Desert Wines and Spirits

Saturday, October 3, 2009

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

Next Saturday we will enjoy the company of George Horn representing Classic Wines of California. Always the perfect gentleman, George will present his favorite wines to you and happily discuss his reasons why. He believes in cost-to-quality value which will prove apparent as you taste your way through the following flight. Whether the choices are from France, Argentina, Chile or California, the quest is the same: bang for the buck.

2008 Patianna Estate Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino

List price 15.95; our price 13.99

When patriarch Barney Fetzer died of a heart attack in 1981, his 11 children took over, growing the business from 200,000 cases a year to 2.2 million by 1992, the year Brown-Forman bought the name and its brands. They smartly kept the vineyards and split the pieces among themselves. In 1997 Patti Fetzer Burke laid claim to 126 acres in the Sanel Valley near Hopland, a pristine former pear ranch bordering a mile or so of the Russian River, already planted in spots to her beloved Sauvignon Blanc. This wine’s aromas, Honeydew melon, white peach and citrus with a hint of wild fennel, are characteristic of Patianna’s grapes, grown by means of biodynamic protocols in gravelly, sandy loam soil. Luscious, vibrant flavors of grapefruit and lemon flavors, accented by a subtle mineral quality, carry through the wine’s expansive finish.

2008 Carmenet Vineyards Pinot Noir, California

List price 12.00; our price 9.99

Carmenet Winery was founded in 1982 by the Chalone Wine Group. The name Carmenet (Car-men-ay) was an archaic French term for the family of grape varieties used in traditional Bordeaux blends. In 2002 the brand was sold to Foster’s Group who later sold it to Franzia Wines. This really is a lovely Pinot Noir with good fruit and spice, excellent fruit and a full long finish. Quite the value!

P.K.N.T. Carmenère, Silver Collection, Rapel Valley, Chile

List price 6.95; our price 4.99

The PKNT Winery is located in the Central Region of Chile, the very heart of the country which includes its capital city, Santiago. The wine producing valleys of Cachapoal, Colchagua and Maule are located here. This wine is dark in color, smooth, deep, spicy, forward, delightful and unique; all for 4.99. Besides the berry notes there are hints of exotic spices that tantalize all the way to a long velvety finish. It is ideal with Tex-Mex or spicy food.

2007 Filus Winery, Malbec, Mendoza Argentina

List price 11.00; our price 8.99

This wine comes from a 68 year old vineyard in the Alto Medrano region of Mendoza. The low yield vines produce a wine that is violet in color with purple tones. The nose is intense and complex with the ideal balance of fruit and oak, resulting in a firm structure. Plum and blackberry fruits combine with toasty notes and sweet tannins for a long and persistent finish. The wine won a bronze Medal at the San Francisco Wine Competition.

2006 Chateau Lagarosse Cotes de Bordeaux

List price 18.00; our price 13.99

This blend of Merlot (80%), Cabernet Franc (10%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) is a harmonious blend of layered bright and rich berry fruit flavors. Château Lagarosse has been producing wine since the Roman period and continues to seduce the palate with a silky smooth texture and lingering finish.

2008 Masked Rider Gunsmoke Red, California

List price 9.99; our price 8.75

This young 2008 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (40%), Petite Sirah (38%), Merlot (15%) and Cabernet Franc (7%) shows aromas and flavors of fresh fruit, plums, black currant, herbs, and espresso notes, complemented with touches of earth. It is smooth in the mouth, with round tannins and a tasty finish.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

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

Most everyone loves Italian wines, especially with Italian cuisine. In fact, the wines of Italy cry out for food to be partnered with them. California wines probably fare better for the majority of imbibers due to the fruity nature being prevalent. Wines from Italy tend towards the earthy and minerally style, showing excellent depth but dry with a racy acid. Food wine. Wine makers in California have attempted to emulate the Italian style but “fruity” keeps getting in the way.

2007 Tenuta Ca’Bolani Pinot Grigio, Friuli-Venezia Giulia

List price 15.95; our price 11.75

This comes from as far north as you can get in Italy, at the foot of the Alps. It has a bouquet perfumed with fragrant acacia flowers, melon and subtle spice. It is quite lush and smooth textured, with ripe apple, orange and honeydew flavors forming a broad base that is accented by just a hint of minerality and crisp, refreshing sweet lemon acidity.

