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Good Wine, Good Company, Good Welcome

June 6, 2018 By Katrina Yentch Filed Under: Eat Local, Natural Selection (wine) Tagged With: eating local, list, local, local business, wine shops

 

A FEW OF THE BEST WINE SHOPS IN PARK SLOPE

Wine is new to me. However, coming from a specialty coffee background, I’ve naturally found myself drawn to the art of craft beverages, the art of curating and taste development. That being said, the world of craft beverages can be just as daunting as the culinary world. With so many flavor palettes, styles, and regions to choose from, any novice or expert can understand the importance of personalization when it comes to picking just the right vino to sip on – whether you’re looking to pair a bottle with food or want to try something new. Park Slope’s independently driven small business scene proves to be perfect for either party. With a small but mighty set of personally curated wines, the neighborhood’s friendly and knowledgeable business owners will easily help you pick out your next favorite bottle – and the one after that. 

 

Big Nose, Full Body

Situated right nearby the park on 7th Avenue, Big Nose, Full Body is an intimate wine shop that’s constantly bringing in new vines AND discounting you as an incentive to try them out. The gang regularly holds tastings every Saturday afternoon, plus additional ones as announced. The sun-filled space has a massive variety of both regions and price ranges to choose from, and the “staff picks” list is definitely worth taking a peek at for recommendations. If you’re on the go, chilled wines are at the ready.

Good Wine

Tastefully put (pun intended), 5th Avenue’s Good Wine is known as a “food lover’s wine shop.” A friendly staff of strong female entrepreneurs run this shop, a space that they took over nearly three years ago from its previous ownership. Not only do the ladies offer regular tastings of their selections (every weekday at 5:30pm and weekends at 4:00pm) they also have food pairing and education classes for the public. Finishing touches include homey seasonal décor and cookbooks resting above the shelves of wine selections, a mix of the owners’ own selections and neighborhood contributions. Deliveries within Park Slope require a two-bottle minimum – not too hard, right?

 

ACME Wine

ACME’s former origins as a 1930s deli are subtly hinted throughout the store; checkerboard floors, window signage for butter and cheese posted at the entrance. This cozy shop offers a large array of affordable wines from small producers around the world, and incorporates an entire wall of bottles under $14. The team also offers an extensive array of spirits that are Brooklyn and New York local, from gin to rum and whiskey, plus sake and cider for when you’re looking for sweeter buzzes. Join the email list to take advantage of tastings, plus the no-minimum wine deliveries till closing.

 

il Vino Torchio

Il Vino Torchio translates to “the wine press” in Italian, and ironically enough doubles as the namesake for this small but mighty wine nook on 4th Avenue. Argentinian-born owner Marcelo Torchio spent years strolling through grape vines back home before opening this spot in Park Slope in 2011. Hand-picked with his clientele in mind, Marcelo brings a mix of both old world and new world wines and offers tastings every Friday evening to showcase select vinos. He also curates a small but mighty selection of New York-made spirits.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Eat Local, Natural Selection (wine) Tagged With: eating local, list, local, local business, wine shops

In The Pink

August 10, 2015 By John Tucker Filed Under: Eat Local Tagged With: local business, rose, rosewater, wine

When the days grow longer, and the mercury moves steadily north on the thermometer, excitement grows at Rose Water as we anticipate the arrival of summer’s vibrant greens, beans, and berries. And our thoughts about wine (we’re always thinking about wine!) start gravitating away from big, burly Cab Francs to the whites of Long Island and the cooler, lighter Jura mountain reds—preferably straight from the fridge! But, what really catches our wine fancy when the weather warms is rosé—in the whole, wide, wonderful world of wine, nothing says summer like pink wine!

