by Michael Patrick Shiels, Travel + Leisure Golf
March/April 2003
Use a fingertip grip with the wrist cocked. Don’t squeeze too hard. Keep your head slightly tilted, and don’t hurry the finish….
Drinking wine and playing golf share these techniques and more, says wine expert Steve Pignatiello, who imports some of the refreshments that will be served at Augusta National Golf Club during Masters week, as well as choosing wines for other vaunted venues, from the Cloister at Sea Island to Kiawah Island to the Biltmore Forest Country Club.
“Golfers appreciate quality wine,” says Pignatiello, who founded Asheville, North Carolina’s P. Comms International in 1998 and served as sommelier for the kickoff dinner at the 2001 PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club. “A golfer told me he thought I had the best job in the world. I said I thought he did.”
Asked what vintage might lift a golfer’s spirits after a flat round, Pignatiello recommends a fruity red from Morey-Saint Denis: It’s a light, easy-sipping wine you can drink on the veranda all afternoon.” To celebrate an ace, try Crémant de Bourgogne, a sparkling wine made in the Champagne method from Burgundy grapes. “This is a unique, creamy treat, with tiny bubbles and a crisp finish,” says Pignatiello. And for the truly discriminating, he chooses Chablis Monté de Tonnerre, Premier Cru. “It’s an unoaked chardonnay by François Servin, one of the top two wine makers in the Chablis region. Servin releases fewer than a hundred cases a year, and I get forty-five to fifty of them.” Much of Pignatiello’s stock makes the 220-mile trip to Augusta, to be served by the glass at Augusta National. “That’s a Chablis with crisp flavors that are pure on the palate – a striking wine with a killer finish.”
With a handicap of fourteen, Pignatiello has no sour grapes about failing to compete professionally, and he isn’t jealous of Ernie Els, Greg Norman, David Frost and other pro golfers who have squeezed into the wine business. “Norman’s wine is okay, not great, but his name on the label makes it more appealing to the public,” he says. “That’s fine, too. It gets people drinking wine, and they can graduate to better wines.”
Match Play: Frost Wines vs. Norman Estates
“Great golfers don’t necessarily make great wines,” says Steve Pignatiello of P. Comms International. We sent him a shipment of the recent vintages produced by wine-making golfers David Frost and Greg Norman, and Pignatiello found them subpar. “They are nondescript,” he says. “The Norman Estates wines are good examples of New World-style wines. The ones from David Frost I can’t praise. The Frost Merlot is so oaky it reminds me of a two-by-four.” After a sampling, Pignatiello pronounced David Frost Wines’ 1999 Cabernet Reserve “drinkable, but quite unripe. They tried to make up for that by toasting it with too much oak.” He praised Norman Estates’ 2000 Shiraz as “vibrant, with rich fruit.” Then we asked him to taste Frost’s and Norman’s chardonnays head-to-head:
David Frost Wines 2000 Chardonnay
“Smooth if a bit bland, a little buttery. It’s not bad, really – an industrial-style wine for the masses. And that’s a nice marketing touch, putting Arnold Palmer on the bottle.” (Rating: 2 stars)
Greg Norman Estates 2001 Chardonnay
“Fuller on the palate, crisp, with better balance, fuller flavors and better acid than the David Frost chardonnay. In this match, Greg Norman has clearly come out ahead.” (Rating: 2.5 stars)
By Steve Pignatiello
When you hear the word “Burgundy”, what thoughts come to your mind? Some think of a generic red wine. Others think of wines such as Gallo’s Hearty
Burgundy. Those who know fine wines think of those wines which come from that exclusive wine region in France known as Bourgogne.
Bourgogne (or “Burgundy” as we say in English) is the name of the most complex single wine region in the world. When I give wine talks throughout the Southeast, I meet many people who are very knowledgeable about wine. But if they have one area of weakness, it’s invariabley their lack of knowledge about Burgundy and its wines. Well, I’ve been asked to “de-mystify” Burgundy through a series of articles, of which this article is the first.
Burgundy is a tiny, tiny wine region surrounding the cities of Dijon and Beaune in France. Because it is so small, it produces a very limited amount of wine each year — in fact, it produces only a fraction of the wine that is produced by other well known areas, such as Bordeaux and California. Yet, Burgundy is so famous because the best wines from that region are among the top wines in the world.
The simplest part of a Burgundy is that its wines are single-grape wines. In general, red wines are made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes, and the white wines are made from 100% Chardonnay grapes. From this point on, it can become very complicated. One small village can include dozens and dozens of tiny vineyards. And a narrow dirt road or a simple stone wall can separate a Grand Cru vineyard (one of the world’s best) from a more ordinary village vineyard. This patchwork of vineyards means that wines can be of quite different qualities even though the grapes might have grown up right next to each other.
