Editor's Note: Vincent Paolino stumbled across the site and told us that he's working on a cookbook based on his experience in the food industry, as well as his pleasure being a member of the South Side Social Club. When we learned that this club is devoted to making wine, tasting wine, and creating great dinners to accompany the celebration of wine, we asked him to tell us more. He shared this part of his book with us. Thank you - we toast you back.
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THE SOUTH SIDE SOCIAL CLUB was established about 15 years ago in the basement of one of the founding fathers. At the time there were four members who started out making homemade wine. The process of making wine gives a great deal of enjoyment but it is also a lot of work. Obviously the cooking part came automatically; when you work you get hungry. As time went on the club moved from a basement to the rear of a construction company building owned by two of the founders. Today the club has a dozen official wine making members and hundreds of guests.co-producer and From when we start pressing the grape in September until the bottling process around Memorial Day we cook a luncheon every Saturday for about 25 to 30 guests.
The lunch usually consists of 5-7 courses, some homemade wine, beer and soft drinks and ultimately about a 3 hour meal, although we start cooking at 8:00 AM. At our Christmas Party and Grand Finale dinner we seat about 100. It works out well because all the members and guests chip-in for the cost of each lunch. We have a small commercial kitchen and the cooking is done primarily by 2-3 members, all with previous or current restaurant ownership experience as well as a guest chef from time to time. Our meal nominally includes some antipasti, insulate, zuppa, pasta, some kind of meat or fish, veggies and potato or risotto. In addition, we occasionally donate our services for outside catering, game dinners and non-profit functions, etc.
At this minute, December 04, 2005 at 5:00 AM, I'm sitting at my computer with a cup of coffee, a cigar in my hand writing this book and making out the shopping list for our annual Christmas party. The party will be held next Saturday from 12:00 PM to about 6:00 PM. We expect over 100 guests, will serve about 25 items and go through over 20 gallons of wine. The entire garage will be cleared of trucks, the tables and bar will be set up and we will have valet parking. All our shopping will be done on Thursday, the prep work on Friday and we will start cooking between 6-7 AM and clean up will be over about 9:00 PM. The co-producer and cameraman, Mr. XXXX is filming our entire wine season for a possible cable special. During our Christmas party he will be with us every step of the way from Wednesday night until Sunday
AH, the wine! Yes, this is how it all started. All our grapes come from small obscure vineyards in the Northern California wine region. We buy 5-6 different types of grape depending on the harvest reports, quality of the crop and yield potential. The grape is tested, tasted and visually scrutinized for freshness; only then do we buy. Our pressing of the grape usually begins within a day or so after we receive shipment to maintain quality and reduce degradation. Crushing of the grape is a long day, but important day for us because when you start you have to finish. The grape is crushed with an automatic electric hopper and then stored in 55-gallon drums in our wine room. A hopper is a piece of equipment that crushes the grape and weeds out all the stems. Picture 10-12 guys crushing boxes and boxes of grape, 2-3 guys in the kitchen preparing food and cooking up a storm for all the people working as well as an additional 15-20 guest. It’s a lot of work, but we love it.
The crushed grapes are then watched very closely over the next week or two and constantly tested for sugar content. When it’s ready, it must be pressed at once. Sometimes it luckily lands on the weekend but quite often we run down to the club after a day's work and do it in the evening. It’s too important; when it’s time to press, it’s time to press. The next procedure is to rack the wine several times during the fermenting process. This is when you pour all the clearer wine off the top of the storage jugs and toss out all the sediment on the bottom.
This process is done several times between the pressing and the bottling. Usually we can start drinking some of the wine around Christmas time even though it is not ready for bottling. We do make some top shelf wine; as a matter of fact, we must have 30-40 trophies from various homemade wine award dinners. Another thing we do at he club is make our own homemade dried salami and soppressata; about 600 pounds once a year.
THE SOUTH SIDE SOCIAL CLUB has earned the reputation for making some of the finest homemade wine in Southern New England as well as having food as good as you can get it anywhere. It’s a hidden jewel in the rear of an unidentified block building in an obscure part of town with guest admittance by invitation only.
No offense ladies but this is a cigar smoke-in gun tote-in all men’s wine club just like in the old country. Look at the whole picture: you’re on a farm in Italy up in hills, there’s an old barn behind the farmhouse where you make your wine, you’re sitting at a old broken-down table under a tree next to the barn with your friends drinking wine and eating cheese, and, the only other thing you have to picture is that all of you have a rabbit shooting shotgun strapped over your shoulder.
However, we did have a few ladies that tried to sneak in once dressed as guys; we spotted ’em,
shot ’em, threw them in the dumpster and never had another problem. Their disguise was pretty good and they never would have gotten nabbed but they both pee’d in the ladies room.
About Vincent Paolino:
When it comes to food how many times have you heard or said the following: “That was a great meal you should write a cookbook” but, how many really do it? I started putting notes together for this book over fifteen years ago and at that time it was just kind of a hobby. At that time, I just wanted to put a few recipes together for my friends and guests that had come over for dinner from time to time. As I look back, I always had the bug in me to open a joint.
My first venture into the restaurant business was in 1977. It was a small place in Cranston, RI that sat about 35 with a kitchen not much bigger than an oversized walk-in closet. What the hell did I know about the restaurant business other than eating out a lot; I enjoyed cooking and what I did cook was good?? My cousin Judy, whom I was very close to was a waitress and jumped into the picture because it was something that she always wanted to do also. Wow! What else did we need, God, it looked so easy. I would cook and Judy would wait tables. We had a little money, very little, just enough to buy some food. The joint was fully equipped and all we had to do was pay rent. As the song goes; “WE’RE IN THE MONEY, WE’RE IN THE MONEY.” YEAH!
Check Vince's web site Http://food-wine-by-vincenzo.com/
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