Manoavino Taste!

Ah Pizz, Montclair, NJ Restaurant Review - Best Pizza

Ah' Pizz if you haven't heard is a fabulous new Italian Restaurant that opened recently in Montclair, NJ.  After hearing a lot of good words we finally got to try Ah'Pizz ourself.

While the main focus of the menu here is the 12+ artisan pizzas, to compare Ah' Pizz to any other Pizza joint in Montclair is a mistake. First you wont find any canned tomato sauce on these deliciously crafted pies, they are in another class altogether.

We started with a very fresh and flavorful salad and then had two pies along with two great inexpensive (BYOB) Italian wines. We will be regulars.

Update 7/6/2010. Just back from another great dinner at A'h Pizza with my daughter, wife and parents. Delicious. Five Stars.

Liquid Sunshine, Try this Delicious Italian White Wine for Summer

As Summer arrives I get obsessed with BBQ and the red wines that go well with steaks, ribs, burgers.

I also think of my favorite summer seafood dishes, linguine with white clam sauce is one. I realize you can have this all year round, but I don't. It is just not as good. Nothing like fresh clams, hours out of the water, and fresh local parsley and garlic, they are the makings of a perfect dinner.  All these ingredients, except the pasta, can now be found fresh every Saturday at the Montclair, NJ Farmers Market. 

My favorite Italian wine for this dish is a Vermentino from Sardinia. It has a bright and lively flavor that to me tastes like liquid sunshine.

Great Wines from South America, Two Whites from Chile and Argentina tasted at Costanera in Montclair, NJ

I tend to be a purist when it comes to wine. I believe the best wine and food pairings are with foods and wines of the same region. There are certainly exceptions to this rule like German Rieslings that go so well with Asian cuisine.  But as a general rule Sicilian wines go best with Sicilian cuisine, Spanish wine with Catalonia dishes... You get the idea.  I cringe when I see a big Cabernet in a Japanese restaurant.  

For a dinner at the Peruvian restaurant Costanera I had a challenge. There is very little wine produced in Peru.  They do make a lot of Pisco, and I love a good Pisco Sour. But wine is hard to come by so I turned to neighboring Chile and Argentina.

Luckily I just received two nice wines from these regions for a tasting. The first a Torrontes by the Catena Family created at Bodegas Esmeralda in Mendoza, Argentina produced under the Tilia label. The second a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc called Root:1 by Felipe Tossa of Vina Ventisquero in the Casablanca Valley, Chile.

Let's see how they did with some Cocina Peruana.

Fire Up Your Summer BBQ with These Two South American Wines

Here are two very good and very well priced South American Wines that are great for summer barbecues. They go great with everything from hot dogs to a nice grilled rib eye.

The first is a Bonarda called Colonia Las Liebres by Altos Las Homigas of Mendoza, Argentina the second is Montes Malbec by Vina Montes Colchagua Valley, Chile.

Both are very reasonably priced.

Meat is a big part of South American cuisine especially in Argentina. Cooking Gaucho Style is also popular so wines made there are naturally suited for our style of outdoor cooking, BBQ.

Another Austrian Tasting, More Very Good Red Wine

I am really elated by the growing availability of the great wines from Austria here in the NY area.

In the Washington Post today Dave McIntyre writes that it is, a good year for Austrian wines. And that it is.

There are three major wine regions in Austria they include Lower Austria (Niederösterreich), Burgenland, and Styria. Then there are 16 other wine-growing areas including Vienna (Wein). Learning all these regions is a daunting task so we focus on just a few.  

One of the most significant regions is the area called Kamptal in Niederösterreich where the first wine we tasted today, Schloss Gobelsburg Zweigelt, is made.

Another is Neusiedlersee in Burgenland where our second wine Steindorfer St. Laurent Reserve is from.

The Best White Wines of Italy, Part One Wines of Soave Veneto

When I talk to people about Soave wine I get one of these four responses:

Huh?
What kind of grape is that?
Oooh not Bolla Soave?

or Uhmmmmm I love Soave.......

In any case I know I have a friend or am about to make one.

Like Soave winemakers Chiara and Alberto Cofelle, shown here showing off their fine grapes, I love Soave. Given the chance and some direction, that you will find here, so will you.

Costanera Montclair, NJ - Restaurant Review - Excellent Peruvian Cuisine

At last a new restaurant in Montclair I can get excited about.

Costanera - Cocina Peruana (Peruvian Cuisine) is a delight.

Our dinner this past Sunday was exceptional.

An Amanti Vino Gem - Jardin De La Fruitiere - French Vin Blanc

One of my favorite wine shops is the artisanal wine merchant Amanti Vino in Montclair, NJ. They have a prime location, great staff, and an exceptional web site. Their very interesting selection of over 760 wines are all carefully chosen and span a broad range of price points from under $10 to over $200. Their widest selection is in the sweet spot of $10-$25. with over 350 wines in that category.  They offer many opportunities to taste and explore their wines through weekly tastings, wine dinners, wine classes and their popular wine of the month clubs.

This French white wine, vin blanc, is a superb wine from the Loire Valley. We really enjoyed it with a light dinner of olives, cheese, and salad. It is perfect for raw shellfish, and light fish, poultry or vegetarian dishes.  Its bright dry flavor presents a good contrast to creamy French cheese.  

Jardin De La Fruitiere is a steel aged Chardnnay and Melon de Bourgogne wine by Domaine de la Fruitiere that sells for $11.

More White Wines