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News Bites: Roger Williams University Eat Local Challenge / “Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day” Author Leanne Brown at RI Farmers Markets / Sage Cellars Brings Rebel Coast Wine to RI

by David Dadekian October 8, 2015
written by David Dadekian

Current news releases—Eat Drink RI is not the source for these items—please follow any links for more information.

RWU Celebrates Local Food Community with Annual Eat Local Challenge

Chef Cambra prepares tasty and nutritious meals today featuring fresh produce, fish and meat exclusively sourced from New England farms and vendors

RWU staff, including Chef de Cuisine Jon Cambra at right, prepare food for the Eat Local Challenge

RWU staff, including Chef de Cuisine Jon Cambra at right, prepare food for the Eat Local Challenge

Today, the University joins together to celebrate the Annual Eat Local Challenge – a day on which the campus community comes together to sample farm-fresh foods at the outdoor farmer’s market and feast on regionally authentic dishes in the dining commons, all to celebrate the importance of environmentally responsible food sourcing.

For this year’s Eat Local Challenge, Chef de Cuisine Jon Cambra will highlight Rhode Island’s best with dishes – grilled swordfish kabobs, lobster sliders, braised beef pot roast and scallop ceviche, among other menu items. The dining commons will also feature a chilled raw bar featuring littleneck clams, onset oysters and east beach blond oysters. Other specialty dishes will include seaweed salad, potato leek soup and eggplant roulades with autumn squash and goat cheese. All of the ingredients are harvesting within 150 miles of the campus.

The Eat Local Challenge is in its 11th year and was created in 1999 when Bon Appétit launched its Farm to Fork program, in which all Bon Appétit chefs have been required to source at least 20 percent of their ingredients from small, owner-operated farms within that radius.

RWU is committed to sourcing a majority of its fresh ingredients from local farms, fisherman and artisans throughout the year. From eggs to potatoes to dairy, many food items come directly from farms in Rhode Island or Southern New England including Little Rhody Farms in Foster and Rhody Fresh in Hope. Approximately 80 percent of the fresh seafood served on campus is exclusively sourced from New England waters and purchased fresh daily from The Foley Fish company in New Bedford; 90 percent of the bread on campus is made locally at Homestead Bakery in East Providence or Calise Bakery in Lincoln, among other local bakeries.

“I’ve participated in nine Eat Local Challenges, yet each menu always ends up being very different as we get inspired to raise the bar on just how local we can go,” says General Manager, James Gubata. “I’m very excited to host our farmer’s market today too.  A few of our farm-to-fork partners join us for the day and get to chat about what they harvest and create with our guests.”

Last year, in honor of the Farm to Fork program’s 15th anniversary, Bon Appétit decided to give something back, from “Fork to Farm.” The company gave away $50,000 worth of grants to local farmers, fishermen, and foodcrafters across the country to help them grow their businesses. The 10 “Fork to Farm” grant recipients were selected from 25 finalists by RWU and other guests and Bon Appétit teams on Eat Local Challenge Day 2014, with more than 26,000 people casting votes. A year later, those small grants have had a big impact for these small farms and food businesses.

On Eat Local Challenge Day, in addition to the all-local meal, the campus community will also get short updates on the projects of their two regional grant winners; they can follow links to read more on the Bon Appétit blog. Local farmers Matt Couzens of Horse Listeners Orchard will be on hand to offer samples and talk to guests about where their food comes from.

 


Cookbook Author to Visit RI Farmers Markets

Farm Fresh Rhode Island is excited to host Leanne Brown author of GOOD AND CHEAP: EAT WELL ON $4/DAY at two RI farmers markets on Thursday, October 8th.  Brown, recently named one of Forbes 30 under 30 for 2015, will be visiting the West Warwick Farmers Market and the Armory Farmers Market as part of her 2015 tour.

