Herdade Do Rocim Wine Dinner Held At La Tavola Ristorante In Waterbury

The Brass City has been making great strides as a restaurant destination. Perhaps my favorite recent addition to the Waterbury dining scene is La Tavola Ristorante on Highland Avenue.

I had been quite impressed with La Tavola during an initial visit during which I ordered from the regular menu. Now I was returning to La Tavola for a Herdade do Rocim wine dinner, a gentlemanly shaking of hands from adjacent Mediterranean peninsulas as vintages from a highly regarded Portuguese winery accompanied some of the most promising Italian cooking seen in Connecticut since DiSopra closed its doors in Greenwich.

First let me present the management team at La Tavola, including (from left to right) general manager Johnny Battaglia, executive chef/owner Nicola Mancini, Jr. and owner Pasquale Salvatore.

As I began to mingle with guests in the bar area, I encountered my old friend, Alvaro do Nascimento, a leading figure in Danbury’s Portuguese community with whom I once met Mario Batali. Nascimento (right) is pictured here with guest speaker Luís Cláudio, who was representing winery Herdade do Rocim (including its high-end Olho de Mocho line that would be the chief focus of our dinner).

Approaching La Tavola, one crosses a patio (still in use when we visited), passes through an attractive bar area,

and then proceeds to the main dining room.

In between, one passes over a glass floor through which one can see into La Tavola’s wine cellar. This intriguing feature seems to inspire mixed reactions. I have seen some people try to step over or around the glass, having even less confidence in it than in the new glass deck suspended over the Grand Canyon. And I have seen women gather their skirts close around their legs, but I can assure them that this wine room is safely closed off from casual visitors.

Also located between the bar and main dining room is a down staircase terminating in a waterfall wall.

Continuing La Tavola’s fascination with water devices is an unusual bathroom spout , an I.Q. test which I failed miserably, my lack of mechanical intuition being well-documented. Apparently, one turns on this water faucet by passing one’s fingers over the base, not tapping all over the raised stem and spout like a blind man, as I did.

As one descends the stairs, the kitchen is to one’s right, while to one’s left is a charming and capacious special events room of which I was unaware. It was here that our wine dinner was held. At the end of the room was a screen showing a video about Herdade do Rocim, the fruits of whose labors we would soon be tasting.

The following are photographs captured from the winery’s video as it flashed across the screen.

Next to us was the wine room which we had earlier glimpsed through its sturdy glass ceiling.

Often at such events, I look for a cute couple to illustrate how much fun everyone is having, but on this occasion I could only narrow my choice down to the following two couples.

Soon our wine dinner was underway, introductions being the first order of the day. Lovely Lisa Sanseverino, Director of Marketing for Iberia Wines & Spirits as well as Barça and O’Porto in Hartford, made the introductions.

First, Sanseverino introduced Nelson Veiga, a partner in Dotcom Wine & Spirits in West Hartford, through whom the general public can order Herdade do Rocim wines.

And then, Sanseverino introduced Fernando Ferreira and Carlos Mouta (right) of Iberia Wines, the wholesale importer and distributor for Herdade do Rocim. Mouta is also a partner in Barça and O’Porto.

And finally, Sanseverino introduced the aforementioned guest of honor, Cláudio, who proved to be a most sophisticated and knowledgeable guide to the astonishing Portuguese wines we would be sampling.

Chefs tend to put their best foot forward for wine dinners, and this evening was no exception. We began with the appetizer course—a plate of Castelões cheese, grilled black mission fig, Serrano ham and a fig vincotto.

The plate was paired with a 2005 Aliança Reserva Bruto, Bairrada, Portugal, described as a natural sparkling wine prepared in the traditional Méthode Champenoise from blending Arinto, Bical, Cercea and Baga grapes. This sparkling wine and the port with which we would conclude our meal were not produced by Herdade do Rocim, but everything else in between was a product of the innovative winery. Specifically, each was a limited-production boutique wine from Herdade do Rocim’s high-end line of wines called Olho de Mocho, or “Eye of the Owl.”

Four main courses followed. The first course featured an asparagus duo that took me back to culinary adventures in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. An asparagus sformato (a formed dish somewhere in texture between a soufflé and a flan that can be made with sweet or savory ingredients) was topped with a fried quail egg and plated with long stalks of white asparagus, tiny honshimeji mushrooms and black truffle foam, an incredible combination.

The sformato was escorted by a lovely, crisp, dry 2008 Olho de Mocho Branco, Reserva, Alentejo, Portugal made from the Antão Vaz grape.

Our second course showcased a slab of delicious, flaky, pan-roasted Chatham cod served over a grilled crostino with baby clams and smoked chorizo in a leek broth.

This dish was married with a nice 2008 Olho de Mocho Rosé, Alentejo, Portugal. Cláudio explained that, in Portugal, rosés must be made from red grapes, Olho de Mocho’s exhibiting pleasing dry characteristics, acidity and structure. Despite the recent resurgence of rosés, I’m not a great fan and found myself liking this particular one and its lovely lingering finish more than any I had tasted before.

Our third course presented us with a housemade goat cheese raviolo resting atop braised lamb shank with eggplant caviar and fresh mint.

Coupled with this flavorful pasta dish was a 2006 Herdade do Rocim Vinho Tinto, Alentejo, Portugal, a red with higher acidity, more concentrated fruit flavor and more food-friendly characteristics than is typical of wines produced in this region.

Our fourth course featured rapturously flavorful roasted Kobe beef sirloin with baby rapini, a luscious potato gratin and green peppercorns in a red wine reduction. It would be a mistake to misidentify—as one diner did—the green peppercorns as lentils and scoop up a mouthful.

These heavenly slices of beef were matched with a phenomenal 2007 Olho de Mocho Tinto Reserva, Alentejo, Portugal, a blend of Syrah, Touriga Nacional and Alicante Bouschet grapes.

For dessert, La Tavola wooed us with a cream cheese and rhubarb tart trailing a comma of rum raisin purée. Amazingly, the dice of rhubarb was barely cooked—and it worked beautifully that way.

The tart was chaperoned by a glass of 2003 Quinta Seara D’Ordens, Vintage Port. The Port was delightful, but I would happily have continued sipping the Olho de Mocho reserve red until someone turned out the lights.

I felt truly privileged to attend such a felicitous union of great food and wine. As our dinner wound down, Mancini came out of the kitchen and was received with enthusiastic applause.

Mancini is a CIA-trained chef who has cooked at some of American’s better Italian restaurants, including Spiaggia in Chicago and Bricco in West Hartford. Mancini is a Billy Grant protégé, and hints of his stint at Bricco could be detected in dishes like his wonderful goat cheese ravioli with oxtail.

A restaurant operation is like a chain—only as strong as its weakest link—and we didn’t detect any weak links. From kitchen staff

to servers,

everyone performed their roles beautifully. As we left our cocoon, climbed back upstairs and rejoined the regular crowd, we realized that live music was being performed. Downstairs, we hadn’t even noticed.

I couldn’t help reflecting how great an impact La Tavola has made in a short length of time. With Mancini helming the kitchen, La Tavola is already one of Waterbury’s top restaurants, well on its way to becoming one of Connecticut’s top Italian restaurants, and figuring in people’s debates about their favorite restaurants.

La Tavola Ristorante, 702 Highland Avenue, Waterbury, 203-755-2211