WINO 101

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Happy New Years Eve Eve Eve Eve and welcome to the Carpe Vinum Last Email Newsletter of 2006 and the Announcement of the Last Tasting of 2006! It’s now the countdown to 2007 and, as always, it seems the year has gone by so fast. Fast in a day-by-day kinda way. Or in here it’s a wine-by-wine kinda way. So that’s right. I get to see and try many, many different wines in here all year long. I know it’s a sacrifice, but someone has to do it. Some wines are positively incredible, while others are positively forgettable, like that one . . . uhh . . . Hm . . .

Anyway, for this last tasting of the year I usually like to feature a bunch of great party picks for the New Year’s celebration. And this is no exception. As an extra-added theme, this year, I thought I might pour all of the best hits from 2006 (The ones that are still available, of course). These are all of the best-sellers and other wines that knocked my socks off throughout the year. So let’s move on to the final curtain call for these wines, the best of 2006!

Firstly we have here a Bonarda from Argentina made by Bodega Lurton. It was quite a while back that I was reading up on Argentine wines, and whatever it was that I was reading made a mention of the Bonarda grape. I had only seen it once or twice in different blends from Argentina, but never as a single-varietal. Well, that book or article or online thing or whatever it was I was reading had made a mention of this Bonarda grape being the most-produced grape in Argentina, yet we have hardly seen any in The States. I scoured the wine scene here in town and found two Bonardas. The cheaper one was this one, which cost half as much as the other and was twice as good. I still call it the best bottle under $10 that I have in the shop.

Secondly and thirdly we’ve got two wines that were a couple of the best-received wines from the tastings. These are the ones that flew out of here, much like a . . . bird . . . or . . . wine with wings. Hm. They were way tasty. One of them was the Gualdo del Re, an Italian wine from the relatively obscure Tuscan region of Val di Cornia. I had never heard of that region before, but now I’m glad I have. The next one is the Mas Carlot “Les Enfants Terribles” from the French Costieres de Nimes. Also delicious, but I’m not sure why it’s called “Les Enfants Terribles” (the terrible infants). Maybe it has something to do with young vines. Or the winemaker’s bratty kids. (I just found their website and it’s named after the young vines that produce the grapes for the wine. I’m sure the winemaker’s kids are darling, well-behaved little angels.)

Next we’ve got the Vina Maquis Lien, a proprietary blend from Chile. This was a favorite of mine considering that most of the Chilean wine I’ve had was just cheap and lifeless. I mean, there IS a lot of cheap wine coming out of Chile. At the time, even the better ones seemed to be under-ripe Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines. Positively uninteresting. But this one had gobs of ripe fruit and a wonderful structure to it. It’s also got a lizard on the label. That’s gotta be worth something! Actually, the lizard on the label was a piece of ancient Mayan jewelry made of silver that was found on the Vina Maquis property. That’s kinda neat too.

Following that is The Pines Big Red. And it’s just that: Big (and Red). I’ve been featuring wines from The Pines winery pretty frequently lately, and all for good reason. I’m glad to see some of these huge reds coming out of Oregon, and especially as close as the Columbia Gorge. The Big Red is a delicious way to spend $20.

For the premiums we’ve got a Chianti Classico from Castellare. I don’t need to mention again (but I will) that there are a LOT of pretty lousy Chiantis out there. This one is, quite possibly, the best one I’ve ever had. When that happens, I try to keep these things around. And speaking of keeping things around, that brings us to our final selection. It’s the wonderful wine of Alejandro Fernandez and his Condado de Haza estate in Ribera del Duero. If you don’t already know and love this wine, then you best snap out of the coma and give it a shot!

I’ll be pouring that and all the others tomorrow. All of these are suitable accompaniments to the New Year’s Eve party you’re going to or hosting. And at that, thanks all for a great 2006! And see you soon!

So Friday, December 29th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Whoo!!!
Bodegas Lurton 2003 Bonarda, Mendoza, Argentina
Gualdo del Re 2003 Val di Cornia, Tuscany, Italy
Mas Carlot 2004 Les Enfants Terribles Costieres de Nimes, France
Vina Maquis 2004 Lien, Colchagua Valley, Chile
The Pines 2005 Big Red, Columbia Gorge, Oregon

Whoo Hoo!!!
Castellare 2004 Chianti Classico, Italy
Condado de Haza 2003 Ribera del Duero, Spain

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 Wines of Washington!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to the countdown to Christmas! It is currently Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve, and you must have all your shopping done, right? No? Well, I’m not surprised. Neither have I. That’s why I’m here to help because this is The  Carpe Vinum First Annual Procrastinator’s Gift Guide and Tasting Announcement of Those Wines Contained Therein! Sure, we’ve all got those hard-to-shop-for friends and family. It’s those last people on the list that remain presentless from lack of ideas. Well, wine is one of those gifts that is always welcome and says Hey! Here’s some wine!” And with a bit more matching of the person to the bottle, it’s something that says “Hey! Here’s some wine personalized just to you!” Interested? Read on, you gift-giving-procrastinator, you!

