Italian Riviera Wine Dinner — This Wednesday

April 29 at 6:30 PM | $135 per guest (tax and gratuity not included)

To reserve, call (512) 349-7667 or email events@sienarestaurant.com — prepaid only.

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Chef David Hernandez is putting together a five-course dinner built around the wines and cooking of Italy's coastal northwest — the stretch from Liguria down through the Tuscan coast — with wine expert Clint Carter of Serendipity Wines guiding the pairings throughout the evening.

The Italian Riviera is where the Alps meet the Mediterranean, where fishing villages give way to hillside vineyards, and where the cooking stays close to the water. This dinner follows that same arc — it starts at the coast with seafood and bright coastal wines, then moves inland course by course until you're firmly in Tuscany, with a slow-braised short rib and a glass of something with some age on it.

If you're not wearing a straw hat and sarong skirt, dress for this upscale casual evening.

The Menu

Antipasto: Two dishes to open. 1) Salmone Affumicato — cold smoked salmon with chives, dill, and a red onion crème fraîche. Alongside it, 2) Frutti di Mare, a ceviche-style medley of shrimp, calamari, scallops, jumbo lump crab, and mussels in a Calabrian chili and lime marinade with shallots.

Both courses arrive with a pour of Limoncino dell'Isola from Calabria — bright and citrus-forward, a natural fit for what's on the plate.

Insalata di Anguria e Pancetta: Sweet watermelon and crispy pork belly with arugula, fresh parsley, basil, mint, Calabrian chili honey vinaigrette, pistachios, and fennel. A salad that earns its place as a course — the pork belly and Calabrian chili give it enough weight to hold its own between the seafood and what's coming next.

Paired with: Il Monticello "Serasuolo" Ciliegiolo, Liguria di Levante Rosé '24

Ciliegiolo is a native Ligurian grape — not widely known outside Italy, but it makes a rosé with enough structure to stand up to the pork belly and enough freshness to work with the watermelon. Worth paying attention to.

Carpaccio di Tonno: Sushi-grade Hawaiian yellowfin tuna, sliced thin, with crispy crostini and foie gras mousse finished with extra virgin olive oil. A composed dish — the richness of the mousse against the clean fish.

Paired with: Il Monticello "Groppolo" Colli di Luni Vermentino '24

Vermentino from the Colli di Luni — the hilly zone where Liguria meets Tuscany — has a mineral edge that works well with raw fish. This pairing makes sense geographically and on the palate.

Peposo: This is a Tuscan preparation that goes back centuries — specifically to the kilns of Impruneta, the hillside town outside Florence where terracotta workers slow-cooked tough cuts of beef in red wine and black pepper. Chef Hernandez is doing it with beef short rib, roasted garlic, and fresh cracked pepper over Parmesan heirloom polenta. It's the most grounded dish on the menu, and in some ways the most Tuscan.

Paired with: Viticcio Toscana Rosso IGT, Foglia Tonda '20

Foglia Tonda is a nearly extinct Tuscan grape variety that Viticcio has been working to revive. The wine is rustic in the right way — tannin and dark fruit — and it fits the weight of the peposo without overwhelming it.

Cervo: Pan-roasted venison backstrap with a red wine and dried cherry reduction, celeriac and black truffle purée, and charred root vegetables. The cherry reduction and truffle purée do a lot of work here — it's a composed plate that comes together cleanly.

Paired with: Viticcio Bolgheri DOC '23 (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc)

Bolgheri is Super Tuscan country — the coastal strip south of Livorno that gave the world Sassicaia and Ornellaia. The Viticcio Bolgheri brings the dinner back to the coast it started from, which feels right.