Several free wine tasting events are filling up the May calendar, beginning on Saturday, May 4, at Tutto Bene Wine & Cheese Cellar in Lowell. Richard “Riccardo” Rouke is planning a fabulolus take-off on the Kentucky Derby, which will be contested later in the day at venerable Churchill Downs. He’s schedule a Run for the […]
Author: Jim Campanini
Wine lovers make ConneXtion with House of Messina
NORTH ANDOVER — Sam and Tina Messina are a pretty good brother-sister team, complementing each other at their Wine ConneXtion enterprise just like the perfect pairing of a grilled veal chop and an elegant 2007 Gaja Brunello di Montalcino. Sam is the wine director and responsible for tasting and selecting all 700 kinds of domestic […]
Recent tastings: A divine Amarone from Ca' Bertoldi
RECENT TASTINGS: Domaine Pichot Vouvray 2011, $11.99. If you’ve never tasted Vouvray, this is a nice way to break the ice. It is among my favorite French varietals: Straw colored, aromatic, clean, peachy and refreshing. Any white fish will do … Zolo (Unoaked) Chardonnay 2010, $11.99. Very fresh mouthfeel with intense apple and pear taste. […]
Time to start cellaring red wines
If you’ve been to your favorite wine shop lately you’ve probably noticed a brighter interior than usual. That’s because smart wine merchants are redeploying their stock, putting new spring and summer white wines on prominent shelf space and reducing their big winter reds. It’s a good sign. With the warm weather and al fresco entertaining […]
A staff assignment to 'wine' about
What makes working at a newspaper exciting is the uniqueness of a new day of news. No two days are ever the same. In fact it’s almost a given that when someone in the newsroom says, “That’s it, I’ve seen it all,” the phone rings and someone says, “You won’t believe this but …” People […]
Making wine is a dream come true
On Wednesday, March 27, the Wine Goddess, myself and nine other pioneering oeniphiles made history, turning out our first batch of homemade wine. Well, at least it was the first time for Belvidere Hill Estates Winery, the name of the new Campanini enterprise. It was with proud eyes — and anxious palates — that we […]
Bledsoe blitzes Bay State wine-shipping law
Drew Bledsoe’s been out of pro football for six years but he’s still reading defenses.In his visit to the Statehouse on Thursday, the former New England Patriots quarterback sized up the status quo among legislators who’ve blocked efforts to open up Massachusetts to shipping out-of-state wines directly to the homes of consumers here. Bledsoe, who […]
Wine world loses a good friend
I considered Jim Barrett somewhat of a friend even though I never got to meet him. Barrett, the owner of Chateau Montelena Winery in Napa Valley, died last week at the age of 86. Fifteen months ago I made a pilgrimage to Chateau Montelena, located at the base of Mt. Saint Helena in Calistoga, with […]
Recent tastings: Seven wines to explore
RECENT TASTINGS: Chateau du Pin Bordeaux 2009 ($12.99) — Here’s a good place to start learning about French value wines. I was impressed with the long, dry finish on this medium-bodied red. It went well with beef tacos … Kiona Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2011 ($10.99) — The clean, citrusy taste of this varietal is getting […]
Three cheers to mom and the Ides of March
I’ve never feared the Ides of March, even if my first and last name carried the same initials as Julius Caesar. Shakespeare immortalized the words “Beware the Ides of March” in his play about the Roman emperor who was assassinated by 60 Roman senators in 44 B.C. The famous English bard wrote the play in […]
