March 27, 2009
Header
UPCOMING
EVENTS


WINE FUNDAMENTALS CLASS AT CAPRICCIO
Tuesday 3/31
6 - 8++ p.m.
$20/person 
Reservations required.
 
EASTER BRUNCH SUNDAY 4/12 AT MEZZANOTTE AND CAPRICCIO
Reservations required

ENTERTAINMENT
AT MEZZANOTTE

ODELL GRAY
Friday 3/27
7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
If you haven't heard Odell yet then this is your chance. Odell is a great entertainer with a wonderful repertoire of rhythm, blues, jazz and Motown. His music progresses from mellow to full blown upbeat.
 
RONNIE STALLWARTH
Saturday 3/28 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Ronnie is a very accomplished saxophone and clarinet player. His extensive repertoire of cool jazz includes great melodies from Grover Washington Jr., Stanley Turrentine, Kenny G and many others. His music mixes real well with good wine, food and company.  


ENTERTAINMENT AT CAPRICCIO
KARENNA LEE

Friday 3/27
7:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Karenna moves easily between jazz, blues, caberet and pop. Her versatile style and extensive repertoire includes romantic ballads to latin favorites and  broadway tunes. Her very entertaining and dynamic style are a welcome treat to a relaxing dinner on a Friday night. She is a must see.

TERRY PARKER
Saturday 3/28
7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
The Port Arthur born native of Texas has been mesmerizing audiences for more than 20 years, with his silky smooth renditions of some of the world greatest legends, such as Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Little Anthony, Smokie Robinson and The Platters. Known as Mr. Entertainer, Terry brings the candle of love to any party, by taking us back down memory lane, with Unchained Melody and Sixteen Candles
In This Issue
Upcoming Events
New Wine Strategy
Cal-Italian Wines
Chef Specials
Featured Wines

NEW WINE STRATEGY.  AGAIN???!!!
OK. I must confess that I am going through a "paradigm shift" moment.  We used to talk about paradigm shifts back in the early 90's when I was trapped in corporate America. Now I would call it "do what makes sense"!!

So what makes sense now is to reach beyond my beloved Italian, Spanish and Argentinean wines. I guess Sommelier school has helped me see the light.  Bottom line is that I have been missing some great French and California (yes, California) wines. I am still not ready to go crazy on New Zealand, Oregon, South Africa, etc. wines but I will go crazy on California and France. I'll be looking at Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhones, Napa, Sonoma, etc.
 
Our beloved Amarones, Barolos, Barbarescos, Super Tuscans, Tempranillos, and Malbecs will always have a home. But they will be complemented by great new finds.
 
Please let me know if you are in disagreement.
 
Cheers!
 
Gerry
CAL-ITALIAN WINES AT MEZZANOTTE
Following on the new-new-wine strategy I started research on California wines and came across a very interesting thing. What I call Cal-Italian wine is the transplant of Italian grapes to California where they are grown and vinified into interesting juice. Indigenous Italian grapes such as Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Barbera are producing wine that is fun and interesting to try but no more than that. However, there are some examples of serious wine being produced. A good example is one of our featured wines at Mezzanotte this week. It is the 2004 Dolcetto Pietra Santa from Cienega Valley, California,
 
Dolcetto roughly translates from Italian as the "little sweet one." It is the principal grape grown in the Piedmont region of Italy and is considered the lunchtime or everyday wine of Northern Italy. The most famous rendition of the wine is Dolcetto D'Alba. Dolcetto is typically not blended with other varieties, but rather boasts multiple clones that are often inter-planted, thereby imparting complexity to the wine's aroma, flavor and structure.
 
Dolcetto is a wine that is bright reddish-purple in color that tends to fade over time to ruby red.
 
These thinned-skinned grapes deliver a fruit driven wine with aromas of ripe blackberries and red plums. A direct, Zinfandel-like fruitiness combined with Merlot-like soft tannins make Dolcetto charmingly seductive.
Dolcetto is the preferred mate to pasta with any red (tomato) sauce, grilled Portobello mushrooms and tomato and mozzarella salads. It goes well with foods that are naturally high in acidity.
 
Please try our featured California Dolcetto and you will be pleasantly surprised.
 
Cheers!
TRIP TO ITALY 2009
We are all set! The trip has been finalized to start on Sunday 9/20/09 and end on the following Monday 9/28/09. We are all meeting in Rome on Sunday and will spend some time in the city before traveling to "somewhere" in Tuscany. Then the fun really starts.
 
We have space for just 2 more couples so if you are interested please let me know ASAP.
 
The cost for the trip is $3,700 per person and it includes everything (ground transportation, lodging, great wines, great food, etc.) except airfare to and from Rome.
CHEF SPECIALS
Gnocchi alla Romana - $9
Gnocchi (potato dumplings) are placed on top of a delicate layer of our great pomodoro sauce. They are then brushed with butter and sprinkled with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano and baked in the oven.  This is a great appetizer almost specifically designed to pair with the featured Dolcetto.
 
Pollo alla Cacciatora - $22
This is an adaptation of a recipe by our good customer/friend Don Grogg. He had a wonderful dish of Coniglio (rabbit) Cacciatore while visiting Tuscany a few years ago and came up with a recipe that duplicated his experience. He was very kind to share it with me and I decided to make it a special but using chicken instead. It is a great dish - I promise you!
 
Sfogliatelle - $7
This is a typical dessert from Naples, Italy. You may recall Tony Soprano bringing home sfogliatelles (he also brought home Cannolis). The word "sfogliatelle" means "many leaves/layers," and this describes the dessert fairly well, as the texture resembles leaves stacked on each other.
FEATURED WINES
MEZZANOTTE
Dolcetto Pietra Santa 2004 - Bottle $36, Glass $9
The grapes for this wine were grown exclusively on the Cienega Valley estate. Prior to fermentation the newly pressed grapes underwent three weeks of cold soak to ensure maximum extraction of color and flavor. Two years of barrel aging softened the tannins and developed the vibrant berry, hazelnut and licorice flavors. Enjoy it with food, especially grilled meats or hearty pasta dishes.
Gold 2008 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Silver 2008 San Diego International Wine Competition

CAPRICCIO
Castell del Remei Gotim Bru (Catalunya, Spain) - Bottle $38, Glass $10
Dark cherry in hue, this is a lively, vigorous, aromatic red with vivid red cherry fruit and attractive, spicy and slightly resinous overtones. Well balanced and smooth (a reflection of its high proportion of Tempranillo), it has good acidity and a satisfying, lingeringly peppery finish. Robert Parker said - "Purple-colored, it provides a fragrant nose of spice box, tobacco, blueberry, and blackberry. Firmly structured, medium to full-bodied, and layered, this ripe, tasty wine should evolve for 2-3 years but who is going to wait? It is an outstanding value." 90 points!