The Wellesley Wine Press: Hingham Wine Merchant Holiday Show Wrap-up

Accolades

I was quoted in The Boston Globe about legislation that would permit winery direct sales to Massachusetts:

“This is good news for Massachusetts wine enthusiasts, who will now be able to purchase wines they currently don’t have access to,” said Robert Dwyer of Wellesley, who blogs about wine. “This is also good news for Massachusetts in general since it will mean new revenues.”

I wrote this article in WellesleyWeston Magazine featuring local food & wine experts like Chef Ming Tsai, Mike O'Connell Jr., Chris Minervino, and Austin Moran. Check it out!

I shared my thoughts on the direct shipment of wine to Massachusetts with CBS Boston during hearings at the State House.

This site was listed as one of the Top 100 Wine Blogs:

https://alawine.com/wine-blog-rankings.html

Our Scoop the Spectator contest was mentioned on Palate Press:

"Bob Dwyer, a Massachusetts-based wine blogger, has created the coolest parlor game in wine, and for once it’s a wine contest that does not involve blind tasting.

I used to think the entire concept of a Top 100 list was silly. This year, mine was the first guess on Dwyer’s site."

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reached out for a quote on the expansion of the number of licenses each retailer in MA can hold:

"Robert P. Dwyer of Wellesley, who blogs about wine at thewww.wellesleywinepress.com, calls the state’s liquor laws bizarre and favors a wider availability of wine. For consumers, it would be more convenient to be able to buy wine at a supermarket while shopping for food, he said."

“You have this strange exclusion of wine, which in Europe is considered a grocery item,” said Mr. Dwyer. “Here it’s considered the demon rum.”

Wine Spectator picked up on our 2011 Scoop the Spectator contest with these remarks:

"trying to predict the annual Wine of the Year is a popular parlor game among enophiles. This year, blogger Wellesley Wine Press held a contest, with New York wine retailer Grapes the Wine Co. awarding a prize of a Kindle Fire e-reader to the first commenter to correctly guess this year's top wine before it was announced. Unfiltered was impressed with the number of Top 10 wines prognosticated by Wellesley's readers. "Senelwine" guessed Château de St.-Cosme Gigondas 2009, our No. 10 wine, "Mike M" guessed Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional Douro 2008, our No. 7 wine, "James Z" guessed Baer Ursa Columbia Valley 2008, our No. 6 wine, and "RichardPF" nailed it, winning the Kindle, and the respect of his wine-loving peers. Looks like Wellesley's readers know their wine."

Boston's CBS affiliate WBZ-TV stopped by to discuss why wineries still can't ship wine directly to MA consumers more than a year after courts ruled they should be able to.

WBUR, Boston's NPR news station, did an audio interview with me for a piece discussing MA Question 1: Repealing the Alcohol Sales Tax.

The Chicago Tribune's Bill Daley mentioned the site in Rosé: A wine for more seasons. I said "For me, they're like pumpkin spice coffee drinks: best enjoyed early in the season". Bill alsogave the site a shout-out for a piece the Capitol Case Clubcontributed about restaurant wine service. I thought it was a great example of how print wine writers can effectively engage wine bloggers.

The nice folks at Foodista, The Cooking Encyclopedia Everyone Can Edit, named this site Wine Blog of the Day for this entry featuring GoBYO. Thanks!

Budget Bacchus named this site Wine Blog of the Week. Check 'em out!

Boston University wine educator Stacy Woods mentioned this site alongside wine blogging powerhouses Vinography and Fermentation. Wow- that's great company to be in! Thanks- I appreciate it.

WBZ-TV, the Boston CBS affiliate, interviewed me aboutMassachusetts wine shipping laws. It was kind of surreal having a camera crew in our kitchen but we enjoyed it! Check it out:

Wine Enthusiast Magazine called me a "wine accessory guru". Thanks! I appreciate it.

NPR's Public Radio Kitchen linked to my pieces on "Syrah: The Steroids of the Pinot Noir World" and "Watching the Wine Community Rumble". Thanks for that! I am humbled, and I feel just a little bit like the Car Talk guys do when they say "And even though Roger Clemens stabs his radio with a syringe whenever he hears us say it, this is NPR: National Public Radio."

The Boston Globe's website has been linking to my recent entries as part of their expanded local coverage includingWellesley. I truly appreciate that as it has driven a lot of local traffic to this site.

It was really nice of Thomas Matthews, Executive Editor of Wine Spectator to leave a comment and then check back and answer some questions I had. Awesome guy! Check it out here. And here.

Thanks to The Boston Globe for including The Wellesley Wine Press in their list of local blogs in the Food & Drink section. Check it out here.

The Wellesley Wine Press was just added tohttps://wine.alltop.com. Alltop is an interesting topical take on sorting through the best sites on the Internet- check it out and see which sites are listed for topics you're most interested in.

"Everyone Needs a Party!"
-Dick Graham, The Hingham Wine Merchant

This was the 3rd Hingham Wine Merchant event I've attended, and I've enjoyed each of them very much. They're a great night out and a nice way to buy a bunch of wines after getting a chance to taste them first. Last year's Holiday Show was a little crowded for my taste and the crowds were much more manageable at this new venue (The South Short Music Conservatory).

The food was good, but I didn't get much of a chance to partake being all preoccupied with getting around to sample the wines.

Speaking of which, let's get right to it. Some notable exciting wines I tried (but didn't buy):

'05 Chappellet Pritchard Hill Cab
Best wine I tasted, but again- too spendy for me.
'05 Hewitt Estate Cabernet Rutherford
I've been eyeing this one a while and it *was* impressiveToo cheap to spring for it though.
'04 Silver Oak Cabernet Alexander Valley
REALLY good. Loved it.
'06 Robert Foley Petite Sirah Pepperland
I was really surprised how good this one was.
'05 Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape
Tasted this one with interest since Deanna bought me the '04 for Christmas last year. Thought this one was quite closed and pricey.
'06 Buehler Napa Cab
Buehler does it again.

Here's what I ended up buying (listed in order of excitement):

'05 Honig Bartolucci Cabernet
Went big on this one. It impressed in the tasting; hope it is a great bottle.
'05 Altamura Sangiovese
Possibly the most aromatic wine I've ever come across.
'05 Snowden The Ranch Cabernet Napa Valley
'05 Andrew Rich Pinot Noir Willamette Valley
I can't seem to keep enough Pinot in the house this time of year.
'05 Honig Napa Cabernet
Big fan of this one. Best Napa Cab < $40.
'07 Alma Rosa Chardonnay Santa Barbara County
Said to be the new wine by the guy who started Sanford.
'07 Hirsch Bohan Dillon Pinot Noir
'01 Marques de Caceras Rioja Reserva
'05 Buena Vista Pinot Noir Carneros
'05 Chateau Peyraud Cotes de Blaye Bordeaux
Liked it better than other Bordeaux at the table costing $150+
'07 Pichot Vouvray Peu de la Moriette

Random Observations:

The neighborhood in Hingham you drive through to get to the Conservatory is snazzy.
I think Sean has been a great addition to the team at HWM.
Scott Weinstein of Martignetti is great at what he does.

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Hingham Wine Merchant Holiday Show Wrap-up

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

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