WINO 101

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

This is going to be a good week! It’s my favorite bunch of wines, or wine region. . .or both, rather. Southern Rhone! These are all fruity, spicy monsters coming out of the underrated Rhone region. (Underrated in relation to the Burgundy and Bordeaux regions. . .and Champagne.) Underrated is good for us, since it makes these wines more affordable. Let someone else spend $1000 on a single bottle of Bordeaux. I’d rather have a Chateauneuf du Pape with dinner, anyway.

Rhone wines are just happy wines. Just from looking at the headlines (political and religous affiliations withheld for the betterment of the email) we all know these are depressing times. After a long day under the mental anguish caused by a celebrity nipple, nothing melts away the horror like the breast – Best! I mean best! – wines in the world. I’ve assembled a stunning lineup of full-bodied Southern Rhones, buxom reds, bursting forward from the bodice of. . .sorry, there I go again.

Freudian slips aside, these won’t be the just halftime show, they’ll be the whole game. And a good one at that!

So Friday, February 27th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Southern Rhone!
M. Chappoutier 2001 Belleruche Cotes du Rhone
Domaine Lafonde 2001 Lirac
Domaine Grande Nicolet 2001 Cotes du Rhone Villages Rasteau
Jaboulet 2000 Vacqueyras
Domaine Rabasse Charavin 1999 Cotes du Rhone Villages “Les Cailloux”

And the Extra 2:
Faraud Domaine du Cayron 2000 Gigondas
Domaine Bosquet des Papes 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape

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!

Next week is a Oregon Reds! They’re not just Pinot anymore!
M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

This week it’s time for the illustrious, ultra-grand, super-powered, faster than a speeding ticket, Cabernet Sauvignon! It’s a varietal that, if it doesn’t beg for food like Merlot or Chianti, certainly compliments a steak nicely. And steak is Atkins friendly, right? Although, I’m not sure if wine is Atkins friendly.

Okay, just like extra carbs, steak has people worried, with pictures dancing in our heads of stark raving lunatic bovines frothing at the mouth. (I.E. – Mad Cow). There are certainly other perfect matches for Cabs. According a certain wine magazine, squab, pigeon, dove, pheasant, venison, buffalo, boar and ostrich also go well. However, there are those of us in the real world who are trying to avoid mad pigeon disease, know Buffalo is a city in New York, and wouldn’t know a squab if it came up and. . .did whatever it is that a squab does. For those of us, lamb does well with Cabs, as well as pork ribs and cheddar. And let’s not forget chocolate. . .which we all know goes with everything.

So Friday, February 20th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Cabernet Sauvignon!
di Leonardo 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, Friuli, Italy
Three Thieves 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, California (The jug wine people)
Crow Canyon 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, Obispo County, California
O’Reiley’s 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, Oregon
Starve Dog Lane 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, Australia

And the Extra 2:
Owen Roe 2002 Ironbird Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington
DiStephano 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington

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!

Next week is a Southern Rhone!
M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Happy Valentine’s Eve to you all!

I had in mind to put together a flight of Valentine’s themed wines for this week. I thought there would be quite a few wines with hearts or “love” or even “Valentine’s” themes on the labels or in the name. I was rather wrong. Apparently that theme just isn’t as popular as rivers, glens, dales, woods, hills, summits, and groves. (I suppose there could be a random wine-name-generator including just those words, and it would sound authentic. Riverdale Summit, or Woods Hill, or Riverglen Woods Summitdale Grove, or something like that. But I digress. . .)

So in lieu of having any thematic labels to go by, I thought this would be a good opportunity to taste a smattering of good wines that I wanted to taste our, but didn’t want to create other themes.. . .or, if you like, “Wines That You Will LOVE”. Or even “Wonderful Wines To Wet Your Whistle and Woo Your. . .uh, Wuver.”

But just to show you that I tried, I did get one wine that fits the bill for the Valentine’s Hearts and love theme. That wine is the 2000 Mon Coeur Cotes du Rhone. “Mon Coeur” in French means “My Heart” and the label DOES feature a little heart in the middle. So, one out of seven ain’t bad. Maybe I’ll find 2 for next year. Until then, love the wine, and may it love you back!

So Friday, February 13th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Wines to Woo Your Wuver!
Peter Lehmann 2001 Semillion, Barossa Valley, Australia (Yes! A white wine!)
Porcupine Ridge 2002 Syrah, Boekenhoutskloof, South Africa
El Seque 2001 Tinto Laderas, Alicante, Spain
Sineann 2002 Red Table Wine, Oregon
Three Rivers 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla, Washington

And the Extra-Loving 2:
Mon Coeur 2000 Cotes du Rhone, France
and a wine that I personally love:
Domaine du Banneret 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape

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!

Next week is a Cabernet Sauvignon!
M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

This week we’re we’re having a great selection of Portugese Reds! Portugal is that smallish country right next to Spain, and really best known for Porto, the fortified wine, and for discovering the New World (and eventually losing control of both). Many people have been requesting Carpe Vinum to do a Port tasting, and that wish will half-come true. I’ll do the Premium Pours as Port, since full flights of Port would require a sponsorship with a taxi company or a bussing service. (Most Porto is about 20% alcohol).

Most people are unfamilliar with the regular red wines of Portugal. Although Portugal has always made wines with their own native grape varieties, it wasn’t until recently (1990) that the Portugese winemakers were finally getting their act together. As a result, winemakers in Portugal are finally realizing the true potential of the Portugese terroir and grape varieties, and are producing unique and ever-improving wines at some pretty tremendous values.

The Porto story is far more interesting, and has a longer history. Long story short, though, a Portugese monk made a sweet fortified wine by mixing brandy with the grape juice during fermentation. The extra alcohol stops the fermentation, leaving a good deal of the sugars in the wine lefto over, resulting in a strong, alcoholic yet sweet wine. The English discovered this in about 1756, and kinda took things over, so now most Porto houses are actually British-controlled. I know I’m leaving a lot out, but we don’t really have all day, do we? Porto has 48 different grape varieties that are allowed in the mixture, and 10 or 11 different styles, of which we will be tasting two.

So Friday, February 6th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Portugese Reds!
Casa Santos Lima 2001 Quinta de Bons-Ventos, Estremadura
Ramos-Pinto 2000 Duas Quintas Tinto, Douro
Quinta dos Roques 1999 Vinho Tinto, Dao
Quinta das Maias 2000 Vinho Tinto, Dao
Cortets de Cima 2001 Chamine, Alentejano

And the Extra 2:
Noval NV Raven, Porto
Graham’s 1997 Late Bottled Vintage, Porto

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!

Next week is a Miscelaneous Valentine’s Special Selection!

M