Friday, March 29, 2024

Enjoy a ‘Taste of Italy’ without leaving Flower Mound

If you’ve ever wanted to truly enjoy authentic Italian cuisine and sip unique wines from all over Italy but don’t want to leave southern Denton County, then Diego Stefani and his staff at GiroPizza and Trattoria have what you are seeking.

Their “Tour of Italy Wine Dinners” are offered about every 45 days at their location at 3711 Justin Road in Flower Mound with the next event scheduled for early August.

“I bring in an Italian executive chef from Puglia, Italy, who puts together a five-course menu with dishes from different regions in Italy and our wine distributor, also Italian, pairs the wines whether we are having steak, or fish, or pasta,” said Stefani, a Milano, Italy native.

“We’re trying to take our customers to Italy without the cost of airfare as if they were actually eating at a restaurant in Italy. The food is absolutely five-stars. We convert the rustic look of the pizzeria into a more formal venue with live music.”

For $125 per person, customers can enjoy five courses and five different wines. The wine sommelier tastes and explains each wine in detail and the reasons for each pairing. Customers also receive a wine booklet with further background on the wineries, grapes and production of each wine with the opportunity to purchase the wines at a discounted price.

“What is unique to our Italian restaurant vs. others is that we own a 100% organic farm in the Chianti hills just outside of Florence, Italy, where we make our own wines as well as extra virgin olive oil,” Stefani said. “We sell our organic wines and olive oil at a little market inside the restaurant. And what makes it unique is these wines cannot be found anywhere else but at GiroPizza and Trattoria.”

Giro Pizza, photo courtesy of the town of Flower Mound

Customers like Luiz Mendes and Tess Bartoli have enjoyed the wine dinners so much they have attended every one.

“I’m half Italian so I think I know Italian food and this is probably the best Italian food in a large radius of Dallas,” Mendes said. “The amazing part is it’s all done in a pizza oven.”

Bartoli agrees.

“It’s a thing for my husband (Anthony) and I. We consider it our date night,” Bartoli said. “He is Italian, we’ve been to Italy, he proposed to me in Italy and when Diego opened this place it’s as close to getting real authentic Italian food in town.”

The wine dinners have been ongoing since October 2019, when the doors opened for what originally was called GiroPizza. Since the pandemic, it has morphed from primarily a pizzeria (voted 2020 and 2021 “Best Pizza in Denton County”) into what Stefani calls a “trattoria” (a small family-owned restaurant) offering authentic Italian appetizers, salads, homemade fresh pastas and entrées, oven baked sandwiches and delicious desserts.

“We became more of a full dining experience instead of just a pizza place, in fact several customers have told us we should change our name because we are now much more than just pizza,” Stefani said.

Further expansion is coming in July with Diego’s Deli, which will be located at the rear of the restaurant. It will focus on authentic Italian meats and cheeses as well as grilled panini at lunch-time for carry out.

For more information on “Taste of Italy Wine Dinners” visit giropizzatx.com.

 

(Sponsored content)

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