THIS WEEK
JAMES BOND'S TASTES:
A VIEW TO A KILL By John Mariani NEW YORK CORNER
THE LAMBS CLUB
By John Mariani
GOING AFTER HARRY LIME
CHAPTER 32
By John Mariani
NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR
PASQUA WINES OF VENETO WANT TO
BRING A GENERATION BACK TO WINE By John Mariani
❖❖❖
JAMES
BOND'S TASTES:
A VIEW TO A KILL
By John
Mariani
The
1985 film A View
to a Kill took the title only from an
Ian Fleming short story entitled “From a
View to a Kill” in
the collection For
Your Eyes Only (1960), which was the
basis for a never-filmed James Bond TV
series (as well as another movie title). The
short story’s plot contains no references to
Bond’s food and drink, but the film, which
used nothing from the short story plot,
begins in Siberia (filmed in Iceland) with
Bond on a ski mobile, escaping assassins in
a helicopter, which he destroys with a flare
gun and is then picked up by a submarine
breaking through the ice. Inside is gorgeous
MI6 agent Kimberly Jones, whom Bond plies
with a tin of sevruga caviar and a bottle of
Stolichnaya. Returning to London with a sought-after
micro-chip, 007 goes to the Ascot Race Track,
dressed in appropriate garb with M, Moneypenny
and Q, where
he meets wealthy government contractor Max
Zorin (Christopher Walken; originally David
Bowie was cast), who plans to destroy Silicon
Valley with the microchip—something about
knocking out all the world’s
communications—and his panther-like henchwoman
May Day (Grace Jones). M
then sends Bond to Paris, where he meets
Detective Achille Aubergine over dinner at the
Jules Verne restaurant within the Eiffel
Tower, where the detective sips vichyssoise
and Bond has foie gras
en brioche. He shows
off his connoisseurship by tasting and easily
identifying the wines as Bollinger
‘75 and Château
Lafite Rothschild ’59. By this time in
the Bond film series Bollinger Champagne was
paying the producers for product placement
after the first few films when Bond drank
either Moët or Taittinger (the latter was
007’s favorite in the Fleming novels). The restaurant, located on the second
floor of the tower, was recreated for the
scene because it was not usable to shoot in.
The restaurant’s interior was by Aline
Asmar d’Ammam. Under chef Louis Grondard, it
was one of the most expensive in Paris. Alain
Ducasse would later become chef in 2007. Suddenly May Day appears, kills
Aubergineand leads Bond on a chase all over the
Eiffel Tower, from which she escapes by
parachute and lands on one of the Bateaux
Mouches tourist boats on the
Seine. Bond jumps off the Pont Alexandre III
bridge to land on the boat. Zorin, who is a very
similar character to Auric Goldfinger, was
holding a horse auction at his palatial estate
at the Château
Chantilly (below) outside Paris,
dating back to 1560 in Picardy, covering 10
hectares and containing masterpieces by
Poussin, Tintoretto
and Titian. There, Bond, along with his
assistant Sir Godfrey Tibbettt (Patrick
McNee), meets the beautiful geologist Stacy
Sutton (Tanya Roberts; originally to be played
by Priscilla Presley), and they drink
Bollinger Champagne together. It turns out Zorin is an ex-KGB agent
funded by the Russians and now gone rogue.
Bond infiltrates his laboratories, where Zonin
kills Tibbett and attempts to kill Bond. Bond
follows Zorin to San Francisco and meets
with CIA agent Chuck Lee, posing as a
fishmonger at Fisherman’s
Wharf, Pier 39, strolling past
Fisherman’s Grotto and Castagnola’s
restaurant. He also visits Stacey at her
estate Dunsmuir-Hellman, set on 50
acres in Oakland, built by Alexander
Dunsmuir for his bride in 1899 (below). Bond
then investigates a nearby oil rig owned by
Zorin, and discovers KGB agent Pola Ivanova
recording conversations while her partner,
Klottoff, plants explosives on the rig.
Klottoff is caught and killed by Zorin's
guards, but Ivanova and Bond escape. Bond had
switched recorded tapes with one of Japanese
music. Bond finds out that Zorin is trying to
buy Stacey’s family oil business. May Day
kills Lee at Stacey’s home, and Zorin kills
Stacey's boss. They trap Bond and Stacey in an
elevator between floors, and set fire to the
building in an attempt to frame them for the
murder and then kill them. Bond carries Stacey
down a fire truck's ladder and flee from the
police in a fire truck to Zorin's mine, where
they find Zorin’s plan is to blow up the lakes
along the Howard and San Andreas fault lines
that would cause Silicon Valley to flood. Bond fights May Day, but after Zorin
abandons her, she helps Bond remove a bomb
that she rides on a mine car but it explodes
and kills her. Zorin abducts Stacey on a
blimp, which Bond manages to moor on the
Golden Gate Bridge. Stacey joins Bond out on
the bridge, whereZorin
follows with an axe. Bond and Zorin fight and
Zorin falls into the Bay. Russian general Gogol
awards Bond the Order of the Lamb for foiling
Zorin’s plot.
