Around The World Wine Dinner. The first wine dinner of 2007 will be held on Monday, February 5th at 7 pm. During the "Around the World" dinner, you will experience wines, and paired cuisine, from France, Italy, New Zealand and the U.S. Please visit the News and Events page of our website for the full menu and wine selections. Cost for the four-course dinner, held at Trattoria del Corso Restaurant at 223 Main Street in EG, is $75 per person, which includes tax and tip. Please make your reservation with The Savory Grape (886-9463 or jessica@thesavorygrape.com). We look forward to seeing you.

How Sweet It Is Wine Class. Our next wine class will be held on Thursday, February 8 at 7:30 pm. The focus will be on dessert wines, including port, and how facets of these wines give clues to their preferred dessert partners. During the class, Grape Ideas Wine Education's Jennifer Pereira, AIWS, also an instructor at Johnson & Wales University's College of Culinary Arts, will guide you to explore and taste an array of desserts, and analyze them to understand how they work with particular wines. Cost is $45 per person, which includes instruction, tasting of 5 wines and dessert samples and handouts. Space is limited, so please make your reservations and prepayment by contacting The Savory Grape at 886-9463 or jessica@thesavorygrape.com. This private class will be held at Trattoria del Corso at 223 Main Street in EG. Stop in early for dinner or an appetizer and fuel up for the excitement.

Artist Reception. Artist Claire Marshak is showing her local Rhode Island work in the tasting room at The Savory Grape. Stay tuned for an open house and reception for Claire in February.

Save The Date. The Savory Grape and Trattoria del Corso with the RI American Institute of Wine and Food will hold a wine tasting and food sampling on Monday, March 5th. Stay tuned for more details.

Many times when discussing the taste of wine, the flavor of oak is mentioned. But what does this mean, how does it get into the wine and how do you know what oak tastes like?

Well, winemakers often use oak barrels to ferment and age their wines. Using oak gives wine additional flavors (i.e., vanilla, tropical fruit), complexity and it softens tannins. The oak's origin, the length of time the wine is spent in oak barrels, and the oak's toast level, all have an impact on the taste of wine. Often, instead of using oak barrels, winemakers will add oak chips to wine during the fermentation process. Since oak barrels are costly, oak chips are often used in inexpensive wines to give them an oaky taste without the incurring cost.

The inside of each piece of wood of a barrel is toasted. This can be done lightly or more heavily, which will affect the level of oakiness in your glass. The less toasted the wood, the more vegetal a wine may taste. The more heavily toasted the wood, often the more toasty, vanilla or fruit spice flavors you will detect in the wine. Whether the barrels are made from new or old oak and the type of oak will also affect your wine. The size of the oak barrels in which the wine is fermented or aged makes a difference on taste too. Smaller barrels impart more flavor than larger ones due to the wine to wood ratio. Words such as barrel fermented or barrel aged on a label will indicate to you that oak was used in the winemaking process. Often labels, especially New World ones, will display the type of oak used (American or French for example) and the amount of time spent in barrel. So the next time you reach for a new wine and you want to know if it is "oaked," check the label. If that doesn't help, as often occurs, ask us. We can guide you in the right direction.

2003 Terra Valentine Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley. Donning a label representative of the upcoming Valentine's Day, this wine is an underrepresented gem from a small production vineyard that we thought would be perfect for the Cabernet lover in your family. This limited Spring Mountain Cabernet offers a velvety rich texture with inviting layers of smoky oak and dark fruits. Having languished in French Oak for about two years, this wine is well structured and suggests a maturity beyond its years. Ripe flavors of blackberry, boysenberry, and dark cocoa are balanced with espresso and toffee textures and creamy vanilla oak. While ready to drink now, it also will age beautifully for 5 to 7 years. ($32.99)

Celler Can Blau Monsant, Spain. This is a brilliant offering from the Montsant area of Spain that we are excited to share. Another high scorer from wine writer R. Parker (90 points), this medium-bodied red is a blend of old vine Carignane, Syrah, and Grenache, revealing an inky purple color, classic raspberry and black cherry aromas and flavors, wonderful definition and a surprising luscious intensity. This selection should drink well for the next two to three year years! ($15.99)

