Tag: winemaker

On May 1, 2023 We Honor Rollin Soles with a Glass of 2016 RMS Brut from ROCO Winery

This month we'll celebrate the memories of many great wines created by winemaker Rollin Soles at both ROCO and Argyle Wineries in Oregon. We will raise a glass of his 2016 RMS Brut from ROCO Winery. The RMS stands for Rollin Michael Soles, and we decided to enjoy the oldest of the three vintages we have on hand.

These three (RMS Brut 2016, 2017, and 2018) were part of a special offering we bought directly from the vineyard.

We've been following Rollin Soles and enjoying his wines for decades. He's been making wine in the Willamette Valley since 1986. Our first glass of his wine was an Argyle Sparkler on the wine list at Hamersley's Bistro. We began buying this for home service from Bauer Wine and Spirits and remember when it was available for less than $20 for a magnum.

We recall serving magnums of Argyle at a July 4th fireworks party on our roof deck and having a guest shocked when he learned the low cost of a wine he thought to be extravagant hospitality on our part.

Above are a few of the wines we have enjoyed over the years from this great winemaker. We met him at a tasting at Bauer Wine years ago and learned that one reason we love his wine is that we love the same things in a wine that he does. He loves pinot noir and great sparkling wine, and we love pinot noir and great sparkling wine.

In an interview with Owen Bargreen, Rollin said, "I’ve been helped along and inspired by large to small producers in Champagne. Everyone has been so very generous with their time, and they’ve not been afraid to open a lot of beautiful wines that should have been enjoyed by a roomful of buyers! During my early days: Bollinger by far and continuing, Billecart Salmon, Roederer, and Dom Perignon Today: Vilmart, Pierre Peters, Geoffroy, Goutourbe, Jean Milan, Pehu Simonet and so many more."

This list includes many of our favorite Champagnes and some we want to try. Bollinger is also at the top of that list for us. We like the same wines!

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 of 2016 ROCO RMS Brut in a special package from the vineyard. To find special offers like this consider signing up for email from your favorite vineyards.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©1995-2020 Penny Cherubino, Photos of Rollin Soles courtesy of ROCO Winery.

May 1, 2023
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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2008-2023 Penny & Ed Cherubino

April 1, 2023
We’ll Toast November with Raventós i Blanc de Blancs

For all your small, safe celebrations this month, we suggest a budget-friendly sparkling wine from an outstanding producer Raventós i Blanc de Blancs. Like many of our favorite sparklers, this Spanish offering is a low 12% alcohol by volume, better for a small gathering, or even a solo diner in a time when we have to keep our heads clear.

Raventós i Blanc de Nit Took Us to Spain for Our February 1st Toast this year.

When shopping for last month's wine, we discovered another wine from this winemaker. Pepe Raventós represents the 21st generation of his family at a vineyard in operation since 1497.

Since this is our year of terroir, we added a couple of bottles to our delivery and look forward to tasting it today.

While this Blanc de Blanc is new to us, we have a feeling we'll like it because two of our favorite wine mentors, Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli from Alcove and Michael Serpa from Select Oyster Bar, Grand Tour, and Atlantico are both fans of this winemaker and vineyard.

We'll let the folks at Raventos tell you about the terroir of their vineyard where this wine begins:

"The Vinya del Llac is a vineyard that faces north. The clay soils release water slowly throughout the vegetative cycle and, deep beneath the surface, we find calcareous bedrock with incrusted pebbles, which limit the water reserve, giving the grapes in this flagship plot more structure. The influence of the lake in this symbolic vineyard moderates the climatic conditions, avoids heatwaves and favours long ripening. It is a Blanc de Blancs due to its three native white grape varieties: Macabeu, Xarel·lo and Parellada."

We found tasting notes on the wine here:

"The Blanc de Blancs 2016 of Raventos i Blanc shows off a bright straw yellow color in the glass with a stream of fine bubbles flowing continuously to the top. In the glass, this Spanish sparkling wine displays a complex blend of white fruits (peaches and apricots) with Mediterranean herbs, dried fruits and hints of citrus. On the palate, this wine reveals itself to be very powerful and full of flavor, with the carbonation expertly integrated and beautifully balanced."