So there are dog people and there are cat people (and even the odd bunny people – but I digress). There are plenty of wine label themes that feature dogs. I mean, after all, every winery has a dog. Apparently there is a book out there that features all of the winery dogs. But how many wines are out there for the cat lover? (I mean besides Gato Negro and Gato Blanco.) Well, I’ve only found a few. And the best is this one: The Bergevin Lane “Calico” from Washington. It’s a blend of Cab-Sauv, Cab-Franc, Merlot, Syrah and Zinfandel. I have a few wines here for dog people, as well, but this one is specifically for cat people. (Gift Categories: Cat People, Washington Wine Fans, Red Blend)

Next up is the Writer’s Block Zinfandel for the tortured writer in your life. We all suffer from writer’s block at some time, and this can prove that it’s not always a bad thing. Plus it has Shakespeare on the label. So I guess this could also go for the tortured playwright or actor in your life. Or Shakespeare fan. Or Zinfandel fan. And it’s a dead-obvious for the actor/playwright/novelist/zin fan who happened to study a lot of Shakespeare. (Gift Categories: Actors, Writers, Shakespeare Fans, Zinfandel Fans.)

Following that is a new wine I’ve found from Spain called Acustic. It’s not much of a stretch to show that it directly translates to “Acoustic” and refers to guitars. Also, the label looks like an artistic rendering of the business end of a guitar, in an artistic manner. So this is a perfect bottle for all the musicians you know (about 3/4 of this town, I believe) and more specifically, the guitarists. (Gift Categories: Musicians, Guitarists, Spanish Wine Fans.)

Next it’s another musically-themed wine from the Cotes du Rhone from Chateau Signac called “Melodie d’Amour” or “Melody of Love” or perhaps translated all the way to “Lovesong”. Give it to your honey. Or to someone you want to make your honey. (Gift Categories: Lovers, Potential Lovers, Rhone-Lovers, Lovesong-Lovers.)

Next is a wine I’ve poured a number of times because it’s just so darn good. And it’s cleverly named. It’s the Shinas Estate “The Guilty” Shiraz. The wine gets its name from the winemaker who is a former judge. But as the Guilty it could be for someone on your “Naughty” list. Or someone you want to be on your “naughty” list. Or someone you know who you are sure won’t be giving you a gift in return. Or, of course, for anyone you know employed in law. Attorneys, judges, cops, criminals. Hm. Especially criminals, I guess. (Gift categories: Anyone Overburdened with Guilt, Lawyers, Criminals.)

Next in the premiums we’ve got the Barrel Monkeys Shiraz. It’s great for people who love monkeys, of course. And people who love big, jammy and powerful Aussie Shiraz. It’s also good for anyone who is a fan of modern artistic design, and that’s how I see the label. Also, it’s good for winery workers, as that is what a “Barrel Monkey” really is.(Gift Categories: Monkeys, Winery Worker, Artists, Shiraz Lovers. And Shiraz-Loving Artistic Monkeys Working in Wineries.)

Next is the Domaine Brusset Gigondas “Grande Montmirail”.This is a wine you give to someone you really, really like. Any particular reason? It’s really, really good! I mean it. Gigondas is always a welcome gift. Anyone who is into wine who wouldn’t appreciate a fine Gigondas like this is insane. In that case, if they ARE insane, then you should give them the Barrel Monkeys. Because we all know that Monkeys are just insane, tiny, hairy humans. (Gift Categories: French Wine Lovers, Gigondas Lovers, Just Straight-Up Wine Lovers, The Sane.)

For your gift I have a number of packaging options. I’ve got a number of wine bags and some really cool wooden wine boxes. Also, let it be known that I can ship wine to 27 different states. Although chances of being able to get any gift to those destinations in time for Christmas is practically zero . . . barring any sudden advancements in time-travel or teleportation. That’s what I’d like for Christmas. A teleporter! But I guess I’ll settle for a Gigondas.

So Friday, December 22nd, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Gifts For People Who Deserve Them!!!
Bergevin Lane 2004 Calico, Columbia Valley, Washington
Writer’s Block 2004 Zinfandel, Lak County, California
Acustic 2004 Vinyes Velles Nobles, Montsant, Spain
Chateau Signac 2004 Melodie d’Amour, Cotes du Rhone, France
Shinas Estate 2004 The Guilty Shiraz, Victoria, Australia

A Bit Fancier Gifts For People Who Deserve Them a Bit More Than the Others!!!
Barrel Monkeys 2004 Shiraz, McLarren Vale, Australia
Domaine Brusset 2004 Tradition Le Grand Montmirail, Gigondas, France

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 Top Party Picks!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

It’s a celebration! Welcome to the Thursday Celebratory Newsletter of Celebratory Celebration and the Announcement of the Celebration of Bubblies with the Carpe Vinum Annual Celebration of the Bodacious Bubblerific Bountiful Belly Full of Bubbles Buh . . . Tasting Thing! Wait . . . where was I? Bouncing around linguistically like, say . . . a bubble? That’s right! Tomorrow we are popping the corks off seven different sparkling wines from around the world in celebration! What are we celebrating? Just about anything! To begin with, we’ll celebrate the upcoming celebrations. Does that seem redundant? Not at all!