2008 Lasorda Pinot Grigio delle Venezie

List price 16.00; our price 14.99

This wine comes from the municipalities of Soave and Monteforte d’Alpone, where exist the original and ancient areas of production of Soave and Pinot Grigio. The nose explodes with a pleasant bouquet of citrus fruit; crisp, wide, full, and persistent. The delicious citrus flavors merge with accents of minerals and flowers to produce a bolder, richer version of this classic wine. The bright, crisp, full flavors are achieved by having longer contact with the skins during fermentation.

2006 Coltibuono Chianti Classico, Tuscany

List price 17.99; our price 13.95

This wine, made from selected Sangiovese vineyards, is the result of collaboration with a small number of local producers, located in the best Chianti Classico micro-zones. It is intense and fruit-forward, ready for drinking immediately, but over time it gains an added complexity. It was made by star wine-maker Roberto Stucchi.

2004 Agricole Rizzello Terre D’Uva Salice Salentino, Puglia

List price 21.00; our price 14.99

This fine wine comes from the town of Salice in the region of Salento in Puglia, the south of Italy. The blend is 80% Negroamaro and 20% Malvasia Nera which spends a minimum of 2 years in French oak. Once past the ripe fruit aromas, the wine shows the austere flavors of the Negroamaro and the soft gentleness of the Malvasia Nera. The tannins are still young but should smooth out with age. The wine won a gold medal at the Southern Italian Wine Conference.

2003 Cantine Bonacchi Chianti Riserva, Tuscany

List price 26.00; our price 22.95

This traditional style Chianti Riserva is 100% Sangiovese, aged up to 2 years in French Oak. It is full on the nose with rich lingering aromas and spiced notes. This elegant, well balanced, well structured wine has subtle flavors of vanilla, cocoa and spice, smooth body that is soft and warm, ending with a long, slightly dry and velvety finish. Decanting helps.

Casa Abbazia Malvasia Rosé Asti, Piemonte

List price 14.99; our price 12.95

Centuries ago the ruling kings throughout the region would often use this delicious and enticing sparkling rosé wine to impress the women they were courting as a romantic gesture. The only difference today is we are short on kings. This 100% Malvasia Bianca Spumante, at 7% alcohol, has a delicate aura of roses and ripe fruit. The palate is sweet, aromatic and supple with a deliciously long finish.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

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

We live by the rule, “one can never have enough Zinfandel”. But then you know that if you regularly attend our events. Every few weeks there is a Zin tasting featuring newly arrived wines or revisiting old favorites. We never miss an opportunity to include a rosé in our tastings and fortunately Pedroncelli Winery of Sonoma makes a good one. From there we work our way through deep reds of Amador County, Sonoma County and Napa County.

2007 Pedroncelli Dry Rosé of Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley

List price 9.99; our price 7.99

In the early 1950s, John Pedroncelli created a rosé originally from a blend of grapes and called it Vin Rosé. In 1954, he created the Zinfandel Rosé and so it has continued ever since. The accent on crisp acidity and true varietal character allows the fresh Zinfandel flavors to shine. After ensuring that sufficient flavor and color had been extracted from the berries, free run juice was drawn from the tanks after a 24 hour soak. The juice finishes fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. The wine is fermented dry leaving a full fruit flavor with a great acid balance to give a crisp and tart finish. The aroma is of strawberry and rose petal with black cherry, vanilla and nectarine flavors in the mouth.

2005 Montevina Zinfandel, Sierra Foothills, Amador Co.

List price 9.95; our price 7.99

Montevina makes eight different Zinfandels from Amador County. The Montevina Sierra Foothill Zinfandel can best be described as workingman’s Zin for everyday use, softer in tannin and lighter in body. It is all about berry fruit and spice, with irresistible cassis and pepper aromas, and lush blackberry, ripe plum and spice flavors followed by a long, smooth finish.

2005 Valley of the Moon Zinfandel, Sonoma County

List price 15.00; our price 12.99

Over half of the grapes for this Zinfandel come from vines planted in the 1940’s near Sonoma’s Mayacamas Mountains on the western side of the valley. The remaining grapes come Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley. The wine has a lovely bouquet of boysenberries and French oak. The excellent body is well balanced with acid and tannins, giving way to a concentrated, lingering finish.

