Wine & Spirits - Fall 2017 - 24

At Osteria Morini
in SoHo, Hristo
Zisovski's list is not
long, it is "deep"-
as in, it has lots
of older vintages,
thanks no doubt to
the buying power of
a multi-restaurant
group that has
always valued wine.
The other immediate draw for me is what I'd call
"outer-borough" Burgundy-the less-fancy appellations or vineyards within Burgundy's hierarchy. We
all know the exponential price jumps that can occur
from one village (or vineyard) to the next. "Burgundy
is huge for us," Fortgang says. "Not grand cru, but
premier cru and village. We sell a good deal and people are very interested. That does correspond to what
I love. I have a special place in my heart for it."
That said, Fortgang has another tip for close readers of his list: "While we are mostly French, with Oregon wine, too, we do have some Spanish, Italian, German stuff that is very interesting," he says. "If I were
dining here, I very well might go there, as the wines
we pick from other countries are ones we are especially excited about."
Me? I'd order Rucker's beef cheek bourguignon,
then torture myself over the choice between the
2012 St-Joseph from Etienne Bécheras ($60) or the
2010 Guillaume Gilles Cornas ($138). It's a totally
legitimate trade-up, which isn't always the case-he
could have just gone straight to the Chave Hermitage (which he also has listed). That middle tier is the
happy place for most knowledgeable drinkers-but
if it's not there, we're going low.

THE ALL-ITALIAN LIST

At Osteria Morini in New York City, wine director
Hristo Zisovski-who oversees wine purchasing for
the entire Altamarea Group-has always offered an
all-Italian list to go with the fresh pastas and other
rich offerings of Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. But

WINE & SPIRITS

FA L L 2 0 17

only in New York. For other incarnations of Osteria
Morini, in New Jersey and Washington, DC, he incorporates wines from regions outside of Italy, most
notably California. "Lambrusco only works in New
York," he says, referring to the dry, semi-sparkling
reds of Emilia-Romagna. With all the negative imagery that still dogs these wines, Lambrusco is hardly a
category to build a list around, so the fact that his list
in SoHo includes nine Lambruschi is an immediate
draw. He's also priced all of them at $48-a clever
way to encourage experimentation among the styles,
which can vary from light and rosé-like (Lambrusco
di Sorbara) to deeper, inkier versions (Lambrusco
Reggiano). They are listed under the heading "Lively
Sparkling Reds," which in itself is a discussion starter.
Truly embracing the spirit of Osteria Morini would
mean ordering a big charcuterie-cheese plate and
a bunch of pasta and slugging down Lambrusco,
just like they do in its hometowns (Modena, Reggio Emilia, Parma). But after the fresh pastas come
meaty entrées like porchetta, rack of lamb, veal
chops, bistecca...stuff you might rather have with a
big red like a Barolo or Brunello. Glancing through
the choices, I note that, while the list is not long, it
is "deep"-as in, it has lots of older vintages, thanks
no doubt to the buying power of a multi-restaurant
group that has always valued wine. I'm intrigued by
the 2005 Chianti Classico by La Sala (at $82, one of
the major "sleepers" on the list, according to Zisovski) and the '07 Schioppettino from Ronchi di Cialla
($89). So many restaurants commit vinous infanticide on a nightly basis; when I see some bottle age
on a list, my eye goes right to it.

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