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The Savory Grape Wine Shop Newsletter |
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Greetings!
Much of what we hear
today is negative. The outlook on the economy
is bleak -gas prices, food prices and energy
costs have increased. In essence it seems
everything is increasing, and wine is not
excluded. Why? For many
reasons. The Euro is very strong against the
dollar, and therefore any wine exported to
the US from Europe is now more expensive. Of
course it also costs more to transport wines
overseas. So the $45 Champagne that you used
to purchase may now easily be $60 or more.
For US wines, again due to rising fuel costs,
it is more expensive to transport wine from
the West Coast to the East Coast, and as a
result many vineyards are increasing their
prices.
At what point does all of this lose its
elasticity, meaning how much more can prices
rise before we stop buying? Do we wait until
gas becomes $5 a gallon before we start
riding the bus? Do we opt for cheaper food or
less of it? Do we become more conscious of
how much electricity we now use? And where
does wine fit into this? Do we stop drinking
wine, buy less of it or buy cheaper?
We all have different life situations that
make us answer these questions differently
but I am sure many of us are now buying
smarter. For me, I thoroughly enjoy my
nightly glass of wine. Many people, like me,
consider wine as food. Just take a trip to
Europe, and you will easily see how it fits
onto your table daily. I particularly enjoy
my evening glass of wine after completing my
daily work. So if all else in life is
increasing in price, I guess I'll have to cut
back on something else. After all, isn't
being able to indulge in life's finer
pleasures the reason we work so hard?
Because of price escalation, we are even more
conscious of costs and what we carry in the
shop, from national brands to the little
unknown ones. We now offer an even
larger selection of wines from $6-$10.
Refusing to give up quality, we still taste
each wine before it hits our shelves. Of
course we still have, and always will, a vast
selection of premium wines upon which we
continue to expand.
So in the spirit of trying to keep you
enjoying the finest thing in life (wine),
this week we feature a wine that is
NOT in a
bottle. We just tasted, and enjoyed, a new
organic Argentinean Malbec (2007 Vinas de
Alto Salvador Yellow & Blue, $12.99) that is
not packaged
in a bottle but in TetraPak, a type of
packaging typically used for children's juice
boxes. It is in a 1 L package, which is more
than a regular sized bottle and less than a
magnum. A greener approach to packaging, and
a less expensive wine to ship. (Click here
for an article on Yellow & Blue.)
Pushing the envelope a little? Perhaps, but
trying times call for out of the box (bottle)
thinking!
Cheers! Jessica and Nino Granatiero
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The Savory Grape News & Events |
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RI Monthly's Best Of . The Savory
Grape is thrilled to share that it has won a
RI Monthly "Best Of" Award
this year. We don't know yet what we
received, but will find out on Tuesday,
July
29th at the "Best Of" event, which is
open to
the public and whose proceeds benefit
ArtReach, a nonprofit organization that
provides grants to art teachers throughout
RI. If you can, join us at the event, which
will be held at PPAC in Providence. We also
will be donating wine for its Wine and Dine
auction where dining
gift certificates of $50 and more will be
paired with a bottle of wine. Each pair sells
for $50, and many of the dining certificates'
values
are much higher. For information about the
event, click here.
July 25th Wine Tasting. We have had
the pleasure of working with Sophie Daniels
of Opici Imports numerous times, including at
a wine dinner with Siena Restaurant, and we
are excited to welcome her to the shop on
Friday, July 25th for a special wine tasting.
Sophie will be at the store from 5 to 8 PM
offering us excellent selections from
Italy. Sophie's selections also will be
paired with cheeses
from
Whole Foods Market. So please come enjoy wine and
cheese and meet Sophie.
July 28th Wine Tasting. Continuing our
summer monthly wine tastings at Main Street
Coffee (MSC), 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. Please call ahead to
reserve your
seat. Tickets are $25 and must be
purchased at time of reservation at TSG
(886-9463) or MSC (885-8787).
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This Week's Savory Selections |
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2006 Merum Monastrell, Jumilla, Spain.
Merum
Monastrell, a blend of Monastrell (Mourvedre),
Syrah and Tempranillo, has quite a
reputation; in 2005, the Wine Advocate
awarded it 90 points. Following that, the
2006 we think is equally as wonderfully;
though it rated slightly lower at 87
points. Full of earthy notes, it
offers black cherry aromas accompanied by
notes of black berry, cherry and vanilla on
the palate. The finish is layered, long, and
smooth. We think its given rating is well worth
more. ($11.99)
2007 Fonseca Twin Vines Vinho Verde,
Portugal.
Fonseca Twin Vines Vinho Verde is a pale,
almost clear, refreshing white
wine from the Vinho Verde area in northwest
Portugal. This is a great all occasion wine
but most perfect for the summer, when the
weather is hot like it has been. While it is
crisp in taste, it is not at all tart. Its
slight effervescence is tingly on the
palate with refreshing apple, pear and orange
flavors.
Its spritziness comes from just a small amount of
carbon dioxide in the
bottle. Literally translated, Vinho Verde
means green wine. A weekend tasting
selection. ($10.99)
2005 Brunier Telegramme
Chateauneuf du Pape, France.
This red wine is the second label of the
famed Chateauneuf du Pape producer, the
Brunier Family, who produces the highly rated
Domaine du Vieux Telegraph Chateauneuf du
Pape. Rated 91 points by Wine
Spectator, this selection is excellent
for the
price and will be best for consumption in
about 2-3 years. So if you want a red to lay
down for a little while this is the one.
Boasting big, smoky, peppery notes intermixed
with black cherry and licorice, this wine is
ripe and full-bodied with a soft acidity.
This is a beauty of a Grenache-based wine,
and should drink well for 12-15 more years.
($41.99)
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Weekend Wine Tastings |
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Friday, July 25th (5 to 8 PM)
Special guest tasting with Sophie
Daniels of Opici Imports.
Saturday, July 26th (3 to 7 PM)
New Selections from Spain and Portugal
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2006 Merum Monastrell, Spain.
Please see tasting notes above in this week's
Savory
Selections. ($11.99)
- 2007 Fonseca Vinho Verde, Portugal.
Please see tasting notes above in this week's
Savory
Selections. ($10.99)
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