Happy Father’s Day to all of the fathers out there! It is both an overwhelming responsibility and the greatest privilege a man can have in his lifetime. I am forever grateful for the good fortune of having had a great father and the opportunity to be the father of a wonderful son (and who is himself a great father). Let’s raise a glass to fathers everywhere!
And if you are raising a glass of wine, might I suggest a new BYOB restaurant to enjoy it?
The Olive Italian Restaurant
My wife and I recently visited a restaurant in Sewell with friends. In its previous life it was called Val’s (a wonderful seafood restaurant). The present reincarnation with new owner and new chef is called The Olive Italian Restaurant. They have a very extensive menu. Thankfully, they have a number of seafood options on the menu, in addition to their traditional Italian offerings.
For appetizers we shared some very good calamari and stuffed shrimp. I was apparently really hungry, as I have no pictures of the apps!
The Entrees
For my entree I chose the Chicken Portofino-Sauteed chicken breast with mushrooms, asparagus, roasted peppers, and spinach in a saffron sauce, served over linguini. All dinners are served with a garden salad, a Caesar salad or a cup of soup. My entree was fantastic and large enough to be enjoyed the next day for lunch, as well. I enjoyed both wines (described below) with my meal, but focused more on the DiLuca Rosso “Super Tuscan” with my meal.
My wife chose the Broiled Stuffed Flounder. It consisted of two fillets stuffed with jumbo lump crabmeat and served with a baked potato and vegetable medley. She (and I) thoroughly enjoyed it, with the Beneduce Chardonnay. See more about the wine below.
The Wine
In our Billy Joel tradition of bringing a “bottle of red, bottle of white” to our Italian restaurant, I brought the two gems pictured below.
The Red is Turdo Vineyards DiLuca’s 2018 Rosso (“Super Tuscan Blend”)- It is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon; 25% Merlot; and 25% Sangiovese. It is a rich, full-bodied red with cherry, vanilla, and mocha notes and velvety soft tannins.
The White is Beneduce Vineyards 2019 Chardonnay. I love the subtle, but meaningful way the oak is utilized to add another layer of complexity to a delicious medium plus-bodied Chard with apple and vanilla notes. It was aged on the lees in 10% new French oak.
We already have plans to go back to the Olive next week. Need I say more?
On the Way to Cape May…
On Thursday, my wife and I made a multi-prong day trip to Cape May with the following intentions: pick up some of the newly bottled Barbera at Turdo Vineyards, eat a light lunch somewhere, take a brief stroll on the beach, buy some fresh seafood at the Lobster House Fish Market and pick up our allotment for the quarter at Hawk Haven Vineyard. It was a fairly ambitious (but delightful) plan.
Speaking of Turdo…
Turdo Vineyards
Our hunger resulted in enjoying some charcuterie on Turdo’s gorgeous patio, while enjoying a glass of wine. I won’t do a detailed write-up of the tasting we did. After all, I write so often about Turdo. I do want to say that their Barbera was all that I was expecting-and more. Considering that it was so newly bottled, it was truly amazing! I was struck with the deeper color and fuller body than I expected. We were lucky that Luca poured our wines, as I always learn so much in these encounters. He reminded me that their vines have really matured and the wines are reflecting that age. The Barbera is just delicious, with notes of black cherry, silky smooth tannins, and a long finish, ending with a touch of chocolate
One other standout that I must mention was the Turis Rosato (Rose). We had not previously tried their latest version. It was incredible, with a rich and racy mouthfeel and more flavorful than most Roses I have had, with strawberry notes. If I remember correctly, I believe Luca told us that it was made from “bleeding” their Persara (using the Saignee method to make Rose). This helps explain the lush qualities of the Rose.
As usual, instead of picking up a few bottles of Barbera, we came home with the collection depicted below, minus a couple of bottles already consumed. One of those missing bottles was an Albarino that we enjoyed with some Clam Chowder and broiled scallops I made on Friday). Another missing bottle is a Rose that I enjoyed while writing this post. In the end, we spent more time (and money) at Turdo than we had planned, but it was time and money well-spent.
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