Italian & New World Wines - A Comparison

Time for another Friday night dinner at Altamirano's Italian Ristorante on the UES. The owners are old friends who used to work at 83 1/2. I have now been there a bunch of times, and I love it.

We will have 1 white wine and 4 red wines, 2 of the reds will be new world Cabernet Sauvignons and 2 will be from Italy.

The are located on the corner of E. 78th Street and York Ave. Here is link to their menu.

Altamirano Italian Ristorante Menu

Just a reminder of our usual rules:
** The cost of this event is $30 and is for the cost of the wines, plus corkage only.

NOTE: Meetup has started charging a "Partner Fee" that is above and in addition to the listed price of the event. It is annoying and confusing, but there is nothing I can do about it. It comes to approximately $3 more for each RSVP. You will see this charge when you complete your rsvp and pay for the event. Sorry! Meetup+ members are exempt from this charge.

You will also have to pay the cost of your food (plus 33% for tax and tip). Please order at least two courses (i.e. a main dish and either appetizer or dessert) for your dinner. There are very few restaurants that allow us to bring our own wine. We must be good guests to encourage the restaurant to continue to be generous to us.

Please read and understand the group's cancellation policy. If you take spot, then cancel, and no one else takes the spot, you will not receive a refund or credit. No refunds or credits will be given for no-shows or late cancellations (unless someone else takes your spot). All cancellations are subject to a $5 service fee.

Please use public transportation - NO DRINKING AND DRIVING!

The Wines (notes will be distributed at the dinner):

2022 Ridge White Alder Springs ($30) - CT 87. A blend of 76% Vermentino, 24% Falanghina from Ridge Winery. 13% alcohol. Winemaker notes: "Focused fruit on the nose with notes of pineapple, orange peel, lime, and honeysuckle. Proximity to the Pacific Ocean creates a mouthwatering salinity with flavors of grapefruit, tangerine, peach, and pear. Alder Springs is twelve miles from the Pacific on steep terrain surrounded by towering redwoods. At 2550 feet elevation, the falanghina and vermentino are parcel mates." Ridge calls this a summer wine, but I like it all year long!

2020 Soos Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Champoux Vineyard Block 4 ($40) - CT 93.5, From WA State, and one of my favorite producers. Sean Sullivan, 95 points, " Fruit for this wine comes from Washington’s premier Cabernet Sauvignon site. Blended with 15% Merlot and aged in half new French oak, aromas of black currant, green pepper, black cherry, plum, graphite, and barrel spice are followed by broad, layered, black cherry and blackberry flavors. There’s penetrating intensity as well as sneaky richness. Barrel accents are speckled throughout. As is the hallmark of this vineyard, the tannins are polished to a fine sheen. The fruit and barrel-filled finish hangs and hangs. It’s completely stunning, winning on its intensity and balance. Best from 2028 to 2038. 14.1% alcohol. Micro-agglomerated cork. 100 cases produced. Published December 18, 2023."

2019 The Farm Winery Cabernet Sauvignon lpf ($80) - From Paso Robles, CA, and produced by one of my fraternity brothers. JD 91 points, ") The 2019 LPF is solid, with pretty cassis and currant fruit as well as leafy herbs, graphite, classy oak, and hints of mint. It's balanced, medium-bodied, has ripe tannins, and a good finish, all making for an outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon that will evolve for at least 10-15 years, and I suspect even longer. (Drink between 2023-2038)" FYI - 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot.

2021 La Massa La Massa Toscana IGT ($26) - WA 94 points, " Showing excellent balance, the Tenuta La Massa 2021 La Massa is a wine of volume and intensity, but nothing about it is overdone. You get a pretty display of dark fruit and spice. The wine flaunts its hourglass figure with some points of baroque opulence and other points of muscular firmness. The blend is 50% Sangiovese, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot, Alicante Bouschet and Petit Verdot. Fermentation is in steel vats, and the wine matures in barrique and tonneaux for 12 months, with 20% new oak. Tenuta La Massa draws fruit from over 20 hectares of vines in beautiful Panzano in Chianti, and 120,000 bottles were created."

2018 Giovanni Manzone Barolo Gramolere ($50) - CT 90.3, WA 93 points, "The Manzone 2018 Barolo Gramolere is toasty and generous on first nose with baking spice, Spanish cedar and mahogany wood. The oak imprint is strong, and it takes a little while before the wine begins to show dark primary fruit, plum, steeped tea and black rose. The Gramolere Vineyard in Monforte d'Alba is planted to 30-year-old vines, and the wine is structured and fresh."