Dis_Yoda
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
Italian Food, Beer Vs Wine
It was time for us to head back to Italy and visit Via Napoli where we had our Italian Food, Beer Vs Wine Food and Wine Festival Event. This would be our first time at this event, although we had done the Italian Beer Tasting event before which was its predecessor. They’ve greatly improved their selections of beers since then! As we checked in, we were given a small glass of white sangria which was very refreshing thanks to the heat! We were lead to a table set for six but we ended up only having 5 at our table - another couple and a solo traveler since his wife doesn’t enjoy these events.
Menu
Bread & Sangria
The event places a Cicerone against a Sommelier and what they think would better pair for the dish. We were poured both the beer and the wine before we were served our dish. Luckily, getting refills for the beer or wine were never hard! I think we ended up with refills for almost every one, unless we declined it as we didn’t enjoy it (of which there were 2) The initial selections were very light in taste and profiles. I ended up liking the beer and wine here about the same. They paired nicely with the heavy start of the fried artichoke. I actually hadn’t had fried artichoke before. I enjoyed the stem portion and some of the outer part but once all the fried batter was gone - it was a bit much for me. The cheese sauce paired excellently as well.
Birrifico del Ducato Vieille Ville
Ca’ del Bosco Franciacorta Cuvee Prestige
Carciofi Fritti - Fried Artichokes, Taleggio Cheese Sauce
The second course had the beer I did not enjoy. It was very bitter for being such a low ABV (5.2%) - it felt like an IPA! I managed to get it all down but I declined a refill. The wine while a dark red felt medium bodied upon drinking. It really worked for the pizza. The pizza was your basic margherita but sometimes basic is all you want!
Birrifico Italiano Tipopils
Batasiolo Barbera d’Alba
Pizza Margherita - Buffalo Mozzarella, San Marzano Tomatoes, Basil, EVOO
The next beer made up for the last course. I found I really enjoyed it. The chianti should have been decanted before it was served but it wasn’t. My husband did a trick to aerate it some by covering the glass with his hand and swirling aggressively. While not the usual way to open up a wine, it worked for this environment where you aren’t going to wait an hour for it to open naturally. Once we aerated the wine, I found I liked it much more than that initial sip. Our tablemates ended up doing the same to their glasses and found the same thing. The third course was excellent. The veal had some cheese and herbs inside that married well with the simple pasta. Totally cleaned the plate off here! I wish there was a little bit larger of the food serving as a lot of beer and wine had been consumed at this point and it was becoming noticeable.
Birrifico del Ducato Torrente
Frescobaldi Chianti Castiglioni
Veal Braciole - Veal rollatini, bucatini pasta
Our fourth course didn’t have a beer! It was actually a honey wine. Some at our table found it to be too sweet and heavy but I liked it for the cheeses they were paired with. I don’t remember much about the wine other than I didn’t enjoy it and declined a refill of it. I was very happy to see that the cheese had zero blue cheese on the plate! We had a sheep milk cheese and two cow’s milk cheeses that were lovely.
Apicoltura Dr. Pescia Nettare di Bacco Idromele
Le Casematte Nero d’Avola
Formaggi - Cheeses, condiment, grissini
The final beer was a dark porter which was full of coffee notes. A great pairing for dessert! The wine was a better version of the popular Rose Regale. It was sweet and sparkly. This paired well with the dessert as well. The cake was a nice way to end the meal as it didn’t feel too heavy despite being cake.
Birrifico Grado Plato Chocarrubica
Montegrande Corbinello
Zuppa Inglese - English Trifle Cake
Our table was having a great time chatting and finishing off all our drinks. We ended up being the second to last table to leave. We kinda noticed them cleaning up around us so we said goodbye to our temporary event friends. We took our parting gift on the way out. I never got to eat any of the cake but my husband did and he really enjoyed it.
Take Home - Italian Cakes
When leaving, I was so glad I cancelled our Bourbon Tasting at Top of the World lounge. We would have been a hot mess if we tried to drink bourbon after all that wine and beer. The walk home happened although I don’t remember too much as I was definitely tipsy and feeling zero pain.
