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Taste of Sonesta Boston Media Event

November 14, 2014 in events, Food by traveleatlove | 1 comment

There are so many intersections where my work and blogging meet that it’s hard not to blog about work events all the time. To celebrate the re-launch of the newly renovated Royal Sonesta Boston, we recently held a small media reception that included tastes of each our the hotel’s food and beverage outlets as well as a peek into new meeting space and bites from the banquet menu.

The event was a fun one to plan, especially since I have gotten to know so much of Boston’s blogging community in all of my blogging years. And still there are so many Boston bloggers for me to meet!

We had a really fun group for the event, which kicked off in the hotel’s brand new waterfront meeting space. The views of the Charles and Boston skyline are some of the best available, and the mini crudités and cheese plates were a big hit.

After having small bites and wine with introductions, we moved on for a tour of the hotel lobby to our next stop, ArtBar.

apple turnip soup

ArtBar offers seasonal cuisine and craft cocktails, and we sampled their Apple Turnip Soup and Duck Liver Pate on Crostini, along with cocktails from the fall cocktail menu.

From there we moved on to the soon-to-be-opened cocktail lounge, Motif. I love hotel cocktail lounges, and this one will be chic and comfortable with an old fashioned martini cart for tableside cocktails.

martini cart

Our next stop was the well-known and loved Restaurant dante. You may have seen Chef Dante on top Chef recently. The restaurant serves some pretty amazing pastas and other Italian fare, we and we enjoyed some samples of their famous arancini and meatballs along with a delicious white wine.

Our final stop of the night was the Royal Sonesta’s brand new coffee and pastry shop, Studio, where we had cider cake pops, brownies, biscotti, and coffee. I think we were all full at that point!

It was so fun being able to share the beautiful place I work with some bloggers I knew and others I was so happy to meet. We have so many things going on at the hotel, from holiday specials to holiday party promotions to packages and the ability to earn rewards points. It’s a topic I love talking about, so if you would like more information, feel free to ask!

Tags: bloggers, dine around, events, Food, hotels, media, media events, PR, tasting, wine

Wine Wednesday: Quivira Winery

November 5, 2014 in Travel, wine by traveleatlove | 4 comments

It’s a Northern Sonoma County must-visit! Wine, gardens, views for days, Quivira Winery, in the Dry Creek Valley in Healdsburg, California, has all of the above and more. This property had just so much life peeking out from every corner that you could spend an entire day checking out flowers and chickens and vegetables, not to mention stopping back in the tasting room for a sip of wine here or there.

We visited Quivira on the same day we visited Lambert Bridge and Truett Hurst, a hot, dry, perfect blue sky day, where splashes of cold Sauvignon Blanc went down a treat.

Quivira is in a beautiful location in the Dry Creek Valley, surrounded by vineyards and trees, and there is something super calming and soothing about their property. The way it is laid out, with gardens all around and farm animals not far down (piglets!) is made for wandering, and the welcoming staff definitely encourage it.

summer flowers in wine country

The tasting room is bright and airy, and there were a couple of small, fun groups tasting wine and enjoying the day. There was such a nice vine in the room. As I said above, we went in and out of the tasting room, bringing our tastes out in the garden to soak up the sun. I think I maybe stored enough to get me through to January?

I was really loving mineral-y Sauvignon Blancs on this trip, bursts of lime, hints of grapefruit, mouthwatering acidity but also balance, like in Quivira’s Fig Tree Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. I’m also loving Mourvedre more and more and am excited to see it appearing on more California tasting lists. Like the tasting notes say this wine offered juicy dark cherries and more importantly, those pepper notes that I seek. I love when a wine hits my tongue and there is an immediately recognizable spice.

As you probably know, I will never turn down a Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, and despite the heat (or maybe because of it) the 2011 Quest Zinfandel was amazing. A texture like velvet, and again, that spice, a bit of jam, yum.

