JAN 2011
Asheville’s Best Wine & Beer Tasting– Saturday January, 8th 2011 4PM-8PM http://www.appalachianvintner.com/
Here’s to a very happy and healthy 2011! Thanks for taking the time to read our email newsletter and remember that feedback in any form is always graciously received & appreciated.
New Arrivals~
Carlos Basso Malbec-Malbec– New Vintage!
Franmara Decantus Wine Aerator– the best wine aerator in the market at the lowest price in town guaranteed
Viña Maquis Calcu Red– New Vintage!
Lucien Albrecht Brut Rosé
Alain Normand Mâcon La Roche-Vineuse
Round Peak Vineyards Cabernet Franc
Santa Barbara Santa Ynez Valley Syrah
Arbor Brook Vineyards Heritage Cuvee Pinot Noir
Veuve Cliquot Champagne “Gift Box”
Pierre Moncuit Blanc de Blanc “Hugues de Coulmet”
E. Barnaut Grand Cru Brut Rosé Authentique
Roger Coulon Brut Tradition 1er Cru– made using wild yeasts!
Lombard & Cie Magenta Brut– affordable elegance.
~B E E R~
Mother Earth Brewing Silent Night– 750mL corked btls
Brooklyn Brewery Black Opts
Olde Hickory Event Horizon Barrel aged Imperial Stout– very limited waxed 22oz btls
Olde Hickory Imperial Stout– dated & waxed 22oz btls
Pisgah Brewing Vortex II– 22oz & draft
Pisgah Brewing Vortex I– 22oz
Pisgah Valdez– 22oz
Pisgah Pale Ale– 22oz & draft
Sam Adams & Weihenstephan Infinium– 750mL corked btls
Bell’s Best Brown 5L mini kegs
Asheville Brewing Company Christmas Jam White Ale
Terrapin Moo-Hoo Milk Chocolate Stout
Rogue Chocolate Stout– one of the best chocolate stouts in the world.
Stoudt’s Brewing Winter Ale
French Broad Brewery Wee-Heavy-est
French Broad Brewery Anvil Porter
Oskar Blues Ten Fidy
Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck Kasteel Cuvée Du Chateau– Kasteel Bruin thats been aged for 10 years!! Limited.
~ Free Saturday Tasting ~
Anglim Winery Cameo- 50% Marsanne, 25% Roussanne, 25% Viognier sourced from the Mélange Du Rhône Vineyard, Fralich Vineyard, and the Cass Vineyard, in Paso Robles, CA. Anglim Winery is a small, family-owned label located in downtown Paso Robles producing vineyard-designate Rhône varietals and blends. Anglim’s first Rhône white blend is based on Marsanne from the small Mélange Du Rhône vineyard located in the Templeton area of the Paso Robles AVA, and complimented with equal parts Roussanne and Viognier from the Cass and Fralich Vineyards. The wine shows vibrant flavors and aromas of melon and Asian pear on a mineral core, with a spicy note on the finish. Dead ringer for a Rhone blanc. National Retail $22 AV $16.99 Tasting $14.50
Waterbrook Winery Mélange Blanc– Columbia Valley, WA. 30% Riesling, 20% Gewurztraminer, 15% Viognier, 10% Sauvignon Blanc, 10% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Gris, 5% Muscat. Reminiscent of one of our favorite white blends from the west coast, Conundrum but 2/3 the price. Bright notes of orange peel & lemon lime sorbet with a spiced honey drizzle. The 1.3 grams of residual sugar is washed off the palate with a pleasant acidity. Although all of the 7 varietals show themselves in one way or another, Gewurztraminer leads the charge here. This wine pairs well with just about anything put dishes with a spice will leave you reaching for another glass. Shelf $14.99 Tasting $13.49 Case $12.75
Banshee Wines Red Rhone Blend– Central Coast, CA. 40% Grenache, 40% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre. Banshee wines are made at Crush Pad in Napa Valley, which is a custom label winery where people like you and I can make their own wine! Really cool concept at a state-of-the-art facility. Quite aromatic for $13 dollars, showing warm baking spice and blackberries. The palate comes at you with the typical California fruit but rounds out nice with a peppery finish. Shelf $12.99 Tasting $11.69
