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Sat 10/15 • A-Z DC | Potomac, MD with Chef Nicholas Stefanelli on the estate of philanthropists and billionaire business duo Ken & Kavelle Bajaj.
TICKETS
Sat 10/29 • A-Z Bonny Doon | San Juan Bautista with legendary winemaker Randall Grahm, Wine Grapes co-author José Vouillamoz and Chef Alex Ong.
TICKETS
Sat 11/19 • A-Z RVA | Richmond, Virginia in partnership with Fire, Flour & Fork: A Gathering for the Food Curious.
TICKETS
“This is the bucket-list event that you cannot miss if you’re a food and wine person.”
On Saturday, October 15, 2016, Grapetionary A-Z is coming to the Capitol. Guests will enjoy a sublime, multi-course meal prepared by Chef Nick Stefanelli and the team behind is acclaimed Italian restaurant, Masseria.
Chef/Owner Nicholas Stefanelli
Chef Nick graduated from L’Académie de Cuisine. Afterward, he honed his craft in some of the most important kitchens in America:
GM/Sommelier David Kurka
And then, Stefanelli opened Bibiana with legendary restaurateur Ashok Bajaj. Under Stefanelli’s tenure, Bibiana was named “Best New Restaurant” by Esquire and Stefanelli was named the 2010 Rising Star by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington [RAMW]. Soon after, he was a nominee for the Rising Star Award by the James Beard Foundation.
In August 2015, Chef Nick opened the Masseria. Inspired by Stefanelli's roots in Puglia and his eye for European cool, Masseria quickly earned three stars and an Excellent rating by The Washington Post. Later, Masseria was featured in The Wall Street Journal and earned a RAMW nomination for “Best New Restaurant.”
We're thrilled to partner with Chef Stefanelli and the entire Masseria team for the inaugural A-Z in Washington, DC. Besides the culinary crew, we'll also have the brilliant GM and Sommelier, David Kurka, assisting with wine selections.
Stay tuned for details and ticket information.
(Now accepting sponsorship inquiries.)
A triptych of Instagrams from that first visit.
“Only the unimaginative can fail to find a reason for drinking champagne.”
I've enjoyed it in tuxedos and pyjamas, on planes and in picnics, after dinner and before breakfast. And whether it's the occasion of a yacht christening, tailgating or idle Tuesday, champagne is always welcome.
With over 16,000 growers and 320 champagne houses spanning the French alphabet from A.R. Lenoble to Vranken-Lafitte, where to begin? There's no one right answer, but I can tell you for certain one house not to miss: Champagne Charles Heidsieck.
To understand what's behind the bottle, it struck me to first look into the bottle – with a serious pro. Over the Fourth of July holiday, Master Sommelier Robert Jones joined me on an unseasonably cool afternoon for a proper porch sippin' session with two wines: Brut Réserve NV and Brut Millésime 2005.
“Precision, pedigree and class.”
From a house founded in Reims in 1851 and kept in the same family for 125 years, we expected class and tradition. What we discovered, is that 165 years in, Champagne Charles Heidsieck continues to beguile with a rich, full and leesy elegance that hums with the brute force of finesse.
“Of all the producers who did business during Prohibition, no one did it better than Jean-Charles Heidsieck, grandson of the famous Champagne Charlie. In 1922...Jean-Charles was sent to North America by his father to ‘find out what was going on.’ What he discovered was that there was a killing to be made. All that was required were guts and imagination. ”
Charles "Champagne Charlie" Heidsieck.
Pull up a chair (and a glass) and join me for a bubbly conversation with Master Sommelier Robert Jones.
“This prestigious grande marque house is justly famed on both sides of the Atlantic for its rich, hedonistic, full-flavored champagnes that make excellent partners to fine cuisine.”
From "The World Atlas of Wine 7th Edition" by Hugh Johnson & Jancis Robinson.
Wine Grapes, Jancis Robinson, p 229.
Last week I attended the soft opening of Shagbark in Richmond, VA, a terrific new restaurant with a refreshingly interesting wine list. After ordering a bottle of white Burgundy – Thierry et Pascale Matrot Meursault 2014 – I recalled the sommelier because another wine on the list caught my eye: Henri Cruchon Grand Cru Champanel 2015. It was a double-first for me as I'd never before had wine from Switzerland, nor wine from the Chasselas grape.
Since I was dining with some experienced oenophiles, I asked the somm if he’d mind serving both bottles blind. They arrived in paper bags marked #1 and #2. As the somm poured, friends turned their attention to the glasses, but one gent across the table met my eyes with a smirk as we both caught a clue: threaded bottle top. Number 2 was a screw cap wine! Immediately, we ignoramuses are thinking it's the newfangled Swiss wine. Screw caps alone can be a clincher in determining what's what, but in the case of these two white wines, the Stelvin was a red herring.
After swirling and sniffing, we logged our guesses. All six of us preferred the same wine, but there was disagreement as to which was which. “It’s much more elegant, aromatic and delicious than the other wine,” said one guest. “It must be the French one.”
You can see where this is going.
When we did the reveal, the favorite was # 1: the Swiss wine. Bravo, Switzerland!
Incidentally, while the Americans celebrate our Independence Day, maybe the British can celebrate (or lament) theirs from the EU with Grapetionary's 6-grape Brexit blend made from grapes grown by remaining EU members:
Blaufrankisch (Austria)
Ruché (Italy)
Emir (Turkey)
Xarel-lo (Spain)
Irsai Olivér (Hungary)
Tibouren (France)
In light of the tragic Istanbul Airport attack, it's gratifying to think that the tiny act of uncorking some Yapincak (pronounced YA-pun-check) can bring a little love to Turkey.
If you'd like to get your hands on a bottle of delicious Pasaeli Yapincak – a light, bright and crisp, stainless steel white wine – please contact:
Matt Mabus, National Sales Manager
www.vinorai.com
Quality Turkish Wines
matt@vinorai.com
206-850-5059
It all started with Jancis Robinson's book. How fitting that the next chapter is now written at jancisrobinson.com, the most comprehensive wine website on planet Earth.
“The Most Unique Wine Event I’ve Ever Experienced”
... But the kicker — the indicator that demonstrated that we were no longer in Kansas, Toto — was the one-page “map” to what the event was all about: Grapetionary A-Z, with one grape designated for each letter and one wine made from each grape. The guests at the lunch were treated to tastes of each of those 26 wines, most of which they’d never tasted before and will likely never taste again.
Identifying those grapes, and pulling those wines altogether in one place at one time, was a logistical accomplishment, to say the least. The driving force behind Grapetionary A-Z, and the guide for the event, was Jason Tesauro, a.k.a. The Modern Gent, an author, beverage specialist, and consultant based in Richmond, Virginia.
Vivacity, creativity, and unconventionality are earmarks of Tesauro’s programs, which make for lively, outside-the-box experiences. In true gamer character, Tesauro responded with gusto to my challenge of answering 26 questions — from what it took to pull off this event, to why his approach to events is good for wine, to how luminaries like Jancis Robinson and Randall Grahm influenced him, to what happened with all the wine that was left over.