WGBH Wine & Food Weekend in Boston

A celebration of wine and food for the novice and connoisseur alike! If you love food and wine, join WGBH at the Wine & Food Weekend in Boston, Thursday, April 19 through Sunday, April 22 at the Seaport Hotel and Seaport World Trade Center Boston.

Indulge in wonderful wine and fabulous food. Below are some of the highlights of the WGBH Wine & Food Weekend events. Check out the WGBH website for more details.

Dinner Honoring Ming Tsai - Thursday, April 19
Wine Tasting - Friday, April 20
Wine & Food Classes - Saturday, April 21
Rare & Fine Wine Auction - Saturday, April 21
Jazz Brunch – Sunday, April 22

The Wine & Food Weekend makes for a great time on the town or a special weekend getaway with friends and family in Boston!

My Favorite Glass of Wine...

If you could pick any glass of wine to enjoy tonight, what would it be? And why would you choose it?

I would pick a 1999 Hanzell “Estate Bottled” Chardonnay from Sonoma, CA. I tried it for the first time last fall. I was smitten. We were at a wine tasting with friends. All of us who tried it enjoyed it very much. Since I like Chardonnay I thought I would probably like it, but I did not expect to love it. The wine was very pleasant on the palate. It was smooth and well balanced. Hanzell Vineyards is known for its delicious, age worthy Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Ken and I are saving a bottle of the 1999 Hanzell “Estate Bottled” Chardonnay to celebrate on our wedding anniversary next month. It will be a special treat for us.

To see Ken's review of this wine on www.KensWineGuide.com, click here.

Do you have a favorite or memorable wine you would like to share with us? If so, please do tell us what it is! We would love to hear about it.

Cheers!
Theresa

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Wine Reviews -- What is the Difference Between an 89 and a 90?

I would argue that scores are a good measuring stick, but you need to drill down a little more to come to the ultimate conclusion and answer. When it comes to wine reviews, what is the difference between a wine scoring an 89 and a wine scoring 90 points? The difference, depending on the system can be not much or plenty. At www.Kenswineguide.com, a single score does not carry much weight. Why? Many professionals choose not to post their negative reviews and scores. If a wine doesn’t get multiple scores, it could be because the wine has not received much exposure to reviewers. Or the wine could have been rejected by a tasting panel you didn’t even know about.

Why is a wine that carries multiple scores better? Wine tasting is very subjective. I have been on many tasting panels where a given wine has been reviewed and the results and notes are so completely different you would think that the panel was trying 10 different wines. If you can achieve a consensus of professionals’ opinions on a wine, it will probably have mass appeal and be liked by many. This is the main premise behind www.Kenswineguide.com. This consensus has provided me with successful results for years.

Which is better, a wine scoring 89.5 reviewed by several professionals or a wine scoring 90 points only reviewed by Ken? A wine that receives 4 professional scores of 88, 89, 90, and 91 would result in an average score of 89.5. Compare that to another wine that just receives a single score of 90 (lets say from me). Which wine is better? Is 90 better than 89.5? What is the difference? I would argue that you have a much better chance of being satisfied if you choose the wine with 4 scores and the final score of 89.5. This is also why the Ken’s Wine Guide system is based upon a weighted average. Our scoring system adds points to the average of wines that get multiple scores and takes a single point away from a wine that gets only a single score. A wine that receives multiple "Very Good" or better scores will ultimately rise to the top of my recommended list. I’ve relied on this system for many years and have found that it works tremendously well. I’m sure you will find the same.

Ken & Theresa

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Boston Uncorked 2nd Anniversary Party

Ken and I attended our first Boston Uncorked wine event on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at Vox Populi American Bistro & Martini Bar at 755 Boylston Street in Boston from 7-9:00 PM. It was Boston Uncorked’s 2nd Anniversary Wine Celebration. Before I share with you the wines we liked at the wine tasting, I thought I would mention to you a little about Boston Uncorked.

According to their mission statement, Boston Uncorked is an active association of adults with an interest in tasting and expanding their knowledge of wines of the world in a warm, friendly social environment. They are founded on the premise of sharing their passion for wine with people ranging from the enthusiast to the curious. Boston Uncorked exists for the purpose of bringing people together to share their knowledge and/or curiosity in an environment intended to enrich everyone in some way.

Boston Uncorked offers its members a venue to learn more about wines in a comfortable social setting. Because of size restrictions at their event locations, they ask that everyone purchase a ticket in advance via their online ticketing system. On average the events cost $30-45. The ticket cost covers wine, food, service and administrative costs. Boston Uncorked holds an event about once per month.

The only requirement to Boston Uncorked membership is that you are at least 21 years of age. Membership is free and it means that you receive advance notification of Boston Uncorked events and have the opportunity to purchase event tickets online via their website, http://www.bostonuncorked.com/. We enjoyed our first Boston Uncorked event. We met some new people and saw some familiar faces as well.

Listed below are our favorite wines from the Boston Uncorked wine tasting. The detailed wine reviews will be up on http://www.kenswineguide.com/ soon!

New Zealand & Chile
2006 Allan Scott Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand, $16, Very Good+, 90. (Theresa’s favorite).
2005 Allan Scott Pinot Noir, New Zealand, $20, Very Good, 89.
2004 Viu Manent Malbec Oak Aged Reserve, Chile, $12, Very Good, 88.

United States (California)
2005 Twisted Oak Verdelho, “Silvaspoons Vineyard,” $16, Very Good, 87.
2004 Twisted Oak "The Spaniard" (Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon), $45, Very Good+, 92.
2004 Twisted Oak Tempranillo, Calaveras County, $22, Very Good, 89.

Enjoy and cheers,
Ken & Theresa

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