Wine Tasting, Friday, Oct. 21st

Wine Tasting

Friday, October 21^st

3:30 – 7:30pm

The Wines

The Whites:

Giocato Pinot Grigio 2009 (Primorska, Slovenia) $12.99 - We love this! Fresh, bright, lively and fun to drink! This is crisp and fresh with beautiful tropical fruit and a light kiss of lime/lemon. Great for just sipping! PERFECT label for Halloween! Made by CULT Winemaker Aleks Simcic, perhaps Eastern Europe’s best! Italian – “Giocare” – to play; gamble; deceive; trick. Food pairing – lobster, seafood, lighter chicken dishes, salads. Organic Farming.

Marchetti Verdicchio Dei Castelli di Jesi Classico 2009 (Marche, Italy) $13.99 - This is one of the best Mediterranean whites under $15 I've ever tasted! Wonderful citrus & mineral flavors & aromas. This also has notes of green apples & tropical fruits. Vibrant acidity and loads of minerality throughout the wine. Has a little nuttiness (almonds?) on the finish. Long, crisp finish! Maurizio Marchetti, the winemaker, only uses the best grapes (most years he gets no more than 1/2 a bottle from a single vine). 900 cases made. Organic Farming. Food pairing - seafood, shellfish, swordfish, etc. Great with poultry.

Betts and Scholl Chardonnay 2009 (California) $14.99 – Richard Betts is a master sommelier. He believes that “wine should be a grocery, not a luxury.” So, he created a set of wines that are high quality, but priced well below $20. He is a négociant – buying wines from outstanding wineries and blending it to create his wines. The 2009 Chardonnay is sourced from the cool and crisp Monterey area. This wine has a nice balance between the over-oaked style and the austere stainless steel style. This is intense, with nice notes of nectarines and peaches. Clean, rich finish.

The Reds:

Pietra Santa Winery Sacred Stone Master’s Red Blend Cask #6 (California) $10.99 – Delicious. Smooth! Rich! Soft! Juicy! Loads of ripe plums and cherries. Dark and lush! Crisp acidity and a rich, soft finish! Blend of Merlot, Sangiovese, Zinfandel and Dolcetto. 18,088 cases made. 24 months in French and American oak. Food pairing – great wine for a party – your guests will thank you for serving this! Drinks well with or without food. Grilled foods! Barbecue. Pizza. Pasta. Poultry. Mushrooms. Etc.

Palamà "Arcangelo" Primitivo IGT 2009 (Puglia, Italy) Reg. $17.99, Sale $14.99 - This is a delicious, smooth, rich red! The winery's goal is to make great everyday wines.....bright, fresh fruit.....power....fun....taste! They are succeeding! Named for the winemaker's father, Arcangelo. The grape is Primitivo. In the USA, we know the grape as Zinfandel. Primitivo and Zinfandel are NOT the same style of wine. This estate is on a tiny speck of land in Puglia. Food pairing - crostini with olive tapenade, steak, venison. Organic & Sustainable Farming.

Tre Donne Joan d’Arc 2008 (Italy) Reg. $24.99, Sale $21.99 - Antonella, Rosanna and Daniela Lequio are 3 sisters who run this wonderful Piedmontese winery. They took over the running of the winery from their somewhat chauvinistic father who wasn't that sure about women as winemakers and he had no son! Turns out the 3 sisters are great at this! This is a great blend from Piedmont that definitely expresses the phrase, "the sum is greater than the parts," and the parts are pretty darn good! It's a blend of mostly Barbera and Pinot Noir with 20% Dolcetto with 10% Friesa, a native Langhe white wine. The Friesa adds freshness and a zippy acidity as well as nice floral aromas (frequently, Châteauneuf-du-Pape producers add white wine to the red blends). The tannins are soft and the blend adds a lot of complexity to the wine! Aromas and flavors of dark cherries, baking spices, roses, peaches, almonds and more. It has a really smooth and soft texture. Notes of mocha on the finish. Organic & Sustainable Farming.

Podere Ciona Sangiovese Montegrossoli 2008 (Italy) Reg. $24.99, Sale $14.99 – We’ve gotten to know winemaker Lorenzo Gatteschi over the years with his work with a fabulous importing company, Small Vineyards. This is his wine. I love his wines (we also carry his Chianti Classico Riserva – the family on makes 800 cases of wine total!). This has nice red fruit, soft tannins…soft, subtle dusty tannins…classic Sangiovese from the heart of the Chianti Classico area! We first tasted this at a small tasting with Lorenzo in September. This is a wonderful wine and a great value. Sustainable farming. Food pairing - meats, roasts, mushrooms, pasta dishes.

Summers Charbono 2007 (California) Reg. $25.99, Sale $19.99 – Only 85 acres of Charbono are planted in California. Summers has most of it. Charbono is a rare grape. It is believed that it comes from the southeastern France or Piedmont in Italy. This is an estate-grown wine. Wonderful aromas of dusty flowers, raspberries and blueberries This is ripe and full-bodied. Aged 11 months in 80% American and 20% French oak (50% new). Food pairing – rack of lamb, grilled steak.

Truchard Zinfandel 2008 (California) $27.99 – This is the only Napa Valley Zin to come from only Carneros fruit. This is a ripe, jammy Zin with aromas of cherries, cranberries, cassis, cedar and mint. The flavors are rich and full – plums, wild berries and vanilla. Good acidty. Only 4 acres of vineyards. The vines are 11-18 years. 60% French and 40% American oak (35% new). 735 cases made.