Il Piccolo Verde Offers Up New Wine, Beer Selections

The restaurant is still a month or two shy of its one-year anniversary, but Il Piccolo Verde in Brentwood has recently ramped up its offering of unique beers and wines to complement a hearty menu of savory Italian dishes.

For the hops connoisseur, Il Piccolo Verde offers nine new artisan beer selections, including:

– Maudite, a Belgian amber ale with ripe fruit flavors and a warming mouth-feel;
– Bard’s Tale Dragon Gold, an award winning gluten free beer from Newcastle with bold flavor;
– Weihenstephaner, a Bavarian classic from the world’s oldest existing brewery with a zesty banana bread and lemon rind flavor;
– Strand Brewing Company Atticus IPA, full-bodied toasted caramel base with a hint of bittersweet;
– Hitachino Nest, Belgian style white ale from Japan with a hint of orange rind, nutmeg, and orange juice;
– Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, dense with a taste of roasted malt and heavy load of hops at the finish;
– St Peters Organic Ale, delicate, clean crisp lightly carbonated traditional English Ale with a full ‘citrus hop’ aftertaste;
– Birra Moretti, unique taste and fragrance enhancing its perfectly balanced bitter taste;
– Delerium Tremens, a Belgian strong golden ale, award winning.

Il Piccolo Verde’s management also re-tooled its wine selection with a little help from its somalier and veterans from a pair a pair of wine societies who regularly meet at the restaurant.

The re-tooled wine selection includes:

– 2011 Sauvignon Blanc Colli Oriente de Friuli, polished and linear white wine opens with aromas of stone fruit and aromatic herbs;
– 2010 Chianti Classico “Le Trame”, pristine red fruit on the palate both lithe and focused at same time;
– 2011 Gros Jean’s Pinot Noir “Vigne Tzeriat”, touch of sweetness balanced by a firm dose of acidity;
– 2009 Schioppettino (Ribolia Nera) Prepotto, great tasting wine that pairs well with pizza.

“The new wine selection consists of 40 additions to our inventory from lesser branded higher quality vineyards,” restaurant owner Michael Schwartz said. “Wine enthusiasts and Italian food customers both will enjoy our premium, off the beaten path selection. To protect our new wine investments, we feature a Vinotemp wine cellar with Breeze air cooling and humidity control. These are best in class products that allow Il Piccolo Verde to store unopened wine bottle in perfect temperature and humidity environment ensuring freshness and taste.”

Schwartz also explained how the restaurants new wine preservation system provides the perfect wine service.

“We also went all out with a Le Verre de Vin wine preservation system, which stores the open bottles at perfect serving temperature (one fridge for reds at 63 degrees and one fridge for whites at 54 degrees). The system allows us to re-seal open bottles for freshness up to 30 days and allows Il Piccolo Verde to offer a limited selection … of premium wines by the glass at the bottle price,” Schwartz said.

In addition to the new beers and re-tooled wine selection, there are also a few new summer dishes, including Amaranth Polenta (organic gluten free amaranth, lentils, carrots, red peppers, garlic Celtic sea salt, organic unrefined extra virgin olive oil), and Linquini Aglia E Olio (with arugula, herbs and light spices).

Every Monday night during summer, the restaurant offers 2-for-1 pizza specials during the evening.

Il Piccolo Verde is open seven days a week from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The restaurant is located at 140 South Barrington Place in Brentwood.