English: location of Emilia-Romagna in Italy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
They’ve been growing grapes and making fine wines in Romagna in Italy since the time of the Roman Empire. All the wines from this area are DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) or DOCG (Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin) – designations granted only to the best certified quality wines in Italy. Romagna produces about 20 million bottles of this certified wine and exports 35% of it to other countries.
Romagna is known for its deep, dark Sangiovese reds and many white wines – from dry to aged dessert types. Since most of the winemakers are very small, they needed to band together to promote themselves. So 250 small winemakers and 200 partner wineries worked to form Consorzio Vini di Romagna. They brought some of their fine wines to Chicago recently during the Simply Italian Great Wines tour 2014. Below are four of their white wines and one red I recommend:
Whites
Romagna Italian whites and Sangiovese reds – part of the Simply Italian Great Wines tour
4 stars – Romagna Albana DOCG Secco Progetto I 2013 – from Leone Conti Societa’ Agricola. Lovely white wine, dry and warm with aromas of yellow fruit, golden apple skin, wet rocks, oak and vanilla. Good with starters, first courses of fish and roasted white meats. Four stars and a great value at ~$15. This wine won over a Sauterne in a blind taste test.
4 stars – Romagna Albana DOCG Secco I Croppi 2013 – from Celli SNC di Sirri & Casadei Societa’ Agricola. Rich, round, fresh, elegant with aromas of yellow pulp fruit and scents of apricot and melon. Four stars and another great value at ~$15. Good with noodles, grilled fish and white meats.
4 stars – Romagna Albana DOCG Secco Alba Della Torre 2013 – from La Sabbiona S.S. Azienda Agricola. Dry, warm and harmonious, with a finish of burnt almond. This is a beautiful wine with intense fruity and floral notes and a whiff of peaches. Another great value at ~$15. Good for starters, fish, especially grilled fish, but really it would go well with your whole meal.
5-star beauty – Romagna Albana DOCG Passito 2010 – from Bissoni Raffaella Alessandra Azienda Agricola. Creamy, slightly sweet, but rich and complex, with persistent tannins and aromas of apricot, dried figs, almonds, ripe dates and scents of rich fruit and spice mixtures. It’s a dessert wine, so go ahead and splurge at $45 retail. Serve it with almond pastries, and/or mature Pecorino or blue cheeses with honey or jam.
One red I recommend is the Romagna Sangiovese Doc Superiore Riserva Nonno Rico 2010 from Azienda Agricola Alessandro Morini “Poderi Morini.” Delicately soft, smooth and fresh with notes of thyme and oregano along with scents of plum, cherry, vanilla and licorice with a finish of ripe rose. Doesn’t it just make your mouth water? A good value at ~$20. Serve with filet of beef or other rich meats.
I tend to love Italian wines. And Italy has done more to make me enjoy white wines – they are really good at those – than anything else. Had a chance recently at the Simply Italian Great Wines tour 2014 to taste some beautiful white wines and a couple of lovely reds from Trentino, the northernmost wine-growing area of Italy.
Simply Italy educational seminars
Trentino – fine wines from grapes that grow in harmony with the mountains
Trentino – beautiful
Smaller wine growers have a hard time marketing outside their region, since costs can be prohibitive. So, many Trentino winemakers got together to extend their reach out to the rest of the world with their delicious wines. The “Vini del Trentino” consortium has 120 members and represents about 7500 winemakers.
Trentino produces more than 120,000 tons of grapes each year – equal to more than 21 million gallons of fine wine. But the region has so many different microclimates that you’ll discover many distinctive flavors and fragrances among those products. Grapes grow in vineyards located either on the valley bottom, on the hills, or on the Dolomite mountains. Ninety percent of the vineyards in Trentino make D.O.C. wines – that’s Italy’s own method of controlling quality. Here are a few I found 4-star or better:
Trentino Superiore DOC Marzemino D’Isera Etichetta Verde 2011 (~$10). Delicate, violets, fruits of the forest. This one can be aged two to three years after purchase. Great value.
Teroldego Rotaliano Superiore Riserva 2011. Robust red, notes of raspberries, plums and chocolate. This is a fabulous wine – 5 stars – and the price reflects it (~$31).
The drink is called Good Memories. I made it last night and can see just why they gave it that name. I also got a kick out of my friends trying to guess what was in this delicious ice-cream-and-liquor delight – it’s a fooler. The combination of ingredients is so unusual and the flavor so unique, I’m guessing even a professional bartender might have trouble figuring it out. I can tell you I will be offering this to guests all this season as my new alternative-to-eggnog holiday drink tradition. Thank you, Bombay Sapphire!
