The Iron Chevsky Wine Blog

Tripe alla Fiorentina at Restaurant Delfina, San Francisco. Delicious, perfectly textured between chewiness and melt-in-your-mouth'ness. Last time after I raved about Pizzeria Delfina , located next door to the San Francisco jewel of an Italian restaurant that I'd never been to - Restaurant Delfina , the chef owner Craig Stoll was nice enough to invite me over. With menus updated daily and swanky atmosphere in the midst of a bustling Mission neighborhood, I'd been itching to go for a while, as the place has foodies abuzz. Having a bottle of the Vietti Barolo Lazzarito 2004 in hand that I had just gotten from WineChateau.com , Rona and I headed to Delfina to meet our dear friends whom we hadn't seen for ages. Vietti sits somewhere in between the traditionalists and the modernists of the Barolo producers spectrum. The influence of oak is there, especially compared to the recent bottles of a staunch traditionalist Bartolo Mascarello (I just had 2003 and 2006 at Donato Eno

The place looks like an alien spider ship just descended to take over Oakville. Sitting on the valley floor next to Highway 29 and Oakville Grocery, Opus One has a grass lawn growing on its inclined circular walls. Scott and I imagined sliding down that thing in a cardboard box, but then thought better of it lest we ruin our upscale reputations with this venerable establishment. Too late, I suppose! If you never heard of Opus One , then you've surely been living under a rock. In fact, even the far-away Japanese are so gaga over Opus that Japan is Opus' third biggest market, after US and France. There is a guy out in Kobe, who built a virtual shrine to Opus, with bottles from every vintage stacked high and wide, and savored every day of every week of every year, like a religious reminder that he is alive. The winery’s 2000 vintage was noted in volume 1 of "Kami no Shizuku" ( watch it on this blog ) - Japan's insanely popular manga with the protagonist searching th

Needless to say, Barolo is one of the absolute top areas for wine, not just Italy, but world-wide. For many, there is Barolo and Burgundy, and then everything else. TorreBarolo are doing a Spring promotion. Located in the center of town of Barolo, it is a renovated 17th century tower that is available for rent as a self-catered property. For a chance to win a 3-night stay at TorreBarolo, here is the link . In addition to the above , Iron Chevsky readers automatically get a 15% discount in the months of March and April, as explained here . Enjoy!

Watching a little TV on a weekday night, trying to forget the pressures of corporate deadlines, meetings, objectives, metrics, how to keep 15 million users happy and one million competitors dead... What else does one need but a bottle of 2006 Ca'Rossa Roero Audinaggio and a plate of spinach ravioli with tomato basil garlic sauce with a few chunks of truffle cheese like Boschetto al Tartufo melted in. Killer Nebbiolo for $32-35. As good as most Barbarescos out there from a solid vintage. Truffles, faded roses, and a little meat. Don't bother me - I am eating! ...and drinking Roero! See more of my Roero raves here .

My exec coach at YouSendIt suggested that I re-read some of the Harvard Business Review articles on leadership. In not so subtle ways, she is telling me something, isn't she?! Drink less, lead more? Gosh, I haven't read HBR in 10 years. But one's perspective certainly changes - even if reading the same old material, you get something different out of it. Suffice it to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast. Killer 2009 Rosé from a small Loire appellation of Cheverny, 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Gamay, goes perfectly with hot-smoked salmon on a croissant!

Rona and I were having a Sunday brunch at Ad Hoc. Phenomenal comfort food! The brunch menu consisted of smoked salmon on brioche for starters, short ribs with eggs, mushrooms, and potato cakes (hash browns) for mains, and vanilla panna cotta for dessert. I brought in the left-overs of the '98 Dunn cab opened two days ago, about a third of a bottle left, and the wine was absolute killer with short ribs and sauteed mushrooms - great acidity, little animal, wet earth and forest floor, graphite and mocha dark, very satisfying - I would have never guessed it was a domestic! I felt like I was in a French bistro! As usual, I was taking photos of the food and ambiance. Surveying the room, I saw the "Ad Hoc" sign on the far-away wall. I wanted to point and shoot, but Rona stopped me lest I disturb the table next to us. Then I noticed directly in the line between me and the wall, the TV star of Hell's Kitchen and world famous chef Gordon Ramsay with his wife Tana and kids, and

Bottega opened in 2008 in the back of the big parking lot in Yountville across from Bouchon. That's not its only fame. In fact, in my opinion, Bottega easily outshines the famous Bouchon. Bottega is a brainchild of a top chef master and Food Network personality Michael Chiarello , who just, btw, released an obligatory Bottega cookbook. Put it on the shelf next to the Ad Hoc book and the Mustards Grill book - all instant classics from favorite Napa Valley foodie havens! The cuisine feels decidedly California-Italian. Prior to Bottega and his Food Network gigs, Michael was the founding executive chef of Tra Vigne - another "Italian-influenced" Napa Valley top draw. Bottega has become my gastronomic destination. Perhaps the only other place I've been where Italian food rises to a higher level is Bobby Stuckey's (ex French Laundry sommelier) Friuli-influenced Frasca in Boulder, Colorado. I'd be remiss not to give an honorable mention to Delfina in the city (SF

Few hours remaining in the year. Am I Dunn yet? Not until Mike Dunn and I spend a couple of hours drinking through his stash. While everyone else was getting ready for New Year's, I headed to Howell Mountain, overlooking Napa Valley, to check out what the fuss in my wine circles was all about. A year ago, a friend treated a group of us to a killer magnum of 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon from Dunn, and that bottle still decorates my butler's pantry. Dunn is a small family-owned operation, run by Randy (dad), Lori (mom), Kristina (sister) and Mike, with a long standing office manager and vineyard crew. They make a respectable 4000 cases a year, and been making cabs since 1979 from old vines (some since replanted) atop the rural Howell Mountain just 15 minutes east of Saint Helena in the town of Angwin. Not much else seems to be going on there but wine making and Seventh Day Adventist church-going. Yet, Randy Dunn, who was the wine-maker at Caymus from 1975 to 1985, and his son Mike man