The situation becomes further complicated by the ownership of vines. Each small town may have between fifty to a hundred winemakers, but it’s rare for winemakers to own an entire vineyard. Instead, winemakers measure their ownership of vines by rows within a vineyard. A quality winemaker will make exceptional wine while a pedestrian winemaker will make mediocre wine — yet the grapes were only grown a few rows apart. To further complicate matters, the bottle labels contain the exact same identifying information, except for the name of the winemaker.
So, if you are not familiar with each small town, and you’re not familiar with the patchword of vineyards in those towns, and you don’t know who are the top winemakers in the area — then what’s a wine-loving American going to do when it’s time for a good Burgundy or when you want to pair great wines with a killer dinner party menu? It can be downright intimidating to try to pick excellent yet affordable wines when choosing from this melange of towns, vineyards and winemakers.
One of the main reasons I founded P.Comms. Int’l was to make some of the best Burgundy wines from some of the top winemakers available and affordable to Americans. Most of these wines are reserved for consumption in France. Through my friendships with these world-class winemakers, I get an exclusive selection of their quality wines here in America. Future articles will discuss how to identify the best Burgundy wines and how to pair these wines with food. A votre sante!
By Rick McDaniel, Asheville Citizen-Times
Wednesday, January 7, 2004
ASHEVILLE (Reprinted with permission) – Two Asheville men have passed the examination to become certified sommeliers administered by the American Chapter of the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Steve Pignatiello, owner of P. Comms International wine distributors, and Kevin Schwartz, general manager of Horizons at Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa, passed the exam in Naples, Fla., last month. “It gives a whole new level to our wine service,” Schwartz said. “In order to pass the test, you have to know about wines from all over the world.”
The Court of Master Sommeliers was established in 1977 as the premier international examining body for wine professionals. For wine professionals, the master sommelier diploma is the ultimate professional credential anyone can attain worldwide.
“The introductory course covered all aspects of wine,” Pignatiello said. “You have to know everything from grape varieties to the proper way to serve fine wines.”
The course of study leading up to the designation master sommelier requires at least five years” experience in the wine service industry and the completion of an introductory and advanced sommelier class administered by the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Admission to the advanced course is by invitation of the court”s academic committee. At the basic level, Pignatiello and Schwartz can use the title sommelier and were awarded a lapel pin denoting the certification. “We’re both pretty excited about it,” Pignatiello said. “As far as I know, Kevin and I are the only certified sommeliers in Asheville.”
By Robert Hillmann, Vice Charge de Presse
From Gastronome 2004, Volume 2
At the Country Club of Asheville on December 7, Bailli Tom Ruff, Professionnel du Vin Steve Pignatiello, and Chef Rotisseur Bryant Withers were a triumvirate non pareil! Excellent cuisine, fine wines, and the superb presentation of both made for a memorable evening. After the champagne reception, which featured hand-passed hors d’oeuvres and copious amounts of wine, it was time to get serious about the food.
Once we were seated, Bailli Ruff offered a surprise: To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Asheville Bailliage, we were treated to glasses of Veuve Clicquot Rose La Grande Dame 1990 from the house that was founded in 1772 and that made the champagne that conquered Russia in 1814! It was an auspicious beginning.
Professionnel du Vin Steve Pignatiello specializes in the wines of Burgundy and the lesser known, small estates, which have limited distribution in the United States. He chose Domaine Parent Volnay Close des Chenes 1999 to accompany the first course of antelope carpaccio and winter root salad. The pairing was a stroke of brilliance!
Arriving next was pan-seared squab breast with wild mushroom risotto, matched with Gabriel Billard Beaune les Epenottes 2001. Madame Billard’s wine is from her family estate; only seventy cases are made each year.
The next offering of potato and leek bisque with lobster nuggets was complemented by a rare Servin Chablis Bougros 2000. Only 165 cases are made each year from the winemaker’s personal vineyard. The family’s Chablis roots trace back to 1652.
Delightful blackberry sorbet prepared us for the main event. Chef Withers’s entree gave new meaning to the term “au jus”! Turkey, venison and veal stocks were reduced and presented with rack of lamb royale with herbed pork forcemeat. The reduction was a rich and powerful complement to the meats and accompanying vegetables. All the flavors were enhanced by Domaine Camus Latricieres-Chambertin 1999.
Our wonderful dinner finished with a delicious chocolate holiday sampler. The Asheville Bailliage is looking forward to the next ten years!
By Rick McDaniel, Asheville Citizen-Times
Tuesday, June 4, 2002
ASHEVILLE – Can a Midwestern farm boy with an Ivy-league education find happiness importing fine French wines in the mountains of Western North Carolina?
