Where Music and Wine Collide: Radio Boka

We are coming up on Spring, nice weather where we will be hanging outside gardening, boating, going to the beach, hiking and more. What goes best along with those activities, music and wine.

As we know wine is an important part of my life and so is music.

I worked in radio for many years. Well, I actually grew up in radio. My dad had a dream of owning his own radio station since he was a child. He was working as a Sound Engineer at Candid Camera and the show was coming to a close. It was at this time in his life he decided to go for it! The year was 1967 he purchased his first radio station. I grew up with the tunes and found out my dad's family has history in the Hungarian wine trade. I was destined for music and wine in my life

Meet Nicholas Hammeken

Back in October when we were doing Monastrell for Winephabet Street and we had Nicholas Hammeken, founder of Hammeken Cellars as our guest. While researching for this episode I noticed he also produced a wine brand called Radio Boka. This immediately caught my attention. Me and the wine connected!

Hammeken Cellars isn’t your ordinary winery. Nicholas is Danish and was working in the wine industry in the UK. His wife who is a dentist had the opportunity to relocate to Spain and in 2001 Hammeken Cellars released their first wine brand.

Their philosophy is to source indigenous grapes from the best places in Spain and create fresh, approachable wines with growers that share the same vision.

Radio Boka

Music plays such an important role in our lives as does wine. When you hear that song on the radio or digital music platform it brings you back to a memorable time, the right tune can create excitement on an otherwise boring day.

You open that bottle of wine and the aromas take you back to a time in your childhood. The wine’s bright acidity might create excitement or chewy tannins, romance.

Now combine the music and wine and you have an explosion of good vibes around you. Excitement. Romance. Love. Fun. Memories!

Radio Boka is where friendship and music collide. It’s about having fun in life, enjoying today with the people you love and creating memories. The best is it comes in “three frequencies” Verdejo, Rose and Tempranillo all produced to show their fresh and lively expressions. Also packaged in a three-liter box in the shape of an old car radio. That will be great for the beach, the boat or the pool this summer. The bottles are all priced at $9.99 - so affordable.

Radio Boka Verdejo - 100% Verdejo from 25 year old vines. This wine is unoaked with lively citrus and green apple notes followed by medium-plus acidity. I see this wine sitting by the pool or watching the summer sunset.

Radio Boka Rose - This is a blend of 80% Tempranillo, 20% Bobal from 30+-year-old vines with strawberry, cherry and rhubarb notes. The perfect wine for the beach or the hike.

Radio Boka Tempranillo - 100% Tempranillo from 30+-year-old vines and partial aging in 100% French oak. Nice fresh red fruit with cinnamon spice on the finish. This wine is perfect for the summer BBQ!

Listen to the Podcast

Cote Mas Rosès of Summer

Leap into summer with the heat and humidity and cool off with Cote Mas Rosès of Summer.

Located in the heart of the Languedoc region of France, Cote Mas has about 800 hectares of vines throughout the wine country. Also they contract with vineyards to give them a diverse range of grape to produce their wine.

Sparkling wine is not just for special occasions, it’s meant to celebrate every day and the milestones reached. Simple milestones such as friendship, completing a task, a sunny day or a beautiful sunset. Make it simple. Just for that occasion, there is Cote Mas Crémant de Limoux Rosé.

For those not sure what Crémant de Limoux is, Crémant is a sparkling wine made in France outside of the Champagne region and Limoux is a commune in the Languedoc region. The monks of the abbey of Saint Hilaire in the Limoux area were famous for making sparkling wines in the traditional method in the 16th century. This is where Dom Perignon learned about the traditional method of sparkling while on a retreat.

Cote Mas Crémant de Limoux Rosé is produced with 70% Chardonnay 20% Chenin Blanc and 10% Pinot Noir. The first fermentation is completed in vat then the second in the bottle. The bottles then rest for 12 months and disgorging is done 3 months before release with “liqueur d’expedition” addition and final bottling.

Beautiful pink in color with hints of peach, strawberry and blood orange. Soft and lively perfect for relaxing and taking in the ocean air. It doesn’t disappoint and is great for a mid-day bubbly. SRP $18

If you’re drinking Rosé all day, Cote Mas 2018 Rosé Aurore is nice and refreshing by the pool, beach, lake or on the boat. This Rosé is your invitation to experience Rural Luxury (everyday luxury). The blend is 50% Grenache 30% Cinsault and 20% Syrah aged on its lies with regular stirring for 40 days in new coated cement vats.

Floral aromas with hints of red and stone fruit are rich and smooth and well balanced. Great everyday Rosé for sipping or pairing! SRP $9.99

The Renaissance Rosé

Just because it’s fall and the weather finally cooled off doesn’t mean you turn your back on Rosé. Don’t think of Rosé for just summer, it’s a year round wine.

I was introduced to Rocca Di Montemassi Renaissance Rosé from the Maremma region of Tuscany a few weeks ago. This estate is part of the Zonin family of wines and was acquired by the Zonin family in 1999. At the time it was semi-abandoned and the vineyard were a mess.

The family’s commitment to the region led to the redevelopment of the area. The estate now covers 1063 acres of which 395 are devoted to vines with 86 acres planted with white grapes, 146 are planted with Sangiovese and the rest with French and international varietals.

2017 Rocca Di Montemassi Renaissance Rosé IGT

This is a blend of 60% Sangiovese and 40% Syrah processed separately and blended together after fermentation then bottled. This wine is very refreshing! You can smell the minerality of fresh springs coming out of the glass. That minerality shows on the palate along with floral notes. lime, apricot and a fresh crisp finish. SRP $16.99

The Seeker

The Seeker is a brand of wines that sources from all over the world. They choose a family winery in different regions that focus on the regional specialty.  Each of their wine labels have a character that is out there seeking and a story to follow.