GOOD AND CHEAP: EAT WELL ON $4/DAY (Workman; July 14, 2015; $16.95) is a cookbook like no other, demonstrating why kitchen skill, not budget, is the key to great food. GOOD AND CHEAP is not a challenge to live on so little—it’s a resource for those who face this reality, or anyone in need of stretching a tight budget. It teaches a general strategy, and shares flexible, approachable recipes—from mains like Vegetable Jambalaya, Broiled Tilapia with Lime, and Spicy Pulled Pork, to sides and snacks like Green Chile and Cheddar Quesadillas and Broiled Eggplant Salad—even drinks and desserts, like Watermelon Smoothies and Peach Coffee Cake.

In addition to sharing tasty, nutritious recipes that maximize every ingredient and use economical cooking methods, Brown gives tips on shopping, setting up a basic pantry, mastering staples, and even repurposing last night’s dinner. One page, titled “Leftovers,” offers tips on the myriad ways to make good use of old meals, like turning almost anything into a sandwich, or putting the fixings from last night on top of toast, in a wrap, or on a pizza. Eating well on $4 a day also requires a stocked pantry reserves like garlic, canned vegetables, and dried beans can go a long way towards flavor.  GOOD AND CHEAP is more than a book of recipes. It is a book of ideas, made to prove that cooking has a powerfully positive effect.

Leanne will be at the West Warwick Farmers Market, located in the parking lot of Thundermist Health Center at 180 Providence Street, from 3:00-4:15pm.  Her visit to the West Warwick market will include a live cooking demonstration, free book giveaways and book signings.  Following her stop in West Warwick, Leanne will visit the Armory Farmers Market, located at Dexter Park in Providence, from 5-6pm.  Leanne will be joining Farm Fresh RI’s nutrition education program Healthy Foods, Healthy Families which will be featuring free samples of recipes from GOOD AND CHEAP.

These two special events are made possible by the partnership between Farm Fresh RI, Thundermist Health Center, and Neighborhood Health Plan of RI.  For more information on Leanne Brown’s tour visit http://www.leannebrown.com/events.

 


Sage Cellars Brings Rebel Coast Wine to RI

A new brand with an ultra-cool west coast vibe is introduced to the wine market in RI

Rebel Coast Sunday Sunday wine

Rebel Coast Sunday Sunday wine

Sage Cellars is proud to introduce the latest edition to their portfolio of wineries, Rebel Coast Winery. With the tagline D​istractingly Sexy, ​it’s clear that this new brand is all about having fun, but don’t be fooled, this high quality wine is uniquely crafted from different regions of California and is “made by real people, for real people”. Each bottle of Rebel Coast wine embraces the passionate, rebellious and fun feeling vibes of the west coast.

Their smooth and velvety red wine, R​eckless Love i​s a 2013 Red Blend made up of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Alexander Valley in Sonoma, CA and 50% Syrah from Paso Robles, CA. Even their bottles reflect the wineries belief of a rebelicious high quality, the label is printed directly into the American made glass bottle with glow in the dark ink because, as they put it “how else can you find a bottle when the lights are off? And no one had ever done that before.”

The white blend is lovingly called Sunday Funday. Just the name makes it obvious this is a wine for everyone; this perfectly balanced blend is 90% Steel Barrel Chardonnay, 8% Sauvignon Blanc, and 2% Viognier. Every bottle has a peel off label with a ‘Sunday Funday’ to do list that will keep you laughing all day long.

Sage Cellars is thrilled that this vibrant new brand, along with its wildly entertaining, passionate and down to earth winemakers, is being brought to the Rhode Island market.

Sage Cellars is a Rhode Island based company owned and operated by trained professionals in wine and beer. Owners Anne Sage and Jesse Sgro explain: “Our passion for great craftsmanship runs deep and is born out of a life of dedicated study. Our business model is based on a simple premise: We choose to work with companies with whom we feel an equal excitement for their wines or beers and believe pairs well with the Rhode Island consumer. Our focus has been with family run vineyards, we are also a family business and understand the value in our industry. We listen closely, provide genuine and valuable support both for our quality products in our portfolio and our customers who sustain us.”