Champagnes and sparkling wines have always had the largest romantic appeal of any wine out there. There’s the exclaiming pop of the cork as it flies across the room, or directly towards someone’s eye. (Always point the bottle away from people you like. People you don’t like, on the other hand . . . that’s your choice) Then there’s the liveliness of the wine dancing in the glass. Then there’s the . . . well, I guess that’s enough, really. I guess it’s the *POP* of the bottle that gives the wine its celebratory feel, like fireworks in a bottle, and the very-suggestive flying cork and the wine frothing out of the bottle (Wink, wink. Kinda makes the end on NASCAR races seem a bit dirty, doesn’t it?)

But before the *POP* was under control, it was a relatively bad thing. Before sparkling wine production as we know existed, the fizz was usually accidental. The wineries of old, before modern heating, would chill down with the seasons. Once the fermenting grape juice dropped below a certain temperature, the yeasts stopped working and went into a hibernation of sorts. If the wine was bottled at that time before the fermentation was complete, the yeasts would still live and continue working once they heated back up. Sure, they started producing the carbon dioxide that produces the bubbles we all like, but they also started causing bottles to explode from all the pressure. This was also before decent bottle technology. Did I mention that?

So with that in mind, Dom Perignon, one of the earliest developers of the wines of Champagne, although attributed with the quote “Come quickly! I’m tasting the stars!”, was actually trying to produce still (non-sparkling) wines. The quote was actually part of an 1800s advertisement for the Dom Perignon wines. The real quote of Dom Perignon was probably something like, “Merde! All the bottles exploded again!” Hm. It sounds more romantic the other way, doesn’t it?

Well, while I’m bursting bubbles of sparkling romanticism, I might mention that popping the cork out with resonance upsets the wine, and causes those precious bubbles to go flat. The best way to get that cork out is with a strong hand and “whispering” the cork out. But to me, the more fun way is “sabering”. This is the knocking the top off the bottle with a sword. It’s easier than it sounds, but more dangerous, considering the shards of glass flying about. So, again, keep the bottle pointed only at your enemies. Wait . . . Why are your enemies at the party, anyway?

So here’s a collection of wonderful, and wonderfully priced, bubblies! I found that I ended up pouring most of the same ones every year, so I went out of my way to find new and interesting sparklers I’ve never tried before. Once again, though, it’s a tour of the world with a stop in Italy for Prosecco, Spain for Cava, Australia’s Tasmania for their sparkler, Oregon and California for more sparklers, and off to France for one bubbly from the Loire and one true Champagne. And best of all, we don’t need any corkscrews!

So Friday, December 15th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Bountiful Bodacious Bubbles!!!
Ruggeri & Co NV Prosecco Gold Label, Veneto, Italy
Didier Champalou NV Vouvray Petillant Brut, Loire, France
Gramona 2002 Cava Grand Cuvee, Penedes, Spain
Jansz Tasmania NV Premium Cuvee, Tasmania, Australia
Domaine Meriwether NV Discovery Cuvee, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles!!!
J 1999 Sparkling, Russian River, California
Joseph Perrier NV Champagne, Cuvee Royal

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 Procrastinator’s Gift Guide!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

It’s high time we get around to the Exquisite and Requisite Carpe Vinum Newsletter and Tasting Announcement of the Day That is Today For the Day That Is Tomorrow! Tomorrow we’re doing the fantastic wines of the French Rhone! This is one of my favorite wine regions and the wines they produce are some of the most approachable and affordable in the world. There is a relatively large number of approved grapes in the region, all things considered, but it’s best known in the South for its spicy Grenaches and in the North for the peppery and fruity Syrahs.

All truth be told, the Rhone had suffered a few setbacks over the past few years. The 2001 vintage was superb, but followed by the wicked storms of 2002 that ruined much of the crop and severely hindered the quality of the rest. Then there was 2003, which I initially thought would be spectacular due to the extraordinary heat. More heat, I thought, would mean riper fruit, a longer growing season and higher sugar levels, blah blah blah. This isn’t quite what happened, and most of the wines seemed overripe and, as a friend put it, burnt. So for me 2003 was a bit of a disappointment, even after the disastrous 2002 vintage. This isn’t to say they were all bad. I’ve had that similar “burnt” flavor on wines from all around the world in 2003. I think it’s whether or not the growers got their fruit in before the overripeness happened.

Enter the 2004 wines of the Rhone, seen more as a classic vintage like the 2001 vintage. All that I’ve had so far have been delicious. Of course, many of my regular favorites wines from the region had gotten big scores from those “magazine professionals” and, as a direct result, completely sell out. It makes me sad. But also marks me as a visionary considering I served them first, right? (The “I was into that band before they were big” syndrome.) So here’s the selection of the next wonderful Rhone wines to sell out. I’m really excited about that Sang de Cailloux Vacqueyras. It’s often championed as the best wine in the Vacqueyras region. Oh, and I chose all wines from the 2004 so we could get a better idea of the vintage as a whole.

So Friday, December 8th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Rhone!!!
Domaine Georges Vernay 2004 VdP Syrah de Collines Rhodaniennes
Chateau Trignon 2004 “Bois des Dames” Cotes du Rhone
Domaine de la Janasse 2004 VdP Terre de Bussiere
Saint Cosme 2004 “Deux Albion” Cotes du Rhone
Paul Autard 2004 Cotes du Rhone Rouge

More Rhone!!!
Domaine de Sang de Cailloux 2004 Vacqueyras
Domaine Brusset 2004 “Grand Montmirail” Gigondas

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 Holiday Sparklers!

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to the Newsletter of Extreme Power for Carpe Vinum Tasting That Carries Such Extreme Power. I hope the Holiday went well for you all as we head into the final stretch of 2006. So in preparation, let’s visit one of my favorite varietal wines: It’s the Incredible, indelible, unforgettable, and totally versatile Syrah (aka Shiraz). This is one grape varietal that has more personalities than . . . well, someone with a lot of personalities. Is Sybil still a valid reference? Let me explain.

I my line of work here as the resident wine monger, I have the incredibly tasking job of tasting numerous, if not innumerable, wines per week. I’ll taste somewhere between one wine and several hundred, depending on special events put on by distributors or wine festivals or tasting at wineries and so on. I know. Tough job. Throughout these multiple wines there are many grape varieties that give you what you expect. Cabernet Sauvignon is pretty much a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot is pretty much Merlot, and Chardonnay is pretty much Chardonnay. All with varying degrees of oak, depending on the discretion (or lack thereof) of the winemaker. But Syrah! Syrah seems to exemplify and express the terroir of the growing region more poetically than any other grape.

In Southeastern Australia we find many huge, hulking, fruity and jammy bombs of Syrah practically bursting out of the bottle. In the Southwest of Australia the wines are more subdued with more emphasis on the spicy characteristics of clove, anise, nutmeg and so on. In the Northern Rhone of France we find the Syrah with other darker spicy notes of black and white pepper, flavors I also found recently in a Willamette Valley Syrah (of which there are very few). South Africa produces a Syrah that is so meaty it’s served Medium Rare, not room temperature. In California there tends a balance of many of those fruity and spicy characteristics, depending on regional diversity, and in Washington the styles can be leaner and cleaner, but still exude all the powerful fruit of which this varietal is capable. Recently I read that India is starting production of Syrah, as well. The climate is so warm in the region that they grow the grapes during the winter, and trim back the vines during the summer to simulate a vine’s winter hibernation. That’s something I’d love to try! (The wine. Not a summer hibernation.)

Shifting gears, though, one of the most common questions I get in here is “What’s the difference between Syrah and Shiraz?” Quite simply, it’s just the name. There’s an update on that explanation, though. Up until today I thought the grape came from the city of Shiraz, its namesake in Persia (Iran), many years ago and that through years of French pronunciation it became “Syrah”. Now results posted from the UC Davis wine geneticists have concluded that Syrah, at least the Syrah that is currently cultivated as “Syrah” or “Shiraz” is actually native to the French Rhone, and a cross between the grapes “Dureza” and “Mondeuse Blanche”. That totally throws a brick into the “Shiraz” theory, and I haven’t found any explanation as to why these grapes were ever called “Shiraz”, unless it was a misidentification somewhere along the way. So to make a long story short: The “why” of the Syrah/Shiraz story is unclear, but the “what” is simple. It’s the same thing. The same delicious thing.

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

Syrah (aka Shiraz)!!!
Stonecap Vineyards 2004 Syrah, Columbia Valley, Washington
3 Rings 2005 Shiraz, Barossa Valley, Australia
Chateau Val Joanis 2003 Cotes du Luberon, France
Montes 2004 Alpha Syrah, Colchagua Valley, Chile
Rosenblum 2004 Syrah Abba Vineyard, Lodi, California

Shiraz (dba Syrah)!!!
Fidelitas 2004 Columbia Valley, Washington
The Pines 2005 Syrah, Columbia Gorge, Oregon

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 The French Rhone!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve to you all! And Happy Thanksgiving Eve Eve to our friends named Eve, just to be clear. Welcome to the Carpe Vinum Newsletter of Truth and Justice to Eonophiles, Emo-Styles, and Xenophobes and the Tasting Announcement for Not Tomorrow, Not the Day After Tomorrow, but the Day After That, Which Is Friday! We’re tasting the wines of Italy’s Tuscany! Oh, deliciousness! It’s the perfect match to all that food you won’t be eating tomorrow. (See? Because if you eat it tomorrow, then you can’t enjoy it with the wine that we have here the day after tomorrow. Ugh. Being two days early on this thing just confuses me.)