You need several liquors, but don’t think they’ll go to waste. You might even want to make an occasional one of these just to treat yourself. Recipe below.
GOOD MEMORIES
1.75 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin (aromatic, sightly sweeter-than-regular Bombay gin – check out their gorgeous distillery)
1 scoop Hazelnut ice cream (if you use Ben & Jerry’s Hazed & Confused you’ll end up with a bunch of tiny chocolate pieces in the bottom of the glass – not the end of the world, but smoother is nicer; next time I’ll try Talenti Hazelnut Gelato)
a dash of Jerry Thomas bitters (I left this out because I couldn’t find it, but if you can, it will make the drink even more aromatic and mysteriously flavorful)
Cinnamon
Method: Put the first four ingredients into a shaker or a big pitcher. Then either shake or blend with a stick blender ’til it’s creamy and smooth. No need to add ice. The ice cream will melt into the drink, chilling it out perfectly. Pour into either stemmed wine glasses or small cups with handles – you don’t want the warmth of your hand thinning the drink too much. Then stir in a dash of Bitters and grate or sprinkle some cinnamon on top.
Now go make some good memories this holiday.
“It’s a delicious martini-style cocktail perfect for Christmas, with hazelnut notes and cloves, all surrounded with cinnamon aroma, cherries, and vanilla from the rum. It’s a cold blend that has a floral body from the Bombay Sapphire Gin, that warms you up in the cold. It is also perfect for a summery Christmas on a fantastic tropical island. Enjoy responsibly! Salute!” –Created by Bombay Sapphire NY’s Most Imaginative Bartender Winner, Vincenzo Cangemi of Ovest Pizzoteca & Bar in NYC.
And here’s the next one I’ll be featuring. Stay tuned!
The Antinori family believes in tradition – and innovation, too. They introduced the Cabernet grape to Italy, in a spot where many other grape varieties can’t grow, and began experimenting with blending Cabernet with Italian grapes. The resulting wines have been exceptional, and now they are spreading the word.
Alessia and Niccolo share their passion for Antinori wines
She’s tall and slender, full of energy, and passionate about her mission. She is Alessia, the youngest daughter in the Antinori vintner family – the winemaker who travels the world alone and with her father, Marchesi. The family is the 26th generation to grow wines in Italy and now in Napa Valley. Together they imbibe lessons from cultures on several continents, the better to enrich their own winemaking wisdom. Alessia and her two sisters work closely with their father to manage the three Antinori wine estates in Italy and in America.
Alessia’s shoulder length, softly wavy brown hair moves in time to her graceful arm movements as she nods to emphasize her words. She is introducing five of the Antinori wines to a group of 60 people in Chicago. The Antinori wines being introduced are all made with some percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, for that is the theme of the evening: The Antinori Family’s Fascination with Cabernet around the World. Each wine has a subtle complexity along with delicacy and elegance in its blending. Several of them (see list below) are extraordinarily subtle and refined on the palate, especially the only-made-in-exceptional-years 2011 Solaia Toscana, made from grapes grown in a small southwest-facing vineyard next to their Tignanello vineyard in the Chianti Classico area of Italy.
Only in exceptional years – Solaia Toscana
As Niccolo Maltinti, U.S. Commercial Director and Brand Ambassador, said about this Solaia, “This is not a Sophia-Loren-type wine. It’s one of the most elegant wines, but with a backbone. You want to spend time with it and discover it slowly.” He said the poor, rocky soil here, “makes Cabernet Sauvignon grapes speak with an Italian accent.”
Alessia speaks warmly about the commitment to quality and the passion with which her family has been making wines for 600 years. She says these family values are transmitted seamlessly from generation to generation. Since her great-grandmother was American, her family has always felt a pull towards the United States – so it only made sense when her father visited Napa Valley that he would fall in love. He promptly bought 500 acres, built himself a home (an American style home built by an Italian architect) and went to work creating their estate vineyards.
Coco Pazzo’s fabulous venison ravioli with black truffle and wine reduction
The Cabernet event, held in the Florentine Room of the J.W. Marriott Chicago, paired a number of Antinori wines with fabulous Italian food creations, among them osso bucco with saffron risotto, braised lamb lasagna, and from Coco Pazzo, handmade venison ravioli with black truffle and wine reduction.
Alessia’s – and my! – favorite il Bruciato
Alessia gives away her secret – the wine she drinks every day at home is their il Bruciato, a full-bodied red made of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 15% Syrah. It’s wonderfully red and deep and pairs perfectly with many types of foods. And I was pleased to learn that the wine I liked so much that evening – and had to go back for more of – turned out to be her favorite, il Bruciato.
