WINO 101

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome, again, to the Weekly Newsletter Announcement Thing on this, the eve of our Nation’s Holiday of the Fourth of July. (Of course, the eve of the eve of the eve, but who’s counting?) And tomorrow to kick off the celebration weekend, we’re serving some explosively good Spanish wines to go with your explosively good explosives! It’s like a firecracker in the mouth, only without the pain and burning! Yes, it’s that good!

As you know, Spain has been bringing out some amazing wines at tremendous values over the last few years. And it’s been my job to find those values and serve them up on a silver platter. . .or a paper placemat. You might have noticed that I have the Spanish wines featured in the shop about every three months, or so. That’s because I like them so much, plus, I have to do that in order to keep up with everything that’s happening over there. So what we have this week are some of the best wines at the best values coming out of Spain right now!

Also of note this week, is that Friday is the day for you to stock up on the wine for the Holiday, since I will be heading out of town on Saturday morning to enjoy the 4th Holiday Weekend, myself. This means Carpe Vinum will be closed on Saturday (Sunday and Monday as always) and also closed on Tuesday of next week.

Also, also of note this week, is that for the first time since Carpe Vinum has opened, we are in the running for the “Best Wine Shop” title in the Willamette Week’s “Best of Portland” issue coming up! So if you like this place as much as I’m trying to get you to like this place, then you may vote for Carpe Vinum here:
https://websurveyor.net/wsb.dll/31317/bopreaderspoll.htm
Apparently you have to vote for a whole lot of other things too. So it’s a great tool to vote for your favorite things in Portland!

So now, without any further shameless-self-promotion, I bring you all the Wonderful Wines of Spain (from mainly on the plain).

So Friday, July 1st, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Spain Again!
Vina Sila 2003 Las Brisas, Rueda
Alozo 2000 B41.10, La Mancha
Bodegas Simon 2003 Galan del Siglo, Jumilla
Capcanes 2002 Mas Donis, Montsant
Martin Berdugo 2003 Barrica, Ribera del Duero

Spain Again and Again!!
Alejandro Fernandez 2002 Condado de Haza, Ribera del Duero
Font de la Figuera 2002 Priorat

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours
Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is Tour de France Part 1: Loire!

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

It’s that time, once again! Time for that powerful red wine, my favorite and yours: Zinfandel! It’s a wine so popular, it has its own society representing it: Zinfandel Advocates and Producers(Z.A.P.) which I will, someday, have to become a member.

But first I’d like to bring up a news topic that has bothered me greatly this week. It appears that a handful of British potato farmers have been protesting outside Parliament (the British government, not the Funkadelic kind.) Apparently they want to have the term “couch potato” removed from the Oxford English Dictionary for the negative connotations it has on Potatoes. The term they would have them prefer is “couch sloth”.

Now let me voice my concern regarding this issue. As the only active member and president of the organization Nifty English and Radical Definitions (N.E.R.D.), I am adamantly opposed to changing a dictionary term once it’s been instated. It should not be removed as it’s a common phrase and a piece of History, and not the fault of the Dictionary people. However as only active member and president of the organization The Association To Eat Root-vegetables, Turnips and Other Tubers (T.A.T.E.R. T.O.T.), I can see the concern they have over the highly-controversial word “potato” when used in conjunction with the other highly-controversial term “couch”. (Especially if you consider my work with the Coalition Of Upholstered Chairs and Homefurnishings in Environmental Studies (C.O.U.C.H.E.S)).

Now, the term the potato farmers have suggested as a replacement, “couch sloth” can easily be offensive to the members of the Society of Limb-danglers or Other Tree-dwellers, Hanging or Suspended (S.L.O.T.H.S.). The idea that these gentle creatures are lazy because they move at such a slow pace, and only come out of the trees to defecate (twice in a good week) is preposterous, and in no way related to the indolent behavior of the TV-watching couch-dwellers. In support of the gentle Sloth, and in keeping with rectifying the misunderstanding surrounding these hairy tree-dwellers, I’ll be forming the Hairy Animals Not Grounded in Negativity Generating an Alliance Rectifying this Outrageous and Unfair Name-Calling and Defamation (H.A.N.G.I.N.G. A.R.O.U.N.D.) due to be open for applicants in early 2007. (Tax-deductible.)

