WINO 101

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to the Carpe Vinum Newsletter of the Week and Tasting Announcement, new and improved with an experimental slightly-larger text! (Online posting notwithstanding). It’s an exciting week, this second week of August, and time for the Carpe Vinum Annual Symposium of German and Austrian Wines! Or at least that’s how I was advertising it. But once I started choosing the wines I was interested in pouring, I realized it wasn’t fair to either Germany or Austria to combine the two wine regions into one tasting. The regions just have different enough wines to each have their own tasting. So this week, rather than Germany and Austria, it’s just Germany. Why Germany first? Well, I drew their names out of a hat and Germany came first. Okay, not really. No hat. Reverse-alphabetical order? Okay, it was random.

Speaking of random, German wines are so totally not random. In fact, the German wine laws are so confusing and fascinating and structured, I figure that’s a good place to start. Well, actually we’ll start with Riesling. To know German wines is to know that the majority of the German production is Riesling, and makes up the majority of German wine exports. Why Riesling? The grape variety can perform under stress, with a minimum of moisture, and is frost resistant. So it does well in colder climates and harsher conditions, both of which Germany possesses, all while showing distinct terroir of the growing regions and is also suitable for long aging. The more Northern wine regions of Germany grow predominantly Riesling and some other white grapes and the Southern districts have a few more reds mixed in. We’ll get to the reds later.

Okay, I heard a few of you roll over when you saw the mention of Riesling. This is a constant battle everyone in the wine industry has to deal with. Over the years there have been many bad and overly sweet, perhaps sugary, probably domestic Rieslings that have tainted the name of this noble varietal. Keep in mind that although Rieslings can have higher-than-normal residual sugar at harvest, vinification reduces this and acid levels balances this out. So although Rieslings may tend to have a touch more sweetness than many white wines, most are vinified dry (“Trocken” in German wines) or otherwise are reasonably balanced.

This leads us to the next confusing subject of the German wine laws and classification system. (I hope to make this easy and painless.) This complex system gives designations to the ripeness of the grapes at harvest as measured by sugar levels. Keep in mind this isn’t the sugar level of the finished wine. The winemaker has control over that, and can vinify them dry. The designations, from regular-harvest to late-harvest are:

Tafelwein (Literally “table wine” – rarely imported)
Qualitatswein or QbA (most widely available)
Kabinett (also widely available)
Spatelese (late-harvest)
Auslese (late-late-harvest)
Beerenauslese (late-late-late-harvest)
Trockenbeerenauslese (late-late-late-late-harvest-and-probably-rotten)
Eiswein (way-late-harvest-and-rotten-and-frozen-and-harvested-by-hand)

In essence, this classification is telling you that the grapes were able to attain a certain ripeness. Generally, and what they’re getting at with this, the higher the sugar level indicates more ripeness. With more ripeness you have more flavor. In theory. The first five categories make dry to off-dry wines, for the most part. Auslese could be pushed into the dessert-wine zone. And the last three make dessert wines, considering the sugar levels are so high at harvest that the fermentation halts before all the sugar is gone. Also, the last three are most-likely infected with the noble rot (botrytis cinerea or, in German, Edelfaule), partially or wholly raisinated, and in the case of the Eiswein, frozen. Also, also, they are picked by hand, and thusly, terribly expensive.

Whew. That wasn’t so bad, was it? It seems so structured and German, doesn’t it? At any rate, it makes more of an interesting tasting to try these different designations together to see what they might mean in practice. So I grabbed Rieslings in the Qba, Spatlese and Auslese categories. I could have run the full gamut, but that would be missing out on a lot more that Germany has to offer. German reds!

There aren’t a lot of reds grown in the region, and the ones that are tend to be consumed within Germany. The main red varietal in Germany is the Pinot Noir. I think we all know that varietal, by now. But considering its popularity everywhere, and scarcity over there, we don’t see a lot of it coming to this country. There are a number of other red varieties, too numerous to mention them all, and also scarcely grown. I found one of these oddball wines, a Dornfelder, which was apparently made from a grape engineered to withstand Germany’s harsher and colder climate, yet still produces a firm, tannic wine.

Also, we’ve got a Gewurztraminer! For those of you who just rolled over at the sound of that, go back and see the first comments about Riesling.

Austria, you get your own tasting next month. California’s Governor would be proud.

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

Germany!!!
Valkenberg 2005 Gewurztraminer, Pfalz
Schloss Wallhausen 2005 Two Princes Riesling QbA, Nahe
Weingut Ackermann 2005 Riesling Spatlese Zeltinger Schlossberg, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer
Villa Wolf 2006 Rose de Pinot Noir, Pfalz
Wachtenbeurg Winzer 2005 Dornfelder, Pfalz

More Germany!!!
Schloss Saarstein 1999 Serriger Riesling Auslese, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer
Weinhaus Heger 2005 Pinot Noir, Baden

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.

Hope to see you here!

Seize the Wine!

(See how I didn’t make any cracks about Kraftwerk or David Hasselhoff? Whoops. Except for this. Dang!)

