"No-Stress Friday": It's Easier Than You Think

In our house, we have adopted a new rule: “No Stress Fridays!”  Our focus is to let go of stress, actually eliminate it on this day, and to allow more joy and love to enter our lives.  Some Fridays it is tough, but it’s actually getting easier and working.

Tonight’s wine tastings certainly will help anyone relax and de-stress from the week:  champagne at Great Wine Buys, a 20 year old Pinot at Storyteller Wine Co., and  a Cotie-Rotie vertical at Cork Wine Shop.  If you are hunting for a spectacular Pinot Gris Rose ($20), try the Reuilly at Foster and Dobbs.

Enjoy your no-stress Friday!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Blackbird Wineshop
TBD

Cork Wine Shop

For this week’s special Friday flight, Elaine Testa of Casa Bruno will be pouring a vertical flight of the best example of old-world Syrah in the world – Côte Rôtie!

Domaine Duclaux sits on steep, terraced slopes in the Northern Rhone where Syrah reaches its penultimate glory. She’ll be pouring 4 vintages of the La Germine cuvee starting with 2006.

Make sure you get to this tasting early, as we will start at 4pm and pour until the bottles run dry or 7pm, whichever comes first. These wines sell for $65-70/bottle so this is truly a special opportunity to try great wines for a nominal $15 tasting fee.

CorksCru

TBD

5-7 pm, $5

Cornell Wine

Zinfandel and Primitivo

4:30-7 pm, $8-$16.

E & R Wine Shop

No tasting

(Next tasting: May 23)

Every Day Wine

2011 Rosé Round 1

5-9 pm, $12.

Foster and Dobbes

Join us this Friday, May 18th, when we celebrate the Wines of the Loire! Bonnie Crocker from PDX Wines will be here to share tastes of the 2010 Luneau Papin Muscadet Clos des Allees, 2011 Domaine de Reuilly Rose of Pinot Gris, 2009 Francois Pinon Vouvray Silex Noir, 2010 Clos de Tue Boeuf Cheverny Rouge, and 2005 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses. Plus, cheesemaker Liz Alvis from Portland Creamery will be sampling her fresh and tasty chevres. We hope you’ll join us this Friday between 4:30 & 6:30pm for a tasting of delightful wine and cheese for a summery evening!

4:30-6:30 pm, free.

Garrison’s Fine Wines

Loire Cabernet Franc

(1983-2005, Raffault and Chanteleuserie)

1985 Domaine Raffault Chinon Les Picasses
1989 Domaine Raffault Chinon Les Picasses
2002 Domaine Raffault Chinon Les Picasses
2005 Domaine Raffault Chinon Les Picasses
1983 Domaine Chanteleuserie Bourgeuil

5-8 pm, $20.

Great Wine Buys

Champagne from France’s Aube 

Closer to Burgundy and Chablis in distance and spirit than Reims, the Aube/Côte des Bar is the new hotspot. Young dynamic winemakers are creating very personal and delicious wines from mostly Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grown on chalky soil. Join us as we pour a cross-section including the hard-to-find Cedric Bouchard Inflorescence, Drappier, Dumont, DeMarne-Frisson and more. As if we need an excuse to drink Champagne…

5-7:30, $20

John’s Marketplace

We’ll pour wines from the Kermit Lynch portfolio including:

Foillard Beaujolais
Domaine Ostertag Riesling Grand Cru MuenchbergPunta Crena Lumassina -a refreshing white from the Ligurian coast of Italy.

Plus lots more.

5-7 pm, $5.

Liner & Elsen

A Taste of Pinot – California Style: Williams Selyem, Calera, Hanzell, Etude, and more.

Mt. Tabor Fine Wines

2010 ITALIAN & AUSTRIAN WHITES/ EXPLODING WITH FLAVOR
2010 Gini, Soave Classico/ Veneto, Italy
2010 Schloss Gobelsburg, Gruner Veltliner “Gobelsburger”/ Kamptal, Austria
2010 Peter Schandl, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc)/ Rust Im Burgenland, Austria
2010 Abbazia Di Novacella, Muller Thurgau (Dry)/ Alto Adige-Valle Isarco, Italy
2010 Abbazia Di Novacella, Sylvaner “Praepositus”/ Alto Adige-Valle Isarco. Italy

Premium Pour ($4)

2010 Les Cretes, Chardonnay “Frissonniere”/ Valle D’Aosta, Italy

4-8:00 pm, $15.

