MARIANI’S

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  December 19,   2021                                                                                            NEWSLETTER



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THE CLOISTERS, NEW YORK
        

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IN THIS ISSUE
A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN THE BRONX
By John Mariani

NEW YORK CORNER
CASA LEVER

By John Mariani

CAPONE'S GOLD
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
By John Mariani


NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR
THE WINES OF MONTEREY'S SCHEID FAMILY
By John Mariani




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On this week's episode of my WVOX Radio Show "Almost Golden," on Wed. December 22 at 11AM EST, I will be reading "A Child's Christmas in the Bronx," followed by a recording of Dylan Thomas reading "A Child's Christmas in Wales."  Go to: WVOX.com. The episode will also be archived at: almostgolden.






















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A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN THE BRONX
By John Mariani



 
Note: It's become something of a tradition for me to republish this memoir each year in Mariani's Virtual Gourmet, which is in the book Almost Golden I co-wrote with my brother Robert and originally an article in the New York Times.

 

             Maybe it didn't snow for Christmas every year in the Bronx back in the '50s. But my memory of at least one perfect snow-bound Christmas Eve makes me think it did often enough that I still picture my neighborhood as white as Finland in those days when I lived along the choppy waters of the Long Island Sound.
          But for all the decorations and the visits to stores, the Bronx Zoo. Radio City Music Hall and the Rockefeller Center skating rink, it was the sumptuous Christmas feasts that helped maintain our families' links to the Old Country long after most other immigrant traditions had faded away. Food was always central to everyone's thoughts at Christmas, and the best cooks in each family were renowned for specific dishes no one else dared make.
          The assumption that everything would be exactly the same as last year was as comforting as knowing that Christmas Day would follow Christmas Eve. The finest ancestral linens were ironed and smoothed into place, dishes of hard candy were set out on every table, and the kitchen ovens hissed and warmed our homes for days.  The reappearance of the old dishes, the irresistible aromas, tastes and textures, even the seating of family members in the same spot at the table year after year anchored us to a time and a place that was already changing more rapidly than we could understand.
          It's funny now to think that my memories of the food and the dinners are so much more intense than those of toys and games I received, but that seems true of most people. The exact taste of Christmas cookies, the sound of beef roasting in its pan, and the smell of evergreen mixed with the scent of cinnamon and cloves and lemon in hot cider were like holy incense in church, unforgettable, like the way you remember your parents' faces when they were young.
          No one in our neighborhood was poor, but few were rich. Yet we mounted feasts as lavish as any I could imagine in a book, and in the days preceding Christmas people took enormous joy in spending their money on foods only eaten during that season.
          It was still a time when the vegetable man would sell his produce from an old truck on Campbell Drive, and Dugan's and Krug's bread men came right to your door with special holiday cupcakes and cookies.  We'd go to Biancardi's Meats on Arthur Avenue and, while the butcher on Middletown Road usually carried fresh fish only on Fridays, he was always well stocked with cod, salmon, lobsters and eel during the holidays.  The pastry shops worked overtime to bake special Christmas breads and cakes, which would be gently wrapped in a swaddling of very soft pink tissue paper tied up with ribbons and sometimes even sealed with wax to deter anyone from opening it before Christmas.
          By Christmas Eve the stores ran out of everything, and pity the poor cook who delayed buying her chestnuts, ricotta cheese, or fresh yeast until it was too late. Weeks in advance the women would put in their order at the live poultry market for a female rabbit—not a male—or a goose that had to weigh exactly twelve pounds.         

