Dinner at Maialino - What Could Be Finer?
9/24/15 -
We are happy to announce a series of wine dinners at Maialino. We’ve had quite a few very successful dinners in their private room, which is a peaceful and relaxed place to spend the evening. Add fantastic food, great service, and fine old Italian wine… I’m hungry already.
Monday, October 12th, 2015 at 7 pm: A Dinner of Old Nebbiolo, not from Barolo or Barbaresco
We’ve pared down a long list and have selected 9 wines that we think are going to be very special, with bottles from the most renowned producers of their day. Along with the wonderful food at Maialino, we’ll taste 1964 Antoniolo Gattinara; 1967 Ferrando Carema; 1970 Francoli Gattinara; 1964 Nino Negri Castel Chiura Riserva (Valtellina); 1964, 1967, and 1970 Nervi Gattinara; 1964 and 1971 Travaglini Gattinara; and 1958 Vallana Spanna. Dinner including wine, service, and tax, is $225. Sorry, only 3 seats left!!!
Thursday, October 15th, 2015 at 7 pm: A Dinner in Honor of Walter Speller
These days, by far the best online wine read is to be found at Jancisrobinson.com, where somehow they manage to keep the tone fresh and lively, even compelling. It’s the journalistic equivalent of re-inventing the wheel every week, and when their email alerts arrive it’s damn distracting (there’s good free stuff, but you will have to subscribe to get to the heart of the matter –it’s worth it!). Being obsessed with all things Italian, that’s where I read first, knowing that I’m in the beyond-capable hands of Walter Speller. If you don’t know his work, the typically modest profile on jancisrobinson.com reads: “Our Italian specialist Walter has worked with Italian wine for many years, including a stint as buyer at the Michelin-starred Le Pont de la Tour in London. Walter has written for us since 2008, and he also contributes to The World Atlas of Wine, The Oxford Companion to Wine and Decanter magazine. Walter is based in southeast London and Padova in Italy.” This only hints at the breadth of his knowledge of wine, and it doesn’t mention the fact that Walter is also great company. He’s coming to New York with Ms. Robinson to help celebrate the launch of the newest edition of the Bible – I mean, The Oxford Companion to Wine - so we are buying him dinner, and invite you to join us. Among other Italian treats, we will drink Mastroberardino 1964 Taurasi, 1968 Taurasi, and 1968 Taurisi Riserva Pian del’Angelo; Barbi 1967 Brunello di Montalcino; Biondi-Santi 1978 Brunello di Montalcino; Antoniolo 1964 Gattinara Santachiara; Cappellano 1964 Barolo; Bruno Giacosa 1978 Barbaresco Gallina; Quintarelli 1977 Recioto dell’Amarone; and perhaps a surprise or two… Dinner with wine, service, and tax, is $400.
Monday, October 26th, 2015 at 7 pm: Francesco Rinaldi
We’ve been lucky that the Italian collectors from whom we buy old wine love(d) Francesco Rinaldi; as a result we’ve been able to taste many vintages a fair number of times and we have never been disappointed. To the contrary, we love the wines too – they are top examples of the best traditional winemaking of Barolo. And many of our customers know this too! Here’s a fine opportunity to taste Francesco Rinaldi Barolo from a range of the best vintages: 1964, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1978, 1982, and 1989. Dinner with wine, service, and tax, is $300.
Monday, November 2nd, 2015 at 7 pm: Produttori del Barbaresco
Last spring we had an excellent dinner tasting many of the “off-vintages” made by the Produttori del Barbaresco. It was another test, if you like, of our passionate devotion to the Produttori wines, and it far exceeded our expectations to such a degree that we want to try it again, but this time with a few wines from top vintages (1971, 1978, and 1982) included for contrast. We will taste 1965, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, and 1993. We realize that this is an unusual proposal, but we think you’ll be very pleased (and surprised at how good the wines are!). Dinner with wine, service, and tax, is $250.
