Alto Bene

Press wine dinners can sometimes be surprisingly entertaining, yet are rarely where one discovers the wines that change our lives. Recently, at Alto in midtown (yes, I ate in midtown and have plans to return dragging with me downtown friends, kicking and screaming as they may), I experienced Eric Zillier's renowned wine list for the first time. Zillier is a wine geek if ever there was one, apologetic for his more interesting choices, politely excusing himself for interrupting the mind-numbing conversation to enlighten us with his brilliance, as though he were serving to a bunch of boorish wine yokels (there were only one or two at the table, as far as I could tell). Several of the evening's bottles were, in my humble and still novice opinion, spectacular. I was grateful to Zillier, in particular, for helping me discover Coenobium, a 2006 white blend made in a Lazio convent; Oreg Tokek, an old vines white from Hungary; a gorgeous Nuits St. Georges Clos des Fourches 2005; and a barnyardy 2001 Cornas Le Vignon from Southern Rhone. Chef Michael White also impressed with his porcini carpaccio and simple fresh pasta with pork sausage and savoy cabbage. There were so many great wines and dishes that I became so fuzzy with overall satisfaction that I almost forgot to shmooze and allow myself to be shmoozed.