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April 8, 2005
Dear Fellow Essex County Wine Society Members:
Our Spring Dinner will take place on Sunday May 1 at
Fascino in Montclair.
Fascino, which means glamour or fascination, is owned
and operated by the DePersio family. When we say it is a family operated
restaurant we mean a family operated restaurant. Ryan the 27 year old chef,
Anthony, his brother, who is the operations manager and Cynthia, his mother,
the pastry chef have been running the restaurant since the summer of 2003
when they opened the door.
Ryan, although young, received some of his training in
Italy and France before joining the staff of such notable New York
restaurants as Bouley Bakery, Jean Georges and Vong. The reviews of his
cooking have been outstanding.
The December 14, 2003 New York Times reads as follows
about Ryan:
“He has fun… but at bottom his cooking is
serious, even artful”.
The Star Ledger of August 14, 2003 said:
“The food practically glows. It is a wonderful
combination of simplicity and ingenuity…
Many of us have been to the restaurant and enjoyed the
experience. In fact we have discussed having one of our dinners at Fascino
but the facility was too small. We are now happy to report that they just
recently expanded the restaurant and we now can have our Spring Dinner in
the expanded facility.
The five course dinner will be highlighted by a choice of
main course between:
Long Island Duck Breast, Braised Red Cabbage and Bosc
Pears and a Crispy Duck Leg Cannelloni
OR
Roasted Filet of Mignon of Beef, Savory Vidalia Onion
Bread Pudding drizzled with Thyme Oil and Garlic Wilted Spinach.
The wines are still in the process of evaluation by the
committee but as in the past the wines for the Spring Dinner will be chosen
to match the food – in this case the cuisine of the restaurant, Fascino.
The appetizers will be accompanied by two Champagnes:
Duetz, a society favorite; and Gaston Chiquet Carte Verte. The latter was
rated 91 by Steve Tanzer who describes it as “intensely flavored, frothy,
and quite dry, with a delicate fruit complemented by hints of toast and
nuts” (International Wine Cellar).
Our white wine will be an unusual one, Nicolas Joly
Savennieres, Clos Sacre. Nicolas Joly is a pioneer and prominent leader in
the semi-mystical biodynamic organic farming technique. Developed, as it
were, by the Austrian, Rudolf Steiner, the practice claims to focus on the
dynamic rhythms of the earth and the cosmos. Chemical fertilizers,
pesticides, and herbicides are forbidden. Biodynamic preparations are
applied to the vineyard including cow manure fermented in an over-wintered
cow’s horn and flower heads of yarrow fermented in a stag’s bladder which
are added to the compost. Care of the grapes and picking follow lunar and
solar rhythms. You will be impressed with the wine notwithstanding the
rather unscientific techniques of its maker.
Our Bordeaux choice this year from our cellar is the
1995 La Couspaude. Parker rated this at 90 and describes it as being made
“garagiste” style much like the extremely expensive Le Pin which it
resembles. We will also be drinking a 1988 Esmonin Gevrey Chambertin.
Our dessert wine, which should well complement the
chocolate cake, is the 1977 Fonseca. It is described as magnificently
complex, [with an] intense bouquet of plumy, cedary spicy fruit and a long,
broad, expansive finish. (Robert Parker).
If you wish to sit with particular members at the
dinner, please indicate the names on the attached response form and we will
do our best to accommodate you. Please respond by Friday April 22, 2005.
If you need directions to the restaurant please call
the restaurant or check their website at Fascinorestaurant.com. Parking is a
little difficult but is available on Bloomfield Avenue, around the corner
just East of the restaurant, or in the parking lot for Lackawana Plaza, one
block east of the restaurant.
We look forward to seeing all of you on May 1. We
anticipate a terrific event.
Details of the Spring Dinner are as follows:
Date: Sunday, May 1, 2005
Reception: 5:00 p.m.
Dinner: 6:00 p.m.
Attire: Smart casual
Location: Fascino
Address: 331 Bloomfield Avenue
Montclair NJ 07042
Telephone: 1-973-233 0350
Cost: $95 members
$110.00 non-members & guests
Best regards and a votre sante,
Bob & Howard
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