Latest posts by Martin Moodie (see all)
- Sunrise turns 24 years young; we reach a sprightly 21; and FAB rocks in Bangkok - September 16, 2023
- Feeling bleu in Paris but absolutely FAB-ulous in Bangkok - September 11, 2023
- Turning black and blue in the City of Light - September 6, 2023
Da Vittorio is pleased to present…
The setting – the superb Beluga restaurant adjacent to Red Square – was pure Muscovite but the food, wine and star guest definitively Italian.
My stay in the Russian capital has been about as good as it gets. Except.. it is about to get better.
On the professional front an opportunity to visit the excellent new RegStaer walk-through duty free store at Vnukovo International Airport on its first day of trading. And on the social scene, a memorable dinner last night in the company of RegStaer and Dufry executives and in the presence of the legendary Italian tenor and song-writer Andrea Bocelli.
RegStaer Founder & Chairman Alexander Baev, an outstanding human being in whose warm company I have spent many enjoyable hours, is the most generous of hosts. Last night’s gathering was courtesy of him and Stefano Ricci, creator and owner of the Italian luxury lifestyle brand of the same name. And what an occasion it was: three-star Michelin chef Italian cuisine; wines to grace the heavens (Ronco Delle Mele Sauvignon Blanc 2017 from Venica & Venica; the intensely scented, magnificently weighted Ca’del Bosco Chardonnay 2014 (a benchmark of top Italian Chardonnay); the legendary super Tuscan Tignanello 2015 from Marchesi Antinori; and the exquisitely honeyed yet delicate Muffato Della Sala 2013 dessert wine, also from Marchesi Antinori.
The occasion was a private party on the eve of Maestro Bocelli’s concert tonight at the Kremlin, which promises to be an extraordinary event. First, though, there’s what promises to be a wonderful lunch onboard a riverboat restaurant that will take guests on both a culinary and marine journey along the Moskva River.
My head is a little heavy this morning after all that rich food and exquisite wine but my spirit is soaring with the memories of last night and the anticipation of the maestro’s performance this evening.
