This tuna dish is incredibly easy to assemble, and it’s always a huge treat, but this time it was heaven.

• two 7 or 8-ounce yellowfin tuna steaks from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, rinsed, dried, tops and bottoms seasoned with local sea salt produced by the fisherman himself and freshly-ground black pepper, ‘paved’ with a mixture of less than a tablespoon of some incredibly pungent dried Semi di Finocchietto Ibleo [wild Sicilian fennel seed] harvested in the Iblei Mountains, from Eataly Flatiron, and a little dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia in the Chelsea Market [both first crushed together in a porcelain mortar and pestle], plus a very small amount of dried golden habanada pepper, the steaks pan-grilled above a medium-high flame for little more than a minute or so on each side, finished on the plates with a good squeeze of the juice of an organic California lemon from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, garnished with micro red-vein sorrel from Two Guys from Woodbridge, finished with a drizzle of Chelsea Whole Foods Market Portuguese house olive oil

• a mix of subtly different tones of small cherry tomatoes (14 ounces) from Norwich Meadows Farm, washed, dried, each punctured at least once with a steel trussing pin, heated in a little olive oil inside a small copper skillet, seasoned with salt and Pepper, and mixed with a little chopped fresh oregano from Rise & Root Farm

• a bouquet of beautiful red frill mustard from Norwich Meadows Farm washed and drained in several changes of water, wilted in a little olive oil in which several cloves of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm had been allowed to sweat a bit, seasoned with salt and pepper and finished on the plates with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon
• the mix of sauces on the plates called for some bread, in this case thin slices of a Lost Bread Co. loaf of Buck Honey Rye (rye, malted buckwheat groats, honey, water, and salt)
• the wine was a New York (Hudson River/Pine Bush) rosé, the unfiltered Wild Arc Farm Cabernet Franc Rosé 2017, Bruynswick Vineyard, which we had purchased from the vintners themselves last weekend

• DJing these meals (almost entirely Barry’s responsibilty) isn’t always as easy as we make it look; on this particular evening we began and stopped 5 different recordings before we came up with this incredible winner: a remastered 1961 recording of a magnificent performance of Gustav Mahler’s symphony, No. 1 in D Major, the Columbia Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer’s friend and champion Bruno Walter, who was at the composer’s deathbed in Vienna 1911 [and that’s right, a world class symphony orchestra endowed by a corporate radio and TV station; European nations still have them, and Germany has a total of 14]

[image of Mahler and Walter from the Mahler Foundation achive]

A little bit of smoke goes a long way, whether it’s with vegetables, meat, or fish, but this time we had a full 4 ounce section of smoked bluefish fillet to mix with less than 8 ounces of dried pasta, a ratio twice that I’ve used with similar dishes in the past.

Joy.

• several chopped baby leeks from baby French leeks from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm and some very small stems of a small rib from a small stalk of celery from Norwich Meadows Farm, both sautéd in a little olive oil inside a large antique copper pot until softened, the juice from half  of an organic Whole Foods Market California lemon added and the pan kept over heat for another 2 or 3 minutes, stirring, the flame reduced to low and a pinch of sea salt, part of one crushed dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia and a pinch of home dried Norwich Meadows Farm golden habanada pepper stirred into the sauce until both hot and sweet peppers had become pungent, then adding less than 8 ounces of Afeltra Pasta di Gragnano Spaghetto from Eataly that had just been cooked until barely al dente, along with almost a cup of the reserved pasta water, continuing to stir until the liquid had emulsified, followed by mixing in one 4 ounce piece of smoked bluefish from Pura Vida Seafood Company and some chopped leaves from the celery rib, the dish transferred to low serving bowls, drizzled with a little olive oil around the edges, sprinkled with lemon zest and a little more red pepper flakes, and garnished with homemade toasted bread crumbs
• the wine was a Portuguese (Vinho Verde) white, Quinta de Paços Casa do Capitão-Mor Alvarinho 2017, from Flatiron Wines 
• the music was a glorious 1982 DGG recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Claudio Abbado conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna State Opera Chorus, the Vienna Boys’ Choir, and Jessye Norman

It was good.