The Portland Bottle Shop

Apolloni Wines with Laura

5-7:30, $10

Portland Wine Merchants

2009 BORDEAUX! A already Legendary vintage in red Bordeaux!

4:30-7:30, $15

Storyteller Wine Co.

A Few of My Favorite Things!

This Friday I am selecting several wines that my family and I have been enjoying of late. All of the wines are brand new to the store and I hope they will become a few of your favorite things as well! There will be an Aglianico from Italy, a Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley, a superb white from northern Italy, a nice little rosé from France and a few other new arrivals, all poured for no charge.

The “super pour” will be the best bottle of wine I have ever opened for our bonus round. And frankly, that’s quite a statement given some of our “super pours.” It is going to be a Pinot Noir, it’s going to be over twenty years old and it is going to be from The Eyrie Vineyards. Wake the neighbors and alert the kids, because for a slightly more than nominal fee, this Friday night’s “super pour” will be a South Block. It’s Champions League Final eve and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Chelsea’s impending victory over Bayern Munich han to break out a South Block. Drop by Friday night to sip a bit of Willamette Valley history.

6-9 pm, free.

Vino

TBD

4:30-8 pm, fee.

The Wine Cellar
TBD, 4-6:30 pm, free

Wineup Wine Merchants

No tasting

Woodstock Wine and Deli

TBD

6:30 pm, $10.

PDX Urban Wineries: Mother’s Day Weekend Passport Wine Tasting

Event date: May 12, 2012 12:00 PM → May 12, 2012 5:00 PM

Event location: Hip Chicks do Wine, 4510 SE 23rd Ave.

Listing sponsored by Hip Chicks do Wine

Looking for the perfect day-before-Mother’s-Day outing with family and friends, right here in Portland?

PDX Urban Wineries is holding its first Passport Tasting on Saturday, May 12, from noon-5 p.m. Come taste the wines of Portland as you visit our member wineries around the central city. Mom will LOVE it.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Cornell Wine
TBD

Garrison’s Fine Wines
Everyday wines, 1-4 pm, free

Great Wine Buys

Winemaker Herb Quady of Quady North will be here to pouring his cool southern Oregon wines including syrah, rosé and the brand new white Pistoleta. FREE!

2-5 pm, free.

Liner & Elsen

Italian beauties: Ronco Blanchis Friulano, Li Veli Negroamaro Salice Salentino, Ippolito Ciro Rosso Liber Pater, Ca’ Montebello Oltrepò Pavese Rosso Custiò, Ca’ Montebello Pinot Nero Bianco, and S. Paolina Chianti Classico Riserva.

noon-5, free.

Portland Wine Merchants

free.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Blackbird Wineshop
TBD

Cork

No tasting (Big Table Farm was last night)

CorksCru

TBD

5-7 pm, $5

Cornell Wine

Wines from Mediterranean Islands

4:30-7 pm, $8-$16.

E & R Wine Shop

DEEP ROOTS COALITION TASTING!
WINEMAKERS IN PERSON FROM:

ANDERSON FAMILY VINEYARDS  *  AYRES VINEYARD
BEAUX FRÈRES  *  BELLE PENTE VINEYARD
BRICK HOUSE   *  CROWLEY WINES
EVENING LAND VINEYARDS  *  EVESHAM WOOD WINERY
ILLAHE VINEYARDS   *  J. CHRISTOPHER  *  J.K. CARRIERE
MATELLO  *   PATRICIA GREEN CELLARS   *  WESTREY WINERY

In wine, roots are our friends. The deeper the better. If they are not fed by irrigation, they dig down and find their own source of water. This is good, we like this, and so does the DEEP ROOTS COALITION – a self-formed group of super dedicated Oregon winegrower/makers who choose not to turn on the hoses when the big heatwave strikes. And guess what? Vines with deep roots are more self-sufficient, which means they fare better in all kinds of weather. It’s no bull – there’s a reason DCR is an A-list of Oregon wineries!