❖❖❖
NEW YORK CORNER
THE
LAMBS CLUB
132 West 44th
Street
212-997-5262
As you might
expect, New York is home to restaurants that
date back well into the 19th century, starting
with the first actual restaurant in America,
Delmonico’s (1831), followed by Gage &
Tollner (1879), Peter Luger (1887) and Keen’s
(1885), this last being the location of the
Lambs social club, after relocating from West
26th Street; later it moved to West 44th Street.
Named
in honor of English essayist Charles Lamb, author
of the satiric “Dissertation on Roast Pig,” it was
opened by five actors in 1874, and it was
considered a great honor to be invited to join.
Fred Astaire exclaimed, “When I was made a Lamb, I
felt I had been knighted.” The club itself, now on West 36th Street,
still exists, while the restaurant is now within
the Chatwal hotel, where its premises—designed by
the great Sanford White—have been restored to a
polished sophistication as a New York landmark.
And chef Jack Logue, Gotham born and bred, is
doing equally refined cuisine largely in the
American style. The 85-seat room is done in rich Burgundy
colors, with white tablecloths, elegant leather
banquettes with end lights and stunning padded
chairs with 1960s-style chrome tubing. At the
ceiling’s edge are scores of photos of famous
Lambs, but,
sadly,
the lighting in this gorgeous room is set so low
that you can’t see those images, the clientele
coming and going or the lovely plate
presentations. I asked if the lights could be
turned up a tad and it made all the difference. Logue, whose work I admired at midtown’s
Betony, studied in fine ristoranti in
Italy, then at Daniel Boulud in New York, Rockpool
in Sydney and did stints in Tokyo, Hong Kong, the
Dominican Republic and Mexico. Now, with partners
David Rabin and Chris Miller,Logue is
putting all that global experience to good use in
transforming dishes that sound so familiar yet
open your eyes to new interpretations. Case in point is the perfectly
seasoned tuna tartare ($33) that comes as a patty
set with avocado and a swirl of cut radishes,
sitting in a deep, dark ponzu sauce you can sip
with a spoon (left). Steak tartare ($30)
has a spicy horseradish-laced crème fraîche and
caviar with a grilled baguette. A special that
night was a lovely presentation of razor clams
($26) done Casino style: the clams are first
steamed with a
mixture of kombu kelp and white wine then
nestled with panko breadcrumbs, chopped
littlenecks, clams, razor clam juice, butter,
roasted garlic, chopped parsley, oregano, lemon
zest and smoked onion confit, finished with a
clam butter and baked with a gratin. A fluke crudo
($26) had a good balance of citrus and sweetness,
in a marinade of kombu and
pink trout roe and cuddled with tiny summer’s
tomatoes, macerated
kumquats, pickled Fresno chilies, fragrant baby
basil leaves and basil oil. Particularly
pretty was a sunburst of ravioli stuffed with
pureed carrots and peas in lemon, ricotta and mint
($28), while the chilled corn soup was a bright
yellow with morsels of melon and garlic scapes
($22). There is one other pasta dish I highly
recommend: Purists may howl that Logue’s carbonara
($39) bears scant resemblance to a classic Roman
rendering, owing to the addition of very hot,
spicy ‘nduja
condiment, but it is a ravishing dish nonetheless
that’s also good to share as an appetizer. Fat
sea scallops ($48) were quickly seared so the
interior was creamy and briny, given a New England
touch of bacon, potatoes, leeks and a fume blanc.
