Bastianich-The Buzz

Vendemmia 2011 has begun!

 
First grapes for the 2011 vintage are coming in as we speak! It's shaping up to be a great vintage... The heatwave broke this weekend and the weather is sunny and dry... Great for good grapes!

Here are some pictures from Harvest 2011, Day One:

Ethan Bastianich, last week's guest photog also lent a hand today with grape picking...

Along with big brother Miles!...

Sauvignon going on the big trailor...

Check out that bad-ass Bastianich T-shirt on Cristian!
 

Stay tuned for more pics as they come in!

Guest Photographer: Ethan Bastianich!

I saw Joe Bastianich's youngest son Ethan walking around the winery with his camera today so I asked him to donate a few snaps to The Buzz blog... So here is Ethan at the Palio di San Donato medieval festival in Cividale yesterday:
 And a picture of some of the festivities...

And here are the shots he took today at the winery:

Botti and vasche...

Vineyards almost ready to pick.. (and MAN is it HOT)...

And last but not least, the obligatory "Tractor Shot"...

John Deere forever!... Thanks Ethan for the help on the blog! What do you think folks? Should I give him a full-time job?

Dark Star Moves West

Just two weeks ago, after four and a half years working as the sales manager for Dark Star Imports in New York City (and 10 years living there!), I relocated to sunny Los Angeles to beef up business on the West Coast. Having grown up in the Bay Area, it feels good to get back to my roots. Although it has been a quick, action-packed two weeks, my experience so far has been awesome. On Thursday night, Joe and I hosted a wine dinner at Shutters on the Beach, in Santa Monica where they are pouring our wines exclusively at their restaurant, Coast, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. This is an extremely rare occurrence in the wine business, and, as far as I know, has never happened before. I couldn’t have asked for a more ideal location. Gregory Day, the General Manager of the hotel, approached me with this idea a few months ago and I was ecstatic: all I had to do was get Lidia and Joe Bastianich to agree to come for a visit! As Joe mentioned the night of the wine dinner, “All I have to do is show up, stay in this beautiful hotel for a few nights, and you will pour my wines?! How could I say no?” The food and ambiance was amazing, and paired perfectly with our wines. Chef Michael Reardon created an all seafood menu, which was an ideal match with all white wines. My personal favorite was the halibut crudo with compressed watermelon and opal basil, the first course, which he paired with our Bastianich Sauvignon “B.” It was an unbelievably refreshing way to start off the night!

So we decided, from now on, we are only going to host wine dinners at venues that have sand and a view of the ocean. Next stop: Malibu!

Huddling before the press arrived: Gregory Day, Joe Bastianich, Caroline Salz, Peter Neptune

Guests enjoying a glass of Flor prosecco before dinner. 

Joe Bastianich walked around to the tables and described each wine....

Flor Prosecco, Bastianich Sauvignon "B", Bastianich Vespa Bianco, Bastianich Ribolla "Adriatico"

Grilled Orata with Salsa Verde and Fork Crushed Potatoes, paired with Bastianich Vespa Bianco. 

 -Caroline Salz, 

Dark Star Imports