This weekend you will have the opportunity not only to taste these luscious wines (2 from each winery: that’s 30 wines!), but to chat with the winemakers about their roots.

6-8 pm, $20 (advance, $25 at door)

Every Day Wine

Anne Amie Vineyards, OR

5-9 pm, $12.

Foster and Dobbes

Brooks Winery and PAQ Truffles

Occasionally, serendipity strikes. A few weeks ago, I was testing a new group of Italian truffle products from P.A.Q. NY, when Chris Williams the winemaker from Brooks Winery stopped by with samples of their current releases. The truffles were exceptional – natural, subtle and nuanced, without the overwrought funk of so many truffle products – and the wines were marvelous on their own and truly wonderful with the truffle. We all agreed these pairings must be shared!

Please join us this Friday, May 11th for a tasting of Brooks Wines and PAQ Truffles. Chris will be sharing the 2009 Amycas, 2009 Ara Willamette Valley Riesling, 2010 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and the 2009 Janus Pinot Noir. From P.A.Q., we’ll be sampling black summer truffles, black and white truffle oils, butter, honey, sauces, and more. The free tasting will be 4:30 to 6:30. The sun will be out, the weekend will be starting, and serendipity will rule!

4:30-6:30 pm, free.

Garrison’s Fine Wines

Burgundy

2006 Denis Mortet Gevrey Chambertin
2009 Ghislane Barthod Bourgogne Rouge ‘Les Bons Batons’
2009 Domaine Ravaut Ladoix
2009 Domaine Ravaut Ladoix la Corvee
2005 Domaine Bongran Vire Clesse Cuvee EJ Thevenet

5-8 pm, $20.

Great Wine Buys

The Big Boys from Priorat

Before we put away our winter toys for the summer, let’s hit the well-muscled reds of Spain’s Priorat region. We’ll check in on a range of vintages across almost a decade, from 2009 back to 2000. Alvaro Palacios Les Terrasses, Vall Llach, Parmi, Cims de Porrera and more. $15.

John’s Marketplace

Please welcome Daniel Karlin pouring great Argentine wines from his Anuva Wines portfolio:

Anuva Wines is an Argentina-focused wine import company founded by Daniel Karlin, who grew up in Portland and still has strong ties to the city.  8 years ago, Daniel set off on a backpacking trip across the world.  His first stop was Buenos Aires, Argentina, and he never left. He fell in love with Argentine wine… shortly after falling in love with his wife.  Eight years later he is exporting wines from small production, family vineyards from the country in which he now lives.

5-7 pm, $5.

Liner & Elsen

No Tasting

Mt. Tabor Fine Wines

2010 Oregon Pinot Noir
2010 Cameron, Willamette Valley   $19
2010 Crowley, Willamette Valley   $23
2010 J. Christopher, Willamette Valley   $26
2010 Ayres Vineyards, Perspective   $29
2010 Arterberry Maresh, Winderlea Vineyard   $55

4-7:30, $15

The Portland Bottle Shop

Galaxy Wines with Gaironn

5-7:30, $10

Portland Wine Merchants

TUSCAN ROOTS! From Sangiovese Rosso to Brunello!

4:30-7:30, $15

Storyteller Wine Co.

A Celebration of Diversity!

Last Friday night we had a lot of fun with all the Oregon wines (and all the winemakers who made surprise appearances) but it’s time to mix it up a bit. This Friday’s lineup will include wines from all over Europe and a couple of very interesting entries from Oregon. Here’s the lineup:

2010 Domaine André Vatan Sancerre “Les Charmes” (the winery that made Jancis Robinson exclaim, after years of feeling as if Sancerre wines were losing their nerve and verve, “this is the sort of wine that would, nay should, get me drinking Sancerre again.”)

2010 Love & Squalor “Fancy Pants” Reserve Riesling (Matt Berson only made 60 cases of this, a primarily native yeast selection of very dry Riesling…a majority of the fruit came from the Brooks estate vineyard!)