Although it was a little simpler than many of these mid afternoon ‘fast breakers’, so I had at least metaphorically brought fewer things to the table. There were still a lot of containers however but fortunately I actually enjoy washing up afterward, and have never had a dishwasher, or even wanted one.

This is what the drainer looked like after this relatively simple lunch.

• on the table earlier: 4 slices of thick bacon from pastured pigs and 6 fresh eggs from pastured chickens, all from the Amish family-run Millport Dairy Farm stand in the Union Square Greenmarket, the eggs seasoned with a local Long Island sea salt (from P.E. & D.D. Seafood) and freshly ground black pepper, drizzled with a tiny amount of Brazil wax pepper-infused olive oil (the peppers from Eckerton Hill Farm, the infusion done at home), and sprinkled with red vein micro sorrel from Two Guys from Woodbridge, with a dollop of the cook’s own homemade Zhug at the side; there was a small salad of red dandelions leaves from Willow Wisp Farm seasoned with salt and pepper, and a good Cretan (Chania) olive oil, Renieris Estate ‘Divina’ (a Koroneiki varietal), from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, topped with a few differently toned cherry tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm that had been halved and heated in a little While Foods house Portuguese olive oil inside an antique enameled cast iron porringer and tossed with chopped thyme leaves from Quarton Farm; a rich local butter (Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ from Chelsea Whole Foods, and 2 breads, both from Lost Bread Co., neither toasted, a Homadama (wheat, corn, water, maple syrup, salt, slaked lime) and a Buck Honey Rye (rye, malted buckwheat groats, honey, water, salt)
• the music was the 1871-1872 oratorio, ‘Luther in Worms’, by the choral director, critic, and composer Ludwig Meinardus, performed by Hermann Max directing Concerto Köln and the Rheinische Kantorei (neither Martin Luther nor the composer’s conservative Protestantism appeal to either of us, but the subject of the piece and the conservative romantic composition itself occupy niches in history that interest both of us; Barry came across this recording and used it to fill the niche we generally reserve for religious music first thing on Sundays, a tradition in spite of, or possibly because of, the depth of our shared disbelief

Oh my.

Yes.

We both love game, but I’m pretty certain I’ve never prepared or eaten partridge before. It doesn’t show up anywhere on this blog, and where else would I have had the opportunity, especially before I started it, in 2009?, so I didn’t really know what to expect.

While I was planning and cooking Saturday’s dinner, I hadn’t really been thinking about how dark in color or gamey it might be. I was mostly concerned about how to cook it to best advantage. If I had given it a thought, I’d have assumed that partridge would be darker and more gamey than the centerpiece of our meal that night actually turned out to be.

But what flavor!

I’m used to thinking ruddy and gamey is what wild fowl are all about (dove and quail have been my favorites) , but this bird gave me a whole new appreciation for the more subtle but very rich flavors of fowl that do not hang out in the traditional farm yard, but which don’t scream “liver!”.

The excellent, and extraordinarily simple recipe I used is from Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers inestimable volume, ‘Italian Easy’; Recipes from the London River Cafe‘(page 160 in my edition).

• two 1-pound chukar partridges [alectoris chukar] from Quattro’s Game Farm & Store in the Union Square Greenmarket, their backbones removed with a heavy kitchen scissors where the thin ribs join it, then each bird pushed flat, open side down, on the surface of a platter or large oven pan, seasoned on all sides with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and most of one crushed dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, rubbed with some Whole Foods Market house Portuguese olive oil, covered all over with a mix of fresh and dry breadcrumbs, a combination of moist crumbs from a part of the only bread I had on hand, a very intensely flavored loaf of Lost Bread Co.’s Homadama (wheat, corn, water, maple syrup, salt, slaked lime) and, to help overcome the sponginess of the cornbread, some totally dried homemade crumbs that were themselves a mix of many different kinds of breads, the partridges then left aside to rest for something over 30 minutes before they were placed above medium flames on a 2-burner Lodge cast iron grill pan and grilled for about 25 minutes, turning frequently and from time to time squeezing organic Whole Foods Market lemon halves on top, the flames turned off and the birds allowed to rest for about 5 minutes, covered loosely with aluminum foil if desired, arranged on the plates with micro red amaranth arranged at its edges, and ideally perhaps served with more lemon (I didn’t have any left at this point that night, but I had been very generous earlier with what I did have); in any event I had somehow managed to cook them to a perfect state, roughly showing 180ºF, inside their thighs, with the help of an instant thermometer