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 for ~$23.00

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Details:

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

November 1, 2020
We Celebrate Oregon Terroir with the 2013 RMS Brut from Rollin Soles’ ROCO Winery

This month's wine, selected for its specific terroir, is the 2013 RMS Brut from Rollin Soles' ROCO Winery. We have a long-running resolution to toast each new month with a glass of sparkling wine. In recent years we've tried to set a theme for each year and 2020 is our year of terroir.

We're still sheltering in place so we were happy that our wine rack contained another great example of a winemaker who knows and uses the terroir of a specific place to create a great wine.

We've had the distinct pleasure of meeting Rollin Soles and years of pleasure drinking the wines he masterminds. (We borrowed this photo below from the ROCO Facebook page. We suggest you follow them to learn about their wine, their art gallery, and the many important causes they support)

When you go to the ROCO website and click on the vineyards tab, you'll find this at the top of the page:

"Every vineyard has its own microclimate, soil composition, slope, and relationship with the sun. When people speak of “terroir,” these unique attributes are what they’re talking about—the essence of a place captured in wine. At ROCO, we are keen on delivering the pleasure of place through the prism of vineyard-designated wines."

We first wrote about this wine last year. Click on the link below for more information and to read Rollin's winemakers notes.

Our November Sparkler Is 2013 RMS Brut from Rollin Soles' ROCO Winery

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 Bauer Wine and Spirits for $29.99. If you want to keep track of what you paid for a bottle of wine and where you purchased it, we suggest writing on the bottle with these Sharpie Metallic Fine Point Permanent Markers. It works for us!

Related Posts:

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

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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

The photo of Rollin Souls is courtesy of ROCO Vineyards.

May 1, 2020
We Celebrate Oregon Terroir with the 2013 RMS Brut from Rollin Soles’ ROCO Winery

This month's wine, selected for its specific terroir, is the 2013 RMS Brut from Rollin Soles' ROCO Winery. We have a long-running resolution to toast each new month with a glass of sparkling wine. In recent years we've tried to set a theme for each year and 2020 is our year of terroir.

We're still sheltering in place so we were happy that our wine rack contained another great example of a winemaker who knows and uses the terroir of a specific place to create a great wine.

We've had the distinct pleasure of meeting Rollin Soles and years of pleasure drinking the wines he masterminds. (We borrowed this photo below from the ROCO Facebook page. We suggest you follow them to learn about their wine, their art gallery, and the many important causes they support)

When you go to the ROCO website and click on the vineyards tab, you'll find this at the top of the page:

"Every vineyard has its own microclimate, soil composition, slope, and relationship with the sun. When people speak of “terroir,” these unique attributes are what they’re talking about—the essence of a place captured in wine. At ROCO, we are keen on delivering the pleasure of place through the prism of vineyard-designated wines."

We first wrote about this wine last year. Click on the link below for more information and to read Rollin's winemakers notes.

Our November Sparkler Is 2013 RMS Brut from Rollin Soles' ROCO Winery

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 Bauer Wine and Spirits for $29.99. If you want to keep track of what you paid for a bottle of wine and where you purchased it, we suggest writing on the bottle with these Sharpie Metallic Fine Point Permanent Markers. It works 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: ©2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino

The photo of Rollin Souls is courtesy of ROCO Vineyards.

May 1, 2020
Opening 2020 with Roses de Jeanne by Cedric Bouchard

We're celebrating a new decade with Roses de Jeanne Champagne from a groundbreaking winemaker. Cedric Bouchard has some unusual views on the wine he is making in the Champagne region. We've enjoyed his wines before. In fact, he has made our New Year's choice twice. We opened 2013 with his Inflorescence Blanc de Noirs.

We're looking forward to this bottle and have the glasses and decanter ready to fill. Yes, we did say decanter. Cedric Bouchard suggests decanting his Champagne, so we're eager to give it a try. Polaner Selections in writing about this wine added, "One serving note: While you can enjoy Bouchard's Champagnes like other Champagnes, he recommends gently decanting them and serving them in regular wine glasses instead of flutes." We totally agree with the large wine glasses and we will try decanting a portion of our bottle.

