Wine Wednesday at Dino

The wine group met last night for Dino's "Wine Wednesday" tasting series. I love Dino anytime, but Wine Wednesday is really superb as on offering is a flight of wines and a trio of appetizers for $25, or you can just do the flight for $15. They also waive their corkage fee for the evening, which is a superb opportunity to enjoy their lovely Italian smallish plates along with a bottle of your choosing and for no extra cost as well.

Last night's feature was Rosso di Montalcino, Toscana. The wines were lush and fruity and delicious. The appetizer trio looked tasty, but we had a table reserved for later in the evening so instead we ordered a cheese plate and their creamy and rich Burrata which is served in a lovely white mound surrounded by sliced baguette and an olive tapenade as well as roasted red peppers. I also had a glass of Valpolicella which was very nice. When we were seated we opened the bottles that everyone brought for the evening. I brought a Tempranillo thinking that it would be a little gauche to bring in an Italian varietal given that Dino has a really great wine list anyhow. Others had the same idea as there were offerings from California, Australia and other new world origins. For the table we ordered Tris di Bruschette which was absolutely delicious. Grilled Bread three ways - with white bean & mushrooms; caramelized balsamico cippolini & erborinati; and goat cheese, pesto & oven-roasted tomato. The mushroom variety was especially delicious. I ordered my usual for my main - Acciuga Salad which is crisp Romaine with black pepper & anchovy dressing, grilled Tuscan bread and roasted chicken. Very tasty and actually fairly filling as well thanks to the chicken and the creamy dressing. Amy ordered Gramigna ai Funghi, which is whole mushroom Pasta - house made pasta, creamy wild mushroom ragu. It was gorgeous. The mushrooms were definitely cooked in some sort of decadent oil. Allan and several others had Pappardelle ai Cinghiale, or whole Wild Boar Pasta - house made pasta, traditional Tuscan sauce of boaronions, herbs, pecorino. I tried the boar and it was hearty and rich and tasty. Kristin had Fusili con Aragosta e Gambretti, or Lobster & Shrimp Pasta - house made pasta, creamy lobster sauce, carrots, zucchini, and crispy shallots. She was very sweet and gave me a bite of the luscious lobster - not sure there was enough of it (as usual I suppose) but it was well-cooked and not too firm and tasty. I finished up my wine for dessert, but several of the group decided to share a trio of desserts - “Moccha” or moccha mousse (chocolate & coffee), and espresso foam; Tris di Cioccolato or warm chocolate souffle cake, bittersweet chocolate gelato & chocolate crema Inghlese; and Crostata or a rustic fruit tart with a crumbly butter crust, and gelato. They actually did a good job of sharing thanks to lots of passing of the dishes. It was fun to watch. Everyone enjoyed each dessert but the Crostata seemed to emerge as the favorite. The group all had a great time catching up and enjoying the delicious food and the wines we had brought in for free no less. Wine Wednesday at Dino is a really great event.

Dino

3435 Connecticut Avenue in NW DC

www.dino-dc.com