WINO 101

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

This week’s Newslatter email thingy is a tad early, mainly since many of you receive this at work, and won’t be around to get it on Thursday. So in a fashion that is so unlike me, here it is - early. On Tuesday!

I know, on Friday, a great many of you will continue the long-standing American tradition of the rabid post-Thanksgiving shopping spree after the turkey/potato tryptophan coma. Perhaps it stems from the burst of energy of getting so much more sleep from falling asleep on the couch at 4:30 on Thanksgiving. Or perhaps it’s the desire to get all the shopping done on the first official day of Christmas. There used to be 12 days of Christmas. It’s now been officially extended to 32 or 33 days, Thanksgiving being the first - with the Roast Partridge from that pear tree that my “True Love cooked for me.” Personally, I have come from a long line of last-minute shoppers, franticly dodging from store-to-store during the last ticks of the clock on the 23rd or 24th of December. Some gifts having been beautifully wrapped in that decorative department store bag. Stick a bow on it! Done! According to studies, the stress levels of the American male while shopping is roughly equal to that of a man entering battle. This comes as a surprise to me, since I thought seasonal shopping WAS going into battle. There’s no better way to wind down from a day in the combat zone of the malls than with a few glasses of super-powered Cabs! Also, perhaps giving the gift of wine can make Carpe Vinum the demilitarized-zone one-stop shopping trip for the year! (Mixed case discounts available!)

So Friday, November the 28th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s
Cabernet Sauvignon for the weary shopper!
Castle Rock 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California
O’Reiley’s 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington
Santa Rita 2000 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley, Chile
Three Rivers 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington
Powers 1997 Mercer Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington
And the Extra 2:
DiStephano 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington
Owen Roe 2002  Ironbird Cabernet Sauvignon, Applegate Valley, Oregon *Organic!*

A good deal at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.

Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
M

Next week is a Miscellaneous Italian selection!

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

If the snow is any indicator, Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. In one week, we’ll be cooking all day, watching football, and relating with relatives. From what I hear, some folks really dread that last one. Although the wines contained here are all recommended as a pleasant accompaniment to turkey, and ham if that’s your thing, some people seem to prefer the half-dozen gin-and-tonics to go with those stressful occasions with the mother-in-law, and all of your screaming nieces and nephews. Remember, this is just a trial run for the Christmas celebration. That’s the real deal. I’m afraid I can only empathise with my worst Thanksgiving, which was held at a fancy restaurant in Canada. Long story short: It involved a lot of goat cheese. Appetizers featured assorted goat cheeses, there was goat cheese on the salad, the turkey was garnished with goat cheese. For dessert, there was this clear, flat, crystalized honey, sharp like a piece of yellow glass, stuck pointy-end-up into a dollop of creamy goat cheese, garnished with a single strawberry. The yellow glass was apparently edible, however my mother broke a crown on it. The stuffing, which had no detectible amounts of goat cheese in it, was in a perfect spherical shape, reminescent of school cafeteria food. We all left feeling hungry and cheated, with an intense dread of goats. . .but the wine was good.

So tomorrow, November the 21st, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s
Wines That Go Well With Turkey. . .and goat cheese, if you’re Canadian:
Dupueble 2001 Beaujolais, France
O’Reiley’s 2002 Pinot Noir, Wilamette Valley, Oregon
Chehalem 2001 Chardonnay, Wilamette Valley, Oregon
Pedroncelli 2000 Petite Syrah, Sonoma County, California
Brick House 2002 Gamay Noir, Wilamette Valley, Oregon *It’s Organic, too!*

And the Extra 2:
Turkey Flat 2001 Butcher’s Block, Barrosa Valley, South Australia
(I mean, it has TURKEY in the name. . .what else could you want?)
Rex Hill 2001 Pinot Noir Southern Cuvee, Umpqua/Rogue Valley, Oregon

A good deal at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.

Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
M

Next week is a Super Cab selection!

