Our dinners are BYOB.

With each of our dinners, we will recommend wines that you can purchase through our site or elsewhere. Or you could be adventurous and buy whatever you prefer.

Tavolavila II: February 23, 2008

For our Second Dinner (Saturday, February 23, 2008), the theme will be seasonal winter foods. The main course will be homemade duck confit, which pairs nicely with a few wine varietals. Perhaps the most classic is Cahors (pronounced 'KAH-ohr'), a red wine from the southwest of France. Foods from a specific region most classically pair with wines from the same region.

Other recommended wine pairings with dinner include cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and California pinot noir. However, since many of you probably have your favorites among these options, here we'll focus on ideas for cahors since few are familiar with this wine.

Planted by the Romans there around 50 B.C., cahors is one of the oldest wine varietals in Europe. It is also the sacramental wine in the Russian Orthodox Church. It is a rather potent wine of primarily malbec, but also merlot and tannat grapes. Rather inexpensive, it can be a bit harsh when young, but it smooths out with just a little aging in the bottle. Yet outside of the best producers, cahors is not an aging wine -- typically it's five years maximum. Some of the best producers of cahors includes Château de Cedre (their Le Cedre or Le Prestige), Château de Lagrezette (including their Pigonnier), Clos de Gamot, and Clos de Triguenida (their Prince Phobus).

You can find the Château de Cedre Heritage at either K&L Wines or one of our local favorites, the SF Wine Trading Company. The latter also offers the aforementioned Château de Cedre Prestige for $24.

In the meantime, our will be happy to consult with you.

Tavolavila I: November 10, 2007

For our First Dinner (Saturday, November 10, 2007), the food is from Piemonte -- home of the "noble" red wines, Barolo and Barbaresco. While both are themselves small towns in Piemonte's Langhe region, each representing separate wine-growing districts on either side of Alba, both namesake wines are made from Nebbiolo grapes.

These two noble red wines of the region are typically complex and hearty -- but not overbearing like the big California red stereotype. The difference between them is subtle: terrior, really. Though Barolo is generally considered more tannic and robust, whereas Barbaresco is considered to be more of a finesse wine. They nicely complement many of the robust traditional meat dishes (often a bit gamey) and cheese of Piemonte. They are generally quite expensive -- it's hard to find really good examples under $40 -- but they can age for years.

The Langhe are also known for red wines made with other local grapes, such as Barbera and Dolcetto, which are less expensive and more suitable for everyday drinking. Winemakers in the Langhe also make some excellent, non-traditional blends, mixing in varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, and Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir) with Nebbiolo grapes. These wines are typically named with the generic-sounding Langhe label. (As much as the Tuscans hate the term "Super-Tuscan" when describing their non-traditional, non-DOCG wines, calling it a creation of American marketing, you can generally think of Langhe-label wines as "Super-Piedmont".)

Two other major wine growing districts that border the Langhe are the Roero and Monferrato. They produce a number of red wines that vary from outstanding to "not bad". But they are also known for some of their white wines -- such as the so-called "noble white" wine Roero Arneis (medium-bodied, floral, and from the indigenous Arneis grapes), the dry Gavi from Cortese grapes, sweet Moscato dessert wines, and the infamous Asti spumante, a sparkling wine rarely touched by the locals (but, as we discovered, can sometimes be quite good).

Barolo and Barbaresco are the main theme for our first dinner. And among those we tasted, we developed a fondness for those from Podere Rocche dei Manzoni, Prunotto, Contorno Fantino, Robert Voerzio, Ceretto, and Albino Rocca. There are plenty of other good examples to choose from: La Spinetta, Aldo Conterno, Giacomo Conterno, Domenico Clerico, Elio Altare, Paolo Scavino, Bricco Rocche - Bricco Asili, and Michele Chiarlo are all standouts -- as is the world-class Gaja for a small mortgage.

Our will be happy to consult with you. Here is a short list of our recommendations you can purchase online:

Barolo

Paolo Scavino 2003 Barolo Bric del Fiasc - Nebbiolo Red Wine

Prunotto 2003 Barolo - Nebbiolo Red Wine

Barbaresco

Ceretto 2000 Bricco Asili Barbaresco - Nebbiolo Red Wine

Marchesi di Gresy 2003 Barbaresco Martinenga - Nebbiolo Red Wine

White Wines

Principessa Gavia 2006 Gavi - Italian White Wine

Vietti 2006 Arneis Roero - Italian White Wine

Tavolavila's House Wines

Our "house wines" that we just keep on hand all the time:

Falesco Vitiano

"A wine with lovely balance and clean plum, berry and chocolate character, medium body and polished tannins. The perfect house wine--a great value. Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2010." Wine Spectator  May 15, 2006

2004 Cotes du Luberon Blanc "Le Paradou"

Le Paradou Blanc is a cuvée of grenache blanc and viognier from parcels near the town of Apt. It is 100% organic, and shows the dedication that went into its inception. If you are looking for a Rhone-style white (or any white) offering all of the roundness, the depth, fruit (apricots, peaches and citrus) and minerality (but no oak, bien sur), this is a contender for your house white! 

Unfortunately, it is trick to find. K&L Wines has a waiting list.