Desert Wines and Spirits

Saturday, August 30, 2008
4 to 6 pm
$5.00 per person
       Home of: ExecutiveGiftService.com
611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite #1, Palm Springs, 92264,
760-327-7701, 800-925-0030

I never get enough of Spanish wines and I hope you feel the same way.  Otherwise, I’m going to have to drink a lot of good red wine from Spain on my own.  This time we are embarking upon a virtual tour of the more important wine producing areas as defined by the “Demoninacion de Origen”, Spain’s organization for appellation control.  The main grapes are Tempranillo, Garnacha and Cariñena.

Cordorniu Pinot Noir Brut Cava, Penedès
14.99
The Penedès wine district, some 40 kilometres south of Barcelona where the Codorníu Cellars are located, represents more than 95% of total production of cava.  Spain’s first rosé cava is made entirely from the stylish pinot noir grape and is an attractive salmon pink with firm and assertive bubbles.  It is a pale cherry-red color with aromas of recently picked and deliciously ripe summer fruits, particularly raspberries and blackcurrants.  The flavors are berry-like and fresh with a very subtle lemony citrus flavor.

2004 Montoya Vino de Aragon
7.99
Aragon borders France in the middle of the Pyrenees and is flanked by Catalonia on the east.  The Ebro River area is where most of the vineyards are to be found.  This wine is a very nice blend of Spain’s two most famous grapes, Tempranillo and Garnacha.  The fruit tones lean to cherry and raspberry and are well balanced with spicy oak and structured rich tannins.  It provides a good accompaniment to meats and cheeses.

2006 Onix Classic, Priorat
14.99
The Priorat is located about 100 miles southwest of Barcelona in central southern Tarragona, an area characterized by its black slate soils.  Here the late harvested and low yielding Cariñena (50%) and Grenache (50%) grapes have been sourced from steep hillside vineyards that have survived extraordinarily dry conditions  The result is a wine with spicy, mineral-accented raspberry on the nose.  Fresh, red berry flavors are complicated by floral and anise notes, and finish with good acidity.  It seems devoid of tannins, but moderate acidity lends great lift to the middle and to the lingering finish.

2000 Campo Viejo Gran Reserva, Rioja
17.95
Rioja has been fought over by so many belligerents over the centuries the grapes were often trod on before leaving the vine.  The wine is garnet cherry-red in color with aromas of stewed fruit, wood, and spicy nuances.  It shows a lot of character and delivers a long finish.  The aging process takes five years (two in oak casks, three in the bottle).  This is an elegant wine that is a wonderful complement to beef rib roast, sauced meats, casseroles and aged cheese.

2004 Liberalia Tres, Toro
19.50
The name of the winery is taken from the celebrations which were held in the ancient Roman civilization in honor of the god Liber (also known as Bacchus) to celebrate the passing of children into puberty.  Of course, a great deal of wine was consumed during the Bacchanalia.  The vineyard is 25 to 80 years of age 90% of which is planted to Tinto de Toro.  The grape delivers a wine with an outstanding body of fruit: blackberry and raspberry with a hint of licorice.  There is a subtle background of wood focused on vanilla with an element of cinnamon.

2001 Garcia Figuero Crianza Tempranillo, Ribera del Duero
29.50
This region lies on the country’s northern plateau and is one of five wine regions within the autonomous community of Castile and León.  It is also one of several recognized wine-producing regions to be found along the course of the Duero River.  Eighty-percent of the Tempranillo grapes used in this wine come from 20-40 year-old vines, with the remaining 20-percent from 50 year-old vines.  The wine is aged for twelve months in two-plus year-old barrels (90-percent American and 10-percent French oak). It is then aged an additional two years in bottle before leaving the cellar.  The deep red fruit has a cherry bias and is accompanied by a hint of coffee.  Spice elements round out the full bodied wine.

Saturday, August 23, 2008
4 to 6 pm

$5.00 per person

Home of: ExecutiveGiftService.com
611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite #1, Palm Springs, 92264,
760-327-7701, 800-925-0030

Let’s sample some of the more popular white wine varietals this Saturday and reacquaint ourselves with the differing elements of each.  No doubt you have had all these flavors, but can you describe that which makes them unique from each another?  Our tasting parties provide that opportunity to inform while in the act of indulging.  Not a bad thing, and an excellent way to kick off Saturday evening.

2007 Forest Glen Pinot Grigio, California
5.99
This wine is pleasingly crisp, fresh and delicately fruity with aromas of apricots and peaches, and with good body, crisp acidity, and a delicate wave of fruit flavors through to the finish.  It represents great value for a wine that suggests aperitif service and partners well with seafood, chicken and veal dishes.

