January = Beginnings

Our first meeting of Girls & Grapes - Boston was a great success! We had about 11 girls to start the night, lots of wine, food, and fun!

THEME: Pinot Party

WINES:

We started the night by comparing a 2007 Borgo Pinot Grigio from Italy, with the 2007 Villa Marchesi Pinot Grigio (also Italian), both were was crisp, light, and dry with notes of honeysuckle, lemon, and slight mineral flavors - great rainy spring wines. To round out the whites, we tasted a French 2006 Joseph Kaetzel Pinot Gris, which was a solid, medium-bodied white wine with banana, cedar, and floral aromas. They're hard to find, but I think this was a good winter white.

For the reds, we started with a 2007 Cartlidge & Brown Pinot Noir from California, a ripe and fruity wine. We then tasted a 2007 Mirassou Pinot Noir, which had aromas of strawberries and cherries, followed with a little spice.

FOOD:

We had a massive spread with lots of fruit (dried bananas, strawberries, pears, etc), mini-quiches, bread and dipping oil, and some cheeses.

For dessert, we enjoyed some fresh baked brownies and some "Brad Sucks" spice cake (Katie's creation).

It was a great way to start the year and to start the newest "chapter" of Girls & Grapes!