Otto’s Constant Dream

We’ve gone OCD for this wine. Join Cindy from Communal Brands this Friday, when she’ll be pouring the magical and mysterious Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand’s Marlborough region. Winemaker Fiona Turner produces an herbacious monovarietal of surprising depth. Wake up and taste it this Friday from 5:30pm!

Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Otto’s Constant Dream

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

Sidecar Tasting: Hop in this Thursday!

Vino’s Cocktail Hour continues! Hop in this Thursday when we’ll be mixing Sidecars! Made from Cognac, triple sec and lemon juice, this classic cocktail is generally believed to have been invented shortly after the end of World War I, either in London or Paris (Paris’ Ritz Hotel often claims origin of the drink). Early sources credit Pat MacGarry, the celebrated bartender at Buck’s Club in London, with creating the Sidecar, although David A. Embury suggested the cocktail was devised by an American Army captain stationed in Paris during World War I. According to Embury’s The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (1948) the drink was named after “the motorcycle sidecar in which the good captain was driven to and from the little bistro where the drink was born and christened.”

Whatever the drink’s origins, the sidecar remains one of the quintessential 20th century cocktails. If your bartender doesn’t know how to make it, you’re definitely in the wrong bar!

COCKTAIL HOUR: Sidecar Tasting
Thursday, May 13
5:30-7:30pm

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

Rev up the Vespa… Aperitivo comes to Vino!

Anyone whose spent twenty-four hours in Italy will no doubt be familiar with “aperitivo”. This quintessential Italian pastime is more than just a drink: aperitivo represents the blissful post-work, pre-dinner moment when Italy’s streets and piazze begin to swell with people enjoying a passeggiata — and invariably pausing for refreshment at a bar or caffè. This Thursday aperitivo comes to Vino as we taste a classic Italian cocktail: Negroni!

Made from equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari, this refreshing aperitivo was invented in Florence by Count Camillo Negroni, who demanded bartender Fosco Scarselli create his usual Americano (sweet vermouth, Campari and soda) with a little extra kick. The setting for this historic occasion was the Caffè Casoni on the corner of Via Tornabuoni and Via della Spada (the bar later became Caffé Giacosa and today forms an extension of Florentine fashion designer Roberto Cavalli’s flagship store).

Today the classic Negroni is arguably Italy’s most common pre-dinner cocktail. It’s success has even spawned modern variations, including the Negroski (in which vodka substitutes the gin) and the Negroni sbagliato (literally “wrong”, whereby gin is replaced with spumante). Join us on Thursday as we bring you Negroni just as the Count intended!

NEGRONI TASTING
Thursday, May 6
5:30-7:30pm

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

Grand Tasting II

Vino’s Global Grand Tasting earlier this month proved such a success that we’ve decided to host another mega-tasting in May! Join us on May 7 for a sweeping worldwide tour of some of our favorite bottles from all corners of the planet. Save the date!

GRAND TASTING
Friday, May 7
5:30-7:30pm

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

More French favorites — this Friday

Though we’d never betray our historically italophile tendencies, at Vino we’ve always loved a French wine. Who doesn’t? So following our international expansion we did not hesitate to dive head-first into the vast market of this great wine-producing nation. After a lot of searching (and a lot of tasting) we’ve come up with some real corkers, further proof that our careful selection process pays off. Tomorrow afternoon from 5:30pm join Naomi from Rosenthal Wine Merchants as she presents three of our best finds from France:

Sancerre Le Chêne 2007 Lucien Crochet
$32
The Crochet family has had holdings in the Sancerre AOC since the eighteenth century, and has been bottling wine since 1934. The domaine now is under the direction of Lucien Crochet and his son, Gilles. Much of the Crochet family’s growing sites are located in the fabled vineyards of the “Clos du Chêne Marchand”. These vines are an average age of 35 years and produce approximately 20,000 bottles of Le Chêne per year.