Let’s discuss Friday. It’s the day after Thanksgiving, the most hedonistic holiday this side of the Superbowl (which is, indeed, a holiday). So for people who aren’t me, Friday is also the biggest shopping day of the year. Followed by the day before Christmas which is the second biggest shopping day of the year . . . or the biggest shopping day for people who are me. But for a small selection of people, this Friday is Black Friday, or Buy Nothing Day. I would just like to propose a compromise and call it “Red Friday” or Buy-Nothing-BUT-Wine, day. Or for the sake of tasting on Friday, how about Screw-Shopping-and-Let’s-Get-To-Drinking-Wine Day?

So what are we serving for my new favorite holiday, the Screw-Shopping-and-Let’s-Get-To-Drinking-Wine Day? (Red Friday). Italy’s Tuscany! The predominantly Sangiovese-based reds from the region are probably the best known in the world. And this region of Italy owes it to one simple word: Chianti. This doesn’t mean it’s synonymous with the region, but it is the most familiar wine of all of Italy, for better or worse. Okay. For worse. I’ve had more bad Chianti than I’d like to admit. Or maybe it’s that I’ve had more bad Chianti than I can count. (But hey, those bottles wrapped in reeds and raffia sure do look good as candleholders, right?) So with this in mind, even though there are a lot of good Chiantis out there, I prefer to take it slowly when trying new ones. So I am only featuring one Chianti in this lineup. But Tuscany has so much more to choose from, considering Italy is a veritable wine empire.

So, Chianti aside, I grabbed a selection of some of the other best regions of Tuscany. But I’m doing something kinda wacky this time around. One of Italy’s heavy-hitters hails from this region. It’s the burly and long-lived and legendary Brunello di Montalcino. I’ve had few, if any of these that I can remember, as the retail prices start at about $45, with most hovering well above that mark. So for fun and for the educational experience, I thought I might feature 3 Brunellos in a separate tasting off to the side. Considering the price of these bottles, the tasting for the three will be $10. It might be confusing things for myself, but it’s all in the name of science! (Okay, not really science, per se.)

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

Tuscany!!!
Corte alla Flora 2004 Rosso di Montepulciano
Agricola Centolani 2003 “Poggiotondo” Rosso di Montalcino
Gualdo del Re 2003 Val di Cornia
Mannucci-Droandi 2003 “Cepetto” Chianti-Classico
La Parrina 2002 Parrina Rosso

Tuscany Two!!!
Potentino 2003 “Sacramonte” Montecucco Rosso
Avignonesi 2003 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

Tuscany Take Three: Brunello!!!
La Gerla 1999 Brunello di Montalcino
Poggio San Polo 2000 Brunello di Montalcino
Mocali 2001 “Vigne della Raunate” Brunello di Montalcino

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

Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is Syrah/Shiraz!

And just so’s ya know, we will be closed Thanksgiving Day. And I might be a bit late to the shop on Friday, but the tasting still starts at 4:30. Happy Thanksgiving!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

That time of year has come again with much fanfare and falling rain and falling trees: It’s Autumn and with it brings the Spectacular Super-Special Carpe Vinum Annual Thanksgiving Wine Primer of “What Goes With Turkey?!” and the Tasting Announcement That Corresponds to That Tasting Special! And special it is! I believe I had it billed in the paper as “Pinot Noir, Gamay and Beaujolais” and, indeed, those I do have. Also, I have other great things. And they’re all meant to accompany your Thanksgiving meal, whether that be the traditional Tryptophan-induced-food-coma-style-giganto-meal or your non-traditional-macaroni-and-cheese-because-I-have-to-work-on-Thanksgiving-type meal.

So I thought I could start with a complete history of Thanksgiving. But then I fell asleep, hit my head and started drooling into my keyboard. So I thought better of the complete history of it and, suffice it to say, Thanksgiving is all about the food and family and, of course, the wine. It’s a hedonistic feast of epic proportions in a truly American style. It’s also a feast many people agonize over what wine to serve with all that stuff.

First and foremost of food and wine matching is the golden rule of “drink what you like”! I mean, there are classic combinations of certain foods with certain wines. Cabernet Sauvignon with steak. Merlot with lamb. Sauvignon Blanc with oysters. Milwaukee’s Best with Ramen Tacos and A-1 Steak Sauce (another story altogether). But if you don’t like the wine in question, even if it’s the perfect match, it’ll never work for you. For example, I could have a Syrah with just about anything besides shrimp, but even though Pinot Noir is a perfect match for many chicken dishes, I’ll still go for a Syrah. Make sense?