• red dandelion leaves from Norwich Meadows Farm, well washed and thoroughly dried, dressed in a good Cretan (Chania) olive oil, Renieris Estate ‘Divina’ (a Koroneiki varietal), from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, local Long Island sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, freshly-ground black pepper, and a bit of Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar

• thirteen or 14 ounces of Hakurei turnips from Keith’s Farm, washed, scrubbed, peeled, cut into half-inch-thick slices, tossed with Portuguese olive oil, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a small handful of rosemary leaves from from Phillips Farms, and little more than a pinch of a crushed dried piece of golden/bronze habanada pepper, roasted inside a large unglazed Pampered Chef ceramic pan for about 30 or 35 minutes at 425º, or until tender and beginning to carbonize
• the wine was an Oregon (Willamette Valley/Yamhill-Carlton) red, Fairsing Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016, from the vineyard directly
• the music was a glorious performance and a brilliant recording of Mozart’s 1791 Singspiel, ‘Die Zauberflote’, William Christie conducting his ensemble, Les Arts Florissants, with soloists including Hans Peter Blochwitz, Willard White, and Natalie Dessay

It felt pretty wintry on Friday, so, yeah, fish and potatoes.

But, hedging our bets on the season, there were also yellow pole beans.

• twelve or 14 ounces of scrubbed, dried, and thinly sliced red potatoes from Willow Wisp Farm, arranged, overlapping, on the bottom of a glazed earthenware oven pan, covered with 3 tablespoons, or slightly more, of a Chelsea Whole Foods house Portuguese olive oil, seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a pinch of an Eckerton Hill Farm crushed dried hickory smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper and the same amount of a dried habanada pepper, 9 whole Italian bay leaves from Buon Italia scattered on top, and then more oil (another 2 tablespoons or so) poured over everything, the pan placed inside a 400º oven for about 20 or 25 minutes, or until the potatoes had begun to brown on the edges, when almost two thirds of a cup of pitted Sicilian black oil-cured olives from Buon Italia [fewer olives would definitely also work, this amount is luscious] were scattered about them, followed by one 15-ounce monkfish tail [Fr. Lotte de Mer] from Pura Vida Seafood, cut into 4 pieces, placed on top of everything, the fish sprinkled with salt and pepper, and the pan returned to the oven for roughly another 15 minutes, or until the monkfish was tender but not overcooked (I used an instant thermometer and 140º as the final say), everything arranged on the plates 
• eleven ounces of sweet flat yellow pole beans from Norwich Meadows Farm, blanched and drained, then dried over a medium flame in the same, emptied pot, shaking it up and down, set aside until the fish and potatoes were done, reheated in olive oil inside a cast iron skillet, seasoned with salt and pepper, and tossed with chopped thyme leaves from Quarton Farm, garnished with a little micro red amaranth from Norwich Meadows Farm
• the wine was an Oregon (Northern Willamette Valley and Umpqua Valley) white, Scott Kelley Oregon Chardonnay 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was Rossini’s 1817 operatic dramma giocoso, ‘La Cenerentola’, in a classic 1999 recording, Claudio Abbado conducting theLondon Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Opera Chorus, with Margherita Guglielmi, Renato Capecchi, Luigi Alva, Teresa Berganza, Paolo Montarsolo, Laura Zannini, and Ugo Trama

German creole cookery? Yes, and of course it was all good.

