Julia Zuccardi, granddaughter of Mendoza-based Zuccardi winery founder Alberto Zuccardi, came to Manhattan with her family's chef Ana Rodriguez Armisen to showcase the new Santa Julia brand to US customers.

"My father named the brand for me," Julia said, explaining the history of Santa Julia.

To add a distinctly Argentinean flavor to the event, Ana Rodriguez Armisen, chef of Casa Del Visitante, (the Zuccardi’s restaurant in Argentina), presented a demo of her easy, authentically Argentinean Chimichurri, the garlic and parsley sauce for beef. Guests were able to try the different wines with the hors d'heourves.

While her brothers are involved with the winemaking, Julia runs Casa del Visitante, which oversees the tourism division of the company. It is designed to provide visitors with an authentically Argentinean experience: horseback riding (of course), wine tasting,   cooking classes, an award-winning restaurant, and soon, a bed & breakfast.

The Zuccardi family wines are famous around the world, and it is impossible not to see them on the list in any Buenos Aires restaurant. Santa Julia offers a more approachable, ready to drink wine. Some favoritesd include the Torrontes ($10), both the classic style and an interesting late harvest style (Tardio) that pairs perfectly with a variety of desserts.

Malbec is the signature red wine of Argentina, and Santa Julia makes a fresh currant vintage ($10) as well as a Riserva style ($12) that is slightly richer with a deeper sense of oak which we had with the lamb dish. This dish was also accompanied by the Riserval Cabernet Sauvignon ($12) and both went very well with these dishes. Santa Julia Brut Rose NV ($13) was paired with cervice, and the Organic Chardonnay ($11) with the first course salad.

Overall, the wines were an incredible value -- the whites crisp and refreshing, and the reds with juicy, rich mouthfeel that make wines from Argentina so popular. The fact that many of the wines are organic makes it so much better!

Many kudos to Julia and Chef Ana, who are touring many cities and partnering with chefs at many top restaurants like Landmarc in order to showcase their wine. 

Lincoln Center was the place to be for Manhattan fashionista's ... and wine afficianados.

For the second season in a row, Kim Crawford Wine will be the exclusive wine sponsor for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center. The brand,  known for celebrating individual style, is hosting the Kim Crawford Wine Bar in the main lobby of the tents and by sponsoring a number of exclusive events with designers. 

The crowd in the lounge was, of course, super fashionable ... men as well as women (though women had to suffer in six inch heels) and the wines were delicious.

crawford card

Kim Crawford served up Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc by the glass, and gave away sleek looking business cards that described the flavors in the glass.

Very chic place to be between shows!
 

Amuse Bouche at Jean-Georges
 

So many choices, so little time! As you can imagine, a wine list at Jean-Georges has many pages of fine wine on richly textured paper. Some have many zeroes, some only one or two.

The restaurant is one of the three best in the city, and well worth pairing the cuisine with a rare wine. Yet options abound ...

Often when I choose a wine, I do so on a point of familiarity. Many times I have met the winemaker or been to the vineyard and understand the intention. So I was pleased to see that Baron de Brane, the younger brother to the Second Grand Cru Class Chateau Brane-Cantenac, was on the list.  

Baron de Brane

Fabulous from the standpoint of quality to value. You can read more about my visit to the winery this past summer here.

Other items on this never-ending tasting menu included Goat cheese royale, with shaved black truffles, Artic char with apple-celeriac puree, watercress gremolata, steamed black sea bass, purple potato butter, pablamo eulsion, maine lobster, glazed chestnuts, espelette pepper, and brandy butter, steamed red snapper with matsutake and shitake mushrooms, and a cheese course.

Fabulous dinner ... one of my favorite restaurants in town.

You will be quick to sense Tourondel's focus is on fresh, seasonal ingredients, especially wild and locally grown items. Though every five-star chef in the city has his or her favorite local specialty purveyors, BLT Market concretely expresses this theme via the Disneyland-esque, country store décor and casual, relaxed ambiance. BLT Market's menu rotates monthly, and blackboard specials are updated weekly with first-of-the-season produce.

As you are shown to your table, you will note the tiny pot of blooming rosemary in place of the more traditional flowers, and a quaint clothespin attached to your prettily designed paper menu. A clothespin! Perhaps it's simply a prop to underscore the reality you are not in yet another slick, Manhattan restaurant space. You are in the country, the clothespin seems to say, where everything is farm fresh. These folksy touches continue with the chef's "home style" amuse bouche of upscale "pigs in a blanket," in which the bread is filled with a mix of pork and beef instead of the traditional hot dog.

Garlic bread, brought to you piping hot in its own baguette bag, sets the tone of excellent service and appetizing cuisine. Raw and confit big-eyed tuna with avocado and fresh heart of palm ($18 appetizer) was served like a composed, plated salad, beautiful to look at, quite fresh and tasty, and gone in two bites. Slightly more substantial was the basil crusted halibut with heirloom tomato water ($32) served in a very large, deep pot. By contrast, the enormous seven-pepper crusted grass fed NY strip steak ($39) was so large three people could easily make a meal of it.

Wine lists are a personal passion, and BLT Market has some interesting choices from all points of the globe. Always eager to check out a potential new trend, I allowed myself to be talked into the Pinot Noir-based Domaine Marc Morey rouge ($70), though the region, Chassagne-Montrachet, is traditionally known for its Chardonnay wines. After switching to the Domaine Fernand Lechéneaut et Fils ($95) from the more traditional Pinot Noir region of Morey St. Denis, one can see that the Romans had the right idea a few thousand years ago when they firmly declared certain regions best for Chardonnay, and others better for Pinot Noir.

Great cuisine is to be expected in all BLT restaurants, and most top Manhattan restaurants in general, so the freshness of the offerings is as expected. What's most delightful about BLT Market is the lively, open space and upbeat vibe of the place itself. Tourondel, it seems, has figured out who his market is: affluent neighborhood locals and Ritz-Carlton guests who don't mind paying top dollar for healthy, seasonal cuisine and excellent service in an easy-going, informal environment. It's a fun place with great food and excellent service that motivates one to return again and again.

BLT Market
1430 6th Avenue (at Central Park South)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 521-6125