October 8, 2015 0 comment
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Napa Valley’s Summit Lake Vineyards Comes to Rhode Island with a Wine Dinner and Tastings

by David Dadekian December 2, 2014
written by David Dadekian
The vineyards at Summit Lake on Howell Mountain

The vineyards at Summit Lake on Howell Mountain

This week Napa Valley native Heather Griffin of Summit Lake Vineyards and Winery visits Rhode Island bringing her family’s wines to an exclusive dinner at Table in Barrington on Wednesday (a few reservations are still available, call 401-337-5830), The Savory Grape’s Holiday Open House in East Greenwich on Thursday and a tasting at Bellevue Wine & Spirits in Newport on Friday.

Summit Lake’s wines are distributed in Rhode Island by Sage Cellars, a family-own distributor of high quality beers and wines from around the world. Sage sampled some of their portfolio at the most recent Eat Drink RI Festival. Eat Drink RI had a chance to email with Griffin prior to her visit to learn about the winery where she was raised and now raises her two daughters. Full details on this week’s Summit Lake Vineyards and Winery events follow below, along with The Story of Summit Lake written by Griffin’s mother Sue Brakesman.

From Heather Griffin (edited to format):

Summit Lake was established in 1971 when my Dad, Bob Brakesman, purchased the property. He had recently graduated with a degree in engineering, but had fallen in love with wine and the wine making process his senior year in college. He started looking for property in the valley and was shown the property up in Angwin. It had been abandoned for about 30 years, but had some old pre-prohibition Zinfandel on it. I think he felt it was fate since it was the same dollar amount that he had just inherited.

We are a family owned and operated winery. My dad oversees both aspects of the business, both the vineyard and winery and has been the winemaker since the beginning. My brother Brian Brakesman is now the winemaker for our winery, in addition to several other clients he makes wine for, and is in charge of the daily operations. I am in charge of the wine after it hits glass and do all of the sales and marketing, as well as hospitality. My husband Mark is employed full time at another winery and vineyard in St. Helena, but also helps with our vineyards in his “spare time.” As with any family business we all do a little bit of everything, especially during harvest. We all drive the tractor, run the crush machinery and do whatever else needs to be done. Thankfully we all get along!

Bob Brakesman with Brian's daughter Sophia Lynn, with her first vintage of Petite Sirah

Bob Brakesman with Brian’s daughter Sophia Lynn, with her first vintage of Petite Sirah

The first acre that my folks planted on the property was Cabernet, and then they planted the rest of the property to Zinfandel since they knew that grew well in the area. We built our winery in 1985, it was an old fashion barn raising, and Summit Lake was born. We currently have 14 acres of vineyard planted on our 20+ acre estate on Howell Mountain and we produce 5 different wines, all from our vineyards.We are best known for our Zinfandel which is our largest production at between 800-1000 cases annually. Our second largest production is dedicated to our Emily Kestrel Cabernet Sauvignon, which is currently at about 300 cases. We also produce a small amount of Clair Riley’s Pirate Reserve Zinfandel Port (yes it’s Pirate, not Private)—200 cases on the years when the weather holds. Our smallest productions are our Blythe Susan Rose, a blend of Zinfandel and Cabernet, at 50-80 cases annually and our Sophia Lynn Petite Sirah at 50 cases. The wines are all named for my Dad’s grandaughters. He got four girls before he got any grandsons.

We first met Anne from Sage Cellars several years ago while she was visiting the valley on a food and wine trip. She and her husband Jesse Sgro have been true advocates for our wine since starting up and taking us into their book. I have only been to Rhode Island once before to visit but am really looking forward to being back in early December. As for what I am looking forward to the most . . . probably the food. I love to eat.

Dinner at Table in Barrington with Heather Griffin from Summit Lake Vineyards & Winery begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 3rd. Call 401-337-5830 for reservations, $80 per person for the four-course dinner paired with Summit Lake’s Rosé, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Port. Wines will be sold via Grapes & Grains wine shop. The menu is as follows:

Course 1
CAULIFLOWER, Roasted Mushroom, Apple, Herbs

Course 2
RABBIT TERRINE, Celeriac, Carrot, Pickled Mustard seed

Course 3
VENISON, Chestnut, Salsify, Roasted Venison Jus

Course 4
ALMOND and DEHYDRATED FRUIT BREAD PUDDING, Almond mouse, Fig

Table, 8 Anoka Ave., Barrington, RI 02806

On Thursday, December 4th from 5 – 8 p.m. Griffin will be at The Savory Grape Holiday Open House where they will be featuring Summit Lake Vineyards. The Savory Grape, 1000 Division Rd., East Greenwich, RI 02818.