          You always knew what people were cooking for Christmas because the aromas hung in the hallways of the garden apartments and the foyers of their homes—garlicky tomato sauces, roast turkeys, rich shellfish stews, and the sweet, warm smells of pastries and breads could make you dizzy with hunger.  When you went out into the cold, those aromas would slip out the door and mingle with the biting sea-salted air and the fresh wet snow swept in off the Sound.
          At the Italian homes in the Bronx ancient culinary rituals were followed long after they'd lost their original religious symbolism.  The traditional meatless meal of Christmas Eve—“La Vigilia" (below)—which began centuries ago as a form of penitential purification, developed into a robust meal of seven exotic seafood dishes that left one reeling from the table.  According to the traditions of Abruzzo, where my father's family came from, the Christmas Eve dinner should be composed of seven or nine dishes—mystical numbers commemorating the seven sacraments and the Holy Trinity multiplied by three. 
        This was always my Auntie Rose's shining moment. She would cook with the zeal and energy of a dozen nuns, beginning with little morsels of crisply fried calamari.  She made spaghetti on a stringed utensil called a "ghitarra" and served it with a sauce teeming with shellfish.  Next came an enormous pot of lobster fra diavolo—a powerful coalescence of tomato, garlic, onion, saffron and hot red peppers, all spooned into soup plates around shiny, scarlet-red lobsters that some guests attacked with unbridled gusto while others took their dainty time extracting every morsel of meat from the deepest recesses of the body, claws and legs.    
        Few children would eat baccala, a strong-smelling salted cod cooked for hours in order to restore its leathery flesh to edibility, and stewed eel, an age-old symbol of renewal, was a delicacy favored mostly by the old-timers. But everyone waited for the dessert—the yeasty, egg bread called "panettone," shaped like a church dome and riddled with golden raisins and candied fruit.
        Christmas Day came too early for everyone but the children.But as soon as presents were exchanged, my mother and grandmother would begin work on the lavish Christmas dinner to be served that afternoon. It was always a mix of regional Italian dishes and American novelties, like the incredibly rich, bourbon-laced egg nog my father insisted on serving before my grandmother's lasagna, in which were hidden dozens of meatballs the size of hazelnuts.
          Then my mother would set down a massive roast beef, brown and crackling on the outside, red as a poinsettia within, surrounded by sizzling roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding glistening from the fat absorbed from the beef.  Dessert reverted to venerable Italian tradition with my grandmother's prune-and-chocolate-filled pastries and honeyed cookies called struffoli (below).  And someone always brought panforte, an intensely rich, thick Sienese fruit and nut cake no one could eat more than a sliver of.
           After such a meal, we needed to go for a walk in the cold air. In other homes up and down our block people were feasting on Norwegian lutefisk, Swedish meatballs, German stollen, Irish plum pudding and American gingerbread. If you stopped and listened for a moment, you could hear the families singing carols in their native tongue.
          By early evening guests got ready to leave and leftovers were packed up to take home, belying everyone's protest that they wouldn't eat for days afterwards.
          By then the snow had taken on an icy veneer and the wind died down to a whisper.  I remember how the cold air magnified sounds far, far away, so as I crept into bed I could hear the waves lapping the sea wall and the rattling clack-clack, clack-clack of the El running from Buhre Avenue to Middletown Road. It was a kind of lullaby in those days, when it never failed to snow on Christmas in the Bronx.





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NEW YORK CORNER



CASA LEVER


390 Park Avenue
212-888-2700

By John Mariani



 


       Twelve years ago Casa Lever was opened by SA Hospitality Group in the totemic 1952 Lever House building on Park Avenue, of which the AIA Guide to New York City said, “This is where the glass curtain wall began.”  The interior, then, had to be impressive as well, originally designed by Mark Newson and updated by William T. Georgis. Today the premises retain the glamor and grandeur of a kind rarely attempted these days, and it is still a joy to see the dazzling bar lounge and to walk down a ramp into the main dining room with its surrounding wood slats, roomy black leather booths, cozy alcoves and to the rear a stage-like area; its walls are hung with some of Damian Hirst’s more subdued dotted artwork.
      When Casa Lever debuted in 2010, I found the room so loud I hesitated to return, but my visit this month found things a bit quieter, and the least noisy spots are those delightful alcoves. (Call ahead.)
      Back in 2010 the New York Times critic begrudgingly gave the place two stars, but felt it necessary to sniff that it was “
a new Italian restaurant of the Manhattan old school, built for socialites and those who finance them, staffed by handsome, rakish men with huge wristwatches . . . But it’s still fun in Spence-Chapin thrift-shop merino, in a Housing Works frock.”  These days the clientele and the wristwatches are far more varied and international, as well as more casual. 
     
The very tall, handsome managing partner, Antonio Colombani, from Bologna, is clearly committed to a more egalitarian atmosphere, and brand new sommelier Megan Smith is equally intent on having everyone drink a good wine at a requested price level from an exceptional list, including dozens of wines by the glass, ranging from $17 to $35.
     
