Along Main Street and its alleys, Oneonta, NY.

Thinking about pears.

Market Square, Portsmouth, NH

Heading out to find pumpkins.

Farmcoast early light, Westport, Massachusetts.

Dusk at Long Sands.

Evening in Padanaram.

Padanaram, Massachusetts, Bristol County - village, harbor, once a shipbuilding center in the 1700's,  attacked by the British during the American Revolution, served as a small whaling port in the 1800's, now home to the New Bedford Yacht Club and host to the Buzzards Bay Regatta.  This particular visit found a beautiful dusk sky and a great meal at the newly discovered Black Bass Grille.

Irene. No day at the beach.

East Beach Road, Horseneck Beach, Westport, MA.  After Tropical Storm Irene.

Small Plates & Wines - A Pairing Dinner.

In May, Lucia's Kitchen in Cape Neddick, Maine, collaborated with THE CLOWN in York for the first of what hopes to be series of Wine Dinners presented by the two. The menu and pairings from the evening follow. The cuisine, the wines, the pairings, were bright, sexy, smokey, the wines played well on the Latin notes of the dishes. I selected wines to showcase Lucia's Spanish and Mexican-influenced dishes, and the wines themselves. All were delicious. The applauded pairings of the evening? The Antaño Rioja Crianza, the nose alone burst from the bottle upon popping the cork 30 minutes before pouring, paired with a chorizo stew, and the Tabali Late Harvest Muscat from Chile matched with a just-out-of-the-oven baked crostata of fresh strawberries with a vanilla crème Anglaise. Look for another Wine Dinner with Lucia's and THE CLOWN this Fall.

THE MENU

ROASTED ASPARAGUS, ROMAINE, AVOCADO, TOMATOES, QUESO FRESCO,

 AVOCADO DRESSING

MONTINORE ESTATE, BOREALIS "THE NORTHERN WHITES" 2009, OREGON

CHARCOAL GRILLED BONELESS CHICKEN THIGHS IN GARLIC-SAFFRON SAUCE 

OVER PARSELY RICE

MAS DE BRESSADES  CUVÉE TRADITION ROSÉ   2010, FRANCE

WHITE BEAN, SPANISH AND MEXICAN CHORIZO AND KALE STEW 

WITH CRUSTY BREAD

ANTAÑO RIOJA CRIANZA 2007, SPAIN

SPANISH BBQ BABY BACK RIBS WITH SWEET RED PEPPER SAUCE

INKBERRY SHIRAZ/CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2009, AUSTRALIA

CROSTATA OF FRESH STRAWBERRIES, VANILLA CRÈME ANGLAISE

VINA TABALI LATE HARVEST MUSCAT 2009, CHILE

Opa! A Greek White for Summer. Kallisto, Mercouri Estate, Peloponnese, Greece.

I admit I haven't had many Greek wines, but plan to explore several this summer. Should be easy to do, THE CLOWN in York, Maine has a fantastic selection of wines from Greece, not a bottle of Retsina in sight though always available by special order for those die-hards that swoon over the classic if not iconic wine along with memories of time spent drinking the pine resin infused creation tapped from barrels on a trip to Greece. 

Greek wine gem discovery #1: Kallisto from Domaine Mercouri, an estate with vineyards  dating back to the late 1800's in the western Peloponnese.  Kallisto is a blend of Ribolla Gialla and the rare Greek grape Tourkopoula, is a limited release dry white that is fermented in stainless steel.  Beautiful light aromas of citrus, freshly grated lemon. Only 12.5% alcohol was a nice surprise and though we enjoyed the wine with a shrimp scampi, it was just as lovely the next evening with a dayboat haddock broiled with nothing but butter, cracked pepper and sea salt.  An absolutely perfect wine for backyard, beachside, cottage lawn, side deck summer sipping. Or if you're lucky enough to be sitting under a vivid Cerulean sky in the Mediterranean cozied up to a platter of grilled calamari. "Opa!" is right.