25th Annual Nantucket Wine & Food Festival
This week is the 25th Nantucket Wine & Food festival, and we have an incredible lineup of in store tastings! We are kicking things off in a big way on Thursday, featuring two of the top wineries from Chile: Felipe Müller of Tabali Wines and Isabel Guilisasti of Don Melchor. Tabali hails from unique limestone-based vineyards in the Limari Valley, on the edge of the Atacama desert. As I have reported, I visited Chile in December on an epic wine trip with Nancy Bean, owner of the NWF. We drove 4 hours north of Santiago to reach Tabali and I am so glad we did. The whites are saline and singular, and what a vision to see the lush vineyard oasis surrounded by miles and miles of cactus and desert. In addition to their coastal vineyards, they have a unique site in the Andes and produce a cool climate Malbec. A long wine lunch with Felipe on their chic outdoor terrace with a platter of river shrimp, facing a field of lavender is a day I will never forget.
Don Melchor is an iconic Cabernet Sauvignon of the Maipo Valley and one of the most prestigious wines in Chile. I first tried it at the NWF Welcome Party last year was impressed by the velvety elegance. A visit to Don Melchor in Puente Alto is spectacular old world luxury in a 19th century manor, complete with gilt portraits and mounted game, in striking contrast to the natural beauty of Tabali.
Friday, we are hosting two other luminaries from Chile. Aurelio Montes Sr, founder of Vinã Montes, and Alex & Carrie Vik, owners of Viña Vik. We talked about the exquisite Vik property in our last newsletter and told of our trip to the edge of Patagonia with Montes a few weeks back. It is such an honor to have these friends in the shop and share their wines!
Our friend Denis Toner, founder of the Nantucket Wine Festival, will be here talking Burgundy as no one else can. Robert Sinskey will return to cv once again to show his organic wines from Carneros, featuring perennial store faves and a special-order 2013 Marcien Proprietary Red that we are excited to try. Wine industry legend Sacha Lichine will be here from from Chateau d’Esclans in Provence, sharing a rosé flight including their flagship single-vineyard rosé, Garrus, from magnum. I last saw Sacha at the winery in 2022 and it will be a pleasure to have him at CV.
On Saturday, another all-star cast as we welcome back Chris Howell from Cain with cool back vintages of Cain Cuvée and Cain Five. Then, the bubbles flow, beginning with Taittinger Champagne, followed by Ca’ del Bosco Franciacorta and Veuve Clicquot. We are so honored to meet Clovis Taittinger of Taittinger Champagne and share Comtes de Champagne, their blanc de blancs Tête de Cuvée. It’s Italian royalty next, with Cesare Casella carving Casella’s prosciutto alongside Mauricio Zanella, owner of Ca’ del Bosco, pouring the ‘Champagne of Italy’ from magnum, paired with savory Calvisius Caviar! It’s always a festive time with Veuve Clicquot and we will have noble nibbles to pair with La Grande Dame et al. We cap the day with Rosé wines and cider from Wölffer Estate on Long Island, including their lovely new Wölffer Provence and their delicious non-alcoholic rosé bubbles from Germany, “Spring in a Bottle”.
How’s that for a tasting schedule?! Cheers to the 25th Nantucket Wine & Food Festival. - Beth