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In-shop Tastings & Sampler Packs
In-Shop wine tastings start at 10AM on Saturdays and 12 Noon on Sundays. These events are complimentary, informal, educational and fun!
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Wine Tasting -
August 7th & 8th |
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August CLUBVino
Summerly Spiced Pinot Gris!
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Ahhh... the sweet tastes of summer! Melons, peaches, nectarines... the riper the better, love 'em! If I had to put all my favorite summer flavors in a bottle it would be right here: Wallace Brook 2008 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris. Not to be confused by the leaner insipid Pinot Grigio of Italy!
This Oregon Pinot Gris offers up an attractive perfume of tangerine, peach, and apricot. Crisp, dry, and bright, it too will provide pleasure for 2-3 years. With all of the attention focused on Willamette Valley’s Pinot Noirs, their excellent white wines often get overlooked. This is a shame because there is plenty of quality as well as superb value and no one is doing it better than Wallace Brook!
We'll have this beauty open all weekend for your palate's pleasure... corks pop at 10am Saturday and 12noon Sunday! |
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Background
Pinot Gris originated in Burgundy, like the other members of the Pinot family, and has had a long history all over Europe. In recent times, versions from Alsace and northern Italy have been the best known. Oregon winegrowers introduced Pinot Gris to New World viticulture and in 40 years the variety has become the white wine of Oregon. This Wallace Brook Cellars Willamette Valley Pinot gris embodies the crisp, bright flavors of true quality Oregon Pinot Gris style, at a great price.
Growing Season
In 2008, bud break occurred during the last week of April, and bloom during the last week of June, late timing for both of these events in the north Willamette Valley. The growing season began with cool and wet weather. But, the heat of summer (temps above 90) arrived in mid June and was followed by a relatively hot July, which provided some catch up time. August and September were warm, although not above average. Harvest began the last week in September, with most of harvest taking place in October, which was warm and dry (Indian summer). The grapes for this Pinot Gris were picked in a span from October 6 to 18.
Vineyards
This wine is a blend of grapes from five vineyards in the Chehalem Mountains, Eola-Amity Hills, and Willamette Valley appellations of Oregon.
Winemaking
The focal point of this wine is its primary fruit characteristics, which we achieve through minimalistic winemaking techniques. The grape picking decision is based on flavor and phenolic development with very little reliance on lab results. Whole clusters were gently pressed to get the juice away from the tannins found in the skins and seeds. A variety of cultured yeasts were chosen to bring forth different aspects in the range of flavor possibilities, and a slow, cool fermentation helps retain the primary fruit esters. For enhanced textural richness, about 13% was fermented in older, neutral French oak barrels. To preserve freshness and acidity, this wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation. 900 cases of the wine were bottled on June 24 and 25, 2009.
 Frank’s AUGUST CLUBVino Selection!
20% Off by the Bottle - $15.99 (regularly priced at $19.99)
33% Off by the 6-Pack - $79.99 (net bottle price $13.33)
50% Off by the 12-pack - $119.99 (net bottle price $9.99)
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August 14th & 15th |
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Italy's Finest Whites
Best Price in the Country (go ahead, google it!) |
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The Mastroberardino family has been involved in wine-making for almost three centuries. The most authoritative reports suggest that someone named Berardino, taking the professional title 'Mastro' - master craftsman - began the lineage in the seventeen hundred. Once he had chosen its headquarter in Atripalda in the heart of the Irpinia wine-making region, the family linked its fate to the cult of wine. Since then, ten generations have run the business. |
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There are two great wines of the region which many critics say are the finest whites produced in Italy... these certainly are not your Aunt Edna's Pinot Grigio! |
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Greco di Tufo, made from the Greco grape, was imported by the Hellenes before the foundation of Rome, and is now found all along the valley of the river Sabato. |
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Fiano di Avellino, made from the grape of the same name, also known as 'Latino', to distinguish it from the imported Greco. |
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Mastroberardino 2007 Greco di Tufo
(regularly priced at $29.99)
$9.99 with 12-pack Sampler Purchase!
Vinification Classic white vinification in stainless steel tanks
at controlled temperatures
Grape Variety 100% Greco di Tufo
Bouquet Fruity bouquet with apricot and peach notes
Palate Smooth, elegant, mineral and full-bodied
Food pairing Perfect as an aperitif or to be enjoyed with seafood
and grilled fish dishes |
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Mastroberardino 2007 Fiano di Avellino
(regularly priced at $29.99)
$9.99 with 12-pack Sampler Purchase!
Vinification Classic white vinification in stainless steel tanks
at controlled temperatures
Grape Variety 100% Fiano di Avellino
Bouquet Delicate with notes of pear, toasted hazelnuts and citrus fruits
Palate Splendid acidity, full - bodied and distinct notes of toasted hazelnuts
Food pairing Pairs well with soups, seafood and white meats |
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August 21st & 22nd |
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Quality French Bargains for Summertime! |
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Cuvee Eve 2009 Viognier/Muscat ~ Languedoc
(regularly priced at $14.99)
$9.99 with 12-pack Sampler Purchase!
This 2009 release blend by Winemaker Olivier Groux is a canny aromatic white predominantly made with Viognier (70%) , topped up with Muscat (30%). Vibrant and leafy, it delivers easy-glugging fruit with a lingering finish – perfect as an apéritif. |
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Chateau Fontaynes 2007 Cuvee Dorian Malbec ~ Cahors
(regularly priced at $14.99)
$9.99 with 12-pack Sampler Purchase!
Very elegant, with concentrated and powerful flavors of dark cherry, raspberry and cassis. Massively structured, with intense dark chocolate notes, and plenty of rich spiciness. An immense Malbec NOT from Mendoza! |
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La Campagne 2008 Pinot Noir ~ Rousillon
(regularly priced at $14.99)
$9.99 with 12-pack Sampler Purchase!
