Dinner at Vallone's with Silvia Franco

I had a fantastic night out in Houston at the end of May with Jeremy Parzen, Mai Pham, Alfonso Cevola and Silvia Franco. The evening began at Vallone's with a tasting of some Nino Franco wines and ended with a trip to Camarata to check out the latest offerings from David Keck. As always, the food and wine were delicious and, on this evening, both the wine and the company were sparkling.

We tasted through the following wines over miniature lobster roll appetizers:

Rustica Prosecco Superiore NV- fresh and crisp with a subtle pear and citrus aroma and flavor with a touch of yeast.
Brut Prosecco Superiore NV- dry, fresh and crisp with delicate aromas of citrus blossoms and flavors of apricot and pear with a hint of yeast.
And, the unusual 2011 Faive Rosé Brut Sparkling; this wine is made from 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc rather than the usual Glera grape that is used to produce Prosecco. It was dry and crisp with fresh aromas and light flavors of red berries and apricot.

All were refreshing, crisp and very drinkable. They were drier and less fruity than other Prosecco I have tasted and they were somewhat softer and easier drinking than some other sparkling wines of the world. I couldn't pick a favorite, all are recommended.

I learned that Silvia enjoys tasting wine from whatever country she is traveling in while doing business and sharing tastes of her family's fantastic wines. In addition to our Prosecco tasting, we had a "new to the Vallone's wine list" Willamette Valley Pinot Noir to wind down dinner. Check with the sommelier to try that wine or whatever else might be new to the menu now. You can't go wrong.