BostonZest

Champagne Résonance from Marie-Courtin, Special Bubbles to Ring-In the New Year!

Although we toast the beginning of every new month with a glass of bubbly to remain true to Our Sparkling Resolution, we admittedly get a little more excited about the arrival of January. After all, greeting a new year definitely holds special significance and therefore (follow me here) calls for a bottle of “special” bubbles.

We hope you'll join Our Sparkling Resolution and have fun with it. There are no rules!

For instance, if you’re someone who thinks Champagne (or any sparkler) is ONLY for special occasions, consider the advice of Master Sommelier Andrea (Immer) Robinson in her book "Great Wine Made Simple: Straight Talk from a Master Sommelier":

"Get over it. Say this to yourself: 'I deserve to open a bottle of bubbly. I do not need an excuse. I do not have to deny myself and wait until some significant event comes along.' For me, if the day dawns, that is an occasion for Champagne."

Happy New Year! 

Now More About Our New Year's Wine!

Say hello to Résonance, a Champagne from Marie-Courtin! This 100% Pinot Noir, biodynamically farmed, non-dosage cuvée has been getting some rave reviews for the last several years. 

Here’s what critics are saying:

(The Vinguard/2013)

• “This Champagne has a firm chord of acidity that runs throughout.”             

(Decanter)

• “... pungent depth of fruit and distinctly flinty minerality”
• “... demonstrates a remarkably elegant poise … with a refinement and discreet grace.”
• “Organically farmed Grower Champagne”

(Joli Vin Imports) 

• “The N V (2012) Extra Brut Résonance is a real stand out”
• “Beautifully textured and generous”
• “offers terrific depth, with fewer of the hard edges these wines can sometimes show”
• “Dried pear, spice, mint and licorice flow through to the effortless, creamy finish”         
  

(Just Grapes) (2013) 

• “Résonance resoundingly discredits the austerity critics’ claims”
• “One of the most accessible, pure, fruity and fresh Champagnes I’ve had”                 
  

Sedimentary Wine (2011)

Résonance NV (2008)

• "Clear, light hay/sunshine yellow."
• "Dough, small red fruits, soil"
• "Medium bodied with lovely density and mid palate weight"
• "Plum skin, red apple and mineral"
• "Finished dry and long with pinot tinged extract. Delicious."

Antonio Galloni: 93 points: (2008) Extra Brut Resonance:

• “a brilliant, energetic wine ... with gorgeous richness and depth”
• “Succulent apricots, peaches, flowers and crushed rocks are some of the many nuances
• “Chalky notes linger on the precise, beautifully articulated, eternal finish”
• “kept getting better and better with air”
• “It is a fabulous wine in every way. I loved it."

 

Polaner Selections

• “Résonance is fermented in stainless steel”
• “the grapes are all harvested by hand”
• “The wines are fermented with natural yeasts”
• “there is no dosage added upon disgorgement”
• “[Dominique] recommends that [Résonance] be served in traditional white wine glasses to allow for [its] development through increased aeration” ( As you can see in the photo above, we plan to do just that!)

Résonance Champagne Marie-Courtin Extra Brut Pinot Noir

(From Thomas Calder Selections)

Imported by: Vineyard Road Inc. Framingham, MA

ABV: 12%

Date of disgorgement: June 2016

We purchased our bottle of Résonance Champagne Marie-Courtin at City Liquors in Cambridge.

Here’s more about Our Sparkling Resolution

And Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

 

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

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What's Open in Boston New Year's Eve 2017 and New Year's Day 2018 & MBTA links plus Parking, Trash & More

Here's a rundown of what's open in Boston on New Year's Day and the MBTA schedules for New Year's Eve, December 31, 2017 and New Year's Day, January 1, 2018.

This page will be our permanent resource of New Year's information and we will update it in future years.

What's closed? Do I have to feed the parking meters? What about street sweeping? Are the liquor stores and packies open? When do I put out my trash? And what changes are there to the MBTA schedules? We have the answers for you, all organized in one post!

 

Some businesses close early on New Year's Eve but others, especially those in the hospitality business, remain open. Call before you leave if you plan to visit a business on the 31st.

Here's what we've learned about January 1st, 2018 - New Year's Day

Restaurants, bars: Are allowed to open if the owners choose

Convenience stores: Are allowed to open if the owners choose

Supermarkets: Are allowed to open if the owners choose

Retail stores: Are allowed to open if the owners choose

Liquor stores: Are allowed to open if the owners choose

City, Town, State and Federal offices and facilities are closed: This includes Schools, Libraries, and the Postal Service (express mail will be delivered). Only emergency services are available.