On Friday, December 5th from 5 – 7 p.m. Griffin will be at an in-store tasting in Newport at Bellevue Wine & Spirits. Bellevue Wine & Spirits, 181 Bellevue Ave., Newport, RI 02840.


The Story of Summit Lake by Sue Brakesman

The story of Summit Lake Vineyards begins more than forty years ago when Bob and Sue Brakesman, the owners and operators of Summit Lake, met at Jordan Jr. High school in Palo Alto, California.  After graduating from school in 1964, Bob went to the University of California at Berkeley to study mechanical engineering, and Sue went to Foothills Jr. College in Los Altos to study biology.

Bob joined the Phi Gamma Delta house and Sue would visit on weekends, enjoying all the activities that made the “Fijis” famous-not protesting the war or burning bras or marching on the student union.  What they were famous for was their wild parties and their fraternity brother Bill Gamma.  When the chancellor realized he was a fictitiously registered student to whom all vehicles, library books, beer kegs, etc., were registered, the entire fraternity was asked to leave and never return to another U.C. Campus.

Soon after the “Fiji” fiasco, Bob and fraternity brother Tom Anderson took a year off.  They flew to England, purchased a Volkswagen van and traveled through Europe and the Middle East, as far as Afghanistan and Indian Nepal.  Upon his return, Bob enrolled in San Jose State.  While Bob finished his degree, he and Sue lived in a romantic cabin on a horse-boarding ranch in the foothills of West San Jose.  The Agees, their landlords, had extensive gardens, chickens, goats, dogs, cats, and of course, horses.  They loved their new home.  One afternoon, out by the north corral, bob met one of the neighbors, Peter Mirassou.  Peter had recently retired as CEO of Mirassou Vineyards.  Bob had begun making his own beer and invited Peter in for a taste.  In the course of their conversation, Peter suggested Bob trying “brewing” wine.  The Agee ranch was surrounded by vineyards and orchards.  That fall, late one evening, Bob liberated some of the local grapes.  Following the ancient tradition, they crushed the purloined fruit in open top fermenters (new plastic garbage cans).  Their wine-making days had begun.

Bob graduated from San Jose State in January, 1971.  To celebrate, Bob and Sue packed their Dodge van and took off for South America.  They drove to Miami and joined another fraternity brother Peter Downey, who was finishing a Peace Corp assignment in Chili.  They spent many hours sipping the luscious wines of small family-run wineries in Peru, Chili, and Argentina.  This led Bob to question whether he wanted to be an engineer or explore his growing passion for wine and wine making.  On their return, they moved from the San Jose cabin.  Bob went to Point Reyes to help his friend Tom Anderson build a house in the forest, and Sue went back to her family home in Palo Alto.  They would travel different routes through the Northern California wine country, looking for an affordable piece of land to start their own vineyard.  Bob was always drawn back to the Napa Valley

On November 12, 1971, Sue returned home from work.  Bob was there with birthday champagne for her, and her mother, acting a bit strangely, kept telling her to open her birthday card.  Inside the card was the deed to Summit Lake Vineyards! It described 28 acres of land, eight planted in pre-prohibition Zinfandel (their favorite varietal), fruit trees in the orchard, a chicken house, garage, a huge redwood barn, walnut groves, vistas in every direction, and a house built in the 1880’s.  Reading the deed, Sue thought Bob had purchased paradise.

