First Friday of Summer!

It’s finally here.  The first official Friday of Summer!  We’ve made a deal with Mother Nature and arranged for a beautiful day. No worries, no need to thank us, we were happy to do it.  It’s time to scrape off the mold, get out into the sunshine and taste some fantastic summer wines. What makes a wine a “summer wine”?  To me it’s all about bright, bold, refreshing flavors, wines that taste of the sunshine that nurtured them and the romance of a balmy summer evening. 

Wines for Dad…

So, I have to start by saying that I have the coolest Dad in the world. Sorry, I know you think it is yours, everyone does, until they meet mine.   Then when they do meet him, they all end up saying (I promise unprovoked) that my dad just happens to be the greatest guy ever and they aren’t jealous about it, they’re just happy they met him.  This hasn’t been the smoothest sailing year for my dad and all of us who love him, but no matter what (and one of the things that I love best about him) is that he believes every day is a special occasion.  Sneak in a breakfast out before work, a long lunch with friends, watching the sunset or late night Chinese fest - he’s always up for fun, food, friends and a glass of wine. We could all use a bit more of that in our lives! So I hope tonight you will all join me in raising a glass to Captain Pete and wishing all the dads out there the happiest of Father’s Days.

The Heel of the Boot: A Taste of Puglia

Heading south and east out of the well-travelled zone of Rome and Central Italy, you will cross the craggy Appennini and find yourself in Italy’s “breadbasket”, Puglia!  The Adriatic to the east and the Ionian Sea to the south, wrap the heel of the boot in abundant sunshine.  Some of Italy’s best bread, olives and wines come from this region.  Whether the glossy primitivo or the more rustic negroamaro varietals, you’re sure to fund ample body, juicy fruit and soft, sun-baked texture. We are also including a wine from the adjacent rural, undeveloped inland mountains of Basilicata.  Agriculture, including viticulture is sparse in this rugged region, though powerful reds rule the slopes of the extinct Vulture volcano. 

What’s New at The Bottega

As always, we are tasting wines and discovering new and exciting bottles.  Over the past few weeks, we have found some great new items that we have been incredibly excited to share with you, but they didn’t necessarily fit in with our week’s theme.  So this week, we decided that we could wait no longer!  Tonight we will be tasting a stellar lineup of new wines.  Whites, rosé and reds from every night values to the super schmoozy.  This is guaranteed to be a great tasting and we are sure you will leave with some fabulous new friends.

Upcoming Event

Australian Abbondanza: Wednesday, June 10th from 6pm to 8pm

As we started to prepare for a feature on Australia we couldn’t help but notice how many ridiculous deals there are on some seriously amazing Australian wines. We realized this was too big to fit in a regular Friday tasting, so we decided to go all out and throw one of our famous Abbondanzas! As many of you know, Kerri lived in Australia for two years and has the inside track on the incredible regional diversity this country has to offer. Fifteen wines will be available for tasting, showcasing classic producers, new kids on the block, wines with age and unexpected varietals.

This is your chance to taste some of Australia’s best!  $10/person.  Snacks will be served!