First New York Wine Dinner for Italy’s Barolo Producers Eugenio and Cinzia Bocchino with First U.S. Tasting of Langhe Nebbiolo “Roccabella” 2008 August 19, 2010

VERACE, the newly acclaimed “True Italian” restaurant from the Bohlsen family (www.bohlsenrestaurants.com), with beverage director and distinguished sommelier Paulo Villela, introduce Barolo producers Eugenio and Cinzia Bocchini (www.eugeniobocchino.it) in their first exclusive New York wine dinner.

New too is Bocchino’s Langhe Nebbiolo, Roccabella, 2008, a new artisanal wine named for the steep hill in Roddi, near the border of the Barolo DOCG, where it is grown. Its U.S. debut is as the first pairing in a three-course wine dinner with by VERACE’s Tuscan-born Executive Chef Francesco Torre.

VERACE & BOCCHINO AUGUST 30, 2010 WINE DINNER MENU
1 - Vitel Tonne with Veal and Capers
and
Crostini of "Bollito Misto" and Salsa Verde
Wine Pairing: Langhe Nebbiolo "Roccabella" 2008

2 - Barolo Braised Beef Tenderloin over Green Beans a la Piemontese
Wine Pairing: Barolo LU 2005

3 - Selection of Piemontese Cheeses
Wine Pairing: Barolo La Serra 2006

Just like VERACE, meaning truthfulness, the Bocchini wine dinner presents a true Italian dining experience and straight from northern Italy.

Says Villela, who discovered the Piedmont winemaker on one of his wine tasting visits and invited them to Long Island, “Only small farmers like Bocchini can represent the true terroir of Barolo. They know how to express the potential of the land. They are among Barolo’s traditionalists in viniculture yet using the most modern techniques for the winemaking itself. I am delighted VERACE can give Bocchini deserved recognition for their true expression of the grapes from Barolo.”

A fan of small wineries, at VERACE, Villela also introduced the first international wine on-tap in the U.S. with Barbera di Monferrato from Piedmont’s Iuli Winery (www.iuli.it). The program has received industry attention nationally for its innovative vine to table approach delivering what Cheer’s Magazine calls an “Old World tradition with a New World twist” for maximum flavor and freshness at favorable prices for the consumer and green practices for the environment.

Monday night wine dinners each week at Verace are $40 or $30 for food alone.

Bocchino wine is distributed by Long Island born sommelier Summer Wolff, creator of Indie Wines (www.indiewineries.com) and retailed by Sokolin (www.sokolin.com). Prices are as follows: Roccabella, $14.99; Barolo LU, $46.99; and Barolo La Serra, $57.99.

VERACE (599 Main Street, Islip, NY 11751 [631] 277-3800 www.veracerestaurant.com) is a true Italian dining experience. Like its name, meaning truthfulness, VERACE is sincere in its commitment to bring authentic Italian cuisine, intrinsically fashionable décor and gracious service to Long Island. The menu by Tuscan-born Executive Chef Francesco Torre harkens back to the rustic roots of Italian cooking in its simple elegance with focus on the freshest ingredients and honest flavors. Wine-on-tap is premium in a program that is one of the first in the USA working with award-winning wineries in Italy and New York State. High design, inside and out, combines modernity with respect for the ages from its cobblestone passageway entrance to the fully exposed and state-of-the-art cooking suite in powder-coated Ferrari red. VERACE is the fourth fine dining establishment from the Bohlsen family (www.bohlsenrestaurants.com), who also own and operate top-Zagat rated Tellers, next door, in Islip; the vibrant H2O Seafood Grill in Smithtown, NY; and the Gold Coast harbor front Prime – An American Kitchen and Bar in Huntington.

PAULO VILLELA joined Long Island, New York’s Bohlsen Restaurant Group (www.bohlsenrestaurants.com) as corporate beverage director in 2008 overseeing the wine cellars of five restaurants including 15,000 bottles and 2,200 labels. In 2010, the distinguished sommelier launched of a cutting-edge wine-on-tap program at VERACE that is top tier in the USA and one of the first in New York featuring custom-blended wines-on-tap sourced directly from Italian and New York State vineyards. Villela joined the Bohlsens from Blue Fin Restaurant at the W Hotel in Times Square, New York, where he was beverage director. As wine captain and sommelier for Windows on the World Restaurant for five years, Villela was the last person to grace the restaurant’s vast wine cellar on September 11, 2001. His interest in wine began as a youth in southern Brazil when neighboring Italian immigrants would give away home-made wine provided Villela brought his own bottle; in those days, a greater expense. Fluent in five languages, Villela was class valedictorian for the Sommelier Society of America in 1998 and earned a degree in Agricultural Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. His deep knowledge about wine was also gained from teachers Kevin Zraly and Andrea Immer, friends and family, the experience of tasting 40-50 wines per week and regular visits to Napa Valley, Italy, Greece, Chile, Argentina, Germany and Spain.

ABOUT EUGENIO BOCCHINO (www.eugeniobocchino.it): Azienda Agricola Eugenio Bocchino is, and will always be, a small family business producing 25,000 botttles per year . Husband and wife Eugenio and Cinzia have 5.5 hectares of vineyards in seven vineyards in the Communes of La Morra, Verduno, Roddi and Alba. In this northern Italian region of Piedmont, the duo make three Barolo wines including two "Crus" from La Morra, "La Serra" and "Plucotti", the Nebbiolo La Perucca, and the classic Piemontese blend Suo di Giacomo (Nebbiolo and Barbera). The duo are currently focused on organic wines and are practicing bio-dynamic farming as of 2009 with certification expected in 2012.

ROCCABELLA is a steep hill in the commune of Roddi near the border of the Barolo DOCG. The south-southeast exposition of the vineyard allows the grape to always reach a perfect maturity, rendering the wine extremely balanced, with optimum freshness and weight. The harvest begins around the end of September. This Nebbiolo is macerated for approximately 20 days then is aged in oak casks for 16-months before bottling.

BAROLO LU comes from the vineyards in the municipality of La Morra. This wine is dedicated to the Bocchino’s daughter, Lucia. The singly large vineyard, 2.5 hectares, is divided in two parts; the older 40-45-year-old vines, and the younger 10-year-old vines. LU is released only after a four-year process of harvesting, fermentation, maceration and aging. What truly counts with this wine is the high quality of the clusters and the time to develop aromas and tannins.

LA SERRA is one of the oldest vineyards in the municipality of La Morra, dating back to 1550. The vineyard is situated 400 meters above sea level with a southeast disposition. The vines were planted 30 years ago. After the harvest, from the beginning of October, following the press and fermentation, and finally the maceration the wine is racked in oak casks, aged for 24 months, and then a further year in the bottle before release. It is an austere wine with elegant and velvet tannins.

ABOUT INDIE WINES (www.indiewineries.com): The mission of Indie Wines is to share undiscovered wines that are without points but that have, in founder and sommelier Summer Wolff's opinion, reached greatness as the cult wines of the future and are writing wine history with every vintage. Throughout her wine and culinary adventures in Europe, the native Long Islander had the great fortune of meeting producers of numerous hidden gems she calls Indie wineries. These are small and independent by nature. Their wines are made in harmony with nature, many biodynamic and most organic. Each of the winemakers, as Eugenia Bocchino, which Indie Wines distributes, treat the land and the vine with the utmost respect it deserves. The results are wines that are full of charming and unique personalities, as great as the greatest wines made today yet unmatched in their price to quality ratio.