WINO 101

Happy Holidays Friends and Wine Lovers!

T’was the week before Christmas, and all through the malls.
We’re sick to death of the 8th rendition of “Deck the Halls.”

The credit cards are maxed, and the car’s just been towed,
For parking in the designated Store Christmas Santa zone.

The list’s almost finished, and frazzled are nerves,
of buying some gifts and tasty snacks to serve.

A ball for little Mojo and a basket for Lu,
And I’ve got a whole lot of wine here for you.

The cookies are calling from that little metal tin.
What better to go with a nice glass of Zin?

A bottle of bubbly just might do the trick,
For putting the jolly back into St. Nick.

Okay, so that’s not the best. Perhaps rhyming couplets a la “Night Before Christmas” just isn’t my thing. But wine is! Be here Friday, December 19th for the last Friday Flight of the year! And it’s a Barrage of Bubblies!

Since we all need sparklers for the miscelaneous celebrations through the end of the year, I’ll be serving up a good number of them! Considering that not everyone has a taste for Champagne, I have a lineup of alternative bubblies as well!

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

Barrage of Bubblies!
Gratien & Meyer NV Fleur de Lys Noir de Noir (Red Sparkler), France
Kesselstatt 1999 Dry Riesling Sekt, Germany
Secret House 1994 Northern Silk Brut, Oregon
Gruet NV Blanc de Noir, New Mexico
Ruggeri & Co NV Gold Label Prosecco Valdobbiadene, Italy

And the Extra 2:
Nicholas Fuillatte NV Brut Champagne, France
Duval-Leroy NV Cuvee Paris, France

A good deal at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.

Also, be here Saturday for another ***BONUS TASTING*** of spiced mulled wine and Mead!

Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
M

Next week is Christmas Vacation! Happy Hollidays!

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

The year end is rapidly closing in on us while we’re busy being distracted by shopping, company parties, and the new and final movie of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Return of the King, for which we’ve been paying some guy $10 an hour to wait in line for tickets for us. Okay that’s not entirely true. But we are more excited about this sequal than we were for Return of the Jedi, or Batman Returns. Yes, precious, we are. Certainly, we thinks it more exciting than the Return to the Blue Lagoon with as much action as Return of the Living Dead or Bruce Lee’s Return of the Dragon, but unfortunately without Bridget Fonda, like Point of No Return. And this week, while we wait for our writing inspirations to returns to us (we wants it back, precious!), we have “Return of the Spanish Reds for Mostly Under $10.”

Return to us, Carpe Vinum, this week for stellar flights of these way tasty reds, for it will be the last red wine tasting for 2003. (Next week is celebratory sparklers!)

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

Return of the Spanish Reds for Mostly Under $10!
Penascal 2000 Tempranillo, Castilla y Leon
Agramont 2002 Old Vine Garnacha, Navarra
Monasterio 2002 Garnacha, Carinena
Enate 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot, Samontano
Capcanes 2001 Mas Donis, Montsant

And the Extra 2:
Vina Mayor 1999 Crianza, Ribera del Duero
Herencia Remondo 2000 La Montesa, Rioja

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!
M

Next week is Celebratory Sparklers!

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

We’re all full swing into the Holiday Season! I hope everyone who had put their lights up are ready to put them back up after having them blown back down during this torrential windstorm. (Or for me, replacing one of the storm windows that was ironically blown off during the storm.) Now, having found out about my “day-before-and-no-more” shopping strategy from the last email, people may have wondered why I wait until the last minute. I think it has to do with the music. Now, all these Holiday songs are fine and good and all in the spirit of things, but once you’ve heard 30 renditions of each at every store, and they’ve been repetitively eating at your brain and you wake up in a cold sweat at 3 in the morning singing “Winter Wonderland,” it creates a kind of shell-shock that makes shopping a dreaded once-a-year activity. My first year in retail was at one of the larger chain stores, many years ago (and I always said I would name my first ulcer after that year). It was the typical 10-hour Holiday-Season day for the typical 6-day Holiday-Season week. The music soundtrack was all of your Holiday favorites, and only about 1 hour and 15 minutes long. So, after a bit of math, that’s hearing each song 8 times a day, or about 192 times a month. Every time I hear any one of those particular songs again, I get a bit twitchy. (Just ask Laura. She’s seen it.) So in honor of that, and in the Holiday spirit, this week I’m doing Miscelaneous Italian Reds! Why? Because it has nothing to do with any of this Holiday stuff! And the music will be Jazz, provided once again, by the Pete Krebs and Jason Okamoto Jazz Manouche. Although you might request Pete and Jason to play one of your Holiday favorites, I might request that you not.