Roasted lamb loin ($58) was delicious, but the
addition of slowly braised leg of lamb into a deep
succulence with white beans and fennel was an
unexpected pleasure. The New York strip steak
($68) was about par for upscale steakhouse beef
but could use more minerality. Hamburgers as chefs’ display pieces have
already jumped the shark, and, although the meat
in Logue’s six-inch-high extravaganza ($30) is of
fine quality, it is overwhelmed by layers of
Gruyère, pickled onions, lettuce and a bulbous
bun. The menu calls it “the Stanford White burger”
but it’s architecture better suggests Bernini. The
French fries are an abundance of goodness. Desserts have a little more restraint but
are nonetheless delightful surprises, especially
the caramel apple with mascarpone cream, apple
cider, Valrhona caramella, oats and hazelnuts
($18). Once tasted, it will be hard not to hog the
sundae with popcorn ice cream, candied peanuts,
salted caramel sauce and, for good measure, a
chocolate chip cookie ($16). The prices are high
but the desserts are meant to be shared. The multi-national service staff is very
well meaning and exceptionally cordial, if
sometimes distracted. David Jovic oversees an extensive wine
list, with 22 by the glass. Mark-ups range from
about 100% to 300%.I liked the idea that a straight-up Martini
came with an accompanying additional pour from an
iced cruet. Imay
never be invited to join the Lambs social society,
but I’d much rather dine splendidly on such
imaginatively crafted cuisine at the Lambs Club
restaurant and happily bring in out-of-town
friends to show what New York swank can be.
Open
for breakfast Sat. & Sun.; lunch
Mon.-Thurs.; dinner Tues.-Sat.
❖❖❖
GOING AFTER
HARRY LIME
By John
Mariani
To read previous
chapters of GOING AFTER HARRY LIME go
to thearchive
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Back
at their hotel rooms Katie and David checked their
messages.One,
David was surprised and relieved to see, was from
Lentov. Just two words: “Five PM.” Nothing from
Southey. There was nothing for Katie, but a few
minutes later her phone rang. It was Spollen, who
sounded quite cheery. “I have a bit more information for you,
Katie,” he announced. “When I got back to the
office I asked to see the file on Pogue. Nothing
there about his asking to go to Moscow, but there
is a scribbled note saying ‛contact’ and a name
and number. It must be the person Pogue said the
paper could contact if he was out of the country.
The name is Margaret Stinchfield. Here’s the
number. It’s ten years old, so it may pan out to
be a dead end, but there it is.” Katie thanked Spollen profusely and said
she’d follow up and get back to him if she found
out anything of interest. She hung up, waited five
seconds and dialed the number.An
answering machine picked up with the message, “Hi,
thanks for calling. Leave a number and I’ll get
back to you soon as I can.” The voice had a
decided American accent. Katie left the number of her cell phone and
hotel line, then called David to tell him the
news. David said he had heard from Lentov and was
going out to Southall to see him at five. “I’ve got to hustle,” he said. “You wanna
come with me?” He actually hoped Katie would say
no, because he had to move fast and told her, “I
want to spend some quality time with the old
Ruskie.” “That’s okay,” she said. “I’m going to wait
around to see if I hear from Margaret Stinchfield.
At least I know she’s still in London ten years
later. Give Lentov my best.” David hurried off to the train station,
lucky to find a train leaving for Southall in the
next half hour, meaning he’d arrive around 4:30.While
waiting he picked up copies of The Times
and The
Guardian to see what kind of stuff Spollen
and Boyer published. Around the time David arrived at Southall,
Katie’s cell phone rang. “Hello, is this Katie Caputo?” “Cavuto, actually.” “Oh, sorry about that. This is Margaret
Stinchfield. You called a little while ago?” The voice was definitely American but Katie
noted a slight British inflection Stinchfield must
have acquired over the past decade. “Yes,” said Katie, “I’m sorry to bother
you, but I’m a writer for an American magazine
called McClure’s”—she
didn’t want to say “reporter”—“and I’m interested
in finding someone who knew Jonathan Pogue.” There was silence on
the other end. “I was given your number by a colleague who
found it in a file at his paper, The Guardian,
from ten years ago, indicating you were a contact
for Mr. Pogue.” Stinchfield spoke slowly. “Yes, well, I did
know Pogue, but haven’t had any contact with him
in all that time.” “Sorry to ask, but didn’t Mr. Pogue pass
away in 1989?” Another pause on the line, then, “Can I
call you Katie?” “Sure.” “Well, then, Katie, all I can tell you is
that Pogue left London that summer, and I never
heard from him again. He’s been missing ever
since.” Katie tried not to sound quite so surprised
as she actually was, fumbling a “wow” then asked,
“May I ask you, if you two were close back then?” “Call me Peggy. Yes, we were about as close
as two people intending to get married that fall
could be, I suppose.” Katie did not want to carry on the
conversation over the phone, so she said, “Peggy,
let me tell you a little about why I’m asking
about Mr. Pogue. The story I’m working on involves
a trip to Moscow Mr. Pogue might have taken around
that time and—” “Let me cut you off there. Can we meet in
person tomorrow around lunchtime at Harrods?I’m a
buyer there.” Katie answered, “Whenever you want.” “All right, then, how about twelve-thirty?I’ll
meet you at the elevator on the sixth floor “See you then,” said Katie, who was buoyed
by what had just occurred. It meant her story was
still alive and perhaps even darkening with
intrigue. She couldn’t wait to tell David, who was
at that moment knocking on Leonid Lent It took a while for Lentov to appear. David
had picked up the two days’ of newspapers on the
stoop and handed it to the Russian, saying,
“Thanks for seeing me again.” Leonid was dressed exactly the way he had
been on their first meeting, but then, so was
David. Lentov was already in his topcoat, saying
“Let us take a walk outside.” “And so,” Lentov began, sitting on the same
bench in the park. “You are back.” “We are, although a little earlier than
we’d planned,” said David. “Actually, we got
thrown out of Moscow and didn’t exactly get a warm
welcome getting back to London.” Lentov smiled. “So I assume you did meet
with Philby. How is he feeling?” “Not well at all.He
thinks he’s at death’s door.” “I’m not surprised. He’s probably looking
forward to it.” “But he’s also very concerned about his
reputation. Katie and I were actually surprised he
was so open about everything.” “Kim has nothing to lose at this point.
