   |  Newsletter ArchiveThe Wine Flu, Sangria Saturday IV: The Return of Tastiness, and No Way Uruguay? The Wine Flu Wow, what a couple of weeks we've had since we last blasted you with wine news -- Bea Arthur rides off into the sunset in a Pontiac, Arlen Specter switches teams (politically only...as far as we know), and we get yet another phrase to further put down the swine of the world. Poor, poor swine. But we're here to talk about wine and get your mind off of all these things so let's start at the beginning with, of course, the dinosaurs...
Chateau Font-Mars Picpoul de Pinet 2008, Languedoc, France - $11.99/btl This dinosaur-laden bottle was the easy favorite for most popular Summer white last year, selling-out in just a couple months just as it hit LATimes wine of the week. The new '08 vintage is even better than the flagship '07 and we're welcoming it back with a spot in tonight's Friday flight. Come on out and try it.
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Eric Kent Cellars Spring Releases!
The new Windsor Oaks Pinot Noir 2007 ($39.99/btl), Russian River Chardonnay 2007 ($39.99/btl), and Dry Creek Valley Syrah 2007 ($24.99/btl) arrived this week...
From the winemaker: "This is our second vintage of Windsor Oaks Pinot and we think we’ve crafted a wine of greater balance and structure compared to our inaugural ’06. Garnet in color, the nose leads with strawberry, dark cherry and subtle pomegranate enhanced by nuances of brown sugar, rose petals and cigar box. Sweet dark cherry, black raspberry, cola nut and tobacco flavors are held together by good acidity and smooth, firm tannins. A celebration of big California fruit in a medium-bodied package with grace and style. Total Produced: 352 cases" "Our 2007 Russian River Chardonnay hearkens back to 2005 in seductive body, but with more fruity intensity. Light golden in hue, poached pear, lemon custard and butterscotch are rounded out by honeydew and a touch of tropical flower on the nose. Balanced interplay between viscosity and acidity creates a wonderful texture to showcase flavors of pear, golden delicious apple, fresh apricot and lemon tart that are impressively persistent on the palate. Both energetic and voluptuous — a wonderful combination. Total Produced: 220 cases" (Dry Creek Valley Syrah 2007) "A delicious, up-front and easy-drinking barbecue wine on the dark fruit side of the spectrum with aromas of blackberry, black currant, cinnamon, beef jerky and leather. The palate offers smooth berry flavors dominated by blackberry and dark raspberry with hints of black pepper, coffee and caramel. Not as structured or tightly wound as many of our Syrah, this one should open up a bit earlier than its two compatriots coming out in the Fall. We hope that our “stimulus-package” price makes this a perfect house or party wine for any occasion. Total Produced: 118 cases"
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Plastic Wine Glasses...For That Clumsy Friend
The shatterproof GoVino plastic wine glasses are back in 4-pack boxes this year for $9.99/box. Want something that isn't glass but nicer than plastic cups to serve wine in? Have a friend who always breaks your expensive wine glasses? Get yourself some Govino stemless plastic wine glasses that have a thumb dent for easy handling we lovingly call "The Drunk Catch". These were big sellers last year for trips to Big Bear, trips to the Hollywood Bowl and backyard parties.
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SANGRIA SATURDAY IV: THE RETURN OF TASTINESS
The Oracle has spoken and it tells us the Sangria Saturdays begin once again here at CoWineCo on Saturday, May 9th (Bar hours: 1-11pm). And by "Oracle" we mean the peach trees in our backyard are starting to bear fruit. We take fresh peaches, mint, and a super-secret concoction of our own making and blend that with dry bubbly to make our infamous white sangria. We will continue pouring our sangria every Saturday (while daily supplies last) through September.