Iacopo Falai as culinary director oversees all the company’s restaurants, including Felice 56 and San Ambroeus, while Adrian Kercuku (left) recently came onboard as executive chef and brings fresh exuberance to the menu while refining the Casa Lever’s classics. Take his advice and you’ll be very happy to see how familiar dishes can be made new with Italian brio, here termed “complex simplicity.”
     His menu begins with crudi (raw seafood) from bluefin tuna with pomegranate juice ($27) to anchovies with butter and pepperoncini ($34). Vitello tonnato ($31) has always been on the menu, now with a subtle and creamy but light tuna sauce on velvety veal slices (right). Baked eggplant parmigiana ($27) is sumptuous and rich, while brand new is a dish of chewy quinoa with tiny white mushrooms ($26). I’m not a big fan of foamy sauces (they are usually so bland), but Kercuku gives a  real sparkle to a dish of gnudi (“nude,” meaning the stuffing without pasta; below) made with spinach and ricotta, butter and a pretty milk froth ($32).
         Among the pastas are many that will always stay on the menu, and every one I tasted was a very good exemplar, from simply prepared Abruzzese spaghetti alla chitarra ($27) and fettuccine alla bolognese ($32) to Roman spaghetti all’arrabiata with a hot shot of pepperoncino ($29).
      Main courses include a welcome species, razza all’Isolana (skate), cooked with sweet cherry tomatoes, olives, capers and Yukon potatoes ($39). Two Milanese dishes are outstanding: Ossobuco (below) in a dark, wine-rich sauce with seared saffron risotto, bone marrow and sweet-sour gremolata pickle ($53), and a perfectly crisp but juicy and buttery  breaded veal cutlet with wild arugula and tomato ($57). The spinach and braised leeks ($14) make a wonderful side dish.
     Given its association with San Ambroeus, the desserts (each with a suggested wine pairing) are among the best in the city: Tiramisù puffed up with rich mascarpone, savoiardi biscuits and espresso ($15); crostata of seasonal fruits with Chantilly cream ($16); a flakey millefoglie with vanilla gelato ($17); and a marvelous Gianduia of the deepest gianduia chocolate ($14).  Cheeses are also available ($24).
      Casa Lever is very festive and celebratory at this time of year, but I can assure you that its atmosphere will be just as buoyant come those winter days when the days begin to lengthen.  With the unlamented demise of Del Posto, Casa Lever has become New York’s Italian  restaurant for all seasons and all celebrations, effusive with both gusto and the joy of contentment that you are in some place very special.

 

Lunch and dinner are served Mon .-Fri.

 

NOTE: NYC Health Dept. rules require both staff and guests 12 or older to  show proof they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
 



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CAPONE’S GOLD


By John Mariani

To read all chapters of Capone's Gold beginning April 4, 2021 go to the archive
 
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT


 


  

      Andare la massa viene conclusa,” said the priest, telling the people the mass was over and they could leave.
       “I really enjoyed that,” said Katie.
       “So did I,” said David, smiling.
       “Think you’ll become a regular?”
       “Maybe, if you go with me.”
       As soon as the people filed out of the church, Katie and David went to look more closely at the Capone chapel.
       “So this is where Mama Capone prayed for her son’s soul,” said David.  “Hope she didn’t waste her time.”
       As they looked at the rich decoration of the chapel, with a portrait of the Virgin Mother above the altar, surrounded by the lighted candles, two young men behind Katie and David said “’Scusi, per favore,” and moved into the alcove of the chapel.  Katie and David backed away as the men began to remove one of the silver candlesticks after putting out the flame, which sent smoke curling into air already fragrant with incense.  They edged the candlestick from the altar, then, using their combined strength, tilted it down into a carrying position on their shoulders.
       They excused themselves again and told Katie they were taking the candlesticks to be cleaned and polished.  Katie asked how many there were in the church.
       Cinquanta, Signora.” Fifty.
       The two men were being very careful with the candlesticks, for they were obviously heavy and ungainly to carry.
       David squinted and thought for a moment, wondering why, unless these two well-built young men were weaklings, were they struggling so to carry the candlesticks, which were likely to be silver-plated, perhaps over bronze.
       And then it struck him and he blurted out, “Jesus Christ!”
       Katie said, “David, please, you’re in church.”
       “Sorry, but, Katie, can you think of any reason these two guys should be having such a hard time carrying one silver candlestick?”
       Katie looked at the two men, then back at David.  “Are you getting at what I think you’re getting at?”
       “Those things are too heavy to be made from bronze, or even solid silver.  Only gold would be that heavy to carry.  Katie, ask those guys if I can look at the candlestick.”
       Katie did so and the men paused.  David looked at the ornate candlestick, seeing if the plating had worn off, then at both the candle holder and underneath the base.
       “There it is!” he said. “Look, Katie, you can see the gold underneath the silver plating where it wore away.  These things—fifty of them—are solid gold!”
       Katie was silent for a moment.  “Now it all makes sense!”
       “What does?”
       “Remember I told you about how Alice Britt said that when she met with Capone he was always terrified of dying and going to hell?  And how he’d given tons of money to the Church.  And how, when she asked him if he thought if he could lead a better life and make up for his sins, Capone kept saying, ‘God only knows. God only knows.’ He must have been sending these candlesticks under silver plating to Angri, hoping God would appreciate a gesture of such enormous wealth to the church of his mother. And, ironically, in the end only God did know where the gold was.”
       David thanked the workmen, who continued on their way to the rear of the church.  “I think we should see the priest here.”
       When the workmen returned for the next candlestick, Katie asked them the name of the priest and if they could see him.  One of the men said the priest was named Monsignor Lazzari and went to ask if the Americans could have a word with him.
       The Monsignor was the same priest who had just said Mass.  Katie and David introduced themselves and, without alluding to the gold, asked him about the candlesticks.
      
