With fall on it’s way – time to break out those dessert wines! We’ve found some bargains to ease you into the season. Come taste them with us.

2006 Anselmann Gewurztraminer Spätlese    ($14)
Pfaltz
About as old school German as you can get. The wine has a beautifull golden color with medium sweetness and a FAT body. Fully developed with spicy complexity. Almost dessert wine, but more like dessert itself. Drink with fatty cheese or paté. Was $25, now $14 10% alcohol by volume.

2009 Chateau Saint Sauveur Cuvée des Moines

Muscat de Beaumes de Venise    ($18)
A sweet but not heavy dessert wine from the Rhone. Was $28, now $18

This Saturday we are featuring some classic Italian wines from a new local importer.
The wines are vibrant, the prices are great, and there are a couple of stars in the lineup.  We’ll also have a new olive oil for you to try.  Importer Fulvio Longo will be here to show his wines and tell you more.  Don’t miss it.

2012 Vigneti Zabu, Grillo $11
Vigneti Zabù is a fairly young winery set up 5 years ago in the town of Sambuca di Sicilia by the local wine growers association.  The vineyards are situated in the hills above Lake Arancio.  Grillo is local Sicilian varietal and the Zabu is dry and refreshing with notes of crushed herbs and citrus
blossoms.

2011 Corbinelli Rosso Toscana  $9
90% Sangiovese, 10% Trebbiano
The Azienda Agricola Corbinelli was founded in the 1600’s. Over the years the property and land has grown to its present size of 20 hectares, 11 hectares are cultivated as vineyards and 4 as olive groves on Chianti’s lovely rolling hills. Their Rosso is an old school style Tuscan red where they blend a bit of white grapes (Trebbiano) in with the Sangiovese.  It has a lighter body, nice fresh fruit, and a touch of old world charm.

2011 Terre di Sava, Luccarelli, Primitivo di Puglia  $12
Terre di Sava started in 2008.  In the Salentine countryside, around Sava, you find Primitivo, a precursor to Zinfandel, with some vines over 100 hundred years old. While the vines for the Luccarelli aren’t that old they are full of blackcherry, plum and spice aromas, a dry, medium body, and ripe black fruit flavors.

2006 F.lli Casetta, Barbaresco  $30
Nebbiolo
The Casetta family has been vine growing and wine making since 1725, and still to this day it is a family estate.  The vineyards are spread out amongst the Langa and Roero, where they are farmed using natural and environmentally friendly techniques.  This sturdy Barbaresco from a great vintage is starting to open up, showing tobacco, tea, & olive notes.  The wine is austere but velvety, with a long finish.

2007 La Casella, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Reserva  $35
La Casella was formed in 1974 from several vineyard sites surrounding Montepulciano by Alfio Carpini embracing organic and natural farming methods. Techniques such as rigorous pruning and particularly careful attention to detail during the harvest make all the difference once in
the bottle. The wines are rustic and designed to age beautifully.  Only Brunello can rival Montepulciano for superior Sangiovese.  This is an outstanding wine.

Bonoito Extra Virgin Olive Oil,  750ml  $12

Valle dell ‘Acate is located among the sinuous hills of the Dirillo valley in south-eastern Sicily.  The estate covers over 100 hectares with soil, locally known as “Milaro,” characterized by a particular substrate of calcareous sandstone, interleaved with packets of clay that allow the vines to produce high quality grapes.  It is run by a 6th generation wine making family, committed to the continuation and valorization of the ancient wine growing tradition of the province.  Stop by after work this Thursday and try their great wines.  

Francesco Ferreri, one of the owners and President of the Consorzio del Cerasuolo di Vittoria, will be here to talk about his wines and the region.  He’s come all the way from Sicily.  Don’t miss the chance to meet him. 

Valle dell ‘Acate’s, Case Ibidini wines are made from single varietal estate grapes are intended for more casual consumption.  These wines provide a purity and authenticity reflective of the philosophy of the estate.   

We’ll be showing the, 2011 Insolia and the 2011 Nero d’Avola (both $13 a bottle)

We’ll also have their more contemplative:

2011 Zagra  $18
60% Grillo, 40% Insolia
The Zagra shows aromas of white flowers of citrus fruit, wild rose.  It is fresh and dry, with a balanced acidity.

2011 Il Frappato $19
Aged 6 months in steel tank, and then 3 Months in the bottle, the Il Frappato is fragrant, fresh and bursting out with intense notes of bilberry, blackberry, and raspberry.  It is light but persistent; with small black and red fruit that coats the tongue. 

2009 Cerasuolo di Vitoria $26
Nero d’Avola 70%, Frappato 30%
The flagship wine of Valle dell ‘Acate, the Cerasuolo di Vitoria is aged in a combination of the steel tank and barrique for 12 months, and then for a minimum 9 months in the bottle before release.  It has scents of mature blackberry and raspberry with notes of soft spices like liquorice and cacao.  The flavors are soft and velvety. The tannins are balanced.

