WINTER HOURS
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Mon - Wed: 11 - 6
Thurs - Fri: 11 - 8
Sat: 11 - 6
Sun: 12 - 5
!!Alert!!
Closed
MONDAY
FEB. 4
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Ah,
winter. Seems we're getting a good dose of cold this year in
Portland and nothing warms you up like a hearty glass of red
wine. Take Chianti, for example. Last week we mentioned our
Chianti 4-Pack sampler to show off some of our current favorites.
This week, Mix Magazine hit the newsstand with the Mix Panel review of
Chianti, which includes the D'Albola, Nozzole and Felsina examples we
currently carry in the shop. I hope you all had a chance to catch
the clever article in Mix written by Christina Melander titled Knowing what the wine pros know. Of course, you already knew a lot of this, because you're clever enough to read my emails weekly, right? :-)
So
what's in store for this chilly week? Well, how about Desert
Island Wines. Not so much as in a top 5 list of what you'd take on a
dessert island, a la Rolling Stone, but more as in LOST premieres
Season 4 this week and we want to celebrate! So we will be
tasting Snowden's Lost Vineyard Cabernet this Friday night, along with 2 others that could mysteriously disappear from the shelves after you get to taste them!
A
new tasting has been added to the events calendar below. If you
don't see an upcoming event on the list, that usually means the event
is already sold out. But you can always call the shop to put your
name on the waiting list.
NOTE: WE WILL BE CLOSED MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4
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FRIDAY NIGHT FLIGHT
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The LOST Tasting · Friday, February 1 · $10 tasting fee · 4 - 8 pm
 On
Thursday, January 31, LOST premieres with its much anticipated 4th
Season. Somehow this must have something to do with wine tasting,
so we've found 3 terrific recent arrivals at the shop which have a
LOST-like theme to taste on Friday night. Wines with names like Spellbound, Technicolor Bat and the most appropo, the Lost Vineyard Cabernet from Snowden.
Join us from 4 - 8PM for a Flight of 3 wines with a Lost theme that
won't crash on their way down. $10 tasting fee, snacks included!
Drop-in tasting, no reservations required.
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UPCOMING EVENTS · Tastings
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 Robert Lindquist of QUPE WINERY · Tuesday, Feb. 5 · 6:30pm · $20/person
A few seats still
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!
NEW DOMAINE ROUGE-BLEU & BANNERET TASTING · Thurs, Feb. 13 · 5 - 7pm · $12 to taste
Special Guests Jean Marc and Kristin Espinasse will be at cork
to show off wines from their new project, Rouge-Bleu. Since Jean
Marc is a nephew of the Banneret family, we thought it would be great
to also pour the current vintage of Chateauneuf du Pape from Banneret.
Jean Marc has worked in the wine business since childhood and recently
started this new Rhone wine project and the wines are soon to arrive in
Portland. Kristin writes the very popular blog, A French Word a Day and is the author of the book Words in a a French Life. Together they will charm you with tales of French country living and their lovely wines. Open tasting, no reservations required. Drop in anytime between 5 and 7pm. Tasting fee $12.
REDISCOVERING NAPA VALLEY - A Backroom Tasting · 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. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED!
SONOMA SELECTIONS - A Backroom Tasting · 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. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED!
Email info@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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SARA'S CORNER
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As
Darryl and I tasted our way through Sonoma and a small part of Napa
last week, I swiftly learned that many California wines are far more
interesting and dynamic than I had previously believed. One of
the many highlights of our recent trip was visiting small producers in
Dry Creek, namely Mick Unti at Unti Vineyards.
2005 UNTI Grenache · $34.50/bottle ($31.05 for cork club members)
Mick
showed us around the cellar, where we tasted through some of the 2007
wines out of barrel, and a whole line up of their current releases in
bottle. While many of the wines sparked my interest, it was the
Grenache that I walked away being truly impressed by. The current
Grenache offering has dual complexity, with New World California on the
front palate, featuring plums and rich, dark fruits, then bing cherry
and raspberry flavors at the middle palate with smoky, peppery notes on
the finish which evoke the Southern Rhone.
2005 RIFFAULT Sancerre · $22.50/bottle ($20.25 club price)
As
much as I love discovering tiny California producers, I am still moved
by most things French. This wine is unusual in that it is a red wine
from Sancerre. Sancerre is a region in the Loire Valley where Sauvignon
Blanc is mainly grown, and red wines are produced in very small
quantities. The 2005 Riffault, a lovely little Pinot Noir, is a tasty
marriage of bright cherries and sage with hints of earth backed by
steely minerality and a fine, soft finish. Inspires pan-roasted salmon
with Chanterelle risotto. And I swear if you taste it
blindfolded, you might mistake it for a weightier Sauvignon Blanc.
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