My Year in Review: Part 2

Let us continue to look back to 2007.

In the first part of My Year in Review, I discussed the five biggest and most important food and wine events of the past year for me. Now I want to touch on some smaller events and items, including some of my favorites in certain categories.

This is certainly not a complete list. It is more just a small sampling of memorable matters I have posted about over the past year. Just several items that I want to emphasize though by no means are they the only memorable items of the past year.

Favorite New Restaurant: L’Andana is a new Italian grille in Burlington. It is the fifth restaurant owned by famed Chef Jamie Mammano, who also owns Mistral, Teatro, Sorellina and Mooo. L'Andana very much impressed me, with its creative dishes, large quantities and delicious food. You can read my multiple reviews of L'Andana. I look forward to returning there for many more good meals, as well as their future opening for lunch.

Favorite Dessert: The Wine Ice Cream by Mercer's Dairy of New York also impressed me this past year. You can read my review of their tasty products. It is a creamy ice cream with a distinctive flavor of wine. Though they currently are not available in any Massachusetts store, they can be mail ordered. I do hope they become available in the near future in Massachusetts.

Saddest Event: The most unfortunate event of the past year was the closure of Savory Tastes Cafe in Reading. This was one of my favorite restaurants and I was much saddened when I learned it would be closing. I am hoping though that in 2008, Chef Stephen Bell will open another restaurant in a new location. He is a very talented chef and I miss his cuisine.

Important Wine Event: The first wine auction in Boston was held this past September. Skinner, a large auction house, will hold about two wine auctions each year. They are partnered with the Lower Falls Wine Co. Their first wine auction had over 200 lots, including a number of rarities. Though I was unable to attend their first auction I do hope to attend their next one. I was fortunate enough though to attend their special pre-auction wine tasting which was an incredible event. They had an amazing selection of high-end wines available for tasting.

Favorite Food/Wine Movie: If you have not seen it yet, then go out and get the DVD of Ratatouille. Sure it is an animated movie about a rat who wants to be a chef. But it is a fantastic movie that foodies will love. It is also movie that both children and adults will enjoy. I just loved this film and I am sure I will watch it again and again.

Favorite Local Winery: For a few years, my favorite Massachusetts wines have come from Turtle Creek Winery. I visited their winery this year and it helped cement my support for this excellent winery. The wine maker, Kip Kumler, was a fascinating and passionate man. If you can find his wines, buy them. You won't be disappointed.

Favorite Cookbook: I have been reviewing a number of cookbooks over the past year. The stand out for me was Pure Flavor: 125 Fresh All-American Recipes from the Pacific Northwest by Kurt Beecher Dammeier. I loved the Chef's philosophy, his recipes and the whole style of this cookbook. Plus it was a visually pleasing book.

Favorite Food Book: I enjoy watching Bourdain and Zimmerman on television but found a new book in a similar wine, The Year of Eating Dangerously by Tom Parker Bowles. I was unaware of Bowles prior to seeing his book hit the stands. But it was an enjoyable romp across the world. Bowles is an interesting writer and his experiences are well worth reading.

Favorite Food & Wine Fusion: While in Spain, I visited the winery of Abadia Retuerta. Beside their fine wines, they also sold wine-infused salts. I have used them several times now, on everything from duck to beef, and love them. They certainly add flavor and I find them rather unique.

My Year in Review

2007 has been an interesting, busy and delicious year for me. I began several new endeavors, ate plenty of fine food and tasted some excellent wine. As 2008 nears, it is time to take a look back at this past year, to savor some of my best memories and achievements.

I have already provided two summary lists for 2007, my Top Ten Wines Under $15 and my Top Ten Wines Over $15. Now is the time for a general summary of the past year, a rundown of several key events. These are the five biggest and most important food and wine events of the past year for me.

A Passionate Foodie: The biggest event obviously has to be the creation of my new food & wine blog, A Passionate Foodie. I had previously been a primary contributor to the Real World Winers blog, which had begun in November 2005. When that blog began to falter, and eventually shut down, I chose to start my own blog. I still had a strong passion for food and wine, and wanted to share that with others.

As I am the sole contributor to this new blog, I have complete control over its content and design. I am able to write about whatever interests me in the world of food and wine. With over 600 posts and over 37,000 hits, I am quite satisfied with how matters have progressed. I am proud of how my new blog has turned out and hope to continue to improve it. Please send me any suggestions that you have for my blog.

North Shore Winers: This past February, I created the North Shore Winers Meet-Up group. This group meets at various wine events, from tastings to classes. I select the events, from public tastings to private events that I arrange. So far, we have attended 24 different events. It is free to join the Winers and many of the events have been free as well. The group has grown significantly over the past year and we currently have over 210 members. Next year, we will attend plenty of different events and hopefully our membership will continue to grow as well. It has been great to meet so many other wine enthusiasts as well as to help educate people about wine. It has been lots of fun.

Stoneham Sun: This past August, I began writing a weekly restaurant and wine column for my local newspaper, The Stoneham Sun. So far, I have written 20 columns so far and continue to be going strong. The column has been diverse with local restaurant reviews, wine recommendations and more. The response to my columns has been very positive. I look forward to writing many more columns in the future and hope my readers continue to enjoy my column.

Spain Vacation: This past fall, I spent two fantastic weeks vacationing in Spain. I blogged about so much of my trip, from the superb restaurants to the excellent wineries. Booked through Cellar Tours, we planned a special food and wine vacation. We visited nine wineries, in five different wine regions. We dined upon so much delicious food. We experienced so much on this luxury tour of Spain, from Madrid to San Sebastian to Barcelona and more. And one of the highlights of the trip was getting to meet Ryan and Gabriella of Catavino, fellow wine bloggers. They were great people and we had a fun time together. Next year, I will likely travel to Oregon, to Portland and the Williamette Valley.

A Passionate Foodie-Fiction: I have also created a supplement to my blog, a new blog that is dedicated to my original fiction about food and wine. There is currently only a single short story there, The Perfect Wine, but more will be added in the future. I would love to hear your feedback on my short story.

Best wishes to all in the New Year!