Thrifty Thursday – Top Chef, Wine Suggestion & Hints

One one recommendation and Two wine hints

Recently a dear friend from the Pacific Northwest was in Atlanta and had only one night available for dinner. As we compared notes regarding what’s new each of us confessed to watching Bravo’s “Top Chef” Season Four. My excuse? I am cheering on the three Atlanta area chefs who are in the competition (Pura Vida’s Hector Santiago, Woodfire Grill’s Kevin Gillespie and Eno’s Eli Kirshtein). That said, I’m rooting for Kevin. Woodfire Grill reminds me of my favorite Portland, Oregon restaurants – the food is local and the cooking-style enhances the fresh, natural ingredients.

It was a given that our one-night reunion would take place at the Woodfire Grill. The service, the attention to detail and the food were outstanding. Kevin wasn’t in that evening but his team was top-notch. We savored every bite of deconstructed Waldorf salad, local African squash soup, pan roasted wild Alaskan halibut, wood grilled Sonoma artisan duck breast along with two desserts.

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And we came away with a wine find from the region of Italy that gave birth to the slow food movement:

Nebbiolo – Fantino – Rosso Dei Dardi – Piedmont, Italy – 06 - around $20.00 retail.

A value-driven blend of Barbera and Nebbiolo, that is easy to drink and has a long flavorful finish. We enjoyed the jammy, earthy nose of this wine along the hints of fig, plum and damp earth tones.

Fantino Barolo—Monforte d’Alba/Piedmont

Alessandro “Sandro” Fantino spent ten years as winemaker for the legendary Bartolo

Mascarello before starting his own small winery with his brother Gian Natale about 8 years ago. Their estate is the only one in the center of the old city at Monforte d’Alba, and the cellar, parts of which date from the 1600s, is worth visiting just for its aesthetic qualities. The brothers own 25 acres of vines, all in the “Vigna dei Dardi” cru, and like their mentor, Bartolo Mascarello, practice traditional viticulture and winemaking. In addition to their classic Barolo, they also produce a top-notch Barbera and Rosso di Nebbiolo. The Nebbiolo is produced from very old vineyards situated in the Dardi province hand harvested with very low yield. The wines are very tradition in style using no new oak. Production methods also are very traditional, utilizing gravity and no pumpovers.

Wine Hint 1: When you taste a wine you like write it down and then ask your local wine merchant or grocery store (Fred Meyers or Whole Foods) to see if they can find it for you (and at what price).

Wine Hint 2: For wines produced outside the US, note the name of the importer on the back of the bottle. In the future, look for other wines imported by that company. Or checkout their website for other ideas.

Buon appetito!