December
1, 2007
Piemonte's Bagna Cauda to Bea's Cult Gems
In This Issue
A Note from Sergio
It's cold out, the weekend's
approaching, and your friends are
invited for dinner. You're looking for
something special to serve them—not
just the standard hummus and olives—while
they're drinking that
first glass of wine. Enter bagna cauda, a
sauce so satisfying and delicious that the people of
Piemonte have dedicated
an entire festival to it—which they happen to
be celebrating right now.
Bagna cauda (which means “hot bath”)
is, as its name implies, a
warm dip. In a manner of speaking, it is an Italian
fondue starring butter,
olive oil, garlic, and anchovies. These salty fish from
neighboring Liguria and the Mediterranean represent an important staple in everyday
Piemonte cuisine.
It's traditionally served in a small terracotta
pot with a flame below
the sauce, but you can also heat it over the stove. The
part I love about it
is its amazing simplicity: Just dip your favorite raw,
boiled, or roasted vegetables—everything
from artichokes to zucchini—and enjoy the
rewards of a supreme comfort
food.
The array of colors and aromas
merge to create an exceptional sensory
experience that has few rivals for opening a meal or an
event.
More importantly,
it provides the perfect match for Piemonte's
signature pours. To further
enliven your entertainment agenda, I'm also offering
a celebratory wine pair
that will match well with all palates and a regional
case of great bottles
for the season.
My best,
Sergio
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A Taste of the Season: Piemonte's Festive Fare
You can’t celebrate the regional wines of Italy
without bringing some
food to the table. In Italy, the two are inextricably
connected—you simply
can’t have one without the other, especially
when you’re entertaining.
If you’re searching for some inspiration for
your holiday gatherings,
Piemonte serves up flavors that will have your guests
mingling merrily.
Every festive spread needs some tasteful dips to set
the mood, and bagna
cauda is Piemonte’s signature
contribution to this convivial scene.
This dish is such an integral part of the culture that it
enjoys its own
dedicated celebration—Sagra della
Bagna Cauda. Piemonte’s signature
heated dip begins with an
essential—anchovies. This prime component,
in fact, practically
constitutes the dish’s raison
d’être, given their abundance in the neighboring region of
Liguria. Butter,
olive oil, and garlic complete this
simple, yet seductively savory blend.
If the chef is feeling particularly generous, the much-
beloved winter black
truffle may also make a cameo contribution, lending
an epicurean touch to
this casual classic. Bagna cauda is enjoyed with an
array of vegetables—including artichokes,
peppers, onions, celery,
cauliflower, and cardoons—that are dipped
into the mixture.
Barbera is the wine of choice here, but
Piemonte’s other pours—particularly
crisp
sparklers, refreshing Gavis, and generous
Dolcettos—also fit in very well.
If you're fortunate enough to be dipping into a rich
truffle-accented sauce, or one that's received a
contribution from the meat department, Barolo's your
wine. Share in the
spirit of Piemontese culture
with our special Six-Bottle Piemonte Wine Sampler.
This assortment—listed
below—features Piemonte's primary wines,
accompanied by a printed
recipe card for bagna cauda, so start spreading the
news
of your
own Sagra
della Bagna Cauda….
Piemonte Wine Pairings Include:
Villa Sparina 2001 Gavi Monterotondo $40.43
Valentino Rocche dei Manzoni 1999 Brut Zero $41.25
Aldo Conterno 2005 Dolcetto d'Alba Masante $23.95
Eraldo Viberti 2001 Barbera Vigna Clara $35.06
Valentino Rocche dei Manzoni 2000 Barbera Soritomosconi $35.75
A & GN Fantino 1995 Barolo Vigna dei Dardi $66.00
Piemonte Wine Pairings & Recipe Six-Bottle Sampler...$242.44*
*Free Delivery in Manhattan
Festive Wines Case: Sweeping Crowd Pleasers
In order to help you make the most of this
social
season, we’re packaging
spirited wine collections that will deck
your holiday
halls with great taste.
We’re covering a lot of regions and
grapes in
this one, going from Alto
Adige to Veneto and Aglianico to Vermentino,
wrapping up a Vino Wonderland
that will delight the palates of all wine
enthusiasts.
Our first round starts off with some sparkling
essentials—including
IWM’s longtime best seller, the
modest, yet
ever enchanting Prosecco.
Many whites are suited to your winter
landscape,
particularly the food-savvy
Tocai Friulano and the stirring Pigato of
Bruna. Our
Traminer adds a floral
dimension, while Verdicchio specialist
Sartarelli
provides a quintessential
pairing for all seafood.
