Desert Wines and Spirits

Saturday, October 31, 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

Planning on throwing a vampire themed Halloween party? On that hallowed day we will be sampling some specially bottled varietals evoking the spirits of the occasion. All the wines are from California and feature the succulent names Vampire and Dracula. Michael Machat, a Los Angeles attorney started Vampire Vineyards 20 years ago and sold his first 500 bottles to rock star, Alice Cooper, who easily passes for one of the undead. In the early 1990’s after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Machat decided to get the blood of the vine straight from its native soil in Transylvania. Romania is the tenth largest wine producing nation in the world, and during the cold war, provided wine to the entire Soviet Bloc. The winery planted its own rootstock at the beginning of this century in the mountainous region of Paso Robles, California, where the ocean fog frequently rolls in off the coast providing the perfect cover to the hidden vineyards. After seven years, Vampires’ rootstock now has yielded wonderful tight small clusters of grapes that produce very nice wines — smooth and well rounded, with forward fresh fruit — that have been aged in both French and American Oak Barrels.  Sip the Blood of the Vine along with us and enjoy!

2007 Vampire Chardonnay, California

List price 12.00; our price 9.99

In the Central Coast cool coastal breezes allow fresh acidity to remain intact in the fruit, and the long, extended growing season provides full flavor development in the grapes. Hand-picked at peak ripeness, this Chardonnay was barrel fermented in French oak, aged on the yeast lees for one year, and then carefully bottled with minimal handling to ensure that subtle flavors remain intact. Crisp and refreshing, this is an ideal accompaniment to grilled seafood or poultry, and also complements mildly flavored cheeses. The wine’s rich texture, the result of regular stirring of the lees, further provides a big mouthfeel.

2007 Vampire Pinot Noir, Vin De Pays D’Oc

List price 12.00; our price 9.99

Vampire elected to source this Pinot from France owing to a deal it could not refuse.  Fruit and wild strawberry aromas persist on the nose, balanced by hints of fine French oak.  The vibrant ruby red colors hint at a young wine, but the taste reveals a sense of maturity.  Elegant soft fruit flavors are already finely integrated into the structure of the wine, as is the oak, adding a subtle but defined complexity to the flavor.  This is a light smooth wine, easy to drink at any time of the year and exhibiting typical character of a young Pinot Noir.

2005 Vampire Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles

List price 12.00; our price 9.99

An extended growing season, with sunny, moderate daytime temperatures, along with cool summer nights, allowed ideal fruit development in this Paso Robles wine.  Well-drained soils, rich in maritime fossils, added uniquely aromatic components to this fruit-forward wine.  Classic, small-lot fermentations, followed by aging with both European and American oak, gives full expression to the varietal flavors in this wine.  Judiciously blended with small amounts of Merlot for softness, and Syrah for added structure, the wine displays ripe flavor character and a lovely aroma that will continue to develop with additional time in bottle.

2006 Dracula Zinfandel, Paso Robles

List price 19.95; our price 16.99

This elegant Zinfandel is big, rich and expressive!  It is full of deep plum flavors that lead to cracked pepper & spices, with a refined texture and concentration.  On the palate it is powerful and elegant, finishing with polished tannins.

Also for sale are two vodkas from the same company:

Vampyre Red Vodka, England

List price 23.00; our price 19.95

This wickedly smooth elixir is the first red vodka in the United States. Triple distilled in England by one of the world’s leading distillers of vodka and gin.

Blavod Black Vodka, England

List price 27.00; our price 24.00

Blavod Black Vodka gets its unique color from Black Catechu - the resin of the heartwood of the Acacia catechu, a tree indigenous to India and Burma.  For centuries, Black Catechu has been used for a natural dye as well as an ingredient in herbal medicines.  The amount used to give Blavod its trademark color remains true to vodka’s foundation of being both odorless and tasteless and clean on the palate.

Saturday, October 24, 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

Recent “DNA” testing has shown Primitivo to possess the exact same genetic make up as our Zinfandel. Interestingly though, both varieties origins are tracked back to Croatia and are mutated from the Crljenak varietal. And while the grapes may be identical in theory, the wines they produce have distinct differences. Primitivo’s home province is Apuglia (also called Puglia), located in the “heel” of Italy’s boot.

