Wine Cellar

Wine education is always fun especially when the seminar is given by wine educator and award-winning author Kevin Zraly. Held as part of the 1st Annual Queen City International Wine Festival at Revel 32 in Poughkeepsie, New York, the wine seminar provided participants with the ability to learn to appreciate and look at wines in a new way. As the class involved tasting four wines, it was the perfect combination of learning while experiencing. Cheers!

The Kosher Food & Wine Experience (KFWE) 2023 held at Chelsea Piers Pier Sixty in New York City was a sold-out event that took guests’ palates on a tasty journey around the world without the need for a passport with exceptional kosher wines from Argentina, Australia, France, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, and the United States. Produced by Royal Wine Corp. and celebrating its 17th anniversary (after a three-year hiatus), KFWE attracted almost 3,000 guests. Distilleries were also …

Vintage Cru at the Mohegan Sun – Sun Wine & Food Fest 2023 in Uncasville, Connecticut was a celebration of wine and spirits excellence and provided wine and spirits lovers with the opportunity to taste a well-curated offering of 145 wines and spirits. It was a fantastic bon vivant late afternoon of experiencing exceptional wine and spirits hosted by Celebrity Chefs Rocco DiSpirito and Christian Petroni with oysters, shrimp, pairing cheeses, and live piano music by John Lomartra. Cheers!

Drinking prosecco always reminds us of fabulous times spent in Italy where we celebrated the end of each day with an aperitivo and small bites before venturing out for dinner later in the evening. While we may not be hopping on a plane to Italy as often as we would like, drinking Ninety Plus Cellars Lot 50 Brut Prosecco DOC from Veneto, Italy brings back those memories each time we raise a flute glass and toast, Saluti!

While Makasi Wine made in the San Francisco Bay area of California may be a newcomer to the wine market, (the brand launched in April 2022), Winemaker Danny Sullivan has been making wines for over 10 years for private label clients, family, and friends. Now the rest of us get to enjoy these stellar wines from the boutique Makasi label, produced and bottled by Treasure Island Wines in San Francisco, California. We loved the M-19CH-SLV-CNV, shorthand for Makasi 2019 Chardonnay …

Since 1905, Ottella wines from Lugana, Italy have been winning awards. Their Ottella Le Creete Lugana DOC 2021 received 92 points from Wine Spectator and is a crisp, white wine with luscious pineapple and grapefruit notes on the nose, and intense minerality from the white clay of the terroir. This is a wonderful wine to enjoy on its own or to pair with a variety of food. We paired it with pasta as well as with seafood, and the wine …

After the excitement of the November and December holidays, there is always a bit of a slide into the January doldrums and the need for a bit of decadence to ease into the new year. Riserva wines are always special, and we found that the Il Grigio Da San Felice Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2019 from the San Felice Estate in Siena, Italy was especially so and just what we needed with its tradition of excellence. This intense, deep ruby …

Looking for something different to serve your guests? We recently “discovered” Lustau Manzanilla Papirusa Sanlúcar de Barrameda and loved how this extra dry sherry paired with “tapas” making it perfect for easy holiday or anytime entertaining. While new to us, Bodegas Lustau was founded in Spain in 1896 where they continue the tradition of crafting world-class, award-winning sherry expressions. Salud!

I attended a wonderful Ottella Italian wine luncheon at the restaurant Il Fiorista in New York City to have a better appreciation of these outstanding wines from the Lugana region of Northern Italy. Mariano Sansone, Wine Consultant at Vias Imports, Ltd. gave an interesting presentation on the history of Ottella founded in 1905 and the four wines that paired exceptionally well with Chef Rae Kramer’s exciting cuisine. Mangia bene et saluti!

On November 17, 2022, we attended the 31st Edition of Benvenuto Brunello, the Benvenuto Brunello Anteprima 2022: Tasting the future: Brunello 2018 and Riserva 2017. Held at The Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City, the unveiling of these incredibly exquisite future wines also occurred simultaneously in London, Toronto, and Los Angeles, making it an international grand-scale event with 68 wineries presenting their wines. Saluti!