The reason why this tasting has been labeled “Miscelaneous” is because all these wines were selected as tasty gems that wouldn’t fit into any Italian regional-themed or varietal-themed tastings, and some could be considered “Italian Oddities” (see the Nero d’Avola/Shiraz). These bottles DO, however, follow the theme of the Italian-Reds-Under-$10-Or-Reasonably-Thereabouts. We’ll call that a subtheme.

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

Miscelaneous Italian Reds! (Under-$10-Or-Reasonably-Thereabouts)!
Mezzo Giorno 2001 Nero d’Avola/Shiraz, Sicilia
Argiolas  2001 Perdera, Isola dei Nuraghi
Albino Armani 2000 Foja Tonda, Vallagarina
Ambrosini Lorella 2001 Tabaro ‘95, Val Di Cornia Suvereto
Filippo Gallino 2001 Barbera d’Alba, Roero

And the Extra 2:
Firriato 2000 Chiaramonte Nero d’Avola, Sicilia
Umberto Cesari 1998 Riserva, Sangiovese di Romagna

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!
M

Next week is a Miscellaneous Spanish selection!

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

This week’s Newslatter email thingy is a tad early, mainly since many of you receive this at work, and won’t be around to get it on Thursday. So in a fashion that is so unlike me, here it is - early. On Tuesday!

I know, on Friday, a great many of you will continue the long-standing American tradition of the rabid post-Thanksgiving shopping spree after the turkey/potato tryptophan coma. Perhaps it stems from the burst of energy of getting so much more sleep from falling asleep on the couch at 4:30 on Thanksgiving. Or perhaps it’s the desire to get all the shopping done on the first official day of Christmas. There used to be 12 days of Christmas. It’s now been officially extended to 32 or 33 days, Thanksgiving being the first - with the Roast Partridge from that pear tree that my “True Love cooked for me.” Personally, I have come from a long line of last-minute shoppers, franticly dodging from store-to-store during the last ticks of the clock on the 23rd or 24th of December. Some gifts having been beautifully wrapped in that decorative department store bag. Stick a bow on it! Done! According to studies, the stress levels of the American male while shopping is roughly equal to that of a man entering battle. This comes as a surprise to me, since I thought seasonal shopping WAS going into battle. There’s no better way to wind down from a day in the combat zone of the malls than with a few glasses of super-powered Cabs! Also, perhaps giving the gift of wine can make Carpe Vinum the demilitarized-zone one-stop shopping trip for the year! (Mixed case discounts available!)

So Friday, November the 28th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s
Cabernet Sauvignon for the weary shopper!
Castle Rock 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California
O’Reiley’s 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington
Santa Rita 2000 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley, Chile
Three Rivers 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington
Powers 1997 Mercer Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington
And the Extra 2:
DiStephano 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington
Owen Roe 2002  Ironbird Cabernet Sauvignon, Applegate Valley, Oregon *Organic!*

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!
M

Next week is a Miscellaneous Italian selection!

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

If the snow is any indicator, Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. In one week, we’ll be cooking all day, watching football, and relating with relatives. From what I hear, some folks really dread that last one. Although the wines contained here are all recommended as a pleasant accompaniment to turkey, and ham if that’s your thing, some people seem to prefer the half-dozen gin-and-tonics to go with those stressful occasions with the mother-in-law, and all of your screaming nieces and nephews. Remember, this is just a trial run for the Christmas celebration. That’s the real deal. I’m afraid I can only empathise with my worst Thanksgiving, which was held at a fancy restaurant in Canada. Long story short: It involved a lot of goat cheese. Appetizers featured assorted goat cheeses, there was goat cheese on the salad, the turkey was garnished with goat cheese. For dessert, there was this clear, flat, crystalized honey, sharp like a piece of yellow glass, stuck pointy-end-up into a dollop of creamy goat cheese, garnished with a single strawberry. The yellow glass was apparently edible, however my mother broke a crown on it. The stuffing, which had no detectible amounts of goat cheese in it, was in a perfect spherical shape, reminescent of school cafeteria food. We all left feeling hungry and cheated, with an intense dread of goats. . .but the wine was good.