Wines made from Primitivo have notes of plum and spice, like Zinfandel, but because of different growing soils and climate, the fruit character is less jammy, the structure more akin to old world wines, with rustic notes of earth and spice, as well as tamed fruit flavors. Most likely the Croatian vines were brought to Italy by the Greeks, but we know the Zinfandel we know and love came to the United States in 1820, when New York nurseryman George Gibbs carried back various cuttings from the Imperial Austrian plant species collection.

Over the next two decades, Zinfandel became a popular table grape in the Northeast U.S. Although there are some commercial claims that Agoston Haraszthy (who founded Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma) brought Zinfandel to California, records show that a Massachusetts nurseryman introduced it here. In either case, Zinfandel is now considered indigenous to California, where it has thrived since the mid-1850’s.

2006 A. Mano Primitivo, Puglia

List price 12.00; our price 9.99

This all Primitivo grape wine from Puglia is made from 70-100 year-old, hand-cultivated, low-yielding vines. A. Mano (meaning “made by hand”) is a fruit-packed, food-friendly, modern wine, an excellent value and a great alternative to American Zinfandel. It pairs exceedingly well with a variety of dishes – grilled meats, rich pastas, spicy foods and barbecue.

2007 Gran Sasso Primitivo, Puglia

List price 14.50; our price 9.99

This example packs all of the fruit-driven ripeness fans of the grape expect, yet remains at all times light on its feet and fresh. The succulent, direct blueberry fruit is laced with notes of briar, gravel and spice, but has none of the thick, port like or oxidized elements so prevalent with so many examples of Primitivo out there.

2007 Layer Cake Primitivo, Puglia

List price 17.50; our price 14.99

The wine is opaque and purple-colored with a nose of jammy black cherry and blackberry fruit, truffles, tar, and spice. Warm and rich in the mouth; the ripe fruit is well supported by the depth of the structure.

2003 TerreD’uva Primitivo di Manduria

List price 18.00; our price 14.99

The concentrated nose presupposes rich red fruits and blueberries which are replicated in the mouth to our considerable satisfaction. The smooth expression in the mouth plays out to a long well-balanced finish. It stands up to strong cheeses.

Now to make it more interesting, here are two wines made from Primitivo grapes transplanted to California:

2005 Jacuzzi Family Vineyards Primitivo, North Coast

List price 19.95; our price 12.99

This Primitivo comes from a hillside vineyard in Lake County. Compared to Zinfandel, the clone has certain characteristics that make it unique from other clones; mainly it has small berries on a fairly large, loose cluster. It is less susceptible to rot than other clones and ripens more uniformly. The wine is deep ruby red, has concentrated strawberry and cranberry flavors and a rich velvety mouth feel.

2006 Di Arie Primitivo Block #4, Shenandoah Valley

List price 28.00; our price 23.75

The winery was the brainchild of Chaim Gur-Arieh, a Turkish-born Israeli who came to the U.S. where he earned a degree in food science and later became famous as the inventor of Cap’n Crunch cereal (specifically, the formula that allowed it to remain crunchy in milk). Further, he invented a submerged-cap fermentation technique that maximizes extraction in his red wines by giving them more skin contact, submerging and gently moving the cap that forms on the surface of the tank during fermentation. This delicious wine shares many of the qualities of a top zinfandel. Rich, soft, with spicy fruit and a hint of black pepper, with plenty of fruit and none of the heaviness sometimes seen in wines from the Sierra foothills.

Saturday, October 10, 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

Join us this Saturday for a sampling of new arrivals featuring some excellent values. These quality wines provide an excellent opportunity to proudly serve to friends and family truly tasty delights. In fact, two of the wines are supportive of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. They are made by Marines, for Marines, and are now being offered to the public. Beyond the opportunity to serve fine wines at excellent prices, there is the enjoyment of them by oneself.

2008 Bogle Vineyards Chardonnay, California

List price 9.99; our price 8.99

Here is a hand-crafted wine that has a little bit of something for everyone: barrel fermentation, sur-lies aging and partial malolactic fermentation. These careful processes create a wine with layers of complexity and generous character. Distinctively Chardonnay from the Clarksburg appellation, the aromatics shine of Bartlett pear and saucy apple. Mid palate, the texture shows off its silky, soft nature, allowing the creamy notes to envelop the fruit. New American oak adds nutmeg, vanilla and a hint of butterscotch to the finish, though never losing its perfectly balanced acidity.

2008 Toad Hollow Dry Pinot Noir Rosé, Eye of the Toad, Sonoma