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Showing posts from November, 2013

Donato Enoteca 100 2013 - upcoming Italian wine tasting extravaganza here again!

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It's almost December. And the annual Enoteca 100 tasting is upon us again. Do not miss. You can get $10 off with a coupon code mentioned in the COST section below. I never used to love Italian food as much, until I started loving Italian wine. That love affair with vino drove me to explore and appreciate Italian cuisine, which in turn nudged me to explore even more of Italy's wine regions and varieties. No other place has helped open my eyes to all that more so than one of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area - Donato Enoteca . Not only do they serve great food and wine all year around, they also feature some of my favorite winemaker dinners. And once a year, Donato Enoteca throw their annual Enoteca 100 Italian wine extravaganza. This year, it's on Saturday, December 7. I documented this event in the past -- highly recommended for sheer joy of living! Taste 100+ fine Italian Wines & Donato's Creations The WINE: Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, Franci

Cornas 2010 Dinner with Clape and Allemand

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Following a recent fantastic showing of Clape Cornas documented here , I had the pleasure of a focused Cornas dinner, organized by my friend Scott, which is turning into something of an  annual  event. I have to admit - a tasting simply cannot compare with actually drinking  the wines over the course of several hours with food and company (and licking off drippings off the bottoms of the "dead soldiers" the next morning, with an unadulterated palate still in-tact :) At the fabulous dinner hosted at Domaine du Chevsky (i.e. my house), we once again confirmed greatness of the 2010 vintage in Rhone, as both August Clape and Thierry Allemand showed spectacular. All wines displayed zesty olive-tapenade and herbal notes resting atop of deep dark smoky fruit. Excellent acidity gave the wines energy and precise shape. The big boys Clape Cornas 2010 and Allemand Cornas "Reynard" 2010 were dense, sappy and structured, with Allemand showing more pepper-spice-box and tobacco ar