Naples Winter Wine Festival Charity Dinner

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | JANUARY 24, 2018 

This spectacular charity dinner provided a great opportunity to indulge in a fabulous fall white truffle menu with a selection of fine Barolos and Barbarescos. The dinner, part of a lot I donated alongside Instagram CEO and Co-Founder Kevin Systrom and the Napa Valley Reserve, raised $160,000 for the children of Collier County, FL. I am deeply grateful to our generous donors for supporting this lot with such enthusiasm.

I chose a range of wines, some younger, some older, with the goal of focusing on smaller, artisan producers and reference point vintages. I also wanted our guests to taste wines that are hard to find in the US either because of tiny production or as a result of prices that are starting to get out of control for most consumers. Overall, I was thrilled with how the wines showed. There was some bottle variation with the Cappellano. Other than that, the wines were simply exquisite. Sommelier Brittany Hastings and her team did a fabulous job with the wines, no easy task given the number of glasses that had to be served in tandem with the food. 

The cozy dining room at the Napa Valley Reserve is an ideal setting to enjoy the bounties of fall 

The Reserve’s small, downstairs dining room was the ideal setting for this intimate and relaxed fall dinner. Estate Chef Alexandro Ayala’s simple, ingredient-focused menu was perfect for the wines. As Piedmont fans know, 2017 was not exactly a banner year for white truffles. I am not sure how one of our guests sourced the huge pile of truffles we devoured, but they were absolutely delicious and certainly among the best I had in 2017. My former boss and mentor Bob Parker used to say: “There is no such thing as a bad truffle.” I agree.

The white truffles and plenty of glasses lie in anticipation

Flight One:

Fontina Fonduta; 143 degree Egg, White Truffle

2008 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi/S. Lorenzo-Ravera

2008 G.D. Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole