Virgen: Ferragamo excited about Rams’ return to L.A.

Vince Ferragamo appeared excited to talk about his wine at Red O restaurant on Thursday night. But before he could try to draw favorable reaction to his wine, the former Rams quarterback wanted to produce cheers from those in attendance.

Yes, many of those people were Ferragamo’s friends and fans, but they still had plenty to cheer about mainly because of the timing of the special event, an exclusive five-course dinner paired with wines, including Ferragamo’s.

“Before I start talking about the wine,” Ferragamo said. “What about the Rams coming back to Los Angeles?”

They responded with loud yells and applause. It’s OK to cheer for the Rams now, especially since there probably won’t be as many instances for that when they actually hit the field.

Ferragamo, an Orange Park Acres resident, is definitely happy the Rams are returning to L.A. This is how he remembers the Rams.

He played for the L.A. Rams from 1977 through 1984, save for the 1981 season when he played for the CFL Montreal Alouettes.

He has many special memories with the Rams, which is why he’s so excited about the Rams coming back. Ferragamo took the Rams to the Super Bowl in 1979.

One of the other great memories for Ferragamo came when he threw for 509 yards, two TDs with two interceptions against the Bears. One of the picks came from Bears safety Jeff Fisher, who is now the coach of the Rams.

Ferragamo still looks great at 61. I teased him that the Rams could use a quarterback. Well, they really could.

But Ferragamo thinks the Rams are OK at quarterback, or at least that’s what he said in a politically correct tone. He was mainly in Newport Beach to talk about his wine, but Ferragamo is always in the mood to talk about the Rams.

Ferragamo says defense wins championships and he believes the Rams are on the verge of being a dominant defense. A defense with a strong running game, led by star-in-the-making Todd Gurley, can lead to wins and wins will only help the Rams’ cause in their return to L.A.

Ferragamo, who retired from football in 1986, also enjoys making the right mix, or pairing his wine with the best food. He says he doesn’t drink wine, especially his wine, for cocktails or social drinking. He mainly drinks it with food for more flavor.

It was my first time dining at Red O, but I thought Ferragamo’s wine went perfect with the chanterelle-crusted veal tenderloin that was in a chipotle cream sauce and was served with black kale.

Ferragamo’s wine, from Tenuta di Ferragamo (Ferragamo Estate), is a Sangiovese-Cabernet blend, created using a mid-way clone of those two grapes. He calls the wine, Caressa J., which comes from the combination of his three daughters’ names: Cara, Vanessa and Jenna.

It was a 2013 bottle.

“Seven years ago I started growing these grapes in Orange Acres,” Ferragamo said. “To my surprise they started to proliferate. They started to grow really well. They can’t grow as well as they do in Sicily, but still great. It goes great with veal and also goes with a lot of pastas.”

Ferragamo bragged that the wine goes great with the pastas his wife, Jodi, cooks. She was there with Ferragamo at the dinner, held in an outdoor tent next to the restaurant.

Organizers of the event were pleased with the turnout. The timing couldn’t have been better. It’s Restaurant Week in Newport Beach. Also, the news of the Rams’ return gave more reason for people to be excited about Ferragamo.

Ferragamo says he wants to be a part of that excitement, and he encourages these Rams to be a part of the community.

“The Rams are back,” Ferragamo said. “We’re so excited. They’ve been gone 20 years. When we were playing we had a connection with the fans. We were interactive with the fans. I hope that comes back. There’s a lot of Rams fans where there’s been a void. But the Rams are back and I think so many people are happy.”