So from there let’s talk about the classic combinations for the traditional Turkey meal. Like I just mentioned earlier, Pinot Noir goes well with chicken dishes and, as another poultry, turkey is just a big chicken, isn’t it? So Pinot Noir is a shoe-in for that meal. And like the classic Pinot, any wine that is lighter in style so as not to be overbearing to the delicate flavors the bird and the vegetables would do well. One of my favorites is wine made from the Gamay Noir grape.

Gamay is the grape of the French Beaujolais, the district pretty far south within Burgundy. Burgundy proper produces Pinot Noir based red wines since the Gamay vines were ripped out back in 1395 by the duke of Burgundy. They survived in Beaujolais and now they make the finest Gamay-based wines in the world. And a lot of plonk. Apparently more than half of the wine produced in Beaujolais is sold as “Beaujolais Nouveau”, which is wine quickly fermented and sold just 2 months after harvest. The wine is not meant to be taken too seriously and can have all the appeal of a good can of Coke. On the other hand, the Cru Beaujolais, specific districts making serious wine do the Gamay Noir justice. Some of my favorites include Morgon, Moulin-a-Vent, and Cote de Brouilly.

Oregon has been growing a small amount of Gamay Noir and in my opinion has been doing a smashing job of it. I’ve had a number of exceptional ones over the last couple of years. Unfortunately, the Gamay I look forward to getting every year keeps getting more exclusive so that I can never get my hands on it. That is the Brick House Gamay, and is apparently only available at the winery this year. Sigh. Also, all of the other Gamay producers are sold out of their remaining stock, due in part to low-yielding vintages. Ah, well . . . maybe next year.

Until then, here we have a couple classic Oregon Pinot Noirs and a trio of Beaujolais. Last year for this tasting, the surprise hit was a dark red and bubbly and slightly sweet wine from Italy. It was a . . . <gasp> Lambrusco! Apparently “Lambrusco” isn’t a dirty word any more. It was tasty and terribly popular and would make a suitable companion to the Turkey meal, and as a centerpiece of conversation, as well. So I brought it back.

Finishing out the lineup is another good wine to talk about. It’s a Syrah from Cristom (in keeping with my favorite food wines) and has lip-smacking white-peppery goodness that resembles Northern Rhone wines. This Syrah is made from estate grown fruit on the Cristom property . . . in the Willamette Valley. Yes. It’s a Willamette Valley Syrah. Which begs the question: Is global warming good or bad for the wine industry? Discuss.

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

Turkey Wines (Not wines from Turkey)!!!
Ca de Medici 2004 “Oblio” Notturno Dolce, Reggiano, Italy
Terrapin Cellars 2005 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Dupueble 2005 Beaujolais, France
Bernard Diochon 2004 Moulin-a-Vent, Beaujolais, France
Marcal LaPierre 2004 Morgon, Beaujolais, France

More Delicious T-Day Wines!!!
Cristom 2003 Syrah, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Anam Cara 2004 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon

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 Italy’s Tuscany!

And just so’s ya know, we will be open regular hours during the week(Tuesday and Wednesday 11:00AM to 7:00PM), but closed Thanksgiving Day. Any special orders needed by Wednesday will need to be in by mid-afternoon on Tuesday.

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome again and again to the Ever-Present, Informative and Entertaining and Often Linguistically Superfluous Carpe Vinum Newsletter and Tasting Announcement of This Week, the Week Culminating with the Friday the 10th of October. We’ve survived a massive precipitative drowning of several months’ worth of rain in a 2-day period, and at the same time somehow survived another election season and all the depressing campaigning that goes with it. Whew. Kinda puts you in the mood for some good wine, eh? Well, here’s the thing! It’s wines of the South of France! Most specifically, it’s wines of the French Languedoc and Provence. After all, these times deserve some serious wines at some seriously decent prices. This is one of my favorite wine regions of France and the world. The region produces such a vast amount of wine down there that the French often refer to it as the “Wine Lake”. Want to go swimming in the “Wine Lake”? Yeah . . . me too.

The region borders the Mediterranean Sea and has a warm climate that is well-suited to grape growing. Also, the wine laws governing the region are less restrictive, so it gives the local winemakers more play with different grape varieties and blends. That doesn’t mean that the wines down there are all over the place with no semblance of order. There are a number of regions producing high-class wines, but there is an expansive “Vin de Pays” designation that has been terribly successful in the Languedoc. Directly translated it means “Country Wine” and allows, as far as I can tell, just about anything. For example I have the Chateau Fontanes 2004 Vin de Pays d’Oc featured in the tasting. Technically it’s a wine from the Pic Saint Loup region of the Languedoc, but it’s made from Cabernet Sauvignon, which isn’t allowed in a wine labeled with the Pic Saint Loup designation. So that makes it a “Vin de Pays d’Oc” or a “country wine of Languedoc”. That doesn’t make it any less of a wine and certainly not a lesser Cabernet.