On Christmas Eve of that year, they left their old life behind.  Having yet to see the ranch, Sue was giddy with anticipation.  When they finally entered the gate and drove down the muddy driveway, her heart sank.  It was paradise all right, after the fall.  The deed had failed to mention that the property had been abandoned for over thirty years and was completely overgrown with manzanita, poison oak, and coyote weed.  Only the house had been used, but it too had fallen into a woeful state of disrepair.  The house was filthy, it was freezing cold, and the fireplace barely worked.  After placing buckets around to catch the leaks, they went to bed listening to the storm.  The next morning there was snow on the windowsill and on the bedroom floor.  They dressed and rushed outside into their first white Christmas on Howell Mountain.  Sue’s anxieties vanished when she saw how a beautiful white coat of snow had transformed the land.  They rolled up their sleeves and went to work-a lot of work!

Their first step was to befriend the local farm advisor, Jim Lider, who quickly became their guru.  He helped them define the soil, told them the history of the vineyard, and recommended rootstock.  Well into the third month on the ranch, they discovered a pre-world war II tractor hidden in the brush.  After several trips to the tractor graveyards in Petaluma, Bob worked his magic and the work became easier.  It took a little over two years to clear the land and resurrect the old eight acre Zinfandel vineyard.

After restoring the old Zinfandel vines, Bob and Sue needed to expand and improve the rest of the land.  When they needed vines, they both went to work at a nursery in St. Helena that produced bench-grafts (baby grapevines).  They worked the 6pm to midnight shift, staying a couple of hours more each night grafting their own vines.  They planted them in milk cartons and lined them up behind the house with overhead sprinklers to keep them healthy.  On weekends, friends with white-collar jobs would come up to the ranch and help plant the new vines, enticed by the promise of a six-pack of cold beer upon the completion of a row.  It took three years to plant thirteen acres of new vines, eleven of Zinfandel and two of Cabernet.  During this time, Heather, their first daughter was born.  She spent time strapped to Sue’s back or sitting in a big canning pot, playing with the water dribbling from a hose, happy to watch her young parents work.

When the vines needed water, Bob went to work for a company that installed drip irrigation systems.  It was the company’s policy to bury leftover pipes and fitting because it was too costly to return them to the warehouse.  Soon the leftovers began to come home on the back of their flatbed truck.  Within a year their irrigation system was complete.  It was then time to let the vineyards mature.

When Bob needed to perfect his winemaking skills, he took a position as cellar foreman at Freemark Abbey which, in the early 80’s, was considered one of the best of the 13 wineries on the valley floor.  Owners Chuck Carpy, Bill Yeager and Frank Wood were legendary.  Their winemaker, Jerry Luper, became a friend and mentor to Bob.  Freemark developed many innovative techniques, producing one of the first Trockenbeerenauslesen in California (a sweet late harvest wine).  Bob was in heaven for the next six years.  During the crush of 1975, their son Brian was born.

Before 1985 all harvests were parties.  Friends would begin to arrive on Thursday night and the fields would begin to look like an ad for The Whole Earth Catalog.  Bright and early Saturday morning everyone would invade the vineyards with assorted trucks, lug boxes, grape knives and first aid kits.  Soon the fruit would start arriving at the crush pad behind the house.  The men would flex their muscles and begin pitch-forking the grapes into the stemmer crusher.  During crush, Sue would act as queen bee in the kitchen directing all the gals in preparing the nights feast.  Dining, dancing, and hot tubing would last well into the night.  The following morning, those that could crawl out of their sleeping bags, would come down into the basement and help bottle the wine from two harvests ago.  The old hand corker made a wonderful rhythm. Music and laughter filled the basement as they worked and talked about the crazy activities of the previous evening.  Everyone left with a “free” case of wine.

When they outgrew the small cellar under the house, it was time to build a winery.  A sight was cleared and leveled and a massive cement pad was poured.  Their three children’s handprints can still be found in the Northwest corner.  Their youngest, Danny, born in 1979, and their old dog blue, left many additional prints.  The walls were constructed and raised with the help of friends and neighbors and their tractors, in the true “barn-raising” style.  With the rafters in place, Sue’s cousins Mark and Russell skillfully laid the roof.  A couple of coats of paint on the walls and a beautiful mural on the big front doors painted by Sue’s Uncle Ralph completed the job.  Bonded winery #5255 was finished in 1985.

