HAPPENINGS
Throughout the year, we celebrate the culture and cuisine of Abruzzo and Southern Italy, as well as the Providers and local farms who make what we do possible. Special dinners, wine tastings, cookouts, musical events, etc. Keep track of them here...
THE LV ALIMENTARI/ENOTECA/WINE CLUB (featuring monthly tastings)
Our Enoteca & Alimentari (bottle shop & grocery) is officially open! Natural, organic, biodynamic wines, artisanal amari, and beer for sale "To Go"!
The retail shop is open from 2-close, 7 days a week! Pop in, get suggestions/recommendations, OR take home your favorite bottles after dinner. Going to a BYO? Stoopin' it on a warm, sunny evening? Contemplating the universe from your 12 x 8 concrete South Philly backyard? We've got you covered. And our Wine Club has finally arrived!
Member subscriptions are monthly, with pickup and complimentary tastings on the first Wednesday of every month. Wine club members will also enjoy 10% off all retail bottles, alimentari items, and merch!
Membership tiers:
$75 (+10% Philly liquor tax): 2 bottles of "every-day wines"
$150 (+10% Philly liquor tax): 2 "every-day wines" &
2 special-occasion bottles
Somm's Pick: additional $60 (+10% Philly liquor tax)
Online enrollment is live HERE.
Monthly Wine Club tastings are also available to the public for $25.
Please email chris.levirtu@gmail.com for more info or any questions.
"Tasting Abruzzo":
multi-part master class and tasting through Italy's most unique and rugged wine region
Guided tasting and selections by our Sous Chef/Sommelier/Beverage Director Chris O’Brien
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd, 1-2:30PM:
"Abruzzo 102: Understanding the White Wines of Abruzzo"
Featuring some of the best but least known white grapes in Italy: Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Pecorino, and (if available) Cococciola. We’ll discuss where these grapes are grown, the differences in expressions, and varying winemaking techniques (includes stuzzichini by Chef Andrew).
Wine + stuzzichini: $120/person (excl tax & gratuity)
Reservations via Resy
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14th, 1-2:30pm
"Abruzzo 103: It’s not Rose', it’s Cerasuolo! A guided tasting through the most unique wine in the region,
Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo"
The focus is on Cerasuolo, Abruzzo’s peculiar, dark-hued (but not red) wine. What it is, where and how it’s made, and all its iterations. From stoop pounders to age-worthy vintage Cerasuolo, we’ll taste IGT and DOC examples as well as a DOC Superiore. Stuzzichini will feature Abruzzese cheeses & house-cured salumi by Chef Andrew.
Wine + stuzzichini: $120/person (excl tax & gratuity)
Reservations via Resy
It’s important to us not only that you enjoy drinking the wines we carry, but also that you learn things about the culture, place, and people helping us and you to find the happy place, explore internal and external dimensions, escape from reality, etc. However you roll.
We hope you'll join us!
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21st @6:30pm
Radikon wines from Friuli
The late Stanko Radikon was labeled a maverick. His family has
continued his legacy of low-intervention winemaking, and their singular, natural wines are still produced near Oslava, just north of Gorizia in Friuli’s Isonzo region - where Italy and Slovenia border one another, creating a unique cultural blend.
In the vineyard, 6,500-10,000 plants are grown per hectare, without the use of chemicals or synthetics, and a minimum of non-harmful products. Through careful pruning and selection at the time of harvest, the hand-harvested yields are kept well below 2.25 tons per acre.
In the cellar, the grapes are de-stemmed, and macerated on the skins for 30 days more, with 6-7 months for whites, and 35 days for reds (pressing is done “softly” with a pneumatic press). All phases of vinification are in Slavonian oak, first in wood vats and then in large barrels, where the wines are aged circa three years before bottling. This vinification uses only the natural yeasts present on the grapes, without any added sulfur.
The results are revelatory, and damn hard to find. Sommelier/Beverage Director Chris O’Brien has long raved about Radikon, and it’s through his efforts and the courtesy of David McDuff at Bowler Wine, that we’re able to offer you this rare opportunity to enjoy a Radikon selection, paired with a menu from Chef Wood. We’re offering these wines at an especially low markup to make them as accessible as possible.
Antipasto:
Salivade: fried sage, anchovy, and lemon
Primi:
Minestra di fagioli: cranberry beans, scallop, chervil
Gnocchi al modo antico: stuffed potato gnocchi, rye, scamorza, sausage, caraway
Secondo:
Roasted Green Meadow Farm strip loin, brovada (wine-fermented turnips), brassicas, rosemary
Dolce:
Angolotti di punters: sweet ricotta, black walnuts, fig, honey
Wine pairings:
Antipasto:
’Sivi’ 2022 (100% Pinot Grigio)
Primi:
’Slatnik’ 2022 (Chardonnay/Friulano)
Ribolla Gialla 2019 (Radikon's flagship wine, of which we have every bottle in PA)
Secondo:
‘RS’ 2022 (Rosso Saša, Merlot/Pignoli)
For an additional supplement, Radikon's Merlot 2009 (we have the only two bottles in PA)
Thursday, November 21st
6:30pm
Menu: $70 (excl tax/gratuity)
Wine pairings: $100 (excl tax/gratuity);
additional $20 for Merlot 2009
Reservations via Resy or 215.271.5626
