Featured Wines
Bodegas Y VIÑEDOS SHAYA ($16)
Rueda
100% Verdejo
The grapes from this wine comes from 30.5 hectars of very old Verdejo vines, with low yields (2.5 t / ha). The vines were planted on sandy soils. The wine ferments partially in barrel and stays with the lees in its entirety for several months before being bottled. Produced around 6000 cases only.
Shaya has a distinct character of exotic fruits with vegetable notes of grass clippings, broad and serious wine, with a noticable freshness and a long finish.
Bibich Lučica ($39)
Skradin
100% Debit
A very limited production
vintage from Bibich. The wine is made from the Debit vines in the Lučica
vineyard which are 47 years old. There are only 3,500 vines producing
150 cases of this wine each year. The wine is aged for 16 months in
American oak and was bottled in February, 2008. Aromas include apricot,
vanilla, and toasted breads. The wine is best served at 57F and is
wonderful when paired with grilled fish, crab, lamb, liver or even by
itself as an aperitif.
Photo Courtesy of www.bluedanubewine.com
Cantine Sant Agata 'Na Vota" ($22)
Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato
100% Ruchè
 "In Piedmontese dialect, the expression “ ‘Na vota” has a double meaning:
the first, is the beginning of many tales such as “c’era una volta”
(once upon a time); the second, can be interpreted as a challenge."
These two words were uttered back in 1900 when the brothers
Cavallero, for the first time, put in commerce this label. Until then,
the grape Ruché, which is slightly aromatic, was produced only as
dessert wine. It was the beginning of a new trend. The wine
vinified that year was of excellent quality and entered worthily in the
Piedmontese wines elite. Today, it is produced blending the grapes of
four vineyards with different characteristics. The aim is to give to the
consumer a tasting and olfactory continuity. Across the years,
this bottle became an undoubted term of comparison, an ideal match with
modern life and an inviting curiosity to the table.
The Ruché is a
secular vine. We don’t know its origin, but we think it was imported
from France at the beginning of last century. There are many tales
regarding the origin of its name. One in particular seems the most
reliable: the legend tells that in a farmhouse called “Rocca” (rock),
some friars produced this sweet wine to donate to the inhabitants of the
local castel (Castel del Poggio). This is the origin of the name
“Ruché”.
Borgo Sugame Chianti Classico ($22)
Toscana
100% Sangiovese
Greve in Chianti, which is named after the river that
runs through it, is the chief town of the Chianti Classico wine zone,
home to Chianti's largest wine fair, held every September. It is the
shopping centre of the Chianti farm house holidays area that surrounds
it. At the end of the Dark Ages, Greve developed on the flat ground of
the Greve valley as the market for the fortified villages, castles and
farm houses on the surrounding hilltops. In 1325 it was burned to the
ground by Castruccio Castracani, the Duke of Lucca. Nevertheless, Greve
expanded considerably during the 14th and 15th centuries, and, after the
unification of Italy, became the most important centre of Chianti. The
rebuilt church of Santa Croce, which houses some beautiful paintings of
the school of Fra Angelico, stands at the top of the asymmetrical main
piazza, Piazza Matteotti. The original piazza is shown as square in old
documents but the construction of buildings, porticoes and loggias has
encroached on it over the years so that it is now triangular, pointing
to the neoclassical facade of Santa Croce. On one side of the piazza is a
statue of the explorer Giovanni da Verrazano (also spelt Verrazzano)
who discovered New York Harbour. A house associated with the family of
Amerigo Vespucci is located in nearby Montefioralle.
The Sugame
Chianti Classic is deeply colored with a powerful bouquet expressing
deeply concentrated, berry fruit supported by herbal notes, rosemary and
a hint of sage. The wine is rich and structured on the palate with
intensely concentrated dark berry fruit supported by tannins that flow
into a long, lingering finish.
Total production: 800 cases
Maysara Pinot Noir '3 Degrees ' ($21)
Willamette Valley
100% Pinot Noir
In 1997, Moe and Flora Momtazi purchased 532 acres of an
abandoned wheat farm in the foothills Southwest of McMinnville, Oregon.
Their interest was to farm pinot noir grapes, and to do it organically.
