Last Friday, I posted this status update to Facebook:
"Got to hold a bottle of '82 Sorì San Lorenzo last night. Unfortunately, didn't get to drink it. Fortunately, didn't drop it."
I Tweeted it, too.
The night before, my wife and I dined at Dream Dance Steak. It was our first visit to the restaurant in its current location, although we had eaten there when it was upstairs next to the bingo.
In addition to some great dining company, I also earned a few laughs when I answered Andy Tarnoff's question, "What would you call this style of decorating?"
"I Dream of Jeannie," I quipped, pointing out the poofy ceiling hangings that reminded me of the lush interior of Jeannie's bottle.
But what prompted the status update was that I spied a bottle of Gaja's legendary nebbiolo-based wine, which was the subject of "The Making of a Great Wine: Gaja and Sori San Lorenzo," a very interesting book by Edward Steinberg.
At $735 bottle, it's no surprise that this wine wasn't available by the glass. It wasn't the priciest option on the list, but it caught my attention because of its fame and because of my personal tastes.
We got to talking about it and I asked Potawatomi Restaurant Operations Manager Christian Damiano if I could see the bottle.
He took us to the cellar and I got to hold the bottle in my hands while we talked about how Dream Dance obtains gems like it for its extensive wine list.
Most of the rare bottles, including the Gaja, come from auction houses. Usually, one or two are kept on hand and when they sell, queries are sent to the auction houses and the prices that Dream Dance pay for these bottles determine the retail price to you, the consumer.
And part of the restaurant's mission is to keep the wines priced reasonably.
"We offer these wines to you at retail pricing for one reason only -- for you to have a great deal of fun and enjoy your evening as much as possible," reads the restaurant's Web site.
I was surprised to hear from Damiano that Dream Dance sells these lavishly expensive bottles of wine pretty regularly. And while I ventured a guess that they were sold to those who hit the jackpot and ask for the most expensive bottle, Damiano said that was rare. More common were wine fiends splurging on an unforgettable experience.
For me, just holding the bottle was an unforgettable experience. I can't even begin to imagine the dinner at which I'd be able to pop the cork on it and enjoy it.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
