Tag: November 1

  • On November 1, 2024 We’ll Raise a Glass of Raventos i Blanc de Nit Cava to Great Wine Mentor Bartenders

    This is our year to toast and thank the many heroes who contributed to our knowledge of wine. This month, we'll raise a glass to all the bartenders who acted as wine educators for us. We chose the 2021 Raventos i Blanc de Nit Cava wine for this salute because it was a frequent recommendation from many of these wine experts.

    6a00e54fc42bb8883402c8d3a9e95b200d-500wi

    (It also comes in a half bottle, perfect for a lunchtime toast.)

    Restaurants with great wine lists often have serious training for their staff. The bartenders who care for the wine and assist the waitstaff with it are often masters of the list. We have been very fortunate to have picked up bits and pieces of wine lessons sitting across their bars. There are far too many to name, and we fear we would leave someone out, so we will raise a glass to all of you. You know who you are!

    IMG_4933

    6a00e54fc42bb8883402942f9b855f200c-500wi

    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 Urban Grape for $30.

    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: ©2019- 2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

  • Our April 1, 2023 Toast Will be a Gruet Sauvage a Sparkling Wine from New Mexico

    We’ll raise a glass of Gruet Family Sauvage Blanc de Blanc to April 2023. The Sauvage will stand in for all our favorites from this family of winemakers from New Mexico. This year we're choosing the wines for our toasts on the first of each month because of the good memories we have of time spent with these sparklers and the people they bring to mind.

    6a00e54fc42bb8883402942fa05d82200c-800wi

    Sauvage will always stand for the last gathering we had with friends on March 1, 2020, before the pandemic changed our lives. Here's what we said about it, then.

    However, we were introduced to Gruet Blanc de Noir about fifteen years ago by Howey Rubin from Bauer Wine and Spirits. He was one of our early Boston wine mentors. 

    6a00e54fc42bb8883401157060d455970b-500pi

    It was the perfect glass of sparkle for so many occasions. We'd buy cases of half-bottles and always one ready to celebrate when a friend landed a new job, had a birthday, or it was simply a lovely evening to enjoy a sip of wine with neighbors on the roof deck.

    570f51e3-5268-4d4e-a251-eae70550bb6f-Large

    We often mention our wine mentors. We've been fortunate to learn more about wine from a series of generous people we've met along the way. Recently someone asked what we mean by mentors. Here's a definition that expresses what we mean when we use the term.

    "A mentor is a person or friend who guides a less experienced person by building trust and modeling positive behaviors. An effective mentor understands that his or her role is to be dependable, engaged, authentic, and tuned into the needs of the mentee."

    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!

    6a00e54fc42bb8883402788072985b200d-500wi

    6a00e54fc42bb88834027880729859200d-500wi

    Our bottle was a gift from a friend and wine mentor!

    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: ©2008-2023 Penny & Ed Cherubino