Marsh’s 3^rd Annual Cellar Tasting

~ By Stanley Blackmur

As one of the South Shore’s premiere wine and spirit purveyors, Marsh’s Wine and Spirits has one of the most comprehensive and diverse wine selections anywhere and we are fortunate they are located here in the heart of our area.

Marsh’s recently constructed store is vibrant, clean, spacious and visually appealing with well-designed creative displays. Most importantly, Marsh’s is very well stocked with hundreds of wines, beers and spirits. The majority of the wine selections are accompanied by detailed tasting notes to assist in choosing the perfect wine. If you need additional assistance, a knowledgeable staff member is always available to assist you and offer suggestions for food pairings and other entertainment suggestions regardless of your price point. Marsh’s offers weekly wine tastings on Friday and Saturday evenings featuring wines currently on special and often served by the vineyard owners who obviously can provide terrific insight into their products.

One of the Marsh’s most popular annual events is the Fall Cellar tasting. Stephen Marsh and his staff and distributors have put together a spectacular line up for this year’s tasting at Marsh’s, 104 Washington Street in Norwell. In past years, 300 or more customers have attended the event to learn more about the nearly 200 wines offered that day. This year’s line-up comprises of 20 tables of varietal wines from around the world. Most tables are serving between six and ten different wines, including Chateau Ste. Michelle, Thunevin, Vin Divino, European Wine Cellars, Delicato Family Vineyards, F.X. Maganer Selections, Cape Classics, Don Sebastiani & Sons, Mionetto USA, Vineyard Brands, Cono Sur, Pierre Ferrand, Majestic Fine Wines, Vias Imports, Croney Estates, Aveniu Brands, Frederick Wildman & Sons, Negociants, Constellation Brands, Banfi, and Jordan.

One of the winery’s in attendance, Croney Estates, is serving six different selections from their two brands “Cigar Box” and “Croney Estates.” The Cigar Box selections were their Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Croney Estate selections are Sauvignon Blanc 3 Ton, Pinot Noir 2 Ton and Malbec Battle Ax.

I recently met up with the Greg Crone, President of Croney Estates, at his office in Scituate. Greg is the quintessential Kiwi — loves the ocean, is outgoing, personable with a great sense of humor and, most importantly, knows his wines but is by no means a pompous wine snob. Greg gave me some homework — to try some of his wines over the weekend. Someone’s got to do this, right? His hot seller right now is the Cigar Box Malbec. Admittedly, I am typically a beer guy, but this Cigar Box Malbec could convert me. Croney Estates is located on 50 acres in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. Crone also leases vineyards in Argentina and Chile. I have always heard that the “Kiwis” are a funny lot, and a visit to their website www.croneyestates.com does not disappoint on this front, there is the “Obligatory Sheep Reference” tab in which you can hear “real sheep” either “drunk, angry or mating” which is certainly worth clicking on!

The motto of Croney Estates keenly sums up the philosophy of this Kiwi Vintner: “We are serious about our wine so you don’t have to be.” Their website begins with the quote, “It is often said that there is time to be serious, but there is also time to impress your guests with a spot-on Pee Wee Herman impersonation.” I asked Greg to perform, and he nailed it.

Croney Estates takes a laid back yet serious tack in producing their wines. “We are serious about our wines blending old world wine making techniques along with new technology,” bringing out the vibrant fruit flavors in which Marlborough and Coney estates are now famous. “The distinctive pungency and zesty fruit flavors of our wines have captured the hearts of crusty old wine snobs and the hedonistic wine drinkers alike.”

Croney utilizes a growing method called Cropping. “Tonnage per acre is perhaps the most important viticultural practice. Generally speaking the less tonnage per acre, the higher the quality of the juice leading to much higher quality of finished wine. A green harvest enables us to crop a mere 3 tons per acre for our Sauvignon Blanc and a stupidly low 2 tons per acre for the Pinot Noir,” hence the names.

Be sure to stop by Marsh’s for this year’s Fall Cellar tastings. You’ll be able to taste Croney Estates’ offerings along with many others. In addition to the huge wine selection at the tastings, Stephen and his crew usually have a few surprises in store!

Last but not least, and to complement the fine wine selections from around the globe, Mike Dias of On Rye Deli, from around the corner, will be serving up his fine hors-d’oeuvres to perfectly pair with this year’s selections. Cheers!

104 Washington Street, Nor well, MA 02061 • 781.878.5042 Thursday, October 6th • 4:00pm – 8:00pm Fall Cellar TasTing 2011 Marsh’s Wine and Spirits

From wine to whiskey, we have everything you need to throw a great party.

Our liquor store contains top-quality wine and spirits. We provide it to you in either a case or by the bottle, both at competitive prices. You will notice the difference our friendly staff can make.