Sotto Sopra Wine Tasting

I realize this is a bit late in coming, but I finally found my list of wines from that evening and as best I can remember them, I figured I should write something, at the very least!  The first of the monthly, 1st Thursday Tasting events at Sotto Sopra went off very well, with a large crowd, interesting people, along with good wines and good foods.  I’m looking forward to October’s wine tasting!

The Restaurant itself has a very nice, trendy atmosphere, but not overtly pretentious, with classic Italian style paintings around the restaurant.  Good lighting sets a nice atmosphere, and once you’re inside the building, the sounds of Charles St. no longer permeate the airwaves.  Going inside and back to the bar, I met several other people there for the tasting as well, and as time went on, we took our seats at some back tables, about 8 people to a table and the wine tasting began.

For each wine, Mike gave a nice little synopsis about the style of grape and wine, region it was grown in and what makes each of the micro-climates so special as to alter the flavor of the vintage.  Being a beer guy, I can certainly relate to this.  Different houses I’ve lived in over the years have different quality water and even thermoregulate differently, all yielding changes on my small batches of beer.  Understanding how the local ecosystem works really is paramount to comprehending why each wine has such different and distinct flavors.

Looking at this tasting list, I realize I took absolutely no notes since I intended on writing this up immediately that evening.  This being said, I can still recall several wines and distinct characteristics with them.  Villa Jolanda, a sparkling wine, prosecco style was served first.  I recall enjoying this, the effervescence of the wine adding a refreshing note to a hot walk up to the restaurant!  A little dry for my tastes in sparkling wine, but good none the less.  I don’t recall much about the 2006 Alois Lageda Pinot Grigio, but this may simply be because I’m less of a fan of white wines and much more in-tune with tasting reds!  The same can be said for the 2006 Antonelli Grechetto.  A white wine from Umbria, it struck me as balanced, tart and probably a good choice with a seafood dish, but a dish that lacks the very strong flavors like bluefish or mackerel, as they will overpower the wine.  And speaking of foods, the chef was nice enough to compliment the wine tasting with a tray of finger foods, cheeses, meats, veggies, fruits, with the star being a slice of baguette with a slow roasted pork belly, thinly sliced with a thin slice of cheese on top…. It was so good that I made my own version this past weekend involing pork tenderloin!

Moving onto the reds, there were four, a 2006 Galea Schiava, 2007 Massolino Barbera, 2006 Li Veli Salice Salentino and 2001 Le Macchiole Maremma.  Personally, my favorites peaked at the Salentino, but I’ll get to that in a minute!  Each wine definitely had it’s own character, ever increasing in body and flavor and dryness.  But for me, the best wine of the night was absolutely the 2006 Li Beli Salice Salentino.  This wine had the spice, body, dryness, oak and aroma that I really like in a red wine, and I could easily imagine myself chowing down on a 1 1/2 thick cowboy ribeye with a glass of this wine handy.  It would be a perfect match and I really recommend this wine to anyone who is within drinking reach of it! (The best place to find it would simply be to go to Sotto Sopra for a meal, and eat their excellent food!  In particular, I found the seafood dishes to be especially excellent, but, probably best paired with the Grechetto, not the Salentino!).

At the end of the night, I finished with a glass of limoncello and a glass of Grappa, the Grappa Dolcetto. After all these years, I have to say that limoncello has remained excellent, whereas the Grappa… not so much.  But of all the Grappa I’ve drank, which is not much, this was by far the best.  The flavor is still rough, but afterwards there is a nice pleasant aroma of vanilla.

This evening was certainly of great value.  Aside from meeting many new people and making many new acquaintances for the evening, I certainly learned a bit about wine, got to enjoy some wines froma menu I had not heard of and might not have ever tasted, and learned that Sotto Sopra is a fantastic place to eat at.  Highly recommended by me as a place where you can eat alone, at the bar (the staff are very friendly) on a date or with friends in a group.  I will be there October 2nd… will you?