This August we had the pleasure of visiting Canada via Boston with a return through New York City. We planned an overnight in Boston to meet up with our daughter Sara who was heading back to Boise, ID in just a couple days. We stayed at The Park Plaza mostly for its convenient location but also because it is competitively priced, reliable and supporting historic … Continue reading Oh Canada!……….
Saturday morning we stopped in to see theWinetoBuy.com’s new store located on Gulf Gate Drive. Wow! The storefront sign gives the shop a great presence on the shopping strip. The space is definitely larger than the former store on Stickney Point Road. It includes a temperature controlled wine room and a spacious granite counter area for future wine tastings. They are still busy unpacking and … Continue reading Saturday morning wine purchase…….
I’ve attended way too many events where no thought beyond price was given to the wine being served aside from having the word “wine” on the bottle. More often than not, I would find myself declining to take a glass or regretting that I took one. Occasionally I have been charged with purchasing wine for a group, a meeting or an event and I’ve struggled … Continue reading A better “group” wine………
This rates as one of the most creative dinners I’ve had the pleasure to experience. The chef owner of Indigenous created all of the courses from ingredients found within a 100 miles of Sarasota. Thank you to Chef Phelps for introducing us to some delicious local ingredients and to your experienced staff for making the evening so amazing! Who would have believed the berries on … Continue reading Indigenous’s 100 mile dinner………
I spent a whirlwind weekend in NYC in March to celebrate my aunt’s 90th birthday and get a quick city fix. I had one day of brisk, icy finger weather and the rest was almost summer like. It was a great trip. I covered a considerable amount of pavement in Manhattan, got to MOMA and to my favorite – The MAD Museum at Columbus Circle … Continue reading Notes from a special NYC trip……
We were guests at a very specially planned evening of wine and food this past weekend. Our hosts, Marta and Francis went to great lengths to select wines and foods of Spain they have experienced and loved. They cooked regional dishes to give us a spectacular introduction into Spanish dining. To begin the journey, we were poured two wines from the appellation of Rías Baxias … Continue reading Wine and food designed to love……..
Jump on this wine if you can find it! We shared a bottle of LeMacchiole last night with dinner. The wine was paired with an entree of chicken and orzo prepared with with leeks, tomatoes and calamata olives which was delicious but it could have been paired with anything it was that lovely. It is a perfectly luscious wine! I was sad to learn from … Continue reading Smooth and remarkable………..
Sarasota had a marvelous wine store that brought us an array of wines from boutique wineries and far away places at incredibly reasonable prices. John got to know the manager, Thomas and was a frequent customer for many years. Sadly the store closed after Thomas’s departure. A shop in Gulf Gate has become a great replacement. Many of you already shop here – thewinetobuy.com. … Continue reading In our own backyard…………
We enjoyed being guests at a wine dinner last weekend organized by friends and held at The Field Club. Our host, Bill Seider selected the wines and the Field Club’s chefs paired the selections to dishes they felt would best compliment the wines. The evening began with the sampling of a white wine from Spain created from the grapes of Jaén (Palomino Fino) vines. The … Continue reading Friday’s Wine Dinner………
My 60th birthday gift from John and some very special friends was an extravagant Christmas and New Years celebration in California with family and friends. After a rather frustrating delayed departure from Florida six of us arrived to spend seven days at Sea Ranch. Three hours north of San Francisco, Sea Ranch is an amazing utopian community stretching 10 miles along the rocky scenic coastline. … Continue reading California Coast December 2011……..
John's Wine Cellar 