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Looking through my phone’s camera roll, it appears I have been eating, drinking, and being pretty merry (and eating and drinking some more). It’s time for a roundup of all of the greats of late that somehow haven’t made it into the blog!

lunch at Abe & Louie's

I learned all about the natural beauty of Germany and German tourism over an incredible steak salad lunch at Abe & Louie’s. This was the second Germany Tourism event I attended, and just like the first one on travel to Bavaria, it made me want to plan a trip to Germany soon!

 

Cidergeist

Cidergeist launched in Boston! I was in Puerto Rico for the launch, but they sent me samples, and I loved the Semi Dry Hard Cider.

Dorset Hall Dorchester

Dorset Hall

Dorset Hall shepherd's pie

We went to a new local Dorchester spot, Dorset Hall on their opening night and fell in love.  Their cocktails, raw bar, pork chop, and shepherd’s pie are all awesome, the space is huge and beautiful, and the staff is great. They nailed it so much on that first night we have been back three times since. It’s a nice addition to our Dorchester restaurant lineup!

New England Boat Show We went to the New England Boat Show and bought a boat. Oops.

It wasn’t spur of the moment though. We went two days in a row did hours of research before we decided on a brand new Stingray. I can.not.wait to get back on the water. The new boat is completely different than the old one. It’s a bowrider, which means the front is open and perfect for sunning and jumping into the sea. Not having a cabin means it is shallower in the water, easier to beach on islands out in Boston Harbor for lazy days, and yet it still has a bathroom (my requirement).

 

Two Shepherds wine club

Spring wine clubs starting arriving. We love Two Shepherds Wine, and now that Massachusetts laws have changed, getting our favorite wine is so much easier!

Hotel Northampton

I started working with two new clients, Hotel Northampton in Hampshire County Massachusetts and gardenUP, a turnkey solution for design, delivery, and installation of gardens.

gardenUP

gardenUP exhibited at the Boston Flower and Garden Show. Between the media preview of the show and visiting the gardenUP booth, I went to this beautiful event twice!

Boston Flower and Garden Show

gardening

It inspired me to get planning for my own garden, which is one of my favorite activities to do all year. I can’t wait to see things growing!

Tango Arlington I made a visit up to Arlington for a friend and business dinner at Tango, steak tips, seasoned veggies,  and Malbec, which was basically all I was craving. It was so simple and flavorful and perfect.

North Plank Tavern

We visited family in NJ for Easter and made another stop at the amazing gem of a restaurant, North Plank Tavern, which we found at Christmas. I had the Applejack Manhattan, made with Laird Applejack, which was once made in this historic building! Sitting at the bar is always my favorite, since we like to chat. At this place, every time we visit we learn a little more about the tavern, which has such an interesting history. And we confirmed it also has a few ghosts.

 

Michel Schlumberger wine prime rib dinner

My family put together some amazing meals including our Saturday dinner of a 13 pound prime rib and vegetable sides, paired with a bottle of incredible Le Sage Merlot from one of our visits to Michel Schlumberger in Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County. I miss Sonoma something fierce these days.

sparkling wine by the ocean

And finally, we have enjoyed some outdoor bubbly (in glasses we picked up at Shanga in Tanzania). This was from a Sunday night at the yacht club where it was just the two of us around watching the sun sort of set on a cloudy evening. Perfection.

What bits of this and that have you been enjoying?

Tags: boating, Boston, business, clients, cocktails, flowers, Food, gardening, Travel, wine

Other than the occasional snowstorm and too-cold winter days, we love living in New England so much. I’m partial to warm weather day trips from Boston (Hello, coastal living at its best.), but wintry getaways like my visit to Amherst this year can also be beautiful. This past weekend for my birthday we took advantage of blue skies and sunshine despite the cold and visited some favorite coastal Massachusetts towns, Newburyport and Essex.

The Poynt Newburyport

After a traffic-free drive, we kicked our day off with brunch at The Poynt, which is  beautiful, must-visit Newburyport spot. Seriously, I love it. It’s spacious and bright and friendly, with excellent food.

The Poyntchilaquiles

We couldn’t decide what to order and ended up sharing two of the best looking dishes, the Roasted Chicken Chilaquiles, which was smothered in the most amazing smoky red sauce, and the Cajun Bennie, another smoky, slightly spicy dish topped with blackened shrimp.

All washed down with Piper Heidseck Champagne because it was my birthday weekend, after all.

 

eggs benedict

 

Heidseck Monopole Champagne

We left brunch absolutely stuffed, and I needed a long walk. We tried our best at a few seaside locations, but the whipping winds were freezing our faces off, so we turned into Newburyport and enjoyed sunny sidewalks sheltered from the coastal winds by stone buildings.

