LE VIRTÙ TO HOST MONTHLY WINE TASTINGS AND DINNERS

LE VIRTÙ TO HOST MONTHLY WINE TASTINGS AND DINNERS

On Wednesday, October 25 at 6 p.m., Le Virtù invites guests to join them for its first Vini e Amici (wine and friends) event, a monthly series of wine tastings and family-style dinners from new Chef Joseph Voller. For $45 per person, guests will enjoy a complimentary hour-long wine tasting in Le Virtù’s outdoor garden (weather permitting), followed by a cozy family-style meal of rustic, southern-Italian inspired fare. For their first installment of this ongoing series, the restaurant will also welcome back an old friend: Federico “Fede” Dall’Olmo, one of their opening managers and a native of Bologna who is now the Philadelphia representative for Verity Wine Partners. Dall’Olmo will be on hand to discuss the wines and answer questions.

“Chef Voller wanted his first event to be relaxed and informal, and to bring more of that convivial spirit to the restaurant, which fits perfectly with our mission of honoring Abruzzo,” says owner Francis Cratil-Cretarola, who recently traveled to Abruzzo and southern Italy, with co-owner Cathy Lee and Chef Voller. “In Italy, they say there is no meal without wine and some of our most lasting relationships in Abruzzo and points south began with glasses of wine.”

For the first hour, guests can arrive and mingle in a casual outdoor setting for an informal wine tasting, sampling four wines imported by Verity:

• Visconti della Rocca Pecorino, Terre di Chieti, IGT from Abruzzo
• Azienda Santa Barbara Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, DOC from Le Marche
• Don Mannarone Rosso Terre Siciliane, IGT from Sicilia
• Norie Negroamaro Salento, IGP from Puglia

Following the wine tasting, as they feel ready, guests will sit down to a comfortable family-style meal from Chef Voller:

• A simple Misticanza Salad to start, followed by shared sides and entree:
• Roasted Eggplant with rosemary honey
• Cavatelli with mushrooms and ricotta salata
• Braised Bitter Greens with pine nuts
• Whole Roasted Branzino with roasted potatoes and salsa verde
• And concluded with a dolci: Olive Oil Poundcake with figs, port, rosemary honey and olive oil gelato

The wine tasting will take place al fresco in Il Campo, weather permitting; if the weather is inclement, it will move inside the restaurant. Dinner will be served inside as guests conclude their wine tastings, no later than 7 p.m. The next Vini e Amici (Wednesday, November 29) will feature wines from The Artisan’s Cellar, presented by Justin Scappaticci.