WINTER HOURS
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Mon - Wed: 11 - 6
Thurs - Fri: 11 - 8
Sat: 11 - 6
Sun: 12 - 5
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The
shop is starting to look full again and we've scoured around for some
really great new deals. Not surprisingly, many of these are again
coming from Spain so we decided this Friday we should pull the corks on
five terrific new Spanish arrivals and share them with you.
We also have so many different Chardonnay and Chianti
in stock that we decided a sample pack of 4 of our favorites was a
great idea for you to bide your time indoors over the cold days ahead.
But to truly warm you up, don't miss the Ridge Tasting this Saturday as we taste all of the currently available single-vineyard releases from the storied California estate.
Aside
from new wines and this week's tasting, we've got info on a couple new
reservation Backroom Tastings we'll be holding in February, including
the Wine & Chocolate Pairing Class on February 7 which was featured in a nice little column in the February issue of Sunset Magazine.
Hope you can join us for one, some or all of these great opportunities to taste wine.
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FRIDAY NIGHT FLIGHT
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Great New Spanish Values · Friday, February 25 · $10 tasting fee · 4 - 8 pm
 With
the containers of wine starting to get unloaded into the Port of
Portland, we've been seeing an array of new wines and new vintages of
old favorites. The pleasant surprise has been to find a handful
of real gems that still cost less than $10! We'll open some of
these along with a new wine for us from the folks at Barahonda in
Yecla, land of old-vine Monastrell. Join us from 4 - 8PM, come
snack on some marcona almonds, manchego and hearty Spanish reds!
$10 to taste. Drop-in tasting, no reservations required. |
UPCOMING EVENTS · Tastings
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The time is almost here. This Saturday. Bigger. Badder. More Redder Fruit... Ok, Enough.
RIDGE TASTING · NO Reservations Required · 2 - 5PM · Saturday, Jan. 26 · $8 tasting fee
 Be sure to stop in sometime between 2 and 5PM on Saturday so you can taste for yourself why RIDGE holds such a magical place in many winelover's hearts. For our
2nd Annual Ridge Zinfandel tasting, we'll be joined by Tim Edwards of Columbia Distributing who will help us pour
the current Ridge releases including Lytton Springs, Geyserville, Paso
Robles, York Creek and Three Valleys. Don't miss this great chance to
taste all of these Zinfandel-based blends side by side and choose your
favorites for the dinner table. $8 tasting fee. Drop-in Tasting - No Reservations Required. Special Prices on all bottles for anyone tasting This Saturday Only!
BACKROOM TASTINGS · Limited to 14 People · Reservations Required
 Robert Lindquist of QUPE WINERY · Tuesday, Feb. 5 · 6:30pm · $20/person
A
few seats remain for the Qupe tasting. This small Central Coast
California winery has been producing wines for almost 20 years.
They make wines that reflect the spirit of the Rhone Valley with
California climate. We'll taste 3 whites, then compare the 2005
and 2006 regular Syrah, and end with a flight of three single-vineyard
Syrahs. I hope you can join us. Limited to 14 people.
Reservations Required.
WINE & CHOCOLATE with ALMA · Thursday, Feb. 7 · 6:30pm · $25/person
Alma Chocolate
is one of the small artisan chocolatiers we've carried at cork since
opening, and the creative force behind the confections is owner Sarah Hart.
She and I have talked about doing a chocolate and wine pairing class
but never seemed to find the time. Until now! Join us for
the fun class as Sarah talks about how she comes up with the
interesting flavors for her truffles - like Habanero Caramel, White
Chocolate with Passion Fruit, Smoked Paprika, Sesame Cardamom Crunch
and more. I'll try to rise to the occassion and match these
chocolates with a wine that highlights the flavors. We'll also
talk about basics of wine and chocolate pairings and how milk
chocolates work with some wines while dark bittersweet chocolate do
better with others. Class limited to 14 people. Email for
reservations.
Rediscovering Napa Valley · Thurs, Feb. 21 · 6:30pm · $25/person
Fresh
from a trip to Napa and Sonoma Counties, Sara and I will lead a
discussion of what we learned. This first week will focus on Napa
Valley and we will taste through a selection of Chardonnay, Cabernet
and some standout other varietals that will highlight what our renewed
focus on California has unearthed.
Sonoma Selections · Thurs, Feb. 28 · 6:30pm · $25/person
Sara
will share her experiences from the trip, including a first-hand look
at one Russian River producer we look forward to featuring in the
coming year and a tasting of Russian River Pinot Noir contrasted
against Dry Creek Zinfandel. A Syrah will be in the mix that just
might surprise you. Darryl will share updates of what some of our
favorite producers in the area have been up to this past year.
Email darryl@corkwineshop.com
if you'd like to sign up for any of the above reservation events.
Include a phone number so we can call you back to get a credit card for
confirmation. You will receive an email or telephone to confirm space
is available and to hold your reservation.
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FOUR PACKS HAVE ARRIVED
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We
told you this would be the year of CHANGE. So we've tossed out
the 6-pack, it's so 2007. Now we have a 4-pack for you
instead! You still save almost 10% on these wines, but with less
wines in the box, that means you'll have to return to cork more quickly
to refill.
For our first 4-pack offering of the year, we've
chosen two different categories of wine - Chardonnay and Chianti.
Read on for details:
CHARDONNAY 4-PACK · $66 (take an additional 5% off for cork club members)
Having
professed we will dive headfirst into California wines this year, it
seemed a natural starting point to try and find Chardonnay that we
actually like to drink. It didn't take long. These four
wines are all gems and span a nice range of price points as well, from
$9 to about $30. 3 are from California, while 1 is a stunning
surprise in richness and texture from the Columbia Gorge made by
Oregon's own Cameron Winery. Grab a 4-pack while they last and
reintroduce yourself to an often overlooked grape that can be quite
lovely when made with restraint by the hand of the winemaker.
CHIANTI 4-PACK · $75 (take an additional 5% off for cork club members)
As
a taster on the Oregonian's wine panel for the new MIX Magazine, I had
the chance to blind taste about 20 Chianti back in the fall for the
current issue's feature. We unanimously chose the 2003 D'Albola
Chianti Classico as the best wine in the tasting. Which made me
realize I'd never heard of this producer and that got me wondering how
many other tasty Chianti's are out there that I have been
overlooking. So a few months later, we seem to be overflowing
with choices. Try these four and see for yourself that 2003 was a
very enjoyable vintage for Chianti, 2004 has austerity and balance and
2006 is going to be brilliant.
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 Last
but certainly not least - 2, yes two, new chocolate bars have arrived
from the good folks at Theo in Seattle. And from the sounds of
the wrapper being torn off the new Fig, Fennel & Almond bar by
Morgan as she ripped the box open with her bare hands, you better get
down here soon to taste these or they'll be all gone!
Cheers,
Darryl
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