It was time for us to head back to Italy and visit Via Napoli where we had our Italian Food, Beer Vs Wine Food and Wine Festival Event. This would be our first time at this event, although we had done the Italian Beer Tasting event before which was its predecessor. They’ve greatly improved their selections of beers since then! As we checked in, we were given a small glass of white sangria which was very refreshing thanks to the heat! We were lead to a table set for six but we ended up only having 5 at our table - another couple and a solo traveler since his wife doesn’t enjoy these events.
Menu
Bread & Sangria
The event places a Cicerone against a Sommelier and what they think would better pair for the dish. We were poured both the beer and the wine before we were served our dish. Luckily, getting refills for the beer or wine were never hard! I think we ended up with refills for almost every one, unless we declined it as we didn’t enjoy it (of which there were 2) The initial selections were very light in taste and profiles. I ended up liking the beer and wine here about the same. They paired nicely with the heavy start of the fried artichoke. I actually hadn’t had fried artichoke before. I enjoyed the stem portion and some of the outer part but once all the fried batter was gone - it was a bit much for me. The cheese sauce paired excellently as well.
Birrifico del Ducato Vieille Ville
Ca’ del Bosco Franciacorta Cuvee Prestige
Carciofi Fritti - Fried Artichokes, Taleggio Cheese Sauce
The second course had the beer I did not enjoy. It was very bitter for being such a low ABV (5.2%) - it felt like an IPA! I managed to get it all down but I declined a refill. The wine while a dark red felt medium bodied upon drinking. It really worked for the pizza. The pizza was your basic margherita but sometimes basic is all you want!
Birrifico Italiano Tipopils
Batasiolo Barbera d’Alba
Pizza Margherita - Buffalo Mozzarella, San Marzano Tomatoes, Basil, EVOO
The next beer made up for the last course. I found I really enjoyed it. The chianti should have been decanted before it was served but it wasn’t. My husband did a trick to aerate it some by covering the glass with his hand and swirling aggressively. While not the usual way to open up a wine, it worked for this environment where you aren’t going to wait an hour for it to open naturally. Once we aerated the wine, I found I liked it much more than that initial sip. Our tablemates ended up doing the same to their glasses and found the same thing. The third course was excellent. The veal had some cheese and herbs inside that married well with the simple pasta. Totally cleaned the plate off here! I wish there was a little bit larger of the food serving as a lot of beer and wine had been consumed at this point and it was becoming noticeable.
Birrifico del Ducato Torrente
Frescobaldi Chianti Castiglioni
Veal Braciole - Veal rollatini, bucatini pasta
Our fourth course didn’t have a beer! It was actually a honey wine. Some at our table found it to be too sweet and heavy but I liked it for the cheeses they were paired with. I don’t remember much about the wine other than I didn’t enjoy it and declined a refill of it. I was very happy to see that the cheese had zero blue cheese on the plate! We had a sheep milk cheese and two cow’s milk cheeses that were lovely.
Apicoltura Dr. Pescia Nettare di Bacco Idromele
Le Casematte Nero d’Avola
Formaggi - Cheeses, condiment, grissini
The final beer was a dark porter which was full of coffee notes. A great pairing for dessert! The wine was a better version of the popular Rose Regale. It was sweet and sparkly. This paired well with the dessert as well. The cake was a nice way to end the meal as it didn’t feel too heavy despite being cake.
Birrifico Grado Plato Chocarrubica
Montegrande Corbinello
Zuppa Inglese - English Trifle Cake
Our table was having a great time chatting and finishing off all our drinks. We ended up being the second to last table to leave. We kinda noticed them cleaning up around us so we said goodbye to our temporary event friends. We took our parting gift on the way out. I never got to eat any of the cake but my husband did and he really enjoyed it.
Take Home - Italian Cakes
When leaving, I was so glad I cancelled our Bourbon Tasting at Top of the World lounge. We would have been a hot mess if we tried to drink bourbon after all that wine and beer. The walk home happened although I don’t remember too much as I was definitely tipsy and feeling zero pain.