Piper Heidsieck Rose Sauvage, Champagne. Perfect for the upcoming Valentine's Day, the famed Champagne house in Reims reveals a non-vintage Rosé Sauvage, a bubbly that mixes still red wine into the traditional Cuvée Brut recipe. The first impression is fresh, suggesting the high spirit and vivacity typical of the Piper-Heidsieck style. It has strong aromas and flavors of red fruit, dominated by cherry, that is then followed by a fragrant harmony of citrus fruit, mandarins and blood oranges. ($42.99)

2004 Archetype Shiraz, Barossa Valley. This rich, deeply concentrated Shiraz possesses all the classic Barossa attributes of blueberries, dark ripe plums, and spice, framed with hints of toasty vanilla. The sheer intensity and grace of this wine make it very suitable for immediate enjoyment. We suggest opening and letting the wine breathe for about 15 minutes before enjoying. ($14.99)

Friday, February 2 (5 pm to 8 pm) A Tour of Italy (Piedmont, Tuscany, Puglia, Sicily)

• 2005 Villa Rossa Gavi di Gavi: From Italy's Piedmont area, Gavi di Gavi is one of Italy's most delicate white wines, which is made 100% from the Cortese grape varietal, and it is often compared to a French Chablis with its graceful style and finesse. Fermented in stainless steel tanks, this Gavi di Gavi (with a literal translation meaning Gavi of Gavi) is dry, yet fruity with elegant flavors of apple and melons that lead into a clean finish. This style of wine is best consumed young. ($13.99)

• 2003 Dievole Chianti Classico La Vendemmia: Moving south from Piedmont to Tuscany, Villa Dievole has been in existence since 1090, and has renowned, bold reds. Its Chianti Classico, as you will note, is full bodied with ripe cherry and blackberry flavors that are accented by lovely spice notes. To fully express the wine's structure, aromas and taste, this Tuscan red lends itself to decanting, which we will do before our tasting. ($18.49)

• 2005 Feudo Maccari Renoto, Sicily: Feudo Maccari lies just more than a mile from the sea near the village of Pacchino, in the southeast corner of Sicily which juts into the Mediterranean. The estate is sun drenched, and Mediterranean winds keep the estate moderate and very dry. This blend is comprised of 85% Nero d’Avola and 15% Syrah which features a luscious deep red with a nose of ripe plum, cassis, anise and notes of black pepper. A lush velvety palate is accompanied by a long, persistent and silky finish. ($12.99)

• 2001 Taurino Riserva, Salice Salentino: Salice Salentino is a small town in Puglia, the heel of Italy and actually the name of the wine. Taurino was one of the first producers to bottle and sell wines from Puglia in the international marketplace. A blend of the grapes Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera, this red is the perfect pizza, pasta, burger wine. Intense ruby red in color with orange reflections on the outside rim of the wine, its nose and palate are persistent with aromas of red berries. The finish is dry, yet very balanced and smooth. ($12.49)

Saturday, February 3 (3 pm to 7 pm) A Comparison of Zins

• Campus Oaks Old Vine Zinfandel: This Zinfandel is by far our most popular Zin as well as our most popular wine overall in the store. From CA's Lodi area, this Zin is selected from 85- to 95-year-old vines. It delivers a punch of rich red fruit backed by notes of black fruit and sweet vanilla from oak aging. The mouthfeel is silky smooth! ($11.99)

• 2005 Green and Red Chiles Canyon Zinfandel: Green & Red Vineyard, named for its red iron soils veined with green serpentine, is located in the steep hills on the east side of Napa Valley. From a small production, this Zin is full bodied with abundant quantities of cherry fruit intermixed with spices and wood from oak aging. Lush, smooth and mouthfilling. ($21.99)

• 2003 Fife Mendocino Uplands Zinfandel: From the hillside sites around Lake Mendocino in California, this Zin is lively, mouth-watering and shows many levels of personality! Flavors of strawberry compote come forward to define the Zin, but you will also experience notes of wild berry zest and spice on the palate. Definitely a hidden gem, this wine has true character that should be experienced. ($19.49)
  

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email: jessica@thesavorygrape.com

phone: 401.886.9463

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