2006 Rock Rabbit Sauvignon Blanc, Central Coast
8.99
This Sauvignon Blanc receives no oak contact and reflects the fresh, crisp, ripe flavors of pure fruit.  It is rather on a par with the previous wine in that it highlights the apricot and peach part of the bouquet and flavor spectrum.  The citrus component veers toward lemon and supports the “crisp” characterization of the wine.

2007 Badger Mountain Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, Washington
9.99
Badger Mountain’s vineyard is certified organic; no chemical herbicides, insecticides, fungicides or synthetic fertilizers are used in their vineyard.  This works well for those wine lovers who get a nasty reaction to sulfites.  Absolutely none is allowed on the property, so the only sulfites in the wine are naturally occurring—hardly measurable.  Pretty pear and Granny Smith apple fruit aromas and a hint of mineral compliment an intriguing floral character.  The crisp, balanced mouth feel is filled with flavors of Granny Smith apple, green pear, baking spices, and a hint of minerals.  The surprisingly long finish of apple, pears, and sweet oak is enhanced by the typical crisp acidity found in Washington State Chardonnay.

2005 Valley of the Moon Pinot Blanc, Sonoma County
9.99
Pinot Blanc is a genetic mutation of Pinot Grigio, which in turn is a mutation of Pinot Noir.  Even Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier are members of this family.  Pinot Blanc is similar to Chardonnay, but is more delicate in its flavor and bouquet profile and moves away from apples towards pears.  This wine was fermented in stainless, but then received a few months of French oak.  The fruit was sourced from Russian River Valley and southern Sonoma Valley.  It has an aroma of juicy melon, banana, and limey citrus.  It is light-bodied, and the tart citrus and fruit flavors are crisp and palate cleansing.

2006 Orchid Hill Viognier, Paso Robles
17.95
Orchid Hill is a 51 acre vineyard located on sloping limestone hills in the Templeton Gap area of the west side of Paso Robles Wine Country.  The wine has a rich aromatic perfume of exotic scents.  It is rich, but well balanced with acid, and offers up fresh flavors of peach, mango and fruit cocktail.

2006 Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer, Reserve, Alsace, France
14.99
The vineyards of Alsace date back to the Roman Empire.  During the middle age, the wines from this area were highly regarded and shipped all over Europe.  Most of the vineyards stretch over the eastern foothills of the Vosges Mountains which rise out of the broad plain of the Rhine to form a natural barrier between Alsace and the rest of France.  In recent centuries the area has ping-ponged back and forth between France and Germany, depending upon who won the last war.  Inhaling this wine is like smelling a bouquet of roses along with exotic fruits.  It is rich, fleshy and semi-dry and displays depth and persistence and a lasting finish.  The grapes come from 28 year old vines and produce a wine that fares well with rich spicy dishes, duck & turkey, Asian food, strong cheeses and fruit tarts.

Saturday, August 16, 2008
4 to 6 pm

$5.00 per person

Home of: ExecutiveGiftService.com
611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite #1, Palm Springs, 92264,
760-327-7701, 800-925-0030

Pinot Noir comes in many forms, but most bottlings are perfect for aperitif service and dining during the long summer.  We will begin with a rosé of Pinot Noir and proceed through California examples with a Burgundian and a Chilean Pinot to follow.

2006 Fleur de California Vin Gris, Carneros
10.95
Owner, Francis Mahoney founded the Carneros Creek Winery in 1973 and sold the winery in 2004.  Fleur de California is his new venture using fruit from his original Carneros District vineyards.  This rosé of Carneros Pinot Noir is a fine expression of a bright, fresh, and flavorful rosé wine.  Made in a crisp, dry style designed to accompany food, the wine displays aromas of strawberry and honeysuckle while exhibiting a mouthwatering finish that cleanses the palate. 

2006 Aquinas Pinot Noir, Napa
9.99
Aquinas Napa Valley is named for Patron Saint Thomas Aquinas which is fitting, considering the wine inside delivers “truth and divinity, reason and revelation, refinement and expression, all at a vow-of-poverty price”, so sayeth the boys over at Don Sebastiani and Sons.  The aroma is of cherry, pomegranate and strawberry fruit framed by lightly smoky oak seasoning and earthy nuances.  The wine is well-structured, a middleweight Pinot that is tart and possesses fine tannins.  The ripe cherry/red berry flavors combine with citrus rind and a bit of sweet spice before finishing very dusty dry like its valley of origin.

2005 Irony Pinot Noir, Monterey County
11.95
The grapes for this Monterey Pinot Noir were primarily sourced from the San Bernabe Vineyard where there are seven different blocks of Pinot Noir.  Each block features different soils, rootstocks, clones and trellises, which serves to add complexity to the finished wine.  It offers a balance of heady fruit notes and savory characteristics.  Layers of sweet cherry, fresh raspberries, cola and earthy mushrooms make up the profile in this medium-bodied wine.  There are vanilla and mineral notes in the lingering, soft finish.