Next Friday tasting is French Alsace!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to the Newsletter for the Announcement for the Tasting for the Friday that is August 3rd for the Wine shop that is Carpe Vinum! August 3rd is an important day. In Kentucky, it’s Watermelon Day! So for all of our Kentucky readers, happy Watermelon Day! In Venezuela, it’s Flag Day! So for all of our Venezuelan readers, happy Flag Day! It’s also the tasting that is the closest to the day that is the smack-dab-middle-of-summer, which is Monday. But for everyone else, it’s a tasting of seven fine wines from Northeast Italy!

“Northeast Italy,” you may ask, “Isn’t that kinda vague? Couldn’t you be more specific?”

“No.” I may reply, then I may correct myself by saying “Yes. No. Wait. One question at a time. Ack.”

So, yes. Northeast Italy as a region encompasses a lot of area. But the specific regions within are smaller, and sometimes it’s better to lump them all together for a better feel of the regional styles. Also, let’s face it: It’s three days from the smack-dab-middle-of-summer, and it’s hot. It’s too hot to be thinking about red wines. A crisp white wine is where it’s at. And when I’m thinking Italy, and when I’m thinking white wine, my gaze goes Northeast. Well, not Northeast, like gazing thoughtlessly out the window in a midsummer night’s daydream. I look to the Northeast of Italy. We’re talking specifically about Friuli, Trentino-Alto Adige, and Veneto: Makers of some of the finest white wines in the world.

First we’ve got Friuli. It’s the region the Easternmost of our pre-drawn borders of Northeastern Italy. Well, that is to say that’s it’s the Easternmost point of Italy itself. Friuli borders both Austria and Slovenia and although the winemaking styles themselves may not be directly affected by the Historic Slavic and Germanic influence, everything else that defines the style most likely have. Like the people and the cuisine. There are a great variety of tasty whites to be had here, ranging from traditional varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris (Grigio), Gewurztraminer, and so on, it’s the native grapes that capture my attention. Grapes like Ribolla Giala and Tocai Friuliano. There are some reds in the area: Cabernets, Merlots, and some decent Cab Francs. Perhaps they’re not spectacular but we’ll argue that on another day. When it isn’t so hot.

Next we’ve got Trentino-Alto Adige. The region, as one could assume by the presence of a hyphen, is actually two separate regions. They’re always lumped together in all the books and magazines and by all the “professionals”, probably much to the annoyance of the Trentinians and Adigeans. (I’m not sure if that’s what they’re really called. Probably not. I’m making it up.) The two regions together do make up what seems to be a gateway between the Mediterranean countries and the rest of Europe. In fact, Alto Adige was a part of Austria up until the end of World War I which, technically, wasn’t that long ago. Anyway, to cut the History lesson short, there’s a lot of Austrian influence in the wines from the region. The wines have also been overshadowed by the Friulian wines in the export markets, so there aren’t a lot of them found around here.

Finally, we have the Veneto, the home of some of the most intriguing wines in Italy. There’s the Prosecco, my favorite variety of sparkling wine. There’s Amarone, one of the world’s most unique reds, made with raisinated grapes. There’s the Valpolicella, made in numerous different styles, from a Beaujolais-like style to a concentrated desserty style, with a few stops in-between. And there’s the Soave, which is one of the best white wines in the world, and one of my favorites.

Tomorrow we’ve got three whites, two reds, a rose and a rose sparkling Prosecco. The rose sparkling Prosecco is somewhat of an oddity, and I’m one of very few people in town to get it. I’ve got a few bottles left. I might be able to get a few more, but there’s no guarantee on that. Ooh, and it’s tasty too. Also note there’s an Amarone in there! They’re not cheap, that’s why I’m doing it! Y’know . . . so we can all taste it, at least.

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

Friuli, Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto!!!
Trevisiol NV Prosecco Rose, Veneto
Dorigo 2006 Ribolla Giala, Friuli
Marco Felluga 2005 Molamatta (Tocai Friuliano, Ribolla Gialla, Pinot Bianco)
Alois Lageder 2006 Lagrein Rose, Alto Adige
Tommao Bussola 2005 Valpolicella, Veneto

Okay . . . Just Veneto Here!!!
Inama 2005 Soave du Lot, Veneto
Corte Giara 2001 Amarone, Veneto

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 Germany and Austria!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to the next edition in the Better Know a Wine Series, the weekly foray into the world of wine with the Carpe Vinum Summer Sipping and Sampling Spectacular and the Super S– . .. uh . . . Tasting and Newsletter . . . uh . . .Thing! Okay, that wasn’t very well thought out. But you know what is? This week’s tasting: Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier! These are three grape varieties I’ve been keeping my eye on for a while, and they constitute, either alone or in varying blends of each other, some of my favorite white wines. I’ve been planning on this tasting for well over a year now, and so the fruits of my labors have come into being, or fruition as it were. Even if the fruits of my labors include only thinking about the tasting. Hey, thinking is hard work! At least I think it is.

