BostonZest

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.

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

Raventos i Blanc de Nit Takes Us to Spain for Our February 1st Toast

Raventos i Blanc de Nit is such a favorite with us that one of the staff at Select Oyster Bar asked Penny if she wanted her usual last week, meaning Raventos. That question put it next up on the list of wines we would feature this year as we explore the concept of terroir.

Each month in 2020, we'll feature a bottle of wine from a different place. Some will be new to us and some, like this one, will be old favorites from great winemakers who respect the land and let the natural taste of the grapes and the land come through in the glass.

The Raventos family has been making wine on their land since 1497. They say, "We stand up for the huge potential that our terroir has for creating sparkling wines."

The Oxford Dictionary defines the word terroir as, "The complete natural environment in which a particular wine is produced, including factors such as the soil, topography, and climate." And, "The characteristic taste and flavor imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced."

The words "Conca del Riu Anoia" on the label are a part of an effort by the Reventos family to create a recognized wine appellation with some of the specific characteristics we happen to look for in a wine. These standards include: using native varietals, biodynamic methods, estate-grown grapes, and proper aging.

They write, "Our dream is for the Raventós i Blanc wines to have their own name: Conca del Riu Anoia, the name of a small geographical area, centred around the River Anoia Basin, between the Catalan Pre-Coastal and Coastal Ranges."

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! Please join our Sparkling Resolution.

We purchased our bottle at Gordon's Fine Wines & Liquors for $26.99. 

We've enjoyed this wine by the glass at Select Oyster Bar and by the half-bottle (they also have it through magnums) at Alcove.

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

Opening 2020 with Roses de Jeanne by Cedric Bouchard

We're celebrating a new decade with Roses de Jeanne Champagne from a groundbreaking winemaker. Cedric Bouchard has some unusual views on the wine he is making in the Champagne region. We've enjoyed his wines before. In fact, he has made our New Year's choice twice. We opened 2013 with his Inflorescence Blanc de Noirs.

We're looking forward to this bottle and have the glasses and decanter ready to fill. Yes, we did say decanter. Cedric Bouchard suggests decanting his Champagne, so we're eager to give it a try. Polaner Selections in writing about this wine added, "One serving note: While you can enjoy Bouchard's Champagnes like other Champagnes, he recommends gently decanting them and serving them in regular wine glasses instead of flutes." We totally agree with the large wine glasses and we will try decanting a portion of our bottle.

Polaner Selections also noted the importance of terroir to this winemaker, "Bouchard’s wines are characterized by uniquely soil-driven personalities, with the underlying terroir of each parcel jumping from the glass with a purity of expression that is extremely rare in Champagne. These are brilliant wines made from a young, perfectionist vigneron who is likely to completely revolutionize the landscape of Champagne before he writes the last chapter on his career."

With this wine leading the way, in 2020 we will toast each new month with sparkling wines from different places. It will be our "Year of Terroir!" Trying wines 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 Federal Wine & Spirits.

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Photos: ©2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

Today We Celebrate December and 100 Years of Nino Franco with a Bottle of Nino Franco Rustico

We are starting December 2019 with a longtime favorite sparkling wine, Nino Franco Rustico. We have been enjoying, recommending, and writing about this wine for more than a decade. Now wine experts around the world are catching on to a great thing. (More about that below.)

The last time we raised a glass to the wonderful people at Nino Franco, it was with the bottle Silvia Franco was signing in the photo below. Back then we joined them long distance as they celebrated the 30th vintage of their Primo Franco. As they raised their glasses in Valdobbiadene, we opened this bottle and toasted them here in Boston. 

After a few years as Internet friends, we were happy to meet Silvia in person on a trip to Boston. It was good to learn that she is as nice, smart, and sharing in person as she is with her social media friends.

Today we'll raise a glass to Silvia Franco and her family as they celebrate 100 years of Nino Franco vintages. Please take a relaxing moment with Silvia and her family as they tell you about the wines and the place they love, protect, and celebrate in the video below.

 

Not only will we congratulate this family on 100 years of winemaking, but also for their Rustico winning the number one spot on Wine Enthusiast's best-of-the-best list "THE ENTHUSIAST 100 WINES OF 2019" with a rating of 94 out of 100. That is along with many more honors for their other wines.

  

We purchased our bottle at Gordon's for ~$25.00. (A special thank you to our friend Vinnie who supplied the ride to Waltham to renew our supply of this favorite wine.)

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! Join us in our Sparkling Resolution.

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Photos: ©2019 Penny & Ed Cherubino with a few additions from the Nino Franco site.

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

We'll celebrate the first of November 2019 with a bottle of 2013 RMS Brut from Rollin Soles' ROCO Winery. This wine is very special to us because we have had the pleasure of meeting the winemaker and are longtime fans of his wines.

Howie Rubin from Bauer Wine & Spirits was kind enough to bring in a small stash of this limited supply wine and let us know when it arrived. He remembered how much we love the Argyle sparkling wines made under Rollin Soles' direction during his years as the winemaker at that outstanding vineyard. 

We were not about to wait for November 1st to try this wine! We've been looking forward to it since we heard that ROCO had released its first sparkler. Fortunately we had a birthday to celebrate and popped a cork on our first bottle. We'll open and enjoy another this evening.

Please notice the big, full wine glasses in the top photo. You want big glasses because this is a big wine in the tradition of the great Champagne houses. It is full of layers of flavor and exuberant bubbles. 

Here are Rollin's winemaker's notes:

“Seamless flavor has become an RMS Brut Hallmark.  Complex fruit mix of plum, red skinned apple, and yellow cherry is lifted upon bracing citrus acidity.  Aromas of cherry, and Anjou pear are framed by vanilla spiced, shortbread-like yeastiness. Despite high acidity, the mid-palate has a beautiful creamy, vanilla, and cracked yeast impression.  Sit back and savor the very long, fresh finish, another RMS Hallmark.” - Rollin Soles, Winemaker

We purchased our bottle on sale at Bauer Wine for ~$30. 

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! Join our sparkling resolution with your own monthly toast.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2019 Penny & Ed Cherubino