BostonZest

We'll Toast August 1st with Happy Memories of Bollinger Champagne

Thanks to a great assist from some very nice people, we'll toast August 1st with a favorite – Bollinger Special Cuvee Champagne. This is our year of terroir and Bollinger, for us, is the center point for the flavor, aroma, balance, and everything else we want from a champagne. When we enjoy other wines from this region, it's the memory of this wine we use for comparison.

While we'll be raising our glasses at home with friends on computer screens, in our minds we'll travel back to the many times we've enjoyed a bottle of this wine on the deck in Provincetown. Today's photos are all from another time and place.

Another type of terroir brings a distinct note to the wine in these bottles. Namely, the years of reserve wine from the same land that is blended to give us that Bollinger Special Cruvee style.

On their site the vineyard explains:

"The Bollinger vineyard covers 178 hectares, most of which are classified Grand or Premier cru. Pinot Noir predominates, a demanding grape variety with an intense character which forms the backbone of the Bollinger style. Continuity of style is ensured by an exceptional collection of over 700,000 reserve magnums, making Bollinger the only champagne House with such a wide and precise palette of aromas for their blends. As a guarantee of supreme quality, the best crus are vinified in wood thanks to a stock of 3,500 small, aged casks. The House lets its wines mature for twice as long as the appellation requirement. This is not out of vanity, but because a great wine needs the luxury of time to develop its full character."

We'll do a special toast this month to the excellent team at Gordon's Wine in Downtown Crossing (39 Temple Place) who helped Penny put together (and keep us safe by delivering) a box of special bottles as a gift for Ed. Here's to Tyler, Val, Jack, and our delivery driver.

We purchased our bottle at Gordon's on sale: $54.99. If that sale is still on, this would be a great time to stock up and be ready for your next special occasion.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2012 Penny Cherubino 

Pouring from On High to Toast July with Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Rubentis Rose

Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Rubentis Rose is comfort food for us. (Yes, wine is food!) Since this frizzante wine comes from the Basque Country and because of the area's climate and soil conditions it fits our 2020 year of terroir, we are featuring it this month

We are longtime fans of Txakoli wines. We discovered them many years ago at Jose Garces restaurant Tinto in Philadelphia. On our return, Howie Ruben of Bauer Wine & Spirits ordered it for us and kept us supplied with this summertime favorite. 

Then came Select Oyster Bar where we found a new wine mentor Michael Serpa who shared our love of Txakoli. He educated us about the speed pourers that made pouring this wine on high to activate the bubbles a bit easier.

If you would like to learn more about the terroir and special way the grapes for Txakoli are grown, here's a video of chef and humanitarian Jose Andres visiting a vineyard from his TV series Made in Spain.

Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month!

We purchased our bottle at Bauer Wine and Spirits for $22.00

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2015- 2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

A Gift of "i Clivi RBL Brut Nature 2017" to Toast June 1st, Great Bartenders and Wine Mentors

The wine for this month's toast, "i Clivi RBL Brut Nature 2017", was delivered to us by one of the special people from behind the bar at Select Oyster Bar, Gabe Bellegard Bastos.

In discussing wines in the months before the shutdown, he learned that our theme for our 2020 Sparkling Resolution wines was terroir. As we sheltered-in-place, Gabe brought us a favorite from his wine rack that happens to be a perfect fit. 

The best bartenders and servers often have wonderful stories to go with the wines they recommend. We asked Gabe how he discovered this wine. He texted:

"That wine was a by-the-glass pour at my very first restaurant job, back when I was still writing for Eater and going to school and I had not yet decided to fully commit to working in restaurants forever. The name of the restaurant was Ribelle, which means rebel in Italian, and wine service/ education were both very important there so this was the first wine I really *learned* and understood. And then years later, we ended up pouring it by the glass at Bar Mezzana too so it feels like an old friend, and between serving it to guests, and the infinite times I brought that out to a party, or opened it with friends at my place, I just feel a special connection to it."

Great Bartenders Have Been Our Wine Mentors

Much of what we know about wines has been the result of bar stool classes conducted by knowledgeable bartenders in fine restaurants. These men and women were happy to share what they knew about the wine in our glasses. They cared enough about their customers to remember what we liked and didn't like in wines and have been wonderful guides through this complex world of grape magic. Here is a bit more Gabe shared with us about this wine:

"On a more wine note, as you know I love bubbles. And, I love how unique that bottle is. It does not use the Champagne or the Charmat method, it uses a rather unusual grape, and it is from a region of Italy that isn’t particularly known for great wines. But, that wine is just so dry, and vibrant, and all those things give it such a distinct personality. I hope you enjoy it."

Gabe knows we love bubbles too! Part of our enjoyment of this wine will come from Gabe's kindness and thoughtfulness in sharing this with us and delivering a perfect wine for our June 1st toast.

Here's a link to more about how this wine is grown and created.

And, you can download a PDF fact sheet here: Download RBL - eng

Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month!

This wine was a gift. Yes, we mark those as well with Sharpie metallic markers because you simply enjoy a bottle of wine more when someone gifted it to you!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

We Celebrate Oregon Terroir with the 2013 RMS Brut from Rollin Soles' ROCO Winery

This month's wine, selected for its specific terroir, is the 2013 RMS Brut from Rollin Soles' ROCO Winery. We have a long-running resolution to toast each new month with a glass of sparkling wine. In recent years we've tried to set a theme for each year and 2020 is our year of terroir.

