THIS FRIDAY
Taste
New Arrivals
from
Argentina!
5-8:30pm
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We
pledged at the beginning of 2007 that this would be The Year of
Spain. Well, I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't include all
Spanish speaking wine regions in our exploration. So the
invitation to join one of my importers for a quick trip to South
America made perfect sense within the vision of the shop's goals.
Not to mention it was pretty hard to say no to a trip someone else had
organized and I just got to tag along!
I returned Saturday from
a whirlwind trip and I am excited to share with you stories of
Argentina and Chile. This Friday, we will host a tasting of wines
from 7 of the 10 wineries I visited in Mendoza. Next Friday, we
will be joined by Arnaud Frennet of the stunning Chilean winery, Casa
Silva, for a special winery-focused tasting.
The overall
experience was quite enjoyable and eye opening. Chile is fairly
developed, shares a climate not unlike the Willamette Valley being
sandwiched between a Coastal mountain range to the West and the Andes
to the East. Argentina, on the other hand, is most similar for me
to Puglia in Italy and Jumilla in the South of Spain. Dry,
desert-scapes with very poor soil, it is not surprising we see inky,
concentrated reds coming out of this area.
I hope you will join
us for one of the special tastings in the next two weeks. If not,
stop in anytime and check out all of our new arrivals from Argentina,
with some special Chilean bottlings to arrive soon.
Read more
details on this week's tasting below, and sign up for our Spanish class
next week to emerse yourself in the wines of Old Castile.
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FRIDAY NIGHT FLIGHT · ARGENTINA REDS · October 12 · 5pm - 8:30pm · $12 tasting fee
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FRIDAY TASTING, OCT. 12 · 5-8:30pm · $12 Tasting Fee
Argentina is a country clawing its way out of the economic collapse
that culminated with a devaluation of its currency in 2001. For
Americans travelling in the region, it is still quite affordable, but
there are signs everywhere of heavy foreign investment. This, of
course, can be good and bad, but for the world of wine, it is drawing
the attention of serious quality winemakers from Europe, the US and
neighboring Chile. The result is a lot of smaller estates, focused on
producing quality bottlings from vineyards ranging from young vines up
to 50 years old or so.
 What makes the desert region truly unique as a
winegrowing area is how the locals have leveraged the centuries-old
system created by local Mapuchan Indians to harvest snowmelt off the
Andes and use reservoirs to create a system for flood irrigating the
land. This allows vegetation to take root in an area that otherwise
would be dust and sagebrush.
 As a region that values its natural resources and makes the most of them, I was quite pleased to see the level of sustainable agriculture practices
taking place. Above, the photo shows grass growing wild in the
vineyard to contain weeds and pests, an earth-friendly alternative to
pesticides. To the left, Owner Cristian of Finca El Reposo shows
us the last vineyard plantings of the Saint Jeannet grape in the world
and explains the hand pruning and harvesting work that goes into
maintaining the vines.
We had a great introduction to a broad range of sizes and styles of
wineries on the trip and I'll talk more about them as we pour the wines
at Friday's tasting. Included will be all three affordable reds from
the impressive startup, Finca El Reposo. Then
we will taste the Mapema Tempranillo, Tikal Patriota blend and the lovely 2005 Mendel Malbec. A bonus flight featuring Ben Marco Expresivo and the
2005 Luca Syrah will round out the night's offerings. The main flight is
$12 this week and the bonus flight is $6 more. I look forward to
sharing stories and more pictures with you all between 5pm and 8:30pm
this Friday.
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SCHOOL OF CORK · Focus on Spain Series · The Wines of Ribera del Duero
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Thursday, October 18 · RIBERA DEL DUERO CLASS · $40/person · 6:30pm - 8:30pm
On
my trip to Spain last Spring, we spent several days in the Ribera del
Duero region and learned first  hand about the wide variety of wines
coming out of these storied hills. From Joven wines that are
inexpensive and go down easy, to Gran Reserva wines that have serious
structures and require long cellar aging to enjoy, the Ribera zone has
something for everyone.
Join me as we discuss the different
micro-climates within the region and taste a range of wines from the
unbeatable value Vina Gormaz to the stunning 'super-Ribera' style Torre
Silo from the tiny high-end Cillar de Silos winery. Class includes
light appetizers and a flight of at least 5 wines. Participants
receive 15% off all in-store merchandise the night of the class, so you
can stock up on the wines you like and grab some early gifts for the
wine and chocolate lovers in your life.
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PRE-RELEASE WINE SPECIAL · Cameron Gehrts Vineyard · Buy Now and Save!
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Many
Portlanders know winemaker John Paul from Cameron Vineyards as one of
our state's most dynamic, early pioneers of Oregon Pinot Noir.
Started in the late 1970's, today Cameron has some of the oldest
vineyards from which to craft his always soft and elegant wines.
One of the best from last season was the Gehrts Vineyard and so this
year, to make sure we get our customers what they want, we are doing a
pre-sale before the wine is released around Christmas time:
 2005 CAMERON Gehrts Vineyard Pinot Noir - $32/bottle special
Last
year the 2004 Gehrts came and went in about 3 weeks and we were sorry
we didn't buy more. I've given John Paul my wish list (I like to
make big wishes) for 2005 and we should have a little better supply.
Please let me know a.s.a.p. if you want any of this wine and we will
confirm orders once I've had a chance to sort through all the
requests. The regular price, if this wine ever makes it to the
shelf, will be $36, so this is a one-time best-price offer with no
additional case discounting. Our Pre-Sale wines require full
payment at time order is confirmed. When wines arrive, we notify
you by email to come pick them up. (Offer Ends Monday, October 16, limit 6 bottles per customer, wines expected before year end).
I will confirm orders once I have everyone's requests and make any
necessary allocations based on supply and demand. At that time,
we will take payment.
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