Now while featuring the Languedoc wines, I thought I might feature wines of Provence. They’re not widely available, and it would be a bit difficult to piece together a full tasting of Provencal wines. One specific wine of note is the wine of Bandol. The region is small, and is located about at the southern tip of Provence as it dips into the Mediterranean. The wines are made predominantly of Mourvedre, which I mentioned last week was my new favorite grape to chase around. Mourvedre (also known as Monastrell in Spain and Mataro in Australia and a few other places) makes an inky-dark, spicy and powerful wine, and is commonly seen blended with Grenache and Syrah in Rhone-style blends. Bandol wines are certainly some of the best examples of Mourvedre in the world, and they tend to fetch pretty high prices.

So assembled here is a wonderful selection of wines of the Languedoc and Provence. Considering that there are so many wines hailing form the area, this is just the figurative “drop in the wine lake”. But on the good side, the wines of the region seldom disappoint and are just good all-around wines costing less than, say, their Californian counterparts.

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

Languedoc and Provence!!!
Chateau de Lascaux 2004 Coteaux du Languedoc Rouge
Chateau Fontanes 2004 Vin de Pays d’Oc
Mas de Aveylans 2004 Cuvee Prestige, Vin de Pays du Gard Syrah
Mas Carlot 2004 Les Enfants Terribles, Costieres de Nimes
Chateau Maupague 2004 Cotes de Provence

More Languedoc and Bandol!!!
Chateau de Lancyre 2002 Pic Saint Loup “Grand Cuvee”, Coteaux du Languedoc
La Badiane 2003 Bandol “Les Terres Noires”

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 Thanksgiving Tasting: What Goes With Turkey?!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

It’s that time of the day during that time of the week that we all look forward to! It’s the time for the Awesome Power that is the Carpe Vinum Newsletter of Many Words and Tasting Announcement Contained Therein. Herein. Wherein? This week we’re headed to California to sample the monster big reds they have to offer. Offer they do, and we accept! Want to talk about them for a little bit? Okay! I guess that’s what we’re here for!

So . . . I guess we don’t really need to talk about where or what California is. Yes, it’s that hot and steamy land to the South of our beauteous Oregon . . .It’s that state that’s shaped like a malfunctioning boomerang. (Which, by the way . . . isn’t a malfunctioning boomerang just a stick? That’s what I thought.) We’re all connected by one continuous veritable neuron net of pavement. And, as such, I think we’ve all been down that direction once or twice. Or have lived there through the Oregon/California Foreign Exchange Program. After all, are we Northern-Northern California or perhaps is California just Baja Oregon? Dunno. I digress . . .

Did you know they make some wine down there? Alright, I guess that’s not much of a secret either, considering all the Kendall-Jacksons and Mondavis and Gallos and Berringers and Wal Marts and McDonalds and Jiffy Lubes and . . . wait . . . where was I? Oh, yes. Huge, huge wine companies pumping out millions of gallons of grape-flavored ethanol. But through the wine lake, or rather, wine ocean of woody chardonnays and white zinfandels there are small islands and oasisses . . . (oasees? oasisesses? What the heck is the plural of oasis?) Oases! Small oases of independent wineries cranking out some monster reds from the land down under. (Down-Under-Oregon, that is.)

So what makes a monster red? It’s the sturdy and strong and heavy grape varieties that, when matched up with California’s hot growing season, produce a hearty red wines of bodacious fruit and power. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Merlot, Mourvedre, Syrah, Grenache and Sangiovese, just to name a few. They make wines that have a bit more heft to them and seem nice and warm and comfortable on a cold, rainy, autumn day. There are lots of them, and it would take a lifetime to sort through them all. Partly because new wineries spring up all the time.

We’re in a kind of lucky spot up here in Oregon also because of that continuous slab of pavement, sometimes simply called “The 5″. It brings us a bit closer to that wine region and gives us some of these wine offerings that the rest of the country may not get at all. So here’s a collection of some hearty reds that have piqued my interest recently. The first five are blends of 3 or more grapes, some in seldom-seen-together combinations, and the final two are single-varietal wines of two of the heartiest grapes grown in California: Petite Sirah, and one of my new favorites, Mourvedre.

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

Big California Reds!!!
Byington 2001 Alliage (Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Syrah), Sonoma County
Hanna 2002 Two Ranch Red (Kitchen Sink Blend), Alexander Valley & Sonoma County
Mutt-Lynch 2004 “Portrait of a Mutt” (Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah), Sonoma County
Steven Vincent 2004 Crimson (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre), Napa Valley
Tudal Winery 2004 Tractor Shed Red (Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Merlot), Napa Valley

More Big, Perhaps Bigger, Califiornia Reds!!!
Norman 2002 Petite Sirah, Paso Robles
Cline 2004 Mourvedre, Contra Costa County

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 Wines of the French Languedoc and Provence!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to the Spoooky Announcement for the Spoooky Halloween Tasting at the Spoooky Wine Shop of Spoooky Carpe Vinum! This Spoooky Halloween tasting will be sooo spooooky, that it’ll be practically spooooooky! So what do we have in store for us this time around on this most spoooky holiday? Wiiiine! Mwahahahaha! (Enter clap of thunder and eerie Scooby Doo sound effects.)