“Ah, the candlesticks!” he said in stilted English. “They are very famous here because the people think they have been sent by God.”
       “Why is that?” asked Katie.
       “Because they came without any name of the donor.  This was back in the 1930s.  I was not born yet, but the old people say they came in many, how do you say, shipments?  And at first they went into the side chapel there and money was always provided to keep them lighted day and night.”
       “Excuse me, Monsignor,” said Katie, “but Sister Maria Immaculata at the convent said that they were lighted for Al Capone.  Was that by his mother Teresina Raiola?”
       “Personally, I have always been told that. I do not know for sure. The money comes from the local bank under a secret name."
         Katie glanced at David and said, "Monsignor, we may be mistaken, but we think that these candlesticks might actually be made of gold plated with silver. Is that possible?"
           The priest raised his eyes and smiled sweetly, then nodded.

         "Si, signora, that is correct. The bank has told the parish priests that no one must know that the candlesticks are gold. The people see them as silver and are very
grateful to the benefactor.  You know, all the silver you see in this church, except for very old artifacts, are from the shipments here—the monstrance, the altar pieces, all pure gold.  And they are very heavy, as you can see.”
       David asked, “What happened during the war? Wouldn’t they have been stolen by the Germans?”
       Monsignor Lazzari waved his hands and said, “Ah, every church hid as much as possible during the war long before the Germans were in the region.”
       “So you don’t think that Mussolini knew about the gold here?”
       “Absolutely not! If he did, he would have confiscated it  immediately.  I am sure that’s why they were silver plated, to fool everyone. And they were all hidden away secretly by then. Even if a parishioner ever found out the truth, he would never tell anyone, I’m certain.  Mussolini and Hitler might steal from a Catholic Church in Italy, but not even the Camorra would dare.  You know, criminals have a very deep fear that they will go to hell, but they think if they are good to their mothers and the Church, they may escape.”
       “That sounds like a lot of the Italian criminals I knew when was with the police,” said David.
       “You are a policeman?”
       “Retired.  Two years ago.”
       “So you have more than an idle interest in your . . . discovery?”
       Katie answered for them. “We have been working on a story about where Capone’s gold went.  We know much of it was captured by the Americans during World War II, but the gold in this church explains that some of it has always been here.”
       Signorina,” said the priest, noticing she wore no wedding ring. “I know nothing about American law, but isn’t there a time when a crime ceases to be a crime?”
       “You mean statute of limitations?”
       Si, so why are you now looking for the gold?”
       “It’s for a magazine story.”
       “You are una giornalista, then?”
       Katie nodded, as if it were a sin to be one.
       “And this magazine story, you will tell everyone where the gold is?” asked the Monsignor. “And then what do you think will happen?”
       Katie thought it best not to mention the reward at that moment, but it occurred to her that she might persuade McClure’s to make part of their charitable contribution to San Giovanni Battista.
      
“Well”—Katie was stammering and David was looking at her—“I’m only interested in the story.  It’s a good story after all these years, and . . .”
       “And do you think the American government will try to take back the gold that we were given as a gift?”
       David spoke up, noting, “Well, Monsignor, isn’t it true that the Church often returns contributions from a criminal source, if they find out?”
       Monsignor Lazzari sighed and said, “First of all, Signore David, I do not know if the gold came from Al Capone.  He did not send us the gold bars, you know.  So, I assume there is no stamp to identify it.”
       “True, not if it were melted down.”
       “So, if our church were to give away the candlesticks, I think it would only be to support the church and the town of Angri.  We are not a rich town, you know.”
       “I suppose that would be an option,” said David.  “But wouldn’t you feel a little guilty if you believe it was Capone who gave you the gold?”
       “Let me ask you a question,” said the Monsignor. “Was this gold property of the American people?”
       “Well, it was property of the government.  Americans weren’t allowed to own gold then.”
       Allora, so this is property of the American government.  Then I think that the American government should begin proceedings to get it all back, assuming they would pay us a great deal of money. For whatever gold is worth today.”
       Katie smiled and said, “Something tells me you’ve thought about all this before we showed up.”
       Mia figlia, I am a Monsignor of a poor parish. But the people are very, very proud of the decorations, the candlesticks and the altar pieces they believe are silver.  Am I supposed to tell them it has all been a lie created by an American criminal most of them despise?  You know, there are still many people named Raiola here in Angri, but no one with the name Capone.  If this is a sin, that I do not tell my people about their church’s artwork, then I must speak to the Pope and ask him to sell all the gold and silver in the Vatican.  And I think the Vatican Bank knows a little about sin.”
       Then, looking Katie and David with his eyes squinted, the priest asked, “If the Camorra would not steal this gold, would the Americans really do so when they have no proof that this is Capone’s gold, no markings.  I do not think they will be successful.  And now, Signorina e Signore, I must prepare for the Mass at noontime.  I wish you good luck.”
       Katie and David had nothing left to say except thanks to the priest, who told them as they started to leave the church, “You are both Catholic, of course?”  The couple nodded.  “And I hope you just received the Holy Eucharist?  Then I know you will do the right thing. I give you my blessing.”
       Katie did a fair attempt at a curtsey and David a slight bow.  The Monsignor turned to the workmen and told them to be careful with the candlesticks.

