The Tampa Bay Food & Wine Society
A TASTE OF TUSCANY
Alfano’s Restaurant
nuts. Each course was a taste
sensation. Debates erupted
around the tables as to which
wine was the favorite, and
as to the difference between
a Super Tuscan and a wine
from Tuscany (Super Tuscan
describes Italian red wines
made from a variety of grapes,
By Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman
Frank and Linda Alfano of Alfano’s Restaurant in Clearwater
welcomed Tampa Bay Food & Wine Society members to their
rather than a single type).
Dinner concluded with an appealing
apple and raisin upside down spice
cake. The successful evening was due in
huge part to Nicolette Alfano, Frank and
Linda’s daughter, who as the restaurant’s
sommelier, oversaw every aspect of the
dinner, ensuring that wine glasses were
kept filled and that the service staff
performed perfectly. The wine society’s
return was a fabulous success, thanks to
Nicolette, Linda and Frank. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Alfano’s Restaurant is
located at 1702 Clearwater-Largo Road in
Clearwater, (727) 584-2125. For information
on membership to the Tampa Bay Food & Wine
Society, call Deborah at (727) 791-4800.
CUISINE
Sommelier Nicolette Alfano and her chef parents
restaurant for a recent wine dinner.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 145
For two years, the Tampa
Bay Food & Wine Society
canceled its dinners and
socializing because of the
coronavirus pandemic. In
August, the society decided to
test the waters to see if it might
be time to resume its activities.
The first stop was to ask Chefs
Frank and Linda Alfano of Alfano’s
Restaurant in Clearwater, who had hosted
previous dinners, if they were ready to
prepare a new feast. They agreed and
arranged to bring in Italian wine purveyor
Luciano Castiello to present the wines.
Society members responded quickly to
the invitation to attend. However, while
waiting for the September evening to occur,
reports of the COVID-19 virus worsening
made us wonder if the news would bring
a flood of cancellations. It didn’t.
On the appointed evening, society
members entered Alfano’s beautiful
restaurant, where they were greeted with
delicious hors d’oeuvres and glasses of
a light and refreshing Pierre Paolo Pecorai
Pinot Grigio. The guests mixed and
mingled, catching up on what they had
done over the last two years. Once seated,
wine purveyor Luciano discussed the pinot
grigio they had been drinking, along with
the Corte dei Vente Rosso di Montalcino and
Corte dei Vente Brunello di Montalcino red
wines that would be served with the first
course of meatball over polenta and the
second course of lasagna with mushroom
ragu and a creamy béchamel. After those
two courses were savored, he moved on
with a discussion of the next two wines, a
Corte dei Vente La Terre Rosse Rosso Toscano
that was paired with sweet rope sausage
over a garbanzo bean stew and a Corte dei
Vente Sant’ Antimo Rosso that complimented
thinly sliced New York strip beefsteak over
sautéed spinach with raisins and pine
GRAM