Mingo West L’Armonia del Gusto #5 Winemaker Dinner

Ciao Tutti–
Ok, so we’ve just solidified the details.
I’ve rented a baby grand piano from Michelle’s Piano in SW.
It even appears that Gregory has his plane tickets. Now we just have to hope his rustic good looks don’t get him in trouble with Homeland Security, you know those southern Italians. I imagine his sense of humor and talking skills can get him out of anything though.
So, with that in mind, I would like to announce our first winemaker dinner of 2010:

Gregory Perrucci from Racemi-Vigneto Puglia on Wednesday, 27 January @ 6:30pm $80/person www.racemi.it

Gregory’s vineyards are located in the heart of Primitivo country down near the coast of the Ionian sea in Manduria, Apuglia, the boot-heel of Italy. His wines are rich and full bodied and speak rightly of the sand and hot sun from which they come. While I only got to spend a short time with Gregory in Manduria, his hospitality, his passion for wines and his engaging spirit made me a believer in his project down here at the bottom of the Italian peninsula. We will be tasting 5 wines, all of which are partially based on, or entirely made up of, the grape Primitivo. Now, the primitivo and zinfandel grape are thought, or “known” in some circles, to be directly related, if not the same grape. Gregory is one of these believers and regularly attends a ZAP(Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) festival in California to which he brings his Sinfarosa wine, which we will be tasting, to stand alongside the other great zinfindels of the world. Oddly enough, through ZAP he met and became friends with Joel Peterson, the winemaker and founder of Ravenswood Wines out of Sonoma, California, who has been at the forefront of producing great zinfandels over the years. Odd because I worked at Ravenswood for Joel for a few years back in the late 80′s and early 90s….strange how things come together.

Anyway, as usual it will be fantastic wines and great food at this event. In addition to this we will have the piano and Gregory playing music throughout the evening. It should be good fun.
“What I am thinking about is… a match of taste (wine and food) and music.” Gregory says.
“I’ll probably mix classical and jazz, playing like I am in a friend’s house.
It won’t be a concert, but a conversation at the piano, informal and easy….”
So please come join us for an evening of taste and music, L’Armonia del Gusto as we may call it. We are closing the whole restaurant on this night and welcoming in all of you, Gregory and the wines of Apuglia. It’s will be a celebratory beginning to our winemaker dinner series for 2010.

Gregory Perrucci from Racemi-Vigneto Puglia on Wednesday, 27 January @ 6:30pm $80 www.racemi.it

Happy New Year–Buon Anno!
michael tocchini
ZAP’s Zinfandel Festival is an internationally recognized series of tasting events. Renown as the premier single-varietal tasting in the world, an estimated 275 wineries and over 10,000 attendees partake in the four days of Festival events. The ZAP Zinfandel Festival is held exclusively in San Francisco, and traditionally is a sell-out.
MiNGO
12600 S.W. Crescent Street Suite 120
Beaverton, OR 97005
503.646.6464 www.mingowest.com