So what brings us to these three wonderful grapes? Well, it all starts in the French Rhone. All three grapes are grown in both the North and the South Rhone. Viognier stands alone in the Northern districts of Condrieu and Chateau Grillet, while Marsanne and Roussanne appear together in Crozes-Hermiatge, Hermitage and Saint-Joseph. And, of course they all appear together in the Southern Rhone Cotes du Rhones and Chateauneuf du Pape, often blended with other grapes. It’s like the three are like a trio of musicians, like the Dixie Chicks, only without all that annoying country music. (Note: I could have said they were like Wilson Phillips, but that’s a pretty outdated reference any more, isn’t it?) So here are these three, the three sisters of the Rhone. Let’s meet them a bit closer.

Viognier! She’s the most dominant of the three, striking out on her own at an early age, and performs solo quite often, although her producers often misrepresent her art. That is to say, there are quite a few excellent single-varietal Viogniers out there, but one must tread lightly, because there are quite a few that have been mishandled, over-ripened, over-oaked, over-fermented and often too high in sugar, acid or alcohol. But considering the Viognier was almost an extinct variety in the 1960s (with less than 35 acres planted at that time), you could still say that the grape is relatively new everywhere it’s grown, and perhaps many growers still need to figure out how to handle it. Produced well, and it makes a beautiful and aromatic and full-bodied wine that I often recommend for red wine drinkers who want a white wine, or for Chardonnay-haters.

The next two I can group together: Marsanne and Roussanne! We can consider these girls twins of the Rhone. The grape varieties aren’t exactly related, but they can hardly ever be separated and are often mistaken for each other. The idea is that the two harmonize very well together. Where one lacks acid, the other brings it. Where one lacks fruit, the other has it. When they do appear apart, the results are usually not quite as good as when they’re collaborating. (And somehow these rare solo appearances tend to be more expensive.) Alone, Marsanne can be a bit light, limp and lifeless and Roussanne can be a bit brash, acidic and harsh. But those are rare singular appearances. We may see more in the future, and hopefully with a bit of proper handling, they may yet have their own successful solo careers.

So here is collected some fine examples of these fine French ladies’ works, both from the homefront and while out on tour. There are some of my favorite appearances of Viognier in Washington, a French duet in Languedoc between Marsanne and Viognier, and then one in the Northern Rhone region of Crozes-Hermitage with the obligatory Marsanne and Roussanne. There is an appearance of Roussanne and Marsanne in Sonoma with Cline Cellars as well as a superb performance down under in Australia’s Torbreck in Barossa Valley. Then there’s is the project I’ve been waiting for, which is the collective work at the organic Tablas Creek winery in California, comprised of Viognier, Marsanne AND Roussanne. Also appearing in that one is the Grenache Blanc, also from the Rhone. I guess someone has to play drums.

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

Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier!!!
Zerba 2005 Viognier, Columbia Valley, Washington
Cline 2005 Marsanne/Roussanne, Sonoma County, California
Grange de Roquette 2005 Marsanne/Viognier, Vin de Pays d’Oc, France
Domaine des Martinelles 2005 Crozes-Hermitage, Northern Rhone, France
Tablas Creek 2005 Cotes de Tablas White, Paso Robles

The Three Sisters of the Rhone!!!
K Vintners 2006 Viognier, Columbia Valley, Washington
Torbreck 2006 Rousanne/Marsanne, Barossa, Australia

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 Northeastern Italy: Friuli, Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to the next installment of the Carpe Vinum Weekly (Yes, Weekly) Newsletter and Tasting Announcement That Justifies Its Existence! I hope the newsletter finds you all in good health and enjoying the alternatingly soggy and moody and sunny and hot summer. Actually, I hope this newsletter finds you at all! As you all know we’ve been testing a new Newsletter system, and there have been a few bugs to squash. Also, testing the system has proven difficult considering if someone doesn’t get the email, they can’t really respond to the newsletter they didn’t get to tell me that it wasn’t there. Even though all this is fairly intangible to begin with, that would make it even more so. Ugh, and writing about it is boring! What’s not boring? The tasting this week: It’s the Wines of Washington!

Ah, Washington. It’s the land just to the North, and one of my favorite subjects. Well, not Washington itself, but its wines. Over the past few years we’ve seen the Washington empire rising. Sure they’ve been growing grapes there since Captain Vancouver stepped ashore and said, “Let this land be the ever-giving of the grape and the free flowing of the red wines, and the white wines, and someone had better name two separate West Coast cities after myself.” And Lo-and-behold, there were grapes and feasting and free-flowing wine and two cities of Vancouver. Okay. It didn’t exaclty go down like that. There is one truth in there, though, that Vancouver was the location of the first vines planted in Washington. I’m afraid there aren’t any grapes grown there anymore. Hm . . . actually I think I’d be a bit more afraid if there were grapes grown in Vancouver.

As far as Washington wine is concerned, there is a vast variety of vineyards, grape varieties and wineries popping up all over the state. Every time I turn around it seems the number of wineries doubles. The mass of what is produced comes from the Columbia Valley, the agricultural area that follows the Columbia River through the Washington countryside. And the river is long, so that pretty-much covers the whole state. One feature of what’s going on in the Washington wine scene is the fact that it’s still a relatively young industry in the state, so there is still a lot of experimentation going on. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot have been successfully grown there for years, as well as many plantings of Syrah now coming into fruition. But the variety doesn’t stop there, it just takes off. And that’s what I like. Lots of variety.

