Crazy-ass unfiltered zero sulfite Cortese

Our marketing dude, Jeremy Parzen, is currently in Piedmont, Italy where he’s attending Barbera Meeting 2010, a four-day tasting of literally hundreds of Barberas. Here’s snippet from his blog on a crazy-ass unfiltered zero sulfite Cortese (a white grape of Piedmont). Note the winery’s logo in the background with the ass who is farting SO2.

The wine that really, truly, and entirely rocked my boat, was this unfiltered, no-SO2 added (i.e., no added sulfite) Cortese by Paolo Marcarini. The wine will be filtered before bottling, but, man, I could drink it, as is, every day. I loved this wine and the only thing that could possibly make it better would be if I were to get to taste it with my Tracie P. Some day we will…

Check out live blogging from Barbera Meeting here.

New PINTXOS menu at Vino Vino

The new late-night pintxos menu is served:

Everyday 3:00 til 5:30
Sun-Mon 10:00 til 12:00
Fri-Sat 11:00 till 12:00

Basically whenever the kitchen is closed

Olives $2

From the Wiki: “A pincho (Spanish; literally, thorn or spike) or pintxo (Basque) is the name of certain snacks typically eaten in bars, traditional in northern Spain and especially popular in the Basque country. Originating in the Basque Country.”

Tortilla with potato and herbs $2

Our late-night Pintxos menu is for those who need a snack with their wine after the kitchen has closed.

Manchego with peppers $3

Inspired by the bar menus in Spain and Basque country, our Pintxos menu was created for folks who need to get their snack on.

Mushrooms with saba, balsamic, and Madeira   $2

The prices are right and the noshes tasty.

We built this case to evoke a classic Spanish tapas bar.

Click here for the entire Pintxos Menu.

Orange wine dinner, Monday, April 5

What is “orange wine,” anyway? There’s no official definition but the pundits agree on a couple of things:

- orange wines are made from the juice of white grapes that have macerated (i.e., soaked) in their skins
- orange wines are neither red nor white in color but rather orange
- orange wines are unbelievably delicious

The “orange wine” movement has grown in recent years, with winemakers in places like Loire (France), Brda (Slovenia), Friuli (Italy), and Umbria (Italy) crafting high-end, lip-smacking wines that hearken back to an earlier era, when white wine was typically macerated with its skins during fermentation and modern filtration techniques had not yet been developed.

Want to experience orange wine?

Orange Wine Dinner
Taste 6 Orange Wines

with a tasting menu created especially
by Chef Esteban Escobar for the event

with Jeff Courington, owner, Vino Vino
and Jeremy Parzen, Ph.D., author of Do Bianchi
Monday, April 5
7:00 p.m.
$150 including tax and gratuity

LIMITED TO 12 SEATS! FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED.

RSVP by clicking here to email Jeff or call at (512) 465-9282.

The best and perhaps the most technically exhaustive definition of orange wine was scribed by wine blogger and writer Thor Iverson.

The dinner he attended and described in that post also counted Eric Asimov of The New York Times and femme fatale of the natural wine world Alice Feiring among its guests.

Even the mighty Wiki has braved an attempt to define orange wine.

Our marketing dude, Jeremy, has spent some serious time in orange wine country: check out this post he did when his band traveled to Slovenia to party with orange wineamaker Ales Kristiancic (above) at the Movia winery in Brda, Slovenia. We will be featuring at least two of Ales’ wines at our April 5 dinner.

In the weeks that follow, we will also post about some of our favorite orange winemakers… stay tuned…

Kat Edmonson next Tues March 9, 7 pm

Above: Kat Edmonson, “a jazz singer whose voice transcends the standards” (Austin Chronicle). Photo courtesy of Bored and Beats.

Song bird Kat Edmonson returns next Tues., March 9 to Vino Vino.

7 – 10 pm

Please come early to ensure seating.

