WINO 101

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Many of you may know that I’m not very fond of Italian wine in general. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this problem for quite some time, knowing there is a tremendous following in Italian wine. Also knowing there are no absolutes, I’m seeking out the best in Italian wines, region by region, to find the regional styles of interest and intrigue. This week, we’re going after Italy’s Veneto region.

Primarily what I knew about Italy’s Veneto region, home to Venice and fair Verona, is that it is famous for Amarone, which is a full-bodied, extremely fruity and raisiny wine (the name translates to “the big, bitter one.” A particularly good reason for this is the methods used to make the wine involves raisining the grapes, or drying them out to concentrate the juice and the flavors. Yes, this is a more time-intensive method of making a wine and, yes, it does have the tendancy to make large crops of mold if the winemaker isn’t careful enough. So what makes a large wine also tends to make a larger price. Since the average price of Amarone ranges from $50 to Second-Mortgage Expensive, I’ll only be pouring one of these.

The region is also famous for Valpolicella, a wine made from the same grapes as Amarone, but with completely different results. Of note is the style Valpolicella Ripasso, which is a Valpolicella wine that is added to the leftover pommace (squashed grape skins and seeds) from Amarone, adding more tannin, flavor and structure. The white, light and lively Soave, as well as the lighter red Bardolino and the bubbly Prosecco are also in the forefront of the Veneto wines.

Whew, did you get all that? There’s so much to the wines in that particular region, that perhaps the best option is just to taste them! Here! Friday!

**Special This Week!**

We will be having live in-house music featuring Lara Michel and Lisa Stringfield from local musical sensation Carmina Luna, starting at 7:00!

So Friday, March 26th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Wines of Italy’s Veneto with Lara and Lisa!
Salvali 2002 Soave
Le Fraghe 2002 Bardolino Classico
Ca Lustra 2000 Colli Euganei Rosso Riserva
Tezza 1997 Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso
Albino Armani 2000 Foja Tonda

The Extra-Special Premium Pours:
Testal 1998 Rosso del Veronese, Corvina Special Selection
Salvali 1998 Amarone Classico Superiore

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 Australian Shiraz!
M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

While puting together this tasting, I rather realized that I know very little about this week’s region - South Africa. I’ve had quite a few wines from there, and have been very impressed. But as far as the country itself, I know very little. I remember something about South Africa in a play I saw in Ashland called Pravada. It was about politics and terribly boring, and probably the only play at which I’ve fallen asleep, so very little about South Africa was actually retained, excepting that one actor’s version of a South African accent was like an Australian with a Southern Drawl. I also remember the South African ambassators depicted in Lethal Weapon II, which I’m sure is as accurate a depiction of South Africans as Joe Peschi is of an Italian mobster. (In that movie, anyway. I never did see Goodfellas.) Those two things are all I previously knew about South Africa. Oh, and that Nelson Mandella guy is kind of important too, right? I guess I still know very little about the region.

Geographically speaking, South Africa is at the. . .uh. . Southern tip of. . um. . Africa. Okay, that’s a given. It is one of the few places that call the Syrah grape Shiraz without it meaning a different marketing strategy. There is a grape that is, I believe, exclusive to the region, which is Pinotage, a hybrid of Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc. It has a very meaty quality to it, as well as a musky, kind of dirty feel to it. Most people don’t like it, therefore I’m not actually going to be pouring it. I thought I might focus on the tastier side of things. Okay, the Kadette has a little Pinotage in it. . .

So Friday, March 19th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Wines of South Africa!
Kanu 2003 Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch
Indaba 2002 Merlot, Western Cape
Kannonkop 2001 Kadette, Stellenbosch
Brampton 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot, Coastal Region
Migration 2000 Shiraz, Paarl

The Extra-Special Premium Pours:
Glen Carlou 2001 Grand Classique, Paarl
Fairview 2001 Goat Roti, Western Cape

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 Italy’s Veneto!
Also next week, in-house music from Lara Michell and Lisa Stringfield from Carmina Luna!
M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

At the time of writing, it is currently 61 Degrees in Portland, and sunny with Spring-like weather. Where alse is it 61 degrees? South America, of course! (Yes, I know it’s 61 degrees in many places, but I needed SOME kind of segueway.) Of course, it would be Autum-like weather down there, and they are probably getting ready to harvest the grapes for the next great vintage of wonderful South American wines.

