Virginia (VA) wines impress me. The northern Piedmont is forming into the Virginia version of Napa and why not? The wines are good, some are great, and the restaurants are all raising the bar, finally!

I'm tired of wine snobs. My brother, who is one, lives in Saratoga California. Two years ago, I took him a bottle of VA wine as a housewarming gift. When visiting him a couple months ago and on our way to a party, I ask him for a bottle of wine to bring to my host. He hands me the same bottle of VA wine with a smirk. My brother, the guy we had to tie a pork chop around his neck so that the dog would play with him, is a CA wine snob.

I specifically wanted a CA wine snob to try Virginia wines but without all the Wine Spectator preconceived notions of tasting and drinking. I wanted someone that had a trained palate that could match our wine to food but better yet, I wanted my own recipes made with this VA wine. I asked around the country about getting a distinguished Chef to try them and indulge me. I found that, for this favor, many of these tastings are paid for by the vintner to the Chef. Well, I wasn't having any of that, plus none of these guys could hold a candle to the guy I wanted: Sergio Giusti, Chef/Owner of Fireneza By Night, San Francisco, CA.

Sergio doesn't have a TV show but he has a 4 diamond. He doesn't have his own line of cookware, but his restaurant has had a cult following in San Francisco for over 20 years. He isn't handsome; we tell him he's got a face for radio. You can't understand a word he's saying (and it's English!) but he was the private Chef to the 'Three Tenors' during their tour of Japan and the Far East. So he's the only one qualified to call Pavarotti a "Booze-Bag". He's got a ritual that if you leave an extra glass on the corner of your table he'll visit the dining room for a taste of wine. Which means at the end of a busy night he's plowed, happy, and cavorting with everybody in the dining room, which is part of his charm.

I've known Sergio for 27 years. My brother, the wine snob, and I happened to stumble into his restaurant by chance. We also happened to be his third and fourth customers. It was his first night in business and he was badly in the weeds and really busy but still came out to the table to see if everything was satisfactory. We told him we liked his place and thought his line was really terrific! A 10' eight burner Blodgett with Vulcan broilers on each side. It's the equivalent of a Dragster set-up for a kitchen. You light them up and burn. Few could handle this one-man line alone. He invited us into the kitchen and he got hit again with the next dinner rush. Next thing we know, I'm slicing up mushrooms and plating pasta and brother Bruce is on a broiler and calling out orders for the next 2 hours. We love this stuff. We helped Sergio close, and proceeded to get very drunk together till 5AM. From that day forward, we love him like a brother. Good people we now consider family.

Sergio has always cooked with fine wine and it kills me. He uses specific expensive Italian reds and dumps it in the sauce. Brolios and Reserve Chiantis are all sacrificed for friends and family. "Why should the tongue get all the fun, eh?". I once saw him dump an '86 Pommard into a pot with two number 10 cans of crushed tomatoes.

The earth wept but the gravy was magnificent.

I decided to send Sergio a small variety Virginia wine so that he may create a few "original" recipes that Virginia could be proud of. Four Virginia red wines were selected and I rounded up two bottles of each. Realizing I'd be sending them to Sergio, I added two more bottles of each.

He "samples" you see…

Before any winery wants to rail on me for not including them. Hey, feel free to ship as much wine to Sergio as you want. I chose these after many tastings and consulting many Virginia wine aficionados (growing up we called them "winos") and looking at past year's competition results and drinking many. I went by nose, complexity and uniqueness.

I specifically wanted to use the Norton grape and a high-end blend or two. Norton, in my opinion, is really the true grape of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson brought some Norton over to Paris in the 18th century, proud to show the French that we (the United States) had some grapes of our own. Well, no one knows for sure but I understand the French did what my brother did and snickered and didn't even cook with it let alone drink it.

Of Norton's heritage, other wine makers will argue, particularly those that don't produce any. Cab Francs or any other blends just would not accomplish what I set out to do here.

Sergio's communication skills are as unique as his culinaria. Think Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones with a thick Italian accent all coming at you like a Starbucks junkie. Each sentence is a blur of run-on syllables and words with a pronounced "Man?" at the end of every tirade. Needless to say for the 27 years I've known him I've understood probably 10 minutes worth of conversation. It's probably why we get along so well.

I shipped 16 bottles. 4 each. Emptying my cellar of all that I had.

I sent out Veramar 2002 Norton Reserve, Rappahannock Cellars 2002 Norton, Chrysalis Vineyard 2002 Estate Norton, and Pearmund Estate Reserve Ameritage.

Sergio called about a week later and says, "Got em! They look good, man?"

I say "Ok, don't touch them until I get there." I knew he'd hit a bottle or two, which is exactly why I shipped extras.

Two days before we head to San Francisco to work with him on his line, he calls again.

This is our exchange:
"Brian! We need more wine man?"
"Sergio, you got a case out there!"
"Is gone! Is gone, man?"
"You cook with it?" I asked.
"No, yea, a little… I sample man?" Sergio says calmly.
"All of it?" I ask amazed. "It's been only a week."
"I got 2 Norton and 2 bottles of Ameritage" which he pronounced "Ameri TANG"
"That's it? What about the other Nortons?" I asked.
"All gone. Is good, is good this Norton!".

This was the first time I actually heard him call the Norton grape by name: "Norton!" It came out like Ralph Kramden leaning out his window screaming for his buddy.

"You bring more Norton, we cook man?"

I just got to get there before he kills my two last reserve 'AmeriTANGs'.