Fun Events And News From Enoteca – Fine Wine & Beer

1. Trip Through Europe – Folio Wine Tasting this Weekend
       with Thomas Vogele
       Tasting will be 3-7 Friday and 12-7 Saturday, only $10!
2. Owen Roe Wines: Big Huge Value, Little Prices
       Thursday, August 27th, 7 pm, 1/2 price, get tickets!
3. Orin Swift Wine Tasting: The Prisoner and then some
       Thursday, September 10th, 7 pm, 1/2 price, get tickets!
4. Remember the Orphans: Lots of Wine & Beer recently added
5. Relay for Life Golf Tournament
6. Upcoming Tasting Events
7. How much fun is it to join Wine & Beer Club?
8. Will I meet Niles and Frasier at a wine tasting?

A Note from Russell

This week I am glad I drink wine. Thursday evening at 7 we’ll be opening a bunch of Owen Roe wines to share, and it’s easily accessible to anyone at a 1/2 price, only $5 per person ticket price. What’s more, these wines are all offered at a great price point, $12-27 at retail. Sarah just had another bottle of Lenore Syrah last night, mmmm…. delicious!

Friday we’ll be opening wine from all over Europe, including Austria, Italy, and Spain! From Austria, we’re opening a top shelf Gruner Veltliner, which will be impressive to white and red wine drinkers. From Spain we’re opening Nita Priorat, the most value priced wine from the tiny and exclusive Priorat region. What’s Priorat about? Succinctly, it’s a small region that specializes in blending traditional French varieties like Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah with the traditional Spanish varieties. The results are nothing less than spectacular!

From Italy we’re opening an incredible Super Tuscan, the Ornellaia Le Serre Nuove. This is one of my all time favorite wines, in this vintage it’s a Cabernet/Merlot blend, it’s always from Tuscany. This is another example of integrating French grape varieties with local wine making, in this case Italian! We’re also opening a Prosecco, a nice bubbly, and a handsome Chianti to round out the flight.

Drop in on Friday from 3-7 for the European Tour flight with Folio. For the Thursday tasting of Owen Roe, email or call to make reservations, and show up at 7. There are still a handful of seats available!

– Russell Mann

Trip Through Europe – Folio Wine Tasting
with Thomas Vogele

This Friday from 3-7 Enoteca will opening several premium wines from Europe, part of the Folio portfolio. Thomas Vogele, who represents these wines, will be on hand from 3-6 to educate on the wines and answer questions. We’ll be tasting these wines Saturday from 12-7 as well, which is a great time to come beat the rush!

We want to give you the opportunity to “try before you buy” so we offer a flight of wine for a low cost. Taste a flight (2 oz. each of 5 wines) for $10 per flight, and follow up with a glass.

By the way, the picture above is Villa Sandi, the people who make the Prosecco we’re opening!


Come try them, or email an order to put in your Bin!

Villa Sandi Prosecco
(Italy)
Villa Sandi is an exquisite Palladian-style villa dating back to 1622, located at the foot of the Marca Trevigiana hills, between the D.O.C areas of Prosecco di Valdobbiadene and Montello e Piave. The Villa represents the combination of art and agriculture which has characterized the Venetian landscape for centuries.

Today the Villa is owned by the Moretti Polegato family and is the headquarters of Villa Sandi winery. Devoted to the wine culture for three generations, the Moretti Polegato family handed down from father to son the ancient tradition of winemaking on a land suitable for growing both white and red varieties.

The versatile Proseccos from Villa Sandi are ideal accompaniments for a variety of cuisines and courses. Whether served as an aperitif, or at the end of a meal, or any course in between, the natural acidity and fresh taste lightly compliments, but never over-powers, a meal.

100% Prosecco

[Member: $12.59 / Retail: $13.99]

Laurenz Grüner Veltliner “Charming”
(Austria)
Laurenz V was created for white wine lovers everywhere. The winery focuses on a single wine variety — Grüner Veltliner — that has long been a favorite in its native Austria, where it represents nearly a third of the country’s wine grape production. Grüner Veltliner has been quickly catching on in the rest of the world, too!

