City/Town Recommendations #10

This is my tenth post of a planned series noting my personal recommendations for food/wine places in various towns and cities. This time I am touching on a few different cities and towns, including Acton, Andover, Belmont, and Braintree. This list might be expanded and/or revised in the future but I will note when it changes. Be sure to check my extended reviews of many of these places elsewhere on my website.

Acton

Wine Stores:

Acton Wine & Spirit Co.
305 Main St. (Route 27)
Acton, MA
Phone: (978) 263-9060
(Very good wine store, nice selection, and weekly wine tastings)

Andover

Wine Stores:

Wine••Sense
166 North Main Street
Andover, MA
Phone: 978-749-9464

Restaurants:

Yama
63 Park Street
Andover, MA
Phone: 978-749-9777
(Good Chinese and Japanese cuisine)

Glory
19 Essex Street
Andover, MA
Phone: 978-475-4811
(Creative, seasonal and delicious cuisine.)

The Cupcake Boutique
13 Elm Street
Andover, MA
Phone: 978-475-4429
(Tasty, moist cupcakes)

Belmont

Wine Stores:

The Spirited Gourmet
448 Common Street
Belmont, MA
Phone: 617-489-WINE
(Excellent wine store, great selection, free weekly wine tastings)

Restaurants:

Vicki Lee's Cafe
105 Trapelo Road
Belmont, MA
Phone: 617-489-5007
(Very good cafe and bakery)

Braintree

Wine Stores:

Bin Ends
236 Wood Road
Braintree, MA
Phone: (781) 817-1212
(Excellent wine store with great prices)

Colonial Spirits Autumn Wine Tasting

This Saturday, October 20, from 2-5pm, Colonial Spirits will be holding a grand Autumn Wine Tasting. There will be over 50 different wines available for tasting. All wines to be tasted will be discounted by the bottle, most at 25% and some up to 50% off! That certainly seems like an excellent discount,

A PARTIAL LIST OF WINE TO BE TASTED:

Perrin Vinsobres 2005, Rhone $16.99 / 11.98 sale
"Tight and structured, with a healthy dose of toast covering dark chocolate, tar, blackberry and currant flavors. The fine-grained finish really stretches out, boding well for moderate cellaring. Syrah and Grenache. Drink now through 2008." - WS 90 PTS

Perrin Vacqueras 2005, Rhone $24.99 / 17.98 sale
"Packed with ripe fig, licorice and currant paste flavors, backed by cocoa and graphite notes. The dark, muscular finish has some serious grip, so cellar short-term to let it round into form. Best from 2008 through 2010." - WS 91 PTS

Pere Caboche Chateauneuf du Pape la Mirande 2005, Rhone $26.99 / 19.98 sale
"It is dark ruby and reveals plenty of black cherry and currant fruit along with hints of fig, licorice, and smoke. It is a beautiful wine, but could require 1-2 years of cellaring and last up to a decade. The charismatic mayor of Chateauneuf du Pape, Jean-Pierre Boisson, makes some of the most delicious and alluring wines of the appellation." - RP 90 PTS

Ch. Malmaison Moulis 2005, Bordeaux $29.99 / 21.98 sale
"Aromas of spices, berries and currant follow through to a full-bodied palate, with fine taninns and a long, flavorful finish. Barrel tasting." - WS 92-94 PTS

Warre's Warrior Port n/v, Portugal $17.99 / 12.98 sale

Warre's 10-year Tawny Port, Portugal $23.99 / 17.98 sale

Warre's LBV Port 1995, Portugal $25.99 / 18.98 sale

Cockburns 1998 Vintage Port $49.99 / 29.98 saleHedges 1998 Washington Vintage "Port" $49.99 / 24.98 sale

La Lecciaia Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2001, Tuscany $47.99 / 35.98 sale
"Very aromatic, with rose, blackberry and cherry on the nose. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a long, juicy finish. A pretty wine already. Best after 2009." - WS 90 PTS

Seven Hills Merlot 2003, Walla Walla $30.99 / 22.98 sale
"Composed of 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc and aged in 35% new French oak, this dark ruby-colored wine emits a complex bouquet of spice box, menthol, cassis, and cherry. Velvety on the palate, it delivers oodles of sweet fruit, superior depth, and outstanding length. This hedonistic Merlot can be enjoyed now through 2020." - RP 92 PTS

Rosenblum Heritage Clones Petite Sirah 2005, Cal. $19.99 / 14.98 sale
"The 2005 Heritage Clones is a full-bodied, flavorful, mouthfilling wine offering loads of peppery, blackberry, and cherry fruit, surprising density, a supple texture, and beautiful length and richness. This stunner should drink well for 5-8 years or longer." - RP 90 PTS

They will also feature wines such as Hanzell Chardonnay ($60) and Veraison Cabernet ($50), plus a large number of other California cabs and a few things from regions such as Alsace, the Loire, South Africa, Argentina and much more!