Waterbrook Winery Mélange Noir– Columbia Valley, WA. 43% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cab Franc, 13% Sangiovese & 1% Tempranillo. Waterbrook Winery is in the heart of Walla Walla and is known for producing highly acclaimed wines that boast outstanding quality. Founded by the Rindals in 1984, it was the fourth established winery in Walla Walla. For the past 25 years, Waterbrook has grown from a family run operation to an internationally recognized leader in Washington State winemaking. This non-typical blend is sourced from 5 single vineyards and sees mostly used oak. Aromatically the Noir shows ripe blueberry, currant & earthy cedar. The palate holds handfuls of rich fruit, great length on the palate and a smooth mouth watering finish. Shelf $14.99 Tasting $13.49 Case $12.75
Asheville’s Best Wine & Beer Tasting– Saturday January, 15th 2011 4PM-8PM http://www.appalachianvintner.com/
Charles & I are looking forward to seeing everyone this Saturday as its been almost three Saturdays since our last tasting. Last week was just about snowed out, we were open but most of you were snowed in. To welcome you all back we’ve amassed a wonderful selection of “winter warmer” wines for your tasting pleasure. Each wine has been chosen for its spectacle as well as its intensity and all are naturally produced with the utmost concern for the sun, soil and sky from which it sprung. While we can not bring the warm weather in, we can showcase wines that are rich, hearty and sure to warm your bellies. Melting the winter blues away is as easy as popping a cork with friends!
New Arrivals~
WINE
Weingut Höpler Gruner Veltliner– this is Austria’s Gruner, as voted by the people
Château Coupe Roses Minervois Cuvée La Bastide
Château Haut-Monplaisir Cahors Tradition
Marchiori & Barraud Perdriel Malbec– 50 year old vines
Pazo de Arribi Mencía
Inama Winery Carménère Più– Organic Northern Italian Carmenere!
Napa Cellars Zinfandel
BEER
Rogue Yellow Snow IPA– 64oz growlers
Ballast Point Sculpin IPA– one of the highest rated IPA’s in the US, now on draft!
Founders Porter– 4pks
Terrapin Wake n’Bake Stout– 4pks
2011 Sierra Nevada Hoptium Imp. IPA
Ballast Point Barrel Aged Victory at Sea
~ Free Saturday Tasting ~
winter warmers
Santa Barbara Santa Ynez Valley Syrah– Santa Ynez, California. From the winery: Winemaker Bruce McGuire is an early pioneer in blending Syrah grown throughout the east-west traverse of the Santa Ynez Valley. Because Syrah is proving to be the rare example of a varietal that can be grown in all the temperature zones found in our valley, blending vineyard sites has become an intriguing endeavor. This bottling of Syrah highlights both the cool climate forward flavors of white pepper and lavender, and the jammier full fruit character experienced in the back of the mouth courtesy of the warmer eastern Santa Ynez Valley. In 2008, Bruce blended fruit from the warmer climate Fess Parker Vineyard and Joughin Vineyard with the cooler climate Hill Top Ranch Vineyard. Both warm and cool climate sites in Santa Barbara County can retain the complex flavors and fine-boned pepper spice accents that make Central Coast Syrah so compelling. Most of the wine was aged in small 60 gallon French and Hungarian barrels as Syrah benefits from ample barrel time. Pair with rustic fare, slightly charred grilled meats, spring lamb, seared Ahi, and washed rind cheeses. Shelf $15.99 Tasting $14.39
