Food & Wine April 2022

2018 TENUTA SANT’ANTONIO NANFRE VALPOLICELLA SUPERIORE ($16) Recently, I sat in on a tasting for the by-the-glass list at Saraghina Caffè, opening this month in NYC, and was struck by what an absurd deal this juicy red from Italy’s Veneto region is. Bright and lively, full of ripe-berry flavors, it’s a killer weeknight pour. 2019 DUTTON-GOLDFIELD DUTTON RANCH PINOT NOIR ($45) Dan Goldfield makes expressive, lovely Pinot Noirs from vineyards around Sonoma and Marin counties. This one made a great partner for chef Akiko Thurnauer’s absurdly delicious dan dan noodles and beef mapo tofu at Cha Kee in NYC. 2019 CONTI COSTANTI ROSSO DI MONTALCINO ($55) What a stellar Rosso this is: intense aromas of sweet cherry and a touch of vanilla, and similarly pure cherry fruit on the palate, balanced with forest-floor notes and…

Liquid Assets “WINE IS FOOD.” I hear this at winemakers’ tables every time I visit a wine region. People who live close to the land and spend their workdays turning grapes into wine know this simple truth because what happens in the vineyard dictates the quality of what goes into the bottle. It’s also our liquid ethos here at Food & Wine. We’d much rather have wine at the center of the table than objectify it with a scorecard ranking. Brooklyn-based sommelier, winemaker, and entrepreneur André Mack gets this, too. At his restaurant & Sons, Mack celebrates the conversation among American-made country ham, charcuterie, and wine. Read his story “The Slice Is Right” on p. 96, and check out his recommendations for your next charcuterie board and wine pairing. I’m also reminded that wine…

IF YOU’VE GOT a signature margarita or Bloody Mary recipe, why not spruce up the rim? Spice and salt companies are creating high-quality seasoned salts intended to embellish the lip of your cocktail glass and add spice, brightness, and salt to every sip. Plus, when happy hour is over, these salts bring the heat in the kitchen—use them to season roasted vegetables or fish or to add instant interest to a simple salad. 1. EL SABOR DE OAXACA CHAPULÍN SALT WITH CHILE Rogelio Ramírez founded El Sabor de Oaxaca more than 14 years ago to promote the region’s roots and gastronomy, including the consumption of chapulines, or grasshoppers, eaten whole or in powders and salts. In 2020, the team partnered with Milk Street Store to bring a less-spicy version to the U.S.…

AS IF MAKING WINE weren’t time-consuming enough, some of our favorite winemakers are channeling their creative energies into culinary pursuits beyond the vineyard. “The idea to start roasting coffee in California came to me and my husband while discussing our Shared Notes wine brand and how we also share this passion for coffee,” says Sonoma-based winemaker Bibiana González Rave. “Bringing coffee to life is really hand-farming, fermenting, and a precise crafting of each roast to a profile that fits one’s personal philosophy. It’s astounding how many parallels there are to winemaking,” she says. Savor her craft in a bag of Shared Notes Coffee (at right), along with the wares of five more winemakers who are branching out. Pennyroyal Farm Cheese “Growing up in my family’s winery and sheep farm introduced me to…

CELLARING? GO BIG “If you plan to age wine and hold for long periods, I recommend a larger unit that holds 120 to 300 bottles. Budget is obviously an important factor, but I don’t recommend buying a cheap, large wine refrigerator. If it breaks down and you have a hundred bottles of wine that are destroyed when the cooling element goes, you haven’t done yourself any favors!”—Lindsey Fern, wine director, The Inn at Little Washington, Washington, Virginia F&W PICK: The Sub-Zero 30-Inch Classic Wine Storage (pictured above) stores up to 146 bottles in grand style. This sleek tower has separate temperature zones for red and white wines. (From $9,485, subzero-wolf.com) CONVERT A CLOSET “Protecting your wine is really crucial. Bottles should be kept in a cool, dark place with minimal to no vibrations. I…

IF ANYONE CAN SUCCESSFULLY shift the reputation of shooters from college dive-bar staple to sophisticated post-party nightcap, it’s Paris-based author and food stylist Rebekah Peppler. “There’s something so celebratory and connecting about taking a shot,” she says. By using low-ABV spirits and wines like vermouth, Campari, Suze, and amaro, Peppler makes composed miniature cocktails for guests to cheers with and knock back, without overindulging. Peppler’s digestif shots—for which she shares recipes in her newest book, À Table: Recipes for Cooking and Eating the French Way—are intended as pleasant punctuation on a night of merriment. In lieu of cheap shot glasses, Peppler suggests using sake cups, espresso sets, and even vintage port glasses to infuse these cheerful chasers with an extra bit of creativity. “You’re leaving people with a good taste…