In March 1998, the first three vineyard blocks were planted consisting
of 13 acres total. From the beginning, the location had promise. The
unique niche in the foothills of Oregons Coastal Range separates them
from valley weather influence. The Maysara winery and estate Momtazi
Vineyard are committed to capturing the complete expression of the land
and conveying it through superior quality in every bottle. They
practice low-impact organic and biodynamic farming methods to ensure the
health of the vines for generations.
Three Degrees is a deep cherry color. The 2008 Pinot Noir
is delicate, soft and has round tannins. With a core of dark cherries,
blackberries, raspberries, red licorice and with a touch of nutmeg in
the aromatics. In the beginning of the mouth there is a touch of white
pepper and lush summer cherries that finishes off the palate. 3000 cases made.
Saldo Zinfandel ($36)
California
88% Zinfandel
8% Syrah
4% Petite Sirah
Through the succes of his Prisoner label, Orin Swift Cellars
owner/winemaker Dave Phinney has gained access to some of the best
Zinfandel vineyards in the Northern California growing community. Dave
recently decided he wanted to make a high quality Zinfandel and what he
created did not fit the constraints of a single AVA.
There are grapes from Sonoma, Napa, Amador, Mendocino, and Contra
Costa counties. Some of these great vineyards include Monte Rosso, Eagle
Point, Rockpile, Bismark, Beatty, Page Nord, Duarte, Solari, Evangehlo,
Battuelo's, Tofanelli, Korte, Mable Tiedemann, Frediani, Lewers, Alta
Vista, and Bald Mountain just to name a few. Dave is so committed to
this concept he is now developing his own Zinfandel vineyard in Sonoma
specifically for this project as well.
The word "saldo" has many different meanings in Spanish, Italian and
Portuguese. In Spanish, it mainly refers to "balance on hand", and
sometimes it can mean "from here and there." This wine represents the
best of the best lots made by Dave from vineyards all across Northern
California.
The 2008 Saldo is rich, ripe, and full-bodied, with aromas of black
cherry and bramble fruit. The tannins are soft but the wine has a huge
mid-palate. The soft, lush finish lingers. 2008 was a perfect vintage
for Saldo. The hot weather was ideal for creating ripe zinfandel. Drink
now and enjoy over the next five years.
Total production: 14000 cases
Peninsula Cellars Cabernet Franc ($18)
Traverse City, Michigan
100% Cabernet Franc
Peninsula Cellars is a family run winery located on
the Old Mission Peninsula, just north of Traverse City, Michigan. The
region lies along the 45th parallel, halfway between the north pole and
the equator. This gives the region its distinct micro-climate, that
makes it perfect for growing high quality wine grapes. Other well known
wine regions that lie near the 45th parallel include, Alsace, Burgundy,
and Bordeaux.
This Cabernet Franc is a blend of two superb vineyard sites. 2007 vintage yielded rich, ripe fruit that has become an elegant red wine. Black cherry and respberry flavors developed by the sun's heat are merried with spicy oak tannins and toastiness from selected French and American berrels.
Cantine Del Notaio ($21)
Basilicata, Italy
100% Aglianico
The passion for winemaking is not new to the Giuratrabocchetti family
and has been handed down for generations.
And in 1998 the Cantine del Notaio wine estate was born from this
same tradition, when both Gerardo Giuratrabocchetti, with his degree in
Agricultural Science, and his wife Marcella, took up the Aglianico del Vulture challenge. They
decided to combine tradition,
innovation, history and terroir in the vines growing in their
vineyards.
Together with Luigi Moio, Full Professor of Enology at the
University of Naples, valuable collaboration and extensive research
began on the winemaking potential of
this grape, the most important in Southern Italy. A proud but
difficult vine, capable of yielding wines with extraordinary personality
L’Atto is a red wine obtained from Aglianico
del Vulture grapes exclusively. The grapes come from young vineyards and are harvested in the first
half of October. Its fermentation process takes place in stainless steel tubs,with a
controlled temperature. After a 7 days maceration,the wine obtained is transferred to the
aging cellars – a series of natural volcanic tufo grottoes – maturing
in third and fourth use French oak barriques for some 4-6 months.
L’Atto is a fresh, pleasant and perfumed wine and its good
structure and a full ending reminds one of fresh fruit.
Total production: 9000 cases
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