An Italian love affair: Italian wine tasting today at 5:30

Can you blame us for loving Italian wine so much? There’s no other country on earth where hospitality is so central to the culture and no place in the world where the wines are so food-friendly… There’s no place on earth where the grapes are so happy…

Please join us today for a wine tasting with one of our favorite winemakers and favorite wines…

Meet the Winemaker Happy Hour
with Italian winemaker Filiberto Massone
Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta
Monday, March 1
5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

Four wines and light appetizers prepared especially for the tasting.

$35 per person (including tax and gratuity)

For reservations please call 512-465-9282. Space is limited, first come, first served.

Winemaker happy hour Monday with Italian winemaker Filiberto Massone of Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta

Filiberto Massone is the current-generation winemaker and heir to one of Italy’s most illustrious winemaking families, the Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta.

We dig his wines: Filiberto will be joining us Monday, from 5:30-7:00 p.m., to taste and talk about his wines. Please join us for 4 wines and light appetizers.

Meet the Winemaker Happy Hour
with Italian winemaker Filiberto Massone
Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta
Monday, March 1
5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

Four wines and light appetizers prepared especially for the tasting.

$35 per person (including tax and gratuity)

For reservations please call 465-9282

Roero Arneis
Grignolino
Sant’Emiliano Barbera Superiore
Rollone (Pinot Noir and Barbera blend)

And, ladies, guess what: Filiberto’s single!

Boots in the Oven: Paolo Bea Santa Chiara tasting notes

On Friday, our friends over at Boots in the Oven posted some tasting notes on the Paolo Bea Santa Chiara, one of our favorite “orange wines.”

Photo by Boots in the Oven.

This odd little wine, crafted as a white but then left to ferment with the skins for an extra couple of weeks or so, really appealed to me. It had a playful nose that wavered between spicy star anise and earthy tea, all with a bit of citrus in the background.

Drinking it blindfolded you might mistake it for a red. Light stone fruits, a little caramel and lemon rind shift around a rich minerality. Overall though, it’s just fun. As you drink it you get the sense that the winemaker’s having a bit of an inside joke with you. If you’re ever feeling a little burned out or stuck in a rut, this is a great wine to re-peak your interest.

Click here to read more…

Thanks Boots in the Oven for the shout out!

The Santa Chiara by Paolo Bea is available nightly — to take home or to open tableside — at Vino Vino.

Just added: David Garza joins Kat Edmonson this Tues at Vino Vino

From the department of “all-time great food and wine pairings”…

Above: On a magical night in November 2009, David Garza happened to be in the audience at Vino Vino at Kat Edmonson’s show. Ever the “musician’s musician,” David (pronounced dah-VEED) grabbed his axe and amp and joined Kat on stage in what proved to be one of the best shows of 2009. Only in Austin, ladies and gentlemen!

In what’s sure to be a night to remember, two of Austin’s rising musical stars will share the stage Tuesday night at Vino Vino: Austin’s “great jazz hope” (Austin Statesman), our very own and much-loved Kat Edmonson will be joined by David Garza, Austinite singer-songwriter extraordinaire (and Syrah lover!) for a magical night of duets.

Kat Edmonson and David Garza
LIVE
@Vino Vino
Tuesday, Feb 23
7-10 pm
limited seating available: first come, first served

WE REGRET THAT WE CANNOT TAKE RESERVATIONS FOR THIS EVENT. PLEASE COME EARLY TO ENSURE SEATING.

What does one pair with a central Louisiana fried pork chop sandwich

From the annals of pairing, another delicious memory from our recent trip to celebrate Mardi Gras in St. Martinville and Mamou…

Budwesier, of course.

Jack Miller’s is the condiment of choice in central Louisiana.

Photos by Joe Pat Clayton.

The center of the Cajun universe: Fred’s Lounge in Mamou

In our never-ending quest to bring you the finest in music, food, and wine, we visited the center of the Cajun universe for Mardi Gras over the weekend: the legendary Fred’s Lounge in Mamou, Louisiana.

The town of Mamou covers just 1.4 square miles in central Louisiana but is the “Cajun capital of the world.”

You can read about the history of this amazing place (where everyone is welcomed, btw) here and here (the Fred Society).

Photo by Joe Pat Clayton.