The Cape Town sniff and spiteratti klitsed its bolla behoorlik this afternoon at Mondiall Kitchen and Bar for Marco Fantinel, president of Fantinel, the #1 wine producer in Friuli. While Friuli may only make 2% of Italian vino, when it comes to Italians in Cape Town, the appellation boxes way above its weight: the folk behind Ayama, Dalla Cia, Idiom all hail from the north east corner of Italy, squashed between Slovenia, Austria, the Alps and the Adriatic. Here Marco gives a big thumbs up to Winnie Bowman, best taster in town.

We started off with three Proseccos with my favourite the Ribolla Gialla Brut. How can you not like a wine with a name that sounds like an explosion of bubbles in the mouth? Far better than Methode Cap Classique linguistically. Next came five whites, with my favourite a single vineyard Pinot Grigio 2013 from Tenuta Sant’Helena. Intense and as elegant as the ancient Roman arch on the label.

The Fantinel slogan is “feel the emotion” and there was so much testosterone and estrogen in the air after the arrival of the Volvo Round the World yacht race crews, Mondiall was pulsating with unrequited desire. Which set the scene for the Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso 2010 with no shortage of engorged peduncolos present. A perfect match for the Peter Tempelhoff’s signature grain fed sirloin with truffle and parmesan chips. Pete is clearly no slouch in the peduncolo department.

To end, a late harvest Ramandolo 2010 with the only thing missing Eros Ramazzotti. Bliss!