Monte Belmonte Wines

Monte Belmonte Wines: Not quite wine country: Tasting notes from a trip to Córdoba, Spain

by Monte Belmonte | Jun 28, 2024 | Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines, Monte Belmonte Wines, Uncategorized

By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate As a self-proclaimed wine snob, I admit that it is shameful that I have never been to any “wine country,” in any country, anywhere. Since grapes can grow in virtually every country, meaning wine could be made in virtually...

Monte Belmonte Wines: Shelburne Falls is western Mass wine country

by Monte Belmonte | Apr 30, 2024 | Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines, Monte Belmonte Wines, Uncategorized

By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate The Bridge of Flowers may be closed to tourists this year but I can think of another great reason to visit Shelburne Falls — bowling! But this is a wine column. So, I’ll start again. The Bridge of Flowers may be closed to...

Monte Belmonte Wines: Aging wine is a lost art, even with us wine snobs

by Monte Belmonte | Mar 7, 2024 | Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines, Monte Belmonte Wines, Uncategorized

By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate Aging wine is a lost art. It’s lost on me and I’m a self-described wine snob. I have exactly two bottles of wine in my “wine cellar.” It’s actually not a cellar at all. It’s a room off of my living room where I keep my tools...

Monte Belmonte Wines: Vivacious effervescence: Champagne in essence

by Monte Belmonte | Jan 8, 2024 | Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines, Monte Belmonte Wines, Uncategorized

By MONTE BELMONTE For the Advocate Dom Pérignon, the Benedictine monk, did not invent Champagne. But if you’ve seen his commercials with Lady Gaga, he will be happy to charge you $250 or more a bottle for it. Champagne is, first, a place. A place which our monk...

Monte Belmonte Wines: In pleasure or pain — champagne

by Advocate Staff | Jan 13, 2023 | Articles, Featured, Monte Belmonte Wines, Monte Belmonte Wines, Uncategorized

Earlier this month, I quit my job — a job that I still very much loved — in an effort to bring myself into a better work/life balance. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made. When I walked out of the office for the last time, I went home and opened a...

Monte Belmonte Wines: A deep drink of Question 3

by By Monte Belmonte | Nov 2, 2022 | Articles, Featured, Monte Belmonte Wines, Monte Belmonte Wines, Uncategorized

While getting out my glasses (wine glasses, not reading glasses) and preparing to write this column, I had a new email message from the mailing list of Four Seasons Wine & Liquors in Hadley. While most of their subject lines read “For The Woman You Love: Wine...

Monte Belmonte Wines: Something wicked this way comes

by Monte Belmonte | Feb 24, 2022 | Featured, Monte Belmonte Wines, Monte Belmonte Wines

The witches in “The Scottish Play” warned of a monster of their own making. But this witch may become the best damned spot to go out. Something wicked AWESOME this way comes! Chef Michaelangelo Wescott is opening a new restaurant on Main Street in Northampton, in the...

Monte Belmonte Wines: Could Monte Love A New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc?

by Monte Belmonte | Jan 8, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Monte Belmonte Wines

Liz: “We’re really a nation of innovators and I think it shows in our wine industry.” Monte: “Plus, you’ve got penguins, right?” Liz: “Right.” Monte: “New Zealand is one of the top places people looked up as to how to move there after the election of Trump. It it hard...