January on the New England Seacoast was a snow covered, bone chilling, yet fun filled month with many wine events and overnight get-aways to help us stay warm and happy!
 
Hotel Commonwealth, located in Boston, is a great choice for a getaway—it’s a destination unto itself.   The hotel offers a classic boutique style with a contemporary edge, featuring 150-oversized luxury rooms.  Each guest room is elegantly appointed with exceptional amenities and gracious personal service that provides a pleasant surprise each time you stay!  There are two restaurants - Great Bay & Eastern Standard, a stylish lounge, and a gallery of outstanding retail shops – including Nantucket Natural Oils.   www.hotelcommonwealth.com

The award winning Great Bay Restaurant is located just steps inside Hotel Commonwealth. Great Bay serves some of the best seafood in Boston. The décor is modern and the food is simple, clean and pure.  The menu changes daily and features only the freshest ingredients, seafood and meats.  My guest and I started with the halibut tacos and lobster dumplings, and for entrées we ordered the roasted salmon and buttered poached Maine lobster.  Everything was delicious, including the butterscotch moose and carrot cake.  The wine list is impressive with many special selections and hard to find wines.  We could not resist ordering a bottle of Domaine Joseph Roty Cuvée de "Champs Cheney" from Burgundy, France – it paired especially well with the lobster courses!  Great Bay serves dinner every night and a Sunday Brunch.  Their “Island Bar” serves interesting drinks and a menu of lighter bites - a great place to warm up without traveling too far from home.   www.greatbayrestaurant.com

One of the first events at the Winter Wine Festival at Wentworth by the Sea Hotel and Spa was a Spanish wine dinner with Marques de Caceres wines from Rioja Alta, in Spain.  I interviewed Luis Burgueno, their export manager.  Luis has been with the winery for three years, but the bodega (winery) has been producing wine since the 1970’s.  The wines are exported to 120 different countries.  Luis stays very busy traveling to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Germany, and the United States.
 
During our meeting, we tasted the “Blanco” - a light and lovely white wine made from the Viura grape (Rioja’s variety for white wine) - with aromas and flavors of citrus and pear, the “Rosado” - a rose wine with light strawberry color and mixed berry flavors.  For reds we tasted “Crianza”, “Reserva”, and “MC” – this wine is made from 100% tempranillo and has deep, dark ruby colors with aromas and tastes of blackberries and toasted oak.   It’s easy to understand why Marques de Caceres is the best selling Spanish wine in the US!  www.marquesdecaceres.com 

Later in the week, a small group of us spent a snowy afternoon staying warm at Rudi’s Restaurant in downtown Portsmouth, while tasting wines by Chateau St. Jean from Sonoma, California.  Their award winning wine maker, Margo Van Staaveren, was scheduled to join us, but she ended up somewhere between New York and Portsmouth due to icy road conditions.  Although she was missed, we enjoyed tasting her wines - a fume blanc and two chardonnays – each light and tasty, but with their own style and character.  For reds we tasted pinot noir, merlot and cabernet sauvignon – all excellent.  To complete the tasting, the Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Cinq Cepages was served – a magnificent red wine with an abundance of black fruit.  All the reds are ideal with chocolate.  www.chateaustjean.com

Another day, I joined Emanuele Nardi to taste some famous Italian wines from Tuscany.  Tenute Silvio Nardi is located in Montalcino.  This area of Tuscany is where world-class Brunello di Montalcino is produced.  Silvio Nardi has been producing Brunello for over 50 years.  Their Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino are made in their tradional style; full bodied, rich, and flavorful - wines that are best served with food; especially steak, venison and wild boar.    Silvio Nardi recently released “Turan” – a blend of red grapes that are grown in Montalcino.  This wine tastes fresh and is easy to drink.  A great choice in a casual atmosphere while enjoying pizza and pasta – remarkable value for under $20.  www.tenutenardi.com

The Winter Wine Spectacular, an annual fundraiser for Easter Seals, is truly the largest tasting north of Boston, with over 1,200 quality wines.  The buzz around the room was Chile.  I was introduced to Fernando Pavon with Emiliana Vineyards – the pioneer of organic wines in Chile.  Emiliana’s organic viticulture is based on the delicate care of the vineyards and having an intimate relationship with the environment to achieve the maximum expression of the conditions of the location and the terroir.  Other Chilean wines to look for are Almaviva (a partnership between Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Vina Concha  y Toro)  and Casa Lapostolle (their 2005 Clos Apalta was awarded top 100 wine of the year  by Wine Spectator Magazine and new world winery of the year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine).   I also discovered that many Chilean producers are now making wines that are 100% Carmenere – a red grape varietal that originated in France and has a similar taste to cabernet sauvignon. The Carmenere popularity reminds me of the success of Malbec from Argentina – a wine that I love!  www.emiliana.cl

This month promises to be another fun filled month with Valentine’s Day and President’s Weekend.  For a very special treat or a special treat for your sweetie, the award- winning Rise Bar at the Ritz Carlton – Battery Park New York City is a fantastic get away!  It has an amazing view of the Statue of Liberty, and the best panoramic views of New York Harbor.  Every Friday and Saturday night in February, the Rise Bar presents a sumptuous gourmet buffet of the most unforgettable decadent chocolate desserts along with a bottomless glass of Champagne.  The romantic water views are enhanced by carnival-themed chocolate sculptures.  $75 includes tax and gratuity – an excellent deal for a special evening.  www.ritzcarlton.com    Warm and sweet wishes!