Non stop Spring in the Pacific Northwest

​No stopping now!     That’s the first motto for anyone passionate about their job and especially when they are travelling to promote and present their products! Non-stopping now is my mantra repeating itself in my head every time I get ready to head out for a new promotional adventure. So time to prepare another trolley, time to give extra hugs to the often-abandoned dog, and another flight with no sleep before departure (which especially when the flight leaves at 6AM is not my fault!)  So it’s time to return to Seattle and Portland, to see friends and colleagues, to promote and present Petroio in the land of the stars and stripes, thanks to the paring of wine and cooking by my own every ready hands. I had barely time to land, drop luggage and I was off to Calabria Italian Restaurant in Mill Crick for a wine Tasting of Chianti Classico 2012 and Chianti Classico Riserva 2010, organized by the Estates Groups Import Specialist. About 70 very “happy campers” spent 4 Happy Hours with us, tasting, snacking, enjoying anecdotes and stories from Petroio.  And the following evening it was Ten Mercer’s turn to host a Happy Hour with their customer seated at the bar tasting our wines which were pared nicely with 5 small plates and lots of good conversation while I poured and chatted with them from behind the bar. 

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Of course as in all my other visits to the States I had to prepare a special dinner to highlight for the guest Italian expertise and excellence in the kitchen! However, so far in Seattle, my mother’s place of birth, I had never had the opportunity to do a special dinner. This time we were able to organize a very special evening at the wonderful private dinning facility, The Ruins. Featured as Guest Chef and Winemaker, Diana Lenzi, for me it was a perfect opportunity to prepare for 35 guests, all the best delicacies of the Tuscan cuisine.

Small fresh basil fritters on a bed of arugula, zucchini e aged salted ricotta
Cream of chickpea soup with Pioppini mushrooms, pancetta (Italian slab bacon smuggled in from Italy) wrapped shrimp and a hint of rosemary
Asparagus Risotto with lemon zest and baby goat cheese
Pork tenderloin with a Sangiovese grape jelly glace accompanied by spicy, dark-leaved kale and roasted almonds
Panna cotto and Choco&Wine  (sweetened cooked cream served with a special chocolate sauce made of Petroio Riserva wine and bittersweet chocolate)

All ably pared and accompanied by lots and lots of Petroio wine

It was a magical evening, emotionally rich and very satisfying for everyone! 

​The week did not end there but continued at a high, intense pace with many visits to old and new clients to plan new future events and to taste and introduce our new and present vintages: Chianti Classico 2012 and Chianti Classico Riserva 2011 & 2010, the real protagonists of the work week.
Saturday, a back to back tastings at McCarthy & Schering’s two stores with Dan McCarthy on Queen Anne and Jay Schiering on Ravenna NE we closed the week “in bellezza” Beautiful Ending!
 
After a mini break over the weekend with family and friends, on Tuesday I was off to Portland, feeling excited and happy to be going almost home, away from home.
Here too the week was full of programmed events and some that just came about as the week progressed.
The first tasting was at Enoteca Vino, followed by Liner & Elsen Wine Merchants on Quimby St., our longtime clients and friends, and finished at AgriVino Restaurant di Carlton.

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​And with all the Portland meant for me in 2014 during my stay there why not honor that memory by preparing a Gala dinner at the Italian Restaurant Ciao Vito, with my dear much adored, boss and mentor, Vito Di Lullo? And while we were at it why not go beyond the traditional style, fixed menu, served course by course and offer our diners an ‘a la carte’ menu with a series of dishes that they could pick and choose from at their pleasure?   
And thus the idea was born a wine dinner like this:

Pici, handmade pasta, with cured pork cheek, fried eggplant, tomato confit, and aged, salted ricotta and mint
              with Chianti Classic 2012
Lamb shoulder with lemon zested potato flan, and red swiss chard.
             with Chianti Classico Riserva 2011
Tiramisu Chianti style with home made almond biscotti and vinsanto
             with Vinsanto Petroio 2015

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Then the final appointments, that were just as important as the previous one, including a Staff meeting with the Estates Group team at the home office of Young’s Market Company, where during those days a large study was underway regarding the Territory of Tuscany followed by a quick drive down to Eugene to pour our wines at the prestigious Admiralty table at Young’s Market Road Show.

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After my intense and successful visit came to its end I came home to my land, because here too at Petroio, we never do finish our working towards our goal of producing an ever better wine for the tables and cellars of our clients and friends!




In order to publicize the unique quality of our wines in America, I will…never stop…because the experience is fantastic and gratifying and overcomes the fatigue, diminishing all those hours of lost rest and sleep.

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