That’s what we have here tomorrow. It’s a grand variety of single-variety wines from the Yakima and Columbia Valleys. There are three white wines: Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and, one of my favorites, the lovely Semillon. Then there are 4 reds: A Cabernet Franc, a Grenache, and two different red blends, the Sheridan Vineyards’ Kamiakin and Basel Cellars’ Claret.

As far as the newsletter, wish me luck in getting it to you! Of course, without already receiving the newsletter, how are you to know to be wishing me luck in getting this to you to ask you to wish me luck? See? That’s why I hate movies that involve time travel!

So Friday, July 20th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Washington!!!
Willow Crest 2006 Pinot Gris, Yakima Valley
Fidelitas 2005 Semillon, Columbia Valley
Woodinville 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Columbia Valley
Sheridan Vineyards 2005 Kamiakin, Yakima Valley
Basel Cellars 2004 Claret, Columbia Valley

Washington!!! Washington!!!
McCrea 2004 Grenache, Columbia Valley
Tamarack Cellars 2005 Cabernet Franc, Columbia Valley

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 Marsanne, Rousanne and Viognier!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome again to the Mostly Weekly But Still Weekly Carpe Vinum Newsletter of Purported Reliability and the Friday Tasting of Super Reliability and Reliably-Good . . . ness . . . or something. Welcome back! Remember that time about two weeks ago when I had server problems and I said that the mail server would be better and more reliable than ever? Well, there are a few philosophies that can describe this situation: “It’s always darkest before dawn” or “You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs”. You can take your pick. Also, and a way around any old clichés, is the new “A technologically inept wine guy blew up the server” philosophy that’s catching on everywhere.

We’re not sure what happened but it’s got something to do with spam filters, confused servers, bouncing addresses, untied shoelaces, ones and zeroes, and so on. To make a long story short, about 80% of you didn’t get the newsletter last week. Sorry ’bout that. We’re working on it. If you get this, I guess we got it fixed. Whoo! So anyway, back to wine. This week we’re tasting the fine wines of the French Rhone! Also, considering the sweltering heat, I thought white wine might be in order. I’d never done a complete “White Rhone” tasting before, although I had featured quite a few Rhone whites in tastings past, and the results have always been spectacular and the wines tremendously popular.

So the French Rhone! If most of you are familiar with what we do here at Carpe Vinum, you know I love the Rhone wines. I can seriously say it’s my favorite region in France. The wines are robust and fun, yet they can be austere and complicated, and there are still a lot of values there to be had. Stylistically, there is a split between the North and the South Rhone, creating different regional styles. The North makes their red wines predominantly with the Syrah grape. In fact, Northern Rhone is the source from where everyone else in the world got their Syrah vines, although the style of Syrah is totally different than anywhere else. The Southern Rhone is a different story as most of their wines are based on blends of different grapes, the roster of which is very long but is dominated by Grenache Noir, Mourvedre, Cinsault, and Carignane. But that’s for the reds. This week we’re talking about the whites!

The whites of the region also tend to be spilt by the North and South Rhone. In the North the best known white grape is Viognier. We know it. We love it. And the popularity of it is ever increasing. Viognier is the grape that makes up the most prestigious (and dare I say overpriced) regions of Condrieu and Chateau Grillet and it is often blended into the red wines of the region. The other two major players in the region are the Marsanne and Rousanne. Marsanne and Rousanne almost always appear together in the region’s white wines, and also tend to be blended into the region’s reds. There is another grape, Clairette, which mostly appears in an obscure regional sparkling wine that I’ve never seen and probably doesn’t really warrant this mention.

The whites of the Southern Rhone share the same grapes with the North, including the Clairette, as well as a few more major players. In the same way as the reds, the whites tend to be blended from multiple varieties, the most important being the Viognier, Marsanne, Rousanne and Clairette, plus the powerhouse of the Southern Rhone, Grenache Blanc. What is a Grenache Blanc? In the same way Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris are related to Pinot Noir, through mutations or cloning or some botanical mojo, Grenache Blanc is related to Grenache Noir, and shares many of the same characteristics. Except it’s white. Hence the “blanc” versus the “noir”.

So there we have it! It’s the whites of the French Rhone! I’ve picked out a selection of Rhone whites giving representation throughout the region, including the quintessential Chateauneuf du Pape blanc. I took an extra-long time trying to track down the grape variety makeup of each wine here just for extra-added information. And, well, for me, fun. All except for one of these wines. It’s the first wine here, under Kermit Lynch’s personal label. I know it’s made for him by Domaine de Durban, but could not find any further information about it. So as the mystery wine, perhaps we can compare it to the others and GUESS what’s in it!

