by glenn on July 26, 2010
No – this post isn’t about what plonk is appropriate for breakfast. There is only one wine suitable for that meal – champagne. Rather, after a late breakfast at the Ball Square Cafe – recommended by Chef Morgan from the Sunday Night Supper Club - I came upon Ball Square Fine Wines and Liquors. When I had lived in Somerville, the store had been a somewhat hole-in-the-wall packy – now, having taken over the space next door, it was twice its former size. I wandered in and was greeted by wall-to-wall wine, a multitude of craft beers, a small but thoughtfully selected offering of spirits and a case filled with a solid selection of American and international cheeses. The packy had been transformed. I knew this would be a good Patrol. [click to continue…]
I became reacquainted with roses when I began my wine studies at Boston University. I had originally met up with pinks many years before when Mateus had been my go-to wine for special occasions. At BU, I learned that roses were acceptable warm weather stand-ins for red wine. However, my instructors at BU – as most true cognoscenti – were ahead of the curve. When I went looking for roses at Kappy’s, my neighborhood package store, there were none to be had. When I asked the sales person why there were none, he said that they weren’t popular, no one bought them. At that point in time, wine “ connoisseurs” considered roses to be declasse – serious wine drinkers kept a safe distant from them. Yet, wine fashions change - word has gotten out that roses are not outre but perfectly acceptable. [click to continue…]
90+ Cellars is everywhere these days – or so it seems. On Saturday, Rodney was again pouring them for a tasting at The Main Course in Canton. And earlier in the week, as I wandered the aisles of Kappy’s in Wellington Circle, I was confronted with a compelling display of these wines. Having found the two I had bought on my last patrol to be good value, I picked up two more. And likewise, I give them the Plonk Patrol endorsement. Yet, the labeling on one brought up a question about some current trends in the wine world. [click to continue…]
I was off to Waltham to the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University for an afternoon of culture. The Rose had mounted a show from its own collection, a survey of the art of the last 100 years.For a small private museum, the permanent collection of the Rose is somewhat legendary – a trove of key works from the 20Th and 21st centuries. Last year, there had been quite a dust-up at the museum when the governing board and president of the university decided to close the museum and sell off the art to raise some money. This didn’t go over well with those donors who didn’t think their gifts of artwork were a rainy day cash cow. To some extent, the university backed down – the museum remains opens – the university avers that it will remain open – though they still may sell some of the museum’s holdings. The whole situation is now the subject of several lawsuits making their way through the courts. And since I was in Waltham, home of Gordon’s Fine Wine and Liquors, what better way to end an art outing than with a little wine shopping – art and plonk in the same afternoon. [click to continue…]
by glenn on April 29, 2010
It wasn’t much of a road trip really – Google Maps calculated 21.4 miles with a travel time of approximately 28 minutes. But it’s spring and I wanted to be rolling along the highway with the sun roof open, the sun warming my bald pate. Besides, I hadn’t been to Bin Ends since early winter and wanted to go on Plonk Patrol there. So I was off, heading down the highway, on another value wine excursion. [click to continue…]
by glenn on April 16, 2010
Springtime value shopping.
I’d been hearing the ads for Atlas Liquors on the radio for years. Since it was time for a springtime patrol, I decided to finally check out the place. Atlas Liquors has three locations – Medford, Roslindale and Quincy. I chose the Medford store since it’s closest to me. The place reminded me of the local packy from my hometown; packy is New England vernacular for package store, that establishment that sells beer, wine, booze, cigarettes, beef jerky and lottery tickets. Yet times have changed. Atlas has a solid craft beer selection, a wine selection that more than covers all the basics and a very reasonably priced liquor selection. So I wheeled into the parking lot, grabbed a shopping cart and was off on another Plonk Patrol.
[click to continue…]
by glenn on March 3, 2010
A further installment in value shopping – six wines, $72.
Since transporting alcohol across state lines is illegal, the following is entirely hypothetical. No crimes were committed in the writing of this post.
At the conclusion of a previous Plonk Patrol, I had threatened to move to New Hampshire, my fastidious shopping having been undone by the Massachusetts tax on alcohol beverages. Someone has to pay for Sal DiMasi’s lawyer, right? Well, here I was in New Hampshire at the Wine Expo sponsored by the Winter Wine Festival of Wentworth-by-the-Sea and the New Hampshire Liquor Commission. The motto of the event was ”Taste it! Love it! BUY IT HERE TODAY’. Outside the exhibition space where the vendors were offering up tastes of their wines was a pop-up store where the same wines could be purchased. To add to the thrill of shopping, the store offered deep discounts for purchases of six or more bottles. This could be plonk paradise, I thought. Alas, this was not to be the case – this bargain-hunting foray was going to be hard work. [click to continue…]
No – this post isn’t about what plonk is appropriate for breakfast. There is only one wine suitable for that meal – champagne. Rather, after a late breakfast at the Ball Square Cafe – recommended by Chef Morgan from the Sunday Night Supper Club - I came upon Ball Square Fine Wines and Liquors. When I had lived in Somerville, the store had been a somewhat hole-in-the-wall packy – now, having taken over the space next door, it was twice its former size. I wandered in and was greeted by wall-to-wall wine, a multitude of craft beers, a small but thoughtfully selected offering of spirits and a case filled with a solid selection of American and international cheeses. The packy had been transformed. I knew this would be a good Patrol. [click to continue…]
