Sex, Wine, Chef Tiberio Simone, and a 2009, Bridlewood Blend

Tiberio Simone, Sensual Chef and Food Artist – Winner of the coveted, “James Beard Award” for his creation, “Hazelnut Decadence Crunch Cake,” which critics described as an orgasmic amalgamation of nuts and chocolate, agreed to taste a sexy California blend we hoped would inspire an impromptu culinary creation. Our wine of choice for this fun adventure: a 2009, Bridlewood, Blend from the Central Coast of California – This was another true case of first impression.

The idea was to taste our award winning chef on a wine he had never tried. Then, based on his candid and authentic impressions we asked him to create something that would pair perfectly with the 2009, Bridlewood Blend. That’s exactly what happened and the food pairing created was spectacular…

The 2009, Bridlewood Blend we brought was made by David Hopkins, who likes to blend different varietals and different vineyard sites together to add complexity and depth to his creations. He does that with a lot of different wines, primarily cabs and blends. This particular blend uses Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel, with Syrah being the primary grape. The Cabernet provides the structure, firmness and tannins, the Syrah gives depth of fruit, and the Zin delivers a spiciness, and that “raspberry style” we’ve come to love. This wine is smooth and neither overstated or understated. It is easy to drink and delivers lots of layers of flavor.

This California red blend enjoys 6-8 months of oak typically in used oak barrels which gives it a nice balance between oak and the wine; delivering just the right amount of acidity to it which makes this a great wine to have with food. The tannin levels are smaller and finer so they easily fall into your mouth making it feel a little softer. The softness comes from the Syrah as well.

At $13.00 a bottle, the 2009 Bridlewood, Blend 175, Central Coast is  simply a magnificent easy drinking California red blend that is easily loved…

Teasing us with his ever frolicking nature around food, sensuality, and wine, Chef Tiberio dawned a favorite apron and quickly put Wine Subject Matter Expert, Nicole Kathryn DeDamm to work.

Nicole’s job was to extract pollen from freshly cut fennel harvested from Tiberio’s garden which would serve as the base along with figs for a pollen encrusted King Salmon inspired by the 2009, Bridlewood Blend!

Chef Tiberio, in classic Italian bravado announced that we would be moving very quickly and the culinary magic began to unfold within seconds.

Drunken mushrooms in a garlic wine sauce, as well as kale and edible flowers from the garden were soon adorning plates in a gorgeous visual orchestration that was only outdone by the delicate flavors of the food itself. This delicious mid-afternoon culinary masterpiece paired extraordinarily well with the 2009, Bridlewood Blend.

Within fifteen minutes Chef Tiberio Simone, Author of the critically acclaimed, “La Figa – Visions Of Food And Form” created a masterpiece of culinary delights that was only outweighed by our deep gratitude and appreciation for Tiberio’s artistic depth, enduring joy and love of life.

With the mid afternoon summer sun awash against the outline of garden and city scape, we ate, drank, and laughed the afternoon away.

A little olive oil, a little garlic, some exotic salt and pepper, a little kale, a sprinkling of flower pedals, and life is very, very good.

It was a perfect afternoon spent with one of the most colorful people in Seattle, Author, Chef, Artist Extraordinaire, and all around fabulous man, Tiberio Simone.

At the end of our wonderful time with Chef Tiberio, Author of “La Figa – Visions Of Food And Form,” the consummate artist and Chef presented a copy of his hot selling book to our wine SME, Nicole DeDamm.

“La Figa is a book about natural beauty and fresh flavors. Featuring a spectacular collection of sensual photography – models wearing nothing but the edible creations of Chef Tiberio Simone – it examines the relationship between food, touch, and the ingredients that make life delicious.

“La Figa’s elegant and tasteful nude images are the culmination of a five-year collaboration between Simone and Seattle based photographer, Matt Freedman. Using the human body as his canvas, and natural fresh ingredients as both his paint and adhesives, Simone has developed a new art of food and form. The synergy of his ephemeral artwork with Freedman’s photography is magical – producing a series of breathtaking images that will stir your soul, pique your curiosity, and tune you in to your most primal instincts for flavor and pleasure” – LaFigaProject.com

After thanking Chef Tiberio profusely he left us with these parting words: “There are three things that must be remembered in life, eat well, drink well, and make love con affetto!”