Vintage Report 2022 from Lake County, Ca.
Pietro’s 2022 Vintage Report from Lake County, Ca. Remember the old days when people said that California didn’t really have vintages?...
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Pietro Buttitta
- Feb 3, 2022
- 3 min
Vintage 2021 - The Lake County Report
As the vines started growing, it was clear that we never really had winter rains. When I was pruning vines in April, the wood was bone dry w
Pietro Buttitta
- Jun 17, 2021
- 12 min
Sangiovese: A Couple of Attempts
Version 2.0 of the original, which is below. When asked to jot a few words down that define Prima Materia’s philosophy regarding...
Pietro Buttitta
- Jan 26, 2021
- 6 min
2020 (Sort of) Vintage Report - Lake County
What. A. Year. The wine world is a very diverse (though oddly compact) web, and grasping the totality of it, even just within California,...
Pietro Buttitta
- Nov 4, 2019
- 3 min
2019 Lake County Vintage Report
The 2019 vintage was a snapshot of extremes. A cold, wet and lingering Spring dropped over an inch of thunderstorm-powered rain June 1st
Pietro Buttitta
- Jun 17, 2019
- 1 min
The Wine Seminar
Pietro's 3-hour wine seminar covering tasting, descriptors, vineyard practices, winemaking, and food pairings.
Pietro Buttitta
- Jun 15, 2019
- 5 min
10 Ways Fish Sauce Can Make Our Western Cooking Better
10 ways to use fish sauce to make cooking a bit better
Pietro Buttitta
- Jun 4, 2019
- 5 min
A Fried Chicken Research Department Update
I recently spent several days deep in fried chicken R&D for a consulting project and thought I would share a few insights that might be...
Pietro Buttitta
- May 24, 2019
- 2 min
Recipe - Pistachio Olive Oil Cake
This recipe has gone through many iterations (as have I) since I started working it in 2007. It was originally based on recipes from...
Pietro Buttitta
- May 22, 2019
- 4 min
Learning in the vineyard
If you like wine, this is something cool, something almost no one ever sees. Think you know grapes do you? Well this is the modern...
Pietro Buttitta
- Apr 21, 2019
- 3 min
Grapevine Budding and Grafting at Novavine
Vine Budding and Grafting Friday night we had a guest lecturer, the very highly respected field graft expert, Daniel Robledo. He learned...
Pietro Buttitta
- Apr 10, 2019
- 6 min
The Restaurant Consulting Files - 10 Takeaways from a Recent Project
I recently opened a restaurant for an unprepared owner. He had bought into a couple others, but had never opened one. It was an...
Pietro Buttitta
- Mar 12, 2019
- 7 min
On Growing and Making Nebbiolo
I did the snoopy dance when I heard about it. Deep in Napa Valley, on a warm afternoon we gathered at Silenus to discuss making - wait...
Pietro Buttitta
- Mar 11, 2019
- 4 min
My Ode to the Oxtail
Here is a hint for those who like to cook - use oxtail. Yes, it looks like a giant denuded penis and yes, it is actually the tail which...
Pietro Buttitta
- Mar 9, 2019
- 4 min
Espelette - The Devil and the Details
I remember my first espelette. I am only about 50% on the anniversary, and sometimes the car is not where it was left, but I remember...
Pietro Buttitta
- Mar 1, 2016
- 2 min
Vintage 2014 so far - an August view from the vineyard
Yup, 17 days of 100F or above in July, so in conjunction with a little water nervousness it has been toasty here in Kelseyville. We are...
Pietro Buttitta
- Feb 3, 2016
- 4 min
Vintage Report 2010 - the longest year yet?
This was the longest year in so, so many ways. And also the most action packed, intense and almost cerebral, if a winery can claim that....
Pietro Buttitta
- Aug 18, 2015
- 4 min
Quacquarini Vernaccia di Serrapetrona = tasty red sparkler review
Well that was interesting. What we have here is a serious, unique sparkling red from central Italy that is a bit of a rarity and...
Pietro Buttitta
- May 21, 2012
- 11 min
A brief chef's biography
This is a rare personal post from 2012 - you have been warned. I hate eating and I hate food. Sometimes. I am getting over it. The best...
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