Laurenz V is made by the Lenz Moser family, and is the most recent offering in the family’s five generations of wine making experience. The wine comes from the Kamptal and Kremstal areas of Austria where the warmth of the Danube Valley meets the cool air of the Waldviertel region. This combination develops fresh, fruity flavors in grapes while maintaining excellent acidity. The winery makes two wines — Laurenz V. Charming Grüner Veltliner from Kamptal, and Laurenz und Sophie Singing Grüner Veltliner, a wine inspired by Lenz’ daughter Sophie, predominantly from Kremstal.

The Laurenz V. Charming Grüner Veltliner has aromas of ripe apples and a typical Veltliner spiciness that marry to create a fascinating fruit bouquet. On the palate, the wine is soft and juicy, supported by a fine fruit acidity. Very harmonious, allowing for perfectly smooth drinking.

100% Grüner Veltliner

[Member: $25.19 / Retail: $27.99]

Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Castiglioni Chianti
(Tuscany, Italy)
Castiglioni Chianti DOCG is a blend of Sangiovese and Merlot. Recent vintages provide an expressive nose with appealing, prominent fruit and a palate of light tannins complemented by a judicious balance of alcohol and crisp acidity with an impressive and luscious finish.

Chianti Castiglioni greets the eye with a forward, purple-flecked ruby red. The nose opens to clean aromas of black cherry over nuances of dried plum and spicy, sage-like herbs. The palate is remarkable for its balance, showing abundant but well-integrated tannins, a tasty acidity, and a finish in harmony with all its components.

Pair with full-flavoured dishes such as meat-sauced pappardelle, and roast chicken as well, sauteed beef with vegetables, and medium-aged cheeses.

[Member: $14.39 / Retail: $15.99]

Nita Priorat
(Priorat, Spain)
Nita is a rare gem from Priorat, a region typically known for its concentrated barrel-aged reds, because it is one of the only unoaked “vino jovens,” or young wines, made in this famous appellation. The creation of young winemaker Maritxell Pallejà, Nita retains all the characteristic minerality of a Priorat wine, while showcasing the dense fruit flavors of old-vine Garnacha and Cariñena.

Meritxell Pallejà is the third generation of her family to have been raised in Priorat, where her great-grandmother Anita built their first family home, “Cal Nita,” the namesake of this wine. After finishing her undergraduate degree in agricultural engineering, Pallejà spent a harvest and crush in the Napa Valley and in Bordeaux. She then returned to Priorat and became assistant enologist for Alvaro Palacios, before obtaining her graduate degree in enology and creating her own label, Nita. Pallejà carefully selects old-vine Garnacha and Cariñena grapes from the steep, slate-covered vineyards, where low yields produce wines of great expression and complexity. A biodynamic producer, Pallejà aligns her vineyard management with lunar and seasonal cycles.

Nita’s bright, unique style is matched by its intricate label design. The wine has received great accolades in European press and a prominent mention in the May 2007 issue of Bon Appetit.

90 Points Wine Advocate

Cariñena, Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon & Syrah

[Member: $21.59 / Retail: $23.99]

Tenuta dell’ Ornellaia Le Serra Nuoeve 2002
(Tuscany, Italy)
Tenuta dell’Ornellaia is situated on the Via Bolgherese in a triangle between the sea, the medieval hamlet of Bolgheri and the town of Castagneto Carducci. To get there, one travels up part of the historic ‘cypress avenue’ celebrated by the poet Giosuè Carducci. The estate comprises 240 acres planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Since 1981, when Tenuta dell’Ornellaia was established, this beautiful and unspoiled area has become synonymous with winemaking of the first order and the philosophy of ‘quality without compromise.’

Key elements of the success of this renowned estate are its unique soil and climate, ideally suited for the cultivation of Cabernet and Merlot. Man’s work is also an integral part of this search for excellence and is expressed through extraordinary care in the vineyards during the harvest and in vinification.

Influenced by the Mediterranean sea, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia benefits from a mild climate. The ripening process is enhanced by the sun’s reflection off the sea, providing prolonged hours of daylight which allows for the development of more depth and character in the grapes. The soil is varied and composite; the proximity to the sea has ensured the presence of loamy, sandy soils while the erosion of the hills in the higher part of the estate has provided shale and marl with light ferrous veins.

