Wine Listings

NKOTB, they are not - the Albrecht family has lived in Orschwihr since the end of the 17th century & furthermore, there has been an Albrecht growing wine in the Alsace since 1425. The Pinot Noir for this sparkler comes from Bollenberg, the hill where Celts once venerated the god Belenos – so we’ve got an Irish/French connection here – can’t miss!
I find at family gatherings & holiday parties that everyone loves this little gem. It is a great, tasty value. Sparkling wines are some of the best food wines for the holidays – high in acidity, low in alcohol, and the effervescence deliciously scrubs the palate.

It’s all about the balance of power. Too many red Zinfandel producers totally tip the scale to the tipsy, over-the-top side. Result? Freakish, hollow, spiked prune juice renditions of America’s adopted grape. The Federalist Zin exerts just enough power--balanced power checked by acidity and ripe but not raisined flavors. The Federalist’s estate fruit grows in Dry Creek Valley, a very familiar AVA for the finer Zins raised in Sonoma. That more Zin producers embraced the Federalist’s example…

The image of Alexander Hamilton, famous Federalist, graces the front label. Consider this:

At our SALE price

2 Hamiltons=1 Federalist

*print this out for copy of Federalist Zinfandel paper

Famous for their “divide and conquer” strategy, the ancient Romans also practiced “cultivate and drink”.  They made good work of this in Germany’s Mosel, anchored by Trier, the Roman capital of northern territories.  2000 years later, people continue to make wine--some really, truly fine wine.

J. Linden makes an absolutely WUNDERBAR wine that absolutely awed me. Then, it shocked me. The stunning flavor and quality awed me. The price shocked me. I figured it would be almost twice as much! Sometimes, it’s quite worthwhile to be wrong.

How? I wondered. How did Linden do this? The grapes for this wine come from illustrious (and, of course, ludicrously steep) vineyards including the Klusserather Bruderschaft, just a bit up the Mosel from Trier. That explains its excellence.
I think I’ll just keep quiet about the price lest anyone with pricing changing powers agrees that it is entirely too low.

Oh, Italy, how can we ever thank you? Your ability to offer wildly exciting white wines to those weary of __________ (insert run-of-the-mill white wine grape here) is, in a word: stunning.

Gavi is a small white-wine DOCG in Northwestern Italy's Piedmont region, named, naturally, after the largest town around: Gavi. Because of Gavi's small size, wines from the region - based on the Cortese grape - aren't found in terrible abundance in the U.S. They can be a bit pricey, and, because of the limited supply, we often don't get to see the best that Gavi can offer. So sad! - for a wonderful Gavi can transport the senses to ethereal realms of white-wine paradise previously unimaginable.
 
Based in the ancient commune of Novi Liguri, La Battistina is a 65-acre estate producing sensational examples of what the Cortese grape can do. Southern facing vineyards; chalky, limestone soils; and average 30 year-old vines create a brilliant wine which, as a whole, truly is greater than the sum of its parts. Tired of Chardonnay? Pinot Grigio? Sauvignon Blanc? Give this incredible bottle a spot on your table!

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest. For generations this river has been vital for the economic and social growth of the region.  Today, the Columbia River Gorge is not only a spectacularly beautiful testament of the astounding forces of natural events;  it is also rich with the cultural history of  Indian People first living and trading in the Gorge, of famous visits by explorers like Lewis and Clark, and of settlers that followed the Oregon Trail to the West.  Providing a route through the depths of the Cascade Mountains, historic highways allow travelers to drive from "the wet side" to the "dry side" of the Cascades and through corresponding eco-system transformations within an hour of Portland, Oregon, or Vancouver, or Washington.  The diversity of grapes grown in the Columbia River Gorge is unlikely to be matched elsewhere in such a small stretch of land.  As the climate warms heading east, the vineyard plantings change from those grown in Burgundy and Alsace to those from Bordeaux, Provence and Italy. Currently there are 40 wineries located in Oregon and Washington along interstate 84.

I’m not talking about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1890 book about how Sherlock Holmes foiled the dastardly plans of four convicts. The four (Quatro) we speak of here refers to MontGras’ lusty blend of four grapes, produced in one of the more spectacular wine growing regions in the world.

Colchagua Valley offers exceptional advantages for growers and producers alike. It's been called "The Next Napa" for excellent reasons. It's a situation not unlike that of the Napa Valley 50 years ago and it's what has attracted Vina MontGras and other fine wineries to this pristine spot. It is a serene sub-valley of Rapel situated in Chile’s Central Region at the heart of the country’s wine-producing zone. Nestled between the Pacific Coastal Range to the west and the snow-capped Andes to the east, this rustic valley is a protected environment with positive maritime influences that foster a terroir ideal for producing quality wines. It enjoys a balmy, Mediterranean climate matched in only a few other places on earth. With no smog, the air is exceptionally clear, and the region is noted for its abundant and extraordinarily luminous sunshine.

Colchagua Valley was named 2005 Wine Region of the Year by Wine Enthusiast, which called it "one of the country's most successful regions," and noted that "the natural advantages of the Colchagua Valley are yielding some of the most compelling wines in the world."

If you are fortunate enough to visit, don’t miss the Route of Wine of (Ruta del Vino). Like Napa valley, they also have a famous Train of Wine (El Tren del Vino).

VIÑA MONTGRAS, located in Chile’s Colchagua Valley, was established in the early 1990s by brothers Hernán and Eduardo Gras. The renowned California winemaker, Paul Hobbs, serves as consultant. MontGras wines are routinely praised as “awesome & amazing values”.

Quinta do Crasto, located on the right bank of the Douro river, has been in the Roquette family for over a century. Like other great Douro quintas, its origins lie in ancient times (the name Crasto comes from the Latin word castrum, a Roman fort). References to Quinta do Crasto date as far back as the early seventeenth century, long before the Douro became the world’s first demarcated wine region in 1756.

Now, about those grapes:

Rabigato is a grape variety that had been fast disappearing from Douro vineyards because of its low yields, but is now making a comeback in higher quality vineyards. It is one of the Douro's best white grapes, contributing full body & bright, refreshing acidity to white blends.

Gouveio is planted across Portugal. It produces fresh, lively wines with good acidity, plenty of body, and fresh, citrus aromas, along with notes of peach and apricot, and lovely balance. For years it was known as Verdelho in the Douro, which led to considerable confusion, as Gouveio has nothing whatsoever to do with the Verdelho of Madeira.

Roupeiro I know little to nothing of this one. This is my first introduction - for more info you’ll have to go to Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine. I do know this grape  contributes soft fruit notes, with a mineral accent and squirt of lemon.