The Tasting Panel magazine

February 2014

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Some Enchanted Tasting Also in December, Jane Ferrari, the enchanting Winemaker and Ambassador for Yalumba, visited THE TASTING PANEL ofices. "What people like about Yalumba is that if they jump on a jet and make the 15-hour trip to Australia, they are going to ind exactly what we tell them: a viticultural treasure trove, pre-phyloxera vines, our own coopers and much more, spanning 164 years of backstory," Ferrari told me as she poured the Yalumba 2008 Signature Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon– Shiraz. A lovely perfume of red licorice, plum jam and sweet baking spice along with crushed roses and cedar tickled my nose. "If you follow me on Twitter [@barossasaint]," she continued, as I tasted the beautiful wine of medium weight, supple black fruit, tobacco spice and a lingering coffee and mocha inish, "you come with me around the world. Literally one day, it'll be the most extraordinary irecracker prawns with our Virgilius Eden Valley Viognier in the Cinnamon Club in London, and the next day it'll be that we've met the people from Fat Choy, who have set a little Chinese bao diner in an old casino in the middle of Las Vegas, because our Y Series Shiraz-Viognier is going to go well with their bao." Ferrari gave a riveting tasting, deserving itself of a bow. —J. C. Yalumba's Jane Ferrari in THE TASTING PANEL offices. Scan the QR code to listen to one of Jane Ferrari's favorite toasts! 36 / the tasting panel / february 2014 OVER THE TABLE R eveling in the mild December weather, Geoff Pattison, Director of Imports and newly appointed Bordeaux Buyer at L.A.'s Wally's Wine & Spirits, joined me for an evening of drinking and dining on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, CA. We dined at Scopa Italian Roots, a new restaurant and bar concept from Pablo Moix and Steve Livigni (Pour Vous and Harvard & Stone). After succulent and brilliantly prepared charcuterie and pastas, Moix and Livigni, friends of Pattison, brought over a bottle of tequila made in an old style from fully matured estate- grown agaves and aged four years in new American oak: Tapatio Excelencia Gran Reserva Extra Añejo ($159/1L). Charbay Wines & Spirits imported just 100 cases of this extra añjeo by noted distiller Carlos Camarena into the U.S. "I think it's really exciting that we are beginning to see more tequila producers focus on the speciic terroir they come from," remarked Pattison as I marveled at the peppery, robust spirit. To capitalize on the after-taste from the Tapatio, we puffed on aged cigars before stopping off at FEED Body & Soul for dessert: the "Umami Milkshake," a cocktail offered on a special menu curated by bartender extraordinaire Matthew Biancaniello, whom Pattison knows from The Roosevelt's Library Bar. "He stops by Wally's fairly often to pick up rare items for his mind- bogglingly complex cocktails." Andrew Oliveri, bartender at FEED, whipped up the sinful elixir of candy cap mushroom– infused bourbon, heavy cream, agave syrup and egg. "There are no limits to his creativity," said Oliveri of Biancaniello, and we toasted and agreed. —Jonathan Cristaldi Tapatio, Umami Milkshakes and Cigars Geoff Pattison with the "Umami Milkshake" at FEED in Venice, CA. PHOTO: JONATHAN CRISTALDI PHOTO: JONATHAN CRISTALDI

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