Posted 04/30/2008 at 11:37 PM by Cathy
"This is one of my favorite places to eat."That's what I heard when I sat down for lunch at Flynnies on the Avenue in Marblehead today. I looked around.Maybe it's a favorite because it's a neighborhood kind of place. Most of the people who came for lunch walked right up to the bar with the kind of assurance that comes only from being a very-regular regular.Maybe it's a favorite because the staff looks you square in the eye and says no, she wouldn't recommend that dish for you or yes, he does thi ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/29/2008 at 10:32 PM by Cathy
Margaret River is on the "bump" that juts out from southwestern Australia; its land mass sits somewhere in between the Indian and Southern Oceans. It's hours away from any major city either by car or by plane. Locate it on a map (if you can!) and you'll immediately start to feel sorry for it. Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane are a continent away (literally); even Perth is a good three hours' drive. Margaret River can claim more than its share of wineries, but samples I've tried have seemed as unc ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/28/2008 at 10:15 PM by Cathy
They were distinctive. They had lots of personality. Each had their own flavor. Each brought something unique to the table.That describes the wines at Rialto's winemaker dinner tonight. It also describes the women who make them.Rialto fêted four women winemakers at a special event tonight, and hearing them talk about their wines was like hearing a purpose statement of their lives.For example: "I don't produce everyday wine," said Diane de Puymorin. "I produce wine for quality."And: "I taste wine ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/27/2008 at 09:36 PM by Cathy
Anyone with any interest in food and wine who finds herself in Portland, Maine should – must – visit Rabelais bookstore on Middle Street. There are obvious reasons for this: the store is dedicated to books on wine and food, they carry the latest titles as well as out-of-print and rare books, and they'll give you all sorts of tidbits, both gustatory (in the form of bite-sized cookies on the counter) and commercial.Like this one:Ten books on cocktails can be sold for every one book on wine. That's ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/26/2008 at 04:00 PM by Cathy
Here's what I love about tasting wines straight from the barrel or tank: they're raw.Raw, as in unfiltered. Raw, as in no make up. Raw, as in young and full of promise and brash and honest. Wines that are raw don't have many places to hide.So when Maren Hosmer lined up several barrel and tank samples at a tasting today – right alongside finished wines from Hosmer Winery in upstate, New York – I thanked my lucky stars. And I thanked Maren Hosmer herself for being thoughtful and brave enough to br ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/25/2008 at 10:05 PM by Cathy
1. It's approachable, meaning it's sorted into categories that don't scare anyone, like Fun and Aromatic Whites (New World and Old World). Not Quite Reds and Dry Rosés. You get the idea. One category of the list is even devoted entirely to Environmentally Friendly Producers.2. Sure they have their "reach wines" – including at least four versions from Joseph Phelps of Napa and the iconic Penfolds "Grange" from South Australia – but I was more psyched about the long list of bottles available for $ ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/24/2008 at 08:49 PM by Cathy
Who is the audience for Wine That Loves? I get the vibe that it's targeted to a younger demographic. Is that accurate? Our target audience for Wine that Loves is people who love food and want to enjoy the best possible food and wine experiences. The whole idea behind this wine is that this is the wine that makes your dinner even more delicious! Younger people have picked up on it first, but anyone of any age who has tasted it realizes that this is a really great way to eat.What has been the feedb ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/22/2008 at 11:45 AM by Cathy
It doesn't take much to make me happy. Just put three glasses in front of me with three tastes of wine. Add a preformatted tasting sheet to take notes, and let me at them in peace and quiet. At a Wine Studies course at Boston University, every Tuesday night, we taste anywhere from eight to twelve wines on average. We pour the first flight - three wines, usually - about 45 minutes into the class and that is one of my favorite times of the whole week.
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/21/2008 at 11:35 AM by Cathy
A few months ago I wrote about an elderberry liqueur I'd never heard about, called St. Germain. I tasted the liqueur as part of the classic St. Germain cocktail – 1/3 liqueur, 1/3 soda water, 1/3 Prosecco - at the housewarming party of a friend of mine who puts a premium on quality ingredients, whether she's serving food or drinks or both. It was love at first sip. It practically inspired poetry, or at least an elaborate use of metaphor.
