WINO 101

Hello Boils and Ghouls!

This Halloween edition of the Carpe Vinum newsletter has been written in SPOOKYTEXT, to the fullest extent a text-based email can provide. To best achieve the SPOOKIEST effects, every time you see anything is all CAPS, it’s best to make a GASP of astonishment. Flinching and screaming are also acceptable. Thank you for your cooperation. Continue if you DARE!

This week’s theme was to be centered around Rhone-Style blends* with spooky themes, beginning with the Grenache/Syrah blend of Owen Roe’s SINISTER HAND. (Did you gasp? Good!) But to my HORROR, I found that the remaining stock left in the world has all been allocated to. . .OTHER ACCOUNTS. So, unfortunately I only have ONE BOTTLE LEFT! In lieu of that, I have collected all other SPOOKY Rhone-style wines I could find, beginning with a gem from Spain. It’s a wine from Torres called Gran Sangre de Toro, or in English: BLOOD OF THE BULL! Mwahahaha! To add to the spookiness we have. . .Turkey Flat’s BUTCHER’S BLOCK! (Which I suppose is scariest to turkeys, themselves. Hm.) And Charles Back’s GOAT ROTI! (Which I suppose is scariest to those scared of goats. . .) Uh. . .and there’s the Moroccan red from Domaine du Sahari called Cuvee du Soleil, or BLEND OF THE SUN! (Which I suppose, is really only frightening to Vampires.) And Quivera Dry Creek Cuvee. . .which isn’t really very spooky. . . but it DOES begin with a “Q”! Mwuahahahaha!  Hmm. This is tougher than I thought. . .

At any rate, it’s a solid lineup of my favorite variety. I’ll have bread and CHOCOLATE handy, since nothing says spooky like extra CALORIES!

(* Rhone-style blends are modeled after the wines of the Rhone region of France. It includes primarily the grape varieties of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Carignan.

The FRIGHTFULLY good lineup for this week:
Domane de Sahara 2000 Guerrouane Cuvee du Soleil, Morocco
Torres 2000 Gran Sangre de Toro, Spain
Quivera 2001 Dry Creek Cuvee, California
Peter Lehmann 1999 The Seven Surveys, Australia
Charles Back 2001 Goat Roti, South Africa

And the Extra Two Extra Creeeepy Pours:
Viento 2001 Cuvee Provencal, Oregon
Turkey Flat 2001 Butcher’s Block, Australia

A hauntingly good deal at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra-Creepy 2.

Mwahahaha!
Mwooouahahahaha!
(Enter crack of thunder)

Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
M

Next week is Wines of Southern France, and in-house music by the Pete Krebs and Jason Okamoto Jazz Manouche!

Hello friends and wine lovers!

The name “Tuscan” may be confusing for people who are unfamilliar with Italy, or Star Wars geeks who may confuse the name with the Tuskan Raiders, also known as Sandpeople. (To my knowledge, the Tuskan Raiders are a savage people, and most likely not adept enough at agriculture to cultivate a wine. The desert planet of Tatooine would probably not be suitable to grow vines anyway, due to the dual suns and scorching heat. However, Zinfandel might do fairly well in higher elevations, if irrigated.)

My sci-fi geekiness aside, Tuscans are wines from the Tuscany region of Italy (Toscana to the Italians). The region is home to the well-known wines of Chianti, and the historic city of Rome (Roma to the Romans). Choosing the wines for this Friday Flight was a daunting task for me, considering the styles of Italian wines I had previously tried ranged from moderately dry to dry-as-the-sands-of-Tatooine dry. Advocates of Italian wines say that they really need to be matched with food to fully appreciate them. Perhaps something to offset the dryness. I have heard from other people that to improve their drinkability they need to breathe. . .for 1-3 days. On the flip side of both of these hypotheses is the third that I have heard from people who have vacationed in Italy. The wines served in Italy are much better, as they drink most of the good ones and ship the rest. Italy is also the world’s largest wine exporter. So by that theory, I knew that better ones MUST exist, though the vast numbers of Italian wines available make it hard to weed through. I tasted through dozens upon dozens of these wines to bring to the tasting just the best ones I could find. (Within reason, of course. The best one I tried recently retails for over $70, which I would gladly order for you!)

For more about Italian Tuscan wines, drop by Carpe Vinum tomorrow, Friday 24th, from 4:30 until 9:00 to taste these for yourself. Bread will be available, as food is recommended. Feel free to bring your own antipasta! (Antipasto, antipasti. . .)

For more about Star Wars, Tuskan Raiders and Tatooine, just type “Star Wars” into your favorite search engine, and see what happens. There may be a link or two. . .

The wines for this week that passed my rigorous Italian Wine Test:
Maremma 2002 Micante IGT
Altesino 2000 Rosso di Altesino
Poggio Capponi 2001 “Petriccio” Chianti Montespertoli
Le Corti 2001 Chianti Classico
Capanna 2001 Rosso di Montalcino

And the Extra Two Premium Pours:
Villa Caffaggio 1998 Chianti Classico Riserva
Sammontana 1997 Maestro Rosso (Super-Tuscan)

Quite a bargain at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2.

This one was a lot of work, so it ought to be good!

Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
M

Next week is Rhone-style Blends! (Not excluding Rhone wines themselves)

Hello friends and wine lovers!

Have you ever had so much to say about a certain thing, that you could say nothing at all? Like when someone angers you by saying something cutting down, for example, your favorite band, and you wish to correct them by listing the all virtues and benefits of said band, and how they changed your life for the better, but it just comes out as “Gaghhh. . .” with a pointed finger. That’s how it is with me and Syrah, my favorite wine varietal.

“So, Mike. Tell us about Syrah!”

“Gaghhh. . .” (With a pointed finger)

You see, there’s a walnut tree nearby the shop. It’s about 2 blocks away, and this time of year it drops all kinds of nuts everywhere. These nuts are very popular with the crows, and there seem to be quite a lot of crows in the neighborhood, possibly due to the nuts. Anyway, these crows are fairly intelligent, for birds. They can’t crack into the walnuts to get the meaty, tasty centers by themselves, so they rely on the easily understandable law of gravity. I see them perching on the power lines overhead and dropping these nuts onto the sidewalk. They also seem to wait for some human to be walking nearby to drop their nuts leading to the “What the. . .Who’s throwing. . .huh?” reaction which, I imagine, amuses these birds to no end. I’ve almost been hit quite a few times by these falling walnuts. Perhaps they hope we might throw them back, so they don’t have to swoop back down for another go at it.

So what’s the connection with this little anecdote, you may wonder?

Uh. . .crows and Syrah are. . uh. . .much the same color. Dark, and purple glistening in the sun. And Syrah can sometimes have a nutty flavor. And as the most important rule of matching food and wine, drink what you like. Syrah is my favorite, and I would readily drink it with a meal of walnuts (ick) or roast crow (double-ick).

(Hey. . .at least I didn’t stoop to the old Que Syrah Shiraz pun everyone else does.. .)

Tomorrow, Friday the 17th of October, from 4:30-9:00,
I will be pouring for you and all of your friends (hint, hint):

Maryhill 2000 Syrah, Washington
Chameleon 2000 Syrah, California
Redbank 2000 Fighting Flat Shiraz, Australia
Peachy Canyon 2000 Syrah, California
Mystic 2001 Syrah, Oregon

And the Extra 2:
Justin 2000 Estate Bottled Syrah, California
and the original, Northern Rhone version:
Offerus 2000 St. Joseph, Northern Rhone, France

Quite a bargain at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2.

I’m really excited about this one. It’ll be pretty awesome.

Feel free to bring crackers and cheese and salamis and proscuitto and olives and little pickles and those baby corn things and bottles of capers but probably not pepperocinis. Bread will be available.

Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
(And watch your head!)
M

Next week is Italian Tuscan wines!

