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Liquid Fire
Wine tasting and molten glass-blowing, together at last
By TYLER BALLIET
del.ico.us
reddit!
CRASH! went a massive hunk of glass as it shattered against the hard concrete floor. A long, slow groan ensued from the 30-some people watching the artists' demonstration from an adjacent room. "You have to have a zen-like approach. Otherwise, you'd go crazy," explained Josh Eaton, owner of Terroir Wines, as he poured a glass of his Sauvignon Blanc. The highly skilled artists cracked jokes and merrily picked up the pieces.
On a regular basis, Eaton teams up with the Diablo Glass School [123 Terrace St., Mission Hill, Boston. 617.442.7444. diabloglassschool.com] to host a wine and glass-blowing social event titled "Fire and Wine Tasting." For $35, attendees watch demonstrations from highly skilled artists, all while hand-blown stemware is constantly refilled with some of France's finest libations.
Donning sunglasses and a large smile, artist Chris Watts provided the entertainment by means of a continuous glass-blowing seminar focusing on technique. With over 20 years of experience, he made the complicated process look easy; but Eaton, an amateur glass artist himself, assured us he was wielding skills that took decades to perfect.
Watts worked in collaboration with another artist and the two moved with a silent fluidity, each anticipating the other's actions.
As far from the 2,400˚F furnaces as possible, Eaton (along with sales representative Susana McDonnell) explained the nine different French wines they'd brought. Pouring liberally, they took attendees on a mini trip of the country, starting with whites from Bordeaux, then making a quick stop in the Rhône and ending up in the southern Languedoc.
After the crowd left, the furnaces remained running and there was still plenty of wine. Eaton, McDonnell and other students of the school started toying with molten glass, and it was clear no one was going anywhere for a while.
HIGHLIGHTS
2005 Calvet Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux, France ($15) is a fantastically crisp and refreshing wine. It tastes more like a Sancerre or—dare we compare—un-oaked American Sauv Blanc. Considering the price, we highly suggest stocking up on this one.
2007 Domaine Maby Tavel, Côtes du Rhône, France ($31) is a rosé wine from the king region of the style. Rosé season may be fading, but DAMN!, this wine drinks more like a red wine than rosé. Grilled veggies or anything else you can find will go perfectly with this bottle. Not cheap, but worth the price, in our opinion.
2001 Chateau Grand Rivallon, St.-Emilion, France ($40) may not be cheap either, but it definitely drinks well for its price. The large amount of Merlot softens the wine, making it a nice pairing with a steak or slices of hard cheese.
All wines available at Downtown Wine and Spirits [225 Elm St., Davis Sq., Somerville. 617.625.7777. downtownwineandspirits.com] and The Wine Emporium [607 Tremont St., South End, Boston. 617.262.0379. thewineemporiumboston.com]
DRINK MORE WINE! FOR MORE INFORMATION: THESECONDGLASS.COM
