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 BY KARA ROSE KING | | |
Wine, Divine | |  | | | | | By now, you’ve probably added a fluffy down duvet to your bed. Your new shearling-trimmed Fendi booties have kicked your Jack Rogers to the curb. And your obsession with rosé seems sooooo three months ago. It is November after all, and that means it’s time to indulge in all things rich and robust- especially when it comes to wine.
Naturally, we have an "in" with one of the city’s most winning wine shops (although it’s more of a boutique-slash-gallery), Pasanella and Son, located on an off-beat track of the South Street Seaport. And, they recently tipped us off to some exciting news: the debut of their first private wine label, Pasanella & Figlio (translated: Pasanella & Son). In fact, the debut shipment is currently en route from Tuscany, somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The crates are expected to arrive upon the neighborhood’s historical docks mid-month. And, like the thirsty water-locked New Yorkers we are, we adore a good import, especially an exclusive one. | |  | | | | | | | | The wine is not just exclusive, but hand-selected by the shop’s owner, Tuscan-born Marco Pasanella. The new blend was born after his odyssey to his native region in the heart of Maremma, a relatively undiscovered area on Tuscany’s southwestern seacoast. Old-world Sangiovese grapes meld with modern varietals like Merlot and Syrah with results that are “deceptively simple,” according to Ryan Ibsen, the store’s wine director. “It has a little bit of everything that people love about Tuscan reds: lush but subtle fruit, an earthen quality that persists but by no means runs the show, and a food friendliness that, going into the cool weather months, is unparalleled.”
The source may be from a faraway land, but that doesn’t mean each bottle won’t come without its own South Street Seaport tale. Where fish heads once fell, Bodies: The Exhibition now stands along with the all-too-familiar imports like J. Crew, The Gap, and Brookstone. Tourists and retailers have poached the Seaport - former home to the famous 183-year-old Fulton Fish Market - but just beyond Beekman Street lies an unsullied gem of a neighborhood quite unusual to any other part of our massive metropolis. In 2005, when the motley (and pungent) local crew of fish purveyors was forced to swim upstream to the Bronx, they left a slew of empty warehouses - albeit ones with good bones - that this savvy group of locals quickly occupied and transformed into luxurious lofts and retail outposts. Not surprisingly, architect and interior design genius Marco Pasanella realized well in advance that this site was a diamond in the rough. | | | | | | |  | | Along with his wife, Rebecca Robertson (perfectly matched, she is the Deputy Decorating Editor at Martha Stewart Living), Pasanella lived above one of the fish vendors, overlooking the East River on the then-gritty South Street. When the fish market fled, Pasanella swept up the vacated space below and opened a store to house his passion for wine and food. With his red-blooded Italian background and Robertson’s stylish Midas (er, Martha) touch, the store looks like something straight out of Tuscany and has become a favorite neighborhood destination, playing host to various wine-tasting parties in the quaint back room and garden. Rustic Kraft paper signs suggest wine and food pairings; a display of Robertson’s covetable collection of curious Ebay-curated wine accessories is beautifully yet nonchalantly arranged near the entrance, and a 1967 Ferrari is parked ever so elegantly right in the middle of the store, the trunk artfully filled with seasonal selections. It’s a wine store you want to spend time in, though your (well-priced!) purchase may not stick around as long. | | | | | | | | Case in point: the shop is taking pre-orders on Pasanella & Figlio, with a special price of just $99 per case. Once the bottles arrive stateside, they’ll be priced at $9.99 each.
While you’re waiting for the ship to come in, here are a few of Ryan’s top Pasanella and Son picks to tide you over and warm you up: - Causse Marines Marcillae (organic wine with savory and full accents from the Southwest of France below Bordeaux) $19.99.
- Nusserhuf Lagreen (Gamey, inky wine that’s full but not over-bearing and goes with anything from duck breast to venison. From the Austrian border of Northern Italy) $29.99.
- Montefalco Rosso 2004 (Full, velvety and earthy wine from a small vineyard with a cult-following in Umbria, Italy) $59.99.
- Valderiz 2003 (A big, developed Spanish wine with old-world flavors that have a modern refinement. In the words of Ryan, “It’s easy to love.”) $41.99.
Pasanella & Son Vintners
115 South Street, Open Mon-Fri: 10-9; Sun: 12-6
Visit: www.pasanellaandson.com | | | | | |
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