More after the ad...

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Make your own holiday wish come true. Find the gift you really want on Amazon! And, by starting from here, you'll be supporting BostonZest and keeping the information flowing your way.

Financial Services: As the British would say, this is a Bank Holiday with both Banks and the stock markets in the United State closed. Some international markets are open.

Boston Parking: You don't have to feed the meters. Other parking rules apply.

Boston Trash Collection:

Boston Trash Collection for Christmas

The city has changed the way it publishes the schedule for holidays so that you now have to go to the city site and look up your specific address in order to get information.  

The MBTA no longer publishes schedule information before each holiday

For information, call the T’s Customer Information Center at 617-222-3200 (TTY 617-222-5146) or visit the MBTA website."

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © iStockphoto 

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Protect Those Puppy Paws!

We're taking the weekend off, so here is our weekly Sunday Dog feature on Thursday! One way to protect your dog's paws is a good pair of dog boots. We use Pawz for Poppy.

While footwear certainly can help shield those paws from salted walkways, there are other alternatives. It looks like the dog in this photo has boots in this style.

  

Sometimes we forget that the city has dumped an unreasonable amount of salt on the streets that will sit there for months. Then we have to take other measures to ensure that Poppy does not have sore feet or get sick from the salt.

A Good Rinse

For any barefoot walker, rinsing salt off paws when you reach home is a good habit. Jake Tedaldi, DVM, author of “What’s Wrong with My Dog?” and founder of Vetcall.com, recommends rinsing, “... because the various forms of ice-melting salt can be quite irritating to dogs’ paws, causing them to lick and/or chew those paws to relieve the irritation.”

He went on to explain when that irritation may be a more serious matter, “Excessive licking/chewing of the paws, pads or toes, or swelling, redness or bleeding from any part of the paws would be good reason to seek a veterinarian’s advice.”

Not only will your dog’s feet stay healthier, but your home will also stay cleaner. You’ll be amazed at how much salt and sand you’ll find hiding in those furry feet.

Wax Those Paws

Waxes, like Musher’s Secret, are a popular alternative to foot coverings. The company calls their product, “the invisible boot.” Dr. Jake says, “Musher’s Secret is quite safe to put on your dogs’ pads. It is designed to serve as a barrier to protect dogs’ paws from harsh materials, including road salt and other chemicals that might be either abrasive to or absorbed by dogs’ paws.”

One More Step

Ask your building management, condo association, and neighbors to use sand in place of chemicals or to choose paw-safe chemicals if they are going to use ice melt. Explain that harsh chemicals not only hurt dogs, but will also damage sidewalks, fences, plants, and trees.

Ice melts can also make your dog sick. “Salt and other ice-melting chemicals can be harsh on a dog’s stomach and entire digestive tract," said Dr. Jake. "Inappetence [loss of appetite], vomiting, regurgitation, diarrhea, or simply overall weakness, and lethargy could be symptoms brought on by ingestion of such substances.”

With more nasty weather ahead, make your paw protection plan and prep your pup for a healthy rest-of-the-winter. 

     

Details:
Words: From Penny's "City Paws" column
Photography: © 2016 Penny Cherubino

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Where to Dine on New Year's Eve & New Year's Day Brunch 2017

Our readers are already searching our past posts to figure out where to dine on New Year's Eve in Boston. It's time for you to grab a reservation at a special place! (From now on we'll just update this post for future years, so you can come back here anytime for our latest information.)

And, since it was popular last year, we're adding a few places we think might be great for starting off 2017 with friends and family around a brunch table.

We all have our ideas of the perfect New Year's Eve.

• Are you looking for a place to ring in 2017 with a happy crowd?
• Will you be out and about dropping in on events or house parties?
• Or will you make a reservation for a quiet dinner before popping a cork for a private celebration? 
• Is a walk to view skating on the Frog Pond more your style?

We'll leave the New Year's Eve reservation for those of you who like to be part of a bigger celebration, while we spend the evening with some sparkling wine, good food, and great companions. However, we have gathered resources to help you find a place for any kind of New Year's Eve you'd like. 

Everyone can begin at Open Table. They maintain a list of special New Year's Eve celebrations at area restaurants. 

You can put a time into the reservation box on the main page and see what's available. Remember, many places have special prix fixe menus for occasions like this and some may require a credit card to hold a reservation.

The site Boston Chefs always posts a listing of its member restaurants that have special plans for New Year's Eve. Here is their New Year's Eve list. And, here's the list for New Year's Day. We'll update this section as we spot new information from these sources.

