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Who’s behind it: Restaurateurs Stefano Secchi and David Switzer co-own Manhattan’s acclaimed Rezdôra, in the Flatiron District, which earned a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence in the 2024 Restaurant Awards. After more than a year of planning, they expanded by opening a new Italian restaurant, Massara, on Broadway, around the corner from Rezdôra’s location on East 20th Street. Secchi, a chef, worked previously under Italian culinary leader Massimo Bottura at Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy. He also hosts a web series, “Lessons with Luca,” featuring his son, Luca.
When it opened: June 7
The culinary approach: Secchi’s menu pays tribute to Southern Italy and the chef’s childhood summers spent in the Campania region. He and chef de cuisine Anthony Bellock offer dishes like whole Mediterranean branzino, a “bistecca ‘New Yorkese’ Wagyu” (grilled over a wood fire), paccheri pomodoro with San Marzano tomatoes, spaghettini with baby clams and “If Pasta Fredda Was Eaten in Amalfi,” a cold pasta dish with red prawns and almonds. There are also several small pizzas (aka pizzette) made using a 35-year-old sourdough starter carried over from Secchi’s family; these include a classic Margherita and a pie with tomato, anchovies and capers (but without cheese).
What’s on the wine list: Massara and Rezdôra corporate wine director Michael Duffy—formerly of Best of Award of Excellence winner Locanda Verde at the Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca—has assembled a list of more than 300 wines exclusively from Tuscany and farther south in Italy. “The real heart of that is our focus on Campania,” Duffy told Wine Spectator via email. “I feel [it] is among the most, if not the most, undervalued winemaking regions in the world.” This contrasts with Rezdôra, where the focus is on wines from Northern Italy down to Tuscany and Umbria, but Massara’s list shares a similar emphasis on smaller wineries, local grape varieties and producers practicing environmentally responsible techniques.
The program features bottlings from regional leaders like Abruzzo’s Emidio Pepe (with an 11-vintage vertical of the winery’s old-vine Montepulciano d’Abruzzo), Sicily’s Passopisciaro, Lazio’s Fattoria di Fiorani, Umbria’s Arnaldo Caprai and Campania’s Guastaferro Raffaele (with 10 vintages of its Taurasi Primum).
Tuscany is well represented with acclaimed wineries like Chianti Classico’s Castello di Volpaia and Montalcino’s Canalicchio di Sopra and Val di Suga, and guests will also find significant selections of rosé and orange wines. The inventory sits at about 3,000 bottles, but Duffy plans to expand. “I’m particularly enthusiastic about sourcing back vintages, especially from Campania, and lesser-known producers whose wines don’t currently get the acclaim I believe they deserve,” Duffy said. “My hope is that drinking at Massara will be an act of discovery.”
Beyond wine, Massara and Rezdôra bar director Morgan Marak has created a list of Italian-inspired cocktails that include selections like the Strega Nona Needs a Spritz, a potential new favorite for fans of red aperitivi.
The design: With around 100 seats, Massara has about twice the capacity of Rezdôra. Sarah Carpenter & Studio designed the space, which Duffy describes as “modern but warm and organic, grand but welcoming.” The restaurant features stone floors and an 8,000-pound pizza oven brought in from Italy.
“I imagine Massara is set to become a reference point for the bounty that Southern Italy has to offer, and in fine wine in particular; I feel that Southern Italy is long overdue for this kind of attention,” Duffy explained. “I think that’s a big part of our value proposition: Even with a strongly opinionated menu and wine list, we can cultivate a joyful, informative and delicious experience for everyone.”—Collin Dreizen
San Ysidro Ranch Acquires a 138-Vintage Collection of Château d’Yquem Sauternes
A major find: The San Ysidro Ranch resort in Santa Barbara, California, is home to the Stonehouse, a leading restaurant that’s held a Wine Spectator Grand Award for its wine program since 2014. And that program recently grew with an impressive addition: This past May, the resort secured a 138-vintage collection of Château d’Yquem Sauternes. Vintages go back to 1811, with consecutive vintages from 1887 to 2008.
Acquiring the Sauternes: In a rare sweet-wine opportunity, wine director Tristan Pitre obtained the bottles from a collector in London (the wines were stored in Bordeaux) and had them transported to the San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, California.
Enjoying the sweet rewards: For those wanting to indulge in these wines, the Stonehouse now offers an Yquem tasting experience ($550 per person) in its private dining room, the Secret Cellar. Chef Matthew Johnson provides culinary pairings.
This addition reinforces the Bordeaux selection within the Stonehouse’s world-class cellar, which holds more than 15,000 bottles and has strengths in France’s Burgundy and Rhône Valley, as well as California and Italy. This includes noteworthy verticals, in addition to this new Yquem collection: In 2021, San Ysidro Ranch procured a 72-vintage vertical of Pétrus back to 1945. Wines from that collection can also be enjoyed in private tastings ($2,500 per person).
The cellar at San Ysidro Ranch was rebuilt in 2019 after it was decimated by a mudslide the previous year, in which the hotel lost approximately 12,500 bottles. While the Stonehouse was spared, the cellar had to be completely reconstructed.—Chris Cardoso