Barry Devine, the wine manager at Fleming’s Steakhouse in Lincolnshire, said he already carries several Antinori estate wines. He considers “Guado al Tasso Il Bruciato, the second label of the winery, and the Tormaresca Neprica (a blend of Negroamaro, Primativo, and Cabernet Sauvignon) fine examples of elegant wines at great value.” He said another great wine and great value is their Villa Antinori Toscana (Sangiovese, Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah blend). In addition to being “great values, these wines are good representatives of their respective areas,” Barry said, and generally score in the 90 point range in respected wine publications.
I asked Alessia a little about herself. She said realized when she was a teenager that she had a choice of where to go in life. Her father never forced her to go into the business, she said. But when she asked her father if she should go for art history or go to Milan to learn winemaking, he unhesitatingly said, “Go to Milan!” Though she knows she could have done something else, she loves the profession she has committed her life to.
Alessia, sharing her enthusiasm
When asked if it was unusual today for women to be winemakers, she said, “No, not today. But 20 years ago when I started, I was one of only two women in a class with 30 guys.“
She spoke of how being a family-owned winery makes a difference. I asked her to elaborate. “How our family succeeded – it takes humility, open-mindedness, culture, passion, and curiosity. With the family transmitting the culture and commitment from generation to generation, it assures a continuing sense of responsibility. Otherwise people change, and they don’t have the same commitment.” She spoke of how pleasant it is to be involved with nature. “It took 26 generations to build this company,” she said. “It can take only one moment to destroy it. Everything depends on how you behave, how you transmit the values and ideals to the future generations.“ These values are natural in a family-owned wine business, said Alessia, but they must be tended constantly. “When I speak at events like this, that’s how I show my passion.”
On promoting their wines: “My father was a pioneer in the 1970s in discovering new areas, and in Italy we went to other cities to bring our wines and to promote wine drinking in general.” About traveling alone to India and Asia she said, “It was very challenging. I learned about their traditions, culture – very similar to ours – their religious commitments, history, and ancient culture. Also, no one knew me; I could be myself as a person.”
What about here in the US? “I learned about the huge market potential of the U.S., and that everyone focuses on the main cities. In the 50s and 60s it was more about whiskey and beer in the US. There is a huge revolution here, enormous. In Napa Valley we learned a great deal about using Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.”
Alessia’s favorite everyday Antinori wine, il Bruciato, is available at Binny’s and sold in Eataly by the glass.
Nadia G., the popular Food Network show host, was writing comedy at an early age, has moved up fast in the world of TV and happily offers her own take on how to “do” Halloween right. Following are her top party ideas and Halloween recipes that will make your party the hot spot Halloween favorite.
Try decorating your buffet with genuine old stuff – like broken dolls you find at a thrift store. Headless, armless, blackened eyes, whatever.
Present your party spread on a bloodstained tablecloth! Get your hands on a white sheet and have some gruesome fun staining it with theatrical blood handprints and splatters!
Lighting is everything, so replace your crummy lightbulbs with red ones, and light lots of black candles to create a spooky (and sexy) ambiance.
Fill a surgical glove with water and freeze, use this creepy
Nadia’s “severed hand” looks great in a Witches Brew cocktail punch – See recipe below
“severed hand” to cool your punch bowl!
Stay away from generic “scary” props like cheesy spiderwebs.
Try: blood red roses, mice, pictures of Phil Spector… Use your imagination!
Bar Takito, 201 N. Morgan St. (at Lake) in the West Loop celebrates Halloween. Special $5 menu including $5 margaritas and food items will be available to any guest wearing a costume on Friday, October 31 and Saturday, November 1. Try their Sangre Del Toro (or “Blood of the Bull”) cocktail.
Newport Bar & Grill, 1344 W. Newport in Lakeview, hosts a Halloween costume party Friday October 31. A $500 cash prize for the “Best Group Costume” – $200 cash for “Best Individual Costume”. The bar will feature a live DJ all night long and offer $4 Craft Drafts, $4 Fireball shots, $5 Three Olive cocktails and $5 Bacardi bombs. An optional $20 package will be available from 9 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Masked Halloween wine tasting – Taste eight different varietals and wine a prize for guessing the most correct. WineBar at Plum Market, Inside Plum Market Old Town, 1233 N. Wells St.
