Jump to Section Friday Tasting Pasta Dinner Sara's Selections Chocolate Special SHOP HOURS Mon - Wed: 11 - 6 Thurs - Fri:  11 - 8 Sat:  11 - 6 Sun:  12 - 5 Put Last Thursday Art Hopping together with Free Corkage Night at Alberta Street Oyster Bar!  Drop into cork before 8pm, buy a bottle and take it to dinner at the Oyster Bar on THURSDAY NIGHT and corkage is free!		With the remodel distraction of the past month, I've been quite behind on ordering new wines for the shop.  So while I go off to get that complete by the weekend, Sara Shaw is going to give you this week's news. . . Our beautiful Portland "Spring" has inspired me to escape to Sanibel Island in the Gulf of Mexico for some respite from hail and high winds among palm fronds and sandy beaches. In between swimming in the ocean, biking through the nature preserve, and canoeing through mangrove forests, I am lounging on the shore, and enjoying a cool glass of Apolloni Pinot Blanc, which, might I add, pairs perfectly with ocean breezes and sand encrusted toes. Though it will be difficult to tear myself away from the relaxing life of the island, I will definitely return for Friday Night's delicious line-up of Local Wines under $25.  Read below for the details. With the expansion of the ChocolateShop comes a new feature to the weekly email, the Chocolate Bar of the Week.  We'll highlight the chocolate facts on a different bar each week and offer it at a special price.  This week's entry is described at the end of this email. Darryl's first Pasta Dinner with Apolloni Vineyards as the special guest went great on Saturday night and we have some seats left in May's upcoming Pasta Dinner when the special guest will be one of our local Alameda favorites - Andrew Rich.  Details follow and call today if you want a reservation. Back to the beach. I'll try to shove some sunshine in my suitcase to bring home to Portland! See you soon, Sara
FRIDAY NIGHT FLIGHT   LOCAL WINES UNDER $25 · Friday, April 25 · 4PM - 8PM · $12 Tasting Fee Darryl has built some swell new island wine racks that is allowing us to stretch out our Local Wine Cellar and makes it a lot easier to navigate the different wineries and varietals we feature.  As a result, we've created a new section of case stacked local wines under $25 and this Friday, we'll pull some corks and twist some tops to share some favorite new arrivals with you. We'll begin with a couple of fairly priced Oregon whites - the White Salmon Chardonnay and the NW Wine Co. Pinot Gris - and follow them up with Purple Hands Merlot, Waving Tree Cabernet Sauvignon, the Substance Merlot, and finally, Abacela Dolcetto. $12 tasting fee. Drop in tasting, no reservations required. UPCOMING EVENTS PASTA NIGHT with Andrew Rich Thursday, May 8 · 7PM · $75/person With the success of our first Pasta Night behind us, we've lined up another local hero to come sit at the table and entertain you while Darryl recreates Assaggio pasta recipes in the kitchen.  Expect a multi-course meal and Andrew Rich will join us to share some special bottles from his cellar that normally are only available to his wine club members.  Included will be the 2004 Syrah Reserve, the 2005 Grenache from Ciel du Cheval, the 2005 Pinot Noir Momtazi Family Vineyard and a rare bottling of 100% Petit Verdot.  The cost of the evening is $75, which includes food, wine and gratuity. Space is limited to 13 people, so please call the shop to make a reservation at 503.281.2675.  A credit card is required to confirm your reservation and we request a 48 hour cancellation notice to avoid being charged.   Sara's Selections As May approaches, it's time to start thinking about rosé and all the new releases that will come just in time to get your grill going. There are already a few great ones in the shop from our the Willamette Valley, but if you'd like to transport yourself to another region via pink liquid, why not go to France? 2007 CHATEAU PULIGNY-MONTRACHET Bourgogne Rosé · $22.50/bottle ($20.25/cork club) A beautiful and bone dry rose with a slight earth and subtle strawberries on the nose accompanied by light rose petal aromas. This summery sipper also carries a dollop of citrus zest with prominent melon and golden delicious apple. Great with grillin' fare or great on it's own. And then to Italy, for a stunning white with tons of character... 2006 TERRADORA DI PAOLO Falanghina · $15.75/bottle ($14.18/cork club price) From the famed Mastroberardino brothers comes the Terradora Di Paolo label with this aromatic and tropical Falanghina. Incredibly pretty and floral on the nose, with a creamy weight to the mid-palate, and a comely combination of pineapples and pears to finish. Island appropriate, but Oregon sunshine this weekend will do nicely too. Chocolate Bar of the Week To add to the incentive of signing up for the Chocolate Adventure Card, we'll be featuring a different chocoalte bar each week from the ChocolateShop at a special price.  For our first selection, we thought the bar that received the most votes as favorite at last Friday's tasting was a great choice. MICHEL CLUIZEL Noir de Cacao 72% · Only $6 On Special This Week! One of the world's most famous chocolatiers, Michel Cluizel has been making chocolate since 1948, crafting his cacao confections in France and selling them internationally.  He only puts his own name on the highest-quality products from his chocolate factory and this bar is a classic example.  Since Cluizel processes his chocolate by mixing and conching it to pulverize even the finest particles of each ingredient in order to get a smooth and creamy texture, he doesn't need to use emulsifiers to maintain consistency.  The result is he can extract levels of flavor that are often undetectable in other bars.  Introduce yourself to the Cluizel world with this 72% Dark Bar this week and save 20% off the regular price, now through Sunday April 27.  Add this bar to your Chocolate Adventure Card and after 9 more bars, the 10th is free!