Wine With Wanda

Sip Fine Italian Wines, Two Ounces at a Time, at Il Gattopardo in New York City

 

The Enomatic Wine Dispenser, expertly operated by Luigi Cozzolino, in action at Il Gattopardo.

Have you ever looked at a wine list and wished you could try a fine wine without having to buy the whole bottle? Your vino dreams have come true at Il Gattopardo in NYC! With their high tech Enomatic Wine Dispenser, a selection of wines normally only available by the bottle is offered in pours of 2, 4, and 6 ounces. Using a nitrogen gas preservation system, the high-tech Enomatic keeps the wine fresh and maintains its integrity for several weeks.

I opted for the highly rated Ornellaia 2015 and it was superb. The Enomatic dispensed this coveted Super Tuscan at the perfect temperature and the wine was full of life. A bottle of Ornellaia 2015 is $750 at Il Gattopardo but the Enomatic pours are priced at $60, $120, and $180. Yes, that's still a splurge but certainly more manageable than spending the cost of a plane ticket to Italy on one bottle of wine! The selection of wines that Il Gattopardo offers from the Enomatic changes weekly. The Enomatic is also available with varying selections of Italian wines at Il Gattopardo's other NYC restaurants -- the more casual Mozzarella & Vino and the legendary Leopard at des Artistes. Many guests create their own wine flights by ordering pours of several different Enomatic wines. Ornellaia 2015 is one of the more expensive options and Il Gattopardo also offers more affordable Enomatic pours that showcase the diversity and quality of Italian wines.

Gianfranco Sorrentino, owner of Il Gattopardo, selects all of the wines on their impressive list. 

Il Gattopardo has been one of my favorite restaurants for a few years now. Owner Gianfranco Sorrentino, a native of Naples, is passionate about showcasing the authentic flavors of Italy. During our conversation, Gianfranco said that he often tells his chef and business partner Vito Gnazzo that "Four ingredients in a dish means that there is one too many." He believes that true Italian cuisine is built around the ingredients and he prefers to let the high quality of the Italian ingredients and culinary traditions speak for themselves, instead of overpowering their essence with too many elaborate flavors and techniques.  

Clearly, Gianfranco is doing something right because Il Gattopardo frequently hosts some of Italy's most acclaimed winemakers and the restaurant was recently designated one of NYC's best power lunch spots by The New York Post. The next time you're craving the true flavors of Italy and want to take your palate on a delicious food & wine journey, visit Il Gattopardo and their sister restaurants. 

Il Gattopardo is located at 13-15 West 54th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, in the historic Rockefeller Townhouses. The Museum of Modern Art is right across the street, making Il Gattopardo a great place to refuel and after a day of gazing at art.  

Recipe for Sustainable Domestic Bliss: Adrian Grenier + SHFT Red Wine + LG Studio Kitchen Appliances

 

SHFT Co-Founders Adrian Grenier & Peter Glatzer with their private label red wine

Whether it is a perfect pan of paella, a bubbling pot of bouillabaisse, or a simple grilled cheese sandwich - a home cooked meal prepared with love and skill is hard to beat. Now, imagine that meal in a shiny new energy efficient kitchen where you sip sustainable red wine and actor Adrian Grenier sautés your organic vegetables. Ok, I can't deliver Mr. Grenier but I do have some suggestions for the kitchen and the vino!

 

Courtesy of LG Electronics (the "life's good" people), I was invited to attend an intimate discussion about environmentally friendly home design at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC. There were several stars in attendance that evening but the biggest were Adrian Grenier and the LG Studio suite of premium kitchen appliances.

In addition to being a talented actor/filmmaker, Adrian is also a passionate environmentalist and the co-founder of SHFT - a sustainable lifestyle platform. The SHFT website highlights all of the little shifts that we can each make in our everyday lives to protect our planet's resources. On the home front, saving energy is a good way to start and the LG Studio line delivers efficiency in a sleek-stainless steel package. For example, the refrigerator uses at least 20 percent less energy than required by federal standards yet offers the greatest capacity of any 42-inch width side-by-side fridge (hmm, imagine how many bottles of bubbly that can hold)! The LG Studio line also includes a gas cooktop, a double wall oven, a steam dishwasher and more.

Adrian lives a very green but design conscious lifestyle at his solar-paneled home in Brooklyn and said that he wouldn't mind having the new LG Studio line in his kitchen. (He also said that sharing a plate of food is a good way to build a relationship and keep your weight down!) Maybe Adrian won't be sharing a plate of couscous casserole in your dream kitchen anytime soon but you can enjoy a bottle of his SHFT 2009 Paso Robles Rhone Blend ($24.99). This organic and sustainable red wine is a bold and fruit forward blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre with big dark berry notes. Now, Adrian and SHFT just need to get started on a white wine so we can stock it in our LG fridges!

Visit LG and SHFT for more information.