Sauvignon Blanc Three Ways, at Tastings

Sauvignon Blanc looks innocent enough, with its pale yellow color and maybe a tinge of green here and there.

But then you put your nose in the glass. One sniff, and you know you're dealing with no rookie.

It's Sauvignon Blanc's aromas, maybe even more than its flavors, that are destined to express themselves come hell or high water.

Or, for that matter, a difference in terroir.

It isn't often that someone lines up three Sauvignon Blancs for you from three vastly different places, giving you the opportunity to smell (and see, and taste) the various personalities of this potent grape from around the world.

Tonight Tastings Wine Bar & Bistro in Foxborough is doing that for you.

They call it their Tuesday Tasting. It'll cost you $15 up front, but you'll get it right back when you stay for dinner.

Which you will definitely want to do.

Because the other thing Sauvignon Blanc is, is friendly to many of the foods on Tasting's exceptionally creative (and exceptionally local) menu.


WHAT: Tuesday Tasting: Sauvignon Blanc from California, New Zealand, and France
WHERE: Tastings Wine Bar & Bistro, 201 Patriot Place, Foxborough
WHEN: Tuesday, March 23 from 6 to 8 p.m.
COST: $15, which is credited toward your dinner

DAILY SIP:

The most salient characteristic of sauvignon blanc is its distinctive, penetrating aroma, which can evoke scents of grapefruit, lime, green melon, gooseberry, passion fruit, freshly mown grass, and bell pepper. Grown in cooler climates and in fertile soils promoting excessive vine growth, herbaceous smells and flavors can dominate the character of the wine, while in warmer regions, the melon, citrus and passion fruit aromas and flavors emerge. (Source: DrinkWine.com)

Spring Fling in Salem: Wine Food Beer Music, This Saturday

Check out the list of folks involved in Saturday's Spring Fling in Salem, and you start to get a sense of what the event will be like.

Pamplemousse, whose owner used to produce big-ticket music events. She also carries a very thoughtful selection of boutique wines and local and European craft beers.

Magic Hat Brewing Company, based in South Burlington, Vermont, who post info on their website (and to their 32,000+ Facebook fans) about things like creating your own beer dinner at home and inspiring democracy through the power of music.

A&J King Artisan Bakers, who think making bread is more about technique and tradition than any ole recipe. (Check out the Daily Sip, below.)

The Upper Crust Pizzeria. We know you know who they are, but for the moment just remember their beer and wine list they developed to pair with their specific pizzas.

Start to notice a pattern? Or a few?

Top products.

Created with intention.

And all on display -- meaning, for consumption -- at the Spring Fling happening in Salem this Saturday.

Get ready to dig in.


WHAT: Spring Fling: A Celebration of Art, Food, Wine, Beer & Music
WHERE: Old Town Hall, Derby Square, Salem
WHEN: Saturday, March 27 from 6 to 9 p.m.

COST: $25. Click here to purchase.


DAILY SIP:

There's nothing like the smell of freshly baked Italian ciabatta. There's nothing like the crackle of the crust of a French baguette. There's nothing like pulling apart the layers of a hand-make croissant. There's nothing like a real sourdough flecked with roasted garlic, or the sheer joy of biting into a caramelized morning bun, still warm from the oven. And there's nothing like a small, artisan bakery to pull that off. -- A&J King Artisan Bakers, Salem

Events This Week-End at Venues We've Never Mentioned Before

Call it the Red White Boston version of spring cleaning.

It's what happened this week, right around the time the sun started shining again, as we looked ahead in our calendar of bookings.

Suddenly there were events, and venues, and parties, and openings, and all sorts of fun beverage-related things sprouting up around town.

There's nothing new there exactly. But here's the thing: most of them were happening at places we've never been to before, or have (almost) never mentioned in these emails.

Which is why we're including them here today. And if you've got another something to add while we're at it? Just let us know.

Out with the old. In with the new.

Indeed.


WHAT: Weekly beer and wine & cheese tastings
WHERE: Menotomy Beer & Wine, 80 Broadway, Arlington
WHEN: Friday, March 19 (beer) and Saturday, March 20 (wine), both from 4 to 7 p.m.
COST: $0

WHAT: Weekly craft beer tasting: Coastal Extreme Brewing Company
WHERE: Bermans Fine Wines and Spirits, 55 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington
WHEN: Friday, March 19 from 5 to 7 p.m.
COST: $0

WHAT: Post-Diluvian Grand Tasting, featuring wines from Oz Pacific and Charles River
WHERE: Andover Liquors, 209 North Main Street, Andover
WHEN: Saturday, March 20 from 2 to 6 p.m.
COST: $0

WHAT: Tasting of 2006 Joseph Phelps Insignia
WHERE: Lower Falls Wine Co., 2366 Washington Street, Newton Lower Falls
WHEN: Saturday, March 20 from noon to 4 p.m.
COST: $0 or $25 contribution to Haitian Relief / Partners in Health in order to additionally taste Insignia from 1994, 2002, 2005

WHAT: Monday Night Wine Club: Charles Smith's Modernist Project
WHERE: Ashmont Grill, 555 Talbot Avenue, Dorchester
WHEN: Monday, March 22 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
COST: $30 for four courses and four wines

Our Friends in Beer: Harpoon Beer Dinner at Finz, Salem

There's a theory floating around that it's actually beer that pairs better with cheese than wine does.

