"El Camino del Vino" Recap & The Wines of Walla Walla, Washington!

Charlie Arturaola, Moi & Pandora Anwyl

Bonjour, my fabulous foodie friends! Following a whirlwind trip to a few of France's renowned wine regions I have been very remiss at keeping up with my posting. In my defense, sampling all that great wine and food was incredibly time consuming. Seriously, the trip was quite an adventure but before I jump into all the dish I wanted to report on the extraordinary South Florida Premier of El Camino del Vino at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale last month and also tell you about our event coming up this week.

As you may already know from my previous post, the film was a fictionalized documentary featuring world renowned Sommelier Charlie Arturaola and his delightful wife Pandora Anwyl. In addition to having many years of experience in the wine industry, these two special people also have deep roots in the South Florida community and have influenced many oenophiles during their respective careers. The premier at the Museum was very special because in attendance were many of their friends and colleagues who had not yet seen the film that had debuted at some of the most prestigious film festivals around the world yet had not made it to Florida. Needless to say, the film met with rave reviews from our guests, and Pandora and Charlie were kind enough to share many of the behind the scenes stories as well as their future plans (a second film perhaps?) during the Q&A following the screening. 

The festive crowd enjoyed an assortment of excellent Argentine wines provided by Republic National Distributing Company, our wine sponsor for the evening, and delicious cuisine from Miami's Gaucho Ranch, a purveyor of authentic grass-fed Argentine beef. All in all it was a wonderful evening and a true pleasure to work with Charlie and Pandora as well as Tom Davia at Shoreline Entertainment to bring this wonderful film to South Florida. For a look at some of the fun, please check out the slideshow!

Our next installment of "The Art of Wine & Food" at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale will take place this Thursday, September 27th. I am happy to report we will be featuring a special guest, Howard Freedland of Bulletproof Wine and Spirits who will be presenting the wines of Seven Hills Winery from Walla Walla, Washington. The impressive wines from this pioneering Washington state winery are quickly catching the eye of critics and we are fortunate to be sampling some exclusive offerings during our tasting. For more information or to purchase your tickets to the event, please click here. Thanks again to all who supported last month's event and I hope to see you on Thursday!

Cheers,

The South Florida Premier of "El Camino del Vino" featuring World-renowned Sommelier Charlie Arturaola!

Charlie Arturaola

We recently celebrated the second anniversary of "The Art of Wine and Food" series at the Museum of Art Ft. Lauderdale and I'm happy to announce we have another very exciting event planned for next week!

On Thursday, August 23rd we will feature the South Florida Premier of "El Camino del Vino" a film directed by Nicolás Carreras and starring world-renowned Sommelier and South Florida resident Charlie Arturaola. The movie is a fictionalized documentary based on Arturaola's life and filmed in Mendoza, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay. The film, whose title translates to "The Ways of Wine," tells the story of Arturaola, a real-life Uruguayan sommelier and one of the top sommeliers in the US, who loses his palate while presenting Mendoza's Masters of Food & Wine Awards. The film strikes a great balance between the comic and the serious as it depicts Arturaola's journey of self-discovery on his quest to regain his palate. The film has been very well-received, garnering the prestigious FIPRESCI (Federacion Internacional de la Prensa Cinematografica) at the Mar del Plata Film Festival in 2010. In 2011, the film screened in the prestigious Kino Kulinarische program at Berlinale, at the newly established Transatlanyk Film Fest, as well as at Enologica 32 in Montefalco. The US premiere was at the Napa Valley Film Festival and the film is scheduled to screen in London and the Melbourne Film Festival in August.

