Wine Unwrapped Blog
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9/20/2016 0 Comments german wine and tapas I attended a dinner featuring the wines of three different German producers on September 13, 2016. Sponsored by Harry's Wine & Liquor Market of Fairfield, the dinner took place at Taberna Restaurant Tapas and Wine Bar also in Fairfield. When I saw that one of the wines was a Dr. H. Thanisch Kabinett from the famous Doctor vineyard I signed up immediately. In July of 2013 I had the opportunity to "sneak" into the vineyard and this dinner would give me the chance to meet Barbara Rundquist-Müller, the owner of the winery and a part of the vineyard.  Our starter was this Sekt from Fitz Ritter. A great bubbly to start that is sadly not available to us.  William Miller of Harry's getting the evening started.
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7/14/2016 0 Comments Tre Bicchieri tasting at Ancona's The Italian organization Gambero Rosso publishes a guide to Italian wines called Vini d'Italia. It has grown from its eight page start to a very comprehensive book of 900+ pages and reviews of over 2,000 producers. The English translation is published as Italian Wines. Their unique, and refreshing, rating system rates wine with one glass, two glasses, or three glasses- Tre Bicchieri. Tre Bicchieri being the top wines of Italy. On July 13, 2016 Ancona's Wines and Liquors in Ridgefield organized a tasting of six Tre Bicchieri wines. (along with a couple of extras that Wine Director Codey Foster threw in) The wines were a nicely varied selection, all from different regions.  While not a Tre Bicchieri this made for a nice starter  Our first Tre Bicchieri wine of the night   There are quite a few farm to table dinners these days. How about a Long Island Sound to table dinner? Chef Plum's latest Underground Dinner was held on the docks of Norm Bloom and Son's Norwalk facility on June 25, 2016. Wines were provided by Renee Fontaine of 3 Badge Enology. With perfect weather, fresh seafood paired with wine, my wife and I celebrated our anniversary.   Chef Plum   Clam chowder with potato dipper    I received an invitation to the second annual Southwest Wines of France Gourmet French Fries Competition that was held on June 16, 2016. The event was presented by WINE ENTHUSIAST at the Hotel Eventi in New York City. Spending the afternoon tasting gourmet fries and wine seemed like a good idea.  The event was well organized and set up with five stations. A chef at each station presented their take on the fries along with an assortment of wines from Southwest France.   6/5/2016 0 Comments Portugal Part 4 Quinta do Tedo  I had the unexpected pleasure of visiting Quinta do Tedo during our trip. Due to a schedule change by our riverboat we scrambled to find a way to get from Porto to Régua to meet our tour guide from CMTour. Thanks to the flexibility of Carlos, the owner of CMTour, we were able to work things out. We boarded a train at 7:15 AM in a downpour that lasted all day and ended up in Régua much earlier than we had originally planned. We were met by Bruno, our excellent guide, who suggested a stop at Quinta do Tedo. How could we say no?  Photo courtesy of Quinta do Tedo 5/6/2016 0 Comments Portugal part 3 Bar do Binho Sintra is one of the most popular places to visit in Portugal. Located about 28 km from Lisbon it is quite accessible for a day trip. Famous for its palaces and decorative gardens there is much to see. We made a quick stop at Bar do Binho and marveled at their Port selection.   It was early into our trip and I wasn't ready to start lugging bottles around for the next 2 weeks. We had appointments at some Quintas and Port lodges towards the end of the trip so I decided to hold off on buying.  The owner of the shop was kind enough to offer a taste of a Port from 1963.  It was a treat to taste a wine that was made before I graduated high school. Fully mature for sure but still showing a range of flavors. I honestly didn't pay close attention to prices. We were due to meet up with our group and had to rush out. I wish we had time to try a flight of wines and to look for some rarities I could afford. Next time....
 My wife and I were looking to have lunch in Branford and found Nellie Green's Restaurant tucked away in the middle of a boat yard and directly on the water. You can't see it from the road but thankfully there were signs to guide us. We were warmly greeted by Mike Savinelli, the owner, and noticed a sign announcing a wine dinner featuring Gundlach Bundshu wines. The menu looked interesting and I have not had any of the Gundlach Bundshu wines in quite a long time. I figured I would see how lunch went before deciding about attending. We had oysters on the half shell, a shrimp wrap, and the lobster roll. The meal was excellent and as we sat at the window looking out at the water we both felt we should return for another meal.  The Gewurz was a big hit at our table. Dry, spicy and with enough acidity to make it work nicely with the calamari.  Grilled Calamari The wine dinner was exceptional. It is rare that you get a combination of fine wines, delicious food and great service. Often these types of dinners drag on with long lulls between courses or wine brought out well after the dish it is to be paired with has been served. Not so this night. The staff worked hard and brought out Chef Jason Truscio's dishes right after each wine had been served.
4/22/2016 0 Comments Lieb Cellars Long Island I had the opportunity to visit Lieb Cellars during a brief visit to Long Island recently. I heard that they were making Pinot Blanc with grapes coming from some fairly old Pinot Blanc vines. Located a bit off the beaten path, which I like, you have to make the effort to find them. It is worth the time.  A great way to start any tasting is with a bubbly. Lieb has two, both excellent. The Blanc de Blanc is 100% Pinot Blanc and ages almost three years before disgorgement.
We booked a tour for our first evening from the "We Hate Tourism Tours" folks. We were to see some of the sights(without tourists) and have a meal in a local restaurant. More about the tour company later.  The meeting point was just past this corner. We met up with Marcos, our guide, and two other German couples that would be part of our group. Although we were tired from the flight, Marcos had enough energy to get us all in the mood for an interesting night. Our first stop was for dinner at Lucimar, a hidden gem of a restaurant. This is the type of place you always hope to find when you travel, a place where locals go and is welcoming to strangers. As soon as we sat down the Vinho Verde flowed and the food kept coming. Our waitress was fantastic, she made sure that everything was just right and did it with a smile. By the end of the meal we all acted like old friends. Next up were the famous Lisbon pastries. We ate these beauties at the Belém Tower. We were the only ones there, unlike the next day when there were so many tourists you could hardly get close to it. We took a walk to a facility next to the tower, the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown. The Center is trying to help humanity in any number of ways. The architecture is also quite stunning. We had one more stop to enjoy some Port and then called it a night. I heartily recommend this tour and the tour group if you like to go off the beaten path and avoid the crush of tourists. If you have Marcos as a guide tell him Jon sent you and talk to him about Jim Morrison and The Doors.
4/11/2016 0 Comments Portugal Part 1 This is the first of several blogs about Portugal. I had the pleasure of spending time in Lisbon, the Douro and Porto, with a few side trips thrown in for good measure. It is a beautiful country with warm, friendly people. The food and wines are unique and outstanding. I'm already thinking about a return trip. The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, LisbonA great collection in a setting that does not overwhelm you. The museum was inaugurated in 1969 and contains over 6,000 pieces.
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