Mangia e Bevi co-owners Tore Trupiano (who is also a world-class pizzaiola)and Ann Perham recently pulled out all stops for a four-course premier Daou Vineyards wine dinner at their modern Italian restaurant in Oceanside.
At $89 per person, Trupiano and Perham were very generous with the cost of the dinner, considering the premier wine and food being served. Additionally, Trupiano just returned from Italy, where he earned a first place in a world-class pizza competition.
Executive Chef Phillip Sanchez was at the top of his game with a four-course dinner with each course perfectly paired with a complementing Daou Family Estates wine.
Roman Palumbo, SoCal business development manager for Daou Family Estates, set the tone with a beautiful display of Daou’s flagship Soul of a Lion for guests to see along with narrating the dinner and visiting tables. See daouvineyards.com to learn about Soul and other wines.
After dinner, Palumbo surprised a few tables with tastings of Patrimony, Daou’s highest of five tiers of wine that they offer and a separate Daou brand (patrimonyestate.com). It was heaven-sent wine nectar!
This was a bonus on top of having flagship Soul at the main course. Soul is a special wine produced by Daou proprietors and brothers Georges and Daniel, who is Daou’s head winemaker, as a tribute to their father, Joseph, who told his sons, “When life gets tough, have the soul of a lion.”
I always appreciate Sanchez’s passion for his cuisine. Depending on the venue, some chefs are more into the presentation and explanation than others. This is clearly the case for Sanchez, who shared how he came up with the food and wine pairings from Daou’s vast collection of wines for each course served.
Dinner started with a Bibb lettuce salad, peppadew vinaigrette, pickled nectarine, crispy shallot and Gorgonzola crumble served with the Discovery Rosé.
The fragrant Provence-style rosé (95% grenache noir/5% sauv blanc) with aromas of peach and pear with a palate of mango, melon and hints of cherry and citrus enhanced the vinaigrette.
The second course was grilled Cornish hen, charred carrot, roasted tomato and yellow pepper paired with one of Daou’s newest wines, the 2019 Reserve Sequentis (100%) Merlot.
Master Winemaker Daniel Daou created a rich and robust merlot, not the kind mocked in the movie “Sideways.” Sequentis, meaning sequence, or next generation (merlot) in this case, had perfume of black cherry, boysenberry and hints of dark chocolate. The plum and cherry palate with vanilla undertones and silky-smooth tannins benefit from 20-month aging in 50% new French oak.
Sequentis matched up well with the grilled hen and roasted veggies.
For the main course, Sanchez dazzled guests with cornmeal and basil stuffed pork roulade, roasted root vegetable torte with goat cheese and a sherry and cream reduction.
It was fitting to serve 2019 Soul of a Lion at this blockbuster course. Soul’s Bordeaux blend of cab sauv (78%), cab franc (12%) and petit verdot (10%) represents a nine-year journey with five years of barrel coopering, viticulture and aging.
This 97-point Robert Parker awardee boasts ultrahigh phenolics reaching 220+ parts per million. The black fruit and cherry nose and palate are structured and balanced, with baby soft tannins. A remarkable wine and course!
Dinner concluded with pistachio gelato and sugar waffle paired with another newer DAOU wine, 2020 Bodyguard White (chardonnay), sourced from Santa Barbara. Bodyguard White boasts the traditional style of California chardonnays with ripe fruit, vanilla, oaky notes and a rich, buttery, creamy mouthfeel.
The creaminess of the wine with aromas of vanilla, cinnamon and coconut, and the flavors of mango and banana, swirled together complementing the gelato.
Extra special at the dinner was the attendance of Trupiano’s father, Dominic, and brother Fado. Dominic, an Italian immigrant, instilled food as a passion in his sons.
Today the Trupiano Restaurant group includes Dominic’s at the Harbor (Oceanside), Fado’s two Fallbrook restaurants, 127 West Social House and Trupiano’s Italian Bistro, along with Tore and Ann’s Mangia e Bevi.
Bravo, Bravo Tore, Ann, Chef Phillip and Roman for a memorable evening filled with exceptional food and wine. Additional details at mangiaoceanside.com.
Wine Bytes
— Meritage Wine Market in Encinitas welcomes Master Sommelier Josh Orr along with Capanna family wines from Tuscany on Thursday, May 26, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the cellar room.
This wine tasting will be paired with cheese and charcuterie selections. Cost is $75 per person. This wine tasting of eight selections plus olive oil from Capanna will have special discounted pricing the night of the event only. Call 760-479-2500 for your RSVP.
— Altipiano Winery in Escondido is preparing a five-course winemaker dinner for Friday, May 27, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Cost is $130 including tax and gratuity. Note this dinner will be held outside in a covered patio. A light jacket is recommended.
Each dinner selection will be prepared with its own wine selection and created by Chef Erin Sealy. For more info, see winepairsevents.com/upcoming-events.
Reach Frank and Rico at [email protected]
