July 1st- Ciao from Italy!  I am traveling through the regions of Piedmont and Tuscany tasting and discovering wines and many other culinary delights to share with you next month.  Happy Summer.  Salute!  ~JoAnn

In early May, The St. Francis wine dinner at the Library Restaurant, in Portsmouth, was an amazing opening to my wine-filled month.  St. Francis produces big, bold, full-bodied wines produced from 100% hand-picked Sonoma County grapes.  Dinner began with an appetizer of lobster tagliatelle with grilled king oyster mushrooms and a lobster cream sauce served with Wild Oak Chardonnay, then a spinach salad with oven roasted beets, candied walnuts and goat cheese that paired well with St. Francis Syrah.  Two main courses were served – braised pork short ribs and filet mignon topped with blue cheese butter - paired with Wild Oak Merlot and Wild Oak Cabernet Sauvignon. For dessert, Pagani Old Vine Zinfandel and chocolate mousse with dark chocolate ganache and fresh berries completed a great evening.  www.stfranciswinery.com   www.libraryrestaurant.com

The next morning I headed to Nantucket for the thirteenth annual Nantucket Wine Festival - five full days of grand events.   Kicking off the weekend was “Secrets of Seafood” a cooking demonstration by acclaimed chef Jasper White -with Taste Editor Jean Kerr emceeing.  Chef Jasper’s seafood dishes were superb, paired with exquisite artisanal wines from Craggy Range vineyards in New Zealand.  The winery has been producing wine for 150 years and they are famous for their Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.  www.craggyrange.com

One of the many highlights was the Grand Gala, held at the White Elephant, one of Nantucket’s premier resorts –with over 30 stations of food, featuring the best restaurants in the northeast; each with a winemaker or winery representative matching the cuisine with wine.  I tasted extraordinary wines from Barbour Vineyards, Failla, Justin Vineyards, and Pride Mountain Vineyards, to name just a few.

I attended a luncheon symposium “An All-Star American Lunch” at Galley Beach restaurant, with lovely ocean views.  This classic American quartet featured four award winning wineries from Napa and Sonoma:  Arrowood, Cain Vineyards, Caymus Vineyards and Elyse Wines.  After the tasting, we enjoyed delicious food paired with select wines and vintages from each producer.  The show stealer was the 2007 Conundrum Chardonnay by Caymus – made with sauvignon blanc grapes from Napa, Muscat Canelli from Tulare County on the Central Coast, and chardonnay and viognier from Monterey County.  Conundrum has aromas of green apple, tangerine zest and honeysuckle, with flavors of apricot, melon, pear and light vanilla –beautifully balanced.  For red wine, Elyse Wines made a lasting impression!  www.galleybeach.net 

I also attended a wine and food seminar “The World is Your Oyster-Grand Slam.”  The Pearl Restaurant and Island Creek Oysters, partnered with Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat Wines, to showcase the marriage of oysters and wine.  All Jim’s wines are handcrafted from the finest vineyards on the central coast of California and are certified organic (recipient of numerous awards – including best winery in the world by Robert Parker).  I recommend the Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir –great matches for all oyster recipes.  www.aubonclimat.com

A new friend from the festival, Franklyn deMarco, owner of Ta-boo Restaurant in Palm Beach, Florida, gave me a copy of Everybody Eats There, written by William Stadiem and Mara Gibbs.  This fun and informative new book is an insider’s tour of the world’s most fabulous, most delicious, and most exclusive restaurants in the world, and how they got that way.  Of course Franklyn and his marvelous, Hollywood style hot spot, Ta-boo are included in the book.   www.taboorestaurant.com

Over the weekend, one could partake in the Grand Tasting - two days of four 2-hour sessions, with over 150 wineries pouring.  I stopped by to see New England native Peter Merriam of Merriam Vineyards, and to taste his 2005 Jones Vineyard Cabernet Franc.  The wine has scents of plum-violets, raspberry, and cherry; it’s smokey and spicy with flavors of blueberry and vanilla, finishing with currant, sweet wood and slight hints of coconut.  Merriam Vineyards also produces chardonnay, merlot and cabernet sauvignon.  “Los Amigos” – Merriam’s brand new state of the art winery is located in Healdsburg, the heart of Sonoma wine country.  Other outstanding wines – Allegrini, Alex Gambal, Benton Lane, Duckhorn, Grgich Hill, Gundlach Bundschu, Hanzell, J. Lohr Vineyards, Jospeph Carr Wine, Landmark Vineyards, Luigi Bosca Wines and Silver Oak Cellars.  www.merriamvineyards.com

Back in Boston, another great event was the “How2Heroes” one year anniversary held at Bulthaup  located next to the Four Seasons Hotel. There were chef demonstrations and glorious food prepared by recipes that are featured on the How2Heroes web site.  They feature how-to online videos that celebrates people’s passion for food – the flavors, the presentation, the secrets to success, the cultural inspirations, and of course the “heroes” who share their knowledge and experience. How2Heroes provides a comfortable, welcoming space for food enthusiasts looking for inspirations from professionals and amateurs alike. www.how2heroes.com

Finally, Erbaluce (named after an Italian white-wine grape found in Piedmont), located in downtown Boston hosted a special “Rosato Wine Dinner.”  Rosato is Italian Rose - made from specific grape varietals including aglianico, dolcetto, and nebbiolo.  During the reception, Santome Prosecco was served with tangy grilled shrimp and mushroom strudel.  At dinner, we savored  Hadley asparagus picked that day with taleggio fonduta cheese served with Santome “Santhomas” Spumante Brut - made from pinot gris and pinot noir grapes.  The main courses were scallop risotto and roasted rabbit served with a 2006 Terlan Lagrein and 2005 Cantine del Notaio Rosato – both wines were extremely aromatic with cinnamon, cedar, plum and licorice flavors; surprisingly full bodied for rose.  Dessert was possibly the best course – cherry spumoni with spiced molasses and chocolate mint.  The 2007 Carpineto Toscano Rosato Sangiovese from Tuscany was perfecto.  Erbaluce’s wine list consists of only wines produced in Italy; many are hard to find, making this a true Italian destination!  www.erbaluce-boston.com   

I am on my way to Long Island Wine Country in New York.  There are over 50 wineries located on the North and South Forks of Long Island. Grape varietals include; cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, chenin blanc, dolcetto, gewurztraminer, lemberger, malbec, merlot, petit verdot, pinot blanc, pinot gris, pinot noir, riesling, sangiovese, sauvignon blanc, semillon, shiraz (syrah), tocai friulano, and viognier.  The area is fast becoming one of the best vineyard regions.  I’m so excited to have the opportunity to taste new wines, vintages, and return to the 1708 House in Southampton – a cross between a luxury getaway and museum.  During my last recent visit, the Inn provided Pinot Noir by Wolffer Estate and “Blaufrankisch” (a red wine grape from Austria) by Channing Daughters Winery – and they just released several types of Rosato.  The1708 House has an inviting wine cellar fea turing mostly Long Island wines, on hand for guests of the Inn.  www.1708house.com   www.liwines.com

Salute!