216693 Wed Dec 08 16:15:50 -0800 2004 14 18 Manhattan 0 1153574 If any of you wine experts are truly bored and need a project, maybe you could help. I'll be at Sumile and Babbo this weekend. I know you don't know what I'll be eating, but assume fish and shellfish at Sumile. The wine list is not online, but I have a fax copy. If you've had a nice bottle at Sumile that's under $50, please advice. Otherwise, what do you think of Beckmen vineyards Santa Ynes Valley Marsanne 01 or Chalone monterey Pinot Blanc 01? ALso offered is Paul Goerg brute champagne. I'm unfamiliar and frightened of ordering the cheapest Champagne on the list (which the Paul G. is). At Babbo, I'm even more clueless. I may get the pairings, but fear leaving a glove or something in the subway like last year if I drink that much. My serverely limited knowledge of Italian wines merely tells me I've enjoyed Barolo and "Super Tuscans" by the glass before. If I order one of the least expensive Barolos on the list, will I be sorry? There are a very few on the list in the $60-$70 range. Other suggestions? TIA Link: http://www.babbonyc.com/red.pdf Wed Dec 08 16:15:50 -0800 2004 0 danna 1 1153580 The 1999 Montefalco Rosso Riserva (Paolo Bea) is wonderful. A good buy at $82. The 1999 Sagrantino di Montefalco (Paolo Bea) is a budget buster ($110 a bottle) but even better. Wed Dec 08 16:32:10 -0800 2004 1153574 0 Steve Harrington 2 1153586 I was referring to Babbo, of course. Wed Dec 08 16:41:37 -0800 2004 1153580 0 Steve Harrington 2 1153666 So what you're saying is that I should cancel the stupid $150 cocoa shampoo/body wrap/massage at the spa and drink good Barolo instead? Sounds like a plan, and one I should have figured out by myself. Thanks very much! Thu Dec 09 10:23:06 -0800 2004 1153580 0 danna 3 1153827 Sagrantino is an exclusive grape, Umbria is a special region and Paolo Bea is both eccentric and extraordinary as a wine maker. I can give you chapter and verse but ask your Babbo wine steward instead. You'll be well rewarded. As an aside: if you opt for the 1999 Montefalco Sagrantino from Paolo Bea, have the steward decant the bottle at your table. He'll understand. Thu Dec 09 18:39:53 -0800 2004 1153666 0 Steve Harrington 1 1153590 At Babbo, pick what you're going to eat, then ask the sommelier for recommendations of wines to go with it. I went recently and we got a really excellent Barolo, which went perfectly with my husband's Beef Cheek Ravioli and sweetbreads, but which was totally flat with my mint love letters and my mom's goose liver ravioli. We asked the sommelier and he said that the former should have been paired with a Sauvignon Blanc and the latter with a glass of vin santo, and he was absolutely right. So trust his judgement. Wed Dec 08 16:53:51 -0800 2004 1153574 0 Caitlin Wheeler 2 1153669 Does that mean that, in your opinion, if we get the tasting menu we would be better off either getting the pairings or ordering by the glass? There will be three of us, only two drinking. I assume that ordering the pairings and then sharing the glasses would look quite gauche, although the idea does appeal to me. I have board meeting on Monday morning and I can't get sloppy. ;-) Thu Dec 09 10:30:24 -0800 2004 1153590 0 danna 3 1153677 I think it depends on what you order -- I would choose your food and then ask the sommelier if he can recommend a good bottle to go with what you've ordered. If he can't, you might be better off going with wine by the glass, and I would ask for recommendations there. I guess it all comes down to this: The sommelier knows what he's doing and he doesn't try to push expensive wines for the sake of pushing expensive wines, so I would take advantage of that, since pairing with some parts of the menu can be tricky. That said, the less expensive Barolo we had was fabulous. The even less expensive Nebbiolo we had on another visit also fabulous. Thu Dec 09 10:54:12 -0800 2004 1153669 0 Caitlin Wheeler 1 1153607 The Manzone Barolos at $75 are superb. The wine list is actually a bargain. Tell the sommelier what kind of wine you like and your budget and you can't go wrong, even the $30 Valtellina are good nebbiolos (the same grape as in Barolo and Barbaresco). The only advice I have is to order the wine as soon as you enter so they can decant it. Wed Dec 08 18:38:10 -0800 2004 1153574 0 jbeton 2 1153653 its by no means necessary to decant a relatively recent vintage barolo, if it needs to be done the sommelier will do it....my best advive at babbo, is to tell the sommelier generally what you like, what region (if any) etc, how much you want to spend and go from there... Thu Dec 09 09:29:08 -0800 2004 1153607 0 Cpalms 3 1153680 All young barolos I've drunk have opened up over the course of two and three hours, that was definitely the case with the Manzone barolos I order at Babbo. If you asked most sommeliers, they would tell you the same thing, that's also why you will see a table full of decanters at Babbo. Cheers. Thu Dec 09 11:33:42 -0800 2004 1153653 0 jbeton 4 1153688 funny when I was at Gaja in barbaresco a couple months ago for a tasting in their room, several bottles of 99 barbaresco where opened and not a decanter in sight... Thu Dec 09 11:59:30 -0800 2004 1153680 0 Cpalms 5 1153693 That's very interesting, did they open the bottles when you were there, or had they been open for quite some time to let them breathe? Barbaresco tends to mature faster than Barolo, but I'd bet you that Babbo would decant those Gajas. Here's an article about decanting by two master sommeliers, including a recommendation to decant young Barolo and Barbaresco. http://www.boulderwine.com/pages/decanting.html Thu Dec 09 12:33:27 -0800 2004 1153688 0 jbeton 6 1153709 the sommeliersat babbo sure love their ceremonies Thu Dec 09 13:14:02 -0800 2004 1153693 0 Cpalms 5 1154674 Whoa. I am so jealous that you were at Gaja. There is a small school of thought that decanting lessens the bouquet of a fine wine. I have heard, and experienced, that decanting a Quintarelli has this effect. And since the bouquet is one of the best parts of his wine, I don't decant them. Tue Dec 14 17:40:00 -0800 2004 1153688 0 always hungry in NYC