Polaner Selections also noted the importance of terroir to this winemaker, "Bouchard’s wines are characterized by uniquely soil-driven personalities, with the underlying terroir of each parcel jumping from the glass with a purity of expression that is extremely rare in Champagne. These are brilliant wines made from a young, perfectionist vigneron who is likely to completely revolutionize the landscape of Champagne before he writes the last chapter on his career."

With this wine leading the way, in 2020 we will toast each new month with sparkling wines from different places. It will be our "Year of Terroir!" Trying wines 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 bottle at Federal Wine & Spirits.

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

January 1, 2020
Another Taste of Patrice Colin Les Perles Grises for Our June Toast

Tonight we'll toast the month of June with a bottle of Patrice Colin Les Perles Grises. Sometimes the choice of a sparkling wine to feature for our monthly toast is made by visiting our favorite wine shops. Other times we pull a bottle from our wine rack. This bottle had a note added to the side with our trusty Sharpie glass and bottle markers. This bottle will bring extra smiles tonight because it was a gift from a friend who we hope will enjoy it with us.

Here is a full report about this bottle of "grey pearls" (as the name is translated) when we featured it a few years ago.

Wine Lovers Tip

We highly recommend adding a set of these markers to your wine supplies.

You can use them to mark the price and where you purchased a wine or, as here, note who gave it to you. Not only do we enjoy sharing gift wines with friends when they visit again, but we also enjoy the wines more ourselves because they're part of a friendship.

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!

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 Penny & Ed Cherubino

June 1, 2019
Another Taste of Patrice Colin Les Perles Grises for Our June Toast

Tonight we'll toast the month of June with a bottle of Patrice Colin Les Perles Grises. Sometimes the choice of a sparkling wine to feature for our monthly toast is made by visiting our favorite wine shops. Other times we pull a bottle from our wine rack. This bottle had a note added to the side with our trusty Sharpie glass and bottle markers. This bottle will bring extra smiles tonight because it was a gift from a friend who we hope will enjoy it with us.

Here is a full report about this bottle of "grey pearls" (as the name is translated) when we featured it a few years ago.

Wine Lovers Tip

We highly recommend adding a set of these markers to your wine supplies.

You can use them to mark the price and where you purchased a wine or, as here, note who gave it to you. Not only do we enjoy sharing gift wines with friends when they visit again, but we also enjoy the wines more ourselves because they're part of a friendship.

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!

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 Penny & Ed Cherubino

June 1, 2019
Cuvée Rosé from Laurent-Perrier Is Our Choice for a 2018 New Year’s Toast

Some years we do a long search for a special sparkling wine, finding a rare bottle that we will experience for the first time. This year, at our first shopping stop, we ran into an old favorite that brought back great memories of past toasts, so we went with it – a bottle of Cuvée Rosé from Laurent-Perrier!

This is a year when we want to think about past wines as we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Sparkling Resolution we made back in 2007 and have kept ever since. We said New Years was not often enough to toast to the good things we had experienced in the past and what we looked forward to in the future, so we should raise a glass of sparkling wine for the first of every month. For 10 years we have happily kept that resolution and many of those wines have been featured here.

By the way, while some of our featured wines are hard to find, this one is widely distributed. If you are thinking of bringing this bubbly to someone special as a New Years gift, see if you can find a bottle in the impressive copper box with a magnetic cover. It will cost $70 – $95 but is definitely worth it!

We discovered this Cuvée Rosé from Laurent-Perrier years ago at Upstairs on the Square. (Sadly now gone from the great restaurant scene.) It was on the wine list at a price that was so reasonable that we asked one of our favorite bartenders to check that it was right. It was and we enjoyed this on a number of visits over the years. It will be great to toast 2018 and our memories of the great staff and collection of regulars who shared that bar with us.

