Wine Passport Series - Italy

184 Summer St, Stamford, CT 06901

Wine Passport Dinner Series

First Stop – Italy

Our ‘Passport Wine Series' is about to take off! 

We visit 12 countries in 12 months tasting delectable wines and dishes inspired by each. In my sommelier days I was invited to some spectacular dinners. I tasted amazing wines paired with delicious dishes produced by some of the biggest names in the business. All with the intent for me to purchase these wines and sell in my restaurant. That's the way it works. But the perks are tasty! These dinners started to get boring. First course, wine, check. Second course, wine, check. Robotic, stuffy and pretentious. Lacking the most important part of a meal- fun. The chance to be yourself, have a laugh, let your hair down. Meet new people, connect with old.

So when we sat down to create the first of these dinners, the main ingredient was fun. Fun and discovery as we travel to a new country each month, pairing wine and food inspired by that country.

FIRST COURSE

After welcome cocktail served by ‘Stamford's best bartender’ Ross silver you'll be seated at our communal table for the first course. Fried focaccia, prosciutto, roast tomato, pickled radicchio, burrata and basil. Instead of the standard ‘this wine goes with that’, we're giving you two wines side by side. A white and a red to start. Wine is subjective. We want you to think and chat about what you liked and what you didn't like. The white is from the hills of Rome - Frascati! Delicate white Peach & almonds, laced with wildflowers. There's stunning value to be found in the lesser known regions of Italy. Next a red from the border of Switzerland – the region of Valle d’aosta. The Reds are light and bright, raspberries, rose petals and great acidity to cut through the rich cheese based food of the region. You'll taste both side by side. Chat about your preference. White, red or both.

GARLIC CLAMS & WHITE WINE SAUCE

Second course is classic ‘Vongole’ with squid ink linguine. The natural saltiness the squid ink highlights the beautiful clams in this dish. Squid ink linguine, manila clams, red pepper flakes, garlic white wine sauce. The clams come from local purveyor New Wave Seafood which sells restaurant quality seafood to the public right here in Stamford. We love supporting local businesses and these guys are fantastic. Great quality and terrific service. Tasting this dish for this dinner took me back to a fantastic memory in the Franciacorta region near Verona, Italy. A small group of us arrived, strangers, wine buyers from the US as guests of the Italian Wine Tourism Board. To kick things off we had an amazing lunch in a small restaurant overlooking Lake Garda. Langoustines were served and a beautiful linguini vongole with wine from the local region - Lugano. Beautiful dry white wines with green olive & almond flavors paired perfectly. Great food and wine experiences create memories. And this is one I'll never forget. So Lugano will be the first wine for this dish. For the second wine we journey south to Sicily - the region of Etna at the foot of the volcano. These volcanic soils give the wines a mineral edge. We're serving the Tenuta della Terre Nere Bianco – the most prestigious producer in the area. Fresh with a salty mineral age all wrapped up in dried flowers. This is going to be a tough choice on a winner!

THE BIG BOYS

Italy produces some of the most amazing wines on the planet. So I had to add a course to pair two wines from arguably the greatest regions in Italy. Barolo and Barbaresco in Piedmont. These wines are hauntingly good. Haunting because once you try these wines you'll constantly seek them out. (and the price points will scare you!) They have a reputation for producing some of the best wines in Italy. They're very good. Power and elegance wrapped up in one sip. Tar, roses and truffle stand out in these wines, so we're keeping the dish simple. Let the wines shine. Piedmontese beef, buttered fingerling potatoes, truffle vinaigrette. Barbarescos are ‘elegant and pretty’. Barolos – ‘powerful and bold’. We'll let you decide. Side by side. We're serving the Michele Chiarlo Barbaresco Reyna 2019 – an amazing wine. Next to this, Barolo from one of the finest producers in the world – Borgogno ‘No Name’ 2020. There's a great story behind the ‘no name label’ which will be told at the dinner.

Along with the four courses paired with eight wines will have Matt Habdas talking through each wine, answering any questions. Matt is an encyclopedia on wine. He sells me these great wines, so I wanted him to be at the dinner and share his wisdom.

DOLCI

Last but by all means not least, chef Brendan has created what he calls ‘Chocolate Salami’ with espresso gelato, and crushed lady fingers. When I tasted this I was blown away! “Holy ****” I said and immediately thought of the classic Italian pairing - Biscotti and Vin Santo. Vin Santo is one of those wines you will remember where you were when you first taste it. It's addictive! Hazelnut, caramel, honey, tropical fruit and perfume are all found in a great glass of Vin Santo. We're pouring the iconic 2016 Felsina Vin Santo from Tuscany. Next to this, a very interesting wine from the East Coast of Italy in the  Marches region. Velanosi Vino di Viscole NV. A dessert style, the wine has 30% of the delicious local Viscole cherries blended into the base wine to create a drink straight from heaven! I'd never heard of it before but when Matt showed this to me I said, “we have to include it, it's too fun not to”. So we did.

So let's recap: 4 courses created by chef Brendan. Welcome cocktail from ‘Stamford’s Best Bartender’ Ross Silver. Eight delicious wines from all over Italy. Expert commentary from Matt to answer any questions. We're also adding some ‘freestyle wines’ you can help yourself at any time. These are the wines we really enjoyed but just didn't make the final cut. You can pour at your leisure. So there'll be some more fun wines on the table too.

You won't find these wines at your local wine store. Too much of a niche. Others are too expensive, wouldn't sell consistently. Most wine stores don't have the capacity to drill deep down into one particular country to sell these types of wines. So we've partnered up with Vals Wine Store around the corner. These wines will be available for purchase on the night, for you only, with a discount of 10% for any purchase for home. Stock the cellar!

The dinner will be held on Wednesday April 24th at 7:00 PM. Arrival is 6:30 PM for welcome drinks then seated at 7:00 PM This is a group table and won't be available to the general public on the day. It's a pre-sale only. To purchase your ticket click the link below. Pricing includes all taxes and gratuity. Once you've purchased your ticket just sit back and relax and enjoy the meal. If you have any food allergies we can cater to your needs individually. Simply let me know via e-mail at chris.m@flinderslane.com. “What if I only drink red wine?” Good question- drink what you want. There'll be plenty of great wines on hand to keep your glass full. If you need to cancel last minute you can use your payment for the next wine dinner in May, or we can issue you a full refund. No questions asked. We just ask 24 hours notice. If you have a special occasion and really want a table on your own, we can accommodate that. But I'd hate for you to miss out on the tails that Matt will go into for each wine!

Looking forward to tasting our way through Italy together- Cheers!

Italian Wine Dinner $95

Gratuity.                     $19

Tax                              $ 7

Total.                          $121