Sommelier’s pick
Who: Brian Brossa, general manager/ wine director at Enoteca Rossa
Background: Brossa has been pairing fine food and wine for Houstonians since 1994, when joining the Whole Foods Market team got him seriously interested in the latter. Brossa’s mission? “To educate, serve and delight all comers with my true passion for ingredients, sources, processes and flavors.” Toward that end, he’ll host his next Wine Circle tasting and conversation 6:30-8 p.m. Nov. 6 at the restaurant. They’re held the first and third Tuesdays every month; cost is $39.95 per person.
What: 2012 Tenuta Bellafonte ‘Collenottolo’ Montefalco Sagrantino
Why: Brossa acknowledges “the grape’s name is a mouthful — but so is the wine.” This inky crimson gem hails from Montefalco in Umbria, the hilly land-locked region of Italy that borders Tuscany. Sagrantino may lack the cachet of Tuscan sangiovese, the Piemontese nebbiolos or corvina expressed as Amarone, but “it’s a thick-skinned beauty with extremely dark flesh that requires little to no maceration because of the intense tannins.” The wholeberry unpressed fermented juice matures for 36 months in large Slavonian barrels and another year in bottle “to allow it to round out a bit without removing the full frontal attack on your tongue. The wine has both initial and lingering tannins that (complement) the velvety-smooth blackberry and Luxardo cherry aromas and flavor.” Brossa suggests Enoteca
Rossa’s 16-ounce prime rib-eye, perhaps with a garnish of caramelized onions, for the perfect pairing.
Price: $84 for a bottle at Enoteca Rossa, 4566
Bissonnet