On August 1, 2023, we'll raise a glass of Nino Franco Rustico and recall all the times this sparkler has been part of great moments and quiet times. This Prosecco is our house wine, one we always have on hand and ready to pop open and enjoy. And, after all these years, we still love it.
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!
When we sip Rustico, we often think of Provincetown. We would bring it with us from our home stash in the early years. We were overjoyed when a new wine shop carried this favorite, and we could support one more local business.
Here are a few views of Nino Franco Rustico in Provincetown.
We will always smile when we remember meeting the charming Silvia Franco here in Boston.
We hope you find a great wine as your house wine and enjoy many beautiful moments with the people you love and the wine you can always rely upon to make you smile with each sip.
March 1st of 2020, we gathered with a small group of friends in the small upstairs room at Grand Tour on Newbury Street. That was the last time we got together with friends in person, indoors, and shared food. Today we'll raise a glass of our old favorite and house sparkling wine, Nino Franco Rustico, and remember the times and places where we've enjoyed this wine with friends or for a two-person, private celebration.
When friends stopped by in the old days, chances were good that we would have a glass of this lovely Prosecco at the ready since there are normally a few bottles in our wine rack.
We were early fans of this Italian sparkler and became online friends with Silvia Franco and were even fortunate enough to meet her on one of her visits to Boston.
Naturally, Nino Franco Rustico came with us to Provincetown. Or rather, it was usually waiting for us there at a wine shop with excellent taste. We've shared it with friends who also love this place and are sometimes in town when we are.
We've been known to buy this wine by the case before the holidays to gift to friends, bring to gatherings, or add to a thank you tip for someone who's been very good to us all year.
Here's to those special people who joined us at Grand Tour last year and to those who couldn't make it. Let's hope we can enjoy one another's company again before March 1, 2022. And, here's to all the people we miss from Grand Tour and Select Oyster, where we were often found sitting at the bar in the good old days.
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!
March 1st of 2020, we gathered with a small group of friends in the small upstairs room at Grand Tour on Newbury Street. That was the last time we got together with friends in person, indoors, and shared food. Today we'll raise a glass of our old favorite and house sparkling wine, Nino Franco Rustico, and remember the times and places where we've enjoyed this wine with friends or for a two-person, private celebration.
When friends stopped by in the old days, chances were good that we would have a glass of this lovely Prosecco at the ready since there are normally a few bottles in our wine rack.
We were early fans of this Italian sparkler and became online friends with Silvia Franco and were even fortunate enough to meet her on one of her visits to Boston.
Naturally, Nino Franco Rustico came with us to Provincetown. Or rather, it was usually waiting for us there at a wine shop with excellent taste. We've shared it with friends who also love this place and are sometimes in town when we are.
We've been known to buy this wine by the case before the holidays to gift to friends, bring to gatherings, or add to a thank you tip for someone who's been very good to us all year.
Here's to those special people who joined us at Grand Tour last year and to those who couldn't make it. Let's hope we can enjoy one another's company again before March 1, 2022. And, here's to all the people we miss from Grand Tour and Select Oyster, where we were often found sitting at the bar in the good old days.
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 are starting December 2019 with a longtime favorite sparkling wine, Nino Franco Rustico. We have been enjoying, recommending, and writing about this wine for more than a decade. Now wine experts around the world are catching on to a great thing. (More about that below.)
The last time we raised a glass to the wonderful people at Nino Franco, it was with the bottle Silvia Franco was signing in the photo below. Back then we joined them long distance as they celebrated the 30th vintage of their Primo Franco. As they raised their glasses in Valdobbiadene, we opened this bottle and toasted them here in Boston.
Today we'll raise a glass to Silvia Franco and her family as they celebrate 100 years of Nino Franco vintages. Please take a relaxing moment with Silvia and her family as they tell you about the wines and the place they love, protect, and celebrate in the video below.
Not only will we congratulate this family on 100 years of winemaking, but also for their Rustico winning the number one spot on Wine Enthusiast's best-of-the-best list "THE ENTHUSIAST 100 WINES OF 2019" with a rating of 94 out of 100. That is along with many more honors for their other wines.
We purchased our bottle at Gordon's for ~$25.00. (A special thank you to our friend Vinnie who supplied the ride to Waltham to renew our supply of this favorite wine.)
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! Join us in our Sparkling Resolution.
We are starting December 2019 with a longtime favorite sparkling wine, Nino Franco Rustico. We have been enjoying, recommending, and writing about this wine for more than a decade. Now wine experts around the world are catching on to a great thing. (More about that below.)
The last time we raised a glass to the wonderful people at Nino Franco, it was with the bottle Silvia Franco was signing in the photo below. Back then we joined them long distance as they celebrated the 30th vintage of their Primo Franco. As they raised their glasses in Valdobbiadene, we opened this bottle and toasted them here in Boston.
Today we'll raise a glass to Silvia Franco and her family as they celebrate 100 years of Nino Franco vintages. Please take a relaxing moment with Silvia and her family as they tell you about the wines and the place they love, protect, and celebrate in the video below.
Not only will we congratulate this family on 100 years of winemaking, but also for their Rustico winning the number one spot on Wine Enthusiast's best-of-the-best list "THE ENTHUSIAST 100 WINES OF 2019" with a rating of 94 out of 100. That is along with many more honors for their other wines.
We purchased our bottle at Gordon's for ~$25.00. (A special thank you to our friend Vinnie who supplied the ride to Waltham to renew our supply of this favorite wine.)