Okay, that’s about as spooky as it gets, as we are technically about 5 days out from Halloween. The spookiest things about this holiday, anymore, are the thoughts of all the highly-caloric candies that will be tempting us, and the fact that while the kids are out trickertreating, the retail stores are already setting up artificial evergreens covered with sparkly ornaments. That’s right. It’s that other holiday just around the corner. I’m trying not to think about it either.

So what is a spoooky wine tasting, anyway? Well, really . . . it’s an opportunity to create a tasting just for fun, rather than the structures of region or grape variety; Some things that just don’t fit into other tastings, oddball labels, blends and such. But for this year, I did my best to find the spoookiest bottles of wine that I could without resorting to that Vampire wine that’s stacked in every store this time of year. And I tell you what, though . . . there aren’t very many spoooky wines out there . . . unless you look at it from the right perspective.

Firstly I have the Norman Zinfandel appropriately named “The Monster” because, hey . . .  what’s a Halloween party without a few monsters? And speaking of monsters, what about clowns? Clowns are scary. Most people I know are afraid of them. And for good reason. They’re not really so spoooky, but more creepy. Thankfully clown wines don’t exist, so I didn’t have to do the world injustice by ordering them, but I did get the Peachy Canyon “Jester Red”. I know, I know. A Jester isn’t exactly a clown, but it’s close enough. A jester is just a clown that’s sober enough to juggle. And to me that’s just a bit more threatening than a regular clown.

Speaking of clowns (and not for very much longer, thankfully) remember that movie Killer Clowns from Outer Space? Wasn’t that great? A friend mentioned that I should feature a tasting of wines-from-outer-space or sci-fi themed wines. To make a long story short, there aren’t that many. But about as close as I could get to “It Came From Outer Space” was a wine from Shooting Star! And to make it spookier, I got their Lemberger! Mwahahaha!

“Aaaah! What’s a Lemberger?” you may ask, frozen with fright. Well . . . It’s a grape. Not really spoooky, but sounds like it could be.

After that we’ve got one of my old favorites, the Shinas Estate Shiraz called “The Guilty”. Is guilt spoooky? Ever see I Know What You Did Last Summer? Actually, I haven’t. Just seen the trailers. It looks like there could be some spoooky guilt going on there. Well, if not, the photo on the bottle looks a little spooooky.

Next we’ve got a wine from Boekenhoutskloof called “The Wolftrap”. How is that spoooky? Well, maybe it’s spoooky to people afraid of wolves. Or traps. Or wolftraps. Or really long unpronounceable names like “Boekenhoutskloof”. Or maybe the spoooky element of that wine is the fact that it is named after a 250-year-old Wolftrap on the Boekenhoutskloof property . . . in an area that has never had any wolves!

Finishing out the lineup, we’ve got Red Head Studio’s Barrel Monkeys Shiraz. What? Monkeys? Everyone loves monkeys, right? Nope. They kinda freak me out. Imagine a monkey with a knife. Who’s the cute little monkey now? See my point? They’re like fecal-flinging little hairy humans. But insane. Speaking of insanity, that brings us to the last spoooky wine of the lineup. It’s Bacio Divino’s Pazzo “Call Me Crazy”. How spoooky is craziness? Ever seen The Shining? Enough said.

Speaking of which, the shop will be closed on Halloween (Tuesday), as I will be up on Mt. Hood at Timberline lodge, where The Shining was filmed, to watch a screening of . . . you guessed it . . . The Shining. Sounds spoooky, yes? Indeed.

What’s not so spoooky, though, is that tomorrow night we’ll be having a bit of live music again. This time it’s bringing back Pete Krebs who is being joined by Tracy Kim. They’ll be here playing at 7:00 to serenade the delicious wine spoookiness!

So Friday, October 27th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Spoooky Halloween Selection!!!
Norman 2004 “The Monster” Zinfandel, Paso Robles, California
Peachy Canyon 2004 “Jester”, Paso Robles, California
Shooting Star 2004 “Blue Franc” Lemberger, Columbia Valley, Washington
Shinas Estate 2003 “The Guilty” Shiraz, Victoria, Australia
Boekenhoutskloof 2004 “The Wolftrap”, Franschoek, South Africa

Spoooooky!!!
Red Head Studio 2004 Barrel Monkeys Shiraz, McLarren Vale, Australia
Bacio Divino 2003 Pazzo “Call Me Crazy”, Napa Valley, California

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 Big California Reds!

M