I was lucky enough to attend Vino California wine pairing dinner at the new Aventine Hollywood Trattoria. Approximately 60+ diners gathered on the beautiful outdoor patio for an impressive al fresco dining experience as part of the wine dinner pairing series during the Vino California 2013 Italian wine festival. Featuring amazing food from Chef Adolfo Veronese, the menu—created exclusively for Vino California—showcased food and wine pairings that highlight the distinct flavors and varietals of southern Italy.
The wine was amazing and the food was delicious. Both came together for a meal that was hard to beat. My favorite dishes were the Crudo, which was probably one of my favorite dishes I have had in the past few months. It had ahi tuna tartar with basil and pine nuts, sweet shrimp, and marinated baby octopus with yellow frisee, lemon vinaigrette. The Pesce Spada made from grilled Hawaiian swordfish, eggplant caponata, caper berried, oregano white wine sauce and the Scottaditi, grilled lamb chops, kumquat confit, fingerling potato chips with a balsamic mint reduction were other favorites too.
