FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen
I’m just back from the 41st FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen, and it was as beautiful, thoughtful (and thought-provoking!) and well-executed as ever. The Classic in Aspen has a longstanding reputation as one the very best culinary festivals in the world, but I can only attest to its greatness for the 27 years(!) that I have attended. While I attend food, wine, spirits and beer festivals all over the world, I honestly believe that F&W’s Classic in Aspen is among the very best, and as such it has inspired many, many other festivals.
For my part as a speaker/presenter, each year I’m asked to propose a handful of topics that will be whittled down to two, and each seminar will take place twice throughout the weekend. While I’ve hosted many straight-forward seminars with names like, “Only the Rhônely,” “Italy vs France Smackdown!” and “Will the Real Sauvignon Blanc Please Stand,” I’ve been taking suggestions from my wife, Toni, for the past couple of year, as she likes to lean into the pop culture zeitgeist for topics. For example, last year she rightly sniffed out a desire to explore “The Sicilian Wines of the White Lotus,” piggybacking on the immense popularity of the White Lotus’s second season, which takes place in Sicily. (For context, my wife is Sicilian, so there’s that, too!). This year, she suggested I take advantage of the 25th Anniversary of The Sopranos, the HBO series that debuted the year we got married, back in 1999. As soon as I submitted “A Salute to The Sopranos,” Food & Wine said yes immediately.
If you don’t already know, I’m a Jersey boy, through and through. I grew up in Jersey City surrounded by people who looked, spoke and acted like many of the characters in The Sopranos. Naturally, the series was filmed all around northern New Jersey, where I grew up, so the show resonates deeply with me. The giant Paul Bunyan-like statue in front of Wilson’s Carpet and Furniture is on Broadway near my childhood home. So, too, is the iconic view of the Statue of Liberty driving west from the Holland Tunnel. Pizza Land is near my high school in North Arlington, and Satriale’s Pork Store was just a few blocks south in Kearny. Russo’s Bakery (which was really Joe’s Bake Shop), where Christopher shoots Gino in the foot, is near my parents’ house in nearby Lyndhurst. When Hesh and his son-in-law get ambushed outside of Kay’s Spring Garden Chinese Restaurant, that’s four blocks from my current home in Jersey City Heights. If you’re wondering about The Bada Bing strip club (which is really called Satin Dolls), it’s in Lodi, next to the DMV where I took my driving test in 1984. However, I can neither confirm or deny that I’ve ever been there. Oddly, I have never been to Holstein’s, the diner where they filmed the final episode. Go figure!
“The Classic in Aspen
has a longstanding reputation as one the very best culinary festivals in the world[.]”
Given the show’s popularity, it was easy to find Reddit lists filled with commentary, but when I specifically searched for wines that were featured, I struck gold. A quick condensed list would include:
- 1986 Château Pichon Longueville ‘Comtesse de Lalande,’ Bordeaux
- 1994 Clos Pegase Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa
- 2002 Ruffino Riserva Ducale ‘Oro’ Chianti Classico, Tuscany
- Barolo (lots of Barolo)
- Carlo Rossi Wine and Regaleali Rosso for everyday jug wines
- Lots of Champagne: Louis Roederer ‘Cristal,’ Moët et Chandon’s Cuvée Dom Pérignon;
- There’s even “sacramental wine,” referring to the hooch AJ and his buddy snuck at
- church before falling over themselves in gym class.
While I’d love to have poured 1986 Château Pichon Longueville ‘Comtesse de Lalande’ Bordeaux at my seminar, requests for this wine went unanswered. Which was fine, because I had dozens of offers from publicists who knew the series well and even sent lists of wines matched to certain characters. Speaking of characters, I decided to enter the seminar from the back of the tent (unusual for sure), dressed like Tony Soprano in his bathrobe, who often walks down his driveway to pick up the newspaper dressed in little more. I walked down the aisle slowly to the theme song lyrics, “Woke up this morning, got myself a gun…” as if it was Tony’s driveway, brandishing a water gun (and spraying everyone with it), as well as a bat to make a statement. It was exactly as over- the-top as it sounds, and it was one of the most thrilling seminars I’ve ever presented.
Here’s what I poured:
- We started off with a toast, by way of a 187ml split of Mionetto Prosecco di Treviso Brut NV, Veneto, Italy, to set the tone, and share with the group what I just shared with you. Then, we went straight to Sicily, which is known not only for great wines, but also … a bit of organized crime (at least in the past, for sure!). From Mount Etna we tasted Carranco 2019 ‘Villa dei Baroni’ Etna Rosso, Sicilia, a delicious, high-acid, low tanning red produced by two of Italy’s most famous producers, Tornatore and Borgogno. Next up was, Morgante ‘Don Antonio’ Nero d’Avola Sicilia IGT, Sicily, not only because it’s a great wine, but it’s also a tribute to Antonio Morgante, known affectionately as ‘Don Antonio.’ From Tuscany I simply had to pour the gold standard Ruffino 2019 Riserva Ducale Oro-Gold, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG, followed by Cortonesi 2019 ‘La Mannella,’ Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, just because there has to be a Brunello, the king of Tuscan wines. Speaking of kings, I poured Gaia 2022 ‘Sito Moresco’ Rosso Langhe, Piedmont, because Angelo Gaia is the king of Piemonte, and because Barolo is considered the king of Italian wines, I poured Giacomo Borgogno & Figli 2006 Barolo DOCG, Piedmont. Finally, we rounded out with a big, fat Amarone, those amazing wines made from dried grapes, by way of Zenato 2018 ‘Sergio Zenato’ Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOCG, Veneto, and then a classic Taurasi from Campania, where Tony Soprano’s family came from, with Villa Matilde 2019 Tenuta di Altavilla Taurasi DOCG, Campania.
Finally, because I’m a big fan of Italian amaro, those herbal-bitter tinctures typically sipped after a big meal, we had a ‘nightcap’ of Lucano Amaro from Basilicata, Italy. Admittedly, there were a lot of puckered expressions when we tasted the amaro, but I was keeping in character, as that’s what Tony would have done a shot of after a big meal with his malcontent wife Carmella, spoiled kids Meadow and Anthony Jr., his conniving Uncle Junior, and his horrible mother (may she rest in peace).
Anthony Giglio is a longtime Contributing Editor at FOOD & WINE Magazine, and the founding Wine Director for The American Express Centurion Global Lounge Collection.