Apparently the potato farmers, while fighting for the rights of the noble potato, just may have found a fight of their own. It still seems to me, however, that it might have been more effective to petition the Oxford English Dictionary people rather than Parliament.

Now where was I? Oh, yeah! Zinfandel! Well, it seems that I’ve run out of room. But we all know and love the Zinfandel, so it needs no introduction. It’s a wine that is perfect for drinking while quietly lazing on the couch while watching TV, or perhaps hanging around** with friends (in or out of trees.)

So Friday, June 24th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Zinfandel!
Cartlidge & Brown 2002 Zinfandel, Napa Valley
Mount Aukum 2002 Zinfandel, El Dorado County
Z-52 2001 Old Vine Zinfandel, Agnes’ Vineyard, Lodi
Rosenblum 2003 Zinfandel, Continente Vineyard, San Francisco Bay
Dashe 2003 Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley

Even More Zinfandel!!
Nalle 2002 Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley
Joel Gott 2003 Zinfandel, Dillion Ranch, Amador County

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours
Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is Wines of Spain!

M

**Pun definitely intended here. Did you catch it?

***Disclaimer: All acronyms and associations listed in this letter, with the exception of Z.A.P. are fictitious. Any similarity to existing organizations, living or dead (defunct, rather) is purely accidental, unintentional and coincidental, however, in the rare occurrence that a similarity did happen, whether overtly or even in a subtlety, would be pretty darn funny.

****Correction: Last week I made the geographic mistake of stating that Rome was in the middle of Tuscany, the region famous for Chianti. I was mistaken, as Rome actually sits in the Italian wine district of Lazio, of which there are few wines of any significance. But don’t tell THEM I said that. Not that anyone reads down this far, anyway. Just like the newspapers, that’s why they put the corrections on the bottom, hidden in the back. Like this. To hide the embarrassment. Sorry. It won’t happen again. . . maybe.

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to this week’s Tasting of the Week, brought to you by: Tuscany! Yes, it’s time to sample some lovely Italian wines, both white and red, from Italy’s most well-known region. Why, it’s home to Rome, the home of the Roman empire which, in hindsight, kinda fell apart a few years ago. Quite a few years ago, I think. . .but I’m no History buff. But Rome (the city) remains! And so do the vines from which the grapes were grown to make the wine that was served to the Roman Emperors. And that’s what we’re having: Wines fit for the Emperors of a now defunct empire!

Now, I imagine they’ve made a few discoveries and advancements in the industry of winemaking since Roman times. Simple things like “glass bottles” and “corks” and “corkscrews” and “Liquor Commissions” to name a few. Come to think of it, the Romans may have had those things after all. . .but I’m no History buff. At any rate, wine has been made from the same regions in Tuscany for ages. If you are unfamiliar with the region, then at the very least you must have heard of Chianti. It’s the most famous of the region, and possibly the most famous in Italy. And that’s just one of many. It might be an important note, here, to mention that Italian wine is named after the region it from which it comes. Also, the regional designation determines what the wine is made of and what the characteristics should be like. It wouldn’t be a Tuscan tasting without a Chianti, but try some of these on for size (or flavor, rather)!

So Friday, June 17th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Italy’s Tuscany!
Panizzi 2004 Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Novello Parri 2003 Sangiovese di Toscana IGT
La Lastra 2003 Chianti Colli Senesi
Bindella 2003 Fossolupaio, Rosso di Montepulciano
Agricola Centolani 2003 Rosso di Montalcino

Also Italy’s Tuscany!!
La Braccesca 1998 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Terra di Ripanera 1998 Tuscany IGT

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours
Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is Zinfandel!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

It’s time, once again, for the Carpe Vinum Event of the Week! This week it’s flights of wine from Southwest France! This is a region featuring country wines in an area nestled between Bordeaux and Languedoc, so imagine the goodness of both of those regions crossed together. . .perhaps with an identity crisis added in. See, the regions are scattered about in that area, so it’s not really a large cohesive land mass like Bordeaux or Languedoc. . .but really those are just borders drawn on a map. All that considered, these regions feature tremendous value for some delicious can’t-find-it-anywhere-else kinds of wines.