So tomorrow, November the 21st, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s
Wines That Go Well With Turkey. . .and goat cheese, if you’re Canadian:
Dupueble 2001 Beaujolais, France
O’Reiley’s 2002 Pinot Noir, Wilamette Valley, Oregon
Chehalem 2001 Chardonnay, Wilamette Valley, Oregon
Pedroncelli 2000 Petite Syrah, Sonoma County, California
Brick House 2002 Gamay Noir, Wilamette Valley, Oregon *It’s Organic, too!*

And the Extra 2:
Turkey Flat 2001 Butcher’s Block, Barrosa Valley, South Australia
(I mean, it has TURKEY in the name. . .what else could you want?)
Rex Hill 2001 Pinot Noir Southern Cuvee, Umpqua/Rogue Valley, Oregon

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!
M

Next week is a Super Cab selection!

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

I’ve been asked by quite a few people coming to the tastings about the term “Flight” for a series of wines. I hadn’t really given much thought to the definition of “flight” since it’s always been associated with wines at every winery or shop I’ve ever visited. After a little research online (the world’s encyclopedia) the best I could find is that the term came from “flight of stairs” which, like the wines in a flight, each a step above the last. Pretty poetic, I think, although it could be more fun to relate it to actual flying. There are certainly direct parallels. . .barring the pre-flight schpeal about the exits and floatation devices. With both, the destination is a different place. . .I guess. Maybe the direct parallels aren’t really there. But consider these:

Commuter Flight: Enjoying a flight of wines on the way home from work. (Or on the way TO work, not that it’s recommended by anyone)
Business Class Flights: Same as Commuter Flights, but with all your co-workers.
First In Flight: Fresh pours off every bottle.
747: A flight of 7 wines, followed by a flight of 4 more wines, followed by a flight of 7 more wines.
Red Eye Flight: See the previous one.
Flying The Friendly Skies: Also associated with the 747.
Flight of Fancy: Hefty pours of Grand Cru Bordeaux from the last 50 years. (Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?)
Turbulence: A corked wine in the flight.
F-16: I went to a wine dinner with 16 pours. After 16 wines, you’re pretty F’d.
and what we’ll be pouring tomorrow, Friday the 14th of November:
B-52 Bomber: Since it’s 5 pours, and then 2, and they’re all BOMBS!
Yes. Super-powered Zins. Another one of my favorites! And it’s going to be a good one!

Also this week: Art opening for local artist John Waterman. Enjoy your turbo-charged flights of Zin, meet the artist, and hear an encore performance of the Pete Krebs and Jason Okamoto Jazz Manouche!

I guess this IS the pre-flight schpeal. . .the lineup for this week:
Leaping Lizards 2001 Zinfandel, Napa Valley, California
Dasche Cellars 2002 Zinfandel, Ulysses Lolonis Vineyards, Redwood Valley, California
Rosa Del Golfo 2001 Primitivo, Salento, Italy
Hanna 2001 Zinfandel, Alexander Valley, California
Mystic 2001 Zinfandel, Columbia Valley, Oregon

And the Extra 2 (A Twin Prop flight, I suppose):
Alderbrook 1999 Zinfandel Old Vine Old Clone, Sonoma County, California
Koves-Newlan 2000 Zinfandel Old Vine, Napa Valley, California

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!
M

Next week is a “What Wine Goes With Turkey?” selection!

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

The wonderful lineup for this week is the reds of the South of France. When thinking of the South of France, I just think of all the times I’ve never been there. All the Mediterranean beaches I’ve never walked on. The sunny sidewalk cafes I’ve never eaten at. All the French I’ve never spoken to actual French people. . .which I suppose is probably a good thing, since they reportedly get annoyed at any American speaking French fluently, much less murdering the language like I do. Plus, much of what French terms I learned back in high school tend to mean quite different things now than they did then. For example: Baiser used to mean “to kiss”. And baisez-moi would mean “kiss me”(formally). It now means something much more than a kiss. What that is, I will not write here, to keep the Newsletter PG-Rated, but if spoken to a French lady, the least you might get is a lit cigarette flipped in your face. Also, the term La Crosse, which in French would mean “the butt” (of a rifle. . .joke’s not over yet), or “the scroll” (of a violin) or “the game Americans have no concept of, but involves sticks and nets and is something like hockey on grass” or “city in Wisconsin”. Now La Crosse, at least in French-speaking Quebec, means something completely different. No, not butt. . .however, it was enough for Buick to change the name of their new car “LaCrosse” in the Quebec markets after the focus groups laughed at them. For more about that, check the Reuter’s website. For more about Southern French wines, check us out Friday!

