With no formal training under his belt at the start of his career—no wine certifications, wine club memberships, secret society inductions, or slumber party invites—Stephen Mancini was considered an outsider by the old guard of pin-wearing, school-going somms. He was the Ponyboy of NYC’s wine scene, and Danny Meyer was his Darry—a fortuitous mentorship to say the least.
After graduating from Villanova University, Stephen enrolled in graduate school at New York University and acquired his first New York City restaurant job as a bus boy at Gramercy Tavern. While at Gramercy, Stephen was nudged into wine by the likes of Paul Grieco, Karen King, and Juliette Pope—three of the city’s greatest wine directors. Under their tutelage, Stephen climbed the ranks of Gramercy, eventually garnering a position as manager of Union Square Café, Danny Meyer’s beloved flagship. While at USQ Cafe, Stephen continued to hone his wine knowledge, and in January of 2006, at the tender age of 26, Stephen became the restaurant’s Wine and Spirits Director. After three successful years at the restaurant and three amazing harvests in Italy, California, and New York, Stephen was called upon once again. This time his mission was merely a conception—a Roman trattoria in the Gramercy Park Hotel that would sport an all-Italian collection. And so as Wine and Spirits Director of what is now known as Maialino, Stephen has fashioned a short list of value-driven nonpareils that has quickly branded the restaurant as a destination for lovers of traditional Italian wine on a budget.
When he is not at work, Stephen can be found tending to his own biodynamically-planted and organically-farmed vineyard in Litchfield, Connecticut, or watching the AS Roma soccer team dominate the Serie A. Forza Roma!
Click here for our review of Maialino's list.
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Sommelier Profile: Stephen Mancini, Maialino
Posted: January 20, 2010
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In brief: With no formal training under his belt at the start of his career—no wine certifications, wine club memberships, secret society inductions, or slumber party invites—Stephen Mancini was considered an outsider by the old guard... -
WineChap's Wine Picks of the Week
Posted: January 19, 2010
In brief: Issue #8: Beyond the Straw BottleChianti hasn’t exactly had it easy. From Carlo Rossi declaring war on wine by dropping 1.5 liter jug-bombs of CA Chianti on the US market to Ruffino vowing to fill in the gaps with lighter fluid in kitschy straw bottles, the region and its wines have been crushed by mass production and bad PR. Sadly, a shocking number of individuals still see the wine as symbolic of checkered vinyl and chicken parm. Even here in NYC, with every serious Italian wine list in the city giving face time to Chianti’s greats, there still remains this suspicion among those who’ve been all but poisoned by Ruffino: you can take the Chianti out of the straw bottle, but you can’t take the straw bottle out of the Chianti. And unfortunately, Chianti still hasn’t had the proper opportunity to clear its name. With the rise of the Super Tuscan regime, it was further branded as the type of wine that maverick artisans were trying to escape, improve upon, or discard all together.See Full
So, with Sassicaia stepping on its neck and the rest of the US subconsciously banishing the region to bodegas and pizza parlors, Chianti has had a hard time proving to the masses that it produces—and has always produced—world-class wines. But we’re here to tell you that it has, and here are 4 wines that prove it.
Chianti Classico ‘Il Poggio’, Monsanto - Monsanto practically invented Chianti Classico - it was the first wine to have the name and remains one of the best. Il Poggio is the gem in their crown and is only bottled in the finest vintages. Beautiful forward red fruit, delicate floral aromatics and load of Monsanto dirt.
Where to buy: Drink the Grapes
Where to drink: Bar Henry, Scarpetta, I Trulli
Chianti Classico Riserva, Castell‘in Villa – One of the greatest producers of traditional, age-worthy Chianti whop’s responsible for what is, in our opinion, the greatest Chianti ever made, their ’71 Riserva. Lean, traditional, mineral-driven brilliance.
Where to buy: Uva Wines, Appellation
Where to drink: Convivio, inoteca vino e cucina, The Four Seasons Restaurant
Chianti Classico Riserva, Castello di Cacchiano – If any of your snotty friends aren’t yet convinced that Chianti has moved beyond the straw bottle and checkered tablecloth days, look no further. Drop a bomb on the snobs with this bright, classy Robert Chadderdon babe.
Where to buy: < ahref="http://www.astorwines.com/SearchResultsSingle.aspx?p=1&search=14685&searchtype=Contains">Astor Wines
Where to drink: Frankies 17
Chianti Classico, La Sala – This boutique producer has quickly catapulted itself into the spotlight with thoughtful, terroir driven expressions of Sangiovese from their holding in the Western portion of the Classico zone. Well priced draped in pure, bright fruit with just enough grunge underneath to keep us alert.
Where to buy De Vino
Where to drink: Beppe -
Chilean Wine: What Gives?
Posted: January 13, 2010
In brief: Not exactly a country that graces our consciousness on an everyday basis, and certainly not one with the word artisan often attached, and so frankly, when we received the invitation from T. Edward to taste through their portfolio of “artisan” Chilean wines, our opinion was talking louder than our open-mindedness...It’s no secret that us chaps have a preference for wines with Old World sensibilities, and specifically for those that reflect a sense of place, a history, and an adherence to an ideology that favors integrity over market value. And while we apply these discriminations rather broadly, the wines that tend to exemplify what we love about the Old World generally hail from, well, the Old World, and let us say now that we have no shame of admission. However, just because we’ve made our penchants known doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy having the back of our heads blown off now and again by the occasional CA Cab (seriously) and the like.See Full
Enter Chile.
Not exactly a country that graces our consciousness on an everyday basis, and certainly not one with the word artisan often attached, and so frankly, when we received the invitation from T. Edward to taste through their portfolio of “artisan” Chilean wines, our opinion was talking louder than our open-mindedness. We slipped into our figurative smoking jackets and turned up the volume on our figurative haughty cackles, vowing to find out what this “bespoke” Chilean underworld is up to.
Long story short, we discovered that while the Chilean wine scene may be largely defined by its culture of mass production, there is actually a spirited group of winemakers trying their damnedest to make wine that is both mindful and exploratory of the terroir. Are they succeeding? Perhaps not entirely. Many of the wines, although not spoofy or over-oaked, were still a bit hot and disjointed, or else clearly in need of a decade to shed that tannic brillo that had us feeling beaten by the afternoon’s end. So, what gives?
Well, in the greater context of Chilean wine, these showed much more promise than the poop goblins we’ve accidentally drunk over the past few years. These wines clearly have preferences for more traditional techniques; the acidity levels were ample, and the use of oak tempered. So let’s just say that while we aren’t exactly silk-screening t-shirts of the Maipo Valley just yet, we are humbly reminded to be careful of allowing our preferences to morph into prejudices. And furthermore, if there is any single man or portfolio capable of coaxing Chile into a worthy international position, it’s certainly Jorge Perez at T. Edward.
Highlights were all on the lower end (falling under $20 retail):
Gewurztraminer San Antonio Valley 2008, Cartagena
Carmenere Reserve 2007, Casa Julia
Merlot Reserva 2006, Echeverria
Scarlet Begonias 1977, The Grateful Dead