Hello friends and wine lovers! Time for another installment of “Yum! Friday Flights!”

This week we are getting a visit from our friends and neighbors from the North. . .no not Canadians. . .a bit further South. Yes, Washington! Well, at least it’s North from here. Some of you might be further East, or even further North, or IN Washington or. . .bah, never mind.

A bit more to the point, there are wealth of great wines coming out of Washington, from the Yakima and Columbia valleys, and Walla Walla -once just a small agricultural town with a college and a big prison, now a larger agricultural town with a college and a big prison. Walla Walla has wineries popping up everywhere like dandelions on a freshly seeded lawn. . .only THESE dandelions produce some great wines. Some of those wines will be the featured guest stars of this week’s flights. I am most impressed with the interesting blends the winemakers are coming up with, so that is the subtheme. Some blends are more traditional, some more off-the-wall including, but not limited to, the varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and whatever odds-n-ends might have fallen into the vats when the workers weren’t working. Come join us for a night of Washington Power-Reds!

Tomorrow, Friday the 10th of October, from 4:30-9:00,
I will be pouring for you and all of your friends (hint, hint):

Maryhill NV Fort Rock Red
Tamarack Cellars 2001 Firehouse Red
Ryan Patrick 2001 Rock Island Red
Di Stephano 2000 Meritage
Hedges 2000 Three Vineyard

And the Extra 2:
Wilridge 2000 Melange
and EVERYONE’S favorite
Owen Roe 2002 Abbot’s Table

Quite a bargain at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2.

I’m really excited about this one. It should be the best one yet.
(I know I said that last week. . .but I mean it even more this week!)
(I know I said THAT last week. . .but I mean it even more this (every) week!)

Feel free to bring crackers and cheese. Bread will be available, and possibly some cheese leftover from a Carpe Vinum function earlier in the week. . .providing this cheese is SUPPOSED to smell that way. Hard to tell sometimes.

Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
M

Next week is Syrah!

Hola amigos y amigas!

It’s time for one of the hottest regions in recent wine history. . .at least as far as I’ve noticed. Spanish reds are flying off the shelves everywhere, and it’s really understanable considering the great values. And they’re way tasty.

I got the opportunity to visit Spain a few years ago. I didn’t see vast vineyards in the region where I was staying, the Southwest corner known for Sherry. I saw a lot of olive groves, as olive oil is one of the country’s key exports. While I was there, I enjoyed a wine tasting very similar to what I do here at Carpe Vinum every Friday. The big difference was that it was with fewer people, more wines, and just one glass (per person). I remember all the wines being very tasty. Consequently, and rather poetically, all other memories I have of the which wines they were and what happened for the rest of the evening, were erased by the wine itself. Funny how that works. So considering most, if not all of us, know Spanish reds by Rioja, the most famous region, I thought I would include a veritable (spanish word for smorgasbord) of wines from OTHER regions. . .and 2 Riojas. It wouldn’t be a Spanish wine tasting without Rioja, would it?

Tomorrow, Friday the 3rd of October, from 4:30-9:00,
I will be pouring for you and all of your friends (hint, hint):

Capcanes 2001 Mas Donis, Montsant, Spain
Bodegas Costano 2001 Monastrel (Mourvedre), Yecla, Spain
El Seque 2001 Tinto Laderas, Alicante, Spain
Luberri 2001 Carbonic Maceration, Rioja, Spain
Marcelino Diaz 2000 Puerta Palma Tinto, Ribera del Guadiana, Spain

And the Extra 2, and everyone’s favorites:
El Coto 2000 Tinto Crianza, Rioja, Spain
Condado de Haza 2000 Ribera del Duero, Spain

Quite a bargain at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2.

I’m really excited about this one. It should be the best one yet.
(I know I said that last week. . .but I mean it even more this week!)
(I know I said THAT last week. . .but I mean it even more this (every) week!)
Feel free to bring crackers and cheese, or your own TAPAS. Bread will be available.

Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
M

Next week is Washington Reds!