Scenes from Il Fornaio Palo Alto Wine Dinner Featuring Testarossa Winery
Il Forniao in Palo Alto hosted its latest special wine pairing dinner last month, featuring Testarossa Winery and a five-course menu crafted by Executive Chef Michele Godina.
Guests were greeted by manager Giancarlo DiTullio, who has been instrumental in the resurgence of these special pairing events at the restaurant.
To start off the evening, guests enjoyed a glass of Testarossa 2016 Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay.
Testarossa Winery’s Rob Jensen (red shirt) visited each table throughout the dinner to share more about his winery and answer any questions.
Closeup of the 2016 Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay.
The evening’s first course was a sampler of three tasty bites – Assaggini dello Chef, comprised of chicken kabobs in peanut butter sauce, fried goat cheese bites in peperoncino sauce and flat-grilled calamari steak with caponatina.
The acidity from the Chardonnay cut perfectly through the rich, tasty bites, and though several of our tablemates stated that they are usually not chardonnay drinkers, they in fact quite liked this one thanks to its forward notes of apricot, fig and butterscotch.
On hand to bring awareness to their respective programs were representatives from ‘The Parent Project‘ in Palo Alto – a partnership between the Palo Alto Unified School District and the Palo Alto Police Department – and Via Services.
Next up was the Antipasto – Cavolfiore in Pastella con Bagna Cauda: fried cauliflower served with hot dipping sauce of olive oil, anchovies, chili flakes, basil and garlic.
The 2016 Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay paired very well with the dish, the acidity once again balancing the pleasant richness.
The third course was a pasta course – Ravioli alla Maremmana: giant housemade ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese, spinach, grana padano and cinnamon with pine nut meat sauce.
The dish paired with the 2016 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir.
The ravioli, including the cinnamon flavor, combined well with the notes of cranberry, pomegranate, orange zest and herbs from the Pinot Noir.
This pairing was probably my favorite of the evening.
The next Testarossa wine was the 2014 Santa Cruz Mountains Red Wine, consisting of 55% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, and 3% Malbec.
It’s a dark red wine with blackberry and blueberry scents, plus hints of cocoa with bright acidity and tannins.
This bold wine paired perfectly with part one of the main course – Fracosta di Manzo: classic 22-oz. grilled Delmonico steak with porcini mushroom sauce and sides of fagioli all’uccelletto and sauteed spinach.
Part two of the main course was served with the 2016 Fog Stone Vineyard Chardonnay – pleasantly acidic with mango, grapefruit and honey notes.
Merluzzo al Cartoccio: 4-oz. black cod fillet with clams, mussels and shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce served in a pizza dough dome.
It was another successful pairing.
Chef Michele, general manager Antonio Monetti and Giancarlo were gracious in taking the time for a quick photo.
Rob Jensen shared some final words just before the dessert course.
2014 Br. Korte Cuvee Black Muscat – a delicious sweet, jammy dessert wine – was a favorite among several of our tablemates.
It was paired with Crema Brusciata alla Zucca: pumpkin crème brûlée.
A doubly sweet ending to a very satisfying dining experience.
Thanks to Greg, Cindy, Terry and Raguel, Andrea and I continued our streak of having great company at our table.
The food, wines and pairings were spot on, and the service and ambience were excellent, reminding us how very fortunate and grateful we are whenever we visit Il Fornaio Palo Alto.
Salute! Cheers! Prost! Gunbae!
~Andy