As soon as Will headed off to the UK, I headed to Chef Roberto Donna's in Vienna for a fabulous wine dinner. I had the immense pleasure of sitting with the winemaker, Giuseppe Sorrentino whose winery is in Campania (on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius) as well as wine importer Maurizio Farro (a dear client) and winemaker Erminela D'Angelo who is also a superb winemaker for her family winery D'Angelo in Basilicata! There are lots of FB pics as this was also a great reunion of so many people who had met on Zoom during covid for those fabulous wine dinners that Nancy & Roberto Donna organized.
The first wine was 2022 Lacryma Chisti del Vesuvio Bianco Bio, called Bio as all the wines from Sorrentino are bio-dynamic as well as organic and vegan!! I loved this fresh white loaded with local minerals from the volcano that is made from 80% Caprettone and 10% each Falanghina and Greco. It was served with a truly "out of this world" Parmigiana di Melanzane (Eggplant Parmesan) which did not even taste like eggplant. The layers were fried and smothered in tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan and even a vegetarian might have sworn it was meat!
Next was a super rich Crocchetta di Patate Ripiena di Scarola Sulla Fonduta di Burrata, Pancetta Croccante or a huge potato croquette stuffed with Escarole, Burrata cheese and crispy pancetta. Chef Roberto said this was a typical Campania street food dish, but it was so magnificent and paired ideally with the 2020 Lachryma Chrisit "Vigna Lapillo" Bianco Superiore is the blend of grapes. The wine is grown at higher altitudes and with lower yields and is creamier than the first Lacryma Christi we had which i actually liked more!
Our third course was a simple Ravioli Alla Sorrentina (named for the winery) and featured superb hand-made ravioli filled with delicious ricotta cheese and Parmesan in a tomato & basil sauce that just oozed freshness. We moved on to the 2021 Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Rosso Bio made from 90% Piedrosso and 10% Aglianico which was superb and so drinkable.
The meat course was a Punta di Vitello alla Fornara or simply a roasted Veal Breast with herbs and potatoes that was superb if a tad too lemony as the meat was so tender. The 2018 Lacryma Christi "Vigna Lapillo" Superiore is 80% Piedrossos and 20% Aglianico and was truly spectacular. I have had Lacryma Christi many times before, but these wines were all truly magnificent and made me want to spend time in the region tasting more! By the way, the winery has guest houses which i can book for you!!
Dessert was a yummy Pastiera Napoletana (an Easter specialty in Naples) or Ricotta & Wheat Tart with Orange Flower Water in a light Creme Anglaise or vanilla sauce. Sorrentino makes a 2017 Passito "Pompeiano" "Fior di Ginestre" that is 33% each Caprettone, Falanghina and Catalanesca(obviously orginating from Catalan/Spain, but a varietal new to me) that was more acidic than sweet and was a nice foil to the dessert, but probably not a wine I would buy as I tend to go sweeter with dessert wines.
What fun we all had and what a great meal and great wines. You can sign up for these 5pm dinner held almost once a month at their website and as this was my first one, I hope to return again soon!!