 

 



©
John Mariani, 2015








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NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR


THE WINES OF MONTEREY'S SCHEID FAMILY
By John Mariani


"The Gang of Four": Kurt Gollnick, Heidi, Al and Scott Scheid


 

    Back in the 1970s, with Napa Valley’s wines in their ascendancy and Sonoma soon to follow, Monterey was known more for grape growing than winemaking. One of the pioneers in the region was Al Sheid, who in 1972, was selling 100% of its grapes to wineries. In the decades to follow the estate began making its own wines. Al’s eldest son, Scott, left  Wall Street for Monterey in 1986. In 1988, Kurt Gollnick, who had previously farmed for Bien Nacido Vineyards, was brought on as General Manager of Vineyard Operations. A few years later, daughter Heidi, who had been working as a business valuation consultant after earning her MBA, also joined the business. While in New York, she sat down with me for an interview over dinner.

 

What did you do before joining the family winery? Did you avoid it until you did so?

I grew up in Costa Mesa, California and earned both BS and MBA degrees from University of Southern California. Early on, I fell in love with the restaurant business and waitressed my way through both high school and college, eventually managing the very first California Pizza Kitchen in Beverly Hills. Deciding that restaurant life in the ‘80s was not conducive to living a long life, I switched gears, earned my MBA with an emphasis in Finance and joined the valuation consulting practice at Ernst & Young. While on maternity leave from E&Y with my firstborn, I began visiting the Scheid offices to help the controller out with some projects, namely converting his manual green ledger spreadsheets to Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets. Yes, that’s how I spent my maternity leave. As I was preparing to return to E&Y, my father and brother approached me and asked me to stay, making me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

I didn’t really “avoid” the family winery, it just wasn’t on my radar screen. I earned my MBA and was working really hard, trying to make a name for myself in the male-dominated finance field. Before having a child, I thought that was my career path. But after having Siena, having more control over my life and working situation became important and the appeal of the family business and working in the wine industry revealed itself.

When did the winery decide to shift from selling grapes to making its own wine?

The original grape purchase contracts that our company was built upon were 30-year contracts. Diageo had indicated to us that they didn’t intend to renew them as they were planning on divesting themselves of the wine segment. So we were faced with a lot of grapes coming back into our portfolio with no home. We began talks with a number of wineries and many of them wanted to do contract wine arrangements versus contract grapes due to processing limitations at their own wineries. So in the early 2000s, we began making wine from our grapes at various custom crush facilities around the state and selling it under contract. We realized that this was going to be our path and the ability to make wine gave us a lot more flexibility and control in being a supplier to other wineries. So in 2005, we built Phase 1 of our state-of-the-art winery and in 2007 we doubled the size to its present capacity of about 30,000 tons.

While having the ability to supply both grapes and wine to other wineries gave us more flexibility, it still left us at the mercy of year-to-year market conditions and our fate was tied to the success of other companies’ brands. We decided it was time to put the third leg on the stool, so to speak, and we launched our branded goods division in 2011. The transition of being a supplier to others to producing brands under our own labels is still ongoing. We currently use about half of the grapes we grow for our own brands and sell the remainder to other wineries as either grapes or wine.

You make 700,000 cases of wine annually. How much of that is under the Scheid family label?

We make about 15,000 cases annually under the Scheid Vineyards label.

Are the majority of all your wines under $15?

60% to 70% of our sales are over $15 a bottle and 30% to 40% are under $15.

With so many wines in the marketplace now and a wine glut worldwide, does price have a greater impact now than in the past?

