Kevin Duncan of Vinifera Imports in Oregon will be guiding us through the rich and romantic wines and grapes of northern Italy. He has traveled extensively throughout Italy and will be heading to Sicily soon after our program. Kevin has selected four wines from the premier Piedmont area and one each from Trentino, Friuli and Veneto, three northeastern regions known collectively as the Tre Venezie.

We will be tasting a 1999 Zeni Teroldego Rotaliano. Known for centuries as “the princely wine of Trentino,” it is reminiscent of an Australian Shiraz, but silky smooth on the finish. The Teroldego grape is grown only on the flat plains in the north of Trentino. The Sant’Elena Ròs di Rôl is a rich dark blend of 60 percent Merlot and 40 percent Cabernet Sauvignon from the Friuli region.

Representing the Piedmont area, we will be pouring several hand-crafted wines from Claudio Icardi. The 2002 Piemonte-Cortese L’aurora, a white wine, is somewhat like a Pinot Grigio in style but with more body and complexity. The 2001 Barbera D’Asti is medium bodied, balanced by a firm underlining structure and nice acidity. Icardi’s 1999 Nebbiolo Surisjvan is medium bodied and full of dark fruit and earthy flavors. The Nebbiolo grape is responsible for some of the greatest Italian red wines such as Barolo and Barbaresco.

Serafina — A Little Slice Of Italy In Seattle
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Serafina, it is an intimate Italian restaurant in the Eastlake neighborhood with a warm, inviting ambience that echoes the welcoming embrace of an Italian home. Both owner Susan Kaufman and chef John Neumark admit to being obsessed with Italian cooking. Chef Neumark says Italian food and wine “is there to sustain and please us. I’m a hedonist and I want to give people pleasure.”If that isn’t enough to tempt you, a Zagat survey notes that Serafina has “that indefinable something that makes you want to go back.” Frommers lists it as one of their favorite dining spots and the Seattle Weekly Reader’s Poll names Serafina as both the Best Italian and the Best First-Date Restaurant in Seattle. Located at 2043 Eastlake Ave. E., Serafina is available for private parties and also does off-premises catering.

Serafina’s executive chef John Neumark was originally drawn to the restaurant business because he loved the ritual of gathering together with family and friends around a table with food and wine. Originally from the East Coast, he says he chose the Pacific Northwest to pursue his passion because it seemed such an “exciting and blessed gastronomic milieu.”

Here in Seattle, John has been sous chef at both Campagne Restaurant in Pike Place Market and the Hunt Club Restaurant in the Sorrento Hotel, as well as executive chef at Cafe Juanita in Kirkland. In between, he took time out to get some European experience as well by apprenticing at a two-star Michelin restaurant in the Black Forest region of Germany. Since 2000, John has been the executive chef at Serafina, where he also directs their award-winning wine program.

According to John, “Italian food is simply and truly the cooking of nonnas. Italian food has an immediacy, honesty and warmth that possesses the spirit of a grandmother’s wisdom and love.”

We look forward to trying the dishes that John will create especially for us to pair with our Italian wines.

We advise bringing two glasses to the program to compare the wines.

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