Many of these regions have their own native grape varietals that make up the regional blends. Imagine wines with Len de l’El (Gaillac), Petit Manseng (Jurancon), Tannat (Madiran and Cahors), Fer (Marcillac), Negrette (Cotes du Frontonnais), and Malbec (Cahors). Oh, wait. . .we’ve seen Malbec around quite a bit. Okay, so they’re not ALL exotic grapes. I suppose most of the grapes they’ve been blended with are all pretty familiar to us. At any rate, these wines are pretty hard to find, and it’s kinda fun to learn about them this way. Education never tasted so good!

The first two wines are white wines, to go with the newly-returned nice sunny weather. The rest are red to go with. . .um. . .the newly-returned nice sunny weather!

So Friday, June 10th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Country Wines of Southwest France!
Chateau les Terrasses 2003 Blanc, Gaillac
Chateau Larredya 2003 Sec, Jurancon
Chateau Laffitte-Teston 2001 Reflet du Terroir, Madiran
Domaine Cros 2001 Vielle Vignes, Marcillac
Chateau la Caminade 2002 La Commandery, Cahors

Also Southwest France!!
Bellevue la Foret 2001 Optimum, Cotes du Frontonnais
Domaine Brana 2003 Rouge, Irouleguy

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours
Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is The Wines of Italy’s Tuscany!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

This week we’re staying on the Southern side of the Equator, again. . .considering that it’s such a long flight, and the jet-lag. Oy! So now we’re going from the “down under” of Australia over to New Zealand. (”Down Under and Over”, you could say. Nobody else says that, but maybe we could start.)

The New Zealand wine trade is a relatively young industry in the grand scheme of things. Considering that the first exports to the US from New Zealand started in the late 1970’s, it’s pretty easy to assume that there has been much discovery over the last few decades. Such as the discovery of what they do best. In the last decade, or so, New Zealand wines have become almost synonymous with their most well-known varietal of Sauvignon Blanc. This might make a bit of sense, considering their location is the Southern Hemisphere latitude equivalent  of ranging from Bordeaux through Southern Spain (the main Bordeaux white varietal being Sauvignon Blanc). Add in the factors of the ocean breezes, and cooler ocean currents from the Antarctic, the climate is a bit cooler, and created wonderfully crisp white wines, and stellar Pinot Noir, as well. (And being in the Southern Hemisphere, that close to Antarctica, means they have penguins. And that’s gotta be worth something.)

So what I’ve assembled here is a good cross-section between the two islands of New Zealand, and between the multiple varietals they grow down there. I also have the obligatory tasty Sauvignon Blanc, which is perfect on a sunny, warm day. . .which it is not, at this time. Perhaps tomorrow the sun will come back, but this is the Rose Festival time of year, here in Portland. (I’ve nicknamed it the Rain Festival, since I think it actually does have an effect on the weather systems in the Willamette Valley.) I think I’d rather stay dry, inside with these awesome NZ wines!

So Friday, June 3rd, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Down Under and Over to New Zealand!
Omaka Springs 2003 Pinot Gris, Omaka Valley
Spy Valley 2004 Sauvgnon Blanc, Marlborough
Greenstone Pointe 2003 Pinot Noir, New Zealand
Te Mata 2002 Cab/Merlot Woodthorpe, Hawke’s Bay
Sileni 2002 Merlot/Cab Franc, Hawke’s Bay

Also New Zealand!!
Okahu 2000 Ninety Mile (Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Merlot), North Island
Babich 2002 Winemaker’s reserve Pinot Noir, Marlborough

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours
Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is The Wines of Southwest France!

M