In late January, Paolo e Noemia D’Amico winemaker Guillaume Gelly traveled to Connecticut for Sun WineFest and to meet with local retailers. When his trip was cut short by Winter Storm Juno, a wine dinner at Rustica in Chester scheduled for January 26, 2015 was postponed to February 4. It was hosted by Cellar Fine Wines Portfolio Manager Jillian Simms and Marketing Manager Janeen Carabetta. Twenty-six attendees braved the night’s icy conditions to dine on a menu including seared fois gras paired with Falesia Chardonnay and grilled lamb t-bone with Atlante Cabernet Franc, a new wine to the state and produced from vines yielding only about two tons per acre. Steve Hargraves of Deep River’s Shore Discount Liquors was on hand to take wine orders.
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- Jillian Simms, Rustica owner Nino Pisanzio, Janeen Carabetta, and Steve Hargraves at Rustica.
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- Guillaume Gelly serves guests at the Elite Cru tasting during Sun WineFest, shortly before leaving town to beat the blizzard.
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- Simms addresses the diners while Pisanzio pours.
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- D’Amico wines with a photo of the cellar, carved into volcanic tufo stone. Simms explained how the family winery is situated within an Unesco Heritage Site in the Lazio region of Italy.
