If you are familiar with some of my blog posts, follow me on Facebook or Twitter, than you most likely know that I adore France and, in particular, French Rosé. After spending the weekend at the Wine Bloggers Conference, I returned home with an idea - to create a website and blog devoted entire to Rosé. Not just the wines, but everything about them - their history, who makes them, where they make them and how, what foods pair well and where can you travel to taste them. I am pleased to introduce "The Rosé Rules". There's not much content at the moment - she's only a few hours old - but there will be soon. I invite you to stop by and visit and please feel free to tell me what you'd like to know. Cheers! www.theroserules.com
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The recipe seems simple: take 2 award winning chefs and one acclaimed restaurateur. Blend with high quality sustainable ingredients, sprinkle liberally with lots of creativity and serve with class. The result: Pizzeria Mozza! A Southern California favorite since they opened the original Los Angeles restaurant in 2006, it seemed only fitting than when owners Nancy Silverton, Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich were seeking a location for their new San Diego incarnation, they selected a slice of local social history – the “Headquarters” at Pacific Coast Highway and Harbor Blvd. From 1939 to 1987 this was the original home the San Diego Police Department. And a stylish complex it was, with a typically SoCal mix of architectural styles, ranging from Spanish Colonial and Pueblo to Classical. The buildings have been beautifully restored, befitting it’s stature on the National Register of Historic Places, with fountains and shaded courtyards mingled with commercial spaces. Pizzeria Mozza, with its respect for history and tradition - enhanced by a modern twist- is a perfect fit for the location. There are four Pizzeria Mozza locations: Los Angeles, Newport Beach, the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and now San Diego. Each restaurant shares the same philosophy summed up in this quote from Nancy Silverton : “ Simple, all natural ingredients lead to artful nutrition”. This location is green certified and procures its products from green oriented suppliers. Even the sparkling water is produced ‘in house’. There’s a spacious outdoor patio (great for people watching on Sunday’s during the Certified Farmer’s Market!) and an inviting interior dining area. Several months ago I was invited to a Press Lunch for the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association. We had a chance to not only sample some of the classic dishes from Pizzeria Mozza but also to meet many of the people who make it all happen
The menu also features a host of local San Diego draft and bottled beers and a creative wine list focusing on, not surprisingly, Italian vino. Many are from organic, smaller wineries that you won’t see on your average wine list. All have been chosen with the menu in mind and we can thank Sommelier LaMont Schroeder for that! Each incarnation of Pizzeria Mozza shows a bit of it’s own personality, especially San Diego. With ever changing menu items to suit the season and the chef’s creative streak you could come back time and again and always find something new. There are, however, some classic staples and we were thrilled to sample them all. We began with a selection of Bruschetta -White Beans alla Toscana with Saba and Chicken livers, capers, parsley and pancetta. The bread was perfect – toasty but not so crisp as to shatter into a hundred pieces when you bit into it! The texture of the white beans was amazing and the savory liver was brightened by a hint of lemon and fresh parsley. Chef John Stenbakken explained that the Bruschetta are a menu tradition, but the toppings are rotated on a regular basis. Everything is made in house – an important element in maintaining consistent quality. John has been with the company for may years and plans on adding more pasta dishes and grilled items to the menu. Our next course was a huge plate of gorgeous Pane Bianco, dripping with high end olive oil and garlic – the perfect compliment to probably the most beautifully presented Mozza Caprese I have ever seen! The small ‘on-the-vine’ tomatoes were roasted for about 2 – 21/2 hours to concentrate their sweet flavors and worked really well with the ultra creamy Burrata and fresh pesto. To cleanse our palates, a colorful Insalata Rosso was served. Crisp radicchio dressed with a simple lemon vinaigrette, delightfully ‘chewy’ Wisconsin applewood bacon, freshly shredded Peccarino Romano and softly cooked egg. I could have made a meal of this with some of that wonderful Pane Bianco! But we couldn’t stop without trying some pizza! The ‘signature’ pizza, unique to San Diego, is the Kale Pizza. Beautifully balanced toppings of fresh baby kale, savory red onion, ricotta cheese, mozzarella and spicy coppa adorned the light, crispy, crust. Delicious. We were introduced to pastry chef Juli Sinning, keeper of the secret dough recipe! Julie started with Pizzeria Mozza four years ago in their Singapore location and was brought out to San Diego to open the new restaurant. Although she could not be bribed to divulge all the secrets of this fantastic pizza crust, she did explain that they make all the dough by hand, twice a day – once in the morning and again in the afternoon. The dough will sit overnight which aids in developing the texture and flavors. Wood fired ovens at incredibly high temperatures bake the pizzas in a matter of moments and give them that distinctive deep color. Julie is also in charge of the terrific dessert selection. She makes all the Gelato from scratch using a special machine imported from Italy and they even squeeze their own fresh fruit juices to go into the house prepared sorbets. We were lucky enough to sample some of these cool, creamy confections: a hazelnut gelato and the pineapple/coconut sorbet. Refreshing, vibrant and true flavors shone through. These contrasted with the other signature dessert – the Butterscotch Budino – a decadently creamy pudding topped with burnt sugar, softly whipped cream, and Maldon sea salt. Sinful. The accompanying pine nut and rosemary biscuit was a savory addition to the sweet and salt of the pudding. Wow. Whether you visit Pizzeria Mozza for a quick ‘slice’ and a beer or spend several hours sipping your wine and savoring multiple courses, you are sure to leave this terrific location knowing you celebrated “La Dolce Vita”.
Pizzeria Mozza is located in the “Headquarters at Seaport District”, 789 West Harbor Blvd, San Diego 92101 (609) 376-4353 http://www.pizzeriamozza.com/SanDiego/home.cfm http://theheadquarters.com/shop-dine Parking: There are two lots at Seaport Village, across the street, Valet Parking at the Headquarters and metered parking on surrounding streets. One of the great perks of being involved with the wine industry, in all its many permutations, is the chance to taste and learn on a continual basis. Most of the offerings from wineries, especially larger producers or those affiliated with the more ‘corporate’ establishments, are focused on sales. After all this is the wine ‘business’ and without sales we would all in a sad state. But every now and again an invitation appears for a more ‘educational’ experience and these are the ones that get me excited. Such was the case last month when I attended the “Sommelier Series” event sponsored by Chalone Vineyards. The seminar was held at the stunning Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, CA. This elegant, craftsman-style resort is home, I’m told, to a legendary golf course but my focus was on the wines! The workshop was conducted by Robert Cook, Winemaker for Chalone and Gilles de Chambure MS with a comparison tasting of several vintages from Chalone Vineyard and wines from Bourgogne. Chalone Vineyards were first planted in 1919 by Frenchman Charles Tamm. It seems he was searching for soil that reminded him of his native Burgundy and found them in this limestone rich terrain in the shadow of Pinnacles National Monument . Today, these are the oldest producing vineyards in Monterey County and produce award winning Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, just as Monsieur Tamm had dreamed of! In 1966, under owner/winemaker Dick Graff, Chalone set the standard for California Chardonnay and today, although it is owned by a large corporation (Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines), the wines are still crafted with respect for both the vineyard and the distinctive terroir. These wines certainly held their own when tasted against two delicious vintages from Burgundy and the passion of both gentlemen enhanced the experience. I shall be writing more extensively on the terroir, history and vintages of the Chalone AVA in the near future (more on that to come - stay tuned!). A big “Thank you” to Angela Bortugno and Lauren Watters of Chalone Vineyards for organizing a well orchestrated and classy event. Speaking to the other Sommeliers and educators, it was a terrific experience all around and Chalone should expect quite a few industry visitors in the months ahead. I came upon an interesting article today “Rosé wine, you’ve come a long way” from the Telegraph of London. The writer, Victoria Moore discusses, among other things, how this style of wine generally considered a “swimming pool wine” but has suddenly risen into the strata of “chic”, partly due to the release of Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitts new vintage, “Chateau Miraval". One reason I read the article was because I have been studying for my Master Level Provence Instructor accreditation, so I am obsessive about these things; I dream of the soil types of Provence and the various production methods. Sad, I know, but I do get to sample some fabulous wines as part of my ongoing research and education! The other reason I found this piece from the British media of interest is because the fashion for ‘drinking pink’ is really nothing new at all- in fact, when the area of Provence was first settled, viticulturally speaking, red wines were not really ‘red’ as we think of them. Grapes were processed very quickly after harvest and, as archeologists are verifying, most of the wines of the ancient world had just a little color. As for being ‘chic’, rosé was always the choice of the elite and the well-healed. These pale wines were the favorites of the Russian Imperial Courts and no self respecting aristocrat would drink a deeply hued wine, at least not until near the end of the 19th century. The lighter wines were drunk for pleasure while the poor soldiers and peasants were given “Piquette” made from adding water to the pomace or pressed skins and seeds of the rich-man’s wine. So get ready for the new 2012 vintage and sip some rosé. You’ll be chic, just like the citizens of Provence have been for, oh, about 2600 years! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/9971135/Rose-wine-youve-come-a-long-way.html?fb Illustration courtesy of the Chrysler Museum of Art "detail from Hendrick van Schoel's 1590 engraving Autumn from The Four Seasons, showing the ancient process of wine-making which made this region so famous. |
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