Wine drinkers, rev up your palates!
On Saturday, the Wine ConneXtion in North Andover is hosting a Grand Wine Tasting event to celebrate its seventh anniversary.
Co-owners Sam and Tina Messina and their staff have culled a list of more than 1,000 brands and come up with 50 favorites in all wine styles, varietals and price points for your palate-pleasing pleasure.
The free-of-charge event runs from 1 to 5 p.m. and is open to the public. Food will be served and there is ample parking in the First and Main Street Plaza where the store is located.
“We have a lot of fun with this event but it’s hard work selecting the top wines for it,” says Sam Messina, the inimitable wine director at Wine ConneXtion. “We think all the wines we sell are the best of the best, and we’ve been tasting wines for weeks trying to get down to 50. I almost said let’s go with 100 wines. That’s how hard it is to whittle the field. But we finally settled on 50 and there are a bunch of wonderful surprises.”
Since opening in 2009, the Wine ConneXtion has sold more than 1.2 million bottles of wine, according to its website. Sam credits the wine-exclusive approach and his dedicated staff, many of whom have worked at the store from its inception.
“We’ve bucked industry trends, sticking exclusively to the wine market, boutique brands, and our customers’ needs,” says Sam. “We could sell the big brands at reduced prices but then we’d be like all the rest … We don’t sell beer or lottery tickets. Some said we’d never make it. But our philosophy is to look for new wines that represent great quality and value. We’ll never bore our customers.”
(Two years ago, the store expanded into distilled spirits — vodka, rum, bourbon, scotch, etc. — with the same philosophy to discover new, sometimes hard-to-find products. David Messina, Sam’s son and a UMass Lowell business graduate, heads the division.)
Krista and Stephen Ross, a married couple from Methuen, have worked at the store for seven years. “We’ve learned a lot about wine from the Messinas. We’re not sommeliers,” says Stephen of the regular staff, “but we’ve been trained to know everything about the wines.”
Regular customers are familiar with the “staff picks” on display throughout the aisles. Each note card offers a staffer’s personal review on a specific bottle. “Our staff is trusted by our customers,” says Sam. “They’ve built up their own following in the wines they select.”
Sam says he and the staff hold six to eight internal wine tastings per year, sampling as many as 60 wines in a session. Only the “best of the best,” whether it’s a $10 wine or a $40 wine, are brought in, he says.
So what’s in store for Super Saturday’s Grand Tasting?
Regulars and newcomers to the store will be happy to peruse — and taste — an eclectic list of wines that fit every pocketbook. The number of wines to be presented in each price range are as follows:
- $10 or less: 7
- $10.99 to $15: 16
- $15.99 to $19.99: 15
- $20 to $59.99: 12
More than half of the featured wines (28) are domestic, dominated by California wineries (25). And sprinkled among highly acclaimed producers like Ramey, Chalk Hill and Justin, are several unique, up-and-coming wines from less familiar entities such as Bell Cellars, Smith & Sons, Wilson Creek, Zilla and Textbook.
Sam’s predicting that Wilson Creek’s Sparkling Peach Bellini ($12.99), a drink made famous at Harry’s Bar in Venice, will be “blow your socks off.” It’s got a champagne base, different from the Italian Bellini which relies on Prosecco.
For an international flavor, there are 22 assorted wines from seven countries — Italy, France, Spain, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa.
Italy dominates the global selection with 12 bottlings, and Sam and his staff are breaking out the big boys for this tasting.
Leading the way is the Donatella Cinelli Colombini Brunello di Montalcino, which comes from Tuscany’s classic 2010 vintage. While ageworthy — it can last in the cellar for another 15 years — this full-bodied Italian red is drinkable now and loaded with ripe cherry fruit infused with notes of chocolate and tobacco. At $39.99 a bottle, it’s one of the best Brunello values on the market.
But there’s more: the new release of Vietti Barolo Castiglione ($44.99) will also be showcased. It’s a phenomenal Piedmont wine made from the Nebbiolo grape. Wine expert Antonio Galloni gave “Castiglione” a 95-point rating, noting its “soaring aromatics” and “delicious” fruit.
Two other wines that caught my eye are the Poggio al Tesoro Vermentino ($15.99), a perfumed white wine with lemon peel and mint expressions, and France’s Domaine Du Pere Caboche Chateanuef du Pape ($29.99), a Syrah-Grenache blend offering distinctive Rhone Valley tastes of jammy, dark berry preserve and hints of blood orange.
Salute!
Tips for a grand affair
In my playbook, there are three major rules to observe that can help you to enjoy a grand tasting event — patience, moderation and drink plenty of water.
- Water is key. At the Wine ConneXtion on Saturday, customers will find at least nine tables set up throughout the store. Staffers and industry representatives will be pouring six to eight different wines at each station. Each drinker will get slightly less than an ounce of each wine to sample. However, sip after sip of wine adds up over time, so I suggest drinking a glass of water for 2-3 wines sampled. Even better, drink a glass before moving on to the next station. This clears the palate and dilutes alcohol intake.
- Have a strategy. On arriving, get a brochure that lists all the wines. Select four to eight “must” wines you’d like to taste. Check your watch. Figure on spending 10 minutes appreciating each wine. Take a sip and ask your friends or the server about the wine. Mark down notes on the brochure. These activities will keep you focused and help you moderate your alcohol intake.
- Eat something. Crackers, cheese and finger foods will be available. Get something into your stomach especially if you haven’t eaten prior to arriving at the tasting. The food will absorb the wine.
- Go for discovery. Tastings are set up to explore new wines, so don’t get bogged down in sampling familiar wines that you might have purchased previously. Leave your comfort zone and sample the bold stuff — or the “go where no one has gone before” category. Try a new varietal. Sample a wine from an unfamiliar winery. Aim for discovering a product that can lead to an exciting purchase that surprises friends. Be the Capt. James Kirk of your group.
- Finally, pace yourself. Go talk to Sam Messina and one of staffers and ask them to make a suggestion. Have fun.
— JIM CAMPANINI
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