Also this week: In-house music by the Pete Krebs and Jason Okamoto Jazz Manouche. (I’m not really sure what “Manouche” means in French, but the online French to English Dictionary said it meant “Gippo”. Hmm.)

Le tres-especial lineup for this week:
Lavabre 1998 Les Demoiselles de Lavabre, Pic Saint Loup, Coteaux du Languedoc
Jean Luc Columbo 1999 Syrah La Violette, Vin de Pays D’Oc
Laroche 2000 Reserve Merlot, Vin de Pays D’Oc
Le Roc 1999 Cuvee Reservee, Cotes du Frontonnais
Elian Da Ros 1999 Chante Coucou, Cotes du Marmandais

Bonne chance! Les Deux Plus Premium Pours:
Mas Blanc 1999 Les Junquets, Collioure
Ermitage 2000 Cuvee Saint Agnes, Pic Saint Loup, Coteaux du Languedoc

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!
M

Next week is Zinagain! (Zin!) Also, it is the art opening for local artist John Waterman, whose paintings are currently gracing the Carpe Vinum walls. More snacks than usual will be involved, I’m sure.

Hello Boils and Ghouls!

This Halloween edition of the Carpe Vinum newsletter has been written in SPOOKYTEXT, to the fullest extent a text-based email can provide. To best achieve the SPOOKIEST effects, every time you see anything is all CAPS, it’s best to make a GASP of astonishment. Flinching and screaming are also acceptable. Thank you for your cooperation. Continue if you DARE!

This week’s theme was to be centered around Rhone-Style blends* with spooky themes, beginning with the Grenache/Syrah blend of Owen Roe’s SINISTER HAND. (Did you gasp? Good!) But to my HORROR, I found that the remaining stock left in the world has all been allocated to. . .OTHER ACCOUNTS. So, unfortunately I only have ONE BOTTLE LEFT! In lieu of that, I have collected all other SPOOKY Rhone-style wines I could find, beginning with a gem from Spain. It’s a wine from Torres called Gran Sangre de Toro, or in English: BLOOD OF THE BULL! Mwahahaha! To add to the spookiness we have. . .Turkey Flat’s BUTCHER’S BLOCK! (Which I suppose is scariest to turkeys, themselves. Hm.) And Charles Back’s GOAT ROTI! (Which I suppose is scariest to those scared of goats. . .) Uh. . .and there’s the Moroccan red from Domaine du Sahari called Cuvee du Soleil, or BLEND OF THE SUN! (Which I suppose, is really only frightening to Vampires.) And Quivera Dry Creek Cuvee. . .which isn’t really very spooky. . . but it DOES begin with a “Q”! Mwuahahahaha!  Hmm. This is tougher than I thought. . .

At any rate, it’s a solid lineup of my favorite variety. I’ll have bread and CHOCOLATE handy, since nothing says spooky like extra CALORIES!

(* Rhone-style blends are modeled after the wines of the Rhone region of France. It includes primarily the grape varieties of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Carignan.

The FRIGHTFULLY good lineup for this week:
Domane de Sahara 2000 Guerrouane Cuvee du Soleil, Morocco
Torres 2000 Gran Sangre de Toro, Spain
Quivera 2001 Dry Creek Cuvee, California
Peter Lehmann 1999 The Seven Surveys, Australia
Charles Back 2001 Goat Roti, South Africa

And the Extra Two Extra Creeeepy Pours:
Viento 2001 Cuvee Provencal, Oregon
Turkey Flat 2001 Butcher’s Block, Australia

A hauntingly good deal at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra-Creepy 2.

Mwahahaha!
Mwooouahahahaha!
(Enter crack of thunder)

Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
M

Next week is Wines of Southern France, and in-house music by the Pete Krebs and Jason Okamoto Jazz Manouche!

Hello friends and wine lovers!

The name “Tuscan” may be confusing for people who are unfamilliar with Italy, or Star Wars geeks who may confuse the name with the Tuskan Raiders, also known as Sandpeople. (To my knowledge, the Tuskan Raiders are a savage people, and most likely not adept enough at agriculture to cultivate a wine. The desert planet of Tatooine would probably not be suitable to grow vines anyway, due to the dual suns and scorching heat. However, Zinfandel might do fairly well in higher elevations, if irrigated.)