Otherwise all I can think to say otherwise is how quickly Barry and I have become comfortable with the idea of traditional German cuisine melded with that of the deep south hundreds of years ago. I wrote a little about it in the post describing our first exposure to the story of Louisiana’s German coast (Deutsche Küste/Côte des Allemands).

• four links of Louisiana German Coast-style spicy Andouille sausage 12 ounces) from Schaller & Weber’s Yorkville store placed inside a large Pyrex Flameware pot, filled with just enough cold water to cover, heated over a medium-high flame until the water had reached a gentle simmer, by which time, now fully cooked, they were removed, drained, and dried on a paper towel before being placed inside one of my prized ancient perfectly seasoned Wagner Ware cast iron pans over high heat (after its surface had been brushed with a very small amount of Mac Nut oil), seared, turning frequently until colored on all sides, then arranged on the plates with that brilliant condiment creation, Inglehoffer  cranberry mustard

• one pound of so of Peter Wilcox potatoes (purple skin, golden flesh) from Windfall Farms, scrubbed, skins left on, halved, tossed with a little olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, rosemary leaves from Phillips Farms, a bit of crushed dried Italian myrtle (It. Mirto) leaves from Buon Italia, and the same amount of dry crushed golden habanada pepper, the potatoes arranged, cut side down, on a large Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic pan, roasted at about 350º-375º for about 30 minutes, garnished with Micro red vein sorrel from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• one bunch of tender collards from Keith’s Farm, stripped of most of their stems and fairly roughly cut, washed several times and drained, transferred to a smaller bowl very quickly, in order to retain as much of the water clinging to them as possible, braised inside a large, heavy antique tin-lined copper pot in which 2 halved cloves of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm had first been allowed to sweat in some olive oil, finished with salt and pepper, finished with a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a California (North Coast/Mendocino) red, Ondine Chattan Mendocino Memento 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was an album of music by the Dutch composer Richard Rijnvos, ‘Le rideau se baisse lentement durant toute la musique suivante’, performed  by the Ives Ensemble

It’s both a great fish and a luscious dish. Also, because of at least slight variations in the ingredients each time, starting with the kinds of tomatoes available, it never tastes quite the same. I think of that as a plus.

• the preparations began with a salsa, assembled about 30 minutes in advance inside a small bowl, containing one cup of halved golden cherry tomatoes from Windfall Farms, half a cup of pitted and halved kalamata olives from Whole Foods Market, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, 2 finely chopped fresh aji dulce peppers from Eckerton Hill Farm, and a little olive oil, the mix set aside while the fish was cooked: four 4-ounce black sea bass fillets from American Seafood Company, seasoned on both sides with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, sautéed skin side down over a fairly brisk flame in a little Mac Nut  macademia nut oil (which has a higher smoke point than olive oil) from Whole Foods Market inside a large, heavy antique oval copper skillet skin side down, turned after about 2 minutes, the other side cooked for about the same length of time, removed to 2 warm plates when done, 2 tablespoons of butter added to the pan and allowed to melt, a couple tablespoons of chopped peppermint from Keith’s Farm and chopped parsley from Quarton Farm tossed in, along with a tablespoon or more of Whole Foods Market organic lemon juice, and everything stirred for a few seconds before the sauce was spooned on top of the bass and the salsa set aside earlier arranged in a cascade between the 2 filets on each plate, both fish and salsa garnished with micro red vein sorrel from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• six or 7 ounces remaining from a 17-ounce head of rosa di verona radicchio from Campo Rosso Farm, whose outer leaves had been used in an earlier meal, cut roughly crosswise and sautéed until barely wilted inside a large, high-sided tin-lined copper pot with a little olive oil in which one sliced medium ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic clove from Alewife Farm and 2 thinly sliced French leeks from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm had already been heated until they had softened, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged on the plates and drizzled with a little more olive oil
• the wine was a Portuguese (Dão) white, Prunus White, Dão 2017, from Astor Wines
• the music was Carl Maria von Weber’s important romantic German romantic opera, whose premier was in 1821, ‘Der Freischutz’, Mark Janowski conducting the Frankfurt Radio Symphony

Neptune blesses our waters with an amazing variety of seafood, but the god has withheld one of my favorites.

