liqueur-infused creams which I cannot stand. I prefer hot custard. When my grandmother was alive she would begin soaking the fruit for the pudding in alcohol around late-August. Mum sensibly doesn’t go to such lengths, but Christmas pudding is still my favorite English dessert, and if made correctly not at all heavy as its critics would have you believe. Traditionally it is cooked with an actual sixpence inside, the idea being that whoever finds the coin in their bowl gets to keep it. By the time I was little we had the metric system and the prospect of finding money in your food gets less attractive when you nearly break a tooth on a 20p piece. Nowadays I’m happy to report our Christmas pudding is free of all metals.

I doused my steaming Christmas pudding in hot custard and washed it down with a chilled Moscato.

Boxing Day (December 26th) invariably means leftovers, though we had a nice roast beef, which we enjoyed with Montebetti 2007 Guido Gualandi. I’d never had Chianti with bubble and squeak before, but I felt it was a nice match. Next day I visited the Roman city of Leicester, which included a stop at Carluccio’s, the restaurant launched by the Salerno-born TV chef and writer Antonio Carluccio. This is the only place outside of Italy where I have ever found Campari Soda available in the bottle. I was so excited I decided to forgo my espresso for this very rare, very red treat.

After several days of British holiday food I felt more than ready for a lil' dolce vita.

Postscript: After a week of eating my parents out of house and home it was time to get back to work, so I departed for New York with a well-stocked suitcase in tow stuffed with After Eight Mints, Terry’s Chocolate Orange and PG Tips (“It’s the taste!”).

All photography by James Taylor.

Festive fizz

Prosecco and Moscato d’Asti: two seasonal sparklers for all the family

Everybody loves something bubbly in their glass, especially during the holidays. And after what has been an uncertain and trying last few months, what better time to put some festive fizz back into life. You can save 10% on two of Italy’s most celebrated and best-loved sparkling wines: Prosecco and Moscato d’Asti. A perennially popular aperitivo, this Spumante Brut Prosecco comes from Col de’ Salici, a winery blessed with sites in Valdobbiadene, one of Veneto’s most famous DOCs. Moscato d’Asti is one of the Piedmont’s oldest grapes. Mariuccia Borio’s Cascina Castlèt firm specializes in fun and whimsical expressions of the region’s top varieties. This wine is sweet and slightly sparkling, and a great accompaniment to holiday desserts.

Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut NV Col de’ Salici
was $18, now $16.20

Moscato d’Asti 2006 Cascina Castlèt
was $18, now $16.20

Save 10% on bottles 1 through 11, 20% on 12 or more!

For more information call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com.

Discover Vino’s vast selection of holiday wines on our website, www.vinositeshop.com!

Holiday Six-Pack

The perfect wines to get your festive season started in style

Because it’s all about the wine this Holiday season let Vino outfit your festive dinner with six wines selected to dance across your palate, invigorate your nose and set your mind at ease. These wines will excite and delight your friends and family as they gather around the yuletide table. So you can enjoy them all over the course of your feast we’ve included a few suggestions of dishes to match with our Holiday Six-Pack. It’s one less thing to stress over, and six more reasons to enjoy the holiday.

Metodo Classico Bianco 2002 Lini
Fabio Lini has crafted a magnificent brut sparkler from Pinot Noir harvested in the Oltrepo Pavese and vinified in bianco at the cantina in Correggio. The wine spends 48 months on the lees before dégorgement. Serve with roasted chestnuts, baked apples and Robiola.

La Gazzella 2004 Ezio Voyat
Ezio Voyat spent years developing, perfecting and promoting what we consider to be the best dry Moscato we’ve tasted. Made from fruit grown in steep hillside vineyards just outside of the village of Chambave, La Gazzella has floral and mineral aromas, racy acidity, medium body and a great finish. Serve with salt cod fritters, smoked sable or pickled herring.

Lacrima di Morro d’Alba 2007 Enzo Mecella
Lacrima is a unique grape variety grown in and around the town of Morro d’Alba in the Marche. Its fragrant, floral character calls to mind roses and hibiscus blossoms. With moderate acidity and mild tannins Lacrima is suitable for drinking by itself but we prefer it with hearty, aromatic soups.

