BostonZest

We'll Open 2022 with Roco Winery 2020 RMS Red Brut

As we enter 2022 with the hope for a better year for one and all, we'll raise a glass of 2020 RMS Red Brut from a winemaker we think of like an old friend, Rollin Soles of Roco Winery. While we know and love Rollin's wines, both at his own Roco and during his years at Argyle, this is a new wine for us. It is 100% Pinot Noir and our first red sparkling wine! 

Here is what Rollin has to say about his 2020 RMS Red Brut:

"This inaugural Sparkling Red Wine Pinot Noir brings Instant Holiday Cheer! This dark ruby colored sparkling wine delivers a lively pink bubbling froth around the edge of your glass as it is poured. The fruit, spices, and yeasty aromas include cranberry, crab apple, black raspberry and a hint of grape soda. There also are essences of pecan, sweet Genovese basil, and pine cones. On the palate, look for immediate cranberry, dried currant, and Brooks plums with a persistent pomegranate core and a finish that begs for ham and turkey and mushrooms. The truly velvety tannin grip is spiced with pecans, cinnamon, and nutmeg, making this wine a potentially amazing Biscotti dunker!"

We have some biscotti on hand and are ready for dunking!

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!

Here are the front and back labels:

We purchase our bottle directly from the vineyard as a part of a holiday purchase. While supplies last it is available from ROCO for $50 a bottle.

We subscribe to the vineyard's newsletter and were thrilled to support this lovely couple and their hard work to make great wine and support Oregon's Willamette Valley winemaking community.

You can learn more about the vineyard team here.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2021 Penny & Ed Cherubino and seasons greetings photo of Rollin and Cory courtesy of Roco Winery

Lemon, Love, and Olive Oil Cookbook New Favorite Cookbook

How many recipes do I want to make from Lemon, Love, and Olive Oil by Mina Stone?

This many!

Each sticky note represents a recipe I want to try. I've decided to cook through this excellent book, as a winter cooking project. Right now, I have one of the Boston Public Library's copies. I will add a copy to my cookbook collection. I have to decide, as I work with it, if I need the Kindle or print edition. 

Do you have a winter cooking project or a cookbook you should pull out and cook your way through?

First up was this quick, easy lunch of Tuna Salad with Fennel, Apple, and Parsley. Ed and I love the flavor twist and lighter notes from the fennel and apple that offset the heavier tuna flavor. 

Watch this space for more from this book!

 

Words: Penny Cherubino Photos: ©2021 Penny Cherubino

Misty Morning Along the Mall: Photo Tales & Quotes

The statues and people faded into the mist along the Commonwealth Avenue Mall this morning.

"I like the muted sounds, the shroud of grey, and the silence that comes with fog."
Om Malik

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.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2021 Penny Cherubino  

We'll Toast December 2021 with Cabernet Franc! It's Louis de Grenelle Saumur Rosé

This month we'll raise a glass to the wonderful people from Cornwall's in Kenmore Square with a glass from the bottle of Louis de Grenelle Saumur Rosé we included in our last take-out order before they closed until March 2022.

While Ed loves going to Cornwall's for their excellent draft beer selection, Penny appreciates a pub where she has a nice selection of wines that match the food. This one is among her favorites, there or at home. 

Louis de Grenelle Saumur Rosé is a 100% Cabernet Franc sparkling rosé from the Loire Valley. We've enjoyed this wine in many fine-dining restaurants over the years.

We dined on the patio out front all summer and fall and, last winter, made regular visits for take-out. This year we learned that they were closing for the season. Here is the announcement on their website. We'll miss them but support them in doing what they need to do.

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!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2019 - 2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

For November 2021 We'll Raise a Glass of Cerdon, Renardat-Fâche and Have a Dessert Party

Our monthly toast for November 2021 will be a rare, slightly sweet sparkler- Cerdon, Renardat-Fâche 2019. A few factors influence this choice. This wine is organic. It's from, "The Bugey, halfway between Lyons and Geneva, is one of the tiniest and most obscure wine areas in France," according to importer Louis/Dressner. It is made with Gamay and Poulsard adding a new grape for sparkling wine to our life list. And finally, it's 8% Alcohol by Volume. That is a rare find. All these factors checked some boxes on our preference list.

Here's some fascinating information on this producer and this wine from the importer.

Aware that it was slightly outside our choice for drier wines, we have decided to use its ability to step in after a meal as an excuse for a dessert party! Today we'll wander the neighborhood and pick up a few desserts to sample with this month's selection. Perhaps some of the favorites from our memory photos above.

Trying wines from different places, made with other 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 $23.99.

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Photos: ©2017-2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

Our Pick to Toast October 2021 Is Camille Saves N.V. Brut Rose Grand Cru Champagne

We have a few things to celebrate in October so we'll begin with a glass of Camille Saves N.V. Brut Rose Grand Cru Champagne. Camille Saves and her brothers are the current generation of stewards on land their family has had since 1894.  

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!     

Here's what we learned:

One of the great wine descriptions of all time was the one from WineCountry.com about this selection,

"Hands down one of the sexiest Brut Roses we have. Made from 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir and a wine I have always called, 'A librarian in fishnet stockings, smart and sexy as hell' and it is doing its thing like crazy right now. Black fruit, pie dough, citrus, sweet cured ham and all with perfect bone structure and curves."

We purchase our bottle at Urban Grape for $72. Another great recommendation from Tray!   

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Photos: ©2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

We'll Toast September 2021 with a Reliable Favorite, Raventos i Blanc

We usually enjoy a glass of Raventos i Blanc de Nit Cava sitting at the bar at Select Oyster Bar. These days we are dining at a table on the little patio and this wonderful wine is not on their wine list at the moment. 

Sometimes you just want a sure thing, a winner, a favorite, something you know you'll love. That's how we're feeling this month. And, this cava fills the bill. With a bit of delayed rain perhaps we'll be able to share it with friends on the roof deck. We were able to have a wine-sharing with two special people last month and it really made our week!

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! However, we have a bottle in our wine rack and plan to enjoy it tonight. 

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

 

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Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast...

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Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2018- 2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino