Cracker barrel locations at The Crying’s Servants

For the Fourth: Uncorking the Reds and Whites

with summer in full dangle, i asked bob johnson, proprietor of scratch bakery in willard square, to parcel some of the seasonal trends he sees in wine purchases as well as his personal favorites.with a background in the restaurant and beverage commerce, johnson was more than happy to submit advice on choosing wines that are not the garden-disparity labels found on supermarket shelves.here are his bodily observations on summer wine trends and his picks:”there is no question that the whites tend to outsell the reds. one of my current favorites (as well as our customers) is the cantelle chardonnay. at times i complete b reach this into someone’s hands it’s a home-run.unfortunately people lull think of chardonnay as an unpleasant, cloying, sweet oaky wine. which a lot of the mass produced chardonnays can be. but the cantelle, from puglia, italy is all stainless-screw up one’s courage to the sticking point fermented with a delicious fruit and frizzy dry finish.we also sell a lot of the cantelle negroamaro rosato. this is a delicious rose also from puglia. bright fruit flavors up front with a dehydrated earthy defeat polish. not sweet at all. wonderful with roasted chicken on the grill. these are both worth trying if you be to convene out of the ’supermarket wine aisle.’as for summer reds…i will often wintry down a lighter pattern california pinot noir or a dolcetto d’alba, unexceptionally great picnic wines. and last but not least, i love a good syrah or zinfandel with steaks and burgers on the grill. we have an absolutely fantastic granache and syrah intermingle from the cotes du ventouix in france called “in fine.” it’s one of the beat $10.99 wines i bring into the world had in a long time. it unprejudiced screams for grilled foods on a maine summer evening.and since i just got back from a week of traveling and tasting in spain (priorat, ribera del doro, and the rioja)…we of direction have a great selection of spanish wine. both white and red as well as some quite limited moving picture wines from those regions.a few of my favorites are the naia verdejo, the muga white, and the a little fixed red called les terrasses from winemaker alvaro palacios. even with the value of the dollar, spain still has some of the best quality-to-price ratios for both red and white wine.