BostonZest

We'll Celebrate April 1st with a Bottle of Bollinger Champagne

We think this April 1st monthly toast is a reason to celebrate and raise a glass from a splurge favorite Bollinger Special Cuvee Champagne. Today is the first milestone on our way to immunity from our vaccinations. We have a ways to go before our level of immunity is high enough to make us begin to feel safe. We also realize that we'll still be wearing masks and keeping our distance from others, because we still could be asymptomatic carriers who could spread the virus.

The big decision of the day is where shall we pick up a take-out order to go with our bottle. Michael Serpa is scheduled to open all three of his restaurants today, Select Oyster, Grand Tour, and Atlantico. We've missed the great food and most of all we've missed the people from these places. While we have not experienced Atlantico yet, we plan to pick up an order this week.

Finally, we'll celebrate in the hope that the warmer weather continues, the local positive case numbers begin to level off or fall, and that the number of our friends who are vaccinated rises quickly. We're starting to make a list of the things we'd like to do when we feel safer going places and doing more than our one walk a day for exercise.

A trip to Provincetown where these photos were taken is high on that list!

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 on sale: $54.99 last year, when they went out of their way to gather and deliver an order of favorite wines for us. 

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

Remembering Friends and Good Times with a Glass of Nino Franco Rustico on March 1st, 2021

March 1st of 2020, we gathered with a small group of friends in the small upstairs room at Grand Tour on Newbury Street. That was the last time we got together with friends in person, indoors, and shared food. Today we'll raise a glass of our old favorite and house sparkling wine, Nino Franco Rustico, and remember the times and places where we've enjoyed this wine with friends or for a two-person, private celebration. 

When friends stopped by in the old days, chances were good that we would have a glass of this lovely Prosecco at the ready since there are normally a few bottles in our wine rack. 

We were early fans of this Italian sparkler and became online friends with Silvia Franco and were even fortunate enough to meet her on one of her visits to Boston.

Naturally, Nino Franco Rustico came with us to Provincetown. Or rather, it was usually waiting for us there at a wine shop with excellent taste. We've shared it with friends who also love this place and are sometimes in town when we are.

We've been known to buy this wine by the case before the holidays to gift to friends, bring to gatherings, or add to a thank you tip for someone who's been very good to us all year.

Here's to those special people who joined us at Grand Tour last year and to those who couldn't make it. Let's hope we can enjoy one another's company again before March 1, 2022. And, here's to all the people we miss from Grand Tour and Select Oyster, where we were often found sitting at the bar in the good old days.

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 

We’ll Toast February with a Gift of Gosset "Grande Réserve" Brut Champagne

We did not puzzle over which sparkling wine to choose for our February toast. It had to be the bottle of Gosset "Grande Réserve" Brut Champagne our friend Bob dropped off for us last month. Since our theme for 2021 is "Wines we love and honoring friendships," it was a perfect choice.

Penny didn't have to think twice about a background for a photo of this month's wine since she had just finished a jigsaw puzzle of a lovely scene that might be somewhere in France. It even had one piece not quite pressed in place that looked like a little guy running towards the bottle. From our research, we think we may be running to get more of what sounds like a very special wine. Also, she has been sharing her jigsaw puzzles with friends. Another friendship link!

Here's what we learned:

Regular readers know we love learning the history of vineyards. Gosset has a very long history. On the Gosset site, they write:

"The story of the Gosset family begins over four centuries ago with the first official ancestor of the family line, Jean Gosset (1484–1556), “Seigneur of Aÿ and Mareuil”. Following in his footsteps, sixteen generations, all born in Aÿ in Champagne, would go on to win fame not only as deputy mayors, mayors, prosecutors, but also in growing and trading the wines of Champagne"

Their details about the Gosset "Grande Réserve" Brut Champagne:

Varietal Composition: 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Meunier
Vintage Composition: 80-90% 2015, 10-20% 2013 & 2014 vintages
Alcohol: 12%

Suggested Serving Temperatures: Between 8 C and 10 C (46 F and 50 F)

Tasting Notes: The color is bright and golden, the nose open and expressive, and the palate is dominated by a refreshing mineral tension.

