Pure Chablis event at Scott Conant's Culinary Suite

The beautiful Chablis

All photos in this blog are taken from the Pure Chablis website.

I recently went to a great Chablis event in Scott Conant's culinary suite in Soho . . . and what can I say?  How can anything be bad about any of the above? 

Christian Moreau and Scott Conant

Two great Chablis producers, Christian Moreau and Jean Francois Bordet of Domaine Seguinot Bordet came all the way from France to share with the New York food and wine scene a bit of their history, their values and their world of Chablis.   

Chablis and oysters -- amazing

Jean Francois Bordet

First, what is Chablis?  Chablis is a white burgundy wine made from the Chardonnay grape in Chablis, France.  Chablis is the northernmost wine region within Burgundy.  There are four appellations within Chablis: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru, and Chablis Grand Cru.

I love Chablis, as I love all white burgundy, because it's one of the elite wines of the world that truly embody the magic in wine -- and if you drink the right producer's wines and have an amazing food pairing as we did with Scott Conant's beyond expectations display, you find yourself stopped in time and absorbed into the world of Chablis.  What does that mean?

Jean Marc Brocard Montmains, Chablis Premier Cru 2009

 There are some wines whose only gift they offer is alcohol . . . then there are wines in this world that transport you, that change your whole inner chemistry.  A good Chablis, such as the ones we drank at the Pure Chablis event, are the perfect examples.  There was a beautiful display of touch and feel hidden objects to deepen your senses about what a Chablis is about.  We touched oyster shells, limestone, gun flit, silk . . .and after that we walked over to another table and filled our glasses and ate oysters and foie gras . . . further enriching our sensations.  To be honest, I've never had foie gras with Chablis before and this was one of my favorite pairings -- and not because the foie gras was so good.  This is one of the magics of white burgundy in my opinion, that you can taste the layers of minerality, maritime influences, lingering tart fruits, bright acidity, weight from the body of the wine in your mouth, even after you've had a bite of foie gras.

Scott Conant's raw market vegetable salad with shavings of truffle and pecorino

 I could go on and on about the food pairings and Scott Conant's salad paired with a delicate Chablis and how perfect the truffle salad dressing was without being oh so overwhelming like I overwhelmingly usually find those creations to be.  I think it was my favorite salad and wine pairing I've ever had.  Serious, and thank you Pure Chablis . . . .and Haute Life Press for organizing the event.

Magnum of Domaine Christian Moreau, Clos des Hospices dans les Clos, Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos, 2008

Abbadia Ardenga. . . A Gorgeous Traditional Brunello with a Whole Lotta History

"I love Brunello!"
"Sure you do," I say to myself. . . "I mean really, who doesn't?"
So, drum roll please, let me introduce to you a Brunello I really love. .  . Abbadia Ardenga, located in the northern area of the beautiful, heart-stopping Montalcino (Tuscany, Italy).

Oenologist Paolo Ciacci and Massimiliano Giovannoni

Paolo Ciacci and his brother Fabio are the force behind these beautiful traditional wines backed by some serious history.  Owned by a non-profit organization, Paolo and Fabio's father started the vineyards in the 1960s/70s and since the first vine was planted, the winery has been run by the Ciacci family.  The cantina is actually located in Torreniere, The Black Tower, right next to the town of Montalcino.  But please don't get confused, the grapes are actually grown in Montalcino, where they make a Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino (including a single vineyard "Vigna Piaggia"), a few I.G.T white and red wines, and a Vinsanto dessert wine -- as well as grappa and olive oil.

Torrenieri, The Black Tower

The cantina of Abbadia Ardenga, located in the above Torrenieri, dates back to the Roman-Etruscan period 300-100 B.C. -- no joke!  And according to their website, "In 990 the Archbishop of Canterbury stopped here on his way back from Rome to London and also Arrigo VII from Luxemburg, King of Germany and Emperor of the Roman Empire stayed here where he unexpectedly died."

Ever hear sommelier geeks talk about "what type of soil does it come from?" -- and then they mumble all these words that you can't even pronounce, like "calcareous, alluvial, morainic, glaciolacustrine deposits" -- yeah, have fun with that.  But now, if you give it to me like the above photo, partitioned like an ant farm. . . now this makes perfect sense!  Look at the different sizes of the gravel and color of the soil.

Paolo Ciacci and me

It's literally a museum inside and it's gorgeous!

A photo of the harvest, from the good 'ole days.

 This is the collection, wines that have been shelved for years untouched.  You could stick your fingers through and write your name on a bottle through the dust.  Well, what I really wanted to do was open one of the old Soldera bottles and kick back for the rest of the afternoon.  A tour through Abbadia Ardenga's cantina will make you feel like you're in a Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure movie!

If you still didn't believe the history of this place!

This is an exposition about the destruction and siege of the Black Tower. . . and I do believe that the steps are there when the water level rises -- because Paola was walking on them.













Relics in every corner, and my favorite below -- the barrel room -- where Massimiliano explains that it used to be: "the train station for horses."