And, if you believe all he told you and you print
that, he may die with a smile on his face. I
assume you also met his wife.” David told Lentov as little as possible
about the meeting, wanting instead to find out if
the Russian was in any way involved with their
quick exit from Moscow. “Does the name Kovalyov mean anything to
you?” asked David. Lentov smiled and nodded like a man
expecting that question right at that moment. “I do indeed. And he’s done very well for
himself, both when he was KGB and now as head of
FSS. And now, Mr. Greco, let me tell you what
I’m sure he
told you.” Lentov went on to describe, in a general
way, how Kovalyov tried to make David and Katie
believe their interview had all been a ridiculous
hoax cooked up by two actors and himself, that
Philby had died as intended in 1988, and how the
two Americans should not attempt to publish
anything to the contrary. David had more or less
expected this, and Lentov’s narrative suggested,
though he hadn’t brought it up, there was
something to Kovalyov’s assertion that Lentov had
been involved. “And just how would you know all that? And
how did Kovalyov know about you?” asked David. “I’d like to say something like ‘word gets
around,’” answered the Russian, “but it’s simpler
than that. In answer to your second question, I am
well known to Kovalyov for obvious reasons. In
fact, since the fall of the Soviet Union he has
even contacted me, as if my treason no longer
looked so terrible to him, now that he was back to
being a proud Russian oligarch. “The answer to your first question is that
he assumed I was the only one in London who would
tell you the truth about Philby being alive, so he
had to make up this fantasy about me being paid to
send reporters like you to Moscow to meet the fake
Philbys.” “And that’s not even remotely true?” asked
David. “Then how was it that Kovalyov and even the
MI6 agents at Heathrow knew every detail about our
trip over there? They scooped us up the minute we
left the Philbys’ apartment.” “Ah, there are two possibilities how that
happened. The one is quite simple: At first the
Russians had no idea why you were in Moscow.You had
your visas, your hotel, they knew your colleague
was a journalist, perhaps even that you were a
former police officer. But with only that little
information they could hardly come to a conclusion
as to your going to see the Philbys.” Lentov lit a cigarette and paused to watch
the first puff blow into the air.“They
only came to such a conclusion after those two men
you met the first day to ask directions to the
Philby apartment reported back to their superiors
that two Americans had done just that. Their only
job was to do surveillance in that neighborhood.” David balked. “You mean that, even if
though Philby had supposedly died more than ten
years ago, they still plant two goons outside his
apartment in case some pesky foreign reporters
came snooping around?” Lentov laughed. “Old habits die hard in
Russia. Those two men and before them another two
men and before them, and so on had been standing
outside the Philbys’ apartment since the day Kim
and his wife were assigned to live there. It’s not
that they think people like you and Miss Cavuto
were coming to expose the truth about the Philbys;
it’s just that the address of the apartment had
long ago been known, perhaps even published. “Graham
Greene visited them there back in the 1970s and
they had other foreign visitors, up until Kim
supposedly died in 1988. So you have to assume
there had been—what do you call them?—curiosity
seekers going to see that apartment, at least from
the outside. And the two neighborhood watchdogs
would shoo them away, if necessary.Unfortunately,
you and Miss Cavuto were seen by them being let
into the building by Rufina Philby, and all hell
broke loose. They would immediately contact
Kovalyov’s office and within twenty-four
hours—when you actually got into the building—they
had a dossier on you.I’m not
surprised they didn’t rush up the stairs after
you. After all, this is the ‘new’ Russia. Instead,
Kovalyov just tried to make you think you had been
on what you call a wild goose chase, and that I,
Leonid Lentov, had set it all up for you. Then
they tried to frighten you a little and rushed you
out of Moscow the next morning. Very clean.
