Showing posts with label Fabrocini. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fabrocini. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

BUCCI VERDICCHIO DEI CASTELLI DI JESI CLASSICO SUPERIORE


Bucci Verdicchio

Another trip to Fabrocini's Beverly Glen - yes, the calamari and scungilli salad beckoned again - resulted in another white wine to pair with my favorite dish.  Usually I go with a California wine here - once a German Riesling - but this time I went Italian.

The Bucci Verdicchio Dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore is $12 by the glass at Fabrocini’s.  It has an alcohol level of 13.5% and appears to be a 100% varietal wine aged only in the bottle. 

The wine has a shimmering golden color with a greenish tint.  Peach and minerals vie for attention on the nose and the palate, with the mineral aspect particularly forceful on the taste.  There is a hint of vegetation as well.  A full mouthfeel and plenty of acidity make it a wonderful quaff, and both help it pair so well with seafood.  A long-lasting finish leaves ripe peaches as a memory.

Friday, October 8, 2010

CHARLES KRUG SAUVIGNON BLANC 2009


Charles Krug Sauvignon Blanc

Despite the calendar inching closer and closer to something called Autumn, I’ve been on a bit of a Sauvignon Blanc kick lately.  Here in Southern California, we don’t do autumn.  It’s not that we don’t want to, it simply doesn’t happen.  When people elsewhere are braying about the “changing color of the leaves,” whatever that is, we see the same green and brown shades exactly where they have been all year.  For those who move here from somewhere else, the lack of autumn is usually their number one complaint.  That, and “You can’t get a decent cheesesteak here.”

One good thing about extending summer a bit: it means more time for summery wines.  We went to Fabrocini's for lunch, and if I were more of a FourSquare person, I would be the mayor of their calamari and scungilli salad.  I’ve gone on and on and on about that before, so I won’t belabor the point.  The wine paired very well with it.

Charles Krug is part of the Mondavi empire in Napa Valley.    The Sauvignon Blanc is a 100% varietal wine which is oakless, all stainless steel.  The 13.5% abv is light enough for lunch, certainly.

The wine is a rather pretty pale greenish-gold color.  I was looking forward to the promised array of tropical notes on the nose, but it was served quite cold and I could really only detect a slight grassiness.  I do wish restaurants would serve their wine at the proper temperature.  Too cold, and the bouquet is lost.  The taste was great, with canteloupe rind and orange zest leading the way in a full mouthfeel.  The acidity was bright and produced a zing that went with the seafood very well.

The bottle retails for $18, and at the restaurant it was $10 by the glass - not a bad deal.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

OREANA VERDELHO 2008


Oreana Verdelho

That calamari and scungilli salad at Fabrocini Beverly Glenenticed me again.  I won’t bore you with more raving on that subject, (see here, and here) but I will tell you about the wine I had with it.
Oreana Winery is in Santa Barbara - not the wine country around Santa Barbara, but right downtown.  It’s one of the stops on the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail.  Housed in a converted garage, Oreana’s cement floor tasting room may not land them in House Beautiful, but it really fits in with the slightly funky vibe of downtown Santa Barbara.

Verdelho is a Portuguese grape, not to be confused with the Spanish Verdejo.  There’s a rich, floral nose here and a palate that’s full and tropical.  Guava and pineapple emerge from the mix.  The winery recommends pairing it with spicy Asian cuisine and sushi.  I’ll throw my two cents in and say it was great with the seafood salad, too.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

DRY CREEK VINEYARDS CHENIN BLANC 2008


Dry Creek Chenin Blanc

Variety is the spice of life, but I freely admit I can get stuck on things I really enjoy.  A favorite tune can cause me to hit the "repeat" button for the duration of the drive.  I'll go to "On Demand" for several episodes at a time of a TV show I like.  When a restaurant makes a dish I can't do without, I don't do without.  I go there repeatedly to enjoy it again and again.

When some friends wanted to hook up for dinner, I was overjoyed when they agreed to Fabrocini Beverly Glen.  That's because they make the salad of my dreams, the calamari and scungilli.  A little light on lettuce and a little heavy on seafood is how they make it, and that's fine with me.  I ordered the Dry Creek Chenin Blanc to go with it, and all was well in my world.

Healdsburg's Dry Creek Vineyards produces some extremely nice wines.  This white is produced from 100% Chenin Blanc grapes from Clarksburg, the Sacramento Delta region.  It's stainless steel fermented with no barrel aging and logs a 12.5% abv number.  According to the winery's website, 2008 was the first vintage for the wine to have a vineyard designation, and also the first to feature a screw cap.

The nose shows minerals, citrus and tropical notes.  The palate is quite interesting, with a sweet edge to the citrus, maybe some Meyer lemon.  More minerals are tasted and a bracing acidity is present - the creek isn't the only thing that's dry here - but at the same time there is a creamy aspect which I don't find too often in white wines fermented in steel.  It's a delicious quaff on its own, but it pairs perfectly with the calamari and scungilli salad - still the only thing I've ever ordered at Fabrocini and still the reason I look forward to dining there.  Denise had the shrimp scampi, which is nothing short of amazing.  The wine is brilliant with that dish as well.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

COPPOLA SOFIA ROSÉ 2009


Coppola Sofia

One of the great warm weather lunches in Los Angeles is found at Fabrocini Beverly Glen restaurant. I'll bet a good many of their dishes are wonderful, although I'll probably never find out since all I ever order there is the calamari and scungilli salad. I don't see this on many menus, so if you know of another restaurant that does this dish, I'd love to know about it. Please feel free to leave a comment alerting me to where else I can find it.
Celebrating the summer day even further, I ordered a rosé to go along with the salad. The Coppola Sofia rosé is of Pinot Noir grapes which are sourced from the Sonoma Coast appellation. The 11.5% alcohol content is nice for lunchtime. Fabrocini has it for $10 by the glass.
Sofia pours to the glass as a deep salmon color, a very dark pink. This is due to the 48 hours of color extraction before the juice is separated from the grape skins. The nose is floral and fruity but was obscured by the cold serving temperature. There is a taste of melon on the palate, along with hints of cranberry, strawberry, cherry and even a shimmering glimpse of a childhood taste memory from my soda-drinking days - Big Red. Please understand this is not a predominant factor, and it actually is quite pleasant.
The wine is bright and fresh tasting, with acidity perfect for my seafood salad. The finish lingers just this side of dry, and it's a smooth, easy drinking quaff. It paired very well with the food, and set off the lemon I squeezed over the plate. It was a darn good summertime lunch treat!