That’s a deceivingly complex question! The worldwide wine glut seems to be shrinking and there are actually some varietals, like sauvignon blanc, that are in short supply. There is also the trend of premiumization, where it appears through looking at off-premise data, consumers are drinking less wines but drinking better (higher price point) wine. There are certainly an incredible number of wines on the market, both domestic and international. I don’t think that necessarily means consumers are incentivized to purchase cheaper wines (and I’m not sure if that is what you are asking). I think the price consumers are willing to pay for a bottle of wine has a lot to do with psychology. There was that moment in time where Two Buck Chuck seemed to be taking over the industry and people were buying it by the caseload. There was loads of press about how you don’t have to pay more than $5 for a delicious and satisfying wine. But then, the recession ended and people went back to paying more. Today, domestic wines over $15 retail are growing in sales and it’s a healthy segment of the wine market. So if I understand your question to mean, are people more price sensitive now because there are so many wines to choose from, I’d say the answer is no. But like I said, it’s complicated.

Are cult wines overly promoted by the media to deserve the outlandish prices some have?

Hmmm … cult wines are like Ferraris. Some people just really want that over-the-top status wine because it brings them its own kind of joy. I don’t see anything wrong with that. There are great wines at $15 that over-deliver at the price point. There are $1500 wines that aren’t 100 times better but they may bring the buyer 100 times more joy simply because they are considered rare and special. Me? I drive a Mini Cooper, so you’re probably asking the wrong person.

Tell me about your commitment to the climate, environment, and sustainability.

We’ve been a conscientious steward of the land since we were founded in 1972. Back then, sustainability certifications didn’t exist, but once they did, we jumped on board and certified 100% of our estate vineyard acres through the Certified California Sustainable program. We were also the first Global G.A.P. certified vineyard in the U.S. We embrace low-impact farming and winemaking methods, such as composting 100% of the winery’s grape pomace, stems and seeds, and spreading it back onto the vineyards, recycling 100% of the winery wastewater for use on the vineyards, and 100% herbicide-free farming, to name a few. In 2020, we certified our fist organic vineyard. We are currently farming 1,500 acres organically, which should all be certified with the harvest of 2023.

In addition to these earth-friendly practices, our certified sustainable, state-of-the-art winery is powered by 100% renewable wind energy generated by an on-site, 400-foot tall, 1.85-megawatt wind turbine that harnesses the power of the Salinas Valley’s dependable winds. In 2020, this turbine generated 3.7 million kilowatt-hours, equivalent to a reduction in CO2 emissions of approximately 3,000 tons. In addition, each year it produces enough excess renewable energy to provide power for up to 125 homes in the local community.  We received the California Green Medal Environment Award in 2019.


Who else in your family is involved in the business? What are your children doing?

My father, Al Scheid, is the Founder & Chairman of the Board of Scheid Family Wines. My brother Scott is President and CEO. I have 3 children, ages 29, 27 and 22. My eldest, Siena, is a financial manager; Cooper is a sales rep for Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits, and my youngest Owen is in college majoring in Economics and Computer Science. Fingers crossed that one or more of them decide to join the company in the future but no pressure, I want them to do what makes them happy.

How did your MBA in finance help you in the wine business?

The early part of my career at Scheid Family Wines was spent doing a lot of forward planning and financial analysis. We had to replant almost every acre that we owned in the ‘90s due to phylloxera, which took a lot of negotiating with the banks and the wineries, as well as looking out pretty far into the future to make sure we could make it through the down years. With such a huge investment required to plant vineyards and build a winery, you better have a sound financial plan in order to earn a return!

How did you come up with the name Sunny with a Chance of Flowers?

I worked with a great creative director, Theresa Scripps. It was actually Theresa who came up with the name and I just fell in love with the whole concept when she presented it to me. We had been working on a ‘better for you’ wine option and then I met Theresa who brought me this wonderful brand concept and voila, we decided to marry the two.

Tell me why you believe your Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and proprietary red blend differ from others in the market at those price points.

All of the wines in our global portfolio are produced from our sustainably certified, family-owned estate vineyards. With so many wine brands turning to the bulk wine market, the fact that we grow our own sustainably certified fruit and bring it into our estate winery means that we provide consistent quality from vintage to vintage. We control the process from grapes to glass and we over-deliver on quality at every price point we produce.


Are the wine of regions like Monterey and Salinas Valley now competing well against better known appellations like Napa and Sonoma?

Napa is, of course, globally recognized as a premier wine growing region. Monterey has far to go to reach that kind of status but having said that, the Central Coast in general, and Monterey in particular, has found a great audience in the $15 - $25 price range. Our Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs can compete with the best wines of our state and we produce a wide range of varieties from the diversity of our vineyards and climate zones.

Do those regions that were previously known for wine in bulk now understand that their terroir can make wine every bit as good as anywhere in California?

