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.

It’s Here! Amarone Abbondanza II

Hope to see you all tonight for this amazing tasting!  Sixteen wines have been selected to fully immerse you into the Veneto and Lombardy.  You are guaranteed to leave this tasting a dried grape expert!  Thursday, February 25th from 6pm to 8pm.  $10/person.

First come first served!  Since you asked nicely, read more for a sneak peek at the lineup…

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…

Special New Arrival! Occhipinti SP68

I’m not sure that we have ever had such an eagerly anticipated wine arrival at The Wine Bottega!    I don’t think Matt actually slept the night before this wine arrived.  It’s like Christmas and your birthday all rolled up into one…This wine comes from the lovely and talented Arianna Occhipinti. Only in her 20’s, this amazing woman has already achieved legendary status for her singularly elegant Frappato.  The 2008 Occhipinti SP68 Rosso di Vittoria, Sicily is a new project that blends Frappato with Nero D’Avola in the style of Cerasuolo di Vittoria.  The result is beautful, fresh and just amazingly drinkable.  It’s a wine that puts a smile on your face and adds a bit of Sicilian sunshine to a cold New England winter.  I’m not just waxing poetic here, it really is a joy to drink! We’ll be opening it at next Friday’s Valentine’s Tasting!

Zap! Bam! Pow!

We put together a line-up of superheroes- wines that come from humble beginnings and save the day with their uncanny abilities. Big bang for the buck, great to drink on their own or with food, and there’s even some X-ray vision- these wines are windows to their terroir. And since they’re here at the Wine Bottega you know they’re fighting for truth and justice, vanquishing the minions of evil (those wines spewed from the factories at the behest of masked marketing departments and shady multinational conglomerates). In times like these, we need some wines to take a stand. And like a good comic book, we can take comfort that you can still find something for a just a little bit of change that makes the troubles of the day fade away.

Mike’s Take on 2009

Some were happy to see the ball drop on 2009.  For the new guy at the Wine Bottega, it wasn’t an easy one to see pass.  From the ongoing excitement of my recent engagement, to the new family I’ve acquired since working at this store, it’s been a very, very good year.  I can only hope that karma will be kind in 2010.  I was fortunate to have jumped into the Bottega at a particularly exciting time in its history, not two weeks before the Best of Boston announcement was made.  (The pressure is on me if we lose this year.)  Here’s my list of ten favorite wine people of 2009, in no particular order:  Matt and Jackie Carroll, Dennis Quinn, Kerri Platt, Matteo Mollo, Jeff Slavin, Theresa Paopao, Maria Jose Lopez de Heredia, Giuseppe Vajra, Sadat X.  Now, onto the wines: