Italy's DoctorWine Makes a Santa Barbara House Call

It might seem much to call oneself DoctorWine*, but that's what Daniele Cernilli does. It's not just because his autograph looks like an EKG printout. It is because he's written this two-pound tome of a soft cover book (I weighed it--that's what kitchen scales are for, right?), The Ultimate Guide to Italian Wine 2017, that's got more snapshot knowledge of one country's vinified output than it would seem possible to hold. We're talking facts and Facebook pages, ratings and reviews (that is quantitative and qualitative takes), head notes that establish context, cultivation, regional differences. It's a trip to Italy without an airline beating you up.

Even better, Cernilli brought a host of Italian winemakers to California last week, and in addition to visiting LA and SF, they came to little old SB too (it's good to have wine country). Les Marchands hosted a lunch for press to meet the Italians (it's good to be press). He began by saying, "My English is very far to be perfect," and I knew exactly what he meant.

His sense of what's delicious night be perfect, though, as we got to enjoy:

Pinot Grigio Colli Orientale del Friuli DOC 2016 from Torre Rosazza

Not "mother-in-law" pinot grigio, if you know what I mean, this has some body and a bit of acid bite with lovely floral and pear notes. A fine pour alongside salad.

Chianti Classico DOCG 2013 from Querciabella

The good Doctor pointed out how this wine had "more acid, more elegance than other sangiovese" from Tuscany. It still seemed a bit tannic to me at just 4 years old, at lunch, paired with summer corn chowder with cherry tomatoes, bitsy fingerling potato, equally teensy lardon, and chipotle creme fraiche. As Cernilli pointed out, it's a classic with a "t-bone, rare of course."

Saia Nero d'Avola Sicilia DOC 2014 from Feudo Maccari

This Sicilian wine, from near Siracuse where some refreshing winds blow out from the Greek isles, evidently, was one of my favorites (the Doctor gave it a 95). Rich, full, velvety tannins, plus what he aptly pointed out was a note of capers (think a bit vegetal but with a sense of place and purpose).

Asinone Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG 2012 from Poliziano

This dream Poliziano was no cheap trick...(sorry). Doc gives it a 97. Not just a berry burst delight, but named after a poet--Angelo Ambrogini, who went by the nickname Poliziano, a variation of his place of birth, Montepulciano. Ah, Italy--poetry and wine go hand-in-hand back to the Renaissance.

Barolo Classic Multi-single vineyards DOCG 2013 from Pio Cesare

DoctorWine called it a "more rustic pinot noir, not in its DNA but in its taste and character," and that seemed fair. 100% Nebbiolo, it had a lovely floral quality for all its tannic structure (two years of barreling aging too).

Roggio del Filare Rosso Piceno Superiore DOC 2012 from Velenosi

To confuse things, if you don't know Italian viticulture well, while the town of Montepulciano mostly grows sangiovese, there's also a grape montepulciano, and that's the feature in the wine from the Marche. Turns out a poet made up the word roggio, too, to describe the brightness of the sun in vineyards. The sun does wonders for this wine--bright and complex, cherry and plum, with hints of tar and oregano.

Tenuto Nuova Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2012 from Casanova di Neri

This beauty comes from what is supposedly called the heart of Montepulciano and the only horizontal valley in the area. The result is a more international-style wine, what the Doctor calls "the most powerful sangiovese in Tuscany."

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC 2007 from Bertani

Nobody said this at the lunch, because, you know, lunch, but the infamous Hannibal Lecter line from the book is "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice amarone" but the producers changed the line thinking no one would know what an amarone was. (Lecter, a connoisseur, did.) North of Verona by Lake Garda, the producers take the grapes and let them dry naturally. They lose water and weight, and then go through a long fermentation, too, to get this warm and deep wine with some raisiny notes but also mint and cocoa. The Doc said, "It's particularly good with blue cheese."

All thanks to Allison Levine from Please the Palate for putting this Italian Invasion together.

*And, of course, being old and being a DJ, every time I see the name I hear this.

Bitter and Beautiful

First, we just have to get over that there's a thing called Negroni Week, which simply means some cocktails have crazy good press agents. But hey, it's the Negroni, and to do that horrible thing of quoting myself: "If the martini is the little black dress of drinks, the Negroni is a sequined strapless gown — not for everyone, but for those who can pull it off, a sexy stunner. Sticky, sweet, bitter, beautiful, this cocktail traditionally made from gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth beguiles bartenders as it seems so simple, yet suggests so many variations (the drink itself is a twist on the Americano)."

Just tonight to get myself  prepared for writing this post I whipped up a rye variation, as I felt a hankering for dark liquor as opposed to clear (I love gin, but it can make head hurt when it's in a mean mood, and I never know when that mood is--I refuse to see this metaphorically). Let's call tonight's drink The Rye Amar Republic (the Rye-C-Groni?) and it goes like this (for one cocktail): 1.5 oz. rye, 1.5 oz. Amaro Lucano, 1 oz. Carpano Antica Formula. Ice, stir, up in a coupe, lemon peel. It's a lovely Amaro, smoother than many, and the fancier sweet vermouth ups the viscous quotient too--it's easy to imagine the lemon peel might stand straight up in the drink.

Meanwhile Acme Hospitality is having fun with the Negroni all week, so try to check to what they're doing--some money is going to charity, and if you fill out a passport from all 5 locations, you win valuable prizes (complimentary menu goodies). One of those Negronis is a donut (stuffed with campari cream, lathed in lemon juniper glaze, topped with candied lemon zest). I'll see you at Helena Ave. Bakery tomorrow myself. (Oh, and there's also Campari washed in jamon at Loquita. This little piggie went to Negroni....)