Sunday we’ll be pouring two fantastic whites wines that have come to us at exceptional prices. Both have some age on them and are fully developed. You could have cellared them yourself for six years but you don’t have to. Both have very limited availability. Both are marked down 35% to 50%. Think there is something wrong and they can’t be any good. Come try them.

2006 Chateau de Béru,        $18
Vaucopin Chablis 1er
Chardonnay
From a single vineyard of 30 year old premiere cru vines, on a steep limestone hill that plowed by horse and worked by hand. The 2006 is a fully developed Burgundy, rich, great body and integrated mineral notes. Was $36 now $18

2007 Anselmann Riesling, Spãtlese $15
Pfaltz
Clean notes of peaches, apricots and grapefruit on the nose. On the palate, its slightly sweet center is very well balanced by a fine backbone of acidity, and a long and refreshing finish. Was $23 now $15

Portugal, best known for its Port wines, also makes a wide variety of other wines ranging from the fresh and crisp to the rich and robust. This Saturday will be pouring just a slice of the wines from the country starting with Vinho Verde in the far north to the steep slopes of the Douro valley and on to newer Alentejo region further south. Come have a taste and see where your tastes land.

Dalila, Vinho Verde $8
A blend of local grape varieties native to the far north of the country, the wine has a light spritz a nice floral aroma along with a touch of herbs and citrus. The wine is a big hit in summer but can be very enjoyable all year round.

2011 Esporao Verdelho $14
Herdade do Esporão is one of the premier wineries of the Alentejo region. Their Verdelho (the same grape as the Spanish Verdejo) has vibrant aroma with tropical fruit and limey citric notes. The palate is fresh and minerally, with a long and persistent finish.

2011 Esporão Alandra Red     $9
Moreto, Castelão, Trincadeira.
Esporão’s easy drinking red is made of a blend of three indigenous varietals. It has youthful fruit aromatics and light floral notes.

2004 Alves de Sousa Tinta Cao $13 (originally priced at $26) 
100% Tinto Cao
The Douro region is best known for port wine, but serious maker produce some fantastic dry red wines as well. Domingos Alves de Sousa produces his wines, according to a family tradition begun by his grandfather, which is today also taken up by his children. Domingos was voted “Producer of the Year”, by the Portuguese Wine Magazine Revista de Vinhos in 1999 and 2007. He is the only person to have won this award twice. Tinta Cão has been grown primarily in the Douro since the sixteenth century. The vine produces very low yields which has led it close to extinction despite the high quality of wine that it can produce. Sousa’s is a wild, untamed wine from a traditional old Douro Valley variety with plentiful fruit, firm crunchy tannins, leather and spice complexity, meaty fruit and superb freshness. Today we get it at a bit of a deal.

Quinta dos Murcas, Ten Year Tawny $30
Tinta Amarela, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca , Tinto Cão.
Quinta dos Murças, located not far from the town of Régua, dates as far back as 1714, It benefits from a unique landscape of steep slopes, terraces, vertically-trained vines, streams, vineyards and olive groves, This Tawny is fermented in the traditional granite legates with foot treading and is aged in used oak pipes of 700 liters for an average period of 10 years.  It is complex and nutty with notes of fig, hazelnut and vanilla. 

This Saturday we’ve collected a group of French wines that put a smile on our face and we think will put a smile on yours. Stop by and try these great wines from Alsace, the Loire, Bordeaux, Languedoc, and Madiran.

It’s a tour in a glass.

2011 Domaine Le Fay d’ Homme Muscadet Sêvre et Maine $12
For five generations the Caillé family has been making Muscadet in Monnières. The wine ages “Sur lie” (on its sediment) for several months which adds body and mouthfeel. The La Fay is a fuller Muscadet, dry and focused with notes of white flowers. It’s the perfect wine for shellfish of all sorts.

Michel Fonné, Cremant d’ Alsace $18
70% Pinot Blanc, 30% Pinot Noir
Michel Fonné studied winemaking in Dijon and Champagne where he learnt about sparkling wines. IN 1089 he returned to Alsace manage the Barthe René estate for his retiring uncle. In 1997 he took over the vineyards of his father, and merged them with those of Barth René for a total of 12 hectares some of which are designated Grand Cru. About 10% of the plantings are dedicated to his Crémant d`Alsace, an above average sparkler with beautiful white peach tones, mineral nuance and hints of citrus skin that resolves into a long, dry finish.

