If you’re a wine enthusiast, you likely loved the 2004 box office hit, “
Sideways.” The cult favorite flick made us all a little embarrassed to drink Merlot for awhile and enticed us to give its cousin Pinot Noir a shot at stardom.
Virginia Madsen’s character Maya, reminded us that wine “is a living thing that connects you more to life.” “A bottle of wine, Maya quipped, “is like life itself – it grows up, evolves and gains complexity. Then it tastes so good.” The movie made us laugh, made us nostalgic and left us eager to book a trip to the wine country…or at the very least go home and sip our own favorite vino.
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Nantucket Island is still basking in the after-glow of another wildly successful
Wine and Food Festival. With dozens of culinary and tasting events that spanned every sandy corner of the island, thousands of residents, visitors and the winemakers themselves had the opportunity to sample new vintages, nibble on some gastronomic masterpieces and pop the cork on a few hundred (perhaps thousand?) bottles of bubbly in celebration of the 23rd Nantucket Wine Festival and the full bodied allure of the island itself.
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The festivities kicked off with an elegant Opening Reception at the
White Elephant Hotel where guests had the opportunity to meet with many of the vintners, chefs and luminaries and sample their illustrious creations. Thursday evening’s Festival Gala found wine enthusiasts and foodies decked out in their bedazzled cocktail attire (and sassiest shoes I might add…oh those shoes!) as they gathered under the tent overlooking Nantucket Harbor to sip, sample and salivate their way through the labyrinth of gourmet goodness. The weekend activities included multiple symposium’s, grand tastings, elegant wine dinners in fine homes and fantastic pairing meals including the
Frog’s Leap and
Pride Mountain dinners at
Company of the Cauldron and
Orin Swift at
Fifty-Six Union. The festivities culminated with a final clink of the glasses on Sunday with “bubbles, burgers and beer” on the sand at
The Galley Beach on Jetties Beach.
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Even with many large-scale events to choose from, some opted to gather old friends and new around their own dining room tables for an intimate candlelit evening of toasting, tasting and merriment. At our house, it was a great excuse to open some coveted well-aged wines, discover new favorites courtesy of
Nantucket Wine and Spirits and try our hand at new recipes (caviar 3 ways…we’re fancy that way) and most importantly spend hours breaking bread with people our busy lives don’t allow us enough time with. It’s been said that the best wines are the ones we drink with friends.
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As we kick off a new summer season on Nantucket and think about the many opportunities we’ll have to celebrate, let’s raise a collective glass and toast to another successful
Nantucket Wine Festival, a beautiful island where the scenery and hospitality make any event magical and to the people in our lives…family, friends and neighbors…who make us better and make it all worthwhile.
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Wine not.