The vineyards are assiduously cared for and attention is paid to the smallest detail by the approximately 80 people working amongst the vines year round. Pruning, canopy management during the vegetative cycle and crop thinning are all undertaken with delicate precision. The latter, although it reduces the yield of the vines, guarantees that the remaining grapes mature in the best possible conditions achieving maximum concentration and above all, balance.

The resulting wines, harmonious and graceful, stand among the best in the world and are pure expressions of the Tenuta dell’ Ornellaia estate. The unwavering dedication of the team, coupled with superb microclimatic and geological conditions, has given the Estate an international success. In 2001, Wine Spectator, declared vintage 1998 Ornellaia Wine of the Year. The wines have received many other national and international awards, and consistently garner top scores from the most influential wine press.

Deep crimson red in colour with attractive red berry fruit aromas, it has a balanced, round generous palate structure and a smooth finish of good length. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the blend giving the wine its fine tannin structure, which is complemented by some mid-palate weight and softness, provided by the addition of Merlot.

This is a Super Duper Super Tuscan! A Super Tuscan is simply defined as an Italian wine from the Tuscany region made to include Bordeaux (France) grape varieties. Traditionally, Italians have not sanctioned these wines, and they have only been made for about 40 years. This is a personal favorite wine of mine, coming from a vineyard adjacent to the famed Sassicaia.

75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot

[Member: $53.99 / Retail: $59.99]

Owen Roe Wines Now Available
Sarah Likes the Art and the Wine

I’m an artist always looking for unique and interesting beauty, so when the new deliveries of Owen Roe wines showed up I was like a kid in a candy shop! I know that you don’t judge a wine by it’s label, but I still find myself grabbing a bottle with a sweet looking label and putting the money down for just that one reason. The Sinister Hand (pic) is what grabbed my attention first on a trip to Seattle a couple years ago, and of course it’s the popular one that is out of stock at the moment. For the last two years we’ve bugged people to make it possible to sell these wines in Idaho, and finally it has happened!

Check out the Sharecropper Pinot Noir and Ex Umbris Syrah that are on hand right now, and and David O’Reilly’s second label wines too. Under the Corvidae label you’ll find fantastic labels such as The Rook (Cab/Merlot/Syrah blend) – label based on the classic card game, Mirth (stainless Chardonnay) based on an old thyme nursery rhyme, and The Keeper (Cabernet Franc) based on the Bible book Song of Solomon. Corvidae refers to the bird family that includes crows and ravens. Under the O’Reilly name standard varietals of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Riesling are now in stock, and sport cool Irish wolfhound mugs.

Maybe its my affinity for my people, the Irish, that leads me to like Belfast born David O’Reilly’s wine making, but don’t just take my word for it, these wines are often rated well and well known as crowd pleasers. Maybe it’s the literary connection to Poe in the Corvidae line, maybe it’s just tasty wine.

Russell likes the Sharecropper, Mirth, and O’Reilly Pinot Noir the most, you’ll have to ask him why he likes ‘em. I like the big juicy flavor of The Rook, the refined yet powerful Ex Umbris Syrah, and Corvidae Lenore Syrah the best. Lenore is named after the love interest of Poe’s Raven.

We will be having Lee Anderson of New West, the distributor who brings these in, come pour for a tasting of these wines, but we were so excited we had to share the news right away and give you a chance to come pick them up before that happens.

Special Owen Roe Wine Tasting!

One night only! Owen Roe wine tasting – try these incredible wines with great bargain value prices for the flavor. Unique labels as well, including the Edgar Allen Poe inspired Corvidae series, and the Irish Wolf Hound on the O’Reilly series. 7 pm, pre-register only, limited space, $5 per person.

This tasting will be a “classroom style” tasting starting at 7 p.m. and will last about 1-1.5 hours.

The tasting starts at 7 on Thursday, August 27th.
Tickets to attend are $5 per seat, paid in advance.

