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The Savory Grape Wine Shop Newsletter |
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Greetings!
As I sit here sipping a cool, refreshing
glass of California Sauvignon Blanc, I
remember back to last week when I was helping
a customer select a couple of Pinot Noirs for
an evening at the beach. He wanted two
bottles that were under $20, that were good.
I thought oh, this is fun. (I love it when
our customers allow me to choose wines for
them.) I selected four Pinots all with
different flavor profiles from which he could
choose. I explained to him the aroma and
flavor differences between them - from
strawberry to black pepper to smoke to coffee
to black olive. He then gave me a look that
said I'll take those two, the ones that I
recall saying were exceptionally smooth.
I remember thinking to myself as I rang him
out that if I had just said the wines were
exceptionally smooth without going into what
they actually tasted like he most likely
would have just chosen those. Afterward, I
could tell he just wanted me to choose the
wines. It was Friday, and he was done making
decisions.
So I thought to myself, in the vast world of
wine and its accompanying descriptions do
people really want to know what it tastes
like? Do most people even know the vast
number of adjectives that we in the wine
industry often use to describe wine: orange,
apricot, grapefruit, pineapple, banana,
lemon, black currant, blackberry, raspberry,
strawberry, cherry, hazelnut, green olive,
black olive,
hay, tobacco, chocolate, wet socks, vinyl shower
curtain, butter, apple, prune, bacon, fig,
cinnamon,
black pepper, allspice, raisin, orange
blossom, tar, wet socks, smoke, mint, coffee,
oak, butterscotch,
cedar, vanilla, almond, fresh cut grass, bell
pepper, canned green beans & asparagus. And
this is not even the official list!
So...yes, many do want to know what wine tastes
like and many even know the wine lingo we
often use to describe this beverage, but if
it's the
end of a work week, and you are done making
decisions, let us know. We'll stop rattling
off the descriptions and make the decisions
for you.
Cheers! Jessica and Nino Granatiero
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The Savory Grape Upcoming Events |
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July 17th Wine Tasting. Join us once
again at
Pinelli's Cafe (a BYOB restaurant on Route 2 in
Warwick) this Thursday, July 17th, as we
continue the
Thursday Night Supper Club. Stop into The
Savory Grape (TSG) first to pick up some wine
then
head on to Pinelli's for a bite to eat. As
you dine, TSG's
Patrick Barberet will make his way to your
table to
sample a selection of Chilean and Argentine
wines
from the shop.
July 18th Wine Tasting. We are very
pleased
to welcome Steven Wynn of importer and
distributor Slocum & Sons of Rhode
Island to the store for a special Friday
night tasting.
Steven will be at the store from 5 to 8 PM
offering us some excellent selections from
Luxembourg and France, including a lovely
Chateauneuf du Pape. As
always, these wines will be paired with cheeses
from
Whole Foods Market at Garden City in
Cranston. So
stop in to enjoy wine and to meet Steven who
provides a fun take on wine.
July 28th Wine Tasting. Continuing our
monthly wine tastings throughout the summer,
we will hold our next tasting on Monday, July
28th, featuring the
renowned wines of California's Martin Ray and
Angeline Winery. The tasting will be held at
7 PM at Main Street Coffee (MSC). These
tastings sell
out quickly so please call ahead to
reserve your
seat. As always, tickets are $25 and must be
purchased at time of reservation at The
Savory Grape
(886-9463) or MSC (885-8787).
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This Week's Savory Selections |
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2005 Talisman Pinot Noir, Adastra
Vineyard, Los Carneros, California.
Adastra Vineyard
is a
California Certified Organic vineyard
situated in the
very heart of the Carneros appellation.
Located in
a low spot with cool air flow and relatively
light clay-
loam soils, it is a site with naturally low
vigor. The
inherently low yields produce extraordinary
fruit from
vines that require little manipulation, one
of the
hallmarks of an exceptional vineyard. The
result is a
wine producing seductive notes of mineral,
concentrated pure strawberry, and a subtle
hint of
violets. The mouth opens with a silky
texture and
explodes into very sweet, perfectly ripe
fruit and earthy
minerality that adds great complexity.
Overall, this
wine is very elegant and exquisitely balanced.
(Reg. price $45.99, your price $39.99, for
a limited time)
2005 Red Head Barrel Monkey Shiraz,
Australia.
Englishman Tony Laithwaite bought an old
bar
called Red Heads in McLaren Vale, Australia and
renamed it Red Heads Studio. He outfitted it
with
winemaking equipment and invited young, fresh
out-of-college winemakers to try their hands at
making small
batches of wine with very ripe grapes from
various sources in the region. What's the
attraction? Because new winemakers' usual
starting
jobs are
working in wineries as "Barrel Monkeys" whose
jobs are to move hoses and barrels around in
a winery,
the
Studio gives them the opportunity to make
wine, for which they really went to school! This
Shiraz
produced is a dark, almost
opaque
colored wine, with juicy, full-throttle flavors
of blackberry, espresso, licorice and
a hint of pepper on the medium length
finish. Decadent and divine!
($21.49)
2007 Fool's Bay Mallee Sands Chardonnay,
Australia. This great new Chardonnay comes
from rising star Hentley Farm Wines with
winemaker,
Keith Hentschke.
Mallee Sands
is a peachy, punchy Chardonnay that is full
-bodied yet
delightfully zesty and fresh with a lovely
clean finish.
Its bouquet is highlighted by nectarine and peach
with a
hint of butter. Overall the wine is crisp,
dry and citrusy
with an underlying base of tropical fruits
and a lovely
nutty finish. ($12.99)
Wachusett Brewing Company Wachusett
Blueberry,
Westminster, MA. This is one of our new
favorite
summer beers at the shop. Wachusett
Blueberry is a
light, straw-colored wheat ale with a hint of
natural
blueberry flavor. Enjoy this beer alongside
light
summer salads all the way to any dessert you can
throw at it. ($7.99/6-pack). Due to arrive on
Thursday.
Wachusett Brewing Company Green Monsta Ale,
Westminster, MA. A must have for all of
you Sox
fans
out there. The Green Monsta, a very big ale,
has a
generous up front spicy fraction which is
balanced
with imported malts. This is a great beer to
tip back
with burgers and dogs on the grill or even
with a hefty
roast beef sandwich. ($7.99/6-pack). Due to
arrive on Thursday.
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Weekend Wine Tastings |
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Friday, July 18th (5 to 8 PM)
Special guest tasting from Steven Wynn of
Slocum & Sons of Rhode Island.
Saturday, July 19th (3 to 7 PM)
New Selections from Australia
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2005 Red Head Barrel Monkey Shiraz,
Australia.
Please see tasting notes above in this week's
Savory
Selections. ($21.49)
- 2007 Fool's Bay Mallee Sands Chardonnay,
Australia.
Please see tasting notes above in this week's
Savory
Selections. ($12.99)
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