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Hello
to all. This is going to be very short as I haven't yet recovered from
the amazing food orgy at Beast last night and I need to run off to
barrel down my Sangiovese at the winery.
It's Friday and that means it's Tasting Night! Read below for details on our Barbera Fight and come pick your own winner.
Sara
spent some time out at Cristom last week and she has some interesting
things to tell you about their harvest and some of their current
releases.
We're gearing up strong for the holiday season, with
November already booked for private events, if you have a company
holiday party or special wine tasting party you'd like to book with us
for December, please contact me soon so we can try and accomodate your
needs.
And now the rest...
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FRIDAY NIGHT FLIGHT · Discover The Difference Between ALBA and ASTI
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BARBERA FIGHT: Asti vs. Alba. $12 to taste the first 6. $5 for the bonus pours. 4:30-8:30pm
As
many of you know, there are literally over 1000 grape varieties growing
today in Italy, but there are only a handful that would universally
make the list of favorites among Italian wine lovers. And I
happen to think Barbera is near the top of that list. But the
thing about Barbera is that depending on where it is grown, the quality
can differ greatly. To challenge this point, we've found 3 of the
best Barbera d'Asti wines currently available under $25 and we are
putting them up head to head against the 3 best Barbera d'Alba wines to
see what you think is the best place for this juicy grape. Some
great Piedmont names like La Spinetta and Vietti will be part of the
fight. And the bonus round will include one of my favorites
rarely seen anymore from Enzo Boglietti. Come on down and join us
for a great tasting tonight.
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Sara's Corner |
Late
fall is the perfect time to get out to the valley for wine tasting and
vineyard wandering, so last week, I drove out to the yellow and red
flecked countryside to engage in these inspiring activities at Cristom
Vineyards in the beautiful Eola Hills. Cristom was founded by Paul
Gerrie in 1992, who brought winemaker Steve Doerner up from California
to share in his vision to make terroir-driven, Burgundian style pinots.
Since then, Cristom has built a strong reputation for itself with
award-winning wines, and if you've ever had a taste, then you know what
the fuss is about. These are clean, well-balanced, complex, and ageable
wines, garnering well-deserved respect for consistency and quality, not
to mention the sheer beauty that they demonstrate vintage after
vintage.
With
harvest nearly at a close, I trekked out to find the winery in the
beginning stages of a more normal pace as, gradually, the wines go to
barrel and get tucked away into the caves for the winter. I tasted
through the recent line up of all their gorgeous wines with marketing
director John D'Anna, and though it was difficult to choose two
favorites, I was able to narrow it down to two ladies - Eileen and
Jessie. We've got both on the shelf if you want to come down and
explore for yourselves.
2005 Cristom Eileen Pinot Noir
The
Eileen vineyard is the youngest, 2000 being the first vintage it was
released. It is also at the highest elevation of the Cristom vineyards
where the fruit tends to ripen more slowly under cooler conditions.
These ripening conditions make for a pretty and floral Pinot, with
beautiful and alluring dark fruit, lovely combinations of cherry, and a
silky mouthfeel. With Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner, the
Eileen will meld well with holiday fare, and will adorn the table in
spirit with its festive red label and dignified design.
2005 Cristom Jessie Pinot Noir
From
Cristom's steepest vineyard, Jessie is the most diverse because it
varies in both soil types and altitudes. Right now, this is showing
earth and elegance on the nose with all the complexity and cherry
femininity of a Burgundy on the palate. This wine, however, exceeds
expectation in its ability to transform and evolve in the glass, so I
would love to tuck some bottles away to revisit in 3-5 years.
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