The Blueberry Mint Margarita

Happy summer, everyone!  We hope you’re enjoying this rainy weather (stop raining, please) and are enjoying spending time with friends and family. We have another easy yet tasty cocktail for you to make. The Blue Mint Margarita is for everyone who loves a good margarita but wants to make it just a little fancy. It’s super easy, refreshing, and perfect for any upcoming event you have.

Ingredients: Makes one margarita

  • 3 ounces Tequila – we love Espolón Blanco Tequila
  • 2 fresh squeezed limes
  • handful of blueberries
  • Splash of soda water
  • Fresh mint (Don’t have any of your own? We have some at the back entrance of our store – take some!)

Make:

  • Muddle the blueberries and mint
  • Add crushed ice
  • Squeeze the limes over ice
  • Pour in 3 ounces of tequila
  • Add a splash of soda water
  • Add fresh blueberries to top

Cheers! We hope you find this cocktail perfect for your summer celebrations!

Xo – Taylor, your MWS cocktail mixer/maker/drinker

 

 

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Steve Bird June Wine Specials

This June we’re thrilled to feature Steve Bird’s Rosé and Manu Sauvignon Blanc as our wine specials of the month. We got a chance to catch up with Steve this Spring about their tasty wines.  Steve shares his thoughts and tasting notes in the video below.

Wine Tasting Notes:

  • Manu Rosé (New Zealand): The nose is subtle showing delicate aromas of raspberries and cherries, quince, and fragrant flowers. There is a remarkable balance of delicacy and fruit intensity on the palate. Dry to taste and medium-bodied, the palate is bright and vibrant, with refreshing acidity balanced by the fruit sweetness and very fine textures. Regular $14.99 on special $12.99
  • Manu Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand): Is vibrant and tasty, packed with flavors of lime, stone-fruit and fresh herbs. The palate is powerful and fruity showing refreshing acidity and pleasing weight in the mid-palate. The flavors all flow to a dry finish with impressive persistence Regular $13.99 on special $11.99 Scored 91 points Wine Enthusiast

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Impress for less with this tasty rosé

Finally. The weather is warm, the deck’s been power washed. We’ve been vaccinated and we’re ready to get together with friends and neighbors to celebrate being…normal.
In my neighborhood, the first post-Covid gathering was last weekend at Dave and Denise’s house, where the hospitality is unsurpassed, the wine is plentiful and everyone always feels welcome.

It was a last-minute, let’s-see-what-the-weather-does invitation, so I made a platter of cold peanut noodles and picked up a couple of bottles of rose; Les Hauts Plateaux Alpes de Haute Provence Rosé 2020, to be specific. But don’t let the haughty name fool you; this is an affordable and deliciously approachable wine.

From Southwestern France, formerly part of the Provence region, this vineyard is drenched in sunshine. And you can taste it in the wine. Light with distinct fruit and berry notes, it paired well with cheeses served as appetizers and made my peanut noodles seem elegant. The beautiful pale pink (thanks to the addition of Syrah grapes) looks beautiful in a glass and caught the evening light. It’s great with food (we also had grilled chicken), but would be delightful to sip unaccompanied on a summer afternoon. Even my discerning French neighbor, Jerome, proclaimed the wine to be “fantastique!” And it is. This proves that you don’t have to spend a lot to get a very respectable bottle of wine with a label that looks like you spent a lot. And it’s French!

I am looking forward to many more neighborhood gatherings this summer. I’ll bring the Les Hauts plateau Alpes de Haute Rose. You can bring peanut noodles.

Here’s the recipe for Carol’s Noodles:

  • 2/3 cup Teddy’s smooth unsalted peanut butter
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup teriyaki sauce
  •  tablespoons brown sugar
  • Water to thin, as needed
  • Boil a pound of fresh Asian-style noodles (I use Hoy Toy). Cool by running under cold water. Toss noodles with half of the sauce. Arrange on a platter and garnish with: bean sprouts (or shredded cabbage) chopped mint and cilantro, chopped peanuts, and scallions.
  • Serve with remaining sauce and a glass of rosé.

By Carol Band

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Brewery Spotlight: Lord Hobo

“Hey Siri, show me breweries near me…” LORD HOBO BREWERY!

There is nothing better than a brewery during the summer–especially when it’s local. Lord Hobo Brewery in Woburn is going to be the hot spot of the summer here on the north shore. Aside from their legendary BOOMSAUCE beer, the brewery has so much fun to offer this summer, and you need to get in on it. Here at Mystic Wine Shoppe, we are all about the Lord Hobo buzz and wanted to share our excitement with you. Allow us to share some of our favorite features of this extraordinary local brewery.

Lord Hobo

Outdoor Seating All Summer Long
Working on your summer tan while drinking a beer = multitasking at its finest. Lord Hobo Brewery has a brand new outdoor patio at their Woburn location, and we are all about it. Outdoor dining makes for a perfect summer afternoon or night, especially with a brew in hand.

Games, Games, Games!
Lord Hobo likes to keep things playful. From live music to trivia, to bingo–they have it all, creating an upbeat aroma for you and your party. And if you aren’t a competitive person, that’s okay too. Kick back, relax and enjoy the excitement running through the brewery (and maybe go and snag some of their cool apparel too, while you’re at it.)

Beer. Food. Happiness.
Food and beer make us happy, what about you? Lord Hobo Brewery has a full kitchen that provides a rotating menu filled with delicious food each week. And the best part…even if you don’t dine in with them you can still take your food and beer to go.

Don’t Like Beer? No Problem!
Hey, not everyone likes beer, and at Lord Hobo–that’s okay! The brewery serves cider, white wine, red wine, nitro iced coffee, and various non-alcoholic beverages alongside their legendary brews. Everyone in your party can find something they like, making it a great destination for meeting friends and family.

