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Backroom Tasting
ARGENTINA'S
BIG REDS
Thurs, Nov. 29
7 - 8PM
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The
big annual eat-a-thon is just 2 days away, so if you need an assortment
of great wines to go with the Thanksgiving meal, stop on by and we will
fill up a box with whatever you need. If you're in a hurry or
just don't like making decisions, we've pre-packed two Thanksgiving
6-packs that you can just grab and go. Details follow.
Friday
through Sunday we will be tasting wines all day from 12-5pm.
Since Thanksgiving Weekend is the traditional time to go visit the
wineries and taste, we are officially releasing our 2006 Alberta Pinot
Noir this weekend and will be pouring it along with 3 exclusives from
Willamette Valley wineries, in an attempt to lure you to the shop for
some tasting, instead of driving all the way out to wine country.
Friday
Night Flight will feature a Barolo tasting of the newest vintage, 2003
- a great chance to come show your friends and family what cork is like
on a Friday Night and taste some big and bold reds.
Next week,
we've got a terrific Backroom Tasting with a few seats left, if you
want to join us. And of course, Sara Shaw has two delightful
selections for you for the Thanksgiving Table, just in case more ideas
were needed.
We will be CLOSED Thurs, Nov. 22 - THANKSGIVING DAY!
Regular hours all weekend: Fri & Sat 11-7pm, Sunday 12-5pm.
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THANKSGIVING SIX-PACKS ˇ $85 for the Domestic, $90 for the European Version
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TWO TO CHOOSE FROM: Domestic or European.
Drop in anytime Tuesday or Wednesday to take one home. While Supplies Last.
 DOMESTIC TURKEY 6-PACK:
This box includes 1 Sparkling bottle of Gruet from New Mexico, 2
Alberta Pinot Blanc, 2 Alberta Pinot Noir and 1 half bottle of
Syncline's Late Harvest Viognier Dessert Wine. $85.00
EUROPEAN TURKEY 6-PACK:
This box includes 1 Sparkling bottle of Prosecco from Italy, a lovely
Rosé from Austria, a bottle of Chinon from the Loire Valley, a bottle
of Chianti from Tuscany and a soft and elegant bottle of Prieto Picudo
from Northwestern Spain. We finish it off with a bottle of Moscato
dessert wine. It's a whole liquid meal in a box! $90.00
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HOLIDAY WEEKEND TASTING ˇ Friday - Sunday ˇ 12-5pm ˇ $5 to taste 5 Wines All Weekend!
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EXCLUSIVE WINES TO TASTE ˇ Friday, Saturday & Sunday ˇ 12 - 5PM ˇ Taste 5 for Five Bucks
For
those who aren't planning a journey to wine country, or who want a
second day of tasting after a trip to the vineyards, we will be pouring
5 wines all weekend long, including:
 2006 ALBERTA WINES Pinot Noir
ˇ Our Willamette Valley Pinot is just being released and it's tasting
great. Come check out a terrific value and support your
community. 10% of all profits on Alberta Wines are donated to
local charities, and this year's Pinot Noir will result in a
contribution to the Ethos Music Center. Building community
through music, the Ethos Music Center
is a non-profit organization that offers music education to underserved
youths throughout Oregon. They're located on NE Killingsworth and
are a great alternative learning environment for Portland students who
want to develop their musical talents.
2005 APOLLONI Pinot Noir Reserve
ˇ $42/bottle ˇ Apolloni is letting us release their Reserve bottling
from 2005, a barrel selection of their best lot. You won't be
able to taste this anywhere else, so come on down and check out a deep,
dark and delicious Pinot.
2005 BOEDECKER CELLARS 'Shea Vineyard' Pinot Noir ˇ
$45/bottle ˇ We're big fans of the wines that Stewart & Athena
Boedecker craft down at the Carlton Winemaker's Studio, and they were
kind enough to allow us to premiere one of their 3 single-vineyard
Pinots this weekend. After tasting them all, we felt the Shea
was really showing great, and would be a fine choice for drinking over
the coming weeks or throwing in the cellar for a few years to let some
hidden aromas and flavors develop. Very limited supply, taste it
this weekend only at cork!
2005 ANDREW RICH Malbec
ˇ $25/bottle ˇ After traveling to Argentina, I started thinking about
the local producers who have been playing around with the Malbec grape
and thought we could try and do a tasting of domestic Malbec.
