may 2023
SORÌ DELLA SORBA
We have direct and personal experience on the notion that putting together Piemonte and California usually ends up in something fun. Giovanna Bagnasco, Piemontese DOCG, and Carlo Mondavi, Napa Valley born and raised, are combining the best of both worlds and their love for farming and winemaking into a brand new, exciting project in Diano d’Alba. The estate is a natural amphitheatre where biodiversity, biodynamic practices and permaculture can thrive and run freely. Old vines from an historical site, high elevation, native yeasts and some whole cluster winemaking. The wines are delicious. Giovanna and Carlo’s love story, their mix of experiences between California and Piemonte and their natural disposition in doing things from the heart is something that always resonated with us and with the choices we made along the way. We know how much passion these two are putting in every day so we had to share their wines with you.
Our selection and when you should pop that cork (our modest opinion):
- Solo per Amore 2020: Drink now – 2026
- Sorì della Sorba 2020: Drink now – 2028
- Sorì della Sorba 2019: Drink now – 2033
GIUSEPPE CORTESE
I’ll never forget the first visit at Giuseppe Cortese, I was still in Somm school and had no idea I was going to write about the family to a selected number of Wine Club members all around the world back then. Giuseppe was wearing his hat and waved from the vineyards, his natural habitat, stopped whatever he was doing to come up to winery for a chat and a tasting. Giuseppe is no longer with us, but his kindness and his encouragement to follow my dreams will stay with me forever. We went back several times, dozens of times now with Club shipments, wine tours and simply to say hello. We also filmed a Vlog together, which is the best way to learn about the family and the closest thing to being physically on top of the Rabajà vineyard watch it here. It’s hard to get more classic in style when it comes to Barbaresco. They never followed any trend, never replaced their old concrete tanks and stuck with the large cask aging. Giuseppe Cortese’s wines are 100% Piemonte: stubborn and with that austere elegance that only the great wines from Barbaresco can achieve. Pop one of their wines and watch the Vlog, salute!
Our selection and when you should pop that cork (our modest opinion):
- Barbaresco 2019: Drink 2025 – 2035
- Barbera 2021: Drink now
- Dolcetto 2021: Drink now
DAVIDE FREGONESE
“After 25 years of different experiences around the world, I rediscovered a deep sense of belonging to my homeland, along with a strong call from my roots in Piedmont and my most authentic passions. In the Langhe area, among vineyard masters, eno-gastronomic excellences and ancient wine traditions, my dream has begun to shape up.” A brand new project from Serralunga d’Alba, Davide Fregonese’s wines are beyond rare as they are distributed in very few countries (we import them into California). Davide Rosso from Giovanni Rosso is responsible for the amazing winemaking of these very thousand bottles coming from some of the best vineyards in the valley as Prapò and Cerretta. These are wines for a special occasions, the will last for a long and hit you with character, intensity and finesse. Show them off with your friends as something very hard to find!
Our selection and when you should pop that cork (our modest opinion):
- Barolo Prapò 2018: Drink now – 2028
- Barolo Cerretta 2018: Drink now – 2028
- Langhe Nebbiolo 2021: Drink now – 2026
BRACCIA RESE
Livio, Elia and Giovanni are three boys from Busca, a little hamlet an hour away from Alba driving towards France. Low intervention wines and cider, yes cider too! Their project is all about utilizing the land around the cellar in the most ethical and holistic way possible. There’s a lot of wild woods in this area as well as many many years of farming history. Native grapes like Quagliano and Neretta Cuneese can finally find their place in the vision of a new, young and contemporary project. We spent a whole day with them and several more to edit the video, so go watch it!
Our selection and when you should pop that cork (our modest opinion):
- Errante 2021 (Neretta Cuneese): Drink now – 2025
- Barba 2020 (50% Barbera 50% Nebbiolo di Dronero): Drink now – 2030
- PnQ2021 Drink now
Eggplant millefeuille with mozzarella and tomato sauce
What you need:
- - Eggplant, 1 medium
- - Fresh mozzarella, 7 oz
- - Tomato purée, 7 oz
- - Vegetable stock, 7 oz
- - Carrot, 1
- - Celery, 1 stalk
- - Onion, 1 small
- - Extra virgin olive oil
- - Marjorie, 1 pinch
- - Baking soda, 1 pinch
- - Salt
- - Pepper
- - One immersion blender
- - One pan
- - One saucepan
How it is done:
Start by preparing the tomato sauce: clean and cut the onion, celery and the carrot in big pieces. Place the cut vegetables into a saucepan with three tablespoons of olive oil, cook until tender. Add the tomato purée and the vegetable stock.