2010 Weingut Schwaab-Dietz Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese (see above ;-} )

2011 Bieler Père et Fils “Sabine” Rosé ( Provence pink. Nuff said.)

2009 Cattrall Sisters Pinot Noir (one of the most elegant 2009s you will come across, made with fruit from 33-year old vines…only 125 cases in existence so it’s also one of the most difficult wines in the valley to source…you will read all about it in the next newsletter)

2010 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso (Sicily has captured my heart of late and this is a heck of a wine for less than twenty bucks a bottle)

The regular portion of this tasting will be free of charge. And yes, there will be a “super pour” for a nominal fee. The “super pour” will be the epic Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso “Guardiola.” Only a few bottles of this wine made it to Portland. The Guardiola Cru is comprised of 2 vineyards planted to 100% Nerello Mascalese and almost all of those ancient vines are pre-phylloxera. At 800-900 meters above sea level on the north side of Mount Etna, the Guardiola vineyard is the highest altitude red-wine producing vineyard in all of Europe. (To give you an idea, the highest vineyard sites in Montalcino only reach 500 meters above sea level). This will be a rare opportunity to try this wine, I hope you are able to join us.

6-9 pm, free.

Vino

TBD

4:30-8 pm, fee.

The Wine Cellar
TBD, 4-6:30 pm, free

Wineup Wine Merchants

TBD

5-7:30, $5 (waived with purchase)

Woodstock Wine and Deli
6:30 pm, $10.

We attended two of the three days of the Oregon Pinot Noir tasting at E & R Wine Shop last week, and tasted over 60 Oregon Pinots.  The tasting itself was incredibly balanced, without any “bad wines” in the bunch.  Typically, in a tasting of this size, we will see some great, mostly good wines with a few stinkers.  Not this time, everything was good and here are our (very subjective) favorites in alpha order by category:

“SPECTACULAR” WINES

2008 Andrew Rich Ribbon Ridge Vineyard ($40)
2008 Andrew Rich Croft Vineyard ($45)

Both Andrew Rich wines surprised us with their balance, smoothness, and easy to drink ability.

2008 Archery Summit Arcus Estate ($99)

Clearly the big winner, classic Oregon Pinot aromas of wet wool, very complex, reminded us of French earthiness as well as Oregon fruit.  Too bad the price is nearly three figures!

“EXCELLENT” WINES

2009 Adelsheim Vineyard Elizabeth’s Reserve ($57)
2007 Amalie Robert Estate Amalie’s Cuvee ($54.50)
2010 Arterberry Maresh Weber Vineyard ($58.50)
2010 Arterberry Maresh Maresh Vineyard ($58.50)
2010 Big Table Farm Pelos Sandberg Vineyard ($45)
2010 Big Table Farm Resonance Vineyard ($48)
2008 Brooks Winery Rastaban ($50)
2008 Francis Tanahill The Hermit ($47.50)
2008 Libra Wines Momtazi ($31.50) *GREAT VALUE!
2010 Haden Fig Cancilla Vineyard ($30) *GREAT VALUE!
2008 Panther Creek Cellars Shea Vineyard ($37)
2009 Sineann McGinlay’s ($27) *GREAT VALUE!

“VERY GOOD” WINES

2009 Adelsheim Bryan Creek Vineyard ($73.50)
2008 Amalie Robert Estate Vintage Debut ($32.50)
2009 Archery Summit Premiere Cuvee ($42)
2010 Bergstrom Winery Gregory Ranch ($50)
2009 Cristom Vineyards Mt. Jefferson ($31.50)
2009 Cristom Vineyards Sommers Reserve ($43.50)
2010 Dominio IV Wines The Black and Red ($32)
2010 Dominio IV Wines Wilikia ($38)
2010 Haden Fig Willamette Valley ($21)
2008 Francis Tanahill Gevurtztraminer ($25)
2008 Johan Vineyards Nils Reserve ($45)
2009 Libra Winery Reserve ($29.50)
2008 Panther Creek Cellars ($37)
2008 Stevenson Barrie Freedom Hill ($28.50)
2010 Teutonic Wine Company Bergspitze ($27)
2010 Teutonic Wine Company Alsea Vineyard ($45)

“GOOD” WINES

2010 Bergstrom De Lancelotti Vineyard ($60)
2009 Bethel Heights Vineyard Flat Block ($50)
2009 Bethel Heights Vineyard Justice Vineyard ($50)
2010 Bow and Arrow Wines Medici Vineyard ($30)
2010 Brooks Winery Willamette Valley ($22.50)
2009 Colene Clemens Reserve ($42)
2009 Colene Clemens Victoria ($58.50)
2009 Domaine Drouhin Willamette Valley ($42)
2008 Domaine Drouhin Laurene ($68)
2010 Hawk’s View Cellars White Pinot Noir ($27)
2009 Hawk’s View Cellars Hawk’s View Vineyard ($36)
2009 Johan Vineyards Estate ($29)
2011 Lange Winery Rose of Pinot Noir ($16.50)
2009 Lange Winery Reserve ($29.50)
2010 Rex Hill Vineyards Willamette Valley ($31.50)
2009 Rex Hill Vineyards Shea Vineyard ($58)
2009 Shea Wine Cellars Estate ($40)
2010 Shea Wine Cellars Block 7 ($56)
2011 St. Innocent Winery Oeil de Perdrix White Pinot Noir ($19)
2009 St. Innocent Winery Zenith Vineyard ($37)
2008 Stevenson Barrie Temperance Hill ($28.50)
2008 William Hatcher Wines William Hatcher ($45)
2009 William Hatcher Wines William Hatcher ($48)
2009 Tendril Wine Cellars White Pinot Noir ($48)
2009 Tendril Wine Cellars Tightrope ($64.50)
2009 Willakenzie Estate Pierre Leon ($38)
2009 Willakenzie Estate Aliette ($47.50)

Rodolphe Raffault Tonight at E & R

From E & R Wine Shop Press Release:

Definitely worth 20 minutes of your time if you can drop by tonight (May between 6 and 7:30!

Archery Summit "Arcus Estate" Our Favorite Pinot Noir-Egon Wine So Far

The first two days of the Pinot Noir-Egon were fantastic, from top to bottom very consistent delicious wines.  Here is the lineup for day 3:

From E & R press release:

e&r wine shop.  come on by for a great line up of established and new oregon wineries.   37 wines to taste! 1:30-3:30 p

Coattails Wine
Crumbled Rock
de Lancelotti
Domaine Serene
Dusky Goose
Elk Cove
Et Fille Wines
Iota Cellars
Maysara Winery
Montebruno
Owen Roe Winery
Penner-Ash
Ponzi
Raptor Ridge Winery
Idealist Wines
Soter Vineyards
Vincent Wine
Walter Scott Wines
Winderlea

Colene (Not Roger) Clemons at E & R's "Pinot Noir-Egon" Tonight

Day 2 (of 3) of the annual Pinot Noir-Egon event at E & R has an unbelievable batting order today of all-star Oregon wines, check out the established wineries and up and comers’ like Libra and Colene Clemons- tasty!

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Cornell Wine
TBD

E & R Wine Shop

2012 Pinot Noir-Egon!

Andrew Rich Wines
Arterberry Maresh
Bergstrom Winery
Big Table Farm
Brooks winery
Colene Clemens
Cristom Vineyards
Dominio IV Wines
Lange Winery
Libra Wines
Panther Creek Cellars
Sineann Winery
Stevenson Barrie
Teutonic Wine Company
Willakenzie Estate

6-8 pm

Garrison’s Fine Wines
Everyday wines, 1-4 pm, free

Great Wine Buys

TBD

2-5 pm, free.

Liner & Elsen

Ooh-la-la, wines from France! Dom. d’Augeron Sables Fauves, Gérard & Pierre Morin Sancerre V.V., Vessigaud Mâcon-Fuissé, J. L. Chave Selection Côtes-du-Rhône Mon Coeur, and Ch. du Cayrou Cahors.

noon-5, free.

Portland Wine Merchants

free.

Storyteller Wines

Drink Pink!

Drop by on Saturday to taste a few pin wines from Oregon and France. And hopefully the sun will be back by then! There will be no charge for this tasting.

12-5 pm, free.

