GUEST APPEARANCE

Q&A

With Fleming’s Guest Lou Imbriano of Boston, MA

Lou Imbriano and his wife Patricia at a wine tasting at Flora Springs in Napa Valley

What’s the best thing about living in the Boston area?

Boston is an intimate city with great flavors and characters, great sports teams and fabulous restaurants with some of the best chefs around. Life here is the opposite of boring!

What’s your idea of a perfect evening? A dinner party on the beach at our lake house in New Hampshire. Nothing beats sharing a roaring fire, great music, delicious food and elegant wine with our friends, who are some of the best and funniest people in the world.

If you were a wine, what three adjectives would describe you? Complex, integrated and versatile.

Who or what inspires you the most? People who are passionate about something, whatever it is. Passion is what separates the “doers” from the “watchers.”

If it were your last meal on earth, what food and wine would you ask for? I’d start with antipasto Italiano (salami, prosciutto, roasted peppers) and a glass of Quintessa. Then I’d have mussels in garlic and plum tomato broth with a glass of Quintessa, followed by tortellini quattro formaggio with another glass of Quintessa. For my main course I’d have veal and chicken bracciolettini and, what the heck, another glass of Quintessa. Before I was rolled out of the restaurant, I’d have a plate of four or five cheeses, accompanied by Veuve Clicquot La Grand Dame. And there had better be great music playing in the background throughout the meal as well!

What’s your favorite indulgence? Life in general. I go full throttle in everything I do, and I love every minute of it. If I take the eternal dirt nap tomorrow, I can’t be accused of not living my life to the absolute utmost.

If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be? Winston Churchill, no question. He was the real deal—a great orator and storyteller who loved having fun and enjoying good food, good Champagne and good cigars. You’d need four or five long dinners with him to really do him justice.

What’s the most memorable glass of wine you ever had? It’s not just the wine; it’s the occasion that makes it memorable. Hands down, it was drinking a glass of 2004 Quintessa at Quintessa while overlooking the vineyard with my wife Patricia and a great crew of people who love wine, food and fun.

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