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Tag: holiday season

  • We’ll Toast November 1, 2013 with a Half-Bottle of Gruet Brut Rose from New Mexico

    This month, we have opted to toast the first of November with a half-bottle of Gruet Brut Rosé from New Mexico for a few reasons. 

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    Gruet Winery offers a variety of wines from its line in both full and half bottles. 

    First, we want to encourage everyone to buy and enjoy more half-bottles of wine! They work for times when just the two of you want to enjoy a toast or when you want to open your meal with something light and sparkling and have another wine with your main course.

    Second, half-bottles are great to have on hand for serendipitous celebrations. Years ago, a good friend started her own consulting business. She called Penny to share the news that she had landed her first big client. Penny invited her to come over and pop a cork of Gruet to mark the occasion. It was just a few minutes out of each of their busy day, but the woman talked about that little celebration for years.

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    Finally, with the holiday season approaching, it's good to have a great value wine on hand in quantity. Gruet is reasonably priced and of very good quality. It can serve as the wine at a party or meal. Its New Mexico origin is a real conversation starter. It also makes a great gift. The case we purchased will be given out to those who deserve something a little extra from us with their tip at year's end.

    Here's a great article with "8 Things You Should Know About Gruet Winery."

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    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 half-bottle at Gordon's Fine Wine and Spirits for $9.99 as a part of a case deal.

    Related Posts:

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

  • Greeting November with a Special Treat: Champagne H. Billiot Fils Rosé

    When is it time for a treat? Well, since it’s officially November and the holiday season is almost here, we were thinking … why not, now?

     

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    It’s never too early to prepare for the festive times ahead. And, what better way to get in the mood than by uncorking an exceptional sparkler.

     

    Anytime we think “special wine,” we look to recommendations from people we’ve come to trust. In this case, seeing the name Terry Theise on a bottle of Champagne at the wine shop meant this H. Billiot Fils Brut Rosé was coming home with us.

     

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    It should be said that, although Theise is nothing short of a wine savant, we always advise anyone looking for helpful suggestions to make their own list of importers. And, Terry Theise is a great place to start.

     

    He reminds us that, “Billiots are not filtered …” And that, “Billiot lifts you up on a billowing fountain of fruit. Her wines have marvelous stamina and brightness. They’re hedonistic but not sloppy.”

     

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    Penny found the first sniff of the Brut Rosé to be “Dry, stern on the nose, but it took a friendlier turn on the tongue.” Ed described, “Vibrant but not overpowering fruit that was balanced and (in the full British sense of the word) lovely!”

     

    We enjoyed the Champagne with goat cheese, onion jam, and Provencal olives. It also matched well with olive oil crackers.

     

    It was also spectacular all by itself as we lingered over every last drop.

     

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    We found our bottle of Champagne H. Billiot Fils Champagne Brut Rosé at Gordon’s Fine Wines & Liquors in Waltham ($54.30 after 15% case discount) – a November treat we will likely repeat for the holidays or perhaps even sooner.

     

    Here’s how a New Year’s Toast became “Our Sparkling Resolution”

     

    Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

     

    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!

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    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino