Lombardy Italian Wine Evening ( W/ CONTI SERTOLI, Valtelina ) October 12th, 2006 At Cleveland Park Wines & At Zola Restaurant

Just to look at these four glasses of liquid gold in various hues and different stemware is to know that you have arrived somewhere truly special. These awaited us at the end of our dinner but for you having to catch up quickly with us I thought it would give you more incentive to read on ... cheers ...






















On Thursday, October 12, 2006 I was invited to a dinner at Tosca restaurant , 7 PM with Silvia Marinelli , export manager of CONTI SERTOLI SALIS ( Salis, 1637 SRL, Tirano, Via Stelvio, 18 - 23037 Tirano ( SO ) Tel: +39 0342 710404 Fax : +39 0342 710428 www.sertolisalis.com info@sertolis.com Alta Valtellina Lombardy, Italy ) and rep David Enright of Grapolli Imports to try the " new " releases.

I was really looking forward to this evening and the excellent food of Tosca to complement some of my favorite wines from Italy , those made from the great Nebbiolo grape in Valtellina. This promised to be a wonderful evening and when I met Silvia here in the store before our meal I was immediately put at ease by her relaxed, friendly yet professional demeanor. This is what she wrote before we left for our dinner : " To Anthony, It is nice to have people like you who help us to promote such beautiful wines ! " Silvia .

David was not invited to the dinner unfortunately.

I met Alberto Panella , owner of Grapolli Imports, said " hello " to wine-writer Ben Gilliberti that I have known for years and to Shem ( part-owner of Arrow Wines & Spirits ) and sat down next to Tim who I met for the first time that works with Tom Hanna to buy the Italian wines at MacArthur Beverages.

It was quite the evening and the food matched up beautifully with the food and I think everyone was really relaxing as the wine flowed and Silvia spoke of the various wines ending with the most famous " Canua " Sforzato di Valtellina, 2001, $65.99 which is made from 100% Nebbiolo grapes. It's Valtellina's answer to Amarone - lush, ripe, unctuous yet balanced and toned Nebbiolo flavors. The crushing of the grapes does not start until January or March of the following year after the grapes have been harvested. It's a meditation wine and great with rich meat dishes and seasoned cheeses.


Here are some pictures with David Enright rep fro Grappoli Imports and .soon I will write more about the wonderful diversity of these wines that we sampled this evening. In the meantime please enjoy these photos. As you can see in the first photo we finished with a selection of really good grappas made from different grapes. Cheers, TONY