Sartori Wines at Café Milano

Verona is best known for Juliet’s trist with Romeo, a youthful “indiscretion” that culminated in her fatal pact with a poisoned lover. Perhaps Romeo could have saved them both if he had sipped one of their hometown’s fabulous wines instead of that vial of poison. Andrea Sartori leads one of Verona’s great wine estates, a [...]

Rare Italian Reds

The label “rare Italian reds” could refer to the magnificent Tuscan wines from the late-1970s, or the 1980s masterpieces of Piedmontese winemakers like Angelo Gaja and the Ceretto family. Or it could refer to non-indigenous grapes like Cabernet and Merlot that Italian vintners have incorporated into their ever-growing portfolio of fine wines. “Rare” not because [...]

Risotto and Sherry

Risotto is one of Italy’s greatest contributions to food. Creamy, richly textured, sporting a host of flavors ranging from wild mushrooms to sautéed onion to wine, cooked up in an aromatic broth and laced with fresh Parmigiano cheese. Even imagining it makes mouths water. As an inveterate fan of this dish, I’ve sampled versions in [...]

Foja Tonda With Risotto Armani

In the rush to plant popular grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay in recent decades, a lot of heritage varietals were lost. In America, that meant Zinfandel vineyards in California were pulled out, sacrificing long-established plantings and jeopardizing what we have come to revere as “old vine” wines. In Europe, the devastation was greater. [...]

Sommelier Angela Luciano: Ceretto Zonchera Barolo

This week’s pick comes from Angela Luciano, sommelier at Prima in Walnut Creek, California.  I asked Angela to suggest a wine to pair with 2 items I selected from Prima’s menu.  I would start with a porcini mushroom risotto and then proceed to a pan-roasted California white sea bass with artichokes, fresh fava and cranberry [...]