Well, turns out they are hard to come by, and Andrew doesn't typically
sell his at retail because supply is so small. But he agreed to
allow us to have exclusive rights for the Holiday weekend - so come and
check it out and take some home. The 2003 and 2004 were both
stunning so we are excited to see the new vintage.
MYSTERY WINE #5
ˇ That's right, we're pouring Five Wines for Five Bucks all weekend and
we will rotate the fifth wine as we see fit. You might get to
sample the 2006 Alberta Pinot Blanc, the 2006 Pappas Pinot Noir from
Boedecker, the 2005 Andrew Rich Syrah, the 2006 Apolloni Pinot Gris or
any other wine we feel like throwing into the mix. The only way
to find out is come to cork and taste!
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Sara's Corner |
It's
been a busy week! The shop is buzzing with activity, and everyone is
getting geared up for the big feast. As per usual, my only
responsibility this holiday is to bring the wines. And what pairs with
nearly everything on the Thanksgiving table? Pinot Noir. Here are two
French versions I'm currently enjoying:
2006 GUILLOT-BROUX Bourgogne Rouge (Pinot Noir) ˇ $18.75 ($16.88/cork club price)
Last
week, I tasted the prettiest little pinot and was immediately wooed by
its simplicity and elegance. A mouthful of soft and supple cherries,
this wine is gentle enough not to overpower flavors, but contains
enough acidity to cut through heavier foods.
And if you want to step it up,
1999 LEROY Bourgogne Rouge ˇ $37.50 ($33.75/cork club price)
This
is a gorgeous wine from an old school, biodynamic Burgundy producer
who's related to the infamous Romanee-Conte family. Decant this wine,
and you'll find that violets and rose petals are practically jumping
from your glass. This wine, however, is not all flowers and princesses.
It packs more of a punch then the Guillot-Broux for those of you who
like the meaty and more masculine side of Pinot Noir. Enjoy with
practically everything.
Happy Thanksgiving, Sara.
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FRIDAY NIGHT FLIGHT ˇ Barolo from 2003 Vintage ˇ $15 Tasting Fee ˇ 5pm - 8:30pm
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Since
we'll be pouring Northwest wines during the day all weekend, we thought
a festive Friday evening tasting was in order. That way, if you
have guests in town and want to show them your favorite wine shop, you
can stop on by, have a terrific flight of 3 high end Barolos and some
noshing and then head off to dinner at one of the neighborhood's great
eateries. (HOT TIP: Alberta St. Oyster Bar is Now Open, so call
them to make reservations before the tasting: 503.284.9600)
As
many of you know, 2003 was a very hot vintage in Europe, causing the
death of thousands of people from heat stroke and leading to some very
ripe grapes. Barolo is typically a big and structured wine that
needs some bottle aging before it softens up, but the extra heat from
the 2003 vintage has made these wines pretty approachable on
release. They have just started to show up on our shores, so we
carefully selected through the offerings and will be tasting these 3
beauties. Another bonus bottle might get tossed in if we can
scare something else up we like by Friday:
2003 CAVALLOTTO Barolo Bricco Boschis ˇ $57/bottle
2003 PIO CESARE Barolo ˇ $60/bottle
2003 ELIO GRASSO Barolo Casa Maté ˇ $58/bottle (just received Tre Bichieri from Gambero Rosso)
This
is a drop-in tasting, no reservations required. Just come on down
anytime after 5pm (we'll be pouring the Northwest wines until 5pm,
should you want to do a double-tasting). $15 to taste Barolo.
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BACKROOM TASTING ˇ Big Reds from Argentina ˇ Thursday, Nov. 29 ˇ 7-8PM ˇ $20
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If
you are a fan of the terrific Malbecs and Bordeaux blends coming out of
Argentina, then this is your chance to come taste some of the top
wines. With the strength of the dollar in Argentina, this may be
one of the last wine regions where there is terrific value to be had on
the upper end of the winemaking scale. Join us for a tasting next
Thursday, November 29 from 7-8pm as
we taste some stunners from MENDEL, ACHAVAL-FERRAR, TIKAL, BEN MARCO
and more. Maybe we can all wander down to Autentica afterward for
some South of the Border cuisine. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.
Please email me at darryl@corkwineshop.com if you would like a seat at
the table. Limited to 14 people.
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