Boston Wine Expo 2012, by Cheryl Flynn
Saturday morning, during the first real snowstorm of the year, I am lucky enough to have a ride in to Boston from my brother-in-law so I that I may attend the wine expo.
It has been a while since I was last able to attend this event, and I was giddy with anticipation on what was going to be offered.
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a seminar, “A Region on the Rise” showcasing Ribera del Duero wines. Our group tasted 9 spanish wines made from Tempranillo grapes and I was loving them all. I have always liked Spanish wines, but tasting from this region I can say that I now love Spanish wines. The best part of all was that all of them were under $45.
After that, I got to head down to the Thirsty Girl booth. Leslie Sbrocco is so knowledgeable about wines and for me personally it was like meeting a star. Her book “Wine for Woman” was one of the first wine books I read. Check out her website, www.BeAThirstyGirl.com. You might be intrigued to join the club.
Heading over to where the California wines were located, I started tasting some great new wines. One of my newest favorites is a Lamarca prosecco. This sparkling wine had the tastings of honeysuckle, white peaches and was just absolutely delicious and very affordable. It retails for under $20.
Another favorite California wine was William Hill, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 from Napa, as well as Bridlewood Pinot Noir.
I was starting to remember why I had loved the wine expo.
I had come to realize that they have added more culinary vendors then they had in years past. The first time I went, about 8 years ago, I felt lucky if I found a cracker. This year, Bertucci’s was there handing out a pasta dish, I had salad from Annie’s Organics and tomatoes from Backyard Farms. There was hummus from Cedars and gourmet chocolates. All very welcomed with the amount of wine I had already tasted, and with more to taste.
I then went to wines from Greece. My companion is heading to Santorini soon, so it seemed fitting to try out the wines from that area. I cannot recall what the wine was, but I tasted a white that I found dry, acidic and lovely. I envy my friend going to Greece because the wines coming from Greece were delightful.
Heading over to the Italian wines, I tasted a Cupio Brunello that was aged for 36 months. This was the crown jewel to Italian wines. I was told that this winery utilizes Fair Trade practices. After tasting this wine, I knew I needed to stop right there and just savor this experience.
My next stop was another seminar put on by the Thirsty Girl herself, Leslie Sbrocco, called Taste Wine like a Pro, learning the secrets behind how to taste wine, complete with a jeopardy game for a blind tasting. I thought I was pretty good at tasting wines, but truth be told, I only got one out of 9 right. But the experience was a lot of fun; this seminar was more like attending a party than a tasting. The other people were really friendly, although while waiting in line, we were handed out sparkling wine before we even began, so how could it go wrong.
The last stop was to a seminar called Beyond Malbec, celebrating the diversity of Argentina. At this point, I have been tasting for more than 4 hours, so I am not sure if I could actually taste the wines anymore, but I enjoyed a Graffigna, Pinot Grigio 2011 that retails for $13.99 that had such a strong grapefruit taste, a lot of acidity and was very light.
I can honestly say that the Boston Wine Expo was as much fun as I had remembered it. If you can get the chance to go next year, it is an absolute must. You can’t help have a good time.
Comments