Jean-Pierre Mareigner, Cellarmaster says: “This is the true signature of the House. An expression of the Gosset style, which I have been maintaining for 30 years.” 

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 bottle was a gift, but with the photo of this back label, your favorite wine merchant should be able to find it for you.

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

Our New Year's Toast Takes Us to England for Hattingley Valley Rose 2014

As the final toast in 2020 – our year of terroir, and the beginning of 2021, our year of wines that represent friendship – we'll raise a glass of Hattingley Valley Rose 2014 from Hampshire England. 

Our dog, Duchess Poppy, let us borrow her tiara for our photos of this wine. From what we've read and heard, this vineyard is doing its best to make the British proud of English wine. The winery has won numerous awards and has said of this bottle, “Our 2014 Rosé was also awarded the World Champion Rosé trophy at The Italian Wine Journal Challenge Euposia XI edition 2018-2019.”

We have two reasons for selecting this wine to close our 2020 adventure and enter 2021.

First, it was recommended by one of our trusted wine mentors, Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli, owner of Alcove Boston. He told us about it on one of our last visits to his restaurant and we had planned to share a bottle with friends on our next visit. 

Alas, Alcove is one of the favorite places we have sorely missed in this year of isolation. We hope those of you who are out and about will support Tom and his great team in whatever way you are able given your own pandemic limitations. Check out the little market they have added to their resources.

Tom also represents all the friends we have made in the hospitality industry over the years. Our hearts are aching for what this situation is doing to all of them.

The second reason is that Penny had spent much of her relaxation time during this year in virtual visits to Britain. It all began with the discovery of the series Great Canal Journeys with Timothy West and Prunella Scales. From there she began following a number of YouTube narrowboat vloggers. She was already addicted to British history, food, and gardening shows. When she sits and watches something, it usually has a British accent.

Back to the Wine! 

Here's what we've learned from the folks at Hattingley about their 2014 Rose:

"BLEND | 60% Pinot Noir, 38% Pinot Meunier & 2% Pinot Precoce

VINEYARDS | Sourced from vineyards across the South of England, mainly chalk with clay topsoil.

WINEMAKING | Approximately 8% of the blend is fermented in 4-5 year old Burgundy barrels. Before tirage, the base wine is blended with 5% red wine made from the Pinot Precoce to give a delicate soft pink colour and some vibrant red fruit flavours. The wine spent 2 years ageing on lees in the bottle before being disgorged.

PRESS | 92 WA | “This is a very impressive sparkling Rosé. It has a succinct bouquet of freshly picked strawberry, red cherry and a touch of green apple, all precise and quite mineral-driven. The palate is fresh on the entry with a slight waxiness to the texture. It has more complexity than its peers and it fans out gloriously with hints of praline and strawberry towards the vivacious finish. This is one to serve to the next person that refutes the idea of great English sparkling wine.”

  

Our bottle was delivered by Urban Grape and cost $64.00.

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! Related Posts:

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

Our December Terroir Toast Is Gruet Sauvage Rosé from New Mexico

Today we’ll travel to New Mexico (in spirit) to taste the terroir in Gruet Sauvage Rosé sparkling wine. When we declared 2020 the year of terroir in our selection of wines for our monthly toast with sparkling wine, we didn’t know that this was a year when we would seldom leave our condo, except in spirit.

December is a time of looking back. We selected this wine in memory of our last gathering with friends on March 1st, and our excitement about a new restaurant, Grand Tour, from the team at our favorite hangout, Select Oyster. 

 

In February, we tasted The Gruet Sauvage Blanc de Blanc at Grand Tour and decided to make it our wine of the month for March.

We also decided we hadn't seen enough of our roof deck crew over the winter and hosted a gathering at Grand Tour in their delightful, tiny dining room on the second floor. 

What fun we had as we tasted our way through the menu to decide on the items for our party! We hold out hope that next Spring (after their winter hiatus) we'll be able to return to order takeout and perhaps, one day, sit at the bar. 