The Wine Cellar
TBD, 12-5 pm

"Best Ever" Compilation of Wine Tastings Around Portland Tonight

Tonight is simply the best compilation of Friday night tastings we have ever seen, and we mean EVER!  Take a look below, ’nuff said!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Blackbird Wineshop
TBD

Cork

Punta Crena

We are jumping for joy with excitement that Paolo Ruffino from Punta Crena, our favorite new discovery from Italy, will be visiting the shop this Friday. Paolo will be pouring an assortment of wines made from indigenous grapes growing in Liguria.

Expect Sparkling Lumassina, Pigato, Cruvin, Mataossu and Pettirosso Rosato. The tasting starts at 4pm. Come early and kick off our Anniversary Month this Friday!

4-7 pm, $12

CorksCru

TBD

5-7 pm, $5

Cornell Wine

Pinot Noir from other than Oregon

4:30-7 pm, $8-$16.

E & R Wine Shop

E&R’S “PINOT NOIR-EGON 2012″!!!

Adelsheim
Amalie Robert
Archery Summit
Bethel Heights
Bow and Arrow
Domaine Drouhin
Haden Fig
Hawks View
Johan Vineyards
Rex Hill Vineyards
Shea Wine Cellars
St. Innocent
Francis Tanahill
William Hatcher
Tendril Wine

6-8 pm, $20 in advance, $25 at door

Every Day Wine

Sangiovese

5-9 pm, $12.

Foster and Dobbes

TBD

4:30-6:30 pm, free.

Garrison’s Fine Wines

Owner’s Picks

2000 Chateau de Bellevue Lussac St. Emilion Bordeaux

1990 Warre’s Vintage Port Quinta da Cavadinha

2010 Crowley Chardonnay

2009 F.L. Pillot Pommard ‘Tavannes’

2010 Occhipinti SP68 (mags available)

5-8 pm, $15.

Great Wine Buys

No Tasting

John’s Marketplace

5-7 pm, $5.

Liner & Elsen

Kermit Lynch Tasting featuring the winemakers
from Charles Joguet and A&P De Villaine

Join two of Kermit Lynch’s finest producers – Anne Charlotte Genet from Domaine Charles Joguet (Chinon) and Pierre de Benoist from A&P De Villaine (Burgundy).
Fee for this very special event: $20. No reservations needed.

A&P DeVillaine Burgundies: 2009 Bourgogne Rouge La Fortune 2009 Bouzeron Aligote 2010 Bourgogne Rouge La Digoine 2010 Bourgogne Rouge La Fortune 2010 Bourgogne Blanc Les Clous 2010 Mercurey Montots 2010 Rully Clos Saint Jacques

Dom. Charles Joguet: 2011 Rose 2009 Cuvee Terroir 2009 Petites Roches 2009 Cuvee de la Cure 2009 Varennes du Grand Clos

Mt. Tabor Fine Wines

I really stepped out and went crazy with this one. After over a decade of hosting “Italy’s less traveled wine roads” tastings I figured it was time to expand and change. I was watching Dr Phil and one of his guests said change is a good thing and I always follow what these people say so here we are…..”The less traveled wine roads of Italy AND France.” I must say that with the freedom of having two countries less traveled wine roads to motor down, while I spent a bit more in fuel, the benefits reaped in wine rewards were enormous! There is an amazing amount to be learned in a tasting like this and when you join us tomorrow I’ll be happy to share with you all the areas and unusual grape varieties of the wines being poured. If you want to be wine knowledgeable it’s important to be familiar with grapes like Poulsard and Mondeuse from regions like Arbois and Bugey. But the bottom line is this is just a darn delicious tasting of red wines from grapes and places that you’ve probably never thought of or been to.

The Lineup

09 Girasoli, Ca’ Andrea Di Sant’ Andrea/ Umbria, Italy   $12

10 Dom. Des Schistes, Cotes Du Roussillon “Les Bruyeres”/ Roussillon, France   $13

10 Fattoria Cabanon, Augurio/ Provincia Di Pavia, Italy   $16

10 Famille Piellot, Mondeuse/ Bugey, France   $19

10 Andre et Mireille Tissot, Poulsard “Vieilles Vignes”/ Arbois-Jura, France   $25

Premium Pour ($4)

05 D’Antiche Terre, Taurasi Riserva “Il Vicario”/ Campania, Italy

4-8:00 pm, $15.