IWM’s Wonder Emporium continues with the
reds, starting off with the
bubbly pleasure of Lambrusco and moving on
to the
southern charms of native
Sicilian Nero d’Avola and Aglianico,
Campania’s most successful
ancient grape. The wine geeks among you will
pause in sheer delight when what
to their wondering glasses appears but the
esoteric
Gaglioppo grape, the “Black
Prince” of Calabria. A Super-Tuscan
should
be at the top of every guest
list, and Tua Rita produces some of this
genre’s most heady celebs. You’d
be remiss to omit Barolo, of course, an
Italian
signature that will find its
place in the glasses of all your merry-making
oenophiles.
We plan to continue our holiday wine workshop
in next
week’s tribute
to the season, toasting the Italian sense
of abiding
pleasure with another case covering
the best in holiday cheer.
1.) Ruggeri Prosecco NV $18.15
(Veneto—Prosecco)
2.) Castellino 1999 Franciacorta Brut $30.31
(Lombardia—Chardonnay, Pinot Nero, Pinot Bianco)
3.) Sartarelli 2004 Verdicchio Classico $12.63
(Le Marche—Verdicchio)
4.) Bastianich 2006 Tocai Friulano $15.95
(Friuli—Tocai)
5.) Castel Sallegg 2004 Traminer Aromatico $22.24
(Alto Adige—Traminer)
6.) Bruna 2006 Pigato Le Russeghine $28.19
(Liguria—Pigato)
7.) Cantine Statti I Gelsi 2005 Rosso $14.72
(Calabria—Gaglioppo)
8.) Tenuta Pederzana 2005 Lambrusco Grasparossa $19.19
(Emilia-Romagna—Lambrusco)
9.) Alois 2005 Campole $24.75
(Campania—Aglianico, Casavecchia)
10.) Cos 2004 Pojo di Lupo $28.05
(Sicilia—Nero d'Avola)
11.) Tua Rita 2004 Perlato del Bosco $35.99
(Toscana—Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon)
12.) Abbona 2000
Barolo 'Vigneto Terlo Ravera' $49.95
(Piemonte—Nebbiolo)
Festive Wines Assorted Case...$300.12*
*Free Delivery in Manhattan
A Well-Matched Pair: Paolo Bea's Cult Gems
When you want to impress with a wine gift, what do
you seek out? Do you go
for a standard bearer or a cult? A landmark vintage or
a year that’s
on its way to becoming a legend? A trendy producer
or a founding father? An
international grape or an indigenous curiosity?
Several bottles merit consideration, but there
aren’t many that hold
the appealing credentials of Paolo Bea’s
Sagrantino—not only is
it an artisanal and limited-production bottling, the
varietal concerned is
quite rare, being exclusive to Umbria, where its
presence literally constitutes
a mere 400 acres.
We’ve added to the intrigue by including
Bea’s Santa Chiara, a
unique white blend featuring three indigenous
Italians—Grechetto, Malvasia,
and Garganega, and two from the international
scene—Chardonnay and Sauvignon
Blanc. Full in body, it offers a complex profile
emphasizing minerality, herbs,
and honey, a truly distinct persona that presents the
perfect counterpart to
its red companion.
This pair will strike a match with the connoisseur set
and also create quite
a buzz at a number of holiday affairs….This red
and white know how to
work a party….
Bea Wine Gift Basket Includes:
• Paolo
Bea 2003 Sagrantino Pagliaro $94.05
• Paolo Bea 2006 Santa Chiara Bianco $43.32
• Small Woven Wood Gift Basket
Paolo
Bea Two-Bottle Gift Basket...$150.87
For more wine gems and gifts of distinction, follow the
link below to download a PDF (3.8MB) of IWM's 32-
Page Gifts & Services Catalogue.
(Please allow time for download.)
Special Saturday Events
A Taste of the IWM Wine Club
December 8, 1:00–3:00 pm, $50.00
A couple of greats are getting together this Saturday-just a few of the notable names starring in IWM's December wine clubs. Your palate is invited to meet up with a Montalcino pioneer's Brunello; a leading Barolo of the traditional school; an eccentric craftsman's single-vineyard Barolo; and a cult from the Veneto's master artisan. You'll taste them all, as we introduce you to the four distinct tiers that comprise our wine club program.
Currently at a thousand members, our ground-breaking program has a national following and is our most popular gift for the holidays. This special tasting is designed to introduce you to the caliber of the wines featured in our signature memberships. Your palate belongs here....
Space is limited. Please reserve today.
Participants Receive:
• Tasting Booklet that includes
IWM’s
proprietary notes
• Sampling of regional foods prepared
by IWM
chefs paired with each wine tasted
To learn more about IWM's Studio Regionale
Saturday
Tasting Series, or to
make a reservation over the phone, contact
Michann
Thompson at 212.473.2323,
x106.
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