We'll add updates with other lists, as they become available, from trusted sources around town. Please remember that when we provide a link to a list, we are just giving you a resource. It doesn't mean we are recommending the restaurants on that list. These summaries often include places we love, but since other publishers have different standards, their list may include restaurants we would never recommend.

We Do Recommend!

There are restaurants that have planned a special New Year's Eve menu but have built their reputations on high-quality food. These are places where you can expect to have a wonderful meal any day of the year.

• Select Oyster Bar offering a 3 course New Year's Eve menu all day Saturday, December 31st alongside their full regular menu this NYE.
• Coppa will be serving their regular a la carte menu throughout the evening for revelers who want to end the year with a meal full of familiar favorites.
• Row 34 Chef Sewall will be serving the regular dinner menu with luxurious additions, like Ossestra caviar service or plates like potato latkes with caviar and salmon pastrami.
• Bistro du Midi is offering two seatings at two prices with two prix fixe menus.
• Craigie on Main early seating for a five-course prix fixe menu, with optional add-on wine pairings. Or, if you're ready to celebrate into night, choose the later seating for a six-course menu and Champagne toast.
• Grotto on Beacon Hill, and Marliave downtown all join that list of places sticking with the food you love.
• La Morra in Brookline will serve a three-course prix fixe menu with a glass of Prosecco!
• Myers + Chang will add special items to their regular menu and serve it all Dim Sum style.

 

Where are you spending the evening? What's your favorite way to celebrate? Come back on January 1st and tell us about your New Year's Eve.

New Year's Day Brunch

Here is a list of brunches from the members of Boston Chefs. Our pick from this list would be Meritage at the Boston Harbor Hotel. 

Open Table did not have a New Year's Day Brunch list when we prepared this post. We put a request in for a table at 11:30 a.m. to come up with our recommendations. 

• Craigie on Main decided to do away with their regular Sunday brunch, but they will have brunch on a few selected holidays like New Year's Day. 
• Petit Robert Bistro would be a great place to enjoy the beginning of a new year with a gang. 
• Eastern Standard will be open with their great brunch menu.
• La Voile on Newbury serves a lovely meal and is a great way to start the year.

To be notified of updates to this post, sign-on to the comment feed for this post or follow us on Twitter for updates. 

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Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: Photo: iStockphoto.com

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A Folding Alternative to Our Dog Boot Drying Hack

Back in 2011, we showed you our system for drying dog boots. Today we bring you an alternative system that you can purchase, if you don't feel like putting together our hack.

 

This is billed as a Plastic Bag & Bottle Dryer over on Amazon and it get great reviews for that purpose. We immediately saw it as a place to dry up to eight dog boots. It can hang or sit on a table or counter and can fold to be stored with the boots when winter is over. 

We Still Love Our Hacked System

Our Westie Poppy's Pawz Dog Boots are still drying on chopsticks. Over the years, we improved on the container we're using to store them between trips outside.

Now the chopsticks holding the wet boots are secured at a good angle by a daisy Mason jar lid. This lid was designed for scented candles or for drinking with a straw. But we think it's perfect for our purpose. You can even find them in colors to match the boots – if your dog is fashion forward. 

We have lots of mason jars on hand because we use them to store everything from paper clips to flour. And we have an extra large container with an assortment of mason jar tops that serve many purposes. That makes this hack a natural for us. 

You can use our system for gloves or mittens with wood dowel rods and a larger jar with some sand or beans added to weigh down and stabilize the system.

  

 Click here for more of our tips and how to posts.

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!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2015 Penny Cherubino

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Winter 2017 Edible Boston – Time to Pick Up a Copy While You Shop Their Supporters

This edition of Edible Boston is another gem. It's full of the people, places, flavors, recipes, and products that you will want to add to your shopping list or make for dinner. 

In her Letter from the Editor, managing editor Sarah Blackburn encourages us not only to "Eat Local," but also to join the Edible team and use the hashtag #EatLocalMA in the new year. 

Read with Shopping List in Hand

As much as I think I may know about the local food scene, I have already dogeared my preview copy to return to articles and advertisements for local food suppliers. I've learned to read this publication with my shopping list in hand. 

The article about Celeste Croxton-Tate of Lyndigo Spice has me craving her chutneys.

Read and Learn

Would you like to know why Drumlin Farms is not washing the root vegetables they are putting in storage for the winter?

Are you looking for some new Brussels sprouts recipes without bacon?

Are you already a fan of Matt Jennings or David Epstein and would like to know more about these two local talents?