Chianti Colli Fiorentini Montebetti 2007 Guido Gualandi
Guido’s Chianti Montebetti is a hand-crafted wine made from organically-grown Sangiovese and Colorino grown in the Colli Fiorentini. Without the assistance of pumps, refrigeration or non-organic additives, Guido has to work twice as hard as most to achieve his consistently excellent results. This full-bodied wine, brimming with typical Sangiovese zestiness is great with braised short ribs, roast goose or lamb tagine.

Amarone 2003 Le Ragose
The holidays wouldn’t be holidays without a glass of Valpolicella’s famous passito. Le Ragose has been making excellent Amarone since the late 1960’s using great fruit, cold winter air and a belief in natural winemaking methods. Big, rich and aromatic, Le Ragose’s Amarone is perfect with ripe washed-rind and blue cheeses.

Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina 1999 Travignoli
Giovanni Busi, proprietor of Travignoli and head of the Consorzio di Chianti Rufina makes Vin Santo the old fashioned way. His version of Tuscany’s classic dessert wine spends 4 years in the attic exposed to the changes in season. Off-dry and gently oxidized, this Vin Santo goes well with older sheep’s milk cheeses and semi-sweet biscotti.

Holiday Six-Pack
$260

Save 10% on twelve or more!

For more information call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com.

Say “Cin Cin” with Clic!

Top Friulan producer’s son makes holiday party wine!

Friulan producer Fabio Coser (of Ronco dei Tassi fame) is renowned as one of Italy’s top white winemakers, and has several Tre Bicchieri awards to prove it. Now his son Enrico has decided to get in on the act. Catering to a younger crowd (specifically the huge numbers of ragazzi e ragazze who converge on Italy’s Adriatic coast every summer), he has created Clic, an approachable and affordable line of excellent party wine. But before you right them off as unsophisticated, just remember where they’re coming from. Using 100% Friulano (Clic Bianco) and 100% Merlot (Clic Rosso) from the choicest sites, Enrico has put together a wine worthy of the Coser name. The name Clic comes from a term in Friulan dialect meaning “a small glass of wine between friends.” Invite yours over this holiday and share the fun.

Clic Bianco 2007
was $12, now $10.80

Clic Rosso 2006
was $12, now $10.80

Save 10% on bottles 1 through 11, 20% on 12 or more!

For more information call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com.

Discover Vino’s vast selection of holiday wines on our website, www.vinositeshop.com!

Tuscan tryptich

3 Chianti zones + 3 expert producers = 3 great wines.

Since my first visit to Florence (over 20 years ago), these four little pigs have been happily dining on a steady diet of pork and Chianti at this butcher's shop.

Whether swigged from a straw flask in a rustic trattoria or ordered by the bottle from a celebrated vintage, Chianti is one of the world’s best-known and most widely consumed wines. So much so that it can be too often easily taken for granted. With literally thousands of producers in the appellation vying for our attention, how to distinguish between them in order to find the really good stuff? During our many travels to Italy we have sought out what we consider the very best Chianti, despite the many alternatives readily available here in the United States. Bound only by the Chianti name and predominant use of Sangiovese, these three wines hail from three different Chianti subzones: Rufina, Classico and Colli Fiorentini. As diverse as their land and their producers, they remain unmistakably true expressions of Chianti.

Chianti Rufina 2006 Travignoli
was $12, now $10.80
The Busi family has been making wine in the Rufina subzone since the 12th century — this 100% Sangiovese 2006 Chianti Rufina stands up to their best vintages.

Chianti Classico 2005 Casa Emma
was $22, now $19.80
A blend of 90% Sangiovese, 5% Canaiolo and 5% Malvasia Nera, this typical expression of the classico appellation is an excellent holiday wine.

Chianti Colli Fiorentini Montebetti 2007 Guido Gualandi
was $23, now $20.70
Guido Gualandi’s first vintage of his Chianti Montebetti combines 90% Sangiovese and 10% Colorino, vinified separately and aged for ten months in oak casks of various size and age.

Save 10% on bottles 1 through 11, 20% on 12 or more!

For more information call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com.

Discover Vino’s vast selection of holiday wines on our website, www.vinositeshop.com!

