“Everything flows. Change is the only constant in life.” Heraclitus
Luca Lodoli
Hi I’m Luca, a consumer-passionate, F&B professional and wine consultant currently working as a Restaurant Manager & Sommelier in Bangkok.
I’m also a wine consultant and certified sommelier who loves coffee, good wine and playing chess. Born in Rome in 1985, a unique year, at least for the legendary Sassicaia wine.
I’ve lived in Rome, London, Amsterdam and Brighton, working on different roles in Hospitality, Events and Marketing. Currently living in Bangkok and enjoying its incredible vibes and food scene. Thanks for visiting!
Articles about Wine:
- Thai Food and Fiano di Avellino.
Thai cuisine and wine might not have a solid tradition but they surely share an important principle: it’s all about balance.
Balance it’s probably the most important condition in wine, and despite the personal taste or individual preferences, drinking a well-balanced wine should always be a pleasant experience. Thai food is recognized as one of the tastiest cuisine worldwide thanks to the capacity of achieving the perfect harmony between all the sweet, spicy, sour and salty ingredients, which are usually mixed all together in a single dish. Sharp fresh herbs flavors and overpowering spice aromas are tempered by sweet pastes and empowered by salty and sour ingredients. In this explosion of flavors the right wine can add even more complexity bringing the overall experience to another level, on the other hand choosing a wine not able to cope with this flavor intensity could lead to a poor matching where pungent sour and bitter aromas are exaggerated.
Fiano di Avellino DOCG I Capitani 2018
The bottle chosen today is a Fiano di Avellino with intense ripe fruit aromas well-balanced by good structure, rich body and crisp acidity. Aromas of Mediterranean herbs, tropical fruits and vanilla lead the nose. The round creamy palate offers orange candied notes along with pineapple, passion fruit, ripe pear, honey and vanilla. A rounded palate, rich body and decent acidity make the mouth feeling soft, warm and rich followed by hazelnut hints and a subtle smoky finish.
Stir-fried pumpkin with crab meat, salted eggs and Thai basil.
This delicious dish combines the delicate sweetness of pumpkin and Thai basil with the saltiness of the eggs, the unique sweet mineral taste of crab meat and a spicy sour element from the side sauce. This umami bite brings out the crisp acidity of Fiano and a more intense smoky sensation, the pear now is the only evident fruit aroma while the mouth became richer and smoother. The pairing enhances the level of flavor intensity of both the food and the wine, adding more layers at any bites and sips.
Lamb Massaman Curry with Roti.
An exquisite tender leg of lamb, marinated and 48-hours stewed in a rich massaman curry, with caramelized onions and tomatoes served along with a tasty roti and a sour cucumbers sauce. This curry is not really spicy but full of flavors and spices resulting in a juicy and flavorful combination. The meeting with the wine is a delightful discovery, especially when the fatty sauce of the dish is cutting off by the fine acidity of the wine and the caramelized notes of the onions merge with the smoky sensation in the glass.
- Framingham Marlborough Classic Riesling 2016
New Zealand’s producers have been making extraordinary wines in the last decades, the perfect conditions for wine-making in several regions have inspired them to explore different grapes other than the flagship variety Sauvignon Blanc, reaching spectacular outcomes in terms of quality and distinctiveness. The majority of them are also strongly committed to sustainable practices and initiatives in the vineyards, making their products even more remarkable.
The Framingham Classic Riesling is no exemption, from hand picked grapes selected in some of New Zealand’s oldest Riesling grapevines, after the fermentation in stainless steel tanks, certain batches were stopped with some residual sugar remaining and the wine spent some months on the lees, to add texture. As a small quantity was aged in neutral wood vessels, the 2016 vintage also had a small botrytis affected component added, which is usually reserved for other wines but not this year, probably thanks to the unusual climate condition during the harvest season.
On the nose it shows floral aromas of acacia and honeysuckle along with fruit flavors of apple, apricot and white peach. The bouquet is complex, soon hints of dried apricot, ripe peach and honey appear in the glass with smoky, stony and creamy notes as well as the petrol-like character typical of Riesling development.
The sip is vibrant and intense, dominated by sweet notes of dried apricot, orange marmalade and walnut well balanced by a decent acidity and ‘‘mineral’‘ taste. It’s a pleasant harmony where resinous, nutty and honey characters merged with delicate fruit and floral flavors give a striking sweet finish to this amazing Riesling.
Nose and Palate: acacia; honeysuckle; apple, apricot; peach; honey; cream; stone; petrol; orange marmalade; walnut. An off dry style Riesling made in perfect harmony between sweetness and acidity, delicious to drink with a lovable finish.
- Chablis with asparagus, smoked salmon and egg.
We are in the middle of the hot season and although Thailand is well suited for the growth of asparagus all year round, this seems the right period for a healthy, light and refreshing lunch. Since we are also experience an over supply of eggs, what could be more appropriate than a brunch with organic poached eggs, smoked salmon and asparagus?
Asparagus have many health benefits being plenty of vitamins, folic acids and antioxidants. On the other hand these characteristics made them difficult to pair with wine, which could taste unpleasantly metallic or harsh. However there are many wines that pair very well with asparagus, especially if other ingredients in the plate bring in complementary flavors.
Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis 2018
This unoaked Chablis presents a vivid golden color; on the nose dominant floral notes of Acacia, white fruits such as pear, apple and a subtle citrus hint.