Absolutely! As more great wines are produced that bear the Monterey appellation, rather than being blended into another appellation’s wines, the reputation and credibility continues to increase.

How does the coolness of the region help?

With the chilly Monterey Bay at the top of the valley and two mountain ranges running down either side – the Gabilan Range to the east and the Santa Lucia Range to the west – the Salinas Valley maintains its cool coastal conditions due to the influence of the Monterey Bay. Beneath the bay is a massive submarine canyon spanning sixty miles wide and two miles deep, the largest and deepest of its kind off the Pacific Coast. This “Blue Grand Canyon'' provides a climatic pathway that deeply connects the ocean to the wine growing regions of Monterey and makes the Monterey AVA different from any other coastal wine growing region.
     Each day the rising hot air from the Salinas Valley pulls the chilled marine air down its corridor, resulting in a fierce 25 mph wind. This cooling down effect allows grapes to ripen slowly and evenly, resulting in a growing season up to two months longer than other wine growing regions. The long growing season is credited in part for the deep and distinctive flavors of the wines. Reliable afternoon breezes alleviate disease pressure on the vines and coastal fog occurs within a narrow temperature range, preventing temperatures from falling too low.

 

How much of your wine is sold on premise and what percentage of that of your total wines?

Currently about 20% of the wines we produce are sold on-premise.

Do bloggers and these so-called influencers have much effect on line sales?

I believe they do have an effect, although it’s hard to quantify and really depends on the type of brand you have. For start-up brands that are strictly DTC, I would think bloggers/influencers are extremely important in order to acquire customers. We don’t have any brands in our portfolio that follow that model, so our strategy is to work with “micro-influencers” that have a loyal following and that are believers in our brand. Particularly with a brand like Sunny with a Chance of Flowers that has a national footprint, bloggers/influencers are part of a 360 degree marketing strategy and can help increase brand awareness where many people live … on their phones. 

You refer to “weekday wines,” like Sunny. What do you mean?

For me, a weekday wine is a wine that is more moderate in alcohol. You can have a glass or two and wake up early the next morning with no brain fog, ready to attack the day. Personally, I feel like there’s something missing if I don’t have a glass or two of wine each evening. It’s my way to wind down from the day and I really look forward to it! But I was finding as I got older that having two glasses of a 14% ABV wine wasn’t doing me any favors. I could really feel it in the morning when that alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m. So I started seeking out lower alcohol wines and there just weren’t many out there, particularly from California. The difference between a 14% and 9% ABV wine in how you feel the next morning is significant. So Sunny is my go-to weekday wine … and also the weekday wine of my 29-year-old daughter and 85-year-old mom.

 


 



JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!


Horror Caviar
is a cookbook that exploits  inspired by iconic horror films, including Audition (bone and pork dumplings with black angel hair pasta), Suspiria (an aspic tower studded with insect candy) and  Eve’s Bayou (red palm fruit shepherd’s pie).  In one recipe jelly mold contains  clumps of long black hair.

 




 
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 Any of John Mariani's books below may be ordered from amazon.com.



   The Hound in Heaven (21st Century Lion Books) is a  novella, and for anyone who loves dogs, Christmas, romance, inspiration, even the supernatural, I hope you'll find this to be a treasured  favorite. The  story concerns how, after a New England teacher, his wife and their two daughters adopt a stray puppy found in their barn in northern Maine, their lives seem full of promise. But when tragedy strikes, their wonderful dog Lazarus and the spirit of Christmas are the only things that may bring his master back from the edge of despair. 

WATCH THE VIDEO!

“What a huge surprise turn this story took! I was completely stunned! I truly enjoyed this book and its message.” – Actress Ali MacGraw

“He had me at Page One. The amount of heart, human insight, soul searching, and deft literary strength that John Mariani pours into this airtight novella is vertigo-inducing. Perhaps ‘wow’ would be the best comment.” – James Dalessandro, author of Bohemian Heart and 1906.


“John Mariani’s Hound in Heaven starts with a well-painted portrayal of an American family, along with the requisite dog. A surprise event flips the action of the novel and captures us for a voyage leading to a hopeful and heart-warming message. A page turning, one sitting read, it’s the perfect antidote for the winter and promotion of holiday celebration.” – Ann Pearlman, author of The Christmas Cookie Club and A Gift for my Sister.

“John Mariani’s concise, achingly beautiful novella pulls a literary rabbit out of a hat – a mash-up of the cosmic and the intimate, the tragic and the heart-warming – a Christmas tale for all ages, and all faiths. Read it to your children, read it to yourself… but read it. Early and often. Highly recommended.” – Jay Bonansinga, New York Times bestselling author of Pinkerton’s War, The Sinking of The Eastland, and The Walking Dead: The Road To Woodbury.