My sci-fi geekiness aside, Tuscans are wines from the Tuscany region of Italy (Toscana to the Italians). The region is home to the well-known wines of Chianti, and the historic city of Rome (Roma to the Romans). Choosing the wines for this Friday Flight was a daunting task for me, considering the styles of Italian wines I had previously tried ranged from moderately dry to dry-as-the-sands-of-Tatooine dry. Advocates of Italian wines say that they really need to be matched with food to fully appreciate them. Perhaps something to offset the dryness. I have heard from other people that to improve their drinkability they need to breathe. . .for 1-3 days. On the flip side of both of these hypotheses is the third that I have heard from people who have vacationed in Italy. The wines served in Italy are much better, as they drink most of the good ones and ship the rest. Italy is also the world’s largest wine exporter. So by that theory, I knew that better ones MUST exist, though the vast numbers of Italian wines available make it hard to weed through. I tasted through dozens upon dozens of these wines to bring to the tasting just the best ones I could find. (Within reason, of course. The best one I tried recently retails for over $70, which I would gladly order for you!)

For more about Italian Tuscan wines, drop by Carpe Vinum tomorrow, Friday 24th, from 4:30 until 9:00 to taste these for yourself. Bread will be available, as food is recommended. Feel free to bring your own antipasta! (Antipasto, antipasti. . .)

For more about Star Wars, Tuskan Raiders and Tatooine, just type “Star Wars” into your favorite search engine, and see what happens. There may be a link or two. . .

The wines for this week that passed my rigorous Italian Wine Test:
Maremma 2002 Micante IGT
Altesino 2000 Rosso di Altesino
Poggio Capponi 2001 “Petriccio” Chianti Montespertoli
Le Corti 2001 Chianti Classico
Capanna 2001 Rosso di Montalcino

And the Extra Two Premium Pours:
Villa Caffaggio 1998 Chianti Classico Riserva
Sammontana 1997 Maestro Rosso (Super-Tuscan)

Quite a bargain at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2.

This one was a lot of work, so it ought to be good!

Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
M

Next week is Rhone-style Blends! (Not excluding Rhone wines themselves)

Hello friends and wine lovers!

Have you ever had so much to say about a certain thing, that you could say nothing at all? Like when someone angers you by saying something cutting down, for example, your favorite band, and you wish to correct them by listing the all virtues and benefits of said band, and how they changed your life for the better, but it just comes out as “Gaghhh. . .” with a pointed finger. That’s how it is with me and Syrah, my favorite wine varietal.

“So, Mike. Tell us about Syrah!”

“Gaghhh. . .” (With a pointed finger)

You see, there’s a walnut tree nearby the shop. It’s about 2 blocks away, and this time of year it drops all kinds of nuts everywhere. These nuts are very popular with the crows, and there seem to be quite a lot of crows in the neighborhood, possibly due to the nuts. Anyway, these crows are fairly intelligent, for birds. They can’t crack into the walnuts to get the meaty, tasty centers by themselves, so they rely on the easily understandable law of gravity. I see them perching on the power lines overhead and dropping these nuts onto the sidewalk. They also seem to wait for some human to be walking nearby to drop their nuts leading to the “What the. . .Who’s throwing. . .huh?” reaction which, I imagine, amuses these birds to no end. I’ve almost been hit quite a few times by these falling walnuts. Perhaps they hope we might throw them back, so they don’t have to swoop back down for another go at it.

So what’s the connection with this little anecdote, you may wonder?

Uh. . .crows and Syrah are. . uh. . .much the same color. Dark, and purple glistening in the sun. And Syrah can sometimes have a nutty flavor. And as the most important rule of matching food and wine, drink what you like. Syrah is my favorite, and I would readily drink it with a meal of walnuts (ick) or roast crow (double-ick).

(Hey. . .at least I didn’t stoop to the old Que Syrah Shiraz pun everyone else does.. .)

Tomorrow, Friday the 17th of October, from 4:30-9:00,
I will be pouring for you and all of your friends (hint, hint):

Maryhill 2000 Syrah, Washington
Chameleon 2000 Syrah, California
Redbank 2000 Fighting Flat Shiraz, Australia
Peachy Canyon 2000 Syrah, California
Mystic 2001 Syrah, Oregon

And the Extra 2:
Justin 2000 Estate Bottled Syrah, California
and the original, Northern Rhone version:
Offerus 2000 St. Joseph, Northern Rhone, France

Quite a bargain at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2.

I’m really excited about this one. It’ll be pretty awesome.

Feel free to bring crackers and cheese and salamis and proscuitto and olives and little pickles and those baby corn things and bottles of capers but probably not pepperocinis. Bread will be available.

Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!
(And watch your head!)
M

Next week is Italian Tuscan wines!