2006 Taft Street Zinfandel, Russian River Valley

List price 22.50; our price 17.99

The old-vine grapes for this wine were fermented on the skins with extended maceration for over two weeks. The wine was drained and pressed to a combination of French and American oak barrels, where a complete malo-lactic fermentation took place. After 18 months oak aging the wine was bottled. It shows great finesse as the berry and spice components are well integrated.

2007 Buehler Vineyards Zinfandel, Napa

List price 29.95; our price 16.99

Dry-farmed for over 20 years, this 4.5 acre estate block consists of mature thirty-seven year old vines typically giving around 2.5 tons/acre of beautiful hillside zinfandel fruit. It is aged for 11 months in a combination of French and American oak barrels, 20% of which are new. This is your typical “bramble” styled Zin in a mouth-filling, flavorful and juicy experience.

2006 Girard Zinfandel, Old Vine, Napa

List price 22.00; our price 18.99

The vineyard sources for Girard’s Old Vine Zinfandel are the Blue Ridge and Morgan vineyards on Mt. Vaca, the highest peak of the Vaca range, which forms the Eastern border of the Napa Valley. The fruit concentration from these mountain vineyards ensure that the Zin has rich flavor extraction, a fruit-forward palate and wonderful layers of complexity from multiple soil types. The soft tannins and spicy flavors of blueberry, ripe cherry and plum dominate this rich, smooth Zinfandel.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

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

The art of winemaking lies in the blending of individual lots once they have become wine. Varietals often come up short in the expectations of the wine maker, or he simply wants something extra to eventually leap out of the bottle. Even if all the barrels are of the same grape, the wine maker still must blend to the desired result because not all barrels will develop the same. Vinho Verde of Portugal is not a grape, but a wine region from which various indigenous grapes make the blend. Australian producers like to marry Viognier with Marsanne to tame the fruity nature of the former. In Champagne, wines from Chardonnay grapes are frequently blended with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, another red. Bordeaux blends up to five grapes including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot to achieve the house style of the Chateau. In California, anything goes, so long as it tastes good, and, thank the wine god, it usually does.

Aliança Vinho Verde, Portugal

List price 9.95; our price 7.99

The Vinho Verde region, in the northwest area of Portugal, blends Azal Branco, Loureido and Pedema grapes to make this delightfully light and refreshing wine. It is a fresh, medium-dry wine, low in alcohol, fruity and well-balanced. It is clean and crisp, with its fresh scent of lemons and lively spritz. Ideal on its own, it partners well with salads, seafood, chicken and pasta.

2008 d’Arenberg Viognier Marsanne “The Hermit Crab”, Australia

List price 16.95; our price 13.99

Out of the glass leap expressive aromatics of lime and lemon, peaches, pears and apricot stone with spicy, floral notes in the background. The wine shows excellent balance on the palate; the luscious stone fruit and ginger spices are harmonized by savory nutty characters from the Marsanne. There is a wonderful combination of freshness, complexity and balance between fruit flavor, acid and alcohol.

2001 Gloria Ferrer Brut Sparkling Wine, “Royal Cuvée”, Carneros

List price 24.00; our price 19.99

Two prestigious wine magazines have given this wine a 93 point rating. With this kind of praise I might as well keep my mouth shut. Wine Spectator: “This sparkling wine is fresh and vibrant, yet offers a core of rich, luscious fruit. Aromas of Asian pear, rose water and lemon curd lead to layered flavors of fresh ginger, pippin apple and cinnamon that finish on a showy note. Drink now through 2013.” Wine Enthusiast and listed in the Top 100 Wine of the Year: “Royal Cuvée is usually Gloria Ferrer’s best bubbly, and so it is with this bottling, a worthy follow-up to the past several vintages. Very finely structured, it shows appealing flavors of cherries, citrus fruits and vanilla, and is so rich, it’s almost like a table wine. Watch it change as it warms in the glass.” This is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

2005 Chateau Potelle Cougar Pass, Paso Robles

List price 18.95; our price 14.99

This is a blend of Syrah, Merlot, Zinfandel, Cabernet and a lot of winemaker’s creativity! It begins with a beautiful floral nose that develops towards red berry, cherry and spicy notes. It is very easy to drink yet complex and interesting. The wine is totally un-fined and unfiltered which means that it has conserved all the qualities that the nature and the winemaking gave it. It is concentrated and rich with finely textured, soft and supple tannins.