Here's the full deal, as you want the details:

ACME’S NEGRONI WEEK IN THE FUNK ZONE: JUNE 5-9

The Lark

(Benefits Santa Barbara Humane Society)
6 Negroni cocktails featuring at least one per day, each day of the week

Negroni Jardin - $14
Dolin Genepy des Alpes, Dolin Blanc Vermouth, Suze Dandelion Liqueur, house fennel bitters, fennel frond garnish

The Bitter End - $14
Venus Aquavit, Tempus Fugit Gran Classico, Punt e Mes Vermouth, lemon twist

Florita - $14
Correlejo Reposado Tequila, Campari, Napoleon Mandarin, lemon twist

Negroni Punsch - $14
Kronan Swedish Punsch, Leopold Bro’s Aperitivo, Botanist Gin, Batavia Arrack, lemon twist

Negroni Alexandre - $14
Ventura Spirits Strawberry Brandy, Campari, heavy cream, Crème de Cacao, dollop of house Campari whip, shaved dark chocolate

California Negroni - $14
Cocchi Americano, Maraschino, Aperol, Botanivore Gin, california laurel bay leaf, citrus-poached Bing cherry, Meyer lemon peel

Loquita

(Benefits Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara)
serving the Bellota Negroni every day, all week long

Bellota Negroni - $14
Bellota Jamon-washed Campari, Gin Mare, Vermut Rojo, Amontillado sherry

Les Marchands

(Benefits Food from the Heart of Santa Barbara)
serving the Bruto Brazillian every day, all week long

Bruto Brazilian - $14
St. George Bruto Americano, Carpano Antica Formula sweet vermouth, Avua Cachaca Amburana

Lucky Penny

(Benefits YStrive for Youth, Inc.)
serving the frozen Gertoni Frogroni every day, all week long

Gertoni Frogroni - $12
watermelon, gin, Carpano Bianco, Lillet rose, peach bitters

Helena Avenue Bakery

(Benefits Heal the Ocean)
serving Negroni Donuts all week long

Negroni Donut - $5
campari cream, lemon juniper glaze, candied lemon zest

Amen to Ramen

That's ramen, lit poorly, and that will be the last negative word you're going to hear. For what Weston Richards is doing at Les Marchands is a total delight. Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night you can order up a bowl, and with it winter (with rain and everything!), what more could you want on a crisp December evening? This is the pork version, decidedly upscale and not what you slurped to save all your cash for drinking back in college. For instance, that's a 53 degree egg (and is their menu wrong or does Richards do his 10 degrees cooler than the temp sous viders seem to generally use? hmmm), looking like it's still in its brown shell but perfectly cooked with a yolk that's just runny, adding more viscous deliciousness to the broth. And then why use bok choy when you can use Brussel sprouts? They've got better flavor for a cabbagy cousin and then roast well too (at least the ones in the soup seem to have bee roasted first).

The two big pork belly strips are cooked to perfection even though they're awash in soup; there's no sense they've been soaking--you'd order them as a dish on their own, fatty, of course--it is pork belly after all--but not just fat. You'll wish there was more. Luckily the broth packs tons of pork flavor, too, and has got a surprising zing to it that might be the only issue with the fine Tatomer Gruner pairing Les Marchands is suggesting for the dish. Why not a wine with a hint of dry apples to go with your pork.

I've left the noodles for last not because they're an afterthought, but because they're delightful. There's nothing like a pasta-type product that still feels alive, with a pleasing chewy sproing to them that might make you a sloppy eater, but you won't care. (OK, this might not be the best first date dish.) They're called alkaline noodles, thanks to the sodium bicarbonate in them, along with flour and water (yep, they're eggless). Richards is appropriately proud of them.

One more good thing--there's a veggie version, too. Unlike one place in town that's very very good but can't seem to make a veggie option soup, Richards makes one with butternut squash, curried coconut milk, shiitake mushrooms, and toasted nori, the milk making the broth almost closer to a sauce than a broth. But you won't care, or at least my wife didn't.

So of course, the place to get noodles is a wine bar.

Santa Barbara's Perfectly Modern Wine Bar

The elements that make a wine shop a good wine shop evolve so fast it would make Charles Darwin's head spin, even before he consumed anything they sold. There's the old-timer shop, a mix of liquor and dusty wine and tequila sold in bottles shaped in everything from skulls to machine guns. There's a more recent iteration, full of inventory and people who can tell you about it, but it's sort of no-frills otherwise, and there's sadly no tasting.

Want to read the rest then do so at KCET's Food Blog.

Wine Keeps On Sipping into the Futures

Wine events don't often come with 57-page spiral bound programs, but perhaps more should. Or that would be the easy assumption after sampling at the 2014 Santa Barbara County Wine Futures Tasting this past weekend at Les Marchands Wine Bar & Merchant. This was the second year the instant hot spot in Santa Barbara's Funk Zone has hosted futures and they've quickly made it their own, especially when one of the stars of the tasting is a wine they helped create with Justin Willet: the Vallin 2013 Rosé (a 100% Syrah grape expression, beautiful pink going to gold with a lilting flavor to match).

Want to read the rest then do so at KCET's Food Blog.

Monday-Night Magic at Les Marchands

On a Monday night not long ago, while the rest of the world was engrossed in the college football championship, I was instead considering, with a handful of wise others, the glories of champagne and soul food. We were inside the Funk Zone’s Les Marchands, and could not have cared less about the end zone, for we were, enjoying — and that’s perhaps too mild a word — tastes of three exquisite bubblies alongside fried chicken, collards, and French fries from Foodie Award–winning chef Weston Richards of Spare Parts fame. This was just one entry in Les Marchands’s Monday Night Flight series, a weekly adventure in wining and dining.

Want to read the rest then do so at the Indy's site.