So Friday, July 13th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Rhone, Blanc!!!
Kermit Lynch 2005 Vin de Table de Vaucluse (100% Mystery)
Domaine Trignon 2005 Cotes du Rhone Blanc (50% Viognier, 50% Rousanne)
Domaine Brusset 2005 “Les Travers” Cairanne Blanc, (Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Rousanne, Marsanne, Viognier)
Domaine J.P. Lafond 2005 Lirac Blanc (60% Grenache Blanc, 20% Viognier)
Domaine des Martinelles 2005 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc (95% Marsanne, 5% Rousanne)

Rhone, Rhone, Blanc Blanc!!!
Philippe Faury 2004 Saint-Joseph Blanc (80% Marsanne, 20% Rousanne)
Domaine Paul Autard 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc (34% Grenache Blanc, 33% Clairette, 33% Rousanne)

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!

Happy Thursday! Also, Happy 5th of July! I hope the dawning of this fine day found all of you with the same number of digits as the dawning of the fine day that was yesterday, our nation’s birthday of sorts. If you can still count to 10, and that was the number you were able to count to yesterday, then it’s all good. For the purposes of today, though, you only need to count to seven! Seven delicious wines from Tuscany with the Carpe Vinum’s Super Summer Sipping Symposium and Terrific Tuscan Taste-O-Rama!

So what’s the deal with these wines? In Tuscany, Sangiovese is the king of the red wines. Heck, in Italy it’s the king of most of the red wines, being the most widely planted red variety. If you’re unfamiliar with the variety, it’s a hearty red variety that makes a medium to full-bodied red, fairly dry, often with cherry and gamey and meaty characteristics. If it still doesn’t sound familiar, then you’d surely recognize the name “Chianti” which is the most famous of wine districts in Tuscany. Chianti has a number of subappellations, but the most important to note are “Chianti” (naturally) and “Chianti Classico”. By Italian wine laws Chianti is made with at least 75% Sangiovese and a Chianti Classico is made with 100% Sangiovese. There is not, unfortunately, any Italian wine law against making awful wine, which Chianti does well. Over the years, I’ve had so much bad Chianti that I wondered if it was something I was doing wrong. And I was doing something wrong. I was buying bad Chianti. I shop much more carefully now and I’m here to ensure you’re doing the same.

Chianti is not the only notable wine district in Tuscany, although there are so many wine regions within Tuscany that it would take a lifetime to research them all. Okay, well, there’s 40 districts, but there are probably a billion wineries making a billion wines each, therefore it would take a lifetime to research them. We’ll do the shorter tour. The wine held in the highest esteem in Tuscany is the Brunello di Montalcino, a wine made with a local clone of Sangiovese called “Brunello”. These are powerful and long-lived wines, sometimes best after 15 or more years of cellaring. I think most of us don’t want to wait that long, or can’t afford the outrageous prices these things cost, so for the rest of us there is the Rosso di Montalcino. Also, not far from Montalcino is the other star of the region, the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. I like the wines from this region a great deal, made sweeter by the fact that it’s just fun to repeat the name of the district over and over again. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano! That’s 12 syllables of wine-y goodness.

Now a word about a term you may have heard before: Super Tuscan. This is a term for wines that follow a wine law that was created to get Italy in line with the rest of Europe’s wine trade. The designation is a middle step between the certified designation (DOC and DOCG) and the simple table wine (VdT). These are the IGT (Indicazione Geographica Tipica) wines, and they give winemakers a bit more freedom to create wines using different other-European grape varieties, usually Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It’s also given some winemakers the freedom to create other Sangiovese-based wines outside the designated areas. Are they super? They are generally really good, but they’re only “super” if you attach a little cape to the bottle and fly it around the room singing “Super Tuscan!”. People would think you’re a bit nutty, though.

So we’ve got 2 white wines and 5 red wines, including a GOOD Chianti Classico, a couple Super Tuscans, a Rosso di Montalcino and a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. I also have a nice, air-conditioned space. I just thought I might mention that. Y’know . . . because it’s a bit toasty out there.

So Friday, July 6th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Tuscany!!!
Le Rote 2004 Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Tenuta Ponte 2005 Falanghina IGT
Villa Trasqua 2004 Chianti Classico
Perazzeta 2004 Rita IGT (Sangiovese)
Antonio Sanguinetti 2004 Nessun Dorma IGT (Sangiovese, Merlot, Syrah)

Best of the Best!!!
Avignonesi 2004 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Podere Salicutti 2004 Rosso di Montalcino

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!

Hey! It’s that time again! Welcome to the First Annual Carpe Vinum Summer Sparkler Spectacular! That’s right! I figured it’s about time to bring out the bubblies some time other than around the end-of-year holidays. And why? Because summer is hot! Sparklers are cold and fizzy! There’s nothing better on a hot day than a nice, cold, frothy sparkling wine. I mean . . . uh . . .you know with the . . . uh, really hot June we’ve been having. Um . . . the horrid heat . . . uh . . . relentlessly . . . ummm. Sigh. You know I have to plan these things at least a month out, right? Last year by this time we’ve already had 10 days over 80 degrees, 6 days over 90 degrees, and 4 days over 100 degrees. It’s not that I wanted super-hot weather . . . I just kinda figured . . . y’know.