2005 Bernardus Pinot Noir, Bien Nacido Vyd, Santa Barbara
19.95
While the Marinus Estate near Carmel produces the Bordeaux-style red wine is the centerpiece of owner Ben Pon’s reason d’être, the vineyard here is the truly wonderful Bien Nacido, in Santa Maria Valley.  Cooling sea breezes protect the grapes that yield the intense red-fruit aromas and flavors, ideal for Pinot Noir.  There are aromas of ripe cherries and red plums in the glass.  Notes of spice and pepper, so typical of this vineyard, accent these aromas.  On the palate are ripe, full, and intense flavors that mirror the aromas along with toasty oak nuances.  The long, velvety structure promises a rewarding future, should you choose to age the bottle for several years.

2004 Vincent Girardin Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Cote de Beaune
18.75
Vincent Girardin is part of a winemaking family with roots back to the 17th century.  He began his winemaking career in 1982 with only 2 hectares of vines.  When his father retired, Vincent took over several additional hectares in Meursault while sourcing other varietal grapes throughout the Cote de Beaune.  There is neither filtering nor fining of his wines which serves to capture the maximum expression of fruit and terroir.

2006 Cono Sur Pinot Noir, 20 Barrels, Casablanca Valley, Chile
21.95
This project strives to emulate the French method for fine Pinot Noir production.  Although most of the method is modern, the grapes are still foot trodden which further enhances the old world character of Cono Sur’s wines.  The name refers to the best 20 barrels set aside for this bottling each year.  This is a full and rich wine with excellent fruit and elegant spicing from the 100% French Oak.

Saturday, August 9, 2008
4 to 6 pm

Home of: ExecutiveGiftService.com
611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite #1, Palm Springs, 92264,
760-327-7701, 800-925-0030

This is the last close-out sale featuring wines from our largest distributor. The consensus so far has been spectacular pricing, with value being the driving force here. Come in to sample and select some nice wines for the summer and take advantage of the special pricing.

2006 Lindemans Semillon/Chardonnay, “Cawarra”, Australia
Regular price 8.95, Today 5.99 per 1½ Liter
This is a well rounded wine with the fresh citrus Semillon flavors combining with those of Chardonnay’s melon and tropical fruit. Subtle creamy oak flavors and natural acidity balance the palate and provide an elegant and clean finish. Winemaker Hayden Donahue describes his creation as “A supple, medium bodied palate combining stone fruit and citrus flavors against a subtle vanillin backbone. Smooth and elegant with a refreshing, crisp finish.”

2005 Georges Duboeuf Pinot Noir, Vin de Pays d’Oc, France
Regular price 9.95, Today 6.99
The nose is somewhat earthy. On the palate, this Pinot Noir is well balanced, with cherry and raspberry notes leading into a spicy finish. The tannins were a bit prominent, but after a little breathing time the tangy bite smoothed out a bit.

2006 DeCanal Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Italy
Regular price 9.95, Today 7.50
This wine should not be confused with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a Tuscan wine made from Sangiovese and other grapes, but not the Montepulciano variety. Montepulciano is most widely planted in the Abruzzi, and in the Marches, where it is a principal ingredient in such reds as Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno. The wine is a lovely medium-bodied blend of cherries and spice in tandem with smooth tannins.

2006 Hob Nob Pinot Noir, Vin de Pays d’Oc, France
Regular price 9.99, Today 7.99
This Pinot Noir from the South of France has enticing flavors of cherry, earth and spice with a medium body and nice finish. The bouquet and the flavors included flowers, pomegranate, dark cherries and a hint of licorice in the finish. It is easy to drink and comes in a nice looking package; in fact, rather impressive.

2005 Chateau Campot-Lafon, Bordeaux, France
Regular price 14.95, Today 11.99
The wine displays a cranberry and cassis nose with white pepper, some earthiness and a hint of mushroom. This is lighter styled Bordeaux, well balanced with currents and leathery notes. Dry with an oaky, cedary finish.

Arbor Mist Chardonnay, Orchard Fruits
Regular Price 7.99, Today 5.99 for 1.5 liters
This wine features medium sweetness with juicy apple, pear and berry flavors paired with soft, Chardonnay. You’ll want to serve this one nice and cold, preferably over ice, using club soda to adjust the sweetness level. The real appeal of this bottling is as a basis for mixing up a batch of white Sangrias. Add brandy, some assorted chopped fresh fruit, some ice and the game is afoot. Again, adjust with club soda.