In the valley of Voyat

Save on three Alpine wines from a Valle d’Aosta virtuoso

Voyat's wife and daughter pose alongside a photograph of the late Ezio at the family home in Chambave, Valle d'Aosta. Photo Jim Hutchinson, October 2008.

Ezio Voyat made his living as an accountant for a casino but he forged his legend as a producer of some of Italy’s most distinctive wines. His two moscato, the dry La Gazzella and the sweet Ambrato, and the red blend Le Muraglie are truly wines of place, slightly austere and aromatic with brisk acidity balancing concentration of flavor. Like the mountains from which they come these wines can be imposing and difficult to attain but with time and effort their mysteries unfold and their charms become a warm embrace. Voyat made wine in Chambave, a hamlet in the Valle d’Aosta, his modest house and cellar within walking distance of his several acres of hillside vineyard. Ezio Voyat died in 2003 leaving his wife and daughter to carry on his sizeable winemaking legacy.

La Gazzella 2004 Ezio Voyat
was $38, now $34.20
Voyat named this dry, elegant 100% Moscato for his daughter Marilena, an Olympic sprinter and 1980s Italian track star, known to her fans as the “Gazelle”.

Rosso Le Muraglie 2005 Ezio Voyat
was $43, now $38.70
This Chambave Rosso is made from Petit Rouge, Dolcetto and Gros Vien, sourced from an ancient cloistered growing site known as le muraglie or “the walls”.

Ambrato Le Muraglie 200o Ezio Voyat
was $117, now $105.30
Made from dried Moscato grapes from the Voyats’ own small estate, this ambrato or “ambered” dessert wine achieves its unique color through gentle oxidation and cask aging.

Save 10% on bottles 1 through 5, 20% on six or more!

For more information call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com.

Discover Vino’s vast selection of holiday wines on our website, www.vinositeshop.com!

Fantastico! Magnifico! Aglianico!

Save big on some of Southern Italy’s greatest wines by D’Angelo

Donato D'Angelo in his cellar in Rionero, Potenza.

If Basilicata’s Aglianico del Vulture DOC is today emerging as one of Italy’s winemaking areas of greatest potential, much of the credit must go to Donato D’Angelo. D’Angelo was instrumental in garnering international recognition for the wine through his determination to have serious consumers recognize Aglianico as one of Italy’s most important varieties.

D'Angelo's Aglianico vines on the slopes of Mount Vulture. The volcano's most recent eruptions occurred roughly 830,000 years ago.

Donato began producing wines in Rionero in 1973, after he and his brother Lucio inherited the D’Angelo cantina from their father, Rocco. With growing sites positioned in the town of Rionero, high on the slopes of Mount Vulture, D’Angelo was inspired by his unique location. He set about making the best wine he could out of a grape variety in which he truly believed: Aglianico. Having recently graduated from the prestigious Scuola Enologica of Conegliano in Veneto he was also compelled to introduce international varieties to the region, as well as French-oak barrique aging.

Vintage bottles of Aglianico by D'Angelo. Although the wines drink well now, they offer excellent aging potential.

Success and recognition soon followed, and for over a generation D’Angelo has been widely considered one of the key figures in Italian winemaking. His innovation has resulted in Aglianico now being regarded as Southern Italy’s best answer to Sangiovese or Nebbiolo; judging by his latest vintages, Donato D’Angelo remains an expert in creating the finest possible expression of Basilicata’s richest grape.

Serra della Querce 2005
was $43, now $39.70
D’Angelo tempers Aglianico’s stiff tannin and pronounced acidity with a significant amount of Merlot.

Aglianico del Vulture Canneto 2005
was $36, now $32.40
Since 1985 D’Angelo’s Canneto has highlighted Aglianico’s best attributes for an international market.

Aglianico del Vulture Riserva Caselle 2003
was $36, now $32.40
Though this Aglianico Riserva wine has remarkable aging potential it is already drinking well.

Aglianico del Vulture Valle del Noce 2003
was $54, now $48.60
Likened to the wines of Piemonte and Bordeaux, this 100% Aglianico can age for upwards of 20 to 30 years.

Save 10% on bottles 1 through 5, 20% on six or more!

For more information call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com.

Discover Vino’s vast selection of holiday wines on our website, www.vinositeshop.com!