Meanwhile, they called their friends at MI6 and
told them when you were landing back at Heathrow.And MI6,
as I’m sure you can imagine, has all the same
reasons for keeping Philby dead.I assume
Philby did not ask you for any money.” David viewed Lentov’s pat explanation with
suspicion, though it made a certain amount of
sense. Whatever the Russians and MI6 knew about
the two Americans would have been easy enough to
find out within hours. It was certainly no secret
that Katie was a writer for McClure’s.
But how did they know he and Katie had been to see
Lentov before leaving for Moscow? “You said there were two possibilities,”
David said. “What was the other one?” Lentov stamped out his
cigarette under his shoe. “Ah, for that, perhaps
you should ask your friend Joseph Southey.”
PASQUA
WINES OF VENETO WANT TO BRING A GENERATION BACK TO WINE By John Mariani
The most
familiar wines of Veneto have long been Bardolino,
Valpolicella and Soave, with sparkling Prosecco
soaring in popularity. As such, few vintners in
Veneto have garnered the attention and reputation as
have colleagues in Tuscany, Piedmont and Campania.
Pasqua is an estate dating back to 1925 that hopes
to change such perceptions and to do it at very
reasonable prices with wines of small production. I had dinner in New
York with Alessandro Pasqua, 39, president ofPasqua USA
LLC, who has been in charge of sales and marketing for
the North American market since 2016. As the youngest
member of the family, Alessandro has always been
keenly aware of the need to speak to the 21- to
35-year-old demographic that has been drinking less
wine worldwide than their parents. He has targeted
language and wine projects that meet this age group’s
expectations of inclusion, sustainability and
innovation, supported by investments of 6 million
euros in the technical area in the past year.
All studies show that the younger
generations are drifting away from wine in favor of
other beverages. What are the reasons for this?
Millennials and Gen Z have very different
buying habits from their parents when it comes to both
products and values. This is partly due to the
generational gap that has always pitted younger
generations against older ones and is connected to how
lifestyle habits have changed over the years. Let’s
think about diet, for example, social behavior or how
social media have changed our approach to daily life,
including today’s buying experience. In order to
explore Millennials and Gen Z’s choices and better
understand the reasons behind them, earlier this year
we partnered with Toluna, a market research company.
Together, we’ve carried out a survey on Millennials
and Gen Z in three different markets: Italy, which is
our domestic market, along with two other important
markets for us, the US and UK. The study has involved
over 800 people in each country. The results have
highlighted how sustainability is a crucial value for
both these groups when buying wine, with Gen Z paying
huge attention also to inclusion. Gen Z is also very
keen on the intersection between art, digital art, and
products they buy. They want the wine to be relevant
to their other interests. Also, young generations look
for brands which they can trust and which are able to
offer quality and innovation. We believe that by
tackling these topics, we can address young consumers
and their specific demands, and make wine relevant to
their daily habits.”
You refer to
Pasqua’s “winemaking approach to their long-lasting
intersection with the art, design and literature
environment .” How have you done this in the pastand
currently?
With a long history behind us dating back to
1925, we have always embraced innovation as a key
element, first in the vineyard, then in the cellar,
and, finally, within wine communication. We are deeply
rooted in the territory and strongly projected into
the future. For us winemaking is deeply intertwined
with wine-reinventing and this has become even more
important with the third generation now leading the
winery, as represented by my brother Riccardo and me.
The company's ambition is to bring all the grape
growing and winemaking experience we have developed
over a century of history into the future through
renewed stylistic codes, in order to honor the
interests of the consumers, especially when it comes
to the next generation. This is why we have also
presented the Pasqua:
House of the Unconventional manifesto, which
describes our vision to be a research laboratory and a
creative hub. The aim is to combine our century-old
experience and full understanding of the potential of
the Valpolicella terroir with innovation in winemaking
style and communication strategies deeply intertwined
with the art and design scene. At Pasqua Wines we
strongly believe in art and its universal creative
language. Over the years we have been working with
artists all over the world, from our hometown Verona
to London and New York. We have collaborated with
names such as UK poet Arch Hades, Havana-born artist
CB Hoyo— a self-taught young wünderkind who has been
creatively questioning the authenticity of some great
works of art—and then the Italian collective fuse* that
produces mesmerizing video projects, along with local
projects such as 67 Colonne per
l’Arena, which aims at preserving the Arena in
Verona, and the New York Fashion Week. We want to be a
space of research, exchange and dialogue, a house open
to everybody, where quality and creativity are
protagonists.
