Wine, Beer and Restaurant Reviews

Spuntino Clifton, NJ Fabulous New Italian Wine Bar

Finally, a wine bar in my neighborhood, and a damn good one at that. Now don't get too excited it is not a Gottino, NYC, but for here in the burbs it is very good. Spuntino, means little snack in Italian, is an exciting new place that just opened by Target in the Clifton Commons complex, on the site where Carino's was.

It has a very well selected Italian wine and beer list along with a full bar and specialty cocktails. On the menu is a big selection of tempting little plates at little prices. Just opened this week Spuntino has some flaws but an abundance of potential. We stopped by this past Sunday night and had some great wine, beer, food and company.

Valpolicella Meet Mendoza - Two Big Beautiful Wines from Two Great Wine Regions

Got together with our friends Greg and Dana for a nice dinner at their house this weekend. 

It was  our usual cooperative effort, we did appetizers and desserts, Greg does his Italian main course wizardry.

We started off with a Cava cocktail I made with Cava, Pear William Brandy with a slice of Red Anjou Pear, looked beautiful and tasted great.

For dinner we faced off these two big beautiful wines, both expensive and both amazing.

It's Sagrantino and Wines of Montefalco Week in NY - First Week of April. We Love the Wines of Montefalco in Umbria

With all the wines we have enjoyed we have come to favor certain regions above all others. We love wines of McLaren Vale, Patagonia, Willamette Valley, Scansano and perhaps above all beautiful Montefalco. 

We adore the cuisine of Umbria and all the beautiful people and places there. Montefalco is in the Italian province of Perugia on an outcrop of the Colli Martani above the Clitunno river. The wines here are made predominantly with Sagrantino, an indigenous grape of the area which is little known anywhere else.

We have had the good fortune of enjoying many Sagrantino wines including Montefalco Rosso. So it is with great excitement that we anticipate the coming of Sagrantino Month in New York City on April 2nd.  Below is a listing of the many free and paid events.

Ciro, a Place, a Wine, a Story - Ciro Rosso Classico

You know we love bringing you great wines that are interesting, inexpensive and have a great story. This wine called Ciro Rosso Classico by Librandi family of Calabria has all three qualities.

Remember that film Nights of Cabiria by Federico Fellini. Staring Fellini's beautiful wife, Giulietta Masina. Loved that movie.

Calabria is at Italy's southern end at the toe of the boot. The vineyard is in Cirò Marina a small town on the warming Ionian coastline. It is situated between the balmy sea and the Sila Mountains on rich soil and with a climate that has perfect day and nighttime temperatures. The grape, Gaglioppo, produces a lovely full wine, that has similar characteristics to some Pinot Noirs.

"Don’t let the pale garnet color fool you: this is a substantial wine. Cirò Rosso offers notes of spice, cranberries, wild berries and plums. Excellent texture and firm, ripe tannins are hallmarks of this wine. Incredibly rich yet easy going, Cirò Rosso is the wine of choice for spicy beef dishes, roasted kid or lamb and stuffed bell peppers." Importer Winbow

For the Love of Lambrusco - The Great Red Frizzante Wine from Italy at a Fun Wine Wednesday Party in Verona, New Jersey

Lambrusco is the name of both a red wine grape and an Italian wine, usually a frizzante (slightly sparkling) red wine that is made in Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy. It goes back to the days of the Etruscans who cultivated the vine in the times of the Romans. Lambrusco was rather popular with Cato the Elder who found that the produce of two thirds of an acre could make enough wine to fill 300 amphoras.

Translated the name Lambrusco is from the latin labrusca or lambrusca, meaning wild vines because they grow spontaneously and plentifully under the rich Italian sun.

We came to love Lambrusco at Italian wine bars and restaurants in New York City. It is a wonderful summer drink, though very good all year round.

Our friends Lori Ann and Jim started hosting "Wine Wednesday" parties a few months ago, they present a particular wine varietal or region and guests bring lots food to pair, pot-luck style. It is a lot of fun.  

We tasted four very good Lambrusco's ranging in price from $12 to $22.