Our Toast This Month

Today’s toast will be to the friends who gathered that day, to the great restaurant team that has always taken such wonderful care of us at Select and Grand Tour, and to Michael Serpa, the man behind these two restaurants, and his newest offering Atlantico Boston. 

We'll also toast to all the restaurant folks, delivery people, and other service workers who have helped us this year.

What We’ve Learned About Gruet Sauvage Rosé

• 100% Pinot Noir which is our favorite grape for sparkling wines!
• 12.5% ABV which is a bit high for sparklers!
• No Dosage which should make it crisp!

Wine Enthusiast wrote:

“The aromas are fresh in this pale-salmon sparkling wine, showing yellow cherries, lillies and fresh baked rolls. The bubbles are pillowy in feel, while bright, tingling acidity wakes up the palate that offers flavors of brioche, lemon zest, juicy strawberry and cherry. It finishes on notes of yeasty brioche and preserved lemon.” 

Trying wines from different places, made with various 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!

Our bottle of Gruet Sauvage Rosé was delivered to us by Urban Grape for ~$25.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Photos: ©2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino

We'll Toast November with Raventós i Blanc de Blancs

For all your small, safe celebrations this month, we suggest a budget-friendly sparkling wine from an outstanding producer Raventós i Blanc de Blancs. Like many of our favorite sparklers, this Spanish offering is a low 12% alcohol by volume, better for a small gathering, or even a solo diner in a time when we have to keep our heads clear.

Raventós i Blanc de Nit Took Us to Spain for Our February 1st Toast this year.

When shopping for last month's wine, we discovered another wine from this winemaker. Pepe Raventós represents the 21st generation of his family at a vineyard in operation since 1497.  

Since this is our year of terroir, we added a couple of bottles to our delivery and look forward to tasting it today.

While this Blanc de Blanc is new to us, we have a feeling we'll like it because two of our favorite wine mentors, Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli from Alcove and Michael Serpa from Select Oyster Bar, Grand Tour, and Atlantico are both fans of this winemaker and vineyard.

We'll let the folks at Raventos tell you about the terroir of their vineyard where this wine begins:

"The Vinya del Llac is a vineyard that faces north. The clay soils release water slowly throughout the vegetative cycle and, deep beneath the surface, we find calcareous bedrock with incrusted pebbles, which limit the water reserve, giving the grapes in this flagship plot more structure. The influence of the lake in this symbolic vineyard moderates the climatic conditions, avoids heatwaves and favours long ripening. It is a Blanc de Blancs due to its three native white grape varieties: Macabeu, Xarel·lo and Parellada."

We found tasting notes on the wine here:

"The Blanc de Blancs 2016 of Raventos i Blanc shows off a bright straw yellow color in the glass with a stream of fine bubbles flowing continuously to the top. In the glass, this Spanish sparkling wine displays a complex blend of white fruits (peaches and apricots) with Mediterranean herbs, dried fruits and hints of citrus. On the palate, this wine reveals itself to be very powerful and full of flavor, with the carbonation expertly integrated and beautifully balanced."

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 Gordon's Wine for ~$23.00

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

We'll Toast October with Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé

It's been twelve years since we featured Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé. We have a birthday to celebrate in October and decided to splurge and treat ourselves to this old friend of a wine. Perhaps one day we may be able to again raise a glass of wine with friends the way we once did. For now, all we can do is wishfully set out a few extra glasses and set up a virtual toasting session.

Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne also happens to fit our year of terroir. It has been made by the same family since 1818, and two of the grapes in our bottle are from particular family vineyards. Here is what the house is posting in the current blend notes:

• 40% Chardonnay sourced from the best Crus in the Champagne region
• 30% Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims and the Grande Vallée de la Marne
• 30% Pinot Meunier from the Vallée de la Marne and the southern slopes of Epernay

They are proud of the high use of Pinot Meunier, saying that it gives the wine a creaminess and structure if appropriately grown and fermented. We will be looking for this in the glass as we do our toasting.

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 highly recommend this article on Wine Searcher about this month's wine.

10 Things Every Wine Lover Should Know About Billecart-Salmon

Our bottle was delivered to us on sale for $74.99 (generally about $100.) from Gordon's Fine Wines and Liquors.

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