Tag: Michael Serpa

  • On March 1, 2023 We’ll Raise a Glass of Raventos i Blanc de Nit Cava

    This month we'll raise a glass of Raventos i Blanc de Nit cava. This sparkler certainly qualifies for inclusion in our year of choosing wines associated with great memories and great people. We have a scrapbook of photos of this wine in some of our favorite places. Moreover, we are grateful to four wine mentors for sharing their knowledge of this cava and its history with us.

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    This is one of many wines we discovered thanks to recommendations from Thomas Fielding and Scott O’Connor, one time owners of Perry's Wine and Spirits in Provincetown. These former restaurateurs chose the selection at their shop like a well-curated wine list. 

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    Perry's was always a stop on our initial shopping trip when we arrived for a week or two. We also loved their clever "OPEN" and "NOPE" signs. The last we heard, these gentlemen were headed for retirement in Mexico.

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    Thanks to them, we enjoyed many bottles of this great value wine as we made memories in one of our very special places. We'll think of those times with every sip this month.

    Back in Boston

    Penny ordered Raventos so often at Select Oyster Bar that the staff would often just ask, "The usual?" Select owner, and another wine mentor, Michael Serpa, told us more about the winery and its history. 

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    On the other side of town, we learned even more from Alcove Boston owner and long-time wine educator Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli. He likes this wine so much that he offers it in half bottles, 750s, and magnums. We've followed Tom around since his early years as a bartender at Craigie on Main. 

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    Raventos says, "Five centuries of winegrowing, tradition and family."

    Raventós i Blanc is a winery with one of the longest documented winegrowing traditions in the world. The family farm where our wines are now produced has belonged to the Raventós family since 1497. Five centuries working 90 hectares of vines and forest, a dynasty closely associated with the land from one generation to the next. Today, Pepe Raventós, who represents the twenty-first generation of the family, farms 44 plots using biodynamic winegrowing methods and is committed to maintaining the estate of vines, wood and lake as a complete entity. Raventós i Blanc is faithful to tradition and upholds the relationship between man and nature at the very core of its production philosophy."

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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 purchase our bottle at Gordon's Wine and Spirits for $24.99.

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: © 2014-2023 Penny Cherubino 

  • We Toast December 1st with Memories of Dining Out and Discovering Champagne Pierre Gerbais at Little Whale!

    The latest Champagne to make our favorites list is Champagne Pierre Gerbais Grains de Celles Extra Brut. This year we were able to dine outside until Mid-November. Each meal called for a special celebration since we didn't know when we'd be switching over to takeout at our favorite spots. 

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    By now, you all must know how we love discovering new sparkling wines. Even if it seems a wine will be out of our comfort zone, we'll try it when it was selected by one of our wine mentors. When we discovered a half bottle of this Champagne on the wine list at Michael Serpa's newest restaurant, Little Whale Oyster Bar, we ordered it even though it was described as "Extra Brut."

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    Here's What We Learned From the Importer Becky Wasserman:

    "Champagne Pierre Gerbais is a fourth generation domaine in the Aube. It is spearheaded today by the 20-something Aurélien Gerbais, a handsome-nerdy-hipster winemaker who is unnervingly self-assured for his age, yet soft-spoken and humble. At Gerbais, there are old vines, organic vineyard management, intelligence, respect, passion, relevance, training and drive enough to take this house to the very top of a small band of visionary champagne makers in the Aube who include Aurélien's friend and neighbor Cédric Bouchard, and the small houses of Marie Courtin, Jacques Lassaigne, Ulysse Collin, Horiot, Vouette et Sorbée, etc."

    The blend is unusual at "Pinot Noir (50%), Chardonnay (25%), Pinot Blanc (25%)"

    This bottle had a lot going for it. It is Pinot forward, as are many of our favorite sparklers; it has Pinot Blanc, one of Penny's favorite varietals; and it was a Michael Serpa pick, which we consider highly recommended. 

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    We've not been able to find this wine locally but plan to see if we can repeat our meal of halibut, swordfish, and beet salad with a bottle of Champagne Pierre Gerbais Grains de Celles Extra Brut as takeout from Little Whale today. Remember you can support your favorite restaurants who offer wine to go by occasionally adding a bottle to your order. Let's hope the state continues to allow this option to help restaurants make it through the slow winter season.

    UPDATE: Yeah! They had a half bottle on hand! We bought it to recreate our meal. However, Penny was craving the chowder, so we shared the sword, beet salad, and chowder!

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    We enjoyed our first taste with a bottle at Little Whale for ~$60

    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:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2022 Penny Cherubino 

  • No Fooling, We’ll Toast April 1, 2022 with Gruet Sauvage a Favorite Sparkling Wine from New Mexico

    Yes! Gruet Sauvage is one of our favorite sparkling wines. And, Yes it is from New Mexico. What's more, we discovered this wine through one of our great wine mentors, Chef and restaurateur Michael Serpa. This one is on the menu at Grand Tour. 