Newburyport

And then we went in search of beer. We discovered two great breweries with tasting rooms and delicious, free beer tastings. RiverWalk Brewing Co. was our first stop, a delightful little tasting room with some killer beer, including a sour I loved. The only downside was that our arrival coincided with a brewery bus tour full of REALLY loud drunk women. As in, my ears actually, physically hurt. We left with a half growler of Gnomad, an American farmhouse ale we both loved.

Riverwalk Brewing Co Newburyport Brew Co

At Newburyport Brewing Co. our favorites were the two stouts we tried, especially the Joppa Stout.

We couldn’t believe tasting flights were free, and we plan to return to hang out and order pints (and growlers!) again soon. We’re going away again soon and didn’t want to have the fresh beer go bad.

beer tasting in Newburyport

Post-beer-tasting led to more wandering, including checking out some of the great shops in Newburyport, waking ourselves up with a giant coffee, and then hitting the road for Essex for an early light dinner at CK Pearl.

CK Pearl scallop sabayon fish tacosOysters and rosé led into fish tacos and an almost bowl-lickingly amazing scallop sabayon, a slightly sweet, creamy soup. We couldn’t get enough of the views, and stayed until the sky turned as pink as the wine in my glass before heading home, not wanting the day to end.

Essex River

Tags: brewery, Essex, Massachusetts, Newburyport, oysters, Travel, wine

Happy Friday! It’s a good day to talk about wine, don’t you think?

About a month ago, I received the opportunity to review VinoVersal wine club, and I of course jumped at the chance. I enjoy wine clubs as a way to make sure our wine fridge is stocked with different wines.

The first wine club tasting parcel featured wines from Salento, Italy, a region I knew nothing about. In addition to six bottles of wine, the parcel comes with a beautiful magazine highlighting the region and connecting the wines and wine region to the recipient.

VinoVersal

Isn’t this lovely? I learned that Salento is in the heel of Italy, that it is gorgeous, and that it produces some velvety, lush wines, my favorites being the Pietra Caya Malvasia and the Tenuta Boncore Negroamaro. They were all good though. Tasting notes (from VinoVersal) are at the end of the post. wine club magazine

I got to meet the VinoVersal team and taste all of the wines at the Boston Wine Expo as well, which was great. One of the things I love about travel to wine country is meeting the people behind businesses; wine people are always so nice! While chatting with the team, I learned that someone actually visits each wine region for extensive tasting research (tough job!) and chooses bottles for the parcels. I love the connections that wine brings, and I found it really nice that they wines aren’t just randomly included. These wines were all high quality and introduced me to grapes I never look for.

VinoVersal Wine Club

 

Would I order it for myself?

Absolutely. At $95 for six hand-selected bottles of wine, including shipping and including the fun and informative magazine, it’s a great deal and a great gift. Wine clubs like this encourage people like me (who tend to gravitate to certain wine regions all the time) to expand the palate and to learn more about the wine world, something I love to do but am not always proactive about.

The wines included in the first tasting parcel are as follows.

Negroamaro Salento

The scent is a powerful impression, rustic but perfumed.  Starting with traces of licorice, figs, and eucalyptus.  The taste is full of dried fruit, sweetness and yet earthy and slightly spiced.  A distinctly acidic, full finish wine.  The color is deep and robust.

Primitivo Salento

With up- front fruit and a blend of dried strawberries, olives, and freshly cut hay this wine has a taste of sweetness from the sun-ripened Primitivo grapes with accents of fig and lavender.  The color is medium but packs a punch for this red.

Primius Primitivo Di Manduria

The nose is typical Primitivo with ripe cherries and chocolate.  This wine is balanced and refreshing.  With only 6 months in oak; don’t lay it down or ponder over it’s possibilities.  “Release the Brakes”  Enjoy this medium color balanced wine.

Pietra Caya

Rustic describes this wine with forest berries and lavender.  A big glass of fruit but delicate velvety selections of acids and tannins.  The color seems medium, but the flavors have depth.

Salice Salentino Riserva

The aroma is inviting with dark chocolate, licorice, caramel, and fig.  The same impression follows thru with balanced acids, tannins and a slight sweetness from some over ripened grapes.  24 months in oak give this wine something to talk about over dinner.

Contrada Del Falco

First impression in the vineyard and the grapes, think cigar box, dark chocolate, a little dust and some ripe stone fruit.  Now taste the broad mix of ripe fresh fruit and sun dried raisins.

VinoVersal provided me with a complimentary parcel for review. All opinions are my own.

Tags: Italian wine, Italy, wine, wine blog, wine club

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