Steve Pignatiello has.
Pignatiello (pronounced pin-a-TELL-o) is a nationally known importer of burgundy wines who also gives wine dinners at some of the most exclusive country clubs and restaurants in the Southeast. ‘If there’s anybody in town who knows Burgundy, its Steve,’ said Kevin Schwartz, general manager of Chops at Sunset Terrace at The Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa. ‘He’s extremely knowledgeable and has a burning passion for what he does. When he gets involved in something, he puts both hands around it and lives it.’
Rob Campbell of The Wine Guy, who stocks several of Pignatiello’s wines, agrees. ‘He firmly believes that the best wines in the world come from Burgundy,’ Campbell said. ‘His makers make wines with more quality than others. His wines are outstanding and the prices are very reasonable for the most part.’
Pignatiello was born in New Jersey, spent time in upstate New York and New England before graduating from high school in Centerville, Ohio. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1981 with plans to go into the environmental field. Immediately after graduation, things changed. ‘I was hired by one of my professors to teach either English as a second language or French, depending on whether we were in western Europe or the United States,’ he said.
This led to a chance meeting that started the ball rolling toward Pignatiello’s move to Asheville and involvement with wine.
‘One summer, we taught an intensive course in French for medical students who wanted to go to French medical schools,’ he recounts. ‘We had six weeks to teach them enough French to do this, so we looked around for a place with no distractions and settled on the campus of Western North Carolina University in Cullowhee. My wife, Gail, was one of the students I taught. Midwest farm boy meets Southern California beach girl in, of all places, Asheville, North Carolina!’
After Gail graduated, the couple moved to Loma Linda, Calif., and Pignatiello started Pignatiello Communications, a telecommunications company that was on the ground floor of the voice mail revolution.
After the couple decided to move back to the mountains of WNC, Pignatiello next owned a chain of hot tub and spa stores. Finally, on one of the couple’s annual trips to France in 1997, inspiration struck.
‘Gail and I took a week’s vacation in Burgundy, staying with a different wine maker each night, drinking their wine, and about halfway through the week, in this little cellar in Morey-Saint-Denis, Gail elbowed me and said, ‘Have you figured this out yet? The wine is fantastic, you can buy it dirt cheap, you have a degree in international business from SAIS at Johns Hopkins University ‘ it’s a business opportunity.”
So, in 1999, Pignatiello went back to France and ordered 125 cases of wine. ‘I was told I’d never be able to sell it,’ he says. ‘I sold out in a month.’
One of the keys to Pignatiello’s success is the personal relationships he has formed with the winemakers in these small vineyards. ‘I talk to them on the phone probably once a week, and each year I travel back to France to visit them, share a meal, and sample the new vintage.’
The roots of these small vineyards go deep into French history. ‘I went to France with him for a week and I tasted the wines of 10 makers,’ said Mark Rosenstein, chef/owner of The Marketplace, who offers several of Pignatiello’s wines. ‘I stood in the same parlor as Thomas Jefferson and bought wines from the same family and vineyard that he did over 200 years ago.’
Most of the wines Pignatiello imports cannot be obtained from anyone else in the United States. Some of the smaller cellars may only export a few dozen cases a year. Jean Aufauvre-Bouley, a respected vintner in Chassagne-Montrachet, only exports to Pignatiello, and then only 50 cases a year. ‘Laurence Jobard, winemaker for Maison Joseph Drouhin, has a personal estate called Domaine Gabriel Billard,’ Pignatiello said. ‘Her entire cellar would fit in a small living room. I’m the only person who imports it.’
As would be expected, Pignatiello is fluent in French, as are his wife and daughters. They speak French predominately at home.
In addition to holding tastings and wine dinners that feature pairings with the food of local chefs orchestrated by Cheri Jones, who studied wine pairing under some of the top chefs in the country, Pignatiello is actively involved in teaching sommeliers, as well as teaching the section on burgundies at the Cloister’s Food and Wine Classic as well as the Savannah Wine Experience. ‘When he does a tasting for my staff, he educates them,’ said Schwartz. ‘He starts with the pronunciation and goes into the story of each wine, where it comes from, who the maker is. His stories make it easy to sell the wine ‘ people remember them.’
Rick McDaniel writes about food and cooking for the Citizen-Times. Write him c/o the Asheville Citizen-Times, P.O. Box 2090, Asheville, NC 28802, fax him at 251-0585, call him at 232-0808 during business hours or e-mail him at southerncooking@charter.net.
Where to get the wines:
P. Comms International, Pignatiello’s company, doesn’t sell direct to the public. His wines may be found at The Wine Guy on Merrimon Avenue and Hendersonville Road. For more information, call 254-6500.