2011 Domaine Galtier, Garrica, IGP Pays d’Hérault Côteaux de Murviel $10
The Domaine Galtier is a typical Languedoc farm (mas) surrounded by garrigue (scrubland) with its square tower and its bread oven built in the middle of the 17th century. The vineyard covers 25 hectares located near the small village of Murviel lès Béziers. The owners, Lise and Jean Carbonne are both from wine-growing families back two generations (her father and his mother). The Garrica is a light and herby Languedoc red — Great with food or just sipping by itself.

2010 Chateau La Haie, Bordeaux $17
80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet
François Decombe’s uncle owned a tiny vineyard and a few cows producing milk. After two years working with his uncle François rented his own vineyard and became a self taught winemaker. The vineyards are Certified Organic and farmed bio-dynamically. François barely touches his wines, he focuses on a hard work in the vineyard and an impeccable hygiene in the cellar, then he only has to listen to them singing and bottle them when he thinks they are ready. François smiles saying that the vines talk to him, thank him and give him beautiful fruit, every year. The wine has very enticing nose intermixing ripe blackcurrant and pleasant smoky mineral undertones. 

2010 Domaine Labranche Laffont, Madiran $16
2/3 Tannat, 1/3 Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon
When she took over her family’s vineyards in 1993, Christine Dupuy was the youngest winemaker in Madiran(and a girl to boot). Her Madiran is produced from 10 acres of clay loam soil Gravettes. The wine ages 18 months before being bottled. It has a complex nose of red fruits and spices, fat, round tannins and a full finish.

This Sunday we will be tasting two lovely wines from the Columbia Valley of Washington State. The Columbia Valley AVA is Washington’s all-encompassing region with some 11 million acres of land in all and is geographically defined by mountain ranges which border it on the west and north, and by the Columbia River on the south until it turns north at the Wallula Gap. Here the appellation continues east, following the state line and then dipping down into Oregon to include the southern part of the Walla Walla Valley AVA. The Columbia Valley’s eastern border is loosely defined by the land surrounding the Columbia River as it jogs north, and the Snake River as it runs east. Come explore with us…

2012 Parejas Cellars Band of Sisters Wysling ($15)
55% Marsanne, 34% Roussanne, 11% Grencahe Blanc
Columbia Valley
This local Rhône style white blend is dry full-bodied wine with perfumed aromas of spiced herbal tea, spring blossoms, Asian pears, greengages (European plums), and honeysuckle.

2011 Ridge Crest Cabernet Sauvignon    ($10)
90% Cabernet, 10% Merlot
Columbia Valley
Ridge Crest is the second label for Claar Cellars. Aged 18 months in oak, this wine has a dark cherry, plum fruit aroma with hints of tobacco and cedar. On the palate the wine is soft with a dark fruit explosion that expresses the cherry and slight currant berry flavors. The tannins are soft and add structure to the lengthy and jammy fruit finish.

Outside of Turin in the very North of Piedmont sits the Val de Susa.  In this long high altitude valley grow some traditional grapes that you don’t see elsewhere.  Val de Susa is a tiny, tiny, tiny DOC with only 11 hectares under vine split between 11 wineries.  To say that these wines are of limited production is an understatement.  The oldest winery in the region is Casa Ronsil.  The property has been in the Ronsil Family since 1250.  Today the winery is run by Pierino Ronsil with his son-in-law Franck Thollet.  They focus on traditional varietals Baratuciat, Serella, Becuet and Avana with vines that range from 50 to 90 years old.  The vineyards are tended to organically with no sulfur used during vinification, and very little at bottling. All the wines are fermented in stainless steel and aged in large neutral barrels so you can experience the grapes.

Come by on Saturday as we taste these rare and delicious wines.

2010 Maestro, Valsusa Bianco  $20
Equal parts Gros Blanc, Baratuciat, Serella
Crisp lemony mouth feel, mountain flowers delicate  but long finish.

2011 L’Enfant Terrible, Valsusa Rosso  $17 
100% young vine Avana
The bad child has flavors of bright and snappy blueberries, and darker fruit.

2009 Camilo, Valsusa Rosso  $20
60% Avana 30% Becuet, 10% Dolcetto
The Camilo, named after Pierino ‘s father is from 70 year old vines in the La Voùte vineyard.  The wine is full of dark earthy plum fruit and Christmas cookie spices.

2009 Saint Bartolomeo, Valsusa Rosso  $22
60% Avana, 20% Becuet, 20% Neretta Cuneese
The Saint Bartolommeo comes from their oldest vineyards of 90 year old vines.  It is fuller and more intense than its younger brothers.  The Neretta Cuneese makes all the difference.  A fascinating old world wine.

2007 1555 Pasito  $20 — 500ml
100% Avana
A beautiful pink color, the Pasito is full on the mouth and persistent with intense aromatics qualities obtained from the red grapes (usually Passiti is made with white grapes). The harvest starts in October and the grapes are dried during the winter before being pressed slowly.  It is aged in oak barriques for 12 months.