Supposedly there are no octopus anywhere within at least hundreds of miles of our own fishers, although I see links on line that suggest otherwise, so maybe it’s just that a demand isn’t perceived here. In any event, no locals show up in the markets, so whenever the fancy strikes, I have to go all the way to Spain, at least figuratively, to bring baby octopus to the table, the only bad part being the carbon compounds consumed in the process.

I understand that today “Spanish octopus” [for that matter, also that enjoyed in Portugal] may now come “from Africa”, which probably means waters off the coast of the former Spanish Sahara (today Morocco), or possibly the Canary Islands (Spain, to be sure). Unfortunately I didn’t ask the fish monger at Lobster Place about the origin of those we enjoyed on Tuesday (I’m confident they have a record), but I hope to remember to do so the next time.

So I know little more about these particular Cephalopods than the fact they were incredibly delicious. I suspect some of the credit should go to the fact that this time I had an especially high flame below the large ribbed grill pan (the charred sections in the picture are witness to that).

• four Spanish baby octopus, a total of 17 ounces (I believe they had been previously frozen) from our neighborhood seafood shop, Lobster Place, in Chelsea Market, marinated in and later outside of the refrigerator for about 2 hours altogether (although even a much shorter period also really works) in a mixture of 1/4 cup olive oil; one teaspoon of dried Italian oregano from the Madonie Mountains in Sicily; the zest and juice of half of an organic Whole Foods lemon; 1/4 teaspoon of crushed peperoncino Calabresi secchia from Buon Italia; 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt; and one finely-chopped medium clove of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm, chopped thinly, the octopus, now at room temperature, removed from the mix, drained a bit and grilled, the mouth, or beak side first, over a very high flame on top of a seasoned double-burner cast iron grill pan for 10 or 12 minutes, served with a squeeze of juice from the zested lemon and some olive oil, and garnished with micro arugula from Norwich Meadows Farm
• eleven ounces of la Ratte potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, scrubbed, boiled, along with a generous amount of salt, drained, dried in the pan, halved, rolled in a little olive oil, seasoned with a local sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood and freshly ground pepper, rolled in some chopped small celery stems and tossed with chopped celery leaves

• more than a handful of small, very sweet, and as it turned out, very juicy red peppers from Eckerton Hill Farm [let me add that I’d at first feared these peppers might be gone, since they’d been in an open brown paper bag  inside the crisper for a little over 2 weeks, but they were spectacular], halved lengthwise, pith and seeds removed, sautéed over a medium to high flame until slightly carbonized inside a large antique copper pot in a little olive oil in which several quite small chopped baby French leeks from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm had been heated until softened, seasoned with salt and pepper and tossed with chopped thyme from Quarton Farm  
• the wine was an excellent Portuguese (Vinho Verde/Lima) white, Vinho Verde Loureiro, Aphros 2018, from Astor Wines
• the music was Schubert’s Symphonies No. 2 and No. 5, Philippe Herreweghe conducting the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, after which we lingered with Domenico Scarlatti’s gorgeous keyboard sonatas, in wonderful performances by Joanna MacGregor

Looks aren’t everything.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Good things come in threes.

Red is good.

I mean, to me the the picture looks good, and at least to anyone who might enjoy the kind of dinner it describes, it’s probably a fairly appetizing image.

What it doesn’t show however is just how really, really delicious the entire meal actually was, and the steak in particular. Last night I said that I’ve never had a better one, at home or in a restaurant, and Barry agreed.

All of the elements of the meal were familiar recipes, and proven favorites as well, but because I was altering the way I cook one of them, the steak, using a ‘reverse sear method’ for the first time [its merits discussed here], a certain amount of recalculation was required for all 3 parts of the dinner.

The recipe for the potatoes is brilliant, and I’m sure to be revisiting it under similar circumstances, in warm weather when I don’t want to use an oven, or when I might just some delicious stove-top roasted potatoes.

