I recently ventured above 23rd street to see what everyone’s been talking about at Marta, the new pizza joint in the Martha Washington Hotel.  It was pretty fabulous.  We ate the pizza so fast I forgot to take a picture, but the highlights of the evening were our burrata appetizer with macerated strawberries and grilled homemade bread and the wine!  

Our somm helped us choose a white from the Piedmont region of Italy.  Roero Arneis is an ancient Italian varietal native to the northwest region.  Fun fact, “arneis” means “little rascal” in the local dialect, a nod to the difficulties of growing this particular grape (low yield, susceptible to powdery mildew, and acid challenged).  It is often known as “white Barolo” as it was often used to cut tannins in the Nebbiolo wines of the region as well as attract birds and bees away from red grapes in the vineyard.  

This bottle in particular comes from the producer Matteo Correggia.  The estate uses natural and sustainable growing practices whenever possible, the wine was aged in stainless steel for 6 months.  The northern region and cooler climate leads to a bright acidity, mineral driven notes and thirst-quenching quality in this wine.  It certainly cut through the luscious fat of our burrata and paired nicely with the strawberries.   

The real reason we were uptown was to see Bette Midler at MSG, so fabulous!

And because our dinner was an early-bird 6pm special, of course we needed dessert and more wine after the concert.  So we ended the night with chocolate and Grand Marnier souffles at Minetta Tavern.  A pretty perfect night!