Inama Winery Carménère Più– Veneto, Northern Italy. We first sampled this wine earlier in the year with a local distributor. The wine in the glass was intriguing by itself, however with further inspection of the label we realized that it was curiously Carménère from Italy. Carménère, like Malbec, is a variety that was once fairly important in Bordeaux. According to Stefano Inama, who makes this wine, the grape originated on the Dalmatian coast, and it reminds him of vigorous ancient Greek varieties (such as Garganega, the main grape of Soave) more than Bordeaux varieties. Carménère migrated to northeastern Italy in the 19th century and to Chile. In both locales, it suffered from mistaken identity: The Chileans thought that it was Merlot, and the Italians thought it was Cabernet Franc. Regardless of prior understatements the grape has found prominence again. The Inama’s make wine red or white with “No winemaking.” There is a great write up with question and answer with Stefano Inama at this link. This wine’s name, “Carmenere Piu” translates to “Carmenere Plus” because the wine is also 20 to 30% Merlot and 5 to10% Raboso Veronese, a near-extinct local variety. The palate strikes a surprising balance between varietal characteristics & the subtle nuances of the one of the most traditional producers in the country. Certified Organic. Shelf $20.99 Tasting $18.89
Bodegas Adriá Pazo de Arribi Mencía– El Bierzo, Spain. Wine has been apart of Bierzo’s fabric since Roman times, and the ancient grape Mencía has been entrenched for nearly as long. It could be said that there is no region in Spain that more accurately expresses the classic philosophy of indigenous cool-climate viticulture than Bierzo. Bodegas Adriá was constituted in its present form in 2002, marked by the construction of a modern facility for the production of highest quality Bierzo wines. Adriá’s roots date to 1940 and the founding of Bodegas Francisco Pérez Adriá by a native of Valencia who had fallen in love with Bierzo wines. The original bodega exists side by side with the new, along the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, on the outskirts of Villafranca del Bierzo. Mencía grapes from old vines in the best hillside regions are also contracted, subject to rigorous selection and qualification upon arrival to the bodega. Wines are fermented with their natural yeasts under temperature control, seeking maximum fruit intensity and flavor extract. Juicy fat and round with spice laden red fruit. Smoke and charred meat on the palate with a mildly bitter swath of liquorish. Shelf $15.99 Tasting $14.39
Château Coupe Roses Minervois Cuvée La Bastide– Minervois, Languedoc France. Bastide is made of roughly equal parts Carignan and Grenache, with around 5% Syrah. From one of our favorite importers that specializes in organic & biodynamic family estates from the great growing regions of France. Most of Coupe Roses’ vineyards are on a plateau from 750 to 1,350 feet above sea level. This is a wine that we feel consistently over delivers for its wallet friendly price tag. Each varietal sounds its own voice in the glass. The Grenache rings bright and clear with lush wild blueberry, firmly stuck in Carignans’ tar tinged blackberry. Syrah adds a squeak of black pepper. A cool bit of trivia is that since 1991 a friend and colleague of Françoise and Pascal, one François Serre, has been the consulting enologist at Coupe Roses. For an even longer period, Serre has been the consulting enologist at Château Rayas in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, one of the greatest wineries in the world! Shelf $12.99 Tasting $11.69
Asheville’s Best Wine & Beer Tasting– Saturday January, 22nd 2011 4PM-8PM http://www.appalachianvintner.com/
Just announced~ Wine, Chocolate & Cheese Tasting. February, 12th 2011 3PM-7PM
Join us for a wonderful evening of amazing wine from the ancient Italian Barbaresco producer PAITIN. With Mike Tiano of the Haw River Wine Man & David Mason of Black Mountain Chocolate plus a healthy selection of regional cheeses. Swing on by and start your Valentines Day weekend off right!
New Arrivals~
WINE
Ramsay Pinot Noir– killer bottle of North Coast Pinot
Tercos Bonarda– tastes more like a Dolcetto to us
Herencia Antica Tempranillo Reserva
Domaine Faillenc Sainte Marie Corbières Rouge– soil in a glass, get your funk on!