Colonial Spirits
87 Great Rd (Rt. 2A)
Acton, MA
Phone: (978) 263-7775

Spanish Winemakers Tasting

Patrick Mata of Ole Imports (bottom center), David Sampedro of Bodegas Vinedos de Aldeanueva (left middle), Pedro Alvarez of Ladera Sagrada (right middle), and the top row, from left to right is Carmen Sebastian of Falset Marca, Diego Magana of Bodegas Vina Magana, Myself, Juanjo Galcera Pinol of Bodegas Vinos Pinol, and Emili Esteve Punti of Vinos Sin Ley, Bellum and Castellar.



On June 30, from 2-5pm, Acton Wine & Spirit Co. hosted a special wine tasting with six Spanish winemakers. I attended this event with other members of The North Shore Winers. This was an exceptional event and my entire group very much enjoyed themselves.

There were twenty wines available for tasting, and I tried them all. This was considered a value wine tasting as nearly all of the wines cost less than $20. There were Cavas, white wines, red wines and even one dessert wine. There was even a generous 20% discount if you bought six or more bottles. And at these value prices, you could definitely afford to buy a bunch.

Patrick Mata, a CEO of Ole Imports, helped to arrange for this special tasting. Ole Imports began in 1999 and now imports over 100 Spanish wines to the US. Their portfolio includes wines from all over Spain, including areas much less known. Ole Imports seek Spanish wine with three common attributes: "quality, value, and terroir." In Massachusetts, their Distributor is Ruby Wines, Inc. If you go to any wine store and check out their Spanish wines, look at the back label and you might see that the wine was imported by Ole Imports. If so, you probably have found a good tasting value wine.

I did have an opportunity to speak a little with Patrick and he was very personable and helpful. It is also obvious he is passionate about wine. In fact, I found much passion for wine at this event.

I met and spoke with all six of the Spanish winemakers, including: David Sampedro of Bodegas Vinedos de Aldeanueva, Pedro Alvarez of Ladera Sagrada, Carmen Sebastian of Falset Marca, Diego Magana of Bodegas Vina Magana, Myself, Juanjo Galcera Pinol of Bodegas Vinos Pinol, and Emili Esteve Punti of Vinos Sin Ley, Bellum and Castellar. They all possessed much passion for wine! Plus, they were very personable, charismatic and helpful. It was such a pleasure to speak with all of them.

To do each winemaker and their wines justice, I will address them in separate posts.

Besides the wines, there was also some food to nibble on, including Serrano ham, Chorizo, a couple Spanish cheeses and crackers. All of this was delicious and the Serrano ham went very fast. The Chorizo had a nice spicy taste.

The tasting was well organized and seemed to run very smoothly. I did not hear any complaints from anyone. It was not overly crowded so you did not have to wait long at all to taste the wines and talk with the winemakers. This was an excellent opportunity to taste some good Spanish wine, to learn more about Spanish wine, and to talk with the winemakers. I am very glad I attended this event and will look forward to future events hosted by Acton Wine & Spirit Co.

Acton Wine & Spirit Co.

I have been receiving email newsletters from Ken Kirk of Acton Wine & Spirit Co. for some time. Ken is the Store Manager and Wine Director. The newsletters are very good, describing new and interesting wines and listing upcoming special events. If you are not on their email list, you definitely should sign up.

I had not visited the wine store though until yesterday. I went to the store to attend a special tasting with six Spanish winemakers. (I will describe that tasting in detail in later posts). I will say though that this was an exceptional event and Ken deserves much kudos for arranging this tasting.

As to the store itself, it is very easy to find, just off Rt. 2 on Rt.27 in a small strip mall. It is well worth the visit. The store is good-sized with plenty of wine, beer and spirits. They have a very large selection of everything, and prices seem average. But, they do have a generous discount program. If you purchase at least six bottles, you get a 10% discount. That is good as most wine stores do not give you a discount unless you buy at least 12 bottles. If you do buy 12 bottles, you discount rises to 15%. And if you buy 24 bottles or more, your discount is 20%. These discounts apply to mixed selections. In addition, they do place items on sale each month.

They have small wine tastings on many Saturdays from 2-5pm. They also have special wine tastings are various times, some which include winemakers. If you get their email newsletter, you will get advance notice of these tastings.

I spoke with and interacted with several members of the staff at the store and all were very friendly and helpful. If you have any questions about wine, they will definitely try to answer and help you. Ken Kirk definitely possesses a passion for wine, which is a sign of a good wine store.

If you are in the Acton area, check out this wine store. It is also worth taking a ride to check out the store. It is really not that far away and is certainly easy to get to. Definitely sign up for their email newsletter. You won't be disappointed.

Acton Wine & Spirit Co.
305 Main St. (Route 27)
Acton, MA
Phone: (978) 263-9060