Wine Tasting

We will be tasting new releases of Australian Cabernet Sauvignon, for inclusion on our list. Robert Boehme of Vermont Wine Merchants Company will be on hand to discuss the wines and answer any questions.

Though the country is better known for Shiraz there's a lot of Cabernet in Australia: more than 71000 acres compared to about 77000 acres in California according to Wine Australia and the California Agricultural Statistics Service. Despite its prominence in the industry, the grape is a relatively new variety, the product of a chance crossing between Cabernet franc and Sauvignon blanc during the 17th century in southwestern France.

Its popularity is often attributed to its ease of cultivation - the grapes have thick skins and the vines are hardy and resistant to rot and frost - and to its consistent presentation of structure and flavours which express the typical character, of the variety. Cabernet Sauvignon makes the most dependable candidate for aging, more often improving into a truly great wine than any other single varietal. With age, its distinctive black currant aroma can develop bouquet nuances of cedar, violets, leather, or cigar box and its typically tannic edge may soften and smooth considerably.

The wide diversity of wine regions in Australia has meant that there has also arisen much diversity in the styles of Cabernet Sauvignon being produced. This is largely along the lines of wines requiring some cellaring coming from the cool-climate wine regions, while more accessible wines that can be drunk quickly derive from the warmer wine regions. The format will be casual, walk around with cheese and bread. The wines featured will be:

Razor’s Edge, McLaren Vale 2006
Thorn-Clarke, Estate Grown, “Terra-Barossa” 2006
d’Arenberg, “The High Trellis”, McLaren Vale 2006
Penley Estate, “Phoenix”, Coonawarra 2007
Vinaceous, “Raconteur”, Padthaway 2007

A sign-up sheet will be available at the front desk (253-5742 or 800-826-7000) and there will be a $15.00 fee per person.
 

We will be tasting new releases of Marlbough, New Zealand Pinot Noir, for inclusion on our list. When the first Marlborough vines were planted in 1973 few people predicted that the region would become New Zealand's largest and best known winegrowing area in little more than 30 years. The distinctive pungency and zesty fruit flavours of the first wines captured the imagination of the country's winemakers and wine drinkers alike and sparked an unparalleled boom in vineyard development.

Worldwide interest in Marlborough wines, particularly Sauvignon Blanc, has continued to fuel that regional wine boom. The free-draining, alluvial loams over gravelly subsoils in the Wairau and Awatere River valleys provides ideal growing conditions. Abundant sunshine with cool nights and a long growing season helps to build and maintain the vibrant fruit flavours for which Marlborough is now famous. Sauvignon Blanc is the most planted grape variety with Chardonnay in second place, followed by Pinot Noir and Riesling.

The silty alluvial soils and long, cool ripening conditions in the South Island regions of Marlborough and Nelson produce vibrant, fruit-focused Pinot Noir with strong cherry and plum flavours. With its rich flavours and soft tannins New Zealand Pinot Noir suits a wide range of dishes. Lean meats, such as veal, venison or turkey, are a good match with Pinot Noir. The vibrant cherry flavours of Pinot Noir from the more Southern New Zealand regions flatter the flavours of turkey like the classic garnish, cranberry sauce.
The format will be casual, walk around with cheese and bread. The wines featured will be:

Matua Valley 2008
Stoneleigh 2007
The Crossings 2008
Momo 2008
Villa Maria, “Cellar Selection” 2007

A sign-up sheet will be available at the front desk (253-5742 or 800-826-7000) and there will be a $15.00 fee per person.

We will be tasting new releases of Argentine Reds, for inclusion on our list. Rafael Flores of Artisanal Cellars, will be on hand to discuss the wines and answer any questions. Argentina is currently the world's fifth largest wine producer by volume – after France, Italy, Spain and the USA in that order – a position it has held for many years. High volume, low quality vines are being replaced by premium varieties. Formerly struggling bodegas are attracting the backing of major international wine companies. Product quality is soaring, and every year the industry balance shifts further from cheap table wines towards exquisitely crafted drops that are increasingly recognised as being amongst the best in the world.

The Argentine wine industry is reaping the benefits of its heritage - old vines, unique geographical conditions - with new technology and a mix of modern and traditional methods. It's come along way since the first vines were planted in Mendoza more than 400 years ago. The reason for this was that the indigenous Huarpes of the region had, many years earlier, developed and built a complex and sophisticated system of irrigation channels to bring water from the Mendoza river to the arid plains. The desert climate and advanced irrigation system gives Mendoza's grape growers a unique advantage. With complete control over the watering of their vines, and in combination with the hot daytime temperatures and cool nights during the grape ripening seasons, conditions are almost ideal for growing grapes with ripe, intense fruit characteristics and good acidity levels. The format will be casual, walk around with cheese and bread. The wines featured will be:

Malbec, Bodega Vista Flores, “Etcetra”, Mendoza 2007
Malbec, Pedro y Jorge Cecchin, “Esencias de la Tierra”, Mendoza 2006
Malbec, Hacienda del Plata, “Zagal”, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza 2008
Cabernet Sauvignon, Pedro y Jorge Cecchin, “Esencias de la Tierra”, Mendoza 2006
Syrah, Xumek, “Sol Huarpe”, Valle de Zonda, San Juan 2008

A sign-up sheet will be available at the front desk (253-5742 or 800-826-7000) and there will be a $15.00 fee per person.
 

We will be tasting new releases of Côte du Rhone Reds, for inclusion on our list. The South of France was the first region annexed by the Romans, in about 125 B.C., decades before Julius Caesar brought the rest of Gaul under his control. The area was ancient Rome with a French twist, a synergistic blend of two cultures and lifestyles that left a permanent imprint on both of them. Wines have been produced in the region since pre Roman times, and those from the right bank were the favourite wines of kings and the papal community in Avignon at the time of the schism.

In the mid 17th century the right-bank district of Côte du Rhône had issued regulations to govern the quality of its wine and in 1737 the king ordered that casks of wine shipped from the nearby river port of Roquemaure should be branded with the letters CDR to introduce a system of protecting its origin. The rules for its Côte du Rhône thus formed the very early basis of today's nationwide AOC system governed by the INAO.

The Cotes du Rhone in Provence is home to some of the most dependable wines at prices that are equally appealing. The reason for the affordability is a combination of the abundance of wine produced and the concentration on making fine wines rather than marketing them. Of the twenty three grape varieties grown in the Cotes du Rhone, Syrah and Grenache are the most commonly used for reds with Mourvedre, Cinsault or Carignan added.
The format will be casual, walk around with cheese and bread. The wines featured will be:

Château Mont-Redon, 2007
E. Guigal, 2005
Cave de Rasteau, “Rasteau”, Tradition 2007
Domaine Grand Veneur, “Les Champauvins”, Villages 2007
Domaine Coste Chaude, “Cuvée Jupiter”, Visan 2006

A sign-up sheet will be available at the front desk (253-5742 or 800-826-7000) and there will be a $15.00 fee per person.