RWB Contest and Special Discount on Limited-Availability Pinot Noir

Calling all Pinot Noir lovers!

And Oregon wine lovers...

And Grill 23 lovers...

And people who love special access especially at a discounted price...

And all -- or even some -- of the above!

Tomorrow night at Grill 23, Bauer Wine & Spiritsis hosting a very special wine dinner featuring limited-availability wines from renown Anne Amie Vineyardsin Oregon's Willamette Valley.

Two of the wines, the last two of the dinner, are normally available only at the winery. A few of the others will be available in limited quantity only at Bauer Wines.

How does knowing this help you?

Red White Boston is offering a special $20 discount for the dinner to the first four of our readers who drop us an emaillisting the three things you love about Oregon Pinot Noir.

And voila!

You have yourself a seat at the dinner -- check out the full menu here-- for less than everyone else paid, and with the inside track on wines almost no one else can get their hands on.

Three things to love about Pinot Noir from Oregon. Send us an emailabout it.

Contest opens NOW.

WHAT: Anne Amie Oregon Wine Dinner
WHERE: Grill 23, 161 Berkeley Street, Boston
WHEN: TOMORROW, Wednesday, April 14. Reception at 7, dinner at 7:30 p.m.
COST: Normally $95, special discount of $20 to winners of this RWB contest


DAILY TIDBIT:

Anne Amie Vineyards are all Salmon Safeand LIVEcertified, with low yields and minimal treatments. The good folks in Oregon think about these things quite a lot and trust us, it's a good thing for the fish AND for the grapes.

Running Along the Charles + Wachusett Beer Afterward

Let's say you've just finished a 5-mile run along the Charles.

(Which you can do with ease and lots of company on Monday evenings, thanks to the creative folks over at Social Boston Sports. It doesn't even have to be 5 miles. It could just as easily be 3 or even 7.)

Then you're thirsty.

And someone -- namely McGreevy's on Boylston Street -- offers you a pint of Wachusettbrew plus a few snacks.

For free.

Sound good?

Let's see. Exercise, plus socializing, plus fresh air, plus a pint of local brew afterward.

Sounds good indeed.


WHAT: Community Runs sponsored by Social Boston Sports
WHEN: Monday nights starting at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Runs leave from McGreevy's, 911 Boylston Street, Back Bay
AFTERWARD: Free pint of Wachusett and apps
MORE INFO: Click here.


DAILY TIDBIT:

Confucius once said that plain rice to eat, water to drink, and one's arm as pillow were quite enough for earthly happiness. Confucius was a wise and gentle soul... But he never tasted Champagne.
-- Ernst Hornickel

Marriage of Wine and Cheese TONIGHT at T.W. Food

It is nearly impossible to walk out of a dinner at T.W. Food and not be thinking how much you like the place.

Maybe it's their neighborhood vibe. Small, comfortable, familiar, friendly, open.

Maybe it's the obvious dedication of the staff, which is also small (husband = chef, wife = wine and front of house), comfortable, familiar, friendly and open.

Maybe -- just maybe -- it's what you eat and drink while you're there. Both the menu and the wine list are focused and exceptionally well-edited and once a week, like tonight, they home in on the food and beverages of a particular region.

Tonight it's the Loire, specifically the cheese and wine of that lovely region of France.

True to form, the menu and the pairings cover more than the usual suspects of grapes and ingredients.

Sure there's Chenin Blanc, but there's also Cot. And sure there's Cabernet Franc, but there's also Gamay.

As for the food?

A Loire cheese is part of each option -- see for yourself -- and you can bet whatever options you choose will be spot on.

Call ASAP for reservations. That small dining room fills up quick.


WHAT: Tuesday Night Wine Series: Marriage of Wine and Cheese of the Loire Valley
WHERE: T.W. Food, 377 Walden Street, Cambridge
WHEN: Tonight from 5 to 10 p.m.
COST: $49 for four courses and four wines
RSVP: Call 617.864.4745

DAILY TIDBIT:

Since 1980, France's per capital consumption of wine has dropped 53%, from 91 liters annually to 43.

Mon Dieu.

Drink Wine, Make Friends, Get Out and About

The thing about wine is its social-ability.

Whether you're out and about or sipping at home, you're almost always sharing the bottle or the glass or the experience with someone.

That's the best way.

The good news is that your options for the sharing part are limitless, especially here in Boston.

Here are a few of our favorite wine-oriented groups around town and their upcoming events.

Take your pick, or go all in. The possibilities -- for sharing, for new wines -- are endless.


WHO: Boston Wine Meetup Group
NEXT EVENT: Blind tasting at The Wine Bottega on Wednesday, April 21 at 6:30 p.m.

