sparkling wine

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Happy day after Thanksgiving! Did you all have your fill of turkey and pie and wine? Have you been up since 3 am, pushing and shoving to get a few holiday gifts? As this post goes live, I am probably still sleeping. A true vacation day is a true vacation day, and having my husband with me on a Friday is a rare treat!

While I am looking for guest posts and Friday Foodie Features (just email me at traveleatlove @ gmail.com if you would like to post or be featured), I thought I would make today the second in my Tasting Room Series with our visit to Boisset Taste of Terroir tasting room on the Healdsburg Plaza.

When we visited Healdsburg in July for the hubs’ birthday, we noticed that a new tasting room was going in to one of the open storefronts on the plaza, and after celebrating Bastille Day at DeLoach, found out that DeLoach’s parent company, Boisset Family Estates, was going to be the tasting room in that space.

On our visit to Sonoma again earlier this month, we had a little bit of time of kill before meeting William for lunch, so we decided to check out the new Boisset Taste of Terroir tasting room.

Boisset Taste of Terroir

Opulent, splendidly decorated, and quiet, the Boisset tasting room is beautiful and elegant in a way that is very different than most of the beauty in Northern California. It definitely has a French feel, and the tasting options further reinforce that.

Boisset Taste of Terroir

Boisset Taste of Terroir

Before we chose a tasting, a kind stranger offered to take our photo. I hate being in photos, but felt like we couldn’t say no! Winking smile

Boisset Tasting Room Healdsburg

Burgundy map Boisset Tasting Room

After browsing the variety of selections on the tasting menu, which offer different flights from Boisset vineyards in both Burgundy and California, we decided to go for the bubbly, but of course.

Sparkling Pearls ~ $12.
Dive into the beautiful world of Burgundian bubbles with our Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne tasting. Perle de Vigne, Perle de Nuit and Perle d’Or are all Chardonnay and Pinot Noir based sparkling wines from Nuits-Saint-Georges in the Côte d’Or

image Boisset Tasting Room

We don’t drink much French wine at home; our collection is primarily made of wine from California, Italy, Austria, Washington, and Spain, but as I learn more about wine in my wine class, I realize I need to keep expanding my horizons. Sparkling wine from Burgundy is a great way to do that, and we were delighted with each and every wine we tasted.

But. . .

The tasting experience was beyond unpleasant. I don’t expect to always have attentive and knowledgeable staff at the tasting bar, but for the staff person to be downright rude is sort of unacceptable.

The woman working that day was from Burgundy herself and could not say enough bad things about the US and our work visa processes. She did not tell us a single thing about any of the wine that she poured, just poured and walked away into the back room. And when asked about Burgundy, her home, she told us not to bother visiting there. Not the best representative for a company based in Burgundy and certainly not at all hospitable for a hospitality position.

I left to meet William while my husband paid, and he stood at the bar for 25 minutes while the girl went in the back and yelled in French on a phone call. Other than a man tasting alone, we were the only patrons for the entire half hour plus that we were there, and it was empty when we walked by again after lunch. With a welcome like that, I would not return.

I hate to write bad reviews about places, but I have to be honest; I hope that this blog can provide great recommendations as well as steer people away from bad experiences. With all of the other wineries and tasting rooms in the Healdsburg area, you don’t need to waste your time here.

And as someone who would love to have this girl’s job but probably couldn’t get it because I don’t have experience, I find it beyond frustrating that she was so unpleasant.

We did have a great lunch at Bistro Ralph just a few doors away, and while I didn’t get many photos, it was definitely a restaurant I would visit again.

You live, you learn, and sometimes, despite good wine, you might just leave with a bad taste in your mouth.

How do you feel about writing negative posts or reviews? What was the worst customer service experience you have ever had?

Tags: Boisset, California, Food, Healdsburg, Lunch, sparkling wine, wine, wine tasting

My favorite event of the year, Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival has come and gone. It was, as expected, a beautiful day filled with food, wine, and sunshine. We were completely blessed with the weather, had a great tasting crew, and had the opportunity to taste many wines from around the world.

The grand tasting took place at Marble House, one of the majestic mansions on Newport’s Bellvue Avenue. Marble House sits on a a large expanse of green grass that rolls down to the Cliff Walk, Newport’s famous walk along the ocean.

Marble House Matble House

 

This was our wine tasting view.

Newport

We started out with the bubbly, of course, and had a few sips at the Loire Valley, Mionetto, and Mumm Napa tables. While tasting at the Mumm table, I ran into Catherine Stanton Schiff, host of the show Cocktails for Everyone. We had dinner months ago, and it was so nice to see her again!

Loire Valley Wines   Mionetto   bubbly  
Mionetto       Foreau Vouvray Brut

Delicious bites were everywhere, and we were sure to take wine tasting breaks for some food samples. Alaska Seafood’s table was hard to miss, and they were giving out recipes as well as crab cocktail. I chatted with their Marketing Director for a bit and learned that they have some fun recipe contests coming up. Speaking of, if you haven’t buzzed my Alaska Seafood Foodbuzz recipe, you can do so here: http://www.foodbuzz.com/blogs/2594074-foodbuzz-alaska-seafood-dinner  Pretty please 😉

We sampled some truffles with a tea-scented filling, Williams Sonoma pumpkin bread and hot apple cider, and the famed lobster macaroni and cheese from Russell Morin Catering. Last year we ate more than our fair share of this mac and cheese, and this year it was as perfect as ever.

Alaska Seafood crab claws
tea truffleslobster macaroni and cheese William Sonoma Pumpkin BreadimageThis is just a fraction of the food samples we tried. Add to this multiple servings of the best fish chowder I have ever eaten, Food Should Taste Good chips, gazpacho, gelato, and more.

 

As always, it was fun to taste wine from wineries we have visited. Out of all of the wines that we tasted at the Newport Mansions Festival, my favorites were ones we had already tried from Ladera. Their Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is one of my favorite Cabs, and since we joined their wine club, there will be some on its way to our house very soon. The son of the owners of Ladera was pouring, and he of course knew a lot about the wines and the property and exuded that friendly vibe that is so widespread in Napa.

Mumm Napa Alexander Valley Vineyards
Ladera Vineyards Kerrygold Butter

Other favorites included the Cyrus Cab from Alexander Valley Vineyards, a Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier, plus a little snack from Kerrygold to cleanse the  palate. I actually got full from all of the food samples I tried!

We stopped to check out Billy Costa in the cooking demo tent before heading out back once again. I didn’t realize this last year, but the pagoda that is in the Marble House’s backyard houses some of the best food at the Newport festival in addition to a tasting bar, this year featuring Rhone wines.

 Billy Costa

While inside the pagoda, I sampled some delicious Grenache Syrah wines as well as some of the most heavenly pumpkin bread pudding with warm vanilla caramel sauce. Add that to my “must-make” fall list!

Viognier Marble House pagoda  
Rhone wines
   
Mumm Napa goldfish crackers

I have started really enjoying Rhone varietals like Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier, so I was glad to see the Rhone so well-represented. I would have also loved to have seen some Austrian wine, but if it was there, I must have missed it.

We followed the event by toasting with some more Mumm Napa, snacking goldfish at the Newport Marriott, and then heading off for some dinner.

I say it all the time, but I can’t say enough how much I love the Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival. It is in one of the most breathtaking settings in New England and offers such high end food and wine, all in a not-too-crowded, friendly environment. I think that next year I want to make an entire weekend out of it to attend more of the events and to soak up the lovely Newport vibe. The event planners do an amazing job; I wish they would do it twice a year!

Tags: events, Food, Ladera, Mumm, Newport, sparkling wine, wine

I realized just the other day, when making a reservation for November at our favorite Healdsburg B & B, that I am in the midst of planning another short wine country trip, and I haven’t even finished blogging about the last one! I prematurely booked a ticket to San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Festival, hoping that I get a ticket, and we have an extra two days that we will be spending in Northern Sonoma. Yipeeeeeee.

I have already covered many of the wineries we visited on our last trip, but there were a few more, all very different and all worth visiting for different reasons.

 

Arista Winery

While dining out at Dry Creek Kitchen (which I actually don’t think I ever blogged about!) we met the guest Sommelier for the night, Mark from Arista, makers of fantastic Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Mark gave us his card, and since we were going to be in the area for the DeLoach Bastille Day party anyway, we decided to check Arista out.

I was running out of camera battery which was awful because their outdoor tasting bar and Japanese gardens were just beautiful. Mark’s dad actually poured our tasting at the bar, and were smitten with not only their single vineyard Pinot Noirs but also their Pinot Gris. Arista is on my list of definite visit-again wineries. There is just something magical about tasting outdoors under big, old trees!

Arista Vineyards

Arista Vineyards

 

Domaine Carneros

We had passed Domaine Carneros, the Napa-side Carneros winery owned by Taittinger, many many times on past wine country visits. This summer, several people recommended that we visit, so we made a point of stopping by for a glass of Domaine Carneros’ famous bubbly. As you can see the property is fabulously beautiful, like a French chateau.

This is one of my favorite photos from the entire summer.

Domaine Carneros

Their majestic indoor space had a gift shop that offered, among many other things, truffles with wine.

wine truffles

And their patio was a beautiful place to sip a glass of Domaine Carneros Brut Rosé, an elegant pink bubbly.

Domaine Carneros

But, to be honest, I would probably not return. It’s a haven for tour buses and feels very corporate. Maybe it’s just my style, but give me a dusty old dirt road and a tiny warehouse or farmhouse tasting room any day. It is certainly a sight to see though, and if you have the time and are in the area, why not stop?

 

Loxton Cellars

Loxton Cellars was another gem recommended to me by Chef Robin. On our March Sonoma visit, we stopped, but there was an event going on, and it was super crowded.

We soon learned why.

image

The owner and winemaker himself was there to pour for us, and his incredibly charming Australian accent roped us in, and his Cuvee Ellen Syrah won us over. We hope to join the Loxton wine club now that the summer is over and we can ship wine again without worrying about the heat!

Loxton Cellars Wine

Loxton Tasting Menu Loxton Syrah

 

Kunde Family Estate

Our final winery stop, right before meeting the TasteLive folks at Zazu, was a random stop at Kunde Family Estate. On the same road as Loxton in the Glen Ellen area of Sonoma, Kunde has a huge hillside property complete with some intriguing caves.

Kunde Caves Kunde

And beautiful grounds. . .photos of hydrangeas will have to get me through until next summer!

Kunde

The Kunde tasting room is like a chalet with massive high ceilings, multiple tasting bars, and a seating area for seated tastings. Since we didn’t have a ton of time, we shared a tasting at the bar. I loved their citrusy Viognier, their Grenache Rosé, and the spicy Sangiovese. There were many wines to try, and I know we missed some of them so we will definitely be back next time we are in Glen Ellen.

Kunde Tasting Room

I know some of you are planning Napa and Sonoma trips, and though I am not an expert, I would love to share the places that I have had great experiences. I can not wait until November to be on the West Coast and in the Dry Creek Valley again!

Tags: California, Carneros, Glen Ellen, Healdsburg, Napa, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Sangiovese, Sonoma, sparkling wine, Travel, wine

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