    This is one of three Boston restaurants along with Select Oyster and Atlantico Boston where you can enjoy Chef Serpa's outstanding wine lists. 

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    It was also one of the wines we chose for the last gathering we had inside a restaurant with friends on March 1, 2020. Here's what we said about it, then.

    We're long-time fans of the Gruet family of wines. We've been writing about them since at least 2009. This one is an excellent match for Grand Tour's menu, and we highly recommend it for a toast to the outdoor dining season!

    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!

    6a00e54fc42bb88834025d9b3280fc200c-500wi
    6a00e54fc42bb88834025d9b3280fc200c-500wi


    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

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

  • No Fooling, We’ll Toast April 1, 2022 with Gruet Sauvage a Favorite Sparkling Wine from New Mexico

    Yes! Gruet Sauvage is one of our favorite sparkling wines. And, Yes it is from New Mexico. What's more, we discovered this wine through one of our great wine mentors, Chef and restaurateur Michael Serpa. This one is on the menu at Grand Tour. 

    This is one of three Boston restaurants along with Select Oyster and Atlantico Boston where you can enjoy Chef Serpa's outstanding wine lists. 

    6a00e54fc42bb888340240a50cb88d200b-800wi

    It was also one of the wines we chose for the last gathering we had inside a restaurant with friends on March 1, 2020. Here's what we said about it, then.

    We're long-time fans of the Gruet family of wines. We've been writing about them since at least 2009. This one is an excellent match for Grand Tour's menu, and we highly recommend it for a toast to the outdoor dining season!

    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!

    6a00e54fc42bb88834025d9b3280fc200c-500wi
    6a00e54fc42bb88834025d9b3280fc200c-500wi


    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

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

  • 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.

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    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!

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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!

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    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. 

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

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

  • 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.

    6a00e54fc42bb888340263e958b3f2200b-800wi

    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!

    6a00e54fc42bb888340264e2eae729200d-800wi

    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!

    DSC_8312

    DSC_8314

    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. 

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2017 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.

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    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. 

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    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. 

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    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.

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    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.

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post: Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    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.

    IMG_5397

    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. 

    IMG_7602 

    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. 

    IMG_7607

    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.

    IMG_5393

    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.

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post: Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino

    Photos: ©2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino

  • Pouring from On High to Toast July with Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Rubentis Rose

    Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Rubentis Rose is comfort food for us. (Yes, wine is food!) Since this frizzante wine comes from the Basque Country and because of the area's climate and soil conditions it fits our 2020 year of terroir, we are featuring it this month

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    We are longtime fans of Txakoli wines. We discovered them many years ago at Jose Garces restaurant Tinto in Philadelphia. On our return, Howie Ruben of Bauer Wine & Spirits ordered it for us and kept us supplied with this summertime favorite. 

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    Then came Select Oyster Bar where we found a new wine mentor Michael Serpa who shared our love of Txakoli. He educated us about the speed pourers that made pouring this wine on high to activate the bubbles a bit easier.

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    If you would like to learn more about the terroir and special way the grapes for Txakoli are grown, here's a video of chef and humanitarian Jose Andres visiting a vineyard from his TV series Made in Spain.

    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!

    6a00e54fc42bb8883401b8d2b85785970c-800wi

    We purchased our bottle at Bauer Wine and Spirits for $22.00

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2015- 2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

  • Pouring from On High to Toast July with Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Rubentis Rose

    Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Rubentis Rose is comfort food for us. (Yes, wine is food!) Since this frizzante wine comes from the Basque Country and because of the area's climate and soil conditions it fits our 2020 year of terroir, we are featuring it this month

    6a00e54fc42bb888340167690059c9970b-800wi

    We are longtime fans of Txakoli wines. We discovered them many years ago at Jose Garces restaurant Tinto in Philadelphia. On our return, Howie Ruben of Bauer Wine & Spirits ordered it for us and kept us supplied with this summertime favorite. 

    IMG_6170

    Then came Select Oyster Bar where we found a new wine mentor Michael Serpa who shared our love of Txakoli. He educated us about the speed pourers that made pouring this wine on high to activate the bubbles a bit easier.

    6a00e54fc42bb8883401bb09d1124d970d-500wi

    If you would like to learn more about the terroir and special way the grapes for Txakoli are grown, here's a video of chef and humanitarian Jose Andres visiting a vineyard from his TV series Made in Spain.

    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!

    6a00e54fc42bb8883401b8d2b85785970c-800wi

    We purchased our bottle at Bauer Wine and Spirits for $22.00

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2015- 2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino