The Food & Wine Classic in Aspen 2010 has just completed and Marquee Selections was proud to be a participant in this great event for the first time! Marquee hosted our partners, Castello Di Gabiano from Piedmont, Italy for the three day affair and rubbed elbows with some of the culinary elite in the US during the trip. At the conclusion of the grand tasting during the first two days of the show, Marquee was proud to host our own private event at The Little Nell Residences, thank you to all who came by to meet our friends Giacomo and Emmanuela Cattaneo during the weekend events!
While spending the majority of my time behind the Marquee Selections booth pouring Quattro Leoni and Castello Di Gabiano I did get a chance to get out and about during the four day affair and met a ton of wonderful people. A few highlights that were worth mentioning:The Full range of the Castello Di Gabiano Reserve Wines…
“Wow!”, is what most people first uttered as they came to the Marquee booth and got to try the best of the best in Barbera and the other artisan wines from Castello Di Gabiano, followed quickly by “Is that really Barbera, I did not think that Barbera could be that intense and taste that good!” I had the chance to talk one on one with Giacomo Cattaneo about this exact quandary and I was delighted to hear his straightforward response.
“In our region of Piedmont, we are bound to the DOC and DOCG restrictions to only produce certain grape varietals that are of the authorized selection whereas other neighboring areas in the North of Italy have a bit more flexibility. The estate vineyards at Gabiano cannot plant Nebbiolo to make Barolo and Barbaresco in our vineyards like other regions, Alba for
example, and therefore we plant the best parts of our vineyards to Barbera grape. In looking side by side at $20.00 Barbera D’Asti from Quattro Leoni / Castello Di Gabiano and one from the Barbera D’Alba region we show more bright fruit with increased depth of flavor because these wines come from the best part of the Gabiano vineyards whereas the Barbera D’Alba has the best part of the vineyards planted to the more profitable and expensive Barolo and Barberesco productions.” Explained Dr. Cattaneo.
example, and therefore we plant the best parts of our vineyards to Barbera grape. In looking side by side at $20.00 Barbera D’Asti from Quattro Leoni / Castello Di Gabiano and one from the Barbera D’Alba region we show more bright fruit with increased depth of flavor because these wines come from the best part of the Gabiano vineyards whereas the Barbera D’Alba has the best part of the vineyards planted to the more profitable and expensive Barolo and Barberesco productions.” Explained Dr. Cattaneo. The light bulb went off in my head and I understood exactly where they were coming from in their philosophy! A simple idea that Jack Welch would have been proud of (I still love his business mantra’s – be #1 of #2 in your industry applies here) as Castello Di Gabiano has set out to be the best worldwide producer of Barbera! During this year’s VinItaly 2010, Castello Di Gabiano was given a special recognition - Diploma Di Grand Menzion for the Best Barbera at VinItaly on their Adornes Barbera D’Asti Superiore, cogratuations! !
Starbucks with something I had never tried before…
Yes, this was not a typo, with this being a long event where Marquee had tastings each night I made my way over to the Starbucks booth each morning for a little pick-me-up to help get the
day rolling. In the afternoon’s Starbucks served only iced coffee, nice and refreshing each day, but the real winner at the Starbucks booth was the barista serving up espressos’ made with beans from the Galapagos islands! The same Galapagos islands that Charles Darwin made famous so many years ago, Starbucks is not sitting on its laurels as the #1 coffee chain in the US, but has sourced this absolutely stunning set of coffee from just off of Ecuador and will be bringing it as a special promotion to coffee lovers this fall. If you see this on promo, try a cup as the quantities are limited and I was told that even with Starbucks buying ½ of the islands export available, it will only be around for a few weeks each year! Yum!
day rolling. In the afternoon’s Starbucks served only iced coffee, nice and refreshing each day, but the real winner at the Starbucks booth was the barista serving up espressos’ made with beans from the Galapagos islands! The same Galapagos islands that Charles Darwin made famous so many years ago, Starbucks is not sitting on its laurels as the #1 coffee chain in the US, but has sourced this absolutely stunning set of coffee from just off of Ecuador and will be bringing it as a special promotion to coffee lovers this fall. If you see this on promo, try a cup as the quantities are limited and I was told that even with Starbucks buying ½ of the islands export available, it will only be around for a few weeks each year! Yum!ASPEN is an Awesome Town…
In the last ten years I have had a chance to travel quite a bit and see large and small towns worldwide. In those travels I have a short list of some of the best places I would recommend anyone make sure to visit at least once In your life (Nice, France – Melbourne, Australia - Miami, USA - St. Thomas/Water Island – USVI’s to name a few) and now Aspen is on my list. The drive up from Denver was absolutely stunning all along the way, bright blue skies with puffy clouds and a crystal clear view in every direction. We took the “Continental Divide Route” via Independence Pass to be able to slip through a town with family ties (Twin Lakes) and slowly wound our way up and down the mountains until the majestic “Aspen Trees” started to appear.
Once we had arrived I found that this tight
mountain town had the best mix of culture, respect for nature, friendly people ( pets), and sophistication that I have already been talking about making the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen into a annual trip! Having foodies and the top wine pros from around the globe in this wonderful & private environment for three days made it even more memorable, but I believe without the Classic going on I would be (almost) as impressed. We had wonderful dinners out and about at Il Mulino, Pacifica Griil, Ellina (so good we actually went here twice) and kept gathering back at The Hotel Jerome while grabbing supplies at Carl’s Pharmacy on Main Street. I met food and wine pros, sommeliers and restaurant owners, foodies, mountain men, and residents of Aspen and many other places during the stay and the underlying thing I found during this trip was that everyone possessed integrity and treated each other with respect. If you get a chance to go to Aspen in the summer I would highly suggest it, maybe you can join me out there for the Food & Wine Classic 2011!
Celebrity Chefs with Good Advice…
I had a chance to chat with several celebrities & up and coming chefs during the trip to Aspen and to taste some new items coming out of their kitchens.
What were some of the trends you ask well… here are five:I heard the term “locavore” (one who eats and drinks exclusively or at least primarily from items in their local area) on the tip of tongues’ from the east coast to the west.
- Pair the wines with the sauce, not necessarily the food! A great piece of advice that I have been supporting for years, dig into and pair your wines with the sauce and you are more likely to make both the wine and food better in the process.
- Infuse your creations with bold flavors that are not always center stage. Be it a touch of rosemary when making lamb chops, or fresh basil in a lemon veal sauce, try using different spices to accentuate the positive in traditional fare.
- The world of food & wine can be complex, interesting, a million things, but if you have a PASSION for the culinary world, go for it and make your mark inspired chefs & winemakers produce individual works of art, not mass produced products!
To finish off I must pass along that as Giada De Laurentiis signed “Happy Anniversary” to my wife, she smiled and handed me back her book and asked me “Well, what is she going to be making you for dinner?” I laughed and replied, “I don’t know tonight as we are dining out on the town, but I will ask her to pick out a recipe from your book for a special meal soon!”Ciao!
