Fontodi Wine Dinner at Italian Wine Merchants

At Joseph and Curtis Custom Wine Cellars one of the luxuries that comes with our business is the ability to try some pretty amazing wines. In doing so we are able to recommend to our clients which wine to stock their wine cellar with. While a lot of attention went to Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2007 last year, for me the highlight of 2009 was the release of the 2006 Super Tuscans.

Sassicaia returned to form with monster grip and concentration, Masseto again comes in as Italy’s number one cult wine, but it might be Flaccianello that stole the spotlight. I actually agree with Wine Spectator in crowning this the wine of the vintage with its 99 Points. I have been fortunate to do many blind tasting with Chris Deas and Italian Wine Merchants, and Flaccianello, along with Bruno Giacosa, are two routine winners.



And ironically, it’s the lower scoring 1999 example that I think may be drinking best. Its always great to see ratings on different wines...but nothing beats the real thing. We love to help our clients build beautiful wine cellars as well as fill them! Here is a great opportunity to taste some amazing wines and great food as well!

Cheers!

FONTODI WINE DINNER
Special Winemaker Dinner with Fontodi Flaccianello
Featuring Giovanni Manetti, a vintage vertical of Flaccianello, and more

Wednesday, February 3, 2010
7:00-10:00 PM
$195.00

Perhaps the most talked about wine of the historic 2006 Tuscan vintage is Flaccianello, but the legendary Super Tuscan wine that delivers the structure and longevity of a classic Brunello, has long been a staple in Italy’s cache of great wines. For this event, Fontodi winemaker, Giovanni Manetti will fly in to lead a vertical of Flaccianello and much more. Experience back vintage Flaccianello (’99,’95, ‘88) including the iconic 2006 release. Fontodi also crafts a highly regarded Chianti Classico that we will pour alongside their flagship Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo as well as other cult favorites.

Fontodi Wine Tasting:
Pinot Nero 2006
Syrah 2000
Chianti Classico 2006
Chianti Classico Riserva 1993
Vigna del Sorbo 2006
Flaccianello 2006
Flaccianello 1999
Flaccianello 1995
Flaccianello 1988 (magnum)
Vin Santo 2001

Click here for details.

NYC Restaurant Wine Cellar

Joseph & Curtis recently completed a custom wine cellar for a restaurant in NYC. The restaurant L'ARTUSI, which is located at 228 w 10th street in Manhattan, has a very dramatic and elegant feel. The owners came to us with an idea to build a wine cellar on the second floor (loft area) but were not quite sure how to lay the room out.



We decided to design the cellar with a very small footprint on the overall space of the restaurant as we all know how expensive square footage is in NYC. This type of design has become VERY popular with residential as well as commercial spaces because it enables homeowners to have a beautiful cellar without forfeiting large amounts of square footage to wine storage.

The total width of the wine cellar (which is shaped like a horseshoe) is about 40" with the 2 legs of the shoe being about 10' long and the middle wall being about 26' long.



L'ARTUSI was able to then conserve valuable floor space for a VIP room with custom sliders overlooking the wine cellar and the second floor dining room. From the beginning of the project there was much work to be done.

The initial work included gutting of the entire space; creating a vapor barrier, insulating, running all the necessary electric and HVAC for the lighting and cooling system.



We then had to re-sheetrock the entire space as well as frame the knee-wall (which became raised panel and picture frame moldings) and 5 separate exterior glass windows from the knee wall to the ceiling. Once that was completed and we had reliable wall and floor dimensions we went right to work on the custom wine racks (redwood)

L'ARTUSI had a very tight timeline as they hoped to be open before the holidays. We had to take on extra workers to accommodate this request. Once we finished the racking we had to have our mill and UPS expedite the shipping to finish in time for the grand opening. We had several of our installers on site for the commercial wine racking install.

The custom wine cellar came out magnificent, with plenty of bulk storage for more than 2,000 wine bottles as well as 3 different large format display rows as well as custom 750 displays as well. Our HVAC installed a ducted cooling system (we could not get access to the roof) which ended up being an upgrade from our original contract which we were happy to cover for our client since we have a very strong policy of never changing our contracts unless the customer decides to add additional features. The system has 3 separate supplies in the space and a very large return.



The last day ended up being a little harder than we thought with the glass install (5 pieces several of which were 4' x 8') and didn't quite fit the opening since they changed slightly when a veneer was put up for painting purposes. We had 2 of our carpenters as well as four of our glass guys working for seven hours to finish in time before the restaurant opened for there usual 5:00pm sitting.



Overall the project was a great success and the owners of L'ARTUSI we’re very happy with our services and how the overall custom wine cellar turned out. We have since dined at L'artusi AND we’re very impressed with the food and of course the wine list.



Please stop in and see the wine cellar on the 2nd floor and have a truly wonderful meal.

Stay tuned for more...

Cheers!