Napa, New Hampshire?

Sarah Breen in the vineyard

There is a new wine bar/ restaurant/ retail wine shop in Nashua, New Hampshire called Napa East.  For those of you who haven’t ventured out there yet, it’s well worth the trip.  With over 100 wines by the glass dispensed by climate-controlled machines from Napa Technology, you can taste sips of any wine on the list for an average of $3 a pour.  You can also get half and full glasses.  More expensive options, like the famed Opus One, are available as well and provide the chance to try a wine before investing in a pricey bottle or even a full glass.

The bar at Napa East

They serve lunch and dinner and offer free tastings of a selection of wines in the retail store at the entrance to the restaurant.  Hopefully they will be featuring Jewell Towne wines in the near future.  If any one of our Jewell Towne fans makes a trip to this wine mecca, please request our wine!  It would certainly expand our reach to have a tasting venue in the southwestern part of the state.

And when you go to Napa East, be sure to say hello to Jewell Towne intern Sarah Breen.  A recent graduate of the University of New Hampshire where she majored in EcoGastronomy, Sarah has completed Levels I & II of the Comprehensive Survey of Wine at Boston University.  She hopes to work in wine sales and reach sommelier status in her continuing wine education.  She works in the retail shop at Napa East in addition to offering her expertise in the vineyard and tasting room at Jewell Towne. 

Check out their website at http://napaeast.com/  or call (603) 595-WINE for more information.

Bonta Goes Local

The newest restaurant to carry Jewell Towne wine is Bonta, on Route 27 in Hampton.  It is a beautiful facility with a revitalized menu of creative and fresh northern Italian fare.  Kevin Riley, the Executive Chef,  put together an incredible menu for the “Glocal” wine dinner featuring local wines from Jewell Towne, Zorvino and Sweet Baby Vineyards.

Creamy fontina polenta, slow braised veal 

breast, broccolini and grana padano with

Jewell Towne's Leon Millot

While I was there pouring wine with representatives of the other vineyards, we also got to sample some of Kevin's pairings and I have to say that his food and our wine made for a pretty special combination.  The whole was greater than the sum of the parts, as the saying goes.

He started the dinner with our Frose, typically served with dessert, as it is a sweet ice wine-style wine, but his pairing with a Chicken Liver Mousse topped with caramelized cipolllini onions was a fresh take on the classic Sauterne/ Foie Gras match.  The Polenta con Vitello matched beautifully with our Pinot Noir-style Leon Millot as well.  If Kevin gives me the recipe for this dish, the secret won’t be safe.  I will post the recipe here and I highly recommend drinking it with our light, fruit-forward Leon Millot, available at Jewell Towne or Bonta restaurant.

The dinner was hosted by the Exeter Rotary and the wineries gave 10% of retail sales that evening to the local charities sponsored by the Club.  Local wine, local restaurants and locally sourced food are all good for the community.  Bravo Bonta!

To see Bonta's full menu or to make reservations go to www.Bonta.net .