Quartino Ristorante & Wine Bar, 626 N. State St., is putting on its traditional Halloween Wine Bash on Thursday, October 30, 7 to 9 pm. $25 gets you a selection of beer, wine and delicious Italian-with-the-Quartino-touch fare, along with music and (of course) a Halloween costume contest!
Bar on Buena, 910 W. Buena, EVIL TWIN DEVIL’S NIGHT EVIL COSTUME BASH on Thursday, October 30th (Devil’s Night!). 7pm – til ?? – a night of frightening flicks, macabre music, spooky spirits. Prizes for the most evil costumes include VIP Blackhawks tickets, BOB Gift Certificates, Beer Swag and more.
Chicago Q, 1160 N. Dearborn St., an upscale barbeque place with a gorgeous wood-paneled bar, gets in the Halloween spirit, this October 31 with the Spooky q Potion cocktail ($12 – Bourbon, Cinnamon Simple Syrup and Apple Cider served on the rocks with a gummy worm garnish).
Plymouth Restaurant & Bar, 327 S. Plymouth Court, on Friday, October 31, serves up a complimentary buffet full of Swamp Dip and Cheesy Freddy Fingers. Wash it down with Blue Moon pints for $4.00 and Pama Pomegranate Martinis for $5.00, and The Scary Night drink special for $5.00. Costumes encouraged.
*Spooky Halloween cocktails include Witches Brew punch:
Witches Brew
4 oz. Once Upon a Vine® Fairest Chardonnay
2 oz. Pear nectar
1 oz. Lime juice
.5 oz. Simple syrup
3 Sprigs of thyme
Directions: Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker and strain into a chilled glass.
William Shatner (the famed former Captain Kirk on Star Trek) hosts an online show in which he asks people to taste wine from a brown bag and describe it in terms of their particular occupation and then rate it. Shatner doesn’t know what’s in the bottle, either, so it’s kinda fun. Here’s a video of his interview with a young craft-beer salesman. Enjoy!
A group of Italian makers of fine wine came to show off their creations at the first-ever tour of the winners of the Merano, Italy Wine Festival competition. Held from 6 to 10 pm at Eataly Chicago last week, it turned out to be a very popular event.
Almost all the wines I tasted (I’m a red fan) were utterly beautiful – full, rich, deep flavors and long finishes. (Where I give prices they come from my Vivino iPhone wine app, so may or may not reflect actual retail where you shop.) A few of my favorites were Cantina Tollo Riserva Cagiolo Montepulciano d’Abruzza 2009 (so delicious I wanted to sit down to dinner immediately with close friends and share intimate secrets, I found prices from $56 to $19 so shop around), Cantina Tollo Colle Secco Riserva 2009 (lighter but still deeply flavorful – drink alone or with food, $29?), Riserva Montigi Pinot Noir 2011 ($25), Terlaner Classico 2013 (good value if you can get it for $19), Vignetti di Spessa Friuli Colli Orientali Schioppettino 2011, and Serafini & Vidotto Phigaia After the Red 2009 ($23).
Creative bruschettas
Beautifully displayed appetizer buffet
Cold water helped cool the tasters
Italian appetizers included several creative takes on bruschetta including one with sauteed mushrooms, one with pepperoncini and a few others. A dish of fine olive oil sat ready for dipping thick slices of crusty, hearty multigrain bread. Tasters also lined up for a small buffet lined with crisp vegetables – endive leaves, peppers and so on – with a bagna cauda (anchovy) dip, plus meatballs and more, and a huge vat full of chunks of Parmiggiano Reggiano. All strikingly good-tasting.
Next year I hope will bring a larger space to accommodate the many enthusiastic attendees – with at least a few places for older and tired-feet-after-work folks to sit down. These wines were excellent and can only improve when tasters have room to move. I dream of the day when wine tastings will reliably give, here and there, a place to set something down. It’s a real trick balancing a plate, napkin, camera/phone, pen and wine-rating book while swirling and sipping!
Doc B’s Fresh Kitchen has two locations: 100 E. Walton St (at Michigan) and 55 E. Grand (at Wabash). Tried the Walton place with a friend today and was very pleased. The music seemed a bit too loud when we got there, but the din of the other diners soon balanced that out (every table was busy all through a long lunch time). Yet because we were seated in a booth, we had enough privacy that we could still speak in reasonable tones.
WokOut Bowl with shrimp and spicy Thai sauce
Doc B’s Fresh Kitchen’s casual vibe
Nice wine service
Unique pizza options
Avocado pizza!