The sip is very consistent with the olfactory findings, acacia, apple and pear above all, expressing more pronounced citrus notes, mineral sensations and traces of pineapple and guava. Buttery notes from MLF in the background give a smooth and well balanced finish to the wine.
This 100% Chardonnay is a fresh and fine wine, very easy to drink thanks to the light body, refreshing acidity and fruity aromas. A sincere and enjoyable example of Chablis territory.
Roasted asparagus, smoked salmon and poached eggs.
It already sounds like the perfect hot season brunch combo, but adding a wine that balances the creamy richness of the salmon and the egg as well as highlights the flavors of the asparagus, that’s the real deal. The pairing with the Chablis does the job greatly in the purest simplicity, an harmony of simple and fine flavors well mixed together for a delicate and yummy brunch or Aperitivo.
- Te Kahu with kha moo and thai sausages pasta.
Yesterday morning, while I was waiting the coffee from the moka pot, I sleepily started scrolling my Instagram to find out that all my friends’ pics were about yummy Easter meals. I instantly felt hungry and found myself thinking about a decent lunch to celebrate the ‘postponed Songkran’, when I realize that the fridge was almost empty. So I went at the nearby Or Tor Kor Market to buy some fresh fruit, vegetables and some delicious ready to eat meals.
In the evening when hunger kicks in again, I used some of the lunch leftovers to make a nice meaty sauce for the pasta. Inspired from a classic roman recipe, I put some pork leg stew (kha moo) and one Thai sausage in a pan with tomato sauce. The outcome was a tasty, delicate and extremely tender pork meat spiced up by sharp sausage flavors.
For the pairing I choose a Merlot-driven blend from New Zealand which I remembered being complex and intense enough for this Pasta dish.
Craggy Range Te Kahu Gimblett Gravels 2017
This 66% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc blend shows a powerful structure and vibrant acidity as well as an intense aroma of black fruits and spices that allow to guess a potential very nice development of the wine.
The nose reveals blackberry and dried plum notes at the beginning to open up (please let it breath quite a bit in the glass) eventually in a well balanced medley of mulberry, strawberry, sour cherry, black pepper and tobacco. The first sip confirms this complexity, highlighting mostly sour cherry, spices and toasty notes supported by a vigorous acidity and fine tannins. It evolves in a swing between leather, a strong mulberry jam and spice notes.
Pasta with khao kha moo and thai sausages.
The different cooking methods of the pork and several spices used from the stew and the sausage makes this sauce intense and slightly spicy. The subtle acidity of tomatoes and saltiness of the pasta turn out the wine smoother and richer, bringing out the black fruits which pair very well with the stew pork pieces. The similar intensity level of food and wine produces a pleasant matching experience with many diverse flavors and tastes playing together. There are just random hot sensations when the spicy thai sausages meet the alcohol (that now seems a bit higher) in the glass, but eventually well mitigated by the persistent black fruit jam note.
- Gaja Sito Moresco Langhe DOP 2016
Gaja is an iconic winery of the Langhe hills (UNESCO World Heritage Site) in Piedmont, Italy. Thanks to the great vision and experience of five generations, Gaja family is always one step ahead, making excellent wines in a perfect blend of tradition and innovation.
This extremely well-balanced, elegant and complex red wine derives from the longevity and complexity of Nebbiolo (around 85% of the blend) combined with the pleasant acidity of Barbera grapes and the smoothness of Merlot. Indeed the 2016 vintage in the Langhe was certainly one of the very best in recent years, as we can find out in the harmony and balance of the wine.
Bright ruby red color with some garnet reflection. The first sniff reveals the beautiful complexity and intensity of the glass, aromas of cherry, red plum and raspberry merge greatly with floral notes of violets and roses, herbaceous and dark spice hints with a balsamic note in the background.
The mouth is where the great finesse and elegance of the wine are glorified. The sip is rich, deep and structured, characterized by an incredible freshness and soft, well integrated velvety tannins. All the red fruits, floral, herbal and spices aromas are perfectly merged together, surrounded by earthy aromas of maturation. The finish is long with subtle balsamic notes, calling for another sip which will be slightly different from the previous one, as the wine change in the glass, revealing a great complexity and potential for age.
Nose and Palate: Cherry; Red Plum; Raspberry; Violets; Roses; Blueberry; Black Pepper; Blackcurrant leaf; Mushrooms, Forest Floor. An extremely well-balanced, elegant and complex red wine.
- Wild Rock Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Marlborough is the iconic land that made New Zealand wines famous worldwide, and Sauvignon Blanc is its flagship grape.
Sourced from a vineyard with wild, rocky soil the Sauvignon Blanc accounts for more than 90% of the grape varieties along with tiny amounts of Viognier and Riesling creating a wine with great fruit intensity, fine acidity for a pleasantly vibrant finish.
On the nose the first sniff is dominated by intense tropical and stone fruits, especially papaya and nectarine, well integrated with pungent floral and herbaceous notes of lemongrass, perhaps asparagus. Going back into the glass the wine shows aromas of green apple, melon and lime surrounded by a persistent scent of wet stones.
The pronounced acidity, fruit intensity and chalky texture on the palate are well integrated in a juicy sensation made of papaya, nectarine and herbaceous flavors with subtle citrus and floral notes.
Nose and palate: papaya; nectarine; lemongrass; asparagus; green apple; melon; lime; wet stones. A wine of great fruit intensity and fine acidity for a pleasant vibrant finish.
Luca Lodoli 