Bob’s engineering degree kicked into full throttle when the winery needed equipment.  He began working for the Complete Winemaker in St. Helena.  Bob was soon traveling to wineries springing up in Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino, designing and installing their new bottling lines.  He also kept a sharp eye on the equipment ready to be replaced.  A filler from here, a labeler from there, tanks, barrels, pieces of this and that, lots of stainless steel, and the winery was ready to go.

Summit Lake Vineyards first commercial release, a 1978 Zinfandel, won the coveted double gold medal at the California State Fair.  It sold out in just eight days.  They had done it!

2014 marks our 43rd year at Summit Lake Vineyards, and we are proud to still be Family Owned and Operated.  In addition to our Zinfandel, we are now producing Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel Port, Petite Sirah, and Rosé.  All of these wines are named for Bob and Sue’s granddaughters; Emily Kestrel, Clair Riley, Sophia Lynn, and Blythe Susan.

A big “THANK YOU!” to all of the family and friends that have made Summit Lake Vineyards what it is today, we couldn’t have done it without you!  Please feel free to stop by and see what is new, and what isn’t, at Summit Lake.

December 2, 2014 0 comment
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Eat Drink RI Presents Napa Valley’s Barlow Vineyards at The Café of Easy Entertaining

by David Dadekian March 4, 2014
written by David Dadekian

[SINGLEEVENT single_event_id=”lifestyle-2-9-52fbcc4585921″]

March 4, 2014 0 comment
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newswine & drinks

2012 Gift Guides: Wine, Oysters and a Book

by David Dadekian December 11, 2012
written by David Dadekian
90+ Cellars Holiday Wine Essentials, photo credit: Michael Diskin

90+ Cellars Holiday Wine Essentials, photo credit: Michael Diskin

It’s that time of year again: gift giving season. Holidays abound, everyone’s going somewhere where they want to bring something. Heck, sometimes when you’re buying things for others you feel like buying something extra for yourself. There wil be a series of posts this week and next based around a number of items that either we were sent as gifts and enjoyed or picked up ourselves and have to tell you about them.

First up, the 90+ Cellars Holiday Wine Essentials. From the New England-based 90+ Cellars comes this curated selection of six wines for celebrating the season from a Prosecco to a Cabernet Sauvignon, wrapped in a convenient festive gift box. I’ve seen 90+ Cellars wines over the past year since they launched, but I’ll be honest, I was a little leery of buying wine, even well-priced wine, where I knew nothing about the wine other than where it came from and the varietal. Here’s how 90+ Cellars describes what they do.

“90+ Cellars is a limited collection of wine sourced from elite vineyards all over the world with a history of producing wines with 90-point ratings, gold medals, and best buy awards. The 90+ Cellars team tastes several wine samples each month, selects the best of the best for the 90+ Cellars label, and offers them at up to 50% less than the original brand’s price so savvy wine consumers can enjoy great wine anytime.”

As I tasted the six wines in the Holiday Wine Essentials box I realized, of course there’s value in finding a producer who’s wine you know and trust, but I have also come to trust certain importers of wine. For instance, I know I enjoy wines produced by Marchesi di Barolo, but at the same time, I’m more willing to blindly try a wine that Frederick Wildman imports. So perhaps I could put that same trust in the wines that 90+ Cellars is curating. 90+ Cellars is maintaining a form of producer individuality in their Lot number labeling. For example, their Lot 66 Riesling which was included in this Holiday Wine Essentials box is a 2011 vintage from Mosel, Germany, while they also sell a Lot 19 Riesling, which is a 2008 vintage from Columbia Valley. So we are getting specific wines, we just don’t know the producer’s names.

The 90+ Cellars Holiday Wine Essentials includes, with my notes in italics:

Lot 50 Prosecco, Veneto, Italy, NV: Possibly the best Prosecco I’ve ever had. Seriously. We opened it on Thanksgiving before dinner and as our guests took tastes the bottle quickly disappeared. Everyone wanted more of Lot 50.

