Learning from Elisabetta—wine, etiquette and passion

I recently had the pleasure of seeing one of my favorite winemakers and all-around inspirational figure on her recent visit to San Francisco. Yes, Elisabetta Fagioli was in town and I was fortunate enough to dine with her several times. One of the things (there were many) that I gleaned from her is the art of being present and focused when carrying on a conversation during dinner. I love how Elisabetta is hyper-engaged in a conversation, but when the food arrives, can taste, ponder, and comment and then pick up the thread on the conversation. As my family can attest, I am not so graceful in these culinary maneuvers. My tasting, picture taking, comments can be very distracting. Note to self: work on being more present and focused on your dinner guests.

Having had several dinners with Elisabetta and, of course, with her wines, I have become intoxicated with their rhythm and effortless style as companions to food. I hosted a dinner after she left where I served all three of her whites in succession with the meal. Starting with the 2009 Montenidoli Vernaccia di San Gimignano Tradizionale paired with a sautéed kale atop Ricotta Cheese which announced to our palates that race was off. The refreshing and intense nature sent flavors bouncing around in your mouth—a nice way to start the evening. The second wine was 2008 Montenidoli Vernaccia di San Gimignano Fiore which showcased its complexity effortlessly. All stainless steel fermentation makes it the perfect wine for salads and seafood. It paired brilliantly with a cauliflower salad with Kalamata olives and capers which is no easy feat. With our salmon we had the 2007 Montenidoli Il Templare. I did decant this white as Elisabetta recommended. There is oak on this wine and the body is more expansive and rich and supported the richness of the salmon without missing a beat. If you would like to experience Elisabetta’s wines in a similar manner, I would be happy to send you the recipes for the menu if you order all three whites this month.

Before I close out the subject of Elisabetta, it would be neglectful not to comment on her passion. The force behind it is her philosophy that she is the ambassador of her land. She is a servant to the land. Her wines show complexity for a myriad of reasons but one that I believe comes to the forefront is her love and knowledge of cooking. While she was here I made sure she met Shelley Lindgren of A16, a kindred spirit. Shelley is not only a fabulous owner and wine director, but a trained chef so I knew the two would connect. Shelley will be carrying Elisabetta's wines at SPQR and will be mentioning Elisabetta in her upcoming book.