Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Real Wine

Terry Hughes of Domenico Selections

We were thrilled to host the fantastic Terry Hughes, founder and partner of Domenico Selections at last Friday’s tasting.  His portfolio has found its way onto our radar recently in our unending quest for “real” wines.  His company’s focus is on Italian artisan producers whose wines tell the story of their land, so clearly we have a lot in common.  It’s always refreshing to bring in an outside voice to our Friday events, especially someone with firsthand knowledge of conditions on the ground.  Terry did not disappoint with his exuberance, joie de vivre, and clear passion for his discoveries!  We can’t wait to see what he finds next!  Oh yeah, the wines rocked too!  Read on for the lineup …

the Art of Eating

“Tradition, simplicity and a sense of place”.  If this little mantra seems familiar to you, our loyal Wine Bottega customer-friends, that’s because it is an underlying theme that has been the pillar of our philosophy for many years now.  We love to share stories about where a wine has come from, who crafted it and why.  In keeping with our dedication to discovering and sharing the context of great wines we have begun a collaboration with one of the finest publications on the topic of food and wine; The Art of Eating.  Based in Peacham, Vermont Edward Behr and his dedicated team of editors and multi-cultural contributors put together a focused, erudite and enjoyable quarterly publication.  Filled with in-depth articles, commentaries and recipes The Art of Eating is a no-hype, page turner that we know you will be anxious to read each time it is issued.  The Wine Bottega will become one of the very few retail outlets for you to find The Art of Eating in Boston and Massachusetts!

Visions of the Pyrenees

The journey by train from Barcelona to San Sebastian only takes about five hours, but the land traveled is immense.  Just outside Barcelona city limits, you see miles of somewhat flat vineyards whose grapes have a bubbly destiny.  On you go into the dusty desert plains dotted occasionally with ghostly Roman ruins, with the menacing, toothy snarl of the Pyrenees slowly approaching from the distance. In a flash of dark green you plunge into the dark green forests of the western Pyrenees, and the villages grow into towns before you finally arrive in San Sebastian, a city surrounded by beaches.  The feather-light, spritz-y whites of the Bay of Biscay must have been created with parched travelers in mind. Read on for more information…

Napoleonic Wines

The Invasion of French Varietals into Italian Soil
(a seminar conducted February 18th, 2010)
The premise of this seminar and tasting is an investigation of wines made in Italy using varietals of French origin. Let’s start by noting that tracking of the movement of grape varietals across international borders is not unlike marking the evolution of any large cultural shift, i.e. language, art, music, et cetera. Timelines to record these changes are intrinsically fuzzy, and the material of concern, namely vitis vinifera in our case, is a constantly evolving population.

History, Individuality and Value: Portugal

We have spent the past few weeks tasting A LOT or Portuguese wine and we are consistently amazed by what we are tasting.  These wines are intriguingly diverse, delicious, and incredible values. When you hear of Portugal and wine, most minds jump right to Port, the famous fortified wines of the country.  As Port consumption has fallen over the past few decades, savvy Portuguese winemakers started making dry table wines from the traditional grapes used for Port.  These beautiful, fruit and spice driven reds opened the world’s eyes to the treasure trove of indigenous grape varietals this country has to offer.  Due to its relative isolation, Portugal is not awash in a sea of internationally ubiquitous varietals found in many other “value” regions.  Read on for some of our favorite new finds…