A Tavola: Fantasy Fine Wine Dinner, from Vermentino to Petit Verdot

As I've mentioned multiple times before, A Tavola in Winchester is one of my favorite Italian restaurants and I highly recommend it to all of my readers. It's an intimate spot, with an open kitchen, an all Italian wine list, and killer food. A Tavola also holds a number of special events, from Wine Dinners to Cookbook Classes. Recently, I attended one of those wine dinners, presided over by special guest Christian Trotta of Fantasy Fine Wine. Fantasy Fine Wines has a select portfolio of Italian wines, and about 90% of their business is with restaurants. Thus, you won't find their wines at most wine shops. 

At this wine dinner, we were served five courses of food, each paired with a different Italian wine, four of those wines from the same winery. The dinner cost $115 per person, and the wines were available for sale after the dinner for a special price. And I bought a few bottles of one of those wines. 

The evening began with a glass of 2021 Terre di Rai di Treviso Millesimato Extra Dry Prosecco ($28), a vintage Prosecco from the Veneto region. With an 11% ABV, this bubbly was crisp and dry, with flavors of apple and lemon, and it possessed a moderately long and pleasant finish. This is not the typical Prosecco most people drink.

The Prosecco was paired with an Apple & Aged Parmesan Bruschetta, consisting of thin sliced apples, celery, olive oil, and a 36 month old Parmesan cheese. Fresh and light, but with the umami of the aged cheese, including those intriguing fat crystals. It went nicely with the sparkling wine. 

The Tenute Calì wine group owns several estates across Italy, having purchased the first in 1981. In 2005, they purchased Poggio Maestrino, located on the Maremma Coast in Tuscany. The estate is comprised of about 20 hectares of vineyards, at an altitude of 200-300 meters, in the Morellino di Scansano production area. Morellino has been recognized as a DOCG since 2007. All of the wines of Poggio Maestrino are Biodynamic and organic, and much of the soil is of volcanic origin. 

One of my favorite wines of the evening was the 2022 Poggio Maestrino e Spiaggiole Maremma Toscana Vermentino Torresaline ($32). With an alluring nose, this wine was crisp and dry, complex and delicious, with flavors of peach and stone fruit, savory notes, a hint of floral and a briny backbone. The finish was long and satisfying, and each sip was pure joy. This wine would be an excellent accompaniment to oysters. It might be more expensive than many other Vermentino wines, but its complexity and fine taste justifies the cost. 

With the Vermentino, Chef Joe Carli paired a Chatham Scallop Carpaccio with Collapsed Tomato & Garden Herbs. I love scallops and this was an impressive dish, with the silky and sweet flesh of the scallops complemented by the acidity of the tomatoes and the clean taste and savory notes of the olive oil. It also was an excellent pairing with the Vermentino. Chef Carli stated that it's likely they will start carrying this wine at the restaurant, so if you dine there, I'd highly recommend you check out this Vermentino.

The next wine was the 2021 Poggio Maestrino e Spiaggiole Morellino ($34), made from 100% Sangiovese. The Spiaggiole vineyard is situated on the hills overlooking the coast. The wine saw no oak aging, and was simple and fresh, with bright cherry flavors, soft tannins, and a moderately long finish. This is another wine which should soon be on the A Tavola wine list. 

This wine was paired with a Grape Vine Roasted Poulet Rouge with sour cherries & thyme. Poulet Rouge is a heritage French breed of chicken. The chicken was delicious, tender and meaty, with crispy skin, and the taste was enhanced by the sour cherry sauce and a touch of smokiness. This is definitely not your usual roasted chicken. Another excellent dish, bringing plenty of tasty flavors and textures to your mouth.  

The 2021 Poggio Maestrino e Spiaggiole Morellino di Scansano ($36) was also made from 100% Sangiovese, the best grapes in the vineyard, but this wine was aged for about 6 months in used French oak. It was a bigger, bolder, more tannic wine, yet still possessed of elegance. Restrained power. It had intriguing and complex flavors of black cherry, blackberry and ripe plum, some spicy notes, and a touch of balsamic. It was well balanced, with good acidity, and a lingering finish. Another wine I'd highly recommend.  

With this wine, we enjoyed a Mortadella Rotolo, with pistachio butter and griddled bread. The bread was a higher hydration pizza dough that was cooked like a pita bread on their French flat top. So, it was similar in some ways to a pita wrap, with silky, thin-sliced mortadella, enhanced by the pistachio flavors and crunch. It went well with the wine, especially considering the fattiness of the mortadella helping to tame the tannins of the wine.

The final wine of the evening was my top favorite of the evening. The 2018 Poggio Maestrino Costa Toscano Petit Verdot ($36) is made from 100% Petit Verdot (19 year old vines), and spent about 18 months in used French oak. Only 2500 bottles were made of this wine, and it is rare to find 100% Petit Verdot, as the grape is most often used in blends. I've long been a fan of this grape, and this wine impressed me. This was another bold but elegant wine, yet not overly tannic, with a complex melange of flavors, including black cherry, blackberry, blueberry and hints of ripe plum. There were intriguing notes of spice, a touch of minerality, and even a hint of cocoa on the lengthy finish.  Intense and compelling, this is a wine you can slowly savor, revealing in the varied flavors that come to your palate with each sip. I bought a few bottles of this unique wine, and I also highly recommend it!

The final course was a Berry BBQ Glazed Pulled Pork, a tasty combination of savory and sweet flavors, with plenty of tender and succulent, meaty pork. This would have made an excellent pulled pork sandwich. It paired very well with the Petite Verdot. A fine ending to this wondrous dinner.  

Chef Joe Carli and Christian Trotta presided over a fun and delicious wine dinner, and the pairings worked very well. The five dishes were diverse, well composed and filled with flavor. At least two of these wines, and maybe even three, will likely end up on my end-of-the-year Top Ten Favorite Wine lists. 

The next wine dinner at A Tavola is scheduled for November 8, showcasing the wines of Vietti. I'm a big fan of Vietti wines, from their Dolcetto to their Nebbiolo. The dishes for this dinner will also include items such as Mushroom Lasagna with Spinach Pasta and Roasted Ribyeye. So, call the restaurant and reserve a space now.