What was Luna Somnium by fuse* you presented at
Vinitaly?
We
presented a brand new wine, Fear No Dark,
which belongs to our iconic Mai Dire Mai line
and further focuses Pasqua Wines' commitment to
innovation beyond the traditional and the familiar.
Positioned in the ultra-premium segment, Fear No Dark is
a high-end blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Oseleta,
which will be released on the market at the end of
September 2023. The grapes come from a single parcel
of 5.1 hectares located in the most secluded part of
the Montevegro vineyard facing north-east. For us,
having “no
fear of the dark”
also means “being brave enough” to believe
in a vineyard located in one of the shadiest, coldest,
and inaccessible areas of the extraordinary Mai Dire Mai vineyard,
which
the family has been farming since 2010.
To launch the wine, we wanted
something that could embody all these concepts and to
do so we worked with fuse*. Luna Somnium
is the site-specific installation, redesigned by fuse*
for the space ofGallerie
Mercatali in Verona, representing an
ever-changing moon suspended inside this industrial
space and suggesting a new vision of reality through
the emotional power of art, urging the observer not to
remain anchored to prejudices, to what is already
known, but to be open to changing point of view and
modifying their perception, evaluation, and judgment
on reality. Luna
Somnium thus becomes an invitation for free
experimentation, a dream come true with human
creativity, capable of combining vision and
technology. An ideal similarity with the very vision
of Pasqua Wines, which Fear No Dark
and Mai Dire
Mai embody to perfection: a lab of constant
research, open dialogue and discussion, unafraid of
the unexplored and the new.
Your rosato is a
unique blend of several grapes. What are they and
why?
11
Minutes rosé is a fine and fairly unusual blend
created with the combination of two native varieties,
namely Corvina and Trebbiano di Lugana, and two
international grapes, Syrah and Carmenère. The wine’s
name refers to the duration of the skin contact and
conveys the identity of the four grapes and the Lake
Garda terroir, with its distinctive minerality and
freshness. The Corvina varietal, which dominates in
terms of percentage, was chosen for the floral aromas
as well as the significant acidity it gives to the
wine. Trebbiano brings elegance and a long finish;
Syrah gives fine fruit and spice notes to the glass
and finally, Carmenère creates structure, ensuring
stability over time. This is a fresh, enveloping rosé
with an intense and complex bouquet, created to
accompany spring or summer evenings and more.
Did you come up with the provocative
wine label called "Hey French, You Could Have Made
This But You Didn’t.” Wouldn’t that antagonize
French wine drinkers?
We wanted to challenge ourselves with the
production of a great Italian white, so we decided to
craft a multi-vintage white, released on the market in
2019. The name of the wine refers to the fact that the
French invented the idea of the cuvée but have
exploited it only for sparkling wines not for still
wines, which we did. The name intends to have a
playful tone as it actually pays homage to a great
French invention, and aims at intriguing the consumer.
Hey French
is definitely our bravest and boldest creation. The
wine is made from different vintages and is now at its
third edition, a blend of the 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019,
and 2020 harvests. The wine is made mainly from
Garganega, a native grape that provides acidity and
long aging potential, along with minor percentages of
Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc coming from the
family’s single property on MonteCalvarina,
one of Soave’s best volcanic spots characterized by
eruptive basalt and located at 650 meters above sea
level. The captivating label is a creation by CB Hoyo.
Tell me about your style of Amarones.
Amarone is a classic wine of
Valpolicella, and we offer consumers several
interpretations of this fantastic wine. Famiglia Pasqua
Amarone and Mai
Dire Mai Amarone represent two quality and
stylistic peaks of this wine, but, while Famiglia Pasqua
is a more classic interpretation of Valpolicella,
namely Valpantena,
with a very traditional aromatic profile and a rounder
personality, Mai
Dire Mai has a more vertical and incisive
personality and is a wine coming from a specific area
that challenges time and craftsmanship. Grapes for
both wines are hand-picked and undergo the traditional
drying process for three months, becoming more
concentrated and losing about 25-30% of their weight.
