February 2012 Newsletter

FEBRUARY TASTINGS

JOIN US ON THURSDAY FEBRUARY 16th
WINES OF PORTUGAL5:30 - 7:30 pm at our store on Grove Ave.
Five of our favorite Portuguese wines with a list available in the store and online.
Discounts will be offered on all wines tasted.
BEER TASTING ON FRIDAY FEB. 10th and FEB. 24th 5:30 to 7:30 pm
  Watch for details via e-mail & Facebook.

WEEKLY TASTING EVERY SATURDAY
between 2pm and 7pm we will offer wines to taste and enjoy while shopping. Check out our web site, Facebook or Twitter on Saturday morning to find out what we will be pouring.

February “SHORT SIPS” CLASS

“The red wines of Bordeaux”

A FREE one hour educational program, limited to eight people and held in our fine wine room. Because the demand has been so great we are doing the class twice in FEBRUARY – FRIDAY & SATURDAY , FEBRUARY 17th and 18th   5:30 to 6:30pm ––Availability is on a first come first serve basis but you can call and reserve spaces at anytime. (A great idea for your group as a prelude to dinner.)

VALENTINE’S DAY

This year Valentines’ Day falls on a Tuesday. If you celebrate mid-week you may not want to open a full bottle of wine. May we suggest a half bottle of Champagne or Prosecco or, perhaps a half bottle of California Cabernet?
On Valentines Day we will offer a 10% discount on all half bottles. It’s the responsible thing to do.

NEW ARRIVALS

2010 Domaine Francois Villard Viognier “Les Contours de De Poncins” Vin de pays –2010 is probably one of the greatest vintages for white Rhônes in a long time. The wines have the weight and concentration of flavor of 2009 but with an added degree of freshness. Here is affordable, relatively speaking, northern Rhone Viognier from vines located next to Poncins, just outside the Condrieu appellation. Vinified in barriques, It is rich and flavorful with notes of apricot and with a lovely natural balance. $29.95
2009 Domaine Geantet-Pansiot, Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes, Burgundy, Fr. – “Vincent Geantet has hit an undeniable home run in 2009 as these are very probably the best wines that I have ever seen from him. He called 2009 a vintage with “an almost ideal growing season”.  This wine had a relatively expressive nose of wild red berries, blue berry liqueur and earth undertones that are also reflected by the bigger and notably more robust medium-bodied flavors blessed with ample amounts of extract and an attractive touch of minerality on the seriously long and ever-so-mildly austere finish. A knockout at this level.” (Burghound #41) $77.95
2009 Basserman-Jordan Forster Jesuitengarten Riesling Grosses Gewachs – “A metaphorically cooling array of herbs and striking suggestions of salinity and alkalinity in the nose of the Bassermann-Jordan 2009 Forster Jesuitengarten Riesling Grosses Gewachs give way to a polished, bright, and persistently pungent palate impression whose tactile sense of crushed stone minerality and saliva-inducing salinity make for a striking finish. Suggestions of white peach and papaya; grapefruit, lemon, and brown spices convey a sense of fruit richness in what is still a relatively tightly-laced context. This ought to gain in expressiveness over the next several years and perform well for at least the better part of a decade.” (WA #193) Grosses Gewachs is the German equivalent of Burgundys’ Grand Cru. Always vinted dry, they are extraordinary wines. $64.95

FATALONE -PRETTY PUGLIA (The heel of the Italian boot) PRIMITIVO

Flanked by the Adriatic and Ionian seas Puglia is a spectacularly fertile peninsula, known for growing olives, figs, almonds, wheat and of course, wine grapes. Its Mediterranean climate is hot, with long sunny days cooled off by ocean breezes. Puglia is indeed a pretty place with rugged seashores, transparent turquoise waters and sun baked whitewashed villages. But for a long time the red wine from Puglia garnered the region a reputation as a source of “plonk”. Large scale producers enjoyed great success and happily churned out oceans of wine used for Vermouth and bulk blending purposes.  Puglia, along with Sicily, became the leading producer of bulk wine for the entire EU. But by the end of the 20th century the DOC laws put more restrictions on yield allowances and producers shifted to more focused wines. This is particularly true of grower /producers like Azienda Agricola Pasquale Petrera di Orfino Rosa who make wines from grapes they grow themselves from vineyards that have been handed down from generation to generation.
2008 Azienda Agricola Pasquale Petrera “Fatalone” I.G.T. Terres Primitivo. - From free run juice that is fermented in contact with the grape skins for only 30 hours, this wine is light and lively but not thin.  Ruby colored with good fruit but structured and spicy.  This is a perfect pizza wine.  Serve it slightly chilled. $15.95
2007 Azienda Agricola Pasquale Petrera “Fatalone” Gioia del Colle Primitivo. –“A slick, high octane, dark fruit attack that is perfectly balanced by a refreshing dose of minerality.  Aged for 18 months before release.  Drink it with roasted meats, spicy pasta dishes and aged cheeses.” (RWC) $17.95

A PERFECT COUPLE

With Valentines Day we celebrate famous couples like Abelard & Heloise, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal and now Manzanilla /Fino Sherry & Spanish Anchovies
The town of Sanlucar De Barrameda is a singular DO dedicated to the production of Fino Sherry. The flor grows thick in this seaside town and the wines of Manzanilla are the lightest and freshest of all Sherries. Pungent and tart with flavors of almonds and sea salt, it is almost refreshing, in small sips. These wines are for fresh or fried seafood, olives, salty cured meats and anchovies. Oh anchovies, a food that rarely gets the love it deserves; but pair a Manzanilla with Spanish anchovies in Olive Oil and magic happens. The salt and the oil of the fish blend with the pungent salinity of the sherry and together they are as a whole, more perfect than each separately. With a little bit of bread, you should try this combination once, at the very least.
La Cigarrera Manzanilla - $11.95
Miguel & Valentino Boquerones White Anchovies in Oil and vinegar - $7.95

MONTHLY SPECIALS