Gala Dinner at Antonio Galloni's La Festa del Barolo
at Four Seasons Restaurant, NYC (2/5/2016)

This was the Friday evening gala dinner at Antonio Galloni Vinous Media's 2016 La Festa del Barolo. I sat with members of my regular Barolo group at the G.D. Vajra Winery table with their winemaker Giuseppe Vaira and his younger brother Isidoro "Isi" Vaira who works in their vineyards.

Click on any photo for a larger view of that photo. Many larger photos contain more image as well as much higher resolution and are typically 3-4 MB.

Part 2 of La Festa del Barolo was a Morning Tasting of the New Release of 2011 Barolos the next day.

My notes and photos for the Gala Dinner at the 2015 La Festa del Barolo, the 2013 La Festa del Barolo and the 2011 La Festa del Barolo. Each has a link to the corresponding current release tasting.



The Venue and the Reception with Sparkling Wines

The Four Seasons Restaurant is a special and historic restaurant which sadly will be closing in July 2016.

The entrance on East 52nd Street.

The lobby by the entrance at street level has a sign
about the closing of this grand restaurant.

An article about the closing of the Four Seasons and an article about preserving the historic interior. Both in the NY Times.

An article about the end of the Four Seasons in Eater.

See my notes on the 2015 La Festa del Barolo for more photos of the Four Seasons Restaurant.


Sparkling Wines

Great to meet Toni Fadness from Norway and see Eric Guido again.

Iggy Melito, Marc DiBella, Eric Guido, Jonathan Doft.
(Photo from Marc DiBella.)


Heading into the Legendary Pool Room for Dinner



Daniel & Amanda Moritz at the Elvio Cogno table next to ours.

My table for the evening with the G.D. Vajra Winery.



The Wines and the Food

My old Barolo group and I sat at the table for the G.D. Vajra Winery with their winemaker Giuseppe Vaira and his younger brother Isidoro "Isi" Vaira who works in their vineyards.

Kelly, Isi, Greg, Henry.
Jamie, Jonathan, Giuseppe, Todd.
Jeff Kellogg, Wine Director at Maialino was also at
our table, but somehow I never got a photo,
so I stole this one from Maialino's website.


The food at dinner was excellent. Kudos to Executive Chef Pecko Zantilaveevan and his team.


Course One
Asian Duck Consommé, Poached Quail Egg, Duck Dumplings.
This was exquisite and went quite well with the wines.


G.D. Vajra Barolo Flight 1 (8pm)

G.D. Vajra Barolo Flight 2 (8pm)

G.D. Vajra Barolo Flight 3 (8:30pm)

Course Two
Risotto with Mushrooms and Black Truffles.
This was quite delicious.


Vietti Barolo Rocche (8:30pm)

Bartolo Mascarello in Magnums (8:40pm)

Two Brilliant Barolos from Weak Vintages (8:50pm)

Gifts from Amanda M. (9pm)
Amanda and Daniel Moritz are a couple I've known for quite a while. I was the one who alerted them to this event. They generously provided me with glasses of wine from their table. Three here, and one more later. Many thanks!
Two More Treats from Others (9:15pm)

Course Three
Braised Short Ribs with Polenta, Root Vegetables, and Red Wine Sauce.
Not everyone was happy with theirs, but mine was one of the best short ribs I've had.

Henry's Wines (9:30pm)

Cheese Course


Two to Finish the Evening (10pm)

What a perfect way to finish this evening. First, a winemaker I've met several times (Valter Fissore) brings me a wine that his father-in-law made long ago. Then, a winemaker I've never met before (Vittore Alessandria) comes to our table to give us a taste of his terrific wine. That's La Festa del Barolo!

Tasting notes posted from CellarTracker
Petit Fours



Other People, Other Tables, Other Wines

Jay McInerney chats with Jeff Porter.

Liz Nicholson chats with Greg and Henry.

The Cogno Table: Christy Erickson, Josh Leader, Kathi Recce,
Dan Moritz (back center), Valter Fissore (back right).

Valter Fissore likes the 1966 Cappellano that I brought.

Valter Fissore and me.

Valter Fissore and Ian D'Agata with wines made by
Valter's father in law, Elvio Cogno.
(Photo courtesy Valter Fissore)

It's good when the host can enjoy himself too!

Luca Currado stops by.

Luca Currado chats with Greg.


Bottles from Other Tables

Just to show the range of what was there.







Mark Scudiery's notes on this evening.

 

 


All original content © Ken Vastola