Bodegas Esmeralda Tilia Cabernet Sauvignon– Sustainably farmed(Catena) 91pts
Weingut Höpler Gruner Veltliner
Château Coupe Roses Minervois Cuvée La Bastide
Château Haut-Monplaisir Cahors Tradition
Marchiori & Barraud Perdriel Malbec– 50 year old vines
Pazo de Arribi Mencía
Inama Winery Carménère Più– Organic Northern Italian Carménère!
Napa Cellars Zinfandel
BEER
Bell’s Brewery HOPSLAM– 6pks & 5L mini kegs & draft!
Ballast Point Sculpin IPA– Four pints left!
Founders Porter– 4pks
Terrapin Wake n’Bake Stout– 4pks
2011 Sierra Nevada Hoptium Imp. IPA
Ballast Point Victory at Sea
~ Free Saturday Tasting ~
This Saturday we will be sampling some of the best South American wines from Southern Wine Group & Global Vineyard two of the country’s leading wine importers.
Ricardo Santos Sémillon– Mendoza. Ricardo Santos has demonstrated a life-long commitment to the Argentinean wine tradition, particularly in regards to Argentina’s great varietal—Malbec. The former owner of the Norton Winery, Ricardo renounced a career in architecture to pursue his passion for winemaking with the belief that Argentina could make wines equal to the best in the world. He was the first winemaker from Argentina to export Malbec to the U.S. over thirty years ago. While Ricardo Santos has built a reputation on Malbec, he has always wanted to make a crisp, fruity white wine to pair with simple, classic foods. Recently, he was inspired by the Semillon grapes that his friend and neighbor Roberto Azzareto grows on his 70-year-old vineyard. The wine has an intense yellow color with delicate, fruity aromas. The flavor is grassy with a fruity acidity and no oak. Shelf $14.99 Tasting $13.49
Carlos Basso Dos Fincas Malbec – 100% Malbec from Altamira & Tunuyan, Mendoza. The use of two separate vineyards is a traditional practices in Argentina to safe guard against the threat of hail. For the Basso family it also allows them to make a very interesting blend by combining the attributes of two distinct micro climates. The dark powerful fruit from San Carlos(Altamira) & the more nuanced fruit from Tunuyan. It all combines to create a deliciously rich Malbec, that glides over the palate in a well balanced stream of tasty dark fruit and flashes of tannin. Blueberry, blackberry, black plum and cocoa frame the palate and aromatics. Sustainably Farmed. New Vintage! Shelf $10.99 Tasting $9.89
Apaltagua Carmenère Reserva– 100% Carmenère. Apaltagua Winery, located in the prestigious Apalta region in Chile’s Colchagua Valley, specializes in one distinguished, but lesser known, grape varietal – Carmenère. This is a wonderful example of the late ripening star of the Chilean countryside. An extended 10 day maceration on the skins, pulls a gorgeous dark purple color with red highlights. This additional skin contact also creates a wine that is very generous in body with rich notes of red & black cherry with an earthy dusting of tobacco from a sort barrel stay. Very approachable tannins leave the palate clean and carry the finish on and on. Excellent little wine for the price and no uncharacteristic green pepper here folks! Shelf $12.99 Tasting $11.69
Calcu Red Blend– In the local Mapuche language, Calcu means “magician.” In this “Super Chilean” blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Carmenère, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Petit Verdot, winemakers Ricardo Rivadeneira and Alejandro Jofre capture the diversity of the Colchagua Valley by combining a range of flavors into a single wine. Alejandro and Ricardo artfully blend the mineral notes and fresh acidity of grapes from the Andes foothills with the ripe tannins and red fruit from the center of the valley, and, finally, add richness and body from grapes grown closer to the Pacific Ocean. The resulting wine is only lightly oaked, allowing the grapes’ natural, fresh fruit character to shine through. Shelf $10.99 Tasting $9.99
Charles & I look forward to helping you find the wine & beer that you want, not the products that we want to sell you. Join us this weekend for a great tasting and even better company!