Okay, new plan! New angle!

Welcome again to the First Annual Carpe Vinum FOURTH OF JULY Summer Sparkler Spectacular! That’s right! Just around the corner is the best holiday of the year for all us U.S.A.-ers. Just think that 231 years ago our American forefathers had defeated their oppressors and signed the Declaration of Independence. You know what kind of wine they drank in celebration? That’s right! Madeira! What . . ? You were expecting them to be drinking the bubblies too? Nah. Understand that Madeira was all the rage at that time. But that’s another story. We’re talking about the Wines that WE celebrate with. Sparkling wines: Champagne! Prosecco! Cava! Cremant! And to name pretty-much the rest of them, Sparkling Wines! Every wine growing region of the world seems to have their own style of sparkler.

Speaking of sparklers, and of the Fourth of July, didn’t the sparklers seem like the least-lame “legal” firework? I mean there were those little paper comets that exploded when you threw them on the sidewalk. Those were cool for about the first dozen, after which there were only three options: 1) throw the rest at the ankles of friends, family, and pets. 2) Try to build a larger explosion by unwrapping the rest and making a “super” snapper. (Doesn’t work. Tried it.). 3) Grab the rest in your hand, blow out the sawdust, and violently throw them all at once. Okay, okay. There was also the fourth option of dumping them all out and stomping on them.

Other than that, there were the snakes. Super lame. I mean, they never lit right, always broke apart so you couldn’t carry around your new “snake” friend, smelled nasty and left that black burn ring on the sidewalk for the rest of the year. They should just put one in the box, since nobody lights more than that. After that there’s the tiny-explosion-situated-in-the-middle-of-a-string firework. You’re excited for the first one, but end up popping the rest all in succession just so you can throw away the box. Oh, yeah. Then there’s all the things that squeal. Those are just annoying and make every dog in the neighborhood totally freak out.

So there we have the sparklers. I don’t think they make them with the dangerous glowing-red-hot wire anymore, but unlike all the other lame “legal” fireworks, they were the only ones that left you a little sad that the whole event was over with . . . until you lit another one. Now, as adults, we can enjoy an even better “legal” firework: The bubbly, sparkly wine! I mean there’s the *POP* and the froth and the “aim away from face and others” warning on it. Crossed with the super-hot (cough) weather we’ve got, and it’s the perfect beverage for the holiday. So keep that in mind next week, that a bubbly wine can make a fine firework in itself for the adult crowd, and can be enjoyed while watching all the kids go through that same ritual of the “legal” fireworks. Then we can all get “lit” ourselves and light of the REAL fireworks we picked up on the reservation just outside of town.

Tomorrow we’ve got representatives from around the world bringing us their delicious and explosive bubblies. We’ve got two different Prosecco, one of them a rose’ Prosecco, a variety I’d never had before and which I believe is in VERY short supply in town. Also, we’ve got a Blanquette de Limoux from Languedoc, my old favorite from New Mexico by the Gruet producer. Also, also, we’ve got the wonderful Spanish Cava, local superstars Argyle and their Blanc de Blanc, and an actual TRUE Champagne by Jose Michel made with all Pinot Meunier!

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

Sssizzling!!! Fffizzling!!!
Adami NV Bosco di Gica Prosecco, Veneto, Italy
Domaine Rosier NV Blanquette de Limoux, Languedoc, France
Bodegas Navarin NV Brut Reserva Cava, Penedes, Spain
Gruet NV Brut, New Mexico
Trevisiol NV Rose Prosecco, Veneto, Italy

Light and Get Away Quickly!!!
Argyle 1999 Blanc de Blanc, Knudsen Valley, Dundee Hills, Oregon
Jose Michel NV Cuvee Pinot Meunier Brut, Champagne, 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 Italy’s Tuscany!!!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to another fine installment of the Carpe Vinum Super-Charged Wine Report and Announcement of Impending Friday Tasting Deliciousositude. Yes, I made that word up, but it means what it says. This week we’re heading to the infamous, delicious, world-renowned, and model for wines everywhere: It’s the French Bourgogne! We know it as Burgundy. Let’s not get it confused with all the other Americanized uses of the word “Burgundy” as a color in paint swatches or a nasty swilling jug-wine that’s better used for marinating tough meat or cleaning brushes (after painting your room a “Burgundy” color). This is the real deal.

Speaking of deal, what’s the big deal on Burgundy? We’ll start with a word. Followed by another word. Two words: Pinot Noir. We’ve been hearing a lot about this grape lately, especially in the wake of a popular independent movie. Everyone in the world seems to be striving for “The Grail”, as people poetically refer to the perfect Pinot Noir. Oregon, California, New Zealand, Tasmania and virtually all wine regions on earth with a temperate enough climate to accommodate the finicky grape are trying their hand at the Pinot Noir. Burgundy is the model to which all these regions aspire. Why so? Maybe it’s hundreds of years of trial and error and good vineyard management. A lot of how wines came to be in Europe were due to what grew well and what performed best. In that sense, although new world Pinot Noir can certainly be fine wines of power and finesse, nowhere does it quite perform like Burgundy. Even in the less expensive versions.

Now let’s get to a third word: Chardonnay. Now, now. I heard you cringe and gag. Don’t worry . . . you’re aren’t the only ones. There certainly has been a backlash lately at the New World Chardonnays that have tarnished the reputation of the grape in the name of banal and overpowering oaking. It’s what some refer to as the “Hot Buttered Board” or what I call the “Cuvee de 2X4″ featuring buttery flavors and loads and loads of wood. Thankfully, there seems to be a shift away from this style, but that has nothing to do with the Chardonnay produced in Burgundy. They’ve been producing the finest in white wines in Burgundy for ages. Although it might not seem like it, the Burgundian white wine style, like its Pinot Noir counterpart, has been the model for Chardonnays worldwide. How it mutated into the monster it became is a mystery to me.

Case-in-point for me is the district of Chablis, where the wines are made from Chardonnay and aged in seasoned oak. Considering that brand-spankin’-new oak is what gives a wine its super-strong woody flavor, seasoned oak lends little to no flavor to the wine, leaving the job all to the fruit and the vine. The story of Chablis as I heard it was that the French government, while building the railway system in France, bypassed the Chablis district entirely. The winemakers in Chablis were enraged about this and boycotted the barrel industry, as importing barrels became too expensive a prospect. In protest, they reused the same barrels for as long as possible. I just remember wondering how that seasoned-oak style morphed into the buttered-oak-bomb we know and loathe today. To cut it short, though, White Burgundy is the real thing, so be not afraid.

So tomorrow we’ve got two white Burgundies, including the aforementioned Chablis and a Pouilly Fuisse, one of the best-known white Burgundies. After that it’s a number of spectacular Pinot Noir-based red wines from around Burgundy, including the districts of Auxey-Duresses and the exquisite Chassagne-Montrachet. I’ve gone a little over my normal price limit to accommodate some of these more prestigious wines, but kept the tasting price the same. What does that mean to you? More bang for the buck, I guess!

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

Bourgogne!!!
Domaine Alain Gautheron 2005 Chablis
Jean Rijckaert 2005 Pouilly-Fuisse
Philippe Colin 2005 Pinot Noir Bourgogne
Domaine Gachot-Monot 2004 Cotes de Nuits Villages
Louis Latour 2005 Marsannay

Bourgogne!!! Bourgogne!!!
Domaine Billard 2004 Les Joncheres, Auxey-Duresses
Bernard Moreau 2004 Vielles Vignes, Chassagne-Montrachet

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 Summer Sparkler Spectacular!!!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

It’s that time of day again! During that time of the week! And that time of the year! It’s time for the Timeless Exercise in Tasting Wine and Reading Newsletters Regarding That Thing for Carpe Vinum! This week we’re heading to another edition of the Spectacular Spanish Series: It’s Spain’s Galicia (and friends)! Why do I say “(and friends)”? Can a specific region really have “friends”? I mean, the inhabitants of the region can have friends. And the governments of the regions can say the other regions are friends. Is that what I mean? No. I’m cheating a bit this week. We’ll get to that later. But the main theme for this week is Galicia, so we’ll start there.

Galicia is the region of Northwest Spain just north of Portugal. It’s also known as “Green Spain”, mainly because everything is green there. Apparently, and as a friend had said, once you leave the Green Spain, everything turns brown. I guess that makes the rest of Spain “Brown Spain”. That doesn’t sound too nice. How about “Non-Green Spain”? Works for me. Let’s move on.

Like most regions of the world, the wine or beverages of whatever regions, have a lot to do with the cuisine of the region as well as whatever can grow naturally there. Some things might be a happy accident, but really when you see that the cuisine of Galicia is mostly seafood and the like, as they are surrounded by water, it only makes sense that they have a great selection of white wines from the region. There are several reds in the area but they are few and far between and really, really hard to find. And expensive.

So how am I cheating? We’ll get to that. Firstly know that we’ve got Galicia relatively covered. The most well-known subregion of Galicia is certainly Rias Baixas and the quintessential white wine Albarino. Apparently there is a small amount of red wine produced there, although I’ve never seen it and have no idea what’s in there. That’s of little consequence considering the Albarino is the most popular wine of the entire Galicia region and accounts for most of the export market. At least as far as I can tell. It would be quite easy to fill out an entire tasting with just the Albarino wines, but that doesn’t give a feel of the region.

After Rias Baixas there are a number of other regions of note: Valdeorras, Ribeira Sacra, Ribeiro and Monterrei and then some Txacolina Basque wine from the other end of Green Spain, near the Pyrenees. Last year when I did the Galicia tasting I found a representative from every one of those regions. Since then it’s been apparent the importing market has been bringing in less of the more obscure wines. Either that or I just can’t find them here in town. Either way I only found one other Galicia-proper wine from Valdeorras and brought back the Basque wine from Itsas Mendi that I poured last year.

