Decanting - A Blog about Fine Wine and Fine Dining

September 2010 Wine Events

Travelin' the Wine Road — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:00:39 +0000

The days are getting shorter (sigh) and fall is upon us. Yes, technically I know that the beginning of September is not the beginning of fall, but with kids already back in school or going back, the beginning of September marks the practical end to summer for many. So with our thoughts turning away from summer beaches to fall foliage, it’s time to take a look at what the wine calendar has in store for us in September.

The September wine event season starts in Northern California with a couple of harvest festivals in Livermore (Sept. 5-6) and Lodi (Sept. 16-19), as well as Winesong! in Mendocino (Sept. 10-11). Palisade, Colorado is home to the Colorado Mountain Winefest Sept. 16-19. After that our focus turns east with the Virginia Wine Festival Sept. 18-19, the Grape Stomp and Jazz Festival in Truro, MA on Sept. 19, and the Summit Wine and Food Festival in- Summit, NJ on Sept. 24 – 26.

So, maybe, if you are lucky, you will get one more shot at summer with the long labor day weekend, and then for all intents and purposes it’s into fall…

Plonk of the Month Singing the Praises of Boxed Wine

Travelin' the Wine Road — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:00:09 +0000

Anybody who has read this blog for a while knows that I am a fan of boxed wine. There are now many quality wines available in the bab in a box (BiB) format that make it easy to have a glass of wine with dinner without having to open a whole bottle…

Well the Boston Globe’s Plonk of the Month column today offers up several different boxed wines for consideration (and sipping). Make sure to check it out: It’s in the bag, By Stephen Meuse, August 25, 2010.

1st Annual Boston Wine Week – September 20-26, 2010

Travelin' the Wine Road — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:00:20 +0000

The first annual Boston Wine Week kicks off a week-long celebration of handcrafted wines by winemakers and growers from around the world, served by the glass or bottle at some of Boston’s top restaurants. All wines (some of which retail up to $90/bottle) will be offered at $9/glass and $32/bottle. Participating restaurants will offer a minimum of six wines, available at a substantial discount.

A sampling of wine highlights include:

2006 J Hoffstatter Gewurtztraminer (Alto Adige, Italy)
Served at BiNA osteria; normally $75/bottle
2007 Sottimano Langhe Nebbiolo (Langhe, Piedmont, Italy)
Served at Bin 26 enoteca; normally $54/bottle
2007 Broglia ‘La Meirana’ Gavi di Gavi (Gavi, Piedmont, Italy)
Served at Lala Rokh; normally $44/bottle
2001 Castellani, Soave Classico (Veneto, Italy)
Served at Jer-Ne; normally $84/bottle

Also during Boston Wine Week, area wine lovers will have the opportunity to taste and discuss the wines at a number of coinciding special events with local wine experts. Guest pourer Tyler Balliet of The Second Glass will offer featured wines at BiNA osteria from 6:00 – 7:00pm on September 20 (complimentary pizzettas included). Richard Elia of the Quarterly Review of Wines will also be on hand at Bin 26 enoteca on September 21 from 6:00 – 7:00pm to serve featured wines alongside paired cheeses.

Participating restaurants:

Bin 26 enoteca
Lala Rokh
75 Chestnut
Clink at The Liberty Hotel
The Hungry i
Beacon Hill Bistro
Woodward at The Ames Hotel
BiNA osteria
Jer-Ne
Locke-Ober
The Beehive
Petit Robert Bistro South End
Brasserie JO

For more details on special events and a complete list of featured wines, please visit Boston Wine Week.

The New Saltwater Wine List

Travelin' the Wine Road — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:00:26 +0000

Another in our continuing series on Vineyard Haven’s new restaurant wine lists… Next up on our hit parade is the new wine list for the Saltwater Restaurant, on the Lagoon Pond off of Beach Road in the Tisbury Marketplace.

At a glance, Saltwater is offering:

Sparkling wine, red wine, rose wine, and white wine
Wine from Argentina, California, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Oregon, Spain, Washington
16 wines by the glass ranging in price from $7 to $16
24 wines by the bottle ranging in price from $22 to $95 (the markup appears to be slightly over 2 times retail)

The Saltwater wine list covers all of the bases and then some with a few surprises tossed. I particularly liked the 2009 Domaine Houchart Rose. It’s nice to see a dry rose on a wine list.

Saltwater also has one of the better views on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard overlooking Lagoon Pond making it an excellent place to sip a nice glass of wine as the sun sets…

New Newport Winefest

Travelin' the Wine Road — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:53:47 +0000

Newport, “The City by the Sea”, has a new wine festival that is billed as the largest in New England. I’m pretty sure that The Boston Wine Festival and The Boston Wine Expo would take exception to that, but be that as it may, it is nice to have another big wine festival in New England to round out the summer season.