Deep-fried sweet potato crisps
Besides some very creative sandwiches, burgers, salads and pizzas (avocado!), one of their featured items is the Wok Out Bowl ($14 to $18). A pile of fresh veggies (kale, broccoli, carrot, mushrooms, onions) and a protein of your choice (e.g., shrimp, chicken, steak) are stir-fried ’til crisp/tender, topped with cashews, and served on either brown rice or lo mein noodles with your choice of sesame teriyaki or a spicy Thai sauce (we both liked the Spicy Thai best – it’s not especially hot). You feel virtuous ‘cuz it’s full of vegetables, but satisfied ‘cuz it’s got the protein and the starch. And it’s good.
A couple of particularly attractive sandwiches – Craig’s Knuckle Sandwich ($23) of 100% Maine lobster with coleslaw and arugula and the Filet Mignon with Parmiggiano Reggiano. Our neighbors ordered the avocado pizza – it looked and they said it tasted fabulous. They also had deep-fried sweet potato chips with two sauces that looked quite appetizing.
We couldn’t resist splitting a slice of chocolate pecan pie – worth the calories. Wine list is short and simple. By the glass whites and reds (and sparklings) from $9 to $18 each. For the cost of a bottle, multiply by four. Excellent service. Friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and attentive. Comfy, casual vibe with excellent food and service.
Many cheeses at the supermarket (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Grass-fed is the new mantra for healthier eating. You restaurant-goers and shoppers can find grass-fed meats, eggs and dairy in various locations around Chicago. Now you can also find a new brand: Grassfields is local and makes cheeses with raw organic milk from grass-fed cows raised to the highest animal welfare standards in the U.S. and Canada.
Look for the brand at some 20 stores and restaurants across the city, including Eataly, Bin 36, Longman & Eagle, West Town Bakery, Bangers & Lace, and the Dill Pickle Food Co-op. Grassfields’ nine varieties of cheese are made and aged on its 250-acre dairy farm, near Coopersville, MI.
Matt Reilly, Manager of Salumi and Formaggi at Eataly, says “Understanding what we eat is the only way to develop healthy relationship with our food. As a cheese monger, my goal is to know and build a direct trust relationship with both the producer and my customers. …I am happy to encourage my customers to bring [Grassfield cheeses] home to their families.”
Antonio RamÍrez, Cheese Director at Bin 36, says his customers agree: Grassfields’ cheeses are “unique and unexpected. “…Grass feeding produces added flavors and sweetness, makes the flavor more interesting, and keeps animals happy and healthy. Happy cows make happy cheese…”
Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) standards, policies and procedures are available on the AWA website. AWA’s Online Directory of AWA farms, restaurants and products let you search by zip code, keywords, products and type of establishment. AWA has also launched AWA Food Labels Exposed, a free smartphone app guide to commonly used food claims and terms, available from the App Store or Google Play. A free printable version of Food Labels Exposed is also available for download atAnimalWelfareApproved.org.
Ever been to Northern Michigan? I just went there for the first time recently, and I can tell you it’s beautiful country. It’s a delightful place to escape from Chicago’s intensity for a bit. Happily, there’s a cool resort – owned and operated by the Chippewa and Ottawa Indian tribes – near Traverse City that’s got everything you need for a real retreat. It’s called Grand Traverse Resort & Spa.
Three golf courses – all respectably difficult – grace the property. The outdoor pool has its own food service (in season). The fully equipped health club is huge – 100,000 square feet – and includes five beautifully maintained indoor tennis courts, two indoor pools and two hot tubs open early to late, a full fitness center with machines, weights and classes, and a childcare center called the Cub House.
MudPie gifts and fashion
Dylan’s Candy Bar
Tumbleweeds toys and games
Also, on premises you have three restaurants (read about Aerie here) and a whole little avenue of shopping pleasures. MudPie offers delightful gifts and fun fashions and accessories. Dylan’s Candy Bar has a host of sweet treats and fun little gifts for kids. Tumbleweeds carries toys and games for kids of all ages. Plus there’s an American Spoon shop with fabulously creative jams, sauces, and more.
By the way, this part of Michigan is about to receive millions of dollars for repair and resurfacing highways and byways. So if you’ve ever been in this area and run into some difficult traffic or roads, you should find smoother sailing soon.
Don’t take the highway up there. Rather take the scenic route up Route 31 (the trip is seven-ish hours) and stop in one or two of the little lakeside towns (starting from closest to Traverse City): Frankfort, Manistee, Ludington, Muskegon and Saugatuck are all charming places to get a meal or a drink. Crowded in the summer, but still fun to see even off-season.
It was my first time in Northern Michigan – and I’m hoping I’ll be back again soon.