Corbières 2007 Domaine Faillenc Sainte Marie
$16
Situated just outside of the tiny village of Douzens, 12 kilometers east of the ancient walled city of Carcassonne, the Domaine Faillenc Sainte Marie was founded during the reign of Louis XIV by an officer returning from service on the Indian subcontinent. Today husband-and-wife Dominique and Marie-Therese Gibert produce this charming blend of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault. A classic expression of Corbières AOC, the largest appellation in the southern Languedoc-Roussillon region.

Bordeaux Rouge 2008 Château La Rame
$16
Situated 40 kilometers southeast of the city of Bordeaux, Château La Rame is among the oldest and most renowned properties in the Sainte Croix du Mont AOC. The estate was purchased by Claude Armand, the father of the current owner, Yves Armand. The Armand family has undertaken to re-establish Sainte Croix du Mont as an appellation of merit set to rival the region’s greatest appellations.

FREE FRENCH TASTING
Friday, April 30
5:30-7:30pm

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

Meet Silvia Marinelli of Conti Sertoli Salis

This Thursday Vino is postponing its cocktail hour for one week only to welcome a very special guest. From 5:30pm join Conti Sertoli Salis‘ export manager Silvia Marinelli (below left with winemaker Barbara Tamburini at Vino last year) as she pours wines by this esteemed Lombardy producer.

The sub-alpine valley known as Valtellina has long drawn interest from wine drinkers; Leonardo da Vinci even spoke of its winemaking potential in his Codice Atlantico. Today, the Valtellina Superiore DOCG produces some of Lombardy’s most prestigious wines.

Located in the town of Tirano in the province of Sondrio, not far from the Swiss border, Conti Sertoli Salis is a noble family which has been bottling wine since 1869. Much of their wine is still vinified and aged in cellars beneath the Palazzo Salis, the family’s 17th century palace and one of Tirano’s most popular tourist attractions. Conti Sertoli Salis’ Nebbiolo-based wines are some of the best representations of Valtellina we’ve had the pleasure to taste. Of particular interest are Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo vinified white) and the award-winning Nebbiolo-Pinot Nero blend, Baccalitt.

CONTI SERTOLI SALIS TASTING
with Silvia Marinelli
Thursday, April 29
5:30-7:30pm

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

Spring has sprung!

Spring has officially sprung, and at I Trulli that can only mean one thing: the return of our Spring Garden Parties!

Since 1994, I Trulli has been a favorite among New York diners not just for its delicious pugliese-inspired dishes and famed all-Italian wine-list, but also for its lush back garden, one of Manhattan’s most unique and secluded outdoor restaurant spaces.

Each week our Spring Garden Party will be themed around a particular region of Italy, giving you the chance to savor local wines and foods as they were meant to be enjoyed. The series begins next Tuesday, May 4, with a celebration of the distinctive flavors of Emilia-Romagna.

Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Mortadella, Aceto Balsamico: some of Italy’s most exported products hail from this culinary heartland. Such strong specialties require a wine to match, which is where Emilia’s refreshing sparkling wine, Lambrusco, delivers. Yet this oft-overlooked wine region also produces some of the country’s most interesting blends. Sample some of our favorites at I Trulli next Tuesday, each paired with Chef Patti Jackson‘s special selection of classic Emilian antipasti!

Wines:
Lambrusco Labrusca Bianco NV Lini
Lambrusco In Correggio Rosé NV Lini
Lambrusco In Correggio Scuro NV Lini
Lambrusco Metodo Classico 2003 Lini
Ageno 2004 La Stoppa
Macchiona 2003 La Stoppa

Chef Patti Jackson’s Antipasto Table:
Grilled Mortadella
Erbazzone
Chicken Liver Pâté
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Piadine with Spring Vegetables
Asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto di Parma

SPRING GARDEN PARTY
at I Trulli
Tuesday, May 4
6-8pm
$35* (plus tax and 18% gratuity)

Upcoming Parties:
May 11: LAZIO
May 18: PUGLIA
May 25: PIEMONTE
June 1: TOSCANA

For more information and reservations please contact 212-481-7372 or email reservations@itrulli.com. We look forward to seeing you soon!

International Bright Young Things

Vino continues to fly the flag for international harmony with another free tasting showcasing our growing selection of wines from the best winemaking areas of the world. This Friday join Mike from Bayfield Importing as he pours Bordeaux Blanc, Albariño from the Galicia region of Spain and a Californian Zinfandel from Amador County.

