Tuesday, August 19th, 2014

6:30 PM

1999: Denver beat Atlanta in the the Super Bowl. The Spurs took the Nicks in the NBA playoffs. Shakespeare in Love received the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Y2K bug is a thing. Napster and the euro made their debut. And the cost of a first-class stamp was $0.33.

Meanwhile in the Piedmont region of Italy: After two unusually warm years, winter temperatures dropped to a more normal range with adequate amounts of snow fall adding needed moisture reserves to the subsoil. Bud-break arrived right on time in most parts, and plentiful spring rains helped with early growth but also led to some mold-issues by May. Temperatures got hot in June and July, but unusually chilly in August. The growing season finished out with a burst of warmth again in September, allowing for a good final ripening and a successful harvest.

We’ll be drinking four wines from the 1999 harvest from four renowned producers:

Fratelli Barale, Riserva, Barbaresco
Bruno Giacosa, “Santo Stephano” Barbaresco
Giuseppe Rinaldi, “Brunate” Barolo
Castello di Verduno, “Massara” Barolo

Presented by Peter Granoff, master sommelier and co-proprietor of Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant & Wine Bar in San Francisco and Oxbow Cheese & Wine Merchant in Napa, CA.

Dinner Menu

Vitello tonnato
classic Northern Italian cold veal with tuna sauce

Agnolotti dal plin
meat-stuffed, “pinched” raviolini from the Piedmont

Cotechino*

Bavarois with berry sauce

*One of the most luxurious of the boiled sausages, cotechino derives from Modena and owes its rich texture to the inclusion of cooked pork skin.

$195
(tax & service charge not included)

Space is limited.

Call (510) 547-5356 to reserve.