We're still sheltering in place so we were happy that our wine rack contained another great example of a winemaker who knows and uses the terroir of a specific place to create a great wine.

We've had the distinct pleasure of meeting Rollin Soles and years of pleasure drinking the wines he masterminds. (We borrowed this photo below from the ROCO Facebook page. We suggest you follow them to learn about their wine, their art gallery, and the many important causes they support)

When you go to the ROCO website and click on the vineyards tab, you'll find this at the top of the page:

"Every vineyard has its own microclimate, soil composition, slope, and relationship with the sun. When people speak of “terroir,” these unique attributes are what they’re talking about—the essence of a place captured in wine. At ROCO, we are keen on delivering the pleasure of place through the prism of vineyard-designated wines."

We first wrote about this wine last year. Click on the link below for more information and to read Rollin's winemakers notes.

Our November Sparkler Is 2013 RMS Brut from Rollin Soles' ROCO Winery

Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month!

We purchase our bottle at Bauer Wine and Spirits for $29.99. If you want to keep track of what you paid for a bottle of wine and where you purchased it, we suggest writing on the bottle with these Sharpie Metallic Fine Point Permanent Markers. It works for us!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino

The photo of Rollin Souls is courtesy of ROCO Vineyards.

Grab a Tree for Social Distancing! Photo Tales & Quotes

With warmer weather coming, social distancing in parks and on walks is going to become harder. My suggestion is to grab a tree.

The other day I met two neighbors, from different households, along the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. It was obvious we were all trying to set a comfortable social distance so we could talk. I suggested we all pick a tree as our place to stay while we chatted. Along the Mall, on sidewalks, and in many other parks in the city, trees are well spaced for safe social distancing. 

This morning Sarah (the lovely human who slid her scarf down so we could see her smile) and Harriet (the lovely dog who is always smiling) grabbed a tree while we talked and they agreed to be my models for this post. Sarah suggested that when it is not as wet as today, you can even lean on the tree!

My favorite quote for today is from a truly great man, Warren Buffet.

"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago."

About Photo Tales & Quotes: We keep hearing that people miss our cover photos that ran for years in the Back Bay Sun. That assignment was to provide a photo that showed what the week was like in the neighborhood. Often the photos illustrated favorite quotations. Photo Tales & Quotes is an occasional offering to our BostonZest readers featuring photos along the same theme but taken wherever we happen to be.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2020 Penny Cherubino  

On April 1, 2020 We Toast the Franco Family in Valdobbiadene with Nino Franco Rustico Prosecco

Since 2020 is our year of exploring the terroir of sparkling wines, we knew we'd include a selection from Nino Franco. This family of winemakers has been working for 100 years at distinguishing wines produced in Valdobbiadene from other proseccos. Over the past month, our thoughts have been with them hoping the vineyards provide a safe haven. Salute! Good health to you and your neighbors from your friends in Boston.

As we write this post, we're sheltering in place and choosing our sparkling wine of the month from our own wine rack. Fortunately, we usually have a few bottles of Nino Franco Rustico on hand. Today we are going to lift a glass and share with you some of our favorite photos of enjoying other bottles of this lovely wine.

This time, instead of gathering friends on our roof deck, we'll connect over the Internet and raise our glasses from a safe distance. We hope you will do the same and use our monthly toast to connect with someone you are missing.

About the attention to the grape and the place, Nino Franco says, "At the beginning of the 90s, convinced that you need to control production right from the origins to obtain a good wine, Primo took over the running of a vineyard where he experimented with new planting techniques and the use of old clones."

This year Primo Franco released a book on the passion the family has towards their products, "The Prosecco Way of Life."

Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month!

We purchased our bottle at Gordon's for ~$25.00.

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Photos: ©2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

New Mexico's Gruet Sauvage Joins Our "Grand Tour" of Terroir

We'll say "Happy New Month" to March with a blanc de blanc sparkling wine from New Mexico, Gruet Sauvage. We've been long time fans of the Gruet wines, but Sauvage is new to us.

It's on the current wine list at Grand Tour, a new restaurant from Chef Michael Serpa and his team. This place is already a favorite with us. We've been stopping in since it opened slowly working our way through the engaging menu.

Michael has become the latest of our wine mentors so even when we normally shy away from 100% Chardonnay sparklers, we are quick to try a glass of any wine that he selects. Our goal in 2020 is to explore terroir with our monthly toast, this wine from New Mexico fits right in.

Here is what the Gruet vintners say about their terroir.

"With high elevation, sandy loam soils, and sweeping winds to naturally keep away pests and thin the canopy for greater flavors, New Mexico’s desert landscape proved the ideal starting ground for Gruet.

Here are the tasting notes from Gruet:

"Gruet Sauvage NV is a bone-dry sparkler, pale straw in color with a delicate but persistent mousse. The aromas of bright mineral and citrus notes tickle the nose followed by touches of green apple, lemon and, grapefruit. The finish is structured, flavorful and long. The bright acidity makes this wine a perfect pairing for oysters, sushi and cream sauces."

We've already enjoyed a few glasses of this crisp, food-oriented sparkler at the bar at Grand Tour. We'll return there today to raise another glass with friends to wish one another a "Happy New Month." We recommend the wine and we recommend the restaurant!

Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month. Cheers!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino