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Recipe of the Week

Rosé Wine Mussels

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1 shallot finely sliced

2 garlic cloves finely crushed

1 tablespoon thyme finely chopped

2 1/2 pounds mussels (fresh, alive, debearded)

1 1/2 cups rosé wine

1/4 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon parsley finely chopped

Directions

Heat butter in a large Dutch oven until it's melted.

Add shallot, garlic and thyme and cook 1 minute until fragrant.

Deglaze the pan by pouring in the rosé and use a wooden spoon to gently stir the bottom of the pan to release all the flavors.

Add the stock and stir.

Lastly, add the mussels in and bring to the boil.

Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook 5-8 minutes, or until mussels have opened up. The mussels should be firm to the touch.

Remove and serve immediately with fresh, crusty bread and garnish with the parsley.

Serve with your favorite dry rosé!

WINES OF THE WEEK

International Rosé Exploration

Rosé can be made anywhere great wines are produced.  We carry mouthwatering rosés from France (Provence, Tavel, Bandol, Loire Valley, Pays d'oc), Spain, Italy, California, Oregon, Portugal, Austria, South Africa and even Morocco!  Here are just a few we carry from around the world.

Withers, El Dorado, California $23. 99

WINEMAKER NOTES - This Bandol-inspired Rosé is a beauty, featuring aromas and flavors of citrus and stone fruits, highlighted by cherry, watermelon rind, grapefruit, nectarine and peach flavors. The Wine has firm balancing acidity and both inviting aromas and a long finish on the palate. The medium bodied frame is layered, textured, balanced and elegant, and the wine will drink well on release or age for 5-7 years. It is a perfect accompaniment to a wide variety of seafood, pasta and fowl and best served at or slightly above cellar temperature. Top pick in the Wall Street Journal by Lettie Teague.

Domaine Sahari, Morocco $13.99

The Domaine de Sahari is a classic Mediterranean blend of Cinsault and Grenache. This rosé is a vin gris - a unique style of rosé in which red grapes are gently pressed and then immediately taken off the skins; there is no maceration time like many traditional rosés. All berries are hand-harvested and fermented in stainless steel to preserve the bright fruit flavors of the wine. This results in an appealing, extremely pale color, and the Sahari is the lightest shade of pink. On the nose, aromas of strawberry, peach and white flowers erupt from the glass. On the palate, the Domaine de Sahari rosé is energetic and focused with a zippy acidity and added flavors of fresh melon and a subtle warm spice note. The finish is long and flavorful with thosegorgeous fruit flavors washing across the palate, complimented by an underlying chalky minerality. This rosé is much more than a curiosity: it is a refreshing, rich and complex wine to be enjoyed the same as a classic rosé from any other part of the Mediterranean.

J. Mourat, Loire Valley, France $14.99

Vignobles Mourat was created in 1974 with the purchase of the Chateau Marie de Fou estate by Jérémie Mourat's father. The distinctive, squat, bottle reproduces a 17th Century one Jérémie Mourat discovered in the cellar of the old building that now houses his office. From the Western Loire Valley appellation of Fiefs Vendeens, this ripe and juicy blend of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Negrette shows off ripe aromas of crushed cherry and watermelon and a touch of fresh herb.  A big mouthful of cherry/berry fruit with a just right lift of tangy citrus leads to a lip smacking, crisp - almost tart - finish with juicy flavors of fresh watermelon, watermelon pickle, and tangy berry.  This will sing with hearty picnic food like cold fried chicken or late afternoon nibbles like salami and cheese and is just as fun to pour by itself and just admire - especially in the throw-back old-school bottle.  Great stuff to sip or enjoy with any spring or summer meal. Organic.

Cocktails of the Week

Fruit with Gin or Bourbon

Terroir Spotlight

Toro Spain

  One would be hard-pressed to name another region in Spain that produces wines as dense, potent and hedonistic as those from this region along the Duero River in western Castilla y León. That's not to say Toro, which has been on the rise over the last 20 years, isn't putting out wines with elegance, style and class.

The region gets its name from a local town, and wines rely largely on the Tinta de Toro clone of Tempranillo. Metaphorically, the reference sits right with the larger-than-life wines: toro means "bull" in Spanish.

It's easy to understand why these wines pack the punch they do. A preponderance of unirrigated bush vines planted up to 125 years ago bask in searing dry heat during a fairly short growing season before yielding small bunches of power-packed grapes. The resulting wines, the best of which age at least 18 months in mostly new French oak, are inky, plush and rich. They have high ­alcohol levels (almost always above 15% abv) and are tannic in structure. In good vintages, they are capable of aging for up to 20 years.

 

 

Has this always been the case? Absolutely not. While grapes have flourished in the region for centuries, the lands were never considered prime wine country. When the Toro Denominación de Origen (DO) was approved in 1987, fewer than seven wineries operated in the region. Today, more than 50 wineries do business in this part of ­Zamora Province.

Situated 40 miles east of Portugal, Toro is extreme wine country, with rocky vineyards housing stumpy vines that produce barely two pounds of fruit per plant. While summers are hot and parched, winters in Toro are bone-chilling and tough. Snowmelt gives the vines all the water they will get.

Wineries and vineyards are found on both sides of the Duero River, at elevations ranging from 2,000 to 2,400 feet, but most of Toro's better wineries operate on the warmer southern bank.

One of the leaders in the region's revitalization, the Eguren family, from Rioja, started one of Toro's most acclaimed wineries, Numanthia-­Termes, in the late 1990s. A decade later, the Egurens sold Numanthia-Termes to the LVMH group and used the proceeds to start Teso La Monja. Today, Teso La Monja and Numanthia-Termes are neighbors, and each delivers winning wines year after year.

Another relative newcomer that helped bolster the region's fortunes, Pintia is owned by Vega Sicilia in nearby Ribera del Duero; it bottled its first Toro wine in 2001. More burly, dark and lusty than anything Vega produces in cooler Ribera del Duero, Pintia qualifies as a wine of elegance, something many modern Toro wines can claim along with inherent brawn.

Try the Vatan Toro!

Introducing Sawyer, aka Soybean!

Sawyer is 7 years old and is the sweetest pup you'll ever meet.  He loves kids and other dogs and long walks along the Farmington River. He's a rescue from South Carolina who was puzzled by the Connecticut snow but has adjusted marvelously.  Once we welcome customers back into the store, do say hello!