The Portland Bottle Shop

Vinum Apéritifs/Digestifs with Ron

5-7:30, $10

Portland Wine Merchants

PIEDMONT, ITALY!  An evening of big juicy reds from the DIRT road!  Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcettos!!

4:30-7:30, $15

Storyteller Wine Co.

This Friday promises to be a great tasting. We will be pouring the new 2010 Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs from J. Christopher and Crowley Wines, along with the J. Christopher Cristo Irresisto Rosé and the Crowley Wines Willamette Valley Chardonnay. There will be a few other treats from these cats in the lineup but one of the more unusual entries will be Marcus Goodfellow’s brand new, first time ever Matello White Pinot Noir. There was only 9 cases available for all of Oregon and we will be tasting and selling it Friday night. Amazingly, there will be no charge for this tasting. But wait until you see the “super pour!”  For a nominal fee we will be pulling something truly special from the library from one of these three young turks.

6-9 pm, free.

Vino

Oregon Pinot Noir. We’ll explore the latest and greatest from our backyard!

4:30-8 pm, fee.

The Wine Cellar
TBD, 4-6:30 pm, free

Wineup Wine Merchants

Bill From Vehrs Distributors Will Be Pouring

5-7:30, $5 (waived with purchase)

Woodstock Wine and Deli
6:30 pm, $10.

Do NOT Forget to Check Out the Kir Jensen "The Sugar Cube" Release Party Sunday!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Cornell Wine
TBD

E & R Wine Shop

Meet Corsica’s star Jean-Charles Abattucci and taste some of his finest wines. His Importer shares these notes with us.Domaine Abbatucci.

In the colorful, picturesque city of Ajaccio, capital of Corsica, you can’t get very far without seeing the name Abbatucci. There are streets, monuments and plazas that carry the name, which is normal given that General Jean-Charles Abbatucci from Ajaccio was a hero of the French Revolution and comrade in arms of another local hero, Napoléon Bonaparte. Step into a wine bar or a restaurant there, chances are these days they’ll pour you a glass of Domaine Abbatucci. The domaine is run by Jean-Charles Abbatucci, a direct descendant of the General, who has now become a local hero of another kind—for providing the local populace with its most sought-after libation.

Corsicans are proud defenders of their traditions and environment, and with Abbatucci they indulge guilt-free. His wines are certified biodynamic, and he believes in following even the most far-out biodynamic practices to the letter. On his large estate south of Ajaccio he keeps a pristine poly-culture ecosystem in place, complete with herds of sheep foraging through his vines, groves of olive trees on ancient terraces, and large swaths of untouched forests. His vines come from cuttings of indigenous grapes, sourced decades ago high up in the isolated and mountainous interior of the island from elderly peasant farmers, effectively saving several native varieties from extinction. To keep his vines happy, he’s known to drive his tractor out to his vineyards and play traditional Corsican polyphonic songs over loudspeakers for their benefit. After the harvest he’ll treat his cellar to the same music as his grapes ferment and come of age. All part of the terroir, he says. Does all this have an actual effect on the wine? Have a taste for yourself. The proof just might be in the pudding.

1-4 pm, free

Garrison’s Fine Wines
Everyday wines, 1-4 pm, free

Great Wine Buys

Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadetare lovely springtime whites and a whole new crop just landed. Pray for sun and let’s check them out. Luneau-Papin, Delhommeau, Couet (yes, Couet!).

2-5 pm, free.

Liner & Elsen

Tutti Italia: Zerbina Albana di Romagna Secco, Orsolani Erbaluce di Caluso, Ernesto Picollo Gavi di Gavi, Marcarini Barbera d’Alba, and Paneretta Chianti Classico. Plus: Dom. Wachau Grüner Veltliner.

noon-5, free.

Portland Wine Merchants

TBD

free.

Storyteller Wines

Spain!

We have some nifty new wines from places like Rioja and Ribeira Sacra and it’s time to pop the corks! There will be no charge for this tasting.

12-5 pm, free.

The Wine Cellar
TBD, 12-5 pm