Taste of Italy

Category: Taste of Italy 2022

  • Dispatch from Houston by the legendary Darrell Corti, featured Taste of Italy speaker and “tastemaker” to a generation of Americans.

    Dispatch from Houston by the legendary Darrell Corti, featured Taste of Italy speaker and “tastemaker” to a generation of Americans.

    Above, from left: Rick Mindermann (Darrell Corti’s assistant), Ed Revak (a Houston-based spirits distributor), Darrell Corti, and Jeremy Parzen (Taste of Italy co-organizer and emcee).

    Darrell Corti, says celebrated food writer Colman Andrews, co-founder of Saveur magazine, “is one of those people whose importance is far greater than the name recognition.”

    The quote comes from a 2019 Los Angeles Times profile of Corti entitled “How Darrell Corti became a tastemaker in California food and wine.”

    Not only is Darrell, the owner of the legendary Corti Brothers grocery store in Sacramento, one of the top Italian-focused buyers in the country. He is also a legacy “tastemaker” whose encyclopedic knowledge of world gastronomy has introduced generations of Americans to the joys of traditional balsamic vinegar, countless iconic Italian wines, Spanish olive oil-cured tuna, and myriad other culinary treasures.

    “Darrell opened my eyes to products from around the world,” says Alice Waters, the founder of Chez Panisse in Berkeley and one of America’s farm-to-table pioneers. “He knows everything about everything.”

    That quote comes from a 2008 Los Angeles Times piece, “Corti Brothers store began a gourmet-food revolution.”

    On the occasion of his time in Houston for Taste of Italy, Darell also wanted to experience our city, enjoy our restaurants and food shops, and visit our museums. When the curator of Asian art at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston heard that Darrell, a noted collector of Japanese art, was coming to town, he insisted on giving Darrell a personal tour of the Asian collection.

    Yesterday on the Corti Brothers blog, Darrell’s assistant Rick Mindermann published this extremely detailed dispatch about the trip.

    We couldn’t have been more proud to welcome Darrell to our city. And it is with great joy that we share their notes from their time here.

  • Dream team for Chianti and Texas BBQ tasting, standing room only!

    Dream team for Chianti and Texas BBQ tasting, standing room only!

    It was standing room only on Monday at this year’s BBQ and Italian wine tasting and seminar at Taste of Italy, featuring celebrity pit master Ara Malekian of Harlem Road Texas BBQ.

    Chef Ara (above, second from right) was joined by a true “dream team” of panelists including Tom Dobson (left), the Italian wine buyer for Spec’s (one of the largest wine retail chains in the world), Eric Sandler (far right), the food writer for CultureMap (one of the most widely read lifestyle sites in Texas), and Italian wine and food historian and educator Jeremy Parzen (second from left), author of the blog Do Bianchi.

    The wines — six different Chianti — were selected by the Chianti Consortium (Consorzio Vino Chianti), the event’s title sponsor, and were tasted blind by a group of 50+ attendees, including leading restaurant trade members, writers, bloggers, and influencers.

    Tom and Jeremy spoke at length about Sangiovese’s incredible versatility as a gastronomic, food-friendly wine that works well with a wide range of meat dishes, including — and especially! — Texas barbecue.

    Eric, a Houston native and expert on Texas BBQ, also enjoyed tasting the wines, noting that it’s only natural to pair a “steak-friendly” wine with beef-centric Texas-style smoked meats (the two main cuts used are brisket and rib).

    Chef Ara prepared a classic brisket for the event. But his second dish was more unusual: Pork belly that had been cured with the same seasonings used to make pastrami and then smoked in the traditional Texas style.

    Both dishes worked exceedingly well with the wines and Chef Ara declared that Chianti could possibly be the best wine ever to pair with this style of cooking.

    Now in its third year, the Texas BBQ and Italian wine seminar at Taste of Italy has become a bona fide Houston tradition. This year’s event was another smashing success.

    The organizers of Taste of Italy couldn’t be more thankful to the Chianti Consortium for their support.

  • Congratulations to the winners of the Villa Sandi Houston Sommelier Competition!

    Congratulations to the winners of the Villa Sandi Houston Sommelier Competition!

    Congratulations to the winners of the Villa Sandi Houston Sommelier Competition!

    Above, center from left: Tony Elsinga (1st prize), Mark Fusco (2nd), and Carlos Rosas (3rd). Well done and well deserved! And thank you to everyone who competed! It was a great event.

    Candidates in the competition underwent a series of exams: Theory (arguably the most challenging), blind tasting, and service.

    The winner of this year’s gathering, Tony Elsinga, was awarded a $750 stipend and a all-expenses-paid trip to Vinitaly, the annual Italian wine trade fair held in Verona next month.

    The second runner up, Mark Fusco, received a $750 stipend while the third runner up, Carlos Rosas, received a $500 stipend.

    All three winners received a 3-liter bottle of Villa Sandi Prosecco Valdobbiadene DOCG.

    Even for those candidates who didn’t place in the competition, all agreed it was a formidable learning experience and an opportunity to hone their skills with the guidance of their colleagues.

    The organizers would like to share their special thanks with the Villa Sandi winery and estate for the generous support that made this year’s competition possible.

  • 320 attendees, 45 Italian brands, 200+ products. Thank you for making Taste of Italy 2022 a spectacular success!

    320 attendees, 45 Italian brands, 200+ products. Thank you for making Taste of Italy 2022 a spectacular success!

    Click here for a Facebook album of photos from the fair.

    More than 320 attendees, 45 Italian brands, 200+ Italian wines and food products, 3 seminars presented by leading food and wine professionals, 1 sommelier competition.

    We thank everyone — exhibitors, presenters, sommeliers, and organizers — for a fantastic Taste of Italy 2022, now in its 8th year and now back in-person after a two-year hiatus.

    “We had expected a smaller turnout back when we began planning this year’s event in late 2021,” said Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central deputy director Maurizio Gamberucci. “But the response and attendance at the fair was an indicator that food and wine professionals are hungry and thirsty for Italian wines and foods. We couldn’t be more pleased with the results.”

    “It was such a thrill,” said Taste of Italy emcee and panel moderator Jeremy Parzen, a Houston-based food and wine historian and educator, “to see so many Texas restaurant professionals excited to taste, learn, and interact with the Italians who traveled from Europe to Texas especially for the gathering. It was great.”

    Highlights of this year’s event included: Talks by Darrell Corti, a leading U.S. expert on Italian gastronomy, and Dino Borri, CEO for Eataly in the U.S.; a seminar on pairing Texas BBQ with Chianti led by celebrity pit master Ara Malekian and Spec’s Italian wine buyer Tom Dobson; and the awards ceremony for the winner, and second- and third-runners up in the Villa Sandi Houston Sommelier Competition.

    If this response to this year’s Taste of Italy is any indication of what to expect for next year, we know we’re going to need a bigger ballroom!

    Thanks again to everyone who made it such a memorable and rewarding experience.