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Italian Wine Consulting | Reviews | Essays | Tastings | Wine Dinners

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Instagram post 17858611685769486

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Instagram post 17942609590998208

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Instagram post 17864818217744375

Wow, what a meal at @sancarlonyc last night, thank

Wow, what a meal at @sancarlonyc last night, thanks to @chefclaudiopienti @panebiancowines @cantine_marisa_cuomo @nenomoreno and @dardanienrico and the the walking textbook of Italian wine (who is in #orvieto today), @winestoriesny @johncamachovidal
Risotto ai Frutti di Mare #softshellcrabs and unlimited hospitality. 🦀🍷🇮🇹🇺🇸🗽
I came to know the wines of Marisa Cuomo on my last trip to Capri with @ms._melissa_bellini last August. The wines are everywhere there and in #Napoli as well. I’m told to really appreciate the portfolio I should spend some time getting to know the #biancolella grape in Ischia…so much to do, so many places to see.

This photo capturing historic Chianti Classico pro

This photo capturing historic Chianti Classico producer Francesco Ricasoli and NYC wine royalty couple Johnny Cataneo and Melissa Bellini at James Suckling's Great Wines of the World event.
#fun #haha
See you at Mr. Suckling's Top 100 Italian Wines of 2021 in September.

All the cool kids were in one place last night. An

All the cool kids were in one place last night. An exquisite event at @thepeninsulanyc and hosted by @foliofinewine #thankyou @michaelmondavifamilyestate #champagnecharlie

We were so impressed with a recent great meal at @

We were so impressed with a recent great meal at @aifiori that we just had to pop in for a late lunch at @osteriamorini this weekend. Restaurants by the @altamareagroup seem to have several things in common in addition to the great food: an interesting and expertly curated wine list that you can get lost in for a few quiet minutes before diving into your equally impressive food. I wouldn’t expect a high volume, super financed group like this to brazenly take on labels from boutique importers like Jan D’Amore but here’s Jan’s import Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle by a small producer in Italy’s smallest region, the Valle d’Aosta. This exquisite wine brings acidy citrus, honey, and lime to the table which went well with both our pasta dishes. @ms._melissa_bellini had a simple spaghetti al sugo pomodoro while I had the squid ink Trofie pasta with sepia. They quietly swapped out the Trofie with Campanella pasta but I think that was actually the better choice considering the sauce. Great meal. Lovely Sunday. And look at my pretty ladyfriend. Who’s better than me?

Many thanks to @kevinzraly and @westchestermageven

Many thanks to @kevinzraly and @westchestermagevents for a super fun day of wine tasting and restaurant sampling at the Westchester Mag Food & Wine event yesterday. Great show of local and international wine and foods with live music and fun, informative seminars by the event host himself.
Special thanks to @rko_robinkelleyoconnor #🍷 @alisonvdb and @gladiatorwine as well as @marquesdemurrieta @renatorattiwinery and @tequilakomos

I’m pouring Riesling and Brunello di Montalcino

I’m pouring Riesling and Brunello di Montalcino at the Westchester Wine & Food Festival today. #dontask #wmwineandfood

Cipriani Downtown.

Cipriani Downtown.

Undici because it’s one of Rumson’s most sough

Undici because it’s one of Rumson’s most sought after restaurants with one of The State of New Jersey’s best wine lists. Terradora di Paolo because they are a highly respected Campania producer. Fiano di Avellino DOCG because it’s an appellation that consistently produces one of the best expressions of the white Fiano grape. Melissa because she’s lovely and delightful and amazing. Today, at these moments at lunch, I wanted nothing more.

Well, that was quite a day. 🍷🗽🇮🇹🇪🇸In my next life I want to be @thomas_cuni though. #greatwinesoftheworld #newyork

#greatwinesoftheworld #today in #NYC with the famo

#greatwinesoftheworld #today in #NYC with the famous @james.suckling 🍷

Instagram post 17972284966605277

Instagram post 17972284966605277

I’m a big fan of Noelia Ricci and Emilia-Romagna

I’m a big fan of Noelia Ricci and Emilia-Romagna wines in general. Also duck confit. Paul liked it very much. Ate the whole thing.
#justsaying

#pinotnero #schiava e #merlot from the #vignettide

#pinotnero #schiava e #merlot from the #vignettidelledolomiti #igp #🍷 #🇮🇹 @cantinatramin @bourbonnegroni @sancarlonyc @ms._melissa_bellini
All makes for an amazing meal, once again, at San Carlo #soho #nyc

I’ve been loving this lobster wine for years. I

I’ve been loving this lobster wine for years. I don’t know anything about it except that it’s a Sardinian Vermentino and I’ve always called it The Lobster Wine. That’s all I got.

