I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I briefly highlight some interesting wine and food items that I have encountered recently. **********************************************************1) Back again, Smolak Farms presents “Whim” 2012. Located in North Andover, Smolak Farms has partnered with Northeast Flavor, Cambridge Culinary School, Boston Chefs, Yelp and how2heroes.com to present the best outdoor dining experience New England has to offer.Whim will take place every Wednesday evening starting...
Thursday, 28 June 2012
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
(Continued from Part 1) 4) The quality of Chianti Classico has increased.Chianti Classico has never tasted better than now, and that high quality will continue to improve in the years to come. In the last 15-20 years, the overall quality of Chianti Classico wine has significantly increased. One of the primary reasons for these changes was related to us on our first winery visit by Alessandro Gallo, the Direttore of Castello D'Albola. Alessandro...
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Vale un podere nel Chianti.This phrase, widely used prior to World War 2, translates as "As good as a farm in Chianti." It refers to the fact that land in the Chianti region was once highly prized in Tuscany. So, when a person wanted to indicate that something was a good and solid deal, they would use this phrase, comparing it to a valuable farm in Chianti. Though it was not used much after World War 2, it might be due for a comeback, especially...
Monday, 25 June 2012
The wine industry has failed with the half-bottle. Most wine stores and restaurants stock few, if any, half-bottles of wine. Most wineries do not produce half-bottles of their wine. I bet many of my readers have not purchased a half-bottle of wine within the last six months. I don't think I have bought a half-bottle of wine in the last year. I don't understand the reasons for this failure of wine stores, restaurant and wineries as it would seem logical that half-bottles should be far more popular.Japanese Sake is often available in half-bottles,...
Friday, 22 June 2012
With the brutal heat now assailing the local area, people are seeking out chilled, refreshing drinks. One option, which may be overlooked by many, is a glass of lightly chilled Sake. In addition, Sake will pair very well with traditional summer fare, from clam bakes to BBQ. So there is no reason not to add Sake to your summer drinking repertoire.As I posted about on Wednesday, I spent a glorious Monday attending two Sake events, including an...
Thursday, 21 June 2012
I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I briefly highlight some interesting wine and food items that I have encountered recently. **********************************************************1) I was previously a fan of Gennaro’s 5 North Square and the addition of consulting chef Marisa Iocco only increases the quality of this restaurant. Iocco is now focusing her skills on Italian-American dishes, which she feels have been both maligned and mangled in the years since immigrants...
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
"O what an ugly sight the man who thinks he’s wise and never drinks sake!"--Ōtomo no TabitoThe sheer bliss of having over 45 different Sakes available for tasting. That made for quite a superb Monday, especially when I also got see and speak with John Gauntner, the famed Sake expert and "Sake Dendoushi" ("Sake Evangelist"), once again. John is an excellent Sake sensei and he was in Boston to impart some of his immense knowledge of this wondrous...
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
“There is no such thing as a bad whisky. Some whiskies just happen to be better than others.”--William FaulknerIt is easy to find wine dinners but spirit-paired dinners are still a rarity, despite the fact that high quality, artisan spirits are now a hot category. Whiskey is seeing a resurgence, partially due to the emergence of flavored whiskey but also because the overall quality of whiskey seems to be improving as well. The relatively new...
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