Whereas the grapes for the Famiglia Pasqua
come from different vineyards we have across all
Valpolicella; Mai
Dire Mai bunches come from a 23-hectare single
plot in Montevegro. The first vintage we produced was
the Mai Dire
Mai Amarone 2010, which we released in 2016. The
current vintage on sale is 2013. This is an iconic
wine characterized by elegance, complexity, and a
unique long-lasting finish.
Tell me about the International Wine
and Spirit Competition Award for the Emerging Talent
in Wine Hospitality.
The International Wine and Spirit
Competition’s Emerging Talent awards are an
unparalleled opportunity for new and exciting voices
within the industry to make their name and to build
exposure and recognition for their work. We decided to
sponsor the Emerging Talent in Wine Hospitality, which
is awarded to professionals demonstrating a real
dedication and passion within their role in the
hospitality industry while disrupting the norms front
of house, conveying to consumers a unique experience
and redefining the way customers interact with
wine—basically what we do with our productive and
communication approach.
What
is behind your decision to make wines from different
vintages?
Multi-vintage wines express the identity
of the terroir beyond the characteristics of a
specific vintage. For us, terroir has always been a
key concept and this was another way to highlight the
great potential of our vineyards.
Riccardo, Umberto and
Alessandro Pasqua
Tell me about your tasting room.
We want to offer consumers a unique
experience when exploring our wines, be it either on
our interactive website or at the winery, which islocated in
Valpantena, in a building where wine and art converge,
where consumers can experience wine at a different
level. Among the several experiences available at the
winery, we offer the “Blend
Your Wine Experience” that allows consumers to
become “winemaker” for one day and create
their own personalized bottle of wine.”
What is the Mai
Dire Mai
project?
Mai
Dire Mai is a project we had been nurturing for
many years before it became reality. We had been
looking for the perfect spot for a long time before
finally finding it and the Mai Dire Mai name,
which means ‘never say never,’ pays homage to long-lasting dreams
and commitments such as this one. Needless to say,
time and excellence play a key role in the Mai Dire Mai
label, the most powerful and radical expression among
the different interpretations of Valpolicella wines
produced by Pasqua Wines. Let’s just think of the fact
that the current vintage on sale of Mai Dire Mai
Amarone is the 2013. Montevegro is a hillside
vineyard located at 350 meters, which overlooks the
Illasi and Mezzane valleys. The volcanic Lessini
mountains nearby protect the plot from cold winds,
frosts and hail. The soil is basalt and chalk,
allowing for great minerality. The first vintages we
produced were a Valpolicella Superiore 2012 and an
Amarone 2010. The characteristic that sets them apart
from other wines from the region is the fact that
these wines can be considered “classics” as far as
grapes used, origin and appellation, but are
definitely innovative in terms of vinification
technique and market approach.
Realistically speaking, how do you think you can
bring more young people into drinking more wine, or
any wine at all?
Innovation both in the vineyard and
communication is helping us fill that gap and
communicating wine as a dynamic product which can add
some fizz to their daily life.
What have you
seen in climate change that is challenging in
Veneto?
Currently, we are seeing more irregular
weather patterns, such as longer dry seasons or more
intense rain. To counterbalance these, the quality of
the vineyard is key. Healthy vines with deep roots can
resist drought better and allow for greater quality
even in more challenging years.
❖❖❖
"Michael
Cecchi-Azzolina won’t be mad if people have sex in
the bathroom of his new restaurant. To be clear,
he’s not promoting the idea, and he’ll kick out
anybody that’s caught in the act, but in principle,
the idea is fine."—Jason Diamond, "Café Loup Will be
Reborn As Cecchi’s," Grub Street (7/23)
❖❖❖
Any of John Mariani's
books below may be ordered from amazon.com.
The Hound in Heaven
(21st Century Lion Books) is a novella, and
for anyone who loves dogs, Christmas, romance,
inspiration, even the supernatural, I hope you'll find
this to be a treasured favorite. The story
concerns how, after a New England teacher, his wife and
their two daughters adopt a stray puppy found in their
barn in northern Maine, their lives seem full of promise.
But when tragedy strikes, their wonderful dog Lazarus and
the spirit of Christmas are the only things that may bring
his master back from the edge of despair.
“What a huge surprise turn this story took! I was
completely stunned! I truly enjoyed this book and its
message.” – Actress Ali MacGraw
“He had me at Page One. The amount of heart, human insight,
soul searching, and deft literary strength that John Mariani
pours into this airtight novella is vertigo-inducing.
Perhaps ‘wow’ would be the best comment.” – James
Dalessandro, author of Bohemian
Heart and 1906.