“Amazing things happen when you open your heart to an animal. The Hound in Heaven delivers a powerful story of healing that is forged in the spiritual relationship between a man and his best friend. The book brings a message of hope that can enrich our images of family, love, and loss.” – Dr. Barbara Royal, author of The Royal Treatment.




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The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink by John F. Mariani (Bloomsbury USA, $35)

Modesty forbids me to praise my own new book, but let me proudly say that it is an extensive revision of the 4th edition that appeared more than a decade ago, before locavores, molecular cuisine, modernist cuisine, the Food Network and so much more, now included. Word origins have been completely updated, as have per capita consumption and production stats. Most important, for the first time since publication in the 1980s, the book includes more than 100 biographies of Americans who have changed the way we cook, eat and drink -- from Fannie Farmer and Julia Child to Robert Mondavi and Thomas Keller.


"This book is amazing! It has entries for everything from `abalone' to `zwieback,' plus more than 500 recipes for classic American dishes and drinks."--Devra First, The Boston Globe.

"Much needed in any kitchen library."--Bon Appetit.




Now in Paperback, too--How Italian Food Conquered the World (Palgrave Macmillan)  has won top prize  from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.  It is a rollicking history of the food culture of Italy and its ravenous embrace in the 21st century by the entire world. From ancient Rome to la dolce vita of post-war Italy, from Italian immigrant cooks to celebrity chefs, from pizzerias to high-class ristoranti, this chronicle of a culinary diaspora is as much about the world's changing tastes, prejudices,  and dietary fads as about our obsessions with culinary fashion and style.--John Mariani

"Eating Italian will never be the same after reading John Mariani's entertaining and savory gastronomical history of the cuisine of Italy and how it won over appetites worldwide. . . . This book is such a tasteful narrative that it will literally make you hungry for Italian food and arouse your appetite for gastronomical history."--Don Oldenburg, USA Today. 

"Italian restaurants--some good, some glitzy--far outnumber their French rivals.  Many of these establishments are zestfully described in How Italian Food Conquered the World, an entertaining and fact-filled chronicle by food-and-wine correspondent John F. Mariani."--Aram Bakshian Jr., Wall Street Journal.


"Mariani admirably dishes out the story of Italy’s remarkable global ascent to virtual culinary hegemony....Like a chef gladly divulging a cherished family recipe, Mariani’s book reveals the secret sauce about how Italy’s cuisine put gusto in gusto!"--David Lincoln Ross, thedailybeast.com

"Equal parts history, sociology, gastronomy, and just plain fun, How Italian Food Conquered the World tells the captivating and delicious story of the (let's face it) everybody's favorite cuisine with clarity, verve and more than one surprise."--Colman Andrews, editorial director of The Daily Meal.com.

"A fantastic and fascinating read, covering everything from the influence of Venice's spice trade to the impact of Italian immigrants in America and the evolution of alta cucina. This book will serve as a terrific resource to anyone interested in the real story of Italian food."--Mary Ann Esposito, host of PBS-TV's Ciao Italia.

"John Mariani has written the definitive history of how Italians won their way into our hearts, minds, and stomachs.  It's a story of pleasure over pomp and taste over technique."--Danny Meyer, owner of NYC restaurants Union Square Cafe,  The Modern, and Maialino.

                                                                             






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FEATURED LINKS: I am happy to  report that the Virtual Gourmet is  linked to four excellent travel sites:

Everett Potter's Travel  Report

I consider this the best and savviest blog of its kind on the  web. Potter is a columnist for USA Weekend, Diversion, Laptop and Luxury  Spa Finder, a contributing editor for Ski and  a frequent contributor to National  Geographic Traveler, ForbesTraveler.com  and Elle Decor. "I’ve designed this site is for people who take their  travel seriously," says Potter. "For travelers who want to learn about special  places but don’t necessarily want to pay through the nose for the privilege of  staying there. Because at the end of the day, it’s not so much about five-star  places as five-star experiences." 






Eating Las Vegas JOHN CURTAS has been covering the Las Vegas food and restaurant scene since 1995. He is the co-author of EATING LAS VEGAS – The 50 Essential Restaurants (as well as the author of the Eating Las Vegas web site: www.eatinglasvegas. He can also be seen every Friday morning as the “resident foodie” for Wake Up With the Wagners on KSNV TV (NBC) Channel 3  in Las Vegas.



              



MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly.  Publisher: John Mariani. Editor: Walter Bagley. Contributing Writers: Christopher Mariani,  Misha Mariani, John A. Curtas, Gerry Dawes, Geoff Kalish. Contributing Photographer: Galina Dargery. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.

 

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