Right around the time that spring ramps and fiddleheads arrive in our kitchen we introduce the first rosé wines of the season, starting with a couple of the better bottles from last year that we held in the cellar over the winter. By late June and early July, just as the early summer fruit and veg come in, we offer at least a baker’s dozen: From lean, zingy Austrians at one end of the spectrum, to ripe, juicy Californians at the other. In between, there’s fresh, fruity Beaujolais and a deliciously smoky rosé from the Canary Islands (of all places!).

Red wine gathers it’s deep color when the juice of the pressed grapes spends days or even weeks on the skins, which impart not only those incredible ruby hues, but the tannins and the depth that we associate with red wine. Rosé, on the other hand, is usually made from the juice of red wine grapes that spends only hours in contact with the skins. The relatively short time that the juice macerates on the skins provides the pinkish color and a lighter body. Rosé lives in a place between white and red not just in color—in the best examples it marries both the fresh, mineral crispness of white with the lighter side of red wine’s savory and spicy character. And it compliments the food of summer—grilled vegetables and fish, as well as roast lamb and even beef.

John Tucker with his summer 2015 selection.
John Tucker with his summer selections.

Here are three of our favorites for Summer 2015…
We offer a changing selection of rosé every year, but there’s a few wines we return to again and again. One of our faves every vintage comes from one of our most loved Sancerre producers, Lucien Crochet. In addition to their white wine, we cherish their Pinot Noir Rosé. It’s always stunning, year in and year out, and 2014 is no exception. It smells of fresh strawberries, and tastes it, too, but there’s bracing minerality and perfect balance—complex and elegant. You can quaff this wine on a summer evening or at an afternoon picnic, but it aslo complements food beautifully—especially shellfish, crustaceans, and poultry. Available at RW, fairly widely online, and as of press time, at our great South Slope retailer specializing in natural wine, Slope Cellars (www.slopecellars.com, $29.99).

Lately we’ve been fascinated with red wines from the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago just sixty-two miles west of Morocco. The volcanic, porous soils on almost every island produce wines with intense minerality. One of our favorite wineries is Fronton de Oro on Gran Canaria Island. Their 2014 Rosado is made primarily from the ancient Spanish varietal Listan Negro, and it’s fabulously unique and delicious. Like many Canary Island wines, the light, fresh berry fruit and minerality are complemented with a slightly smoky, savory quality, and a touch of salinity. We’ve been happily pairing this with grilled quail! Available at RW, and at Chambers Street Wines (www.chambersstwines.com, $17.99).

Heirloom varietal grapes fit in beautifully with our approach to food and bring an endless fascination. We’re always trying to look a little beyond the everyday—whether we’re talking tomatoes or grapes—and we try to support small farmers and agricultural traditions. Buying heirloom varietals often does both. An heirloom grape that we come back to nearly every summer is Ciliegiolo (chee-lee’ah-JOH-loh). The word for cherry in Italian is ciliegia, and when you see the 2014 Ciliegiolo from Bisson in Portofino, Liguria, it’s easy to understand how the grape got its name—the bottle glows an intense cherry red, and the wine inside is a mouth-filling ode to its juicy namesake. Bisson’s Ciliegiolo is actually a very light red wine made and marketed as a richer style of rosé. It’s a rare grape, and like many heirloom varietals, it can be difficult to grow. Anyone can plant sauvignon blanc vines and expect to get a marketable crop. Heirloom varietals are often persnickety and fickle, but they reward the grower, willing to take the economic risk of a disastrous vintage, with what are often fascinating and beguiling wines. We support winemakers willing to risk hardship in pursuit of carrying on an agricultural tradition in their region by forgoing the easy way. 2014 Bisson Ciliegiolo is available at RW and at Slope Cellars (www.slopecellars.com, $17.99)

These are not mass market wines, so their availability can dry up quickly, but there’s great stuff out there if you ask around at your favorite restaurant or bottle shop. Take a chance on something you haven’t tried before!

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Here’s hoping you share our summer passion—pink wine from around the globe—cheers!

Filed Under: Eat Local Tagged With: local business, rose, rosewater, wine

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