There is a wine growing area in Italy’s Lazio re

There is a wine growing area in Italy’s Lazio region that is actually named “Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone”.
It is known for its Tuscan Trebbiano grape which they locally refer to as Procanico to make it more Italian/confusing. The wines are inexpensive and undervalued. This one gives us many subtle flavors of green apple, citrus, and pineapple. Frederick Wildman & Sons imports @gruppoitalianovini
in NY/NJ. We paid $12 retail.
@drinkwildman

So fortunate to share a milestone birthday moment

So fortunate to share a milestone birthday moment with The Amazing Ciro of @gambero_rosso Top Italian Restaurants in the US 2021 winner @songenapulenyc
So much fun to be a part of this 40th birthday celebration.
@mastroberardinowinery made it even better of course.

Well this was a surprise. A client recently gave m

Well this was a surprise. A client recently gave me a bottle of Rinaldi Freisa as a token of appreciation. I had no idea what to expect from this amazing producer but such an odd grape grape to bottle as a varietal wine. I figured it to be fresh and a bit spicy, tannic and acidic, but all in a good way, and so I thought it might be ok to pair it with a Japanese meal considering the rather intense savory seasoning of the meats and the cooked fish. The wine turned out to be not quite what I expected. It was much more refined and although it had a considerable bite front and center, it quickly became a bright and complex blend of herbs and cranberry with a hint of licorice. I don’t know. I’m not as good at this as I’d like to be, but the wine was fit for any top shelf wine drinker at nearly any meal. I wouldn’t pair it with a lot of the sashimi again that we had but that was a stretch to begin with. We moved on to a 2012 Viña Ardanza after that which actually paired just fine with a lot of the sashimi. I find Rioja works with lots of seafood. Of course it was nice to see @rko_robinkelleyoconnor as always. And his fancy saké (too drunk by then to get the name) was highly appreciated by the 3 of us. Nice lunch, man.

@trentodoc in #NYC yesterday. Small tasting but i

@trentodoc in #NYC yesterday. Small tasting but interesting tracking the differences in the #blancdeblancs #pinotnero and #petitemeuniere varietals and blends.
Thank you, @colangelopr and @taralluccinyc

I know trade tastings aren’t supposed to be “f

I know trade tastings aren’t supposed to be “fun” per se, but sometimes they just are. Thank you @skurnikwines and @metropavilion for a great afternoon meeting winemakers and sampling some new and classic labels.
Such an amazing portfolio and each staff member is able to answer most any technical question about their products. Highly impressive company. In the decade I spent as a Buyer at a private club in Greenwich Village, Skurnik never once let us down. Looking forward to more…coming soon.

At a recent night having dinner with my buddy @reg

At a recent night having dinner with my buddy @reggiegooden17 at my other buddy @yannickbenjamin ‘s restaurant @contentonyc ,
I was pleasantly surprised by my, yet, other buddy @mararudzy with a surprise tasting of two beautiful Tuscan wines by my…buddy… @jenzaudke who owns a spectacular winery and guest house #gaioleinchianti 🍷 What a great evening of big laughs and perfect food and wine. Podere Ciona is a small winery that grows mostly #sangiovese but a nearly equal amount of #merlot and small bit of #alicante and #cabernetfranc 🍷 Occupying a highly coveted piece of land in the Chianti Classico area, this wine reflects the beauty of the growing region leaving nothing on the table. All the personality of a Classico is expressed here in this 2015 Riserva including cherry, tobacco, but smooth tannins and acidity to balance out any steak dinner…but more surprising was how much I enjoyed their (not pictured) IGT Merlot-Alicante Bouschet (sp) blend called “Le Diacce”. Picture a deliberate balance of deep and dark color with an insistent weight and tannic grab of the palate that smooths out handily with your cheese and salumi. I loved both these wines. And I had a great night. In fact, it was one of those nights that reminds me why I live in #NewYork 🗽 We gotta get Jan d’Amore on here (long story).

@contentonyc is the place to go for way tasty food

@contentonyc is the place to go for way tasty food and a great wine list. A #Calabrian #Gagliopo by the glass and bottle? Thank you! @yannickbenjamin for keeping things interesting and amazing. Shout out to my buddy @reggiegooden17 !!!

Some great stuff at the @massanois portfolio tasti

Some great stuff at the @massanois portfolio tasting yesterday. @tenuta_fanti is always a favorite of mine but the @carusoeminini was a new one to me. Great bio wines. Looking forward to trying more soon.