šLot 64 Sauvignon Blanc, Lake County, CA, 2011: The weakest wine in the box, but drinkable. It seemed more like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with a lot of grapefruit up front. But it was a little too sharp and would be overpowering some foods you might have considered to be a good pairing.

Lot 66 Riesling, Mosel, Germany, 2011: This was excellent, very typical of a Riesling from Mosel, off-dry but not overly sweet. I rarely have met a Riesling I didn’t like and this was love.

Lot 68 Pinot Noir, Central Coast, CA, 2010: Also typical of a Central Coast Pinot Noir. It was very juicy, not particularly exciting, but good, and a nice, light red for all kinds of food.

Lot 21 French Fusion Red, Languedoc, France, 2009: Here’s where we saw some depth. This wine shouted Languedoc. It was a bit heavy and needed to open up a bit. This is a good wine for slow drinking over the course of a meal and seeing how it develops. Great spiciness and fruit as it opened.

Lot 72 Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles, CA, 2010: This was very enjoyable, and at it’s suggest price point on the 90+ Cellars site, a very good value. An easy drinking Cabernet Sauvignon with lots of cocoa and warm spices. It was very silky and of course went well with a steak.

The Holiday Wine Essentials is available for purchase at these Rhode Island retailers:

  • Madeira Liquors, Providence
  • Nocera’s Liquors, Providence
  • Haxton’s Kent Liquors, Warwick
  • Bobby Gasbarro’s Oaklawn Discount Liquors, Cranston
  • Bristol Wine & Spirits, Bristol

Suggested retail is $60, but you may find it on sale. It’s a great value for some very good wines. Plus, as I’ve found in person and read on Twitter, the whole 90+ Cellars concept is a great conversation starter, and isn’t that a large part of what holiday gatherings is all about?

The "Ditch the Fruitcake and Get 'Shucked'" Holiday Package

The “Ditch the Fruitcake and Get ‘Shucked'” Holiday Package

This next gift I haven’t received, but it was suggested to me and does seem like a perfect item on many levels. One, I love oysters and Island Creek Oysters from Duxbury, Massachusetts are excellent. Two, I’ve been reading Erin Byers Murray’s Shucked and very much enjoy it. Three, my good friend Jacqueline Church created the Oyster Century Club© this year and it’s a phenomenal way to get into eating the delicious bivalve. So I give you:

The “Ditch the Fruitcake and Get Shucked” Holiday Package

From Island Creek Oysters:

Island Creek Oysters has grown into one of the largest and most reputable aquaculture businesses in the US, selling nearly five million oysters a year around the world. Intense care is given to every step of the farming process, from hatchery to harvesting. Because of Island Creek’s commitment to excellence, the National Shellfish Association named Island Creek Oysters the best oyster in America. Today, diners can find Island Creek Oysters on the menu at restaurants across the country including Per Se, The French Laundry, Le Bernardin and even The White House.

Offering all the accouterments for bivalve novices or long-time fans, the “Ditch the Fruitcake and Get Shucked” Holiday Package package is almost too good to give away. For $100 it includes:

  • Erin Byers Murray’s memoir Shucked
  • Three dozen Island Creek Oysters
  • Shucking knife
  • Island Creek Oysters short sleeve t-shirt

Shucked chronicles Erin’s experience when in March of 2009 she decided to ditch her pampered city girl lifestyle and convince the rowdy and mostly male crew at Island Creek Oysters in Duxbury, Massachusetts, to let her learn the business of oysters for a year. Shucked is a lively narrative of oyster farming from a true farm-to-table perspective. Her book is part love letter, part memoir and part documentary about the world’s most beloved bivalves.

Again, another gift item that seems like a complete steal at that price and another brilliant gift for a holiday gathering because how do you not have a party when a group of people are shucking and slurping oysters?

December 11, 2012 0 comment
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2019 Rhode Island Inno Blazer Award Winner & Two Time 50 On Fire Winner

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Rhode Island Foundation 2014 Innovation Fellow

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