The Omaha
JANUARY 2024
Event Report: Road Trip to Casa Bovina for a Tour of Piedmont - Stag Upcoming Events.
What’s New
Well, a road trip to Lincoln, NE. I’ve been a member since 2008 and this was the first road trip I can recall. Read about it in the Event Report. We have a new President! Mike Wilke is now our leader. Mike is well familiar with our Branch, having stepped in to run the Board Meetings when Dave Thrasher was out of town. Thank you, Dave, for your service as our President. - President Mike Wilke Cheers! Tom Murnan Event Report: Road Trip to Casa Bovina for a Tour of Piedmont - Stag Written by Tom Murnan, Photos by Tom Murnan We arrived at Supportworks to grab a glass or more of quality quaffing wine and some charcuterie & fruit boxes before 33 of us boarded our bus for Casa Bovina in Lincoln, NE. I would say it was a top ten restaurant in Nebraska. Instead of sitting side by side, we faced each other on two long benches, the better to party. Of course, the wine followed us onboard. Upon arrival we climbed the stairs to the restaurant, which had one very long and one smaller table already set for us. There, we had an all-Italian menu and wine list. We started with a tasting of three wines from G.D. Vajra, beginning with a N.S. Della Neve Métado Classico Extra Brut, a sparkling wine but with less acidity than Champagne, and a burnt orange color which many members liked. We also tasted a Nebbiolo and a Barolo Albe 2019. Our wine guide was Matthew Bromberg, a 2nd level Somm. The Insalata was a Romaine Heart with small chunks of hazelnut and Black Truffle. Our Brovia Roero Arnesi 2022, a white wine reminiscent to Sauvignon Blanc, had notes of hazelnut in the wine, and was a great match. Crudo of Yellowtail Tartare followed. A more assertive Castellari Bergaglio Gavi 2020 was selected for the raw fish. My favorite course of the evening was the Agnolotti del Plin filled with cabbage and house cured Mortadella. Agnolotti is very similar to ravioli. The sauce was absolutely spectacular, complex and smoky, enhanced by a seamless wine match: Vietti Barbara d’Alba “Scarrone Vigna Vecchia” 2015. I thought it was superior to the Certified Piedmontese Rib Cap with White Truffle Pommes. Our Dolce was a Barolo Cake with a Frateli Alessandria Barolo Chinato. A surprise to me, it had a strong Vermouth taste. I needed all the chocolate in the cake to cancel the Vermouth taste. All in all, it was an enjoyable afternoon and evening.
IWFS Chicago Festival A French Wine Experience September 6-9, 2023 Part 3 Written by Tom Murnan, Photos by Tom Murnan Last month we explored some of Stuart Leaf’s comments about Aged White Wine, and in the November issue, we covered Red Wines. Now we will focus on Fortified wines. Three fortified wines were included in our tasting. 1947 Château Sisqueille Vin Doux Naturel, Rivesaltes, Roussillon; 1963 Fonseca Vintage Port, and 1903 D’Oliveira Boal Madeira. The least known of this trio is Rivesaltes, the largest appellation in Roussilon (southern France). There are white and red Rivesaltes. The white is made from 2 kinds of Muscat grapes and Grenache Blanc, while the Red comes from Grenache Noir, Syrah, and Carignon. But it is treated the same way as Port or Madeira. All are naturally sweet, and all have grape spirit of between 15% to 18% ABV added to stop fermentation and keep the wine sweet. Both Rivesaltes, which is somewhat tortured (left outside for a year in demijohns), and Madeira are an oxidized style of wine. When the wine is raised with exposure to oxygen in barrel, in the presence of high alcohol, it becomes resistive to the bad effects of oxygen. Madeira is the longest-lived wine in the world, so it had many more years left. The port was a Vintage Port, which is not an oxidative style like Tawny Port, being put in bottle to age after just two years in cask. The important thing to remember is that it is the high alcohol that preserves them compared to regular wines. All three showed better than the older still wines. The 1903 Madeira spent 113 years in the barrel and was bottled in 2016. Brown in color, it was excellent. The 1947 Rivesaltes was likewise brown in color, had great acidity and tasted of raisins. The surprise of the tasting, for me, was the 1963 Fonseca. This was decanted about 11:00 am and poured out in glasses about 2:00 pm. By 4:30 pm, it fully integrated and exploded in flavor, just as the event was concluding. Although not discussed by Leaf, it emphasized to me the critical importance of early decanting on these high alcohol wines. A Madeira needs a minimum of 2 days of sitting open in a decanter, and even longer if older, before drinking. Otherwise, you will think “What is the fuss all about? There’s no there there.”
2024 UPCOMING OMAHA BRANCH EVENTS
JAN
06 25 10 19 FEB
MAR APR
HIGH NOON STAG
Fleming’s Producer: Mike Wilke
MARDI GRAS THEME
Joint event with the Omaha & Omaha Metro Branches Block 16 Event Producers: Hyders & Wilkes
MARCH MADNESS STAG
Happy Hollow Club Producer: Joe Goldstein
THEME: TBD
The new Mahogany Producer: Mark Stokes