Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to the Weekly Words of Wonder and Wonderful Missives of the International Publication That Is the Carpe Vinum Newsletter and the Tasting Announcement for Which It Exists! It’s now 5 shopping days to that one Holiday in February. What’s that called? Valenwine’s Day? Something like that. It’s that one on the 14th followed by the unofficial holiday on the 15th: The National Apology Day, also known as the “Holy Crap I Can’t Believe I Forgot Again” Day. So for what� it’s worth, here’s your reminder. Why not get your “Someone” some wine? Even if your “Someone” is yourself. Someone has to be someone’s someone, right? At any rate. I’ve got some wine here, and this week we’re heading to a warm place to sample some. It’s Italy’s Sicily!

Sicily is the big island just off the “boot” of Italy. It’s the largest island in the Mediterranean. Its position in the Mediterranean has always been a good strategic launching point for any military force invading countries around the Mediterranean. Therefore Sicily has been conquered by different military powers an average of once every 50 years for the last 2 or 3 millennia. I guess we could consider it the “Revolving Door” of the Mediterranean. This translates to a varied culture, and in relation to the wine world, varied viticulture.

Although Sicily is part of Italy, most Sicilians probably don’t consider themselves Italian by any stretch of the imagination. At least so I hear. In much the same way, Sicilian wine is not exactly Italian wine either. The climate is different. The terrain is different. And the grape varieties are way different and generally unknown elsewhere. Well, most of the grape varieties, anyway. The king of the Sicilian grapes is Nero d’Avola, which accounts for a good majority of the wines produced in the region. Other such varieties we find are also-native Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio, white varieties such as Grillo and Inzolia, as well as the “international” varieties of Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah.

We’ve got quite a selection of wonderful reds for the tasting tomorrow. I’ve tried a number of these and they’re all quite the prize-fighting knock-outs. Keep in mind the Nero d’Avola is often referred to as being like the Syrah grape, so that will give you the idea of weight and power of these wines. Upon tasting a few of these, I felt what they needed was a bit of pancetta or hard salami with some harder cheeses. Just a suggestion.

Also, we have a new art show in the shop. It’s the newest installment of the Oregon College of Art & Craft’s children’s classes’ works. Many of you may remember the last showing, as it was one of the most popular we’ve had. Unfortunately none of these works are for sale, but it’s worth the look!

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

Italy’s Sicily!!!
Cusumano 2004 Benuara (Nero d’Avola/Syrah)
Tasca d’Almerita 2003 Lamuri IGT (Nero d’Avola)
Ajello 2004 Furat (Nero d’Avola, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah)
Antichi Vinai 2000 Koine (Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio)
Morgante 2004 Nero d’Avola

Even More Sicily!
Donnafugata 2003 Tancredi (Nero d’Avola, Cabernet Sauvignon)
Baglio di Pianetto 2002 Ramione (Nero d’Avola, Merlot)

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 Cabernet Franc!

M