Wine Party: Italian Wines for the Holidays
Saturday, December 6, 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
Garvey Daniels of American Wines & Spirits will be joining us this Saturday to pour and talk about wines from his Italian portfolio. All of the wines are excellent but two of the wines in particular have received considerable accolades including their listing in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of theYear. There is something very cozy about Italian wines because they are satisfying but never overblown. The wines function beautifully as apéritifs and provide excellent service with food.
2006 Rocca Delle Macie Orvieto Classico
8.99
The grapes for this wine are selected from vineyards in the heart of the Orvieto Classico region in Umbria. The blend consists of Trebbiano (Procanico) 50%, Verdello 20%, Grechetto 20% and Malvasia 10%. The wine is the result of pressing and fermentation at a constant temperature, then cold bottled. The color is a brilliant pale yellow with green highlights and the nose is persistent, fruity, and intense. On the palate it is dry and fresh, with a slight aftertaste of bitter almonds.
2007 Suavia Soave Classico
14.99
#75 Wine Spectator Top 100; 90 points Wine Spectator Designation: Smart Buys “Lots of lemon, white peach and mineral character, with hints of orange peel and dry almond. Medium-bodied, with good acidity and a crisp finish, leaving a lingering citrus aftertaste. Racy, nervy and delicious. Minerally, almost flinty. Drink now. 6,000 cases made.” (08/08) According to Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: “Suavia’s 2007 Soave Classico shows the complexity and character of this hillside site in its ripe yellow fruits, smoke, earthiness and minerals.”
2007 Bottega Vinaia Pinot Grigio, Trentino
15.99
The grapes for this wonderful wine come from the Dolomite Alps area of Trentino, north of Lake Garda. This area seems to be perfect for the Pinot Grigio grape due to warm days and cool nights with constant breezes clearing away moisture. The wine is fragrant with fine pear-like fruit and displays its usual robe of minerality.
2006 Tormaresca Chardonnay, Puglia
9.99
This Chardonnay, light yellow with golden highlights, has aromas of exotic fruit, citrus and pineapple. It is an elegant wine with pear flavors and a delicate minerality with bright acidity that pairs well with a wide variety of food. It received 85 points from Wine Spectator: “Shows apple, lemon and honey on the nose and palate. A full, straightforward Chardonnay.”
2003 Cantele Salice Salentino Riserva, Puglia
9.95
The grape varieties used in this wine are Negroamaro 80% and Malvasia Nera (20%). Garnet highlights enliven this ruby red wine from the heel of Italy. Caramelized red fruits, spices, tea and hints of wood, unfold in the mouth and are balanced by the tannins and acidy to create a smooth and luscious wine. It is ready to drink immediately or to keep for 3-4 years. Serve with pasta and meat sauce and red meats including lamb. Ideal partner for medium to well seasoned cheese.
2003 Travaglini Gattinara, Piemonte
24.75
This Nebbiolo from the Piedmont is a very hard wine to perfect but the people at Travaglini are surely among the very best producers in Italy. Wine Spectator thought so giving it a position in its highly acclaimed top 100 wines of last year. This wine has a reputation as the “poor mans Barolo” but over the past 10 years has began to shed its image and step out of the shadows. Lots of dried fruits and flowers come forth accompanied with some traditionally Barolo like tobacco notes. A super thick, full bodied and tannic wine, the finish goes on a full half minute and the wine has a coating, pleasant mouth-feel. It needs a few years of age so you may consider opening after 2010.
December 3rd, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Costa I’ll be by tomorrow for the wine, the CAR is in the hospital……
I had no way to bring it home. I KNOW you need the room
see you then , Jil