Desert Wines and Spirits

Saturday, December 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

It wouldn’t be a proper December without our annual Champagne event.  Lisa Wherry will be back discussing and pouring a selection of Champagne and other sparkling wines that should cover most celebratory needs.  So, if you have not begun your year-end celebrations, let us help you kick off the December bacchanal.  The following week, December the 19th, we will be visited by Kirsten York from Italy’s Mionetto Winery.  Mionetto is all about Prosecco, which functions well for year-end partying without breaking the budget.

Villa Sandi Prosecco, Veneto, Italy

List Price 12.95; our price 9.99

Villa Sandi is an exquisite Palladian-style villa dating back to 1622, located at the foot of the Marca Trevigiana hills, in the Veneto region and represents the combination of art and agriculture which has characterized the Venetian landscape for centuries.  This Prosecco is an ideal accompaniment for a variety of cuisines and courses.  Whether served as an apèritif, or at the end of a meal, or any course in between, the natural acidity and fresh taste lightly compliments, but never over-powers, a meal.  This elegant sparkler achieves a nice balance between sweet, fruit flavors and lively crispness.  Look for peach, pear, jasmine, grapefruit and stone that characterize the fruit with a bit of almond bitterness at the finish.

Bouvet Brut, Saumur, Loire Valley, France

List price 14.00; our price 11.95

This is a well-rounded, Champagne-like bubbly that makes a superb apéritif on its own before a meal and complements most meals as well.  It is a delicately fruity sparkling wine showing crisp citrus and white fruit flavors with a hint of toast refined by notes of Chardonnay ending in a fresh, lively finish.  Mostly Chenin, with 10% Chardonnay, this delicious bubbly mixes spicy yeast with clove and herb scents, inviting repeated sips.  Full-bodied fruit flavors follow, with a slightly candied appeal, and the finish wraps you in hints of vanilla and light toast.  88 Points Wine Enthusiast.

2006 Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs, Napa

List price 30.00; our price 26.95

Blanc de Blancs was the first wine Schramsberg produced in 1965 and was America’s first commercially produced Chardonnay-based sparkling wine.  Small lots of malolactic- and barrel-fermented wines are added for complexity.  The wine is aged on the yeast lees in the bottle for about two years prior to disgorgement.  It delivers aromas of key lime, freshly cut green apple and honeydew melon, followed by just a hint of pineapple upside-down cake. Upon entry, the palate is layered with flavors of citrus, ripe Anjou pear, dried pineapple and baked apple pie. With its vibrant, fruitful and crisp nature, this sparkling wine will maintain its freshness, structure and refined finish for many years, following release.

Taittinger Brut, Cuvée Prestige

List price 39.00; our price 32.50

Pale almond gold in color, this Champagne is punctuated by delicate strands of fine, persistent bubbles.  The full, aromatic Pinot fragrance of berries, toast and earth is allied to subtle notes of white Chardonnay fruit, both of which are confirmed on the generously full bodied palate.  In the mouth, the wine is marked by a smooth, round, creamy texture and elegant, toasty nuances of black Pinot grapes. The ample fruit dimension is offset by a clean, delicate acidity which carries into a warm, yeasty finish of exceptional refinement and breed.

2004 Iron Horse Russian Cuvée, Sonoma

List price 30.00; our price 27.00

This wonderfully rich and creamy wine is a classy blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay, aged an average of four years on the yeast in the bottle.  It is finished with a rich dosage, which makes it more opulent, and slightly sweeter, heightening the fruit. This vintage was awarded 90 points by Wine & Spirits magazine. It was originally designed for the historic Reagan-Gorbachev Summit Meetings ending the Cold War.

Juve & Camps Brut Rosé Pinot Noir, Spain

List price 18.00; our price 14.99

Positively delicious; this juicy little number has a bright beam of ripe raspberries, vanilla and yeasty brioche right down the mid-palate.  Definitely balanced & fine, it appears to have been designed for heavier fish dishes where a crisp acidity is needed for balance.  It is produced from Pinot Noir grapes wherein the free run juice is allowed a brief maceration on the skins.  Long bottle aging has brought balance, length and weight while retaining freshness and vivacity; it has good legs!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 9:00 pm and is filed under Apéritifs, Champagne Party, New Year, wine knowledge, wine party. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.