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The Savory Grape Wine Shop Newsletter |
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Greetings!
We are very
fortunate here to
have the chance to taste a wide variety of
great wines from many regions throughout
the world. A few months back we were lucky
enough
to taste some wine from Dragon's Hollow
Winery in
China. We were very impressed with the wines and
are
looking forward to bringing them into the
store for you to try as well. This Friday,
March 7th from
5-8 PM
we are very grateful to have David Henderson
from
Dragon's Hollow Wines joining us here in the
store to
conduct a special blind tasting of these wines.
Also, we are thrilled that later this week we
will receive
a variety of limited wines from Schug
Winery,
run by
Walter
Schug who was the founding winemaker of Joseph
Phelps where he made California's first
proprietary
Bordeaux-Style blend (Insignia). Due to the
limited availability, please let us know if
you are interested in any of the Schug wines.
Cheers! Jessica and Nino Granatiero
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The Savory Grape Upcoming Events |
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March 10th Wine Dinner, Post Office Cafe.
Only a small number of tickets ($60)
remain for
the
Monday, March 10th 5-course wine
dinner at the Post Office Cafe in East
Greenwich. Please click here
to view the full menu
and wine selections, some which are rated
favorably by the Wine Spectator and
Robert Parker. Tickets can
be purchased at The Savory Grape or the Post
Office Cafe.
March 19th Siena Wine Dinner.
We have sold out of tickets for the
second Tuscan
wine dinner with Siena Cucina in East
Greenwich. However you can reserve a spot on
our wait list should there be any
cancellations. Please contact The Savory Grape
(886-9463) or Siena (885-8850) to obtain a
place on the wait list.
March 31st Wine Tasting.
The Savory Grape (TSG) will feature a
line up of
stunning wines on Monday March 31st at Main
Street
Coffee (MSC) from Paso Robles' Rabbit Ridge
Vineyard and
Winery,whose vineyard and wines have been
receiving much acclaim from national wine
writers. To purchase tickets,
please
contact MSC at
885-8787 or TSG at 886-9463. Tickets are $25 and
must be purchased at the time of reservation.
Only 15
tickets remain for the evening's tasting.
Artist Series on Display. The
exquisite
works of local artist Stephen Mancini are now on
display at The Savory Grape. Vibrant and
colorful, his
works leave a lasting impression. Mancini is
an artist,
photographer and filmmaker of national
recognition
and his works have been included in galleries
and
corporate and private collections nationally.
To learn
more about Mancini, stop in the shop or visit
art-to-die-
for.com.
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Wine from China? |
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France, Italy, California and Australia are
wine
regions with which most of us are familiar.
And today, we even see more wine coming from
Chile,
Argentina and South Africa. Although these
are some of
the
more popular regions throughout the world,
there are
many other regions growing grapes and producing
fantastic wines that we may never have
thought of,
such as China. Yes, China. China is an up and
coming player in the wine industry. It may
never have crossed anyone's mind, but for
those in
the wine industry it has become the newest
region
to which many vineyard owners and winemakers
are going.
Although grapes have been planted and wine
produced in China for more than 1,000 years, the
focus was
never on producing quality wines.
Luckily today vineyards such as Dragon's Hollow,
Grace Vineyard, Taillan Winery and Changyu
Winery
have set out to compete with the rest of the
world's
wine market. Producers from the US,
Australia and France's Bordeaux are going
there to turn
out world class vineyards.
Viticulture
experts from around the world have found the
natural
conditions in particular regions of China
to rival those
of France's Bordeaux.
One of the big names to help revolutionize
China as a
high quality wine producing nation is Dragon's
Hollow, which is located at the
foot of the
He Lan Mountain range in Ningxia Hui, China.
Vines
have been planted at this location since the
1990s,
but the vineyard officially started in
2003. One of the biggest expected
challenges to
face this vineyard is the climate and
terrain. However, the
brilliant workers at Dragon's Hollow have
harnessed
the lands full potential through taking
advantage of
such things as local spring water which is
used to
irrigate the vineyard in the spring and
summer. Dry
weather and long hours of sunshine allow the
grapes
to a reach full ripeness which leads to
grapes of great
color, full aromas and enhanced flavors,
while a long,
cold winter helps to ward off plant disease and
insects.
We are excited to bring in the Dragon's
Hollow wines, which we will taste with David
Henderson on Friday, March 7th from 5-8pm.
All are welcome to come join us
for a
blind tasting of these wines, as we
compare them with varietals from other countries.
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This Week's Savory Selections |
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2003 Argiolas Turriga, Italy.
Argiolas is a fantastic Italian producer, and
we are glad to have been able to acquire some
of this wine and the next one, Korem, as
well. Turriga is a single-vineyard blend of
Cannonau and Malvasia Nera, Carignano and
Bovale Sardo.
The vineyards in which these grapes are grown
are considered, by Argiolas,
to be
its best and most worthwhile vineyards. The
bouquet is full-bodied and
elegant, with black fruit and wild herb
flavors. On the
palate,
the wine is well-rounded with
an extremely pleasing structure. Another
Robert Parker favorite, scoring 93 points.
($78.99)
2005 Argiolas Korem, Italy.
Receiving 92 points by the Wine Writer Robert
Parker, this Italian is a deep, sexy
full-bodied blend. From three Italian grapes
- Bovale Sardo,
Carignano and a touch of
Cannonau - Korem offers a full bouquet of
sweet black
fruits, cedar, black currants & chocolate.
Warm & full-bodied, it has an excellent depth
of flavor & firm tannins framing a juicy
texture. Overall, Korem is intense and very
persistent on
the nose. The mouthfeel is smooth
and nicely balanced. This is definitely a
selection to have from a great producer. It
will age for the next 5-7 years. ($44.99)
2005 Dragon's Hollow Cabernet Sauvignon,
China. This Cabernet Sauvignon has good
intensity in color with a young, pinkish rim,
and a rosy
colored hue. Solid and robust on the nose with
intense fruit aromas, this wine is spicy on
the palate
with peppercorn flavors and hints of sweet
raspberry, and spiced apple. Dry and medium
bodied, this Cabernet Sauvignon has soft
tannins with
a pleasant, lengthy finish. ($12.99)
2005 Dragon's Hollow Unoaked Chardonnay,
China. Coming from the foot of the He Lan
Mountain range in Ningxia Hui, China is the
Dragon's
Hollow Unoaked Chardonnay. This Chardonnay
has a nose hinted with
tropical qualities, soft lychee, starfruit
and green
apple. On the palate, the texture is creamy
with a good
length and clean aftertaste. We were quite
impressed with this selection. ($12.99)
2006 Borsao Vina Borgia,Spain.
From the famed Borsao house, this young
Grenache shows a deep, rich purple color but
its body & taste are much softer. It has full
flavors of plum & blueberry that are
accompanied by just a hint of spice. The
finish is wonderfully smooth. This will be a
great wine for Sangria in the coming warm
months! A lot of wine for the price ($6.99)
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Weekend Wine Tastings |
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Friday, March 7th (5 to 8
PM) Dragon's Hollow Wines
Please join us for an exciting
blind tasting of
wines by China's Dragon's Hollow and other
varietals from around the world. Let's see
who can tell the difference between a Chinese-
produced Chardonnay and one from France.
Saturday, March 8th (3 to 7
PM) Great Finds Under $11
Please join us to taste a sampling of
our new wine picks under $11.
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