Club members can have tickets simply added to their Bin, and anyone can order tickets by coming into Enoteca in Post Falls, calling us at 208-457-9885 or sending us email at service@corkjoy.com

Orin Swift Ultrapremium Wine Tasting

Lush… consistent… soothing… melodious… rich… lovable…

These are the words that come to my mind when I think of the Orin Swift wines. Since the first drop of Prisoner I have been a Prisoner to it’s flavor and allure. The Mercury Head was the graceful accompanyment to a fine Christmas dinner, really standing out and making a special day even more special. My new favorite is the Saldo Zinfandel, it’s perfect anytime, but especially after a REALLY bad day. It’s just the thing to cheer me up. For the Bordeaux blend drinker, give the Papillon a whirl!

I’m particularly excited that Enoteca is able to offer the full line of Orin Swift wines for this special event! I have a baby-sitter scheduled to make sure I can come, I wouldn’t miss this for the world! Come join Russell and I for this truly satisfying event! We have put a cap on attendance so order your tickets ASAP. This is a tasting event you don’t want to miss….and neither do I!

Special Orin Swift Wine Tasting!

One night only! Taste them ALL, 100% of Dave Phinney’s Orin Swift line up, including everything he makes. 7 pm, pre-register only, limited space, $15 per person.

This tasting will be a “classroom style” tasting starting at 7 p.m. and will last about 1-1.5 hours.

The tasting starts at 7 on Thursday, September 10th.
Tickets to attend are $15 per seat, paid in advance.

Club members can have tickets simply added to their Bin, and anyone can order tickets by coming into Enoteca in Post Falls, calling us at 208-457-9885 or sending us email at service@corkjoy.com

Relay for Life Golf Tournament

Beer Club Member Holly Hansen is helping to get the first annual Relay for Life benefit Golf Tournament going! Here’s the info:

When: September 20, 2009
Where: Cd’A Resort Golf Course

Go here for more information and how to register!

Please pass on this information to your team members, co-workers, friends and family!

Tasting Events Coming Soon

Mark your calendars, Enoteca – Fine Wine & Beer has a great lineup for the next few weeks. Join us for these excellent tasting events! More details will be available in this newsletter, as well as any changes that might come up.

Thursday, August 27th – 7 pm
One night only! Owen Roe wine tasting – try these incredible wines with great bargain value prices for the flavor. Unique labels as well, including the Edgar Allen Poe inspired Corvidae series, and the Irish Wolf Hound on the O’Reilly series. 7 pm, pre-register only, limited space, $5 per person. (1/2 price)

Friday, August 28th – 3-7 pm
Folio Partners wine tasting with Thomas Vogele. This is the importing company that brings in some of the world’s top Merlot’s including Ornellaia and Lamione, Italian super-tuscan wines. I never pass up an opportunity to open Ornellaia so we’ll do that, and while we’re at it Thomas will take us on a tour of Europe with Italian, Austrian, and Spanish wine! We will taste these wines on Saturday, August 29th as well, from 12-7.

Friday, September 4th – 4-7 pm
Taste of Club! September ust Wine & Beer of the Month Club! Club tasting event, taste all the wine club wines! This is a great opportunity to see what the Club is all about, and to see what others are getting in their bins. We will taste these wines on Saturday, September 5th as well, from 12-7.

Thursday, September 10th – 7 pm
One night only! Orin Swift wine tasting – including every wine they make! The Prisoner, Saldo Zinfandel, Papillon Bordeaux Blend, Veladora Sauvignon Blanc, and the mac-daddy Mercury Head Cabernet Sauvignon. 7 pm, pre-register only, limited space, $15 per person. (1/2 price)

Friday, September 11th – 4-7 pm
In honor of Patriot Day we will be tasting local legend, Mike Scott’s wine from Lone Canary winery. Come try something interesting from Spokane! We will taste these wines on Saturday, September 12th as well, from 12-7.

You can keep yourself in the loop on Enoteca events! Subscribe to the Enoteca Google Calendar to keep up-to-date on the latest happenings!


Thank you for your support of our local family business.

Salute’

Russell and Sarah

Enoteca – Fine Wine & Beer
208-457-9885
service@corkjoy.com

Enoteca is open:
Tuesday-Saturday: 11-7


Directions, hours, and more about Enoteca: www.corkjoy.com

We’re always looking for feedback! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to let us know. Did you like a certain wine or beer? We’re here to serve you so let us know how we can help: service@corkjoy.com

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 7:44 pm and is filed under Enoteca News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.