wine

You are currently browsing articles tagged wine.

Archer Roose Fine Wines–Perfect for Boat and Beach Season

April 30, 2018 in wine by traveleatlove | No comments

It has been a long winter. I normally don’t love winter (understatement of the year), but being pregnant and having travel restrictions. . . completely unable to escape to somewhere warm. . . made it absolutely miserable. Let’s just say I ate my hatred of winter in my weight in chocolate chip cookies, replacing my usual winter wine habit!

But now that our baby has arrived and brought spring with him, things are looking up. We’ve got a boat to get ready and summer plans to make, including what to eat and drink while we navigate this exciting, exhausting new life together.

I love easy boat drinks that are also delicious and aesthetically pleasing, and when I received wine samples from Archer Roose last week, I was super excited to give them a try.

The cans are slim and nicely designed; while it doesn’t *really* matter what our drinks look like, I would still love to have these hanging out in my beach bag or boat cooler, and they would be a pretty addition to a summery tablescape, especially the rosé. I can’t get enough pink this time of year, though, truth be told, we drink rosé year-round.

The cans made me think of an Easter egg hunt, and I think that searching through the flowers and grass for wine would be a lot more rewarding than looking for jelly beans, don’t you? That inspiration brought me outside for a photo in our yard, which is just on the brink of coming alive for the season. Never mind that it was absolutely freezing and windy the day I took this photo!

I like the “Splendory without Snobbery”messaging on the cans; especially in the summertime, when living should be light and easy; we love fuss-free, affordable wines that we can share widely with friends during this most wonderful time of the year.

Enough about the cans though. . . how was the wine?

I am always honest with my reviews (and if I don’t like something generally choose not to share on the blog), and I can honestly say that I would definitely buy all of these to enjoy again.

We started with the Sauvignon Blanc from Chile’s Maule Valley, which ended up being my favorite of the bunch, while it was my husband’s least favorite!

It was very acidic with delightful notes of pineapple and grapefruit, the perfect glass for a steamy summer night. The Archer Roose website recommends pairing with oysters, and I agree that this would be a match made in heaven!

(On a side note, I am dying to go to Chile. . . how young is too young for a baby’s first wine trip?)

Next up, we enjoyed the Chardonnay, which offered up apple and lemon flavors, quite different than the more buttery California Chardonnays I tend to love, but perfect as a summer wine and one that those who claim to hate Chardonnay might actually like.

We split the wine tasting up into a few nights and decided to try the red on a cold and rainy evening. Archer Roose’s Redsurrection is Carmenere from a 19^th century family-run vineyard in Colchagua Valley Chile. A beautiful red both in color and on the palate, this wine had a bit of cocoa and spice and cooked fruit, flavors I might compare to berries in a not-very-sweet pie. This red was warming and cozy enough for a chilly evening but also light enough to be a summer red.

We saved the rosé for last, pouring in on a sunny Sunday evening on the porch. (Yes, I am obsessed with weather and the perfect wine pairing for it.)

Hailing from Provence, this rosé is the quintessential summer treat, and yes, as the website indicates, would be heaven with a (buttered) lobster roll. Bringing notes of berries and hints of pear and minerals, this wine had a slight effervescence, and lots of flavor, while being deliciously dry. The color is as beautiful as the flavor. My favorite rosés always remind me of my long-unworn but always beloved pointe ballet shoes.

About the founders of Archer Roose

When Marian, the co-founder and publisher of the literary magazine Explosion-Proof, met David, the co-founder of award-winning winery Pheasant’s Tears, they knew the combination of wine and storytelling was simply simpatico. Partners in life and in business, Archer Roose was built to reflect their shared passions and values: great conversation, craftsmanship and a belief that we must all do our part to build a better world.

I received these wines free of charge as samples but was not required to review them. All opinions are my own.

Tags: wine

#BabieswhoBrunch

April 25, 2018 in Food, Restaurants, wine by traveleatlove | 4 comments

We’ve made it a full two weeks at home with a newborn! It’s been quite the adjustment, but for the most part, it’s also just been really fun. Myles is a very sweet baby who likes to eat as much as we do, and it turns out that this is the best time to get out and about with a child.

Brunch and breweries and even a dinner date have occurred, and he has slept through it all.

Our first brunch out was with friends to Ashmont Grill, where I made my triumphant return to brunching with a bucket of bubbles and delightfully runny eggs in a spicy, perfect shakshouka with homemade, warm and puffy bread.