We told you we loved it. Do you now want to try it too? Lord Hobo Brewery in Woburn is open Monday through Thursday 4pm-10pm, Friday through Saturday 11am-12:00am, and Sundays 1am-10pm.

For more information visit their website!

 

Cheers!

Photos By: Lord Hobo

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Spring Tequila Cocktail

Happy Spring! We created a unique and fun cocktail that is easy to make yet, its flower ice cubes make it feel special. Have you ever used edible flowers in your drinks? It’s our first time using them, and it sure did make our drink appealing.

Ingredients:

  • 3 ounces of Teremana Tequila
  • 2 ounce of lemonade
  • Splash of soda water
  • Lemon slice
  • Edible flowers (for ice cubes)

Make Cocktail:

  • Ice Cubes: Place edible flowers in ice cube tray/small bowl – freeze overnight
  • Pour tequila, lemonade and soda water over ice cube
  • Squeeze lemon into drink and swipe along rim of glass

 

Cheers  – Enjoy!

 

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Wine Review – Chasing Lions 2017 Pinot Noir

They say that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. But in New England, April winds can roar and the lion is very much alive well into May.

Last weekend, I followed the lion of winter north and drove up to visit my fellow fully-vaccinated friends in Harrisville, New Hampshire. I left Arlington on Friday night with a couple of bottles of Chasing Lions Pinot Noir, some good sharp cheddar cheese, and my beat-up Yahtzee set, excited, after a year of social distancing, to see people again. The trees were bare along Route 3 and there were still rogue piles of snow clinging to winter in the forest shadows and on the north face of Mt. Monadnock.

Harrisville, New Hampshire is a perfectly preserved little mill town. Perched on the shores of a picturesque lake, the heart of the town (and the only place to buy provisions) is the General Store. Supported by the Historic Harrisville Foundation, the General Store has been supporting the community throughout the pandemic by providing Friday night take-out dinners. Every week’s menu is a new theme. Last week was Mexican with homemade tortilla soup, tamales, and an assortment of side dishes.

Chasing Lions Pinot Noir seemed like a fitting accompaniment. I couldn’t wait to open it. As we waited for dinner to be delivered, I sliced up the cheddar cheese, got out some crackers, and uncorked the first bottle. It felt amazing to be with people again.

Produced by the Nine North Wine Company of Napa Valley, the Chasing Lions, 2017 Pinot Noir is easy to love. My friend Andrew and his wife Mary Lou are well versed in wine and they noted notes of cherry and citrus. Our host commented that she tasted a bit of spice and I simply proclaimed it “delicious.”
By the time our tamales arrived, we were ready to open the second bottle and the laughs and conversation flowed as easily as the wine.

Now, the lion of winter has seemingly moved on. The daffodils are blooming —even in the shadows of Mt. Monadnock— and I’m delighted to have found a wine that I’ll be uncorking to celebrate not just the return of spring, but also the gradual return of dinner parties and lifting a glass of wine with friends. Cheers!

Thanks for reading,

Carol, Mystic Wine Shoppe’s Wine Connoisseur

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New England Style Weather for Award-winning wine

I confess, I often pick wines because I like their label. I picked this one for that very reason. The clean, graphic type on the bottle of Oinoz Crianza, caught my eye. But, when I tasted it, I wanted to know the story of behind this delicious, drinkable red.

A dry, harsh winter, a miserable wet spring, and a summer drought sound like what we endure here in Arlington, but in 2014, at the northern end of the Rioja region of Spain, that weather pattern led to a late budding in the vineyards of Gallamate La Canoca in San Vincente. Those late buds produced grapes of extraordinary quality— so good, that this particular vintage won a Gold Medal at the Consurso Mundial de Bruselas, one of the most prestigious international wine events.

Crafted from Termpranillo grapes, Oinoz Criaza pairs well with pungent cheeses, aged beef, and roast goat. I didn’t have any of those on hand, but my kids were coming over, it was a rare warm spring night, so I decided to throw some burgers on the grill and share a couple of bottles of my newest obsession. 

We cracked the first bottle open and poured. The Oinoz Criaza is a beautiful ruby red color with an aroma of cherry, vanilla, and pepper. We sipped and dove into a baked Brie that my son had made. The gooey cheese was a perfect complement to the dry, fruity wine. My daughter, who tends to drink hard seltzer and white wine, commented, “I can tell that this is a good wine, because I actually like it.”  Smart girl. The 2014 Oinoz Criaza is the highest-rated vintage for this wine. 

We pulled the burgers off the grill and poured the second bottle of wine. It had been breathing for about an hour and the flavor really opened up and mellowed. The night was getting chilly, so we moved inside (four out of six of us have been vaccinated) and ate around the fireplace in the living room. The menu was burgers, tater tots, and salad. It was a double celebration of my daughter-in-law’s birthday (we also had a killer Key Lime pie from Petsi’s Pies in Somerville) and a send-off for my son who was being deployed with the National Guard to Washington DC. Oinoz Criaza proved to be a wine that is fitting for multiple occasions, but I plan to drink it often and for no particular reason at all. Here’s to getting together again.

By: our favorite wine connoisseur, Carol Band

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Auctioning Off 20 Year Pappy Van Winkle for a Good Cause!

On Monday, March 22nd, we will be starting the auction of  a bottle of 20-year Pappy Van Winkle!  The auction will run from March 22nd and end on Monday, April 5th, at 5pm. You can place your bid by calling into the store or in person. Also, feel free to post your bid on our Facebook & Instagram pages (post on our Pappy Van Winkle Posts). All proceeds will be donated to the Arlington Covid Relief Fund. This fund was developed to help struggling families and small businesses in Arlington. We proud that we’re able to support such a worthy cause.

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