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

I’ve been asked by quite a few people coming to the tastings about the term “Flight” for a series of wines. I hadn’t really given much thought to the definition of “flight” since it’s always been associated with wines at every winery or shop I’ve ever visited. After a little research online (the world’s encyclopedia) the best I could find is that the term came from “flight of stairs” which, like the wines in a flight, each a step above the last. Pretty poetic, I think, although it could be more fun to relate it to actual flying. There are certainly direct parallels. . .barring the pre-flight schpeal about the exits and floatation devices. With both, the destination is a different place. . .I guess. Maybe the direct parallels aren’t really there. But consider these:

Commuter Flight: Enjoying a flight of wines on the way home from work. (Or on the way TO work, not that it’s recommended by anyone)
Business Class Flights: Same as Commuter Flights, but with all your co-workers.
First In Flight: Fresh pours off every bottle.
747: A flight of 7 wines, followed by a flight of 4 more wines, followed by a flight of 7 more wines.
Red Eye Flight: See the previous one.
Flying The Friendly Skies: Also associated with the 747.
Flight of Fancy: Hefty pours of Grand Cru Bordeaux from the last 50 years. (Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?)
Turbulence: A corked wine in the flight.
F-16: I went to a wine dinner with 16 pours. After 16 wines, you’re pretty F’d.
and what we’ll be pouring tomorrow, Friday the 14th of November:
B-52 Bomber: Since it’s 5 pours, and then 2, and they’re all BOMBS!
Yes. Super-powered Zins. Another one of my favorites! And it’s going to be a good one!

Also this week: Art opening for local artist John Waterman. Enjoy your turbo-charged flights of Zin, meet the artist, and hear an encore performance of the Pete Krebs and Jason Okamoto Jazz Manouche!

I guess this IS the pre-flight schpeal. . .the lineup for this week:
Leaping Lizards 2001 Zinfandel, Napa Valley, California
Dasche Cellars 2002 Zinfandel, Ulysses Lolonis Vineyards, Redwood Valley, California
Rosa Del Golfo 2001 Primitivo, Salento, Italy
Hanna 2001 Zinfandel, Alexander Valley, California
Mystic 2001 Zinfandel, Columbia Valley, Oregon

And the Extra 2 (A Twin Prop flight, I suppose):
Alderbrook 1999 Zinfandel Old Vine Old Clone, Sonoma County, California
Koves-Newlan 2000 Zinfandel Old Vine, Napa Valley, California

A good deal at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.

Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
M

Next week is a “What Wine Goes With Turkey?” selection!

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

The wonderful lineup for this week is the reds of the South of France. When thinking of the South of France, I just think of all the times I’ve never been there. All the Mediterranean beaches I’ve never walked on. The sunny sidewalk cafes I’ve never eaten at. All the French I’ve never spoken to actual French people. . .which I suppose is probably a good thing, since they reportedly get annoyed at any American speaking French fluently, much less murdering the language like I do. Plus, much of what French terms I learned back in high school tend to mean quite different things now than they did then. For example: Baiser used to mean “to kiss”. And baisez-moi would mean “kiss me”(formally). It now means something much more than a kiss. What that is, I will not write here, to keep the Newsletter PG-Rated, but if spoken to a French lady, the least you might get is a lit cigarette flipped in your face. Also, the term La Crosse, which in French would mean “the butt” (of a rifle. . .joke’s not over yet), or “the scroll” (of a violin) or “the game Americans have no concept of, but involves sticks and nets and is something like hockey on grass” or “city in Wisconsin”. Now La Crosse, at least in French-speaking Quebec, means something completely different. No, not butt. . .however, it was enough for Buick to change the name of their new car “LaCrosse” in the Quebec markets after the focus groups laughed at them. For more about that, check the Reuter’s website. For more about Southern French wines, check us out Friday!

Also this week: In-house music by the Pete Krebs and Jason Okamoto Jazz Manouche. (I’m not really sure what “Manouche” means in French, but the online French to English Dictionary said it meant “Gippo”. Hmm.)

Le tres-especial lineup for this week:
Lavabre 1998 Les Demoiselles de Lavabre, Pic Saint Loup, Coteaux du Languedoc
Jean Luc Columbo 1999 Syrah La Violette, Vin de Pays D’Oc
Laroche 2000 Reserve Merlot, Vin de Pays D’Oc
Le Roc 1999 Cuvee Reservee, Cotes du Frontonnais
Elian Da Ros 1999 Chante Coucou, Cotes du Marmandais

Bonne chance! Les Deux Plus Premium Pours:
Mas Blanc 1999 Les Junquets, Collioure
Ermitage 2000 Cuvee Saint Agnes, Pic Saint Loup, Coteaux du Languedoc

A good deal at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.

Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
M

Next week is Zinagain! (Zin!) Also, it is the art opening for local artist John Waterman, whose paintings are currently gracing the Carpe Vinum walls. More snacks than usual will be involved, I’m sure.