So here’s where I gotta cheat a bit. Just over the border from Galicia, I mean literally right on the border, is the region of Bierzo. Technically it’s considered part of Old Castille even though it’s closer to Galicia and is seperated from the rest of Castille by a sizeable chunk of land. Also, they use grapes that are more indicative of reds of Galicia than the Castilian red varieties. So I claim this land in the name of Galicia! Besides, we’ve got to get some red wines in here, somehow.

After that I figured since we’re in Old Castille, we might as well grab a wine from Bierzo’s neighbor Rueda. Then, after doing that, I figured since we’ve gone this far, why don’t we make the premium pours from some premium Spanish regions. That’s right, I’m talking Ribera del Duero and Rioja. After all, Rioja is just barely south of the Basque region from which our first wine comes. Okay . . . so that brings our wine tasting full circle. There is a focus on the Northern part of Spain. I guess that’ll do. At any rate, it guarantees a diverse and delicious tasting!

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

Galicia!!!
Itsas Mendi 2005 Hondarrabi Zuri, Bizkaiko Txacolina
Don Oligario 2005 Albarino, Rias Baixas
Bodegas Godeval 2005 Vina Godeval, Valdeorras
Vina Sila 2005 Naia, Rueda
Bodegas Peique 2005 Joven, Bierzo

Rioja and Ribera del Duero!!!
Artadi 2004 Vinas de Gain Crianza, Rioja
Bodegas Arzuaga 2004 Crianza, Ribera del Duero

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 French Burgundy!

M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to the time that it is, that time being the Time For the Newsletter of the Week Announcing the Tasting of the Week for Carpe Vinum! This week we’re heading down to New Zealand. Way way down to New Zealand. At least that’s what I’ve heard about the trip down there. Anyone who has been there says it’s some obscenely long flight, like 22 hours. That’s just way too long to be in a confined space breathing other peoples’ breathing air. I suppose it’s not too bad if you consider how long it would take in a submarine. No thanks on the submarine ride. But that has nothing to do with why we’re here right now. We’re here for New Zealand wine!

In the “Upcoming Tastings” section of the Carpe Vinum website, I made a crack that I like the New Zealand much better than the old Zealand. Of course, I didn’t really think of “old” Zealand being a place. I just thought maybe New Zealand was founded by some folks with a lot of zeal. Or zealots. But, knowing any place in the New World that has the prefix of “New” usually has a corresponding “original-that” place. Including Zealand. So I had found out that there is a Zealand in Denmark; an island that has part of Denmark’s capital city of Copenhagen on it. However, in finding out information about that, I found that the “New” Zealand is actually named after Seeland in the Netherlands, a name that is Anglicized into “Zealand”. Also, there is a Zealand, (or another New Zealand) in Canada’s New Brunswick (which, then in turn, of course indicates that there is an “old” Brunswick. Sigh.) So I meant no disrespect to the Danes, the Netherlanders, or the Brunswickers when I said I prefer the New Zealand over the Old. But really, until they can muster up some wine of their own, they are all just a geographical footnote for this purpose.

Now, I like doing New Zealand wines this time of year because I can adjust the tasting to fit the weather when it’s cooperating. At the moment, it doesn’t seem to be doing anything. And of the things the weather isn’t currently doing, cooperating is one of them. At any rate, New Zealand is thought by many critics and, more importantly, wine lovers worldwide, to have the finest Sauvignon Blanc in the world. I can agree with this assessment and I would be likely to recommend a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc over any others. Pinot Noir is also a strong category for the country, often being compared with our own Oregonian Pinot Noirs. In fact, there is a close relationship between the winemakers here and there, often trading time on each others’ harvests. It makes sense since our seasons are opposite and can allow a winemaker to work two harvests a year.

So since the weather isn’t really cooperating for much white wine, I thought some more robust reds were in order. New Zealand doesn’t produce a very large volume of the Cabernets, Merlots or Syrahs, and considering most of what they do produce is apparently consumed by the New Zealanders themselves, they’re a bit harder to track them down. But that’s the kind of thing I like to do. So I scoured the wine scene and found some high-powered reds to add some power to the lineup. This is just a spectacular selection and cross-section of New Zealand wine styles. We’re running the full spectrum of a couple dazzling Sauvignon Blancs, a Rose made from Merlot, a critically-acclaimed Pinot Noir, and 3 heartier red blends.

So what’s missing form the lineup? New Zealand Riesling. Overall, they’re just weird. You’d probably thank me if you knew the wines. Although, it’s better to be thanked for doing something right than to be thanked for not doing something wrong, right? Well, in that case you can thank me for these!

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

New Zealand!!!
Omaka Springs 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
Catalina Sounds 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
Sacred Hill 2004 Whitecliff Rose, Hawke’s Bay
Seven Terraces 2005 Pinot Noir, Marlborough
Mills Reef 2004 Merlot-Malbec, Hawke’s Bay

Better than Old Zealand!!!
Craggy Range 2004 Te Kahu Blend (Merlot, Cab Sauvignon, Malbec, Cab Franc), Hawke’s Bay
Hatton Estate 2003 Carson’s Cabernet-Merlot, Hawke’s Bay

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 Spain’s Galicia!

M