The Newport Winefest will be held at the Newport Yachting Center in Newport, Rhode Island on August 20 thorough 22nd. The festival will feature:

Wine – over 800 brands, seminars, chef and champagne brunch, waterfront grand cru tasting, and a grand tasting
Food – Cooking demonstrations, specialty food items, over 20 restaurants serving their chefs signature dishes
Spirits and Craft Beers

All of this on picturesque Newport Harbor. What a great way to spend a late August summer weekend…

To learn more see the Newport Winefest website.

Wine Review – 2007 Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer

Travelin' the Wine Road — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:00:47 +0000

I was gong to have Indian food (take out) so I decided to grab a Gewurztraminer for the occasion. My selection was the 2007 Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer from the Alsace for $15.99, more than I usually spend on a bottle of wine. But I had tried the other choices my wine shop had so I decided to go with something new…

Unfortunately I wish I hadn’t. The wine started all right, tropical fruit aromas. The first sip even started all right, some nice fruit but very little of Gewurztraminer’s typical “spiciness”. It was the finish that got to me. While the acidity was all right, there was for me a slight bitter aftertaste. With or without food it was there. Maybe it is because the alcohol was a little higher (14%) than most Gewurztraminers I taste. Whatever the reason, the finish finished it for me.

At $15.99 a bottle, I will not be purchasing this one again. It was just ok and not worth the price…

August 2010 Wine Events

Travelin' the Wine Road — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 09:00:48 +0000

August is here, summer is in full swing, and some thoughts might even be turning to back to school… But don’t let the big vacation month dampen your spirits for wine festivals and events.

There are some big ones such as the Vintage Ohio Wine Festival in Kirtland Ohio on August 6 and 7. There are some in more exotic places such a Divas Uncorked Wine and Food Festival on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard on August 12 through 15.

…And then there are some in more out of the way places such as the North Dakota Grape Harvest Festival on August 21, or the Wyoming Wine Festival on August 22, and Great Dakota Wine Fest in Vermillion, SD on August 28 and 29.

See our wine calendar for a complete round up of August wine events.

The New Blue Canoe Wine List

Travelin' the Wine Road — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:18:55 +0000

Continuing our series on the new restaurant wine lists in Vineyard Haven, MA on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard… Next up on our hit parade is the new wine list for the Blue Canoe Grill, on the Vineyard Haven Harbor off of Beach Road.

At a glance, the Blue Canoe is offering:

Sparkling wine, red wine, and white wine
Wine from Australia, California, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Washington
20 wines by the glass ranging in price from $6 to $15
40 wines by the bottle ranging in price from $20 to $99 (the markup appears to be somewhat under 2 1/2 times retail)

It is a nice wine list with that offers something for almost every taste.

To learn more about the Blue Canoe see the Blue Canoe Grill website.

The New Black Dog Tavern Wine List

Travelin' the Wine Road — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:27:42 +0000

For the first time ever, the Black Dog Tavern in Vineyard Haven on the Island or Martha’s Vineyard is serving beer and wine (yes, Vineyard Haven is no longer dry). I thought it would be good to give a snapshot of the various new wine lists in town starting with the Black Dog Tavern.

At a glance, the Black Dog is offering:

Sparkling wine, red wine, rose wine, white wine, Mimosa and Sangria
Wine from Argentina, California, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Washington
19 wines by the glass (if you include Mimosa and Sangria) ranging in price from $6 to $14
23 wines by the bottle ranging in price from $24 to 135 (the markup appears to be somewhat under 2 1/2 times retail)

All-in-all it is a very nice small wine list that will complement their food well.

So you no longer need to bring your own to the Black Dog (and actually can not be served your own due to the way the new liquor licensing law is written). This will be very convenient for patrons, but, alas, it will also increase the price of dinner (progress some times comes with a price)…

Beer and Wine Come to Vineyard Haven, Martha’s Vineyard

Travelin' the Wine Road — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 14:35:07 +0000

It used to be that the only places you could get alcohol on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard were Edgartown, and Oak Bluffs. With the awarding of liquor licenses to restaurants in Tisbury (Vineyard Haven) over the last couple of weeks now the only places on Island where they do not serve alcohol are West Tisbury and Chilmark.

On July 6 beer and wine licenses were awarded the following Vineyard Haven eateries:

The Black Dog Tavern
Blue Canoe Restaurant
Nicky’s Italian Cafe
Rocco’s Family Style Italian Restaurant
Saltwater Restaurant
Waterside Market
Zephrus Restaurant

To learn more see: Tisbury uncorks first wine and beer sales, by Janet Hefler, July 15, 2010, The Martha’s Vineyard Times.

Watch here for reviews of the various new wine lists…

Please remember that the liquor licenses do not allow the restaurant’s to let patrons bring their own. So leave your own beer and wine at home when eating at any of the above…