Since it's Rose season, I chose  to try The Seeker Rose from Cotes de Provence. If you look closely at the label there is a character in middle. Each bottle in their portfolio has a different character. Each character has a story and all the characters play out in the brand.

The Rose's character is Antoine Favreau.   Antoine presents himself to the count.  Could there be a murder involved? There is a package  that Antoine tries to steel and Isadora (who is the character on the Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile) sweeps in and takes it from him. And the story begins.....

That is the brand and I'm sure right now you are more interested in the wine.  The 2015 The Seeker Rose is from Cotes de Provence region of France.  It is made with 50% Grenache and 50% Cinsault.  The grapes spent a day on their skins to extract the color. The wine is vegan friendly

The Rose is dry and fresh.  Watermelon aromas fill the glass with a hint of spice. The wine had hints of red berry fruit and citrus with a little tartness. SRP $13.99

I paired it with salad from my garden and pasta with garlic scape pesto. The wine went great with the salad.  Just okay with the pasta.  I would stick with the salad pairing.

#RoseRevolution with Angels & Cowboys

A name like Angels & Cowboys will put a smile on your face.  The back label says "There's a lover, a trailblazer and a rule breaker in all of us. " Yes there is.  Sound exciting, well so is the wine.

Angels & Cowboys is a collaboration between Cannonball Wine Company co-founders, Yoav Gilat and Dennis Hill along with graphic artist Michael Schwab. They created a wine that brings out the lover, trailblazer and rule breaker in all of us because you know it's there.

They  strive to make  Rose in the similar style of the Roses that come out of the South of France.  Accentuating on mouth feel and structure.

Their 2015 Rose is a blend of Grenache Rouge, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Grenache Blanc all sourced from the Carneros, Alexander and Dry Creek Valley. The wine is light salmon in color.  Delicate but racy and fresh.

The wine was aged on the lees for 2 months with minimal stirring.  This was for the texture and to avoid complex yeasty flavors and to add a bit of weight to the wine.

The aromas coming out of the glass expressed minerality with a floral notes of violets and some strawberry, lime and tangerine. Once in your mouth there are soft flavors of red fruit with a nice citrus finish. It's very nice and balanced.

"Everything is nice on this wine!  The minerality, freshness, the citrus finish and the violets on the nose."

The wine retails for $15.  You can find it in restaurants and liquor stores.  If you are in New York City, Gotham Wines on 94th and Broadway carries it.

Dinner for the evening was chicken sausage sauteed with sugar snap pees, onions some oil and garlic. Pairing perfect!

2 Value Priced Wines from Montes Wines

I have tasted Montes Wines before and I am always amazed at the great quality coming Aurello Montes. It all began for them in 1988 when they realized their dream of crafting wines in high quality than the current standards and using sustainable methods.

This particular tasting was of their 2015 Montes Cherub which is a Rose of Syrah and 2013 Monte Twins which is a Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon blend.

Both of these wine retail for about $15.  They are a great value and taste good too!

The labels were designed by Ralph Steedman who also designed the labels for Flying Dog Beer. The story behind the angels are that Co-Founder Douglas Murray always believed angels protected him.  He wanted the angels to protect Montes, so he put the angel on the label.

The 2015 Montes Cherub Rose of Syrah smells like summer.  That is what I thought of when I first smelled the aromas. Very ripe fresh berries and hints of watermelon, black currant and rose petals. Not to mention the deep dark pink color that comes from the pressed grapes.  In your mouth think Jolly Rancher.  Red raspberry begins to come through on the palate and the wine has a very long finish with a hint of tartness.  This wine is not sweet with only .4% residual sugar. This wine will pair well with salmon, tuna tartar, to name a few.

The 2013 Montes Twins is a Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon blend that is 50/50 each.  47% of the wine was aged for 10 months in first used French oak barrels.  The wine was a bit tight when first opened. You need to let it breathe for a few minutes to get the aromas and juices flowing.  Once the juices are flowing I smelled aromas of sweet spices, blackberry with some tobacco and cedar notes.  There were quite a bit to tannins on the palate and the wine was a bit fruity but well balanced.

Montes Wines are a wine brand to look for and watch.  Good things are yet to come.  Perhaps some more blending of the wines.

Here's a video to watch from Periscope that I did of the tasting.  I promise I will get better at it.

 

Summer of Rosé: Erzetič Winery

It is always fascinating to drink wines from all over the world.  One should not limit yourself and should always keep an open mind and palate.  When I received the Erzetič Winery from Slovenia I was pretty excited.  I have only tasted Slovenia Vodka, and did so with the Chef behind it Peter Kelly and I was wowed!  I thought if the Vodka is good so must be the wine and I was correct.

Located just over the northeast Italian border, the first owner of the Erzetič Estate, Martin planted the vineyard in 1725. Staying true to the land, the wine is made to capture the charm and liveliness of the terrior.

The Erzetič Rosé is a delightful Rosé. The grapes are destemmed and gently pressed and the must sits on the skins for only a few hours. Sitting on the skins is key for color & extracting tannins & phenol properties from the skins which give the wine texture of soft and rounded.

Aromas of strawberry and soft red berries fill the glass with floral hints. On the palate red fruit shows through with some nice acidity balanced out with a bit of residual sugar and soft tannins. The finish lingers with a hint of lemon rind.

I paired the wine with a nice fresh raspberry/blackberry buttermilk cake. (Ok, no comments on how small the piece is, I'm watching my girlish figure.)

The SRP is $24. If you can't find the Rose in your wine shop you can order it from Old World Vines