VinoDuo is Lisa & Gary. Engaged in Sonoma. Honeymooned in Napa. Vacationed in
Temecula (CA), Woodinville (WA), and other off the beaten path wine regions. We’ve married our love of wine with our passion for travel, visiting lesser-known wine regions throughout the United
States. We’ve got strong opinions about the pros and cons of each wine region and this is our forum for airing and sharing them.
Newport Wine & Food Festival 2010
Friday Night - Wine & Rosecliff, recession edition
Well, maybe the recession finally caught up with the event. Or maybe we’ve become unbearable snobs. (Oh no, how could that be?) But this year, Lisa summed it up in one expression, “Sacre Bleu! What have they done to Wine & Rosecliff?” An air of commercialism permeated the event. In-your-face sponsorship from Infinity cars (parked on the back lawn marring an otherwise beautiful ocean view); tables hawking ZYR Vodka, Ripe Cocktails, Triple 8 Distilling, and Belgian beer; limited quantities of unexciting food (which recalls that old joke about the food being bad and the portions so small
and a dessert table empty by 9pm. Top this off with loud wedding-quality music and an overly intoxicated crowd, and you have the wrong ingredients for lively, interesting conversation about quality wines.
Saturday Wine Tasting At Marble House:
Better than Ever
All was forgiven on Saturday, though, with a best-ever Grand Tasting under the elegant white tents at Marble House. A perfect late-summer day was the perfect backdrop for terrific food from some of Rhode Island’s top restaurants and caterers and an extensive selection of wines from little-known family vineyards and big corporate wineries. Per the usual divide and conquer strategy Lisa spent most of her time scoping out the food (and basking in the sun); Gary made the rounds of the 100+ wineries represented and did some serious tasting.
Best Food
With 18 white-toqued chefs whipping up snacks, entrees, and desserts, Lisa had a lot of due diligence to do before uncovering the superior offerings. Two dishes made it to the “memorable” list:
- Fish Chowder from Windward Restaurant at the Hyatt Goat Island in Newport. Cod, haddock, and corn dotted with bacon and chives.
- Local Harvest Fruit Chutney with Feta
in Phyllo Dough from Local 121 in Providence. A stunning
combination of sweet fruit and savory cheese all wrapped up in a
meltingly flaky phyllo pillow.
Best
Wine
Since Gary did most of the tasting, white wine got
short shrift this time. Following are the top red wines on
our tasting list.
- Twomey Cellars Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County 2008
- Banfi Summus Toscana IGT 2005 (Cab, Sangiovese, Syrah blend)
- Trifecta Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
- Vidal Fleury Crozes Hermitage 2007 (Syrah)
Our Favorite Tastes of Newport 2010
Such a nice event. It was a pleasure to get to taste such fine wines. I also like that someone had to the mind to get a tent rental since that sun was extremely hot that day, even towards the end of the evening. A pleasure-fill day for sure!
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