WHO: Cambridge Women's Wine Meetup Group
NEXT EVENT: Central Bottle Wine + Provisions on Thursday, April 22 at 6 p.m.

WHO: Salem Wine Women
FACEBOOK WALL: Click here.

WHO: WGBH Foodie Community
MORE INFO: Click here.

WHO: Boston Uncorked
SIGN UP: Click here.


DAILY TIDBIT:

Con pan y vino se anda el camino.

[With bread and wine you can walk your road.]

Spanish Proverb

Win Tickets (It's Easy) to Taste of Elegance at BU

This is like the easy part of an Easter egg hunt.

We've got six tickets -- worth $40 each -- to Tuesday night's Taste of Elegance event at Boston University. And we want to give them away to Red White Boston readers for free.

Here's all you've got to do to get yours:

Before noon today, send us an email of 50 words or less describing your favorite pork dish of all time. And then tell us what wine you'd like to drink with it.

That's it.

First six respondents get one ticket each.

Couldn't be easier.

Plus you're getting your senses ready for Tuesday night. See below for more details.

If you don't hear back from us by 1 p.m., that means the six tickets have been given away to other readers. If you still want to go though, give a call to 617.353.9852 by 5 p.m.


WHAT: Taste of Elegance
WHERE: Boston University, Fuller Building, 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
WHEN: Tuesday, April 6 from 6 to 9 p.m.
COST: Normally $40. Call 617.353.9852 by 5 p.m. today if you're not one of our 6 winners.


DAILY TIDBIT:

Here's what Taste of Elegance is all about: pork.

Here's who will be there: chefs from 13 of Boston's best restaurants. They are La Morra, Tremont 647, Top of the Hub, Catering on the Charles, The Fireplace, Gargoyles on the Square, Sel de la Terre, Rialto, Pigalle, Sweet, Eastern Standard, Lineage, and 51 Lincoln.

Here's what they'll be doing: putting up their best pork dish.

Here's what you'll be doing: digging in, listening to the live music, sipping two glasses of wine, and voting for "best dish" and "crowd favorite."

Gluten Free Menu + Flight of Beers at Tryst, Arlington

A few months ago we ran an email about the gluten-free menu at Om Restaurant & Loungein Cambridge. It's an important topic but not, let's face it, terribly sexy.

At least that's what we thought at first.

Turns out that a whole contingent of Red White Boston readers -- more than we'd ever have expected -- wrote to say how glad they were for the information.

Well gosh, we were happy to oblige.

And here we go again: Tryst restaurant in Arlington announced yesterday that they've crafted their own gluten-free menu.

As in, grilled lamb porterhouse chops.

Cider-braised pork shoulder.

Orange polenta cake with pistachios and Prosecco spuma.

Check out the full offerings here, and then zip over to the cocktail menu too, because what good is cider-braised pork shoulder without a decent beverage alongside?

No need to risk it, especially not when gluten-free applies to the drinks too.


WHAT: New gluten-free menu available
WHERE: Tryst, 689 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington
WHEN: Now!
FULL MENU: Click here.

Beer can be gluten-free too. Look for the following labels: Bard's Tale Beer, Ramapo Valley Brewery, New France Beers, Green's (UK-based), and O'Brien Premium Lager.

Wines from Spain in the Spotlight

Latin flavors are in the air this week, from walk-around free tastings to sit-down wine dinners to free salsa lessons and 50-cent tapas.

Here's the what-where-when. All you have to do is be the who.


WHAT: Grapes of Spain tasting
WHERE: Wine Not Boutique, 170 Main Street, Nashua, NH
WHEN: Tonight from 5 to 7 p.m.
COST: $0

WHAT: Salsa Thursdays, with free salsa lesson and 50-cent tapas at the bar
WHERE: Masa Southwest Bar & Grill, 350 Cambridge Road, Woburn
WHEN: Thursdays starting at 8 p.m.
MORE INFO: Call 781.938.8886

WHAT: Spanish Wine Dinner to Benefit Habitat for Humanity
WHERE: Bocado Tapas Wine Bar, 82 Winter Street, Worcester
WHEN: Monday, April 5 from 6 to 9:30 p.m.
COST & RSVP: $75, rsvp@nichehospitality.com

WHAT: Prickly Pear White Sangria
WHERE: Masa, 439 Tremont Street, Boston
WHEN: Now!
WHAT IT IS: White wine marinated with strawberries, honeydew melon, fresh limes, lemons and oranges. Spiked with bourbon and brandy.

DAILY TIDBIT:

"Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after."

--- Anne Morrow