About this wine from the winemaker:

Grape varietal: Pinot Noir 100%

Crus: 10 different crus located mainly in the South and North areas of the Montagne de Reims – including the famous Côte de Bouzy – notably from the finest crus of Ambonnay, Bouzy, Louvois and Tours-sur-Marne.

The grapes from carefully selected plots are sorted and destemmed before vatting. The maceration – lasting from 48h to 72h depending on the harvest – helps the extraction of the colour and the development of the full aromatic richness of the Pinot Noir.

Ageing: 5 years minimum.

What the reviewers say about Cuvée Rosé from Laurent-Perrier:

K&L Wines

"Made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes from a total of ten 100%-rated grands crus villages, this Champagne gets its glorious pink color and rounded red fruit flavors from a process known as "saigneé," in which the skins of the grapes are left in contact with the juice for three days. Laurent-Perrier's Cuvée Rosé not only makes a delicious apéritif, but is also a good match for a variety of different dishes. (Gary Westby, K&L Champagne Buyer)"

Wine Enthusiast

"Orange-pink in color, this dry wine has some good bottle age that has rounded the corners and allowed toast to join the red fruits and orange zest flavors. A complex background of acidity, structure and final tautness makes this wine ready to drink now."

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.

UpStairs On The Square Still A Well Rounded Favorite

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

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: Top photo ©2017 Penny Cherubino, Others courtesy of Laurent-Perrier

December 29, 2017
Cuvée Rosé from Laurent-Perrier Is Our Choice for a 2018 New Year’s Toast

Some years we do a long search for a special sparkling wine, finding a rare bottle that we will experience for the first time. This year, at our first shopping stop, we ran into an old favorite that brought back great memories of past toasts, so we went with it – a bottle of Cuvée Rosé from Laurent-Perrier!

This is a year when we want to think about past wines as we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Sparkling Resolution we made back in 2007 and have kept ever since. We said New Years was not often enough to toast to the good things we had experienced in the past and what we looked forward to in the future, so we should raise a glass of sparkling wine for the first of every month. For 10 years we have happily kept that resolution and many of those wines have been featured here.

By the way, while some of our featured wines are hard to find, this one is widely distributed. If you are thinking of bringing this bubbly to someone special as a New Years gift, see if you can find a bottle in the impressive copper box with a magnetic cover. It will cost $70 – $95 but is definitely worth it!

We discovered this Cuvée Rosé from Laurent-Perrier years ago at Upstairs on the Square. (Sadly now gone from the great restaurant scene.) It was on the wine list at a price that was so reasonable that we asked one of our favorite bartenders to check that it was right. It was and we enjoyed this on a number of visits over the years. It will be great to toast 2018 and our memories of the great staff and collection of regulars who shared that bar with us.

About this wine from the winemaker:

Grape varietal: Pinot Noir 100%

Crus: 10 different crus located mainly in the South and North areas of the Montagne de Reims – including the famous Côte de Bouzy – notably from the finest crus of Ambonnay, Bouzy, Louvois and Tours-sur-Marne.

The grapes from carefully selected plots are sorted and destemmed before vatting. The maceration – lasting from 48h to 72h depending on the harvest – helps the extraction of the colour and the development of the full aromatic richness of the Pinot Noir.

Ageing: 5 years minimum.

What the reviewers say about Cuvée Rosé from Laurent-Perrier:

K&L Wines

"Made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes from a total of ten 100%-rated grands crus villages, this Champagne gets its glorious pink color and rounded red fruit flavors from a process known as "saigneé," in which the skins of the grapes are left in contact with the juice for three days. Laurent-Perrier's Cuvée Rosé not only makes a delicious apéritif, but is also a good match for a variety of different dishes. (Gary Westby, K&L Champagne Buyer)"

Wine Enthusiast

"Orange-pink in color, this dry wine has some good bottle age that has rounded the corners and allowed toast to join the red fruits and orange zest flavors. A complex background of acidity, structure and final tautness makes this wine ready to drink now."

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.

UpStairs On The Square Still A Well Rounded Favorite

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

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: Top photo ©2017 Penny Cherubino, Others courtesy of Laurent-Perrier

December 29, 2017