I was planning to have roasted potatoes last night (I had some nice La Ratte fingerlings in my virtual root cellar), and I would normally have preferred roasting the radicchio with some thyme branches, but the oven both would need was going to be engaged with the steak at too low a temperature for either of the vegetables until shortly before the meal would be completed. I realized this at just about the time I was to begin the preparation of the meal, so I quickly searched on line for a recipe that would produce a potato dish more appropriate for accompanying a good steak than simple boiled potatoes (finding an excellent one here, from Amanda Hesser‘s site, Food52), and I revised the plan for the chicory, moving the cooking to a burner top and also totally simplifying its preparation.

They may not have looked like roasted potatoes when they started out, but if I hadn’t been there all through the process, they could have fooled me once they were done.

• one 19-ounce picanha steak (called ‘culotte’ here, ‘coulotte’ in France, ‘picanha’ in Brazil), from Gabe, of Sun Fed Beef (Maple Avenue Farms) in the farm’s stall at the Union Square Greenmarket, brought to room temperature, seasoned on all sides with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, placed on a rack in, as I’m suggesting now, a 275º oven for 15 or 20 minutes [that timing estimate will have to be examined the next time, since last night I used an even lower temperature, for a longer period, but the cooking didn’t seem to be actually happening, so I eventually raised the heat], or until medium rare, meaning a thermometer reading of 120º, then seared briefly on all sides (the steak was already fully cooked, so left on the surface just long enough to impart color, lingering just a bit longer on the top, thick, fat-covered side) inside a dry oval heavy cast iron pan, after first placing on the surface a little cooking oil with a higher smoke point than olive oil (I used Mac Nut macademia nut oil from Whole Foods Market) and immediately applying pressure in the center with a wooden spoon, to keep its middle surface from rising from the surface of the pan, then removed from the heat, cut into 2 sections, and allowed to rest for up to 10 minutes while covered loosely with foil, arranged on 2 warm plates, some juice from an organic Whole Foods Market organic lemon squeezed on top, sprinkled with chopped fresh rue from Stokes Farm, and drizzled with a Whole Foods Market Portuguese house olive oil

• eleven or 12 ounces of small Adirondack Red potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, each less than 2 inches in size, scrubbed, halved, and set aside while a large antique, very well seasoned Wagner Ware cast iron pan in which enough olive oil had been added to coat the bottom 1/8 inch deep was heated over a medium flame until the oil began to shimmer, a generous layer of salt [but not too much] scattered into the oil all over the bottom of the pan as evenly as possible, the potatoes, the pieces of the second cut kept together so the potatoes look like just one half, placed cut side down on the bottom of the pan and fried at medium heat, without touching, for about 10 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes, at which time one potato half was turned over and checked to see if it was nicely colored (if not, the cooking would be allowed to continue a few more minutes), and when the potatoes were nicely browned, the heat was turned as low as possible and a glass cover placed on the pan, with the potatoes continuing to brown under cover, for about 20 minutes more, or until done, when they were seasoned with black pepper, arranged on the plates, and garnished with micro kale from Norwich Meadows Farm [the potatoes can be kept covered with the heat off, for 30 minutes or more, but if they are allowed to stand, any excess oil should be drained from the pan [they are equally good at room temperature]

• the outer leaves, about 11 ounces by weight, from one 17-ounce head of rosa di verona radicchio (the oldest red chicory, and still the classic, although these were not round, but somewhat elongated, from Campo Rosso Farm, washed and drained, cut very roughly, sautéed in a little olive oil inside a large antique copper pot over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until tender to the bite and starting to brown just a bit, or maybe 6 to 8 minutes, sprinkle with salt and black pepper, arranged on the plates, drizzled with a little more olive oil [as with the potatoes, timing is really not very critical, as the chicory can be serves warm or at room temperature]
• the wine was an Italian (Tuscany/Castiglioni) red, Tenuta Frescobaldi di Castiglioni 2017,from Philippe Wines
• the music was Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, Claudio Abbado conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra