The best of Valpolicella shines in the wines of Allegrini, a family-run estate that has been working the land in Valpolicella: from the Veneto region of Northern Italy since the 16th century. Four different Allegrini wines were paired with delectable Italian delicacies.

We embarked on this indulgent gourmet experience with the Allegrini Corte Giara Soave Doc 'Pagus' 2008 which is a bright, straw yellow wine. Its supple and elegant taste with light mineral flavours made it a good companion to the cold white asparagus soup and caviar we started the meal with. It also complemented the warm appetizer of squid, sea bass and prawns.

"I might have tasted Chianti a thousand times; but every time I make her swirl; she dawns at me like a pleasant surprise," says Remi Torres a celebrated Sommelier from France. A food and wine connoisseur, Remi has travelled across the globe in a passion to follow his love for wine and food, and is now working at Fratelli Fresh to supervise their wine list.

He introduced us to the next wine which was the brilliant ruby red Allegrini Amarone Della Valpolicella Doc Classico 2007 - a youthful, medium-bodied wine, it was the perfect accompaniment to the carnarolli risotto with raddichio.

We next savoured the Allegrini La Poja Monovitigno Corvina Verosese IGT 2005 - an intense ruby red colour made from Corvina grapes grown at the top of the prestigious and ancient La Grola vineyard, in the parcel called La Poja. It possesses the character of the most important indigenous grapes of this region.

La Poja would have made an ideal accompaniment to the roasted Guinea fowl, which ran out due to the tremendous response to this festival. Chef Enrico presented a roast chicken to us instead which was very nice indeed. This wine has the potential to age for 18 years.
Pictured: Chef Enrico Luise of Fratelli Fresh
Italian Chef Enrico Luise is the heart and face of Fratelli Fresh. Taking on the mantle at Fratelli Fresh in October 2008, he plays a pivotal role in directing the essence and feel of the restaurant through his culinary vision and expertise. According to Chef Enrico, his gastronomic philosophy is to introduce his guests to an authentic Italian dining experience, laying emphasis on ingredients, taste, flavours and textures, by serving up a remarkably unpretentious and honest, yet luxurious meal.

We culminated this luxurious gastronomical voyage with a delicious chocolate fondant with vanilla custard cream which was paired with the Allegrini Solosole Vermentino Poggio al Tesoro IGT Toscana 2008. The well-balanced smoky, fruity, lush wine, is named solosole, meaning 'only sun' because its maturation is aided by sunlight alone. It showed delicious aromas of waxy lemons and grapefruit complemented with herbaceous hints. The palate is rounded, soft yet precise, and full of apple blossom and citrus fruit, with a cool, clean, mineral core. Extremely refreshing. A perfect end to a perfect evening.