After the fun and games at the Merano Wine Festival I returned to the winery to entertain a group of guests staying at the foresteria. Kim Esch, ex-Events Manager for the Las Vegas B&B Restaurants and her Mom Elaine and sister Jen, along with Kim’s dear friend Heather from Munich, had the pleasure of experiencing the great wine and food here, along with the ENDLESS FRIULIAN GLOOM, for 5 days.
In order to bring a little bottled sunshine into their dreary vacation, we decided to go see our pal Valter Scarbolo at La Frasca for dinner and vino…
(L to R: Jen, Heather, Valter, Kim and me)
Valter was, as always, the most charming and accommodating host. Jen documented every plate with a meticulousness I wish I had. For fun I brought a bottle of 2000 Pinot Plus. I was curious to see how this Pinot Grigio/Pinot Bianco blend (if my memory serves) has held up.
The first bottle was corked. So corked that Joe Bastianich woke up out of a sound sleep and called me from New York to tell me he smelled TCA. The second bottle though, oh the second bottle… was marvelous. Creamy vanilla crema pasticcieria on the nose morphed into hazelnuts and vanilla extract with lots of mineral and citrus backing it all up. It was a truly sexy bottle of vino vecchio. 
(Wine: Sexy. Me: Not.)
Old White Wine is one of the banners I wave about wine, and this was more vindication that well-made white wine with age becomes something truly remarkable. Similarly, we opened a bottle of 2000 Vespa Bianco that had just a hint of that petrol nose and spice and apple on the palate with a creamy finish that went on for ages…
I digress…
The Ladies lamented the wet weather, but they managed to set the record for “Most Wine Consumed by Guests at the Foresteria” in compensation for their soggy sojurn. (Disclaimer: They had plenty of help, me included.)
Before leaving the winery, they all stopped in to say goodbye. We joked about how the sun would come out right after they left.
Thirty minutes later blue skies emerged… For 4 hours.
It hasn’t stopped raining since.
THE BUZZ at Bastianich Winery 