Fattoria Uccelliera Wines Dinner at Michael's On Naples

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

We had signed up for this dinner before the wine dinner at Chianina two days ago was posted. Decided to keep the reservation. 6 of us tonight. Michael's On Napleswww.michaelsonnaples.com.  is owned by the same person that owns Chianina. down the street.

Traffic was surprisingly light today so I arrived 35 minutes early. The upstairs bar area was closed for a private party so I had a cocktail at the bar bar downstairs while I waited for the rest of the dinner party.  Ordered a side car. Noticed that the bartender had to look up the recipe for the cocktail. It was popular in the 30's and 40's so the new generation is not familiar with it. Made with Cognac, Contrieu and lemon juice.

We started out with Insalata De Calamari E Fagioli. calamari. cannellini beans with gaeta olives and arugula. Good flavor, dressed nicely.  Paired with a 2017 Ficaia (which means fig)  Pinot Blanc and Viognier blend. Light, refreshing not too acidic and paired well with the salad.

Second course is a Faggiano, braised red wine pheasant over crema di semolina. Pheasant was good, cooked nicely, not dry. I found the semolina cake was very under seasoned and the gnocchi was fried. I prefer my gnocchi soft. A matter of personal taste. At least it was much better than the fried tater tots that the Hyatt Watertable tried to pass as gnocchi a few years back. Will never forget that dinner. 
The wine paired was 2016 Ginepraia (means Juniper). 100% Sangiovese but grown near juniper bushes on the estate. A nice wine. Paired well with the pheasant.

Next up is a Pappardelle Con Cinghiale, House made pappardelle pasta with braised wild boar. Good flavor. Wild boar has a tendency to be on the dry side because it has so little fat on it compared to domestic raised pigs but this was nice and moist. Pasta was excellent. The wine was a 2015 Castellaccio which was a blend of Sangiovese and Petit Verdot. Nice blend and balanced out well with the wild boar.

Main course is Agnello, grilled Superior Farms lamb loin steak, English peas and roasted baby potatoes.  Meat was cooked perfectly and had flavor.  Peas are peas. The potatoes needed a bit of seasoning. Paired with a 2015 7Dieci, Syrah. Very good pairing. If I remember correctly they said the vines were planted in 1995 and this was only the second vintage of wine from them. This was a very deep, dark, slightly jammy syrah. A brooding style of wine.

For dessert a Dolcetti Della Casa,  a small plate that had a piece of Verona chocolate, a small biscotti cookie, a candided walnut and a apple fritter. 

We also did get bread with dinner tonight.

Tiziana Sani Bulleri, the owner of the winery was in attendance. www.uccelliera.com.   She came around to every table and talked about the wine. The winery is in Pisa, Italy and they have a tasting room . 

I did get to talk with Michael Dene , the owner of Michaels and Chanina. about the dinner Monday at Chianina. He was glad I spoke up and said he also agreed with me on the issues I had with it. Michael said he much preferred to hear complaints directly instead of someone praising the dinner to him and then go out and dissing  it to the public.  He and  his lady were at the dinner and were served the same food. Apparently a big staff meeting on Thursday to iron out some of the problems.