Today's episode took us to Dear Emilia, a newly opened restaurant in Denver. Scott Thomas was our somm. Scott is the wine director at Dear Emilia, and also at Restaurant Olivia, and also a co-founder and lead educator at Grappollo Food and Wine School. The man wears hats. He picked three Italian reds for us to taste blind, paired with a pasta gemelli with mushrooms, tomato paste, and a fermented pinto-bean miso made by Paula Thomas, the restaurant's director of sustainability, and Scott's wife.
Scoring today: two points for vintage, two for grape variety, and because we already knew they're all Italian, two more for the region. Sam Maher and Justin Freeman from Somebody People were on the line.
The wines
Wine one came out earthy. Scott called it "brick layer's cologne" — coffee, leather, tar, dusty mushroom forest floor, a hint of red berry. Sam guessed Sangiovese 2024 from Campania. Justin guessed 2023 Sangiovese. Scott said Nebbiolo, Piedmont, 2019. Reveal: Nebbiolo, Piedmont. Scott wins one.
Wine two had hay and old leather and dark fruit. Sangiovese energy, but funkier. Sam went Nero d'Avola from near Napoli. Justin went Sangiovese from Chianti Classico, 2021. Reveal: Sangiovese, Chianti Classico. Justin nailed it.
Wine three was the inkiest of the three. Leather and tar like fresh asphalt. Baking spice. Brambly cooked berries. "Like your grandma's cooking and you're smelling everything she's making, all in one glass," Scott said. He went Aglianico from Campania, 2019. Reveal: another Sangiovese-based wine, this one from a producer Scott called Cola, with sandalwood notes everyone had picked up earlier.
The pairing
Wine three was the winner with the dish — a Chianti Classico from Villa Calcinaia. "Sometimes pairings just work and there's no science behind it," Scott said. The Chianti's acidity and the sourness of its red fruit cleared the palate between bites of pasta. The mushroom-and-miso bowl wanted that lift between forkfuls.
The room
The room is beautiful. The bowl is beautiful. Scott picked a flight that taught me more about Italian reds in fifteen minutes than I learned in years of drinking them at my own table.
If you're in Denver, eat at Dear Emilia. Tell Scott we sent you.