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FOOD - DRINK -FUN

Mountain View News Saturday, February 24, 2024 


THE TASTING ROOM


I’m Gustavo Lira, Tasting Room Manager and 
Wine Buyer at The Bottle Shop in Sierra Madre 
with another wine and spirits selection. 

When you want a wine that has a little 
“frizzante” to it with a very subtle hint of 
sweetness, that’s clean and juicy to have with 
pizza or a charcuterie board – and you can 
finish that sucker off in no time – I think of 
Rolfshark Lambrusco Di Sorbara 2022. 

This wine checks all the boxes for me. The 
owner/winemaker is a woman – Antonia 
Munari. 

She promotes 
organic farming 
like no one else 
in the Emilia 
Romagna region. The winery is carbon neutral and 
solar powered. And the most important box of all, I 
can finish this bottle in 5 minutes. It’s that delicious. 
There’s a French expression for this – glou glou – which 
refers to the sound of the wine being guzzled by 
the happy consumer. This is a glou glou wine!

The reason this wine is so delicious is that the grapes 
come from near the village of Sorbara. The grapes drop 
their flowers on average by 30% resulting in less grapes 
and more concentration of flavor. Lambrusco Di 
Sorbara grapes produce grapes which are floral and 
highly fragrant. It’s delicate with finesse and balanced 
acidity and minerality. 

This wine pairs extremely well with pizza, charcuterie, prosciutto, and mortadella. It 
used 100% stainless steel and is certified organic. 

The Bottle Shop has the Rolfshark Lambrusco Di Sorbara 2022 at the lovely price of 
$19.99. At that price you can glou glou to your heart’s content. Join me this Sunday at 
The Bottle Shop Tasting Room at 2pm and you’ll taste this gorgeous wine along with 
Alta Mora Etna Bianco 2021, Casavecchia alla Piazza Chianto Classico 2021, and the 
Renzo Castella Nebbiolo Langhe 2021. 

Until next time – Salud!

Upcoming Wine Tastings – Sunday February 25 “From 
Italy with Love.” Thursday & Friday February 29 and 
March 1 “Four Wines A Leaping.” Coming up – Spanish 
Wines with Premium Tinned Fish (Conservas) also 
Fresh Shucked Oysters and Champagne!

Scan the 
QRCode to 
subscribe to 
The Bottle 
Shop newsletter and stay informed on our 
weekly wine tasting, beer tasting, and special 
winemaker events.

THE REAL MCCOY? VERY CLOSE

I read a recent article in the NY Times that said consumers, during hard economic times, 
buy more generic brands at their local supermarkets, and when the economy picks up they go 
back to their national brands. That makes perfect sense to even this college drop out. How 
does that pertain to our wine aisles? More and more of the supermarkets that you and I shop 
at Vons and Pavilions are coming up with their own store brands. No, they don’t own their 
own vineyards just yet - though I wouldn’t put it past Costco - they have existing wineries put 
together their store’s private label. Is this acceptable? Absolutely! Keep in mind 80% of the 
wine that you are purchasing has grapes sourced from other wineries, or if they don’t have 
their own plot of soil, they use marketing companies to find wines.

What about when a winery comes out with a lower end wine? In my book that is okay, too. Look 
at the big French champagne houses like Moet, Taittinger, and Crystal. They all have wineries 
here in California producing exceptional wines at almost half the cost of their imports.

Recently I had the pleasure of a nice glass of Decoy cabernet at a friends here in Pasadena 
(hopefully you read my recent column about wine by the glass). I thoroughly enjoyed it with 
my crab cake and decided that the purchase of a bottle was in order. No, not at the restaurant 
- I read my own column and took my own advice for once. Decoy hails from the same winery 
that produces the very popular Duckhorn wines. While about half the cost of it’s older brother, 
I could get used to this more economic wine as it hails from the exact same area of Napa 
Valley. And, for the life of me I cannot tell much difference in the cabernet.

The vintage is smooth, with perfect levels of fruit and tannins, and a finish that you’d expect 
from a higher priced cabernet. It’s a classic California cabernet with a touch of toasted oak. 
Closure: Corked

This weeks wine term: finish: That means exactly what it sounds like - the last thought/
taste as the juice goes down your throat. Many experts say that the finish is the true test of an 
exceptional wine. 

Each week I will give you my Dills Score. Starting with a base of 50 points, I have added 8 
points for color, 7 points for aroma or “nose”, 9 points for taste, 8 points for finish, and 8 points 
for my overall impression, which includes my value rating.

Total Score 90; retails ¬¬¬$30 on sale; can be found for around $17 at most area supermarkets, 
including Vons.

Follow me on Facebook !! Send me your favorite local restaurants, I’m compiling a list of your 
favorites. thechefknows@yahoo.com


CHICKEN AND VEGGIE

STIR FRY

INGREDIENTS

1 pound skinned and boned chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cornstarch

4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

1/2 pound Broccolini, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup chicken broth, divided

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 small yellow squash, thinly sliced into half moons

1/4 cup sliced green onions

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon Asian chili-garlic sauce

 Hot cooked rice

 

DIRECTIONS

 

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt; toss with 1/4 cup cornstarch.

 

2. Stir-fry chicken in 3 Tbsp. hot oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat 5 to 
6 minutes or until golden brown and done. Transfer to a plate, using a slotted spoon; keep 
warm. Add Broccolini and 1/4 cup broth; cover and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. 
Transfer to plate with chicken, using slotted spoon.

 

3. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to skillet. Sauté bell pepper and next 2 ingredients in hot oil 2 
minutes or until crisp-tender.

 

4. Whisk together 2 tsp. cornstarch and remaining 3/4 cup broth until cornstarch dissolves. 
Add broth mixture, chicken, and Broccolini (with any accumulated juices) to bell pepper 
mixture in skillet. Cook, stirring often, 1 minute or until liquid thickens. Stir in lime juice and 
next 2 ingredients. Serve over hot cooked rice.


626.253.1323suecookrealtor@gmail.comDRE02015404Real Estate Cooked to Perfection!
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com