Season with salt and pepper, then add a pinch of baking soda. Lower the heat and let the sauce reduce by 1/3. Let it rest for a minute and then, using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.
Now cut the eggplant half an inch wide, season it with salt and let it sit for ten minutes. In a pan, heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, then place the slices in the pan and fry until golden. Remove the eggplant from the pan and season with pepper and a pinch of marjorie.
How to serve:
In a deep dish, place a generous spoon of tomato sauce. In the center of your dish put a slice of fried eggplant and on top of it a slice of mozzarella. Creating three to four layers. You can complete with another pinch of marjoram and a drizzle of olive oil.
Pappa al pomodoro
What you need:
- - Fresh bread, 7 oz
- - Tomato purée, 10 oz
- - Vegetable stock, 7 oz
- - Fresh basil, 10 leaves
- - Extra virgin olive oil
- - Salt
- - Pepper
- - Sugar
- - One deep saucepan
- - One oven tray
- - One oven
How it is done:
Cut the bread into big slices, place it on an oven tray and toast it in an oven already heated at 350° for 10 minutes.
Remove the bread slices and let them rest until warm.
In a large and deep saucepan, put three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, start heating and place the slices covering the whole size of the pan. Add the tomato purée, the vegetable stock and a pinch of sugar, reduce the heat and, without moving the mixture, cook it for 5 minutes.
At this point, the bread should have almost melted into the rest of the soup, remove the lid, stir it and let it cook for another 20 minutes.
At the end, the soup should look like a thick but uneven cream. Add the fresh basil leaves, another tablespoon of olive oil and mix it again.
How to serve:
In a dish, put the soup in the center, add some fresh basil leaves to garnish. You can serve it with a big slice of toasted bread.
A good idea to add a little layer of flavour to this dish is to slice a fresh avocado and serve it on top of pappa al pomodoro.
Bucatini with Beans-cream and spiced breadcrumbs
What you need:
- - Bucatini, 10 oz
- - Borlotti beans, precooked 6 oz
- - Green Onion, two small
- - Vegetable stock, 4 oz
- - Breadcrumbs, 4 oz
- - Extra virgin olive oil
- - Sweet paprika, 1 teaspoon
- - Oregano, 1 tablespoon
- - Garlic, 1 clove
- - Chili flakes, 1 pinch
- - Salt
- - Pepper
- - one immersion blender
- - One pan
- - One saucepan
- - One large pot
How it is done:
Start with the borlotti bean cream: clean and cut two green onions thin. In a saucepan, heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, add the green onion, cook for around 30 seconds and add the cooked beans. When heated evenly, add the vegetable stock, season with salt and pepper, cover and bring to a boil. When boiling, remove from the heat and with an immersion blender mix everything evenly.
For the spiced breadcrumbs: in a large pan put two tablespoons of olive oil, the sweet paprika and the oregano, heat until bubbly and then throw in the breadcrumbs. Mix it evenly and keep cooking until golden and crispy.
In a pan put two tablespoons of olive oil, the unpeeled clove of garlic lightly smashed, and the chili flakes. Let it cook for a couple of minutes then remove the garlic and the chili flakes. In a large pot, bring some salted water to a boil. Cook the bucatini until al dente, then drain the pasta and throw it in the seasoned olive oil pan, keep stirring until seasoned evenly.
How to serve:
In a large dish, put the borlotti bean sauce at the bottom, in the center place a nest of seasoned bucatini, complete with a generous sprinkle of the spiced breadcrumbs.
Lemon and rosemary chicken Piccata
What you need:
- - Chicken breast, 1 whole
- - Chicken stock, 10 oz
- - Lemons, 4
- - Fresh Rosemary leaves, 1 oz
- - Butter, 2 oz
- - Salt
- - Pepper
- - One non-stick pan
- - One juicer
- - One grater
How it is done:
Put the chicken breast into thin pieces around 2 oz each, dry it properly with a paper towel and rub it with a pinch of salt. Grate the peel of the four lemons, then using a juicer, extract the juice. Now mix the lemon juice, the lemon peel and the chicken stock.
Heat a non-sticking pan over high heat, cook the chicken pieces until golden on both sides, remove them and let them rest for a minute. In the same pan, melt the butter and add the rosemary finely grounded. When hot, add the lemon and stock mixture, season with salt and pepper and let it reduce until saucy.
At this point, put the chicken back in the pan, let it cook for another minute.
How to serve:
You can serve the slices as a whole or cut into slices, cover with the lemon and rosemary sauce. You can garnish with a little lemon peel and some fresh rosemary leaves.