Myles snoozed in the booth alongside us, wrapped in his BAA-themed blue and yellow blanket since it was Boston Marathon weekend.

I can’t even deal with how cute he is. . .

I promised not to be that mom who posts a million pictures a day, but he is pretty spectacular.

Continuing with the “we barely ever leave Dorchester” theme, we had a dinner date for three at Tavolo, one of our favorites. I love the space at Tavolo, and Brian at the bar is the best.

Gnocchi with cream sauce, asparagus, and crispy prosciutto was heavenly.

On our second Sunday at home, we brunched again, this time thanks to a gift card to Steel & Rye, another absolute favorite. It was chock full of #babieswhobrunch; I think we are catching onto something here. Brunch is at a good time of day for babies and tired parents who have been up forever. It’s usually got the perfect level of noise in case of any fussing, and there are drinks!

We kicked brunch off with some delicious apple bread with honey butter, the bread having almost a custard-like consistency, something I could have easily eaten all day long.

Since I had been missing smoked salmon, I went with the perfectly crispy potato pancake topped with salmon, avocado, creme fraiche, and greens. Holy amazing.

We know that the baby won’t be this portable forever, so we are enjoying dates out and about now and have so many places and people to show him. It’s fun that his birth coincided with the arrival of real spring weather. . . it is a beautiful season of year and of life indeed!

Tags: baby, brunch, cocktails, Food, new mom, wine

Wanderlust Wednesday: A Few Last Glimpses of Italy

February 21, 2018 in Travel by traveleatlove | No comments

There are so many incredible regions of Italy to choose from when planning a trip; you could really easily spend a year there and not spend enough time seeing and tasting all that this beautiful country has to offer. While my first choice would be somewhere by the sea (Sicily is still one of my dream trips!) on our last visit to Italy, we traveled for a wedding, and our destination was set for us!

With our home base a villa in Umbria, just on the border of Tuscany, we discovered there were countless day trips we could take: Perugia, Siena, Assisi, Montepulciano, and so many more.

Montepulciano was one of our day trips, and this spectacular medieval city atop a giant hill, surrounded by wine, is well worth a visit, especially during sunflower season in Tuscany. Fields of gold were everywhere! Be prepared to drive and walk some steep streets and alleyways in order to get some of the best views, but be sure to take in the architecture on your way.

We were traveling with a group, which isn’t easy in a town like Montepulciano, but we found some great food nonetheless.

You won’t want to miss the wine cellars of Montepulciano and surrounding areas. I was absolutely fascinated by Contucci.

According to the Contucci website, it’s likely that the Contucci family was living in Montepulciano by the year 1,000. . .

Visiting the cellar is quite the experience. You just keep going down, down, down many flights of stairs to find gigantic wine barrels. An added bonus: on an extremely hot Tuscan day, the cellar is delightfully cold and a break from the baking sun!

We merely got a taste of Montepulciano and would absolutely love to visit again to cover the history, food, wine, and amazing views for longer.

As I mentioned above, the reason for our visit was a wedding, and the location of the ceremony was Cortona, inside its beautiful Cortona Cathedral. Cortona and its surroundings were definite favorites on this trip; I still have one last winery post to write, so stay tuned!

Our final day trip during our week in Italy was to Arezzo. Again, it was a group trip, and finding parking for multiple cars was a bit of a challenge. We actually almost gave up and returned to our villa!

Once we found parking, we didn’t have a ton of time to explore, but we did get to see some great views and cute shops. Truffles are king in the region, and I enjoyed some truffle potato chips while wanting to buy everything in sight. The intoxicating smell of truffles filled the air!

As one does on a hot day in Tuscany, we stopped at a cute patio for refreshments; mine was a cold glass of local white wine with a great view of the surrounding square.

There are definitely lots of moments in Italy where sitting outside enjoying local wine is just all you need.

Arezzo offered beautiful architecture, and while we planned to visit its famous cathedral, our parking issues made us miss opening hours! Perhaps this post is a guide on how NOT to travel?

Instead we enjoyed the great outdoors and explored where the film Life is Beautiful was made.

Even reading about the movie made me cry!

Have you seen it? I think I have watched it at least three or four times, and it is heart wrenching every single time. I actually did not know that Arezzo was the setting of the movie, but it made me love this town even more.