Strictly made from Pinot Noir hand-harvested grapes, this beautiful wine has a deep ruby red color tending to brick around the edges. Smooth, fruity and aromatic. Aged in new
& old oak after pressing. Full of the ripe berry flavor of Pinot Noir. This is an elegant, charming wine with silky tannins; It will age gracefully and is excellent with meat, game, foul, cheeses and hearty casseroles. A beautiful and well balanced wine! |
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Chateau La Tour de Beraud 2008 Rouge ~ Nimes
(regularly priced at $14.99)
$9.99 with 12-pack Sampler Purchase!
A blend of equal parts Grenache and syrah all aged in tank, is spicy and peppery, with lots of Provencal herbs, medium body, and red and black fruits in a compact, straightforward, but ultimately seductive style. Huge bang for the buck |
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Wine Tasting -
August 28th & 29th |
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Marlborough & Central Otago
Kiwi's Finest Wine Regions! |
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| Dick Berridge is a San Francisco native and a landscape architect by profession, with deep roots in the California wine business. He was a founding partner of Duckhorn winery (he and Dan Duckhorn met as undergraduates at UC Berkeley), and his landscape architecture practice has included many winery clients—Harlan, Duckhorn, Jordan, Heitz and Staglin, to name a few. Dick discovered New Zealand’s winegrowing potential when he vacationed there in 2001. He recognized the opportunity to produce distinctive, world- class wines from both Marlborough (Sauvignon Blanc) and Central Otago (Pinot Noir). He made his first wine under the Drystone label in 2002 |
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Drystone 2008 Berridge Vineyards Estates Pinot Noir ~
Central Otago
(regularly priced at $39.99)
$19.99 with 12-pack Sampler Purchase!
Increasingly applauded for producing excellent wines, Central Otago is considered by many to be the place for high quality New Zealand Pinot Noir, despite its climate's often precarious balance. This classy example from Berridge Vineyards spent 10 months maturing in French oak barrels, and has undergone lengthy bottle-maturation before release. Evolved, wonderfully elegant and delicately tobacco-leaf-scented, yet retaining a vibrant core of red fruit. Gorgeous aromas of red fruit, sweet red cherries and spices. Rich on the palate and satin textured with bright fruit including raspberries, strawberries, and currants with nice depth and a pleasant, long finish. Only 1,346 cases produced. Very classy and seriously good value.
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My Take on Location of the Grape!
Pinot Noir is a dangerous grape. It gets you hooked, and once you’ve succumbed to its charms it’s like living with an unfaithful partner. You get the highs, but you also get the lows. It makes you wish you’d shacked up with more reliable grapes, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz, but while these varieties are unlikely to treat you so badly, they just don’t provide the same thrills. Pinot makes you feel alive; it takes you to places you’ve never been before. You never know quite what’s coming, and this makes the bad times you’ll inevitably get with this grape bearable.
Central Otago, one of the most southerly vineyard areas in the world, does Pinot Noir very well. We have Burgundy, we have a few cooler spots in California (Carneros, Russian River Valley, Santa Ynez Valley), and then there’s Central Otago in New Zealand. These are most of the places that can make magical Pinot Noir. I guess there are a few more, but not many, and not as consistently. Pinot Noir is extremely fussy about where it grows. |
Drystone 2009 Berridge Vineyards Estates Sauvignon Blanc ~ Marlborough
(regularly priced at $19.99)
$9.99 with 12-pack Sampler Purchase!
New Zealand’s vineyards are the southernmost in the world, and it was not until the 1980s that one single wine, Sauvignon Blanc, put the country on the international wine map. The Drystone hails from the Marlborough region on the South Island, which is home to some of the most distinguished Sauvignon Blanc producers in the country like Cloudy Bay. The wine is a fine Marlborough example and is bursting with aromas of grapefruit, lemon zest and freshly cut grass. At first sip you'll get lime zest, mandarin and white grapefruit. It finishes zippy, racy and refreshing on the palate—delicious! Only 953 cases produced. |
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Wine Tasting -
September 4th & 5th |
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September CLUBVino
Luna Vineyards 2006 Napa Valley freakout! |
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Looking to challenge the traditional ways of Friuli winemaking on the Italian-Slovenian border, maverick Italian winemakers began experimenting with new styles of winemaking, creating unique and exciting white wine blends. When Mike Drash, winemaker for Luna Vineyards in Napa Valley, tasted these exotic white wines, you could say he freaked out. |
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The secret of freakout is in the innovative winemaking. Each varietal is treated individually, and then married together two months before bottling, to create the ultimate blend. To promote the aromatics of the wine, the Chardonnay begins fermentation in tanks before moving to French oak barrels. Meanwhile, a small portion of the Sauvignon Blanc is fermented on the skins like a red wine, and punched down twice a day until fermentation is completed. The Pinot Grigio is fermented in stainless steel for a crisp, lively finish. The distinctive Ribolla Gialla from Vare Vineyard in Napa Valley is the only Ribolla Gialla planted in the U.S. It is fermented in small oak barrels and provides the wine weight, texture and minerality. |
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Treating each varietal separately creates a complex wine with multiple layers of exotic fruit, soft citrus, honey and spice that dance across your senses. Intense aromas of tropical fruit and orange peel combine with rich flavors of dried apricot, spice and toasted nuts to create a lush textured wine with a brisk mouthwatering finish.
freakout: n: an experience of unrestrained excitement. |
Frank’s September CLUBVino Selection!
20% Off by the Bottle - $11.99
(regularly priced at $14.99)
33% Off by the 6-Pack - $59.99
(net bottle price $9.99)
50% Off by the 12-pack - $89.99
(net bottle price $7.49) |
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