Want a new cocktail recipe and a few words of wisdom from Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli?

Pick up this issue and your holiday wishes will be granted!

Support the Talented Edible Boston Team

First, pick up a copy of Edible Boston at one of these locations. In fact, pick up two copies and share one with a food-loving friend or leave it where someone might discover it among lesser publications and become a new fan.

May I suggest that you let their sponsors know you saw them in the magazine and grab an extra copy and get it to someone else who cares about supporting the local food movement. Also, if you have a blog, twitter account, or facebook page, write about them, link to them, follow them, retweet their tweets, like them on facebook, and in general, spread the word about this great asset to our community.

And, to be sure you never miss an issue, you can subscribe over on their website!

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Covershot & photos: Courtesy of Edible Boston

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7 Tips for Staying Warm in a Boston Winter

I still remember a conversation I had years ago on a Beacon Hill corner when a shivering young woman asked, "How do you stand this cold?" She was from Alabama, here caring for a hospitalized family member.

January 2018: Since many readers are finding this archive post on Google we thought we would update it a bit with a few new items and feature it.

Tip #1 Silk or Wicking Long Underwear

My quick answer was, "Silk Long Johns and layers of cashmere." When the traffic light changed and we parted ways, I realized just how true that quip was and what a difference those items have made in my cold weather walks.

Unless you are oblivious to the cold (like the guy in the photo above), you will likely feel Boston's sudden changes in temperature.

Silk or Merino wool long underwear (or one of the wicking fabrics, if you are exercising) is a great first layer for a personal insulation system. Not only will it help when you're outside, but it also will allow you to drop your thermostat a few degrees at home.

It keeps you warm, but also breathes, so it's not uncomfortable when you're in a warm place. There are dozens of types with shorter lengths that work for dresses and skirts as well as slacks.

Tip #2 Cashmere

Gilda Radner once said, "I base my fashion taste on what doesn't itch." I like that thought and I like cashmere because it doesn't itch. What's more, layers of cashmere seem to keep me warmer than the bulk of other fabrics.

Years ago, I bought a cashmere, zippered cardigan for Ed. He raved about it as a warm layer. Looking for something like that for myself, I found a black cashmere hoodie. I've added to my cashmere collection over the years. Those sweaters are a treasured part of my winter defense. I wear hoodies over cashmere turtlenecks and zip or unzip to suit my needs throughout the day. On a very cold day, I'll pull up the hoodie and put a hat over it.

Tip #3 Hats, Scarfs, and Gloves

I also had a warm hat on the day I spoke to the shivering woman. She didn't. I wear hats so often that one neighbor said he almost didn't recognize me without one. If my hat doesn't cover my ears, (here's a style that can) I wear a pair of 180s as well. (They even make 180s with headphones built in.)

My cashmere wardrobe continues with thin cashmere gloves that not only are perfect for early season days, but also will fit under mittens when the weather becomes totally unreasonable. And my coat collar is held in place with a cashmere scarf that I can pull up over my face if needed.

Yes, cashmere can be expensive, but I shop sales and take care of the items I buy. What's more, I don't have the time or space to deal with a big wardrobe. I prefer having a few good, classic items to having the latest clothing fad.

Tip #4 Waterproof Boots

My choice for early morning walks is Merrell Waterproof Hiking Boots. You may have your own favorite brand that fits your feet and makes them happy. 

In 2017 we both added boots with Vibram Arctic Grip on the soles to avoid slipping on wet ice. We have tested them on some icy days and feel they are worth the investment if they prevent a fall. We both choose Merrell boots but this sole is available on a number of brands.

Tip #5 Wool Socks

Inside those waterproof boots, I wear warm wool socks. My choice is 30 Below Thermal Winter Socks made of merino wool. 

Tip #6 Handwarmers

See the well-dressed-for-the-cold gentleman with the dogs in the photo above? That's Dan, and he's a dogwalker in Boston. I interviewed him to get his best tips for walking dogs in the cold. 

He inspired us to get hand warmers. We photographed the one we use but there are all types on the market and they do make a difference when you have to spend a long time outside. 

Tip #7 Walking Stick

While the stick won't keep you warm in and of itself, it may help you stay upright, dry, and moving at a better pace – and that will keep you warmer. Here's a post we did on that topic, Do You Use a Walking Stick in Boston When It's Icy?

Naturally, you can use what you already have to layer and choose warm footwear to keep from taking a cold fall. If we missed your favorite tip, add it in the comments below. 

From NOAH here is how to layer.

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!

 

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2008 - 2016 Penny Cherubino  

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