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! Join us in our Sparkling Resolution.
Nino Franco Rustico is the kind of old friend you take on vacation with you. And we did! To be sure we would have a bottle of this favorite prosecco to enjoy by the beach, we took along one from our Boston wine rack. (There are usually a few bottles of Nino filling their usual slots.)
We are having a fun year toasting each new month with wines that are old friends and that have happy stories of friends to go with them.
This wine was introduced to us by Howie Rubin at Bauer Wine and Spirits on Newbury Street in Boston. Howie is one of our longtime wine mentors. We have been writing about him and the wines he has introduced to us since 2008. Here is his story: Howie Rubin-A Life of Wine and Relationships.
Over the years of writing about and recommending this wine, we became social media friends with Silvia Franco. That's her in the photo above. We were fortunate to meet her in person when she came to Boston. Here is that story: Brix Wine Shop Makes Our Nino Franco Dreams Come True!
Sharing a bottle of this lovely sparkler is a rite of vacation for us. This year we sipped it on a foggy evening on the deck as we watched the tide change in Provincetown Harbor. First and foremost this is a food wine. It will happily pair up with whatever you are nibbling…
… even if it's some squares of bar pizza, a few cherry tomatoes, and a pile of shavings of parmigiano reggiano. Hey, it was what we had on hand in a rental house when we were too relaxed to go out and shop for more food. The Nino turned it into a feast!
Last month by the bay or tonight on the roof deck, we love this wine and hope you will find a bottle and enjoy it at some point this summer.
Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since New Year's Eve 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month – waiting 12 months just wouldn't do.
Nino Franco Rustico is the kind of old friend you take on vacation with you. And we did! To be sure we would have a bottle of this favorite prosecco to enjoy by the beach, we took along one from our Boston wine rack. (There are usually a few bottles of Nino filling their usual slots.)
We are having a fun year toasting each new month with wines that are old friends and that have happy stories of friends to go with them.
This wine was introduced to us by Howie Rubin at Bauer Wine and Spirits on Newbury Street in Boston. Howie is one of our longtime wine mentors. We have been writing about him and the wines he has introduced to us since 2008. Here is his story: Howie Rubin-A Life of Wine and Relationships.
Over the years of writing about and recommending this wine, we became social media friends with Silvia Franco. That's her in the photo above. We were fortunate to meet her in person when she came to Boston. Here is that story: Brix Wine Shop Makes Our Nino Franco Dreams Come True!
Sharing a bottle of this lovely sparkler is a rite of vacation for us. This year we sipped it on a foggy evening on the deck as we watched the tide change in Provincetown Harbor. First and foremost this is a food wine. It will happily pair up with whatever you are nibbling…
… even if it's some squares of bar pizza, a few cherry tomatoes, and a pile of shavings of parmigiano reggiano. Hey, it was what we had on hand in a rental house when we were too relaxed to go out and shop for more food. The Nino turned it into a feast!
Last month by the bay or tonight on the roof deck, we love this wine and hope you will find a bottle and enjoy it at some point this summer.
Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since New Year's Eve 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month – waiting 12 months just wouldn't do.
Last Thursday, we had the opportunity to taste five wines from Nino Franco Spumanti srl and to meet Silvia Franco.
For years we’ve told you of our love for Nino Franco Rustico Prosecco. And, we’ve been unsuccessfully scouting sources for other wines from this vineyard.
Imagine our elation when we were invited to a tasting at Brix Wine Shop that included the opportunity to not only try more of this winery’s sparklers, but also to meet Silvia, in person, after a couple of years of internet communication about her family’s wines.
Brix Hosts Gracious and Hospitable Tastings
They provided everything from the right glassware for sniffing and sipping to an antique copper spittoon for those limiting their alcohol intake. And, this tasting attracted a charming crowd who chatted with both Silvia and among themselves. We were all assisted by a most helpful staff.
We tasted and loved each of the five wines brought in for this event:
Nino Franco Rustico NV
Nino Franco Faive Rose 2012
Nino Franco Primo Franco 2012
Nino Franco V. Della Riva San Floriano
Nino Franco Grave di Stecca
Silva Franco Was as Gracious as Brix
The Brix invitation to meet “Prosecco’s Princess Silvia Franco” said, “If the bubbles don’t win you over (which they will), Silvia’s charming personality and in-depth knowledge will captivate you.” And, they were right.
She greeted guests, poured wine, talked wine, answered questions, and signed bottles upon request. Her warm personality and vivacious Italian spirit added as much sparkle to the evening as her wines. We look forward to seeing her again the next time she’s in Boston.
30 Years of Primo Franco
We had Silvia sign one of our bottles of Primo Franco, a wine named for her father. Later this month, as she and her family celebrate the 30th Vintage of Primo Franco in Valdobbiadene, we’ll open this bottle and toast them here in Boston.
Thanks to the Brix team for making this possible. We recommend that wine lovers sign up for their email announcements of tastings. They have introduced us to other favorite winemakers and wineries over the years.
Get there soon to enjoy this special and intriguing selection of Nino Franco wines. If you can’t stop by, give Brix a call and ask about putting together a few bottles or a case for delivery.
“In the the world of elite bubbles Primo Franco 2013 has been recognised & awarded in the first edition of The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships”:
Gold Medal
Best In Class Medal
World Champion Medal”
Congratulation to the entire Nino Franco team and family.
If you love sparkling wine, consider joining Our Sparkling Resolution and begin each month with a glass of bubbles.
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