One of my favourite people in the wine industry is visiting Ottawa next week and he’s bringing with him an impressive lineup of his family’s Amarone for an incredible dinner at North & Navy.

To celebrate Luca Speri’s return to Ottawa, we thought we’d pull out the stops and skip the Vapolicellas and Ripassos and do an all-Amarone wine dinner with vintages going back 20 years to 2003! This paired with Chef Adam Vettorel’s amazing Veneto-inspired Northern Italian cuisine will be a night to remember. And for those of you who might be thinking that 4 courses of Amarone might be too much Amarone, don’t worry, we’ll be starting the first course with some Grower Champagne from Alexandre Bonnet and the aged Amarone that follows is delicate and nuanced, providing a perfect balance of elegance and hedonism.

For those less familiar, the Speri family has been making wine in Valpolicella for 7 generations and were one of the first wineries to produce Amarone, in 1958. Luca’s father Carlo Speri was elected president of the Valpolicella consortium from 1984 to 1993 and was responsible for ‘Amarone della Valpolicella’ becoming an independent designation in 1990. And in 2015 Speri became the first Certified Organic winery in Valpolicella. While the Speri family have always been pioneers and innovators, they never veered from tradition, making some of the most delicious and respected wines in Valpolicella. Speri has always produced very traditional and elegant style Amarone that have proven incredibly age-worthy, which you will be able to see for yourself in this vertical going back 20 years.

The menu will consist of five courses starting with Champagne, then moving into four courses of Amarone pairings spanning 20 years. If you are a fan of Amarone or just great wine in general, this is a special evening not to miss with one of Amarone’s pioneering families.

$325 per person. Seating is limited. You can reserve online by clicking here.

Hope to see you there!