The folks floating that theory know a lot about beer's nuances, like what adds to a beer's aroma or how to set off a beer's meaty, nut-like flavors or how malt impacts the decibel level of a beer's character.

They'd be the same folks who put together beer dinners, like the one happening next week at Finz on Pickering Wharf in Salem.

In this case, it's our friends from Harpoon.

And the menu for their beer dinner reads like a how-to of beer and food pairing.

Belgian Pale Ale with lobster potato skins.

IPA with beer brat corn dog.

Island Creek Oyster Stout with (naturally) oysters.

Imperial Red with Korean BBQ ribs.

UFO Raspberry with chocolate waffles and -- get this -- UFO raspberry-flavored ice cream.

By the end of this dinner, you'll be thinking there's a lot more than beer that pairs well with cheese.


WHAT: Harpoon Beer Dinner
WHERE: Finz Seafood & Grill, 76 Wharf Street, Pickering Wharf, Salem
WHEN: Tuesday, March 23 at 6:30 p.m.

COST: $34.99 plus tax + tip

DAILY TIDBIT:

"A wine landscape is an urban landscape." That's what they say about wine in Germany, because historically vines were an integral part of every German town, for reasons of both commerce and culture.

Irish Moonshine: A Stellar Reason to Raise Your Glass Today

The Irish call their moonshine poitín.

And here's how they've been making it for centuries:

In remote rural areas away from the reach, or at least the vision, of the law. (Because distilling poitín has been illegal since 1661.)

On land boundaries, lying between one owner's property and another, so that the issue of ownership could be disputed. (Just in case some local garda came wandering past.)

On windy days so that the smoke from burning fuel would be dispersed and not draw attention.

And by widows, to give them a source of income.

There are lots of other media outlets where you'll find listings of ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day all over Boston.

We'd rather give you a story and a reason wherever you are to raise your glass -- of Guinness, whiskey or, if you're really lucky, poitín -- to the perseverance and ingenuity of the Irish.

Sláinte.

DAILY TIDBIT:

Click here to hear a segment of Red White Boston's own Cathy Huyghe talking about the food and drink of Ireland with Brian O'Donovan, host of WGBH's Celtic Sojourn radio program.

Noodle Bar to Open at Blue Ginger

Here are three things we love about Ming Tsai:

1. He comes out of the kitchen (sometimes) at Blue Ginger in Wellesley and sits at his own bar for a drink.

2. He learned to cook in a whole new way when his own children developed food allergies.

3. He talks to people -- regular people, famous people -- but keeps coming back to us regular folks.

Which is why, perhaps, he's decided to open a noodle bar for lunchtime service in the lounge of Blue Ginger, effective March 30. He'll do his own spin on regular-folks food like classic Ramen and stir-fried noodles but they'll be that much better.

Think Spicy Pork Miso Ramen.

And Garlic Miso Ramen.

And Yakisoba Stir Fried Noodles.

Mmmhm.

As for what to drink?

Check out Ming's own suggestions for wine, beer and cocktails to pair with his food.

Whether you have something with your noodle lunch (and why wouldn't you?), or if you come back for dinner and have it then, you will never be at a loss for just the right drink.


WHAT: Noodle Bar opens at Blue Ginger
WHEN: March 30
WHERE: Blue Ginger, 583 Washington Street (Route 16), Wellesley
WHAT TIME: Noodle Bar will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

DAILY TIDBIT:

If you're at a tasting of red and white wines, and you know you're going to be tasting a lot of high-acid Rieslings (like those from Germany or New Zealand), drink the reds first. Otherwise the acidity from the Rieslings, if you drink those first, will send the tartness of the red wines through the roof.

Women's History Month, with Drinks, Around Boston

The first things to know are that March is Women's History Month and March 2010 is the thirtieth year there's been nationwide recognition of it.

The next thing to know, of course, is how exactly to participate, celebrate, and raise a glass. Or two. Or twelve. (We're talking the whole month, after all.)

Here are a few of our favorite ideas.

Cin-cin.


WHAT: Mix up a Ladies' Cocktail, courtesy of LUPEC Boston and The Savoy Cocktail Book
HOW: Stir the following in a mixing glass with ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail shaker.
1.75 oz bourbon
0.25 oz anisette
0.5 oz pastis
2 dashes angostura bitters
1 pineapple spear

WHAT: Incorporating Patterns: New Work by Lola Baltzell, Karen Kemp & Maureen O'Connor
WHERE: Atlantic Works Gallery, 80 Border Street, Top Floor, East Boston
WHEN: Third Thursday Reception this Thursday, March 18 from 6 to 9 p.m.

WHAT: Tour the Boston Women's Heritage Trail
WHERE: Take your pick of neighborhood walks: North End, Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Chinatown, South End, Downtown

WHAT: Ladies Who Launch series resumes with guest speaker Swanee Hunt
WHERE: No. 9 Park, 9 Park Street, Boston
WHEN: Thursday, April 1 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.COST: $75. Call 617.742.9991 to RSVP.

DAILY TIDBIT:

According to the Adams Wine Handbook, women make up 52% of the adult population and purchase 57% of the wine consumed in the United States. They represent a huge market with great purchasing power that until recently has been overlooked. Women tend to be less influenced by wine ratings, as they tend to judge the entire product. Although wine quality is important to women, so are the label design, the bottle shape and the philosophy of the winery.