WINO 101

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to another wonderful installment of the Weekly Carpe Vinum Newsletter of Extreme Importance and Tasting Announcement of Equally Extreme Importance! This week we’re finishing up on our Tour de France with the third installment of three, featuring three fine French wine regions: Firstly it’s the crowd favorite Rhone valley, secondly the relatively unknown Jura (and Savoie), and thirdly it’s the international wine sensation of Burgundy (Bourgogne to the French.)

That’s a lot of ground to cover in a single week, and even more so if it’s done on a bike. Speaking of which, and in reference to the actual Tour de France, apparently our American contender took a tumble and dropped to 11th place. That was sad. But just when we thought there was no hope, he kicked it into high-gear and recovered enough time to place back in 3rd. All that on a bad hip that is apparently going to be replaced once the Tour is over. That’s pretty badass.

So speaking of badass, the first of the regions we’re visiting this week is the Rhone. It’s a wonderful land of super-charged fruity reds and nicely rounded whites. It’s always a pleasure to feature wines from this region as they tend to be easily accessible, both in flavors and in physical supply and affordability. Sure, they have their super-expensive wines there, and all the spectrum of prices in-between, but not so much as Burgundy, our third region.

But first, before we get to the third, let’s visit the second! The second region, that is. Of the Tour. Of OUR tour. Whatever. It’s the Jura (and Savoie)! “What the heck are you talking about?” you may ask. “What the heck is a “Jura”, and why do you keep adding “(and Savoie)”?” Well, it’s simple! Jura is a little-known wine region in far Eastern France. Savoie is also a wine region in such close proximity to Jura that people always lump them together.

The Jura and Savoie regions are the French areas surrounding Geneva, Switzerland, which is situated at the very Western tip of Switzerland that juts into France. The wine regions are in and around the Alps and produce mostly whites and sparkling wines of apparently excellent quality. Why haven’t most of us heard of the wines from here? Well. . .because we haven’t. I guess it’s just that simple. There hasn’t been much presence in this market because exporters and importers just haven’t bothered. Except a few. And I hunted those down for the tasting because. . .well. . I do that kind of thing.

Thirdly, Burgundy! (Bourgogne to the French) It’s our third region for this tour, and second-to-last stop for those insane, and now very tired, cyclists. This is a land of Pinot Noir based red wines and Chardonnay based white wines, and the stuff that dreams are made of. As I mentioned earlier, much of Burgundy can be on the pricy end of the extended wine scale, but they do have a number of very affordable wine-for-the-people wines. One such wine I featured in my Burgundy tasting about 6 weeks ago. It was so popular during the tasting that I bought the rest of what was available in town. Get some before it’s gone!

So for tomorrow there are 5 white wines and 2 reds, to accommodate the warmer weather. Also, barring any complications, tomorrow should be the premiere of a new, super-advanced, ultra-cool air conditioning system for the shop. Should that fail, maybe I’ll bring in a kiddie pool filled with ice. Hmmm. . .that doesn’t sound like a bad idea, anyway.

So Friday, July 21st, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Tour de France, The Denouement: Rhone, Jura, Savoie, Burgundy!!!
Domaine Jacques Tissot NV Cremant de Jura Brut, Jura (**Sparkling**)
Henri Perrusset 2004 Macon-Villages, Burgundy
Domaine du Joncier 2004 Le Maudit Blanc, Lirac
Pierre Boniface 2003 “Les Rocailles” Rousette de Savoie, Savoie
Fone de Michelle 2003 “Notre Passion”Cotes du Rhone

Tour de France: Rhone and Burgundy!!!
Francois Gay et Fils 2003 Chorey les Beaune, Burgundy
Henri Brunier 2004 Telegramme Blanc, Chateauneuf du Pape

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

Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is Northwest Wines!!

M