Bordeaux Blanc 2009 Château Lamother de Haux
$13

Rias Baixas Albariño 2008 Bodegas del Palacio de Fefiñanes
$23

Amador County Zinfandel Rocky Top 2006 Sabon Estate
$18

FREE TASTING
Friday, April 23
5:30-7:30pm

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

And now time for a little early-’90s nostalgia…

L’heure verte comes to Vino

Celebrating the return of Absinthe, this Friday

Edgar Dégas, “L’Absinthe”, 1876, Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

This week Vino’s cocktail hour celebrates one of the world’s most celebrated and controversial spirits, Absinthe, the popularity and notoriety of which have inspired writers and artists for generations. Its apparently addictive qualities and subsequent ban have only served to enhance its mystique.

Though originating in Neuchatel, Switzerland, this green, anise-flavored herbal spirit reached the peak of its popularity in turn-of-the-century Paris, where it rapidly became the tipple of choice among painters and literary-types basking in la vie bôhème. From the bourgeoisie to the working classes, at its height Absinthe was so popular in France that 5 o’clock in the afternoon became affectionately known as “l’heure verte” or “The Green Hour”.

Edouard Manet, “The Absinthe Drinker”, 1858-59,
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.

Absinthe also became known as “la fée verte” (“Green Fairy”), an allusion to its supposed drug-like properties. Critics claimed it was a potentially dangerous hallucinogenic and psychoactive drug, associating it with crime and social unrest. By 1915, Absinthe had been prohibited in France and most other European countries and the United States, after which demand fell sharply.

Pablo Picasso, “The Absinthe Drinker”, 1901,
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Despite Absinthe’s continued availability in Spain and the UK, it was decades before a resurgence in interest occurred. After an independent push to have the laws adjusted, in 2000 the first French-made Absinthe was made available in France since 1914. In 2007, after a 95-year absence, Absinthe was imported into the United States.

Now Absinthe has found its way to Vino! Join us tomorrow afternoon as we pour Vieux Ponterlier Absinthe Française Supérieure by Èmile Pernot. Carefully crafted in small batches using alambic stills that were specifically designed to make absinthe, this top quality French Absinthe is distilled using locally grown wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), which is considered the finest in the world, along with green anise seed, Provençal fennel seed and a variety of additional aromatic herbs and spices. Faithful to Absinthe’s original formulations, there is no sweetening added of any kind — its refreshing taste is obtained entirely from the combination of plants and the distiller’s skills.

FREE ABSINTHE TASTING
Thursday, April 22
5:30-7:30pm

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

Taste these three wines this Friday!

Join us this Friday when Hadley Foss from David Bowler Wine will be pouring these three awesome and diverse reds from 5:30pm:

Gamay Noir Bone Jolly 2008 Edmunds St. John
$19
Inspired by Beaujolais wines, maverick California winemaker Steve Edmunds set about creating the kind of wine the French would call “alimentaire.” Made from fruit sourced from Witter’s Vineyard, some 3,400 feet above Camino in El Dorado county, this bright and juicy screw-cap is the perfect choice for a spring picnic!

Bobal Utiel-Requena 2008 Vera de Estenas P.G.
$13
While not commonly cultivated in the rest of Spain, the Bobal grape is the most widespread variety in the Utiel-Requena DO in the province of Valencia, accounting for almost 80% of production. Vera de Estenas is one of the region’s top producers, whose Casa Don Angel estate comprises — in addition to agricultural land — an Art Nouveau mansion, bottling plants, aging cellar and a museum!

Squinzano Rosso 2005 Vinicola Resta
$16
Salento’s mild climate is ideal for vine growing. This south-eastern extremity of Puglia — comprising the provinces of Lecce, Brindisi and Taranto — is a hotbed (literally) for Negroamaro. Dr. Luigi Resta‘s is made from a spicy blend of 95% Negroamaro and 5% Black Malvasia.

FREE TASTING
Friday, April 16
5:30-7:30pm

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