In addition to his extensive world travels, Arturaola also has long standing ties to South Florida. Prior to founding his own global wine consulting company Grappolo Blu, he held positions as Wine Director at the Boca Raton Resort & Club and taught wine at both Lynn University and Johnson and Wales University in Miami. In addition to being named "One of the Nation's Top Ten Palates" by the American Sommelier Association, Charlie's impressive list of credentials includes positions as a featured sommelier and educator at many of the country’s greatest wine festivals, including Aspen, CO; Naples, FL (as a founding sommelier); Napa, CA; and Jackson Hole, WY. Charlie was also recently honored with the 2012 International Wine and Spirits Competition Communicator of the Year Award, sponsored by Vinitaly. The award recognizes an individual whose communication skills in the last 12 months have made an exceptional contribution towards promoting and increasing public awareness and interest in wines and spirits. To read more about Charlie, please visit his website at www.charlieswines.com. 

At the premier of "El Camino del Vino" on the 23rd, guests will enjoy a screening of the film followed by a reception featuring a selection of Argentine wines, authentic Argentine cuisine from Gaucho Ranch in Miami, as well as a Q & A with the Arturaola himself. Cost for the evening is $50 per person and reservations are required. To RSVP please call 954-262-0249 or e-mail gvilone@moafl.org. For a sneak peek of "El Camino del Vino" please check out the trailer below. We hope to see you there!

Cheers,

A "Savor the Moment" Classic: Over Your Leftovers? Try the Roasted Sea Bass in Prosciutto

I originally posted this entry last year right after Thanksgiving. It is such a delicious recipe and was so well-received I just had to post it again. It is the perfect dish to enjoy once you are "over" your leftovers. I hope you enjoy it!

For anyone who’s hit their limit with Thanksgiving leftovers – they were definitely great while they lasted – this is a fantastic, Quick Cook recipe perfect for a tasty weeknight meal or even entertaining friends. It takes all of about 30 minutes to make including prep time – no joke! It was so good I just had to include the recipe:

Roasted Sea Bass in Prosciutto
¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons dried rosemary leaves, crushed
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
4 (6-ounce, ½ inch-thick) pieces Chilean sea bass fillet, cod or other firm white fish
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
5 or 6 (or more) very thin slices prosciutto
Garnish: shaved fresh Parmesan cheese; 4 rosemary sprigs

Combine the butter, rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a small nonreactive bowl and mix well. Arrange the fish on a foil-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and spread with the butter mixture. Arrange the prosciutto over the fish, covering the tops and sides.
Roast at 450 degrees on the middle oven rack for 15 minutes or until the fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. Remove to a serving platter and garnish with the shaved Parmesan cheese and rosemary sprigs.
Note: The herb butter can be prepared in advance and chilled until needed; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before using. The fish can be prepared in advance and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before roasting.
Serves four

I made the butter mixture right before assembling the fish - softening the butter in the microwave at 10 second increments to be sure it didn’t get melty. I spread each fish fillet with the mixture, then wrapped each one with two pieces of prosciutto. I served the dish with creamy, Parmesan rice and asparagus. The creamy texture of the fish is so nicely enhanced by the lemony, herb butter and saltiness of the prosciutto – truly a mouth-watering combination!

I served this delicious dish with a 2007 Masi Masianco, an Italian, white wine made from a blend of Pinot Grigio and Verduzzo grapes (75%/25%). This wine is a “Supervenetian,” which are wines made from a combination of grapes from the Veneto and Friuli regions of Italy that utilize the "appassimento" process which involves laying grapes out for partial drying after harvesting. This process adds more body, richness and complexity to the finished wine. In this case, the Verduzzo grapes were harvested and then ripened on racks for three weeks before beginning fermentation.

With its flavors of lemon cream, peaches and dried apricots the wine was a perfect pairing for the sea bass. Masi specializes in the production of Amarones and Reciotos, using the aforementioned historic technique of "appassimento" (drying of the grapes). Masi rediscovered and refined the technique of double fermentation using semi-dried grapes, and markets successful wines such as Campofiorin, its special selection Brolo di Campofiorin, Valpolicella dell'Anniversario Serego Alighieri and Passo Doble, produced in Argentina.

Hope you enjoy this delicious post-Thanksgiving pairing!

Bon Appétit,