The Wine Creek Ranch Dry Creek Valley Rosé wasn’t on the tasting we chose, but we got to have a taste anyway and ended up taking home a bottle of this GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) blend. It was perfect perfect perfect with the warm sunshine and dusty air. Strawberry notes dominated with subtle spice on the finish. This wine is sold out for a reason. It is the perfect summer wine.

Quivira practices biodynamic farming which is interesting, a little mystical sounding, and something I’d like to learn more about. Biodynamic farming involves the entire ecosystem of the vineyard and results in the smallest carbon footprint possible. Their site offers a good bit of information on what biodynamic farming means and how each living thing on their property contributes to that.

I probably sound by a broken record at this point, but we have visited a LOT of wineries in our travels, and Quivira is definitely one I would put at the top of your list for spending at least an hour at. The vibrancy of the property, its people, and of course, the wine all draw you in and make it so that you don’t want to leave. Then again, that’s Healdsburg for you.

Tags: Healdsburg, Tasting Room, Travel, travel blog, wine, wine blog, wine country, wine lover, wine tasting, wine travel, Wine Wednesday, winery

Wine Wednesday: Lambert Bridge Winery

October 29, 2014 in Tasting Room Series, wine by traveleatlove | 1 comment

Sonoma’s hidden gem was a little bit hard to find, but as we wound our way through the Dry Creek Valley, we had not a care in the world. Lambert Bridge was a recommendation from Erica, and it was an awesome one. I love getting winery recommendations from wine-loving friends; it’s the best way to plan your trip!

For some of my wine country experiences, please do visit my Travel Blog Posts page!

We visited Lambert Bridge on Labor Day, and it was the perfect start to a day of wine tasting. We left our little wine country home and headed to Dry Creek Valley, one of my favorite wine regions I have visited.

California was in a drought when we visited, so everything was dry. Aside from the water emergency, the landscape looked cool in its sun-baked state, with green grape vines taking up huge swaths of landscape. The earth and the vines and the harvest process, crush, all of that, filled the air and smelled so good.

Dry Creek Valley

It took us a while to find Lambert Bridge as our GPS lost signal and we went the wrong way. We opened an old fashioned map and luckily didn’t give up. The journey was well worth it.

Lambert Bridge has a gorgeous winery tasting room, with lots of dark wood and stone. The tasting room reflects their wines, big, high quality, with a lot of attention to detail.

The tasting room staff was great; they were very informative about the wines, letting us know how winemaker Jennifer Higgins is incredibly hands on, spending lots of time with the grapes and on the land and doing a ton of the winemaking prep process by hand. Lambert Bridge makes small lots of wine that involves lots of hand-picking and sorting grapes berry-by-berry. There’s clearly a lot of love in the wines, and while that is also reflected in the cost, a few bottles for a special occasion are just the souvenir.

We tasted a bit of this and that from each of the tasting options, starting off with the most refreshing 2013 Bevill Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, THE perfect wine for the hot dry Sonoma County day. With citrus and clover notes, this wine tasted like Northern California in a glass. Crisp acidity made it really enjoyable.

Zinfandel and Cab Franc were center stage in the tasting for us. Despite the heat, these reds were perfection.

2011 Sonoma County Cabernet Franc was a treat, with that characteristic Cab Franc spice, funk, and berry notes. Cab Franc is like a an autumn walk in the forest, smelling crunchy leaves and smoke from fireplaces, mixed with super ripe berries. It’s such an amazing grape, and I love tasting Cab Franc from coast to coast.

2011 Forchini Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel was another favorite, big and bursting with jammy raspberry and blueberry notes, along with vanilla and spice, balanced, with a long and lovely finish. I love Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, and this one is definitely top of the list.

Lambert Bridge has a lovely property, ideal for a wander or a seat outside with a taste of wine. It is really a top-of-the-list winery, and if you will be in Northern Sonoma County, I recommend a visit.