Some marinated cippolinis and artichoke hearts. Major delicious.

Here, for example, is a robust beef loin entree, sided with feisty peppers, marrow bone and citrus-infused radicchio.OMG.

Glaze of roasted garlic, red wine reduction sauce. Yes.

I always expect drinkable and lovely Pinot Noirs from winemaker Sal Godinez. But I was charmed recently by his racy, minerally 2010 Chardonnay. The bright and refreshing acidity of this aromatic wine gives it persistence of citrus and guava notes.

The 13.1% alcohol, light enough to keep each sip interesting, puts it squarely in the “favorite wine of summer” camp. Yet it can hold its own against spicy cuisine—or simply a long, lazy afternoon.

Put a few bottles on ice. Now. Summer is a-comin’ in, usw.

From left—panna cotta topped with rhubarb coulis. In the center a rhubarb crisp topped with ginger foam! and on the right, jasmine ice cream on a brilliant bouquet of rhubarb gelée. Beautiful and delicious. Something I’m coming to expect from this exciting kitchen.

Lunches daily at Le Cigare Volant— starting May 21st!

Add a few slices of beet to continue the brilliant magenta colors of the radicchio, and then top it with a trio of sardines and an egg from those contented chickens outside the kitchen door.

Another reason why La Posta has become  our most reliable dining destination.

It was a town/gown

Art major Louise Leong’s crisp, colorful label design won the top award—and appears on the custom-bottled white wine now available at the Tasting Room on Ingalls Street.

Proceeds from sales of the $16 wine will support student scholarships for UCSC Arts students.

The label is a knock-out and the wine is intriguing. This elegant wine should be the graduation gift souvenir of the season.

[shown here: Leong, winemaker Randall Grahm, dean of the Arts David Yager.photo:J.Rogge]

Anybody

Last week Mateo and I enjoyed a sampling of some of the best wines made in California, by Peay Vineyards winemaker Vanessa Wong.

Winery co-owner Andy Peay walked us through a few of the celebrated Pinot Noirs from this estate, plus two big surprise wines—a mineral-laced 2001 Cep Sauvignon Blanc, and a rosé, really a blush wine with a slight frizzante and a refreshing, salty finish.

It’s a treat to find out how grapes respond in different regions, and learn more about how the alchemistry of winemaking challenges even the most experienced artisans.

Like all agriculturalists, winemakers are essentially at the mercy of weather.

A new terroir-driven wine list—soon to be unveiled—will shake up your tired old criticisms of the biodynamic tasting room and restaurant on Ingalls Street.

Seriously. You are not expecting this.

Last night we sampled an outstanding entree of roast halibut, toasted farro and roasted leeks sauced with a pistachio pesto.

A great pasta dish and the never-better antipasti plate of mixed salumi (shown below) took us a long way to enlightenment.

Dessert involved four forks and a lovely finishing dish of Meyer lemon semifreddo, incredibly tart and intense, joined by poached rhubarb and delicate pistachio cookies.

Such a beautifully-balanced creation. Plums and sassafras, minerals, a through-line of licorice and a bouquet that suggested the elegant Russian Leather perfume by Chanel. All of this was strung, like Christmas lights, on a slender but sturdy core of tannins. At 13.8% alcohol, it is nearly perfect for my palate.

With salmon, it was celestial. And worth the $49.50 pricetag. Let me say that again. You really do get what you pay for, and even though there’s a lot of drinkable stuff out there (thank you Chile) there’s not a lot of memorable wine.

This was memorable.

Still Sunday’s piece at SFGate is a sweet bit of recognition.

Check it out.

Our initial dinner last week gave us plenty to smile about. The food is deeply flavorful, i.e. not tricky or overwrought. The ingredients impeccable, and yes, the presentation was both attractive and uncluttered.

Here are some observations. We began with a small plate of house-cured boquerones ($5) fresh from the Monterey Bay. And they were outstanding, neither “fishy,” nor aggressively seasoned. Actually delicate. Great with glasses of Le Cigare Volant Blanc and the 2008 Nebbiolo.

Next we shared what I predict will be the destination starter at the new Le Cigare Volant—an order of the evening’s flatbread creation, topped with spinach, earthy hen of the woods mushrooms and fresh lemon basil sprigs ($14). The faux pizza was scored into square pieces, nice and distinctive, and arrived with an addictive dipping sauce of yogurt and Meyer lemon.

Our main dishes included a daring entree of braised Wildwood tofu (below), that had been marinated and braised in red wine and caramelized onion. With it came an outstanding celeriac gratin—as good as any potato gratin I’ve ever had—and a pretty little “nest” of julienned raw celeriac. It was delicious ($16), even though we found ourselves craving a bit of, well, meat. (No vegetarians we.)

Our other shared dish was a brilliant plate of mixed seafoods (top of page)—grilled spot prawns, all sweet and briny, a prawn “chorizo” that was delightful, mussels and a long succulent wedge of striped bass. With this assemblage came a pitcher of warm lobster lemongrass broth, which we poured all over the seafoods. Glorious, though not hugely proportioned, for $25.