But for now, we can sample some of the past few vintages of these wines. The history of wine in South America started in the 1500’s with Spanish vines that Cortez had brought over, which is really of little consequence now, since those vines are mostly, if not completely gone (although we still do find some Tempranillo in South America). Fast-forward to the late 1800’s, when wealthy landowners in Chile modeled their wineries after those found in the Bordeaux region of France. This is why we find Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Carmeniere, the lost grape of Bordeaux. Carmeniere was almost completely wiped out in Bordeaux, due to the Phylloxera epidemic. South American vines were not affected by this vine destroying louse.

“Enough with the History lesson!” you say. “What are we drinking Friday?”

Just a fine assortment of wines from Chile, the South American country which is about as wide as the I-5 freeway, and Argentina, Chile’s much larger neighbor. Both countries have many llamas and penguins, not that this fact has much bearing on the wines. . .or does it?

So Friday, March 12th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Wines of South America!
Cremaschi-Barriga 2002 Santa Maria Carmeniere, Maule Valley, Chile
Los Cardos 2002 Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina
Guelbenzu 2002 Jardin Cab/Carmeniere, Colchagua Valley, Chile
Graffigna 2000 Syrah/Malbec, Tullum Valley, San Juan, Argentina
Apaltagua 2001 Envero (Cab/Carmeniere), Colchagua Valley, Chile

The Extra-Special Premium Pours:
Montes Alpha 2001 Syrah, Santa Cruz, Apalta Vineyard, Chile
Santa Rita 1997 La Floresta (Syrah, Cab. Sauv., Carmeniere), Maipo Valley, Chile

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 South Africa!
M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

This week we’re visiting our own back yards with wines from Oregon. If you haven’t looked in your backyard in a while, you haven’t noticed notice that the wine industry there has been spreading like unrestrained bamboo, or the wisteria that is slowly tearing the raingutters off my house. We’re talking exponential growth, with 250 wineries existing in Oregon right now, up from 175 two years ago!

Oregon has all these wineries, and it seems every one of them makes a Pinot Noir, a Chardonnay, and a Pinot Gris. It makes sense, since those seem to grow pretty well here. But it’s gotten so you could throw a bottle of Pinot Noir out the window, and it would probably hit another bottle of Pinot Noir. So sure, we got Pinot out the wazoo, and I could quite easily put together a hundred tastings of nothing but Pinots, but what of the other varieties? I find it interesting to see these other grapes winemakers are venturing out of the norm to produce, like Zinfandel and Syrah. Some say the climate is all wrong for those grapes, but I believe someone said that about Pinot Noir about 30 years ago. . .and look where that has gotten us!

So Friday, March 5th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Wines of Oregon (It’s more than just Pinot):
Brooks 2002 Runaway Red, Wilamette Valley
Carabella 2001 Les Meres Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
Elk Cove 2002 La Sirene Syrah, Oregon/Washington
Girardet 2000 Baco Noir, Umpqua Valley **
Henry Estate 1999 Syrah / Cabernet Sayvignon, Umpqua Valley

And because Zin makes the world a better place:
Mystic 2002 Zinfandel, Columbia Valley
Solena 2000 Zinfandel, Applegate Valley

** Baco Noir is in no way related to Pinot Noir. It is a hybrid of two different grapes I have never heard of before - Vitis Vinefera Var (AKA Folle Blanche or Gros Plant, a French grape used in the distillling of Cognac that also makes an unpleasant white wine from the Loire), and the Vitis Riparia (an American grape). The hybrid was made by Maurice Baco, hence the name. Although the two parent grapes might make the greatest wines, if they make wine at all, Baco Noir, itself, makes a pleasant full-bodied red.

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 South America!
M