Holding the Red Bull at Enoteca Sogno

How many winemakers can I meet in eleven days?

Two, apparently, and tonight it was the delightful Jean Francois Coquard from Tenuta Mazzolino at Enoteca Sogno's wine dinner. Youngest of six siblings, by the time he was old enough to make wine, all the older ones had claimed the family vineyards, so Jean moved to Italy to stake his claim.

Tonight we enjoyed the fruits of his labor and they were excellent.

We started with a Chardonnay "Camara" with absolutely no oak, so it was fresh and fruity tasting and paired with smoked trout with apples and arugula. More than one person said it didn't even taste like chardonnay, it was that good.

Next was Bonard "Mazzolino" Oltrepo Pavese, their native grape and highly tannic...until you sipped it with the Gorgonzola, salami and Tallegio with fig jam that accompanied it. Then it was pure heaven.

Then came the Pinot Nero "Terrazze," the perfect match for the best minestrone with pancetta and Parmasean/Reggiano that anyone in the room had ever tasted. It was such a great dish for a fall night and the young wine matched it beautifully.

We finished with a 2004 Pinot Nero "Noir" Oltrepo Pavese that smelled so amazing that everyone spent the first ten minutes just inhaling all that beautiful aroma. Eventually, we started drinking it with a risotto with butternut squash and everyone wanted more of this wine. Even those not much a fan of Pinot Noir were blown away by it, and no one was surprised to learn that it was recently rated the top Italian Pinot Noir. It was the one to buy.

Jean was charming, sharing stories about his vineyard, his siblings (one brother makes wine in Wisconsin. Yes, Wisconsin), his hectic travel schedule (an upcoming trip to Singapore and Japan) and the details on how early his harvest came in this year (September 5th!).

He was downright hysterical describing his first Red Bull (my condolences) and first tofu sausage (the visual alone was priceless). More importantly, his French accent and phrasing made listening to him a real pleasure, second only to his extraordinary wines.

A girl could get used to that combination.