Sorella Vicina's Food and Beverage Programs Offer Match Made in Mediterranean Heaven
Photo Credit: Eaton Social
At Sorella Vicina, the classic-meets-contemporary Alpharetta restaurant from Cellared Roots Hospitality, co-founder, president and sommelier Phillip Cooper works closely with executive chef Sean Clark to provide guests with a memorable meal that is both educational and fun. The restaurant’s menu of modern Italian and Mediterranean-influenced cuisine is paired with a wine list that also explores all of Italy as well as key regions in Spain, France, Greece and Portugal.
“At Sorella Vicina, we’re looking to achieve an elevated yet approachable dining experience for our guests,” says Cooper. “We made a commitment to concentrate on quality and to purchase the best raw ingredients and manipulate those ingredients as little as possible to let our dishes speak for themselves. Fine winemakers feel similarly in that manipulating the wine hides its natural properties, it should be about the place and the fruit.”
Cooper’s wine list at Sorella Vicina features an Old World slant with extensive French and Italian portfolios, plus a few domestic heavy hitters, to pair with authentic Mediterranean dishes that range from red wine-poached octopus to lamb pillow ravioli to lemon broiled bronzini. “There’s a certain level of delicacy and nuance in Old World wines that typically pairs better with our cuisine; Old World wines make up 95 percent of our by-the-glass list.”
The collaboration process between Cooper and Clark begins with Clark drafting a rough outline of the dishes in progression. Cooper then begins loosely pairing wines from lighter to fuller-bodied using general ideas. The second and third steps of their process include coming together again to taste and compare notes so that Cooper can hone in on subtleties or specific vintages of the wines and Clark can make tweaks to the menu. For the restaurant’s regular menus, seasonality plays a bigger role when it comes to adjustments.
“Sean and I have worked together for six years so there’s quite a bit of nonverbal communication that happens, but there are three factors that I’m always looking at: the protein or main item in a dish, then the preparation and finally, the sauce. These three things play a role on a molecular level because I’m looking at the acids and bases and how spice reacts to the dryness of a wine. Then I decide if I want to create a congruent pairing or a contrasting pairing,” Cooper explains.
Cooper and Clark believe that consistently educating staff and establishing communication with guests are the keys to offering an enlightening dining experience. “We ask a lot of questions to decipher what a guest is looking for and that’s the key to providing something unique and fulfilling. In my opinion, the wines that aren’t offered are just as important as the selections that are on the list, so I try to stay away from big-name wines that have a market presence so we can introduce guests to more interesting alternatives that also tend to be more affordable.”
Sorella Vicina, which translates to “Sister Nearby,” is not only a call out to Cellared Roots Hospitality's sister restaurant Citizen Soul just a few blocks away but also gives a nod to Italy’s neighboring sister countries including France, Spain, Greece and Portugal. Sorella Vicina looks forward to welcoming wine lovers for monthly wine-tasting events beginning in early 2024. The restaurant also will be hosting a Shafer wine dinner in the coming months.