Asheville’s Best Wine & Beer Tasting– Saturday January, 29th 2011 4PM-7PM http://www.appalachianvintner.com/
Please note the 7PM abbreviated ending time this Saturday for the tasting.
Mark you calenders for Saturday February 12th , 2011 3pm-7pm Wine, Chocolate & Cheese Tasting! Join us for a tutored tasting of the wines of the centuries old Italian Barbaresco producer PAITIN. With Mike Tiano of the Haw River Wine Man & David Mason owner of Black Mountain Chocolate, plus a healthy selection of regional cheeses. Bring your sweet heart or a friend! $8 per person
New Arrivals ~
WINE
Frias Family Vineyards Spring Mountain Cabernet
Turley Cellars Juvenile Zinfandel– 7 bottles available
Conundrum 2009
BEER
Olde Hickory Death By Hops
Dogfish Head Burton Baton
~ Free Saturday Tasting ~
This Saturdays weather promises to share a glimpse of the gorgeous spring that is just around the corner. In honor of a hopeful day filled with warming rays of sunshine Appalachian Vintner will be featuring wines that are truly quaffable & extremely versatile.
Indaba Chenin Blanc– 100% Chenin from the Western Cape of South Africa. Chenin blanc is one of the worlds noble varietals. Totally transformed by the soil from which it grows, the climate and the hands that craft its nectar to bottle. Its made in styles that range from honeyed sweet to hauntingly arid and stark. This bottling is of the milder manner, a young wine in all its soft faced glory. Meant to be drunk in its shimmering youth, crisp and refreshingly lush tones of melon & peach, tons of flavor but light on its toes. “Indaba” is the traditional Zulu forum for sharing ideas. World-wide sales of the Indaba wines help fund the Indaba Scholarship, established to open the wine industry doors to a new generation of native South Africans. Shelf $8.99 Tasting $8.09
Vecchia Torre Leverano Rosato– 80% Negroamaro, 20% Malvasia Nera from Leverano a DOC within Apulia in the far tip of the sunny Italian boot heel. This Rosato never ceases to amaze tasters with its depth of flavor and creamy texture. Consistent year in and year out it represents a stunning value for its meager price tag. It pairs perfectly with practically everything on the table, making it a must have for a fully rounded wine cellar. Shelf $8.99 Tasting SALE $7.64
Viña Cono Sur Pinot Noir– 100% Pinot Noir, Central Valley, Chile. The Cono Sur winery is one of the “greenest” wineries in the world. Flocks of wild geese roam the vines devouring harmful pests, each vineyard worker rides bicycles instead of petroleum powered vehicles and they farm upwards of 400 acres organically. The winery was built around the oldest Pinot Noir vines in Chile, naturally it has become their flagship grape. This entry level or “bicycle” Pinot Noir is jam packed with palate coating red fruit, braced by a spicy back palate. A firm commitment to sustainability is furthered by carbon neutral delivery, accomplished by purchasing carbon credits to off set petroleum usage in shipping and production. Shelf $9.99 Tasting $8.99
Herencia Antica Tempranillo Reserva– This wine hails from Utiel-Requena, in the Spanish province of Valencia a mere 40 miles from the Mediterranean Sea. Tempranillo from this area is rare as most reds are produced from the traditional Spanish grape Bobal. Wine production has occurred here since the 7th century B.C.! It is sourced from the 200 acre Herencia Antica estate, hand harvested & sorted and aged in new American oak barrels. Smooth, dark aromatics rise from a brick red pool of color, raspberry-cherry fruit laced with bay leaf and a touch of tobacco, light vanilla-oak overlay and a slightly salty minerality. The acidity is at a bit of a remove from the velvety-smooth flesh, but with air this hides under a dried fruit melange. Smooth, moderately complex and almost cohesive, the midpalate is slight, but the overall impression is of a flavorful wine with a calm juiciness and just enough complexity, especially for the price. Many a Rioja for twice the price would not show this well. Shelf $10.99 Tasting $9.89
Come check out our expanded lounge area, complete with couches & arm chairs!