“John Mariani’s Hound in
Heaven starts with a well-painted portrayal of an
American family, along with the requisite dog. A surprise
event flips the action of the novel and captures us for a
voyage leading to a hopeful and heart-warming message. A
page turning, one sitting read, it’s the perfect antidote
for the winter and promotion of holiday celebration.” – Ann
Pearlman, author of The
Christmas Cookie Club and A Gift for my Sister.
“John Mariani’s concise, achingly beautiful novella pulls a
literary rabbit out of a hat – a mash-up of the cosmic and
the intimate, the tragic and the heart-warming – a Christmas
tale for all ages, and all faiths. Read it to your children,
read it to yourself… but read it. Early and often. Highly
recommended.” – Jay Bonansinga, New York Times bestselling
author of Pinkerton’s War,
The Sinking of The Eastland, and The Walking Dead: The Road To
Woodbury.
“Amazing things happen when you open your heart to an
animal. The Hound in
Heaven delivers a powerful story of healing that
is forged in the spiritual relationship between a man and
his best friend. The book brings a message of hope that can
enrich our images of family, love, and loss.” – Dr. Barbara
Royal, author of The
Royal Treatment.
Modesty forbids me to praise my own new book, but
let me proudly say that it is an extensive
revision of the 4th edition that appeared more
than a decade ago, before locavores, molecular
cuisine, modernist cuisine, the Food Network and
so much more, now included. Word origins have been
completely updated, as have per capita consumption
and production stats. Most important, for the
first time since publication in the 1980s, the
book includes more than 100 biographies of
Americans who have changed the way we cook, eat
and drink -- from Fannie Farmer and Julia Child to
Robert Mondavi and Thomas Keller.
"This book is amazing! It has entries for
everything from `abalone' to `zwieback,' plus more
than 500 recipes for classic American dishes and
drinks."--Devra First, The Boston Globe.
"Much needed in any kitchen library."--Bon Appetit.
Now in Paperback,
too--How Italian Food Conquered the
World (Palgrave Macmillan) has won top prize from the
Gourmand
World Cookbook Awards. It is
a rollicking history of the food culture of
Italy and its ravenous embrace in the 21st
century by the entire world. From ancient Rome
to la dolce
vita of post-war Italy, from Italian
immigrant cooks to celebrity chefs, from
pizzerias to high-class ristoranti,
this chronicle of a culinary diaspora is as
much about the world's changing tastes,
prejudices, and dietary fads as about
our obsessions with culinary fashion and
style.--John Mariani
"Eating Italian will
never be the same after reading
John Mariani's entertaining and
savory gastronomical history of
the cuisine of Italy and how it
won over appetites worldwide. . .
. This book is such a tasteful
narrative that it will literally
make you hungry for Italian food
and arouse your appetite for
gastronomical history."--Don
Oldenburg, USA Today.
"Italian
restaurants--some good, some glitzy--far
outnumber their French rivals. Many of
these establishments are zestfully described
in How Italian Food Conquered the World, an
entertaining and fact-filled chronicle by
food-and-wine correspondent John F.
Mariani."--Aram Bakshian Jr., Wall Street
Journal.
"Mariani
admirably dishes out the story of
Italy’s remarkable global ascent
to virtual culinary
hegemony....Like a chef gladly
divulging a cherished family
recipe, Mariani’s book reveals the
secret sauce about how Italy’s
cuisine put gusto in gusto!"--David
Lincoln Ross,
thedailybeast.com
"Equal parts
history, sociology, gastronomy, and just
plain fun, How Italian Food Conquered the
World tells the captivating and delicious
story of the (let's face it) everybody's
favorite cuisine with clarity, verve and
more than one surprise."--Colman Andrews,
editorial director of The Daily
Meal.com.
"A fantastic and fascinating
read, covering everything from the influence
of Venice's spice trade to the impact of
Italian immigrants in America and the
evolution of alta cucina. This book will
serve as a terrific resource to anyone
interested in the real story of Italian
food."--Mary Ann Esposito, host of PBS-TV's
Ciao
Italia.
"John Mariani has written the
definitive history of how Italians won their
way into our hearts, minds, and
stomachs. It's a story of pleasure over
pomp and taste over technique."--Danny Meyer,
owner of NYC restaurants Union Square
Cafe, The Modern, and Maialino.
MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET
NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Publisher: John Mariani. Editor: Walter Bagley. Contributing Writers: Christopher
Mariani, Misha Mariani, John A. Curtas, Gerry Dawes, Geoff Kalish.
Contributing
Photographer: Galina Dargery. Technical
Advisor: Gerry
McLoughlin.