Slice of Italy Vine and Dine Dinner (6/21/24)
I think that the more times I get to experience a multi-course drink pairing menu for less than $100, the more I will continue to write about them. In this day and age with modern cooking techniques and ingredients and some being able to spend a fortune on food alone, it warms my heart to know that there are still some who wish to provide high quality for a relatively low cost, and the dinner that I recently experienced is proof of how amazing that can be.
Today’s article, however, is a bit different because it is not a dinner that came from the Limelight hotel, oh no, this dinner was also from Snowmass, CO but was from an Italian restaurant that sits on top of a sporting goods store which, at one point, was a candy shop, Slice of Italy.
Located in the Snowmass Base village near the 6-person skiing chairlift, Slice of Italy takes out all the fuss and complication by serving classic Italian fare, served up by Chef Lauro Gonzales, for the people of Aspen and anyone in the Roaring Fork Valley to offer.
While Slice of Italy is no stranger to serving up delicious food, it seemed that recently they decided that with the quieter summer months they needed a way to give Aspen and Snowmass locals a way to experience their cuisine in a new way, and thus the Slice of Italy Vine and Dine dinner was born.
Taking place at the upstairs private lounge above the Base Camp Village restaurant, This stunning dinner features 5 courses of expertly cooked classic Italian food, each paired with a unique wine that Sommelier Perrin Wolfe seems to know like the back of his hand, and I am here to tell you about it all.
Welcoming
As people walked into the stunning dining room, which had been revamped into a somewhat romantic feel with candles lining the long family style table that we all sat down at, we were treated to our first wine of the evening known as Alta Langa Metodo Classico, a sparkling white wine from Italy’s Piedmont region that blends Pinot Nero and Chardonnay for a light and crisp flavor profile that wakes up the palate as well as any aperitif.
Course 1-Burrata Caprese
To kick off the evening, after sipping on that Alta Langa, we were first treated to a fun take on a classic, a salad that composed of arugula, basil, tomatoes, burrata, balsamic drizzle, olive oil and served with some warm garlic toast, making for a unique spin on a classic caprese salad.
This is the kind of flavor profile that, in my mind, works like a perfect angelic choir. That creamy, milky burrata, the peppery arugula, that bit of toast to mop up the tasty dressing, and the sweet tomatoes all combined in harmony on the tongue.
To pair with the caprese, Perrin poured us all a wonderfully light Rose wine known as La Spinetta. La Spinetta combines the unique characteristics of Sangiovese and Prugnolo Gentile to create a very light, slightly fruity flavor profile that made that salad sing even louder.
Course 2-Mussels
Following that wonderful salad, our second course for the evening happened to be one of my favorite shellfish in the world, mussels, there’s just something that I love about those sweet, plump mussels that you pick out of their shell and submerge in the broth forged while the mussels were cooking. These mussels in particular were done with some tomatoes, a light broth and, again, served with garlic toast.
I thought that the mussels were cooked about as well as mussels can be, unfortunately I found that the broth they were served with was a bit salty for my taste. In my mind, the broth is one of the most essential parts of the mussel-eating experience as you can use their shells like little spoons and also dip your bread into it, but unfortunately this broth was on the salty side for me. Of course that didn’t stop me from devouring each and every mussel in my bowl.
Although maybe the saltiness was intentional to get us to drink more of the wine that was paired with the mussels, which happened to be a Sauvignon Blanc from San Leonardo, located in Italy’s Trentino region, close to the Austrian border. Some Sauvignon Blancs get a bit of a reputation for smelling and tasting like cat food, but this one in particular was a much more pleasant, it had a nice amount of sweetness and fruitiness that paired nicely with the mussels.
Course 3-Pappardelle Bolognese
Prior to attending this dinner, I did not know what to expect, so you can imagine my surprise when I arrived and found out that we were being served fresh made pasta in a rich, hearty homemade Bolognese sauce. Spoiler alert, I was very pleased when I found out.
Given the name of this blog, you can imagine that I have some high expectations when it comes to pasta, and the pasta at the Vine and Dine dinner…met those expectations perfectly. The past was nicely tender but had just enough al dente bite so that it didn’t immediately fall apart as I twirled it onto my fork, and then that meaty, flavorful bolognese sauce comes in and dances on my taste buds with delight.
Also, with this course we were, again, served garlic toast, which was interesting considering we had already had that with the previous 2 courses. With mussels, I get it, but at that point I think I wanted to see what else Slice of Italy can do.
This dish was paired with a bold, fruity red wine known as Barolo, a wine also from the Piedmont region that combines the bold flavors of ripe dark cherries, blackberries, and prunes for a sweet and slightly tart flavor profile with a somewhat dry, tannic finish that was the perfect pairing for our bolognese.
Course 4-Bone in Lamb Chops
And now, as far as the savory dishes are concerned, it seemed that Chef Lauro saved the best for last, as within the bowls of our second-to-last course for the evening was some beautiful bone in roasted lamb chops served with creamy polenta, wilted spinach and a simple jus.
For me, this was the dish of the night; the lamb was tender and perfectly cooked, plus had plenty of lamb meat to satisfy my carnivorous nature, the polenta had a perfectly soft and creamy consistency that grabbed onto the lamb to be delivered into my mouth, the spinach was a nice touch to cut through the richness of everything and that jus gave the perfect amount of moisture and flavor to the dish to tie it all together.
To pair with our stunning lamb, and our dessert course for the evening, Perrin seemed to go all out by pouring us a wine from the Veneto region known as Amarone Della Valpolicella that combines grapes such as Corvina and Rondinella and is aged for 24 months in French oak barrels for a wine that is similar to the Barolo, but focuses on more of the sweetness of the fruit flavors and less of the tannins.
Final Course-Tiramisu
To finish off this perfect night of fine wines and equally stellar bites, our dessert for the evening happened to be what might be the most iconic dessert Italy has ever produced and one of my favorite desserts of all time, the ever beloved tiramisu. I’m sure we’ve all had tiramisu in one form or another, but when you have a really well made tiramisu that combines the classic soft textures, tangy mascarpone, and rich coffee, it’s like a warm hug.
All together, the Slice of Italy Vine and Dine dinner was an absolute success, one that made me feel like I was back in Italy all over again, and it’s one that I hope they continue to do in the future.