2003 de Lorimier Mosaic Meritage, Alexander Valley, Sonoma

List price 29.95; our price 19.99

This Bordeaux blend of Cab (66%), Merlot (16%), Malbec (14%) and Cab Franc (4%) is redolent of ripe blue/black berry, cassis, cream, vanilla flavors and a light tangy spice. Tannins are there but not dominant so this is more of a drink now vintage than one to hold onto.

2003 Source Napa Red, “Heritage Sites”

List price 38.00; our price 29.50

The Merlot (74%), Cab (24%) and Cab Franc (2%) in this blend are drawn from four historic and geographically diverse vineyards owned by the Gamble Family. Heritage Sites expresses a range of fruit, structure, ripeness, texture, acidity and terroir which make up a wine that is rich, warm and approachable.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

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

Last weekend we ran not only our own local wine tasting, but also the gourmet wine event at the Jazz in the Pines music event in Idyllwild. We poured from a selection of 27 fine wines for hundreds of people eager to enjoy good wine with their jazz. This Saturday we will offer for your tasting pleasure some of the most popular wines poured at Idyllwild, including some that have received recent prestigious awards. Needless to say, our discount program applies.

2004 Iron Horse Sparkling Wine, Russian Cuvée, Sonoma

List price 32.00; our price 27.99

The same base wine as Classic Vintage Brut, but with a richer dosage, which makes it more opulent, slightly sweeter and heightens the fruit. Originally it was designed for the historic Reagan-Gorbachev Summit Meetings ending the Cold War.

2006 Iron Horse Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Sonoma

List price 22.95; our price 14.99

This is a beautifully balanced Chardonnay with a judicious amount of oak beautifully integrated in the wine. Wine Enthusiast gave this bottling a 91-point rating: “Iron Horse’s estate Chard is a remarkably consistent wine. Never over-oaked, super ripe or heavy, it always has an elegant minerality. The ’06, from a coolish vintage, is flavored with green apples, Meyer lemons and Bosc pears.”

2007 King Estate Pinot Gris, Oregon

List price 17.00; our price 12.99

This is a wonderful crisp and tropical fruity wine that is lively and well balanced. Wine and Spirits Magazine gave this wine a 93 point rating: “Summer grass and light citrusy notes on the nose introduce a medium-weight wine with plenty of apple, pineapple, and grapefruit flavors on a round frame. Lively, yet not lightweight, this Gris offers a bright citrusy finish, with a touch of tangerine. An easy-drinking picnic wine, ideal for a platter of antipasti”.

2005 Benziger Merlot, Sonoma

List price 18.00; our price 13.99

The Benziger family practices certified sustainable farming methods that result in organically grown, biodynamic wines. This Merlot has flavors of red cherry, plum, blueberry, pepper and toast. Well integrated tannins give the wine a soft, textured mouthfeel and a lingering finish.

2006 Matchbook Tempranillo, Dunnigan Hills

List price 17.95; our price 11.99

Located in the northwestern portion of Yolo County, the Dunnigan Hills AVA encompasses 69,000 acres with only 1,300 acres hosting vines, obviously a future growth area. Blended in with the Tempranillo (77%) is some Petite Sirah (14%) and Graciano (9%). The main grape provides red berry flavors, the Petite kicks in blueberry flavors and added richness while the Graciano, another grape from Spain, is the body builder, adding texture and firmness. This wine enjoys a Double Gold award at the San Francisco International Wine Competition.

2007 Kilikanoon Shiraz, Killerman’s Run, South Australia

List price 22.00; our price 16.85

The Shiraz ‘Killerman’s Run was aged for 16 months in French and American hogsheads (63 US gallons). It offers aromas of smoke, bacon, licorice, and blueberry. The flavors reveal a full-bodied yet elegant Shiraz with ample fruit, soft tannins, and 2 to 3 years of aging potential. The wine earned a Double Gold award at the San Francisco International Wine Competition.