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/20/2008 at 11:32 AM by Cathy
Andrew Rodgers is the closest I've ever come to meeting a real-life farmer. He's young and personable (and handsome, not that I noticed), and he was about to sell us two laying hens to raise at home for their eggs.
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/19/2008 at 11:27 AM by Cathy
The very first wine on the list at Zoes Tapas and Bar is the Zonin Prosecco Special Cuvee Brut. We were feeling, well, peppy tonight and a Prosecco seemed to fit the mood. The share-everything mentality of a tapas place did nothing to quench the peppy fire. So Prosecco it was.
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/18/2008 at 12:00 AM by Cathy
Depending on the weather, you could see all the way to Boston. Depending on the time of day, you could watch birds migrating from the mainland to one of the islands peeking up from the surf. Depending on what you tuck inside your shoulder bag, you could enjoy a spring afternoon sipping wine at one of the most extraordinary and little-known vantage points in eastern Massachusetts.
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/17/2008 at 10:43 PM by Cathy
With a view of Boston's skyline from the 33rd floor above State Street behind him, winemaker Pascal Jolivet was a man on display. And so were his wines. Jolivet, along with a dozen other producers, poured from their own bottles last night for the crowd at the Frederick Wildman and Sons' Grand Tour 2008 tasting. These weren't just any producers, and these were definitely not just any wines: it was a room full of stellar winemakers and equally stellar wines, and the headiness of it all made my h ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/16/2008 at 09:04 PM by Cathy
A few weeks ago I visited Running Brook winery in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts and I loved – loved – their Vidal Blanc. Yesterday in Edible Boston magazine I read several articles about local wines, including "Will Oenophiles Embrace What's Being Made Here?" [the answer is Yes] by Clare Leschin-Hoar, which plotted the locations of some 20 grape growers across the state. It was like an itinerary of discovery for anyone interested in local grape agriculture.Are you surprised that it's possible t ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/14/2008 at 06:13 PM by Cathy
What's the best wine pairing for... cheesecake? Some say Muscat. Some say Riesling. Others say Eiswein, or even Port.What does the Cheesecake Factory say? It's a little complicated.Wine is not high on the priority list at the Cheesecake Factory. They do have a wine list - Robert Mondavi winery makes a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon just for them! - but they certainly do not have a sommelier. Actually our server hadn't ever heard the word sommelier. But he was earnest, and he had a sense of humor ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/13/2008 at 08:56 PM by Cathy
Merchants Liquor Mart in Danvers donated the wine and beer for the Harborlight Montessori School's benefit auction in North Beverly last night. The whites were on ice in a large bin, the reds were open on the table at the cash bar. The wines were nothing fancy or expensive – Big House Red and Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio are two of the wines I saw – but the point is that it was there. It was there because the auction was a festive occasion; aside from the auction itself, the school celebrates its 35 ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/12/2008 at 09:23 PM by Cathy
'Tis the season. For wine. Everywhere you look wine shops all over Boston are hosting their spring-time grand tastings. The "grand" is what differentiates these tastings from shops' regular weekly events. Each shop brings together a number distributors and importers – anywhere from four to ten of them – who each set up individual tables to showcase six to eight of their wines. In other words, your regular Jane or Joe can walk into a single shop's grand tasting and sample some 20 to 80 wines.That' ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/11/2008 at 09:10 PM by Cathy
Small hand-printed signs that said "Estate Sale Today," with an arrow pointing the way, stood alongside several major roads in Hamilton. There weren't many signs – Hamilton is not such a big place – but to a long-time fan of used bookstores and consignment shops, they were relentlessly tantalizing.I followed the arrows, detouring from my destination and my schedule, and pulled up in front of a single-story home on a side street. The yard was tidy and the house itself was nothing fancy, but stepp ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/09/2008 at 03:57 PM by Cathy
If there's one lesson I'll take home with me after a week in Napa, it's this: try something new. Experimentation keeps your wine pleasure fresh, for sure, but experimentation is also the catchword of the day.Restaurants in the Napa Valley are experimenting with new wines from new (and newly-resurgent) regions. Wineries are experimenting with new (and newly-revived) grapes. And winemakers themselves are experimenting with even the most traditional (and commercially successful) varietals and techn ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/08/2008 at 08:07 PM by Cathy
It's especially difficult, coming to Napa from Boston in early April, not to notice the weather. Or the sun. Or the warmth. Or all the attention that's paid to the environment and sustainability. I got to thinking, what's the ecological footprint of a wine drinker? With so much talk these days about reducing carbon footprints, I've started a list of the wine industry's carbon-related risks and opportunities. Here are a few, along with some thoughts on what they may mean for you.
