Desert Wines and Spirits

Saturday, August 15, 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 may sound a bit bizarre, pairing cupcakes with wine, but everyone seems to enjoy the experience. So Josie and Sandy have scheduled a return visit this Saturday to couple the flavors of the beautifully decorated cakes with suitable wines. We have attempted to present an array of wines that will enhance the subtle flavors in the mini cakes. Their bakery, Sisters Cupcakes by Design is located in Cathedral City in the Pickford Theater Complex. Honestly, it’s great fun!

2006 Borgo M Pinot Grigio, Venezie, Italy

List price 12.95; our price 9.99

All of the fruit for this wine comes from estate vineyards owned by the Fantinel family, the largest landholders of Pinot Grigio vineyards in Friuli. Although the grapes for Borgo M were sourced in the Venezie region, production takes place at the winery of Fantinel, where precision and quality control are paramount. All of Fantinel’s wines express the purest flavors of the varieties. There is no oak used, so there is a very clean, flinty, pear-like style that remains consistent through each vintage.

Toso Brut Sparkling Wine, Mendoza, Argentina

List price 13.50; our price 9.99

This 100% Chardonnay Sparkler is clear and bright with an overall pale yellow appearance. The yeasts used integrate perfectly well with the varietal properties of the base wine, providing a delicate harmony. It is pleasant, fresh and velvety in the mouth, drinking all too easily. The winery has an eighty year history of making fine wines of excellent value.

2005 Kangarilla Road Viognier, McLaren Vale, Australia

List price 18.00; our price 9.99

Kangarilla Road is the main road running past the vineyard towards the small village of Kangarilla. This vineyard and winery was originally established back in 1975 and is currently producing rich, mature fruit that is everything Viognier should reflect: subtropical fruits, stone fruits, citrus, and honeysuckle, floral, with an edge of lime. What a great buy on Viognier!

2005 Domaine Gerard Metz Riesling, Alsace, France

List price 16.00; our price 9.99

This Domaine has been producing grapes following organic procedures for more than a decade. Its wines are on the delicate end of the spectrum and are well balanced. The Riesling shows flinty notes against a lightly sweet core supported by a crisp acidity. It pairs well with sea foods, salads and appetizers.

2007 Gran Sasso Primitivo, Puglia, Italy

List price 14.50; our price 9.99

Primitivo is a cousin to Zinfandel from California, and surely it is high toned and fruity in the nose, with bright cherry and cranberry fruit. On the palate the wine displays a real mouthful of rich chocolate combined with a weighty (almost thick) ripeness. Many Italian Primitivo’s also exhibit an earthiness that represents terroir, but this one is all fruit driven.

2007 Molly Dooker “Two Left Feet”, McLaren Vale, Australia

List price 27.00; our price 24.50

This wine is produced by Sarah and Sparky Marquis of the famous Marquis-Phillips brand. There are a number of wines under the Molly Dooker label carrying interesting titles and labels like this blend, “Two Left Feet”. It is made up of 68% Shiraz, 17% Merlot, and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and the alcohol is a whopping 16%. “Molly Dooker” is an Aussie term for a lefty, and apparently both Sarah and Sparky are Molly Dookers.

Saturday, June 6, 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

Those of you who were not able to attend last Saturday’s event missed out on an impromptu attempt to pair cupcakes with the wines being poured.  The delicious pastries are made by Sisters Cupcakes by Design from Cathedral City (www.sisterscupcakes.com), 760-328-5620.  Josie and Sandy, who are indeed sisters, provided us an array of cupcakes from lemon-coconut to chocolate-raspberry.  I was quite skeptical when the idea was first suggested, but was amazed at the good reception we received, not to mention the sheer fun of it all.  We decided to repeat the event this weekend, but announce it in advance.  These baked jewels will go well with the wines we have selected, but you do have to like cupcakes.

Zonin Prosecco Sparkling Wine, Italy
Regular price 11.00; our price 8.99
This is a very tasty sparkling wine, though without being overly carbonated.  The fruit is soft and pear-like and there are just enough sweet elements to remove the acidic edge one gets from Champagne.  Besides making an excellent Bellini cocktail, this Prosecco should pair well with the cupcakes.

2006 Annie’s Lane Riesling, Clare Valley, Australia
Regular price 13.50; our price 7.99
This Riesling is pale straw in color with green hues.  The nose shows the classic, elegant characters of Clare Valley Riesling: dried Lime rind, citrus and stone fruit.  The palate is tight and elegant, with lime flavors dominating throughout.  It can be enjoyed as an apèritif or as the perfect accompaniment to fruits de mer.  Its impressive length and natural acidity will allow for graceful aging over the next 5 years.

Grandial Muscat Rosé Sparkling Wine, France
Regular price 12.00; our price 9.99
This is a fruity elegant sparkling wine with fine bubbles and a fresh palate.  It is slightly sweet and should pair well with our cupcake selection.  This is a great price for this fruit-forward sparkling wine with fine bubbles and fresh palate.

2005 PKNT Carmenère Reserve, Rapel Valley, Chile
Regular price 9.00; our price 6.99
The wine is smooth and full bodied with a dark red color.   In the nose it has red cherries and plums with a touch of toasty oak.  There are hints of chocolate and berries in a setting of round tannins; soft but well structured. 

2006 Yangarra Shiraz, McLaren Vale, Australia
Regular price 20.95; our price 17.99
Rich spice, blackberry fruit, and hints of sweet vanilla are the hallmarks of this remarkable Shiraz.  On the palate, the wine is rich and full-bodied, with intense blackberry and dark cherry flavors, although soft tannins.  It was aged in a combination of French and American oak barrels to encourage the smoky, toasty oak flavors which, in turn, frame the rich, plush dark berry and plum flavors giving way to a balanced black pepper finish.

2006 Yangarra Cadenzia, McLaren Vale, Australia
Regular price 23.00; our price 19.99
This is a blend supposedly inspired by the opera term for an improvised personal expression at the end of an Aria (usually seen as “Cadenza”).  This blend of Grenache (68%), Shiraz (27%) and Mourvèdre (5%) blends together the array of flavors and terroirs of the estate, and is very representative of the McLaren Vale appellation in general.  The full flavor experience evokes blackberry, Bing cherry, mulberry, plums, nuts and subdued oak flavors slowly tapering off to a lingering finish.