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/07/2008 at 03:56 PM by Cathy
Delia Viader looks smart, and it isn't just because of the tailoring of her clothes. ?Viader looks smart because she is smart, plus she has a Boston connection. MIT's Sloan School of Management is just one notch on her illustrious resumé. She also has a PhD, she speaks many languages, she has a viticulture degree, and she bought into hillside Napa property early enough to officially be labeled a visionary.Here's another thing. She's human, and her personable character inflects many of the decisi ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/06/2008 at 10:46 AM by Cathy
Market Restaurant on Main Street in St. Helena looks like a restaurant with a bar but, this being Napa Valley, the reality is the other way around. The bar, specifically the wine list, is the star of this show: the wine list runs four to five times as long as the menu, and the wait staff seems more interested in what wine you'll order than in what food you'll have to go along with it.
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/05/2008 at 03:00 PM by Cathy
Bales of hay surrounded about twenty baby chicks. The baby chicks moved in bunches: when one of them headed for the water trough, about twelve others moved with it, like one instinct-driven ball of week-old body warmth.Spring has hatched at Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton. Kurt Reming of the Beverly Wine and Beer Co. stood next to the bales of hay, peering down and grinning at the mobile balls of fur. He may have come to the farm this afternoon to pour tastes of four organic wines, but he may a ...
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/04/2008 at 07:55 AM by Cathy
The sommelier at Harvard's Faculty Club must be a little loopy.
That was my first thought when I heard about Francois Braun's gimmick of offering the 2005 Hill & Dale Pinotage from South Africa for 99 cents a glass. What's even more unfortunate, in light of public perception, was the immediate and skeptical response of "Oh, must be like Two-Buck Chuck..." that came from nearly everyone I mentioned it to.
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/04/2008 at 07:38 AM by Cathy
Bales of hay surrounded about twenty baby chicks. The baby chicks moved in bunches: when one of them headed for the water trough, about twelve others moved with it, like one instinct-driven ball of week-old body warmth. Spring has hatched at Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton.
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/03/2008 at 07:44 AM by Cathy
Nothing beats a road show for swooping in, paparazzi-style, to get the scoop on who's-who and what's-what about a particular designer or, in today's case, about a particular region and its wines.
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/02/2008 at 06:34 AM by Cathy
About eight years ago I stood in front of the wine shelves at a large grocery store in San Mateo, California. The bottles at that particular store were stocked standing straight up, giving the labels full frontal exposure. I stood there, looking intently at the labels, for close to an hour. I don't remember much about the content but I do remember the brand that kicked off my transfixed state. It was Bonny Doon from California, and I was transfixed because the labels were fun. They had a sense of humor. And some designer somewhere was getting paid to make visual jokes about – get this – wine.
0 comments
More >
Posted 04/01/2008 at 07:22 AM by Cathy
For many years the best that could be said about Austrian whites was that they were inexpensive.
The market for Austrian wines at the time wasn't demanding wines with rich colors or tannins, so grape yields could be high and producers – who were mostly cooperatives at that point – turned a profit. But higher yields usually mean a lesser quality of wine, and that's the reputation that stuck with Austrian wines for many years.
0 comments
More >