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Many of you have seen the art work on our walls for the last couple of months. The woman behind these vibrant images is 23 year old Vietnamese artist, Phan Thu Trang. Trang's naive, decorative works are characteristically Vietnamese. Making the genre of Landscape her own, Trang simplifies individual elements to their bare essentials. With a limited palette, the artist employs texture to define her subjects. Smooth areas of bright monotone contrast with the lush, painterly impasto used to define the tree leaves. A vibrant vaulted canopy of trees dominates spindly trunks. ~ DK Art Publishing We've been very proud to have her work up on our walls and would like to invite you to view the works and meet Drita Kessler, the woman who represents her work in the United States and owner of DK Art Publishing Inc. on Saturday, May 9th from 4-6pm.
The Works of Phan Tru Trang Saturday, May 9th 4 - 6pm Complimentary Gourmet Cheeses from Auntie Em's Marketplace A Variety of Wines By The Glass
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Regular Wine Tasting Schedule
*** We hold tastings twice a week on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons , and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays the bar is open for wines by the glass . Please see our calendar for details on any given day: www.cowineco.com/calendar ***
Wine Tasting: Intergalactic Identity Crisis TONIGHT! Friday, May 1st 5:30-8:30pm (wines by the glass also available from 4:00 to 11pm) $15/person 5 wines and gourmet cheeses from Auntie Em's Marketplace Please RSVP to: info@cowineco.com or (323) 478-1985 Today in 1930 Pluto was named a planet....then last year, like opening a present full of sand, the title was rudely ripped away, leaving Pluto just a depressed mass of star. Sad. So let's get together, cheers Pluto and make it feel better. A nNew malbec, another remarkable '07 Rhone, and the indomitable Picpoul dinosaur wine are a few more reasons to come out and enjoy our Friday flight. wines Chateau Font-Mars Picpoul de Pinet, Languedoc, France Wisteria Cellars Chardonnay, California Queen of Hearts Pinot Noir 2007, Santa Barbara, California Domaine de Fontenille Cotes du Luberon Red 2007, France Mas Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina
Lazy Sunday Tasting Sunday, May 3rd 1-4pm $12/person 4 wines and gourmet cheeses from Auntie Em's Marketplace No RSVP necessary wines (call for other selections)
Wine Cellar Wednesdays Every Wednesday 4-11pm No corkage fee on any bottles in the store! Grab anything off the shelf for the price of the bottle, ask the nice bartender for some glasses, sit, and enjoy
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No Way, Uruguay? I realize that title doesn't work if you pronounce Uruguay properly, but no one does, so there. The NYTimes ran an interesting piece on the growing boutique wine industry in Uruguay last week, just two days after we added our first wines from Uruguay. It's kinda like cowineco and the NYTimes are twins and we sense each other's emotions before we actually speak...or like we're the NYTimes phantom limb, except we're still around and...no, that doesn't work. It's kinda like we're Wyatt Earp and the NYTimes is Tombstone and though they got the better Doc Holiday, we were still a better story.....nope, doesn't work either. Anyway...from the article: Viñedo de los Vientos (www.vinedodelosvientos.com) is another small winery with big ideas. The owner, Pablo Fallabrino, inherited the property in 1995, when he was just 21. He has surfer looks and a hang-loose attitude, and is considered somewhat of an iconoclast. “I like to combine techniques, to do weird things,” he said. Back at Viñedo de los Vientos’s casual tasting room, Mariana Cerutti, Mr. Fallabrino’s wife, prepared a shrimp and watercress salad paired with an aromatic white blend called Estival. Next, she brought a basket of unforgettable lamb empanadas, along with a medium-bodied tannat.
Vinedo de los Vientos Estival White 2007, Uruguay - $14.99/btl This is a blend of 60% Gewurztraminer, 30% Chardonnay, and 10% Moscato Bianco. We get citrus and pineapple on the nose, with a surprisingly dry-ish finish and a subtle almond twist on the exhale.
Vinedo de los Vientos Tannat 2006, Uruguay - $14.99/btl This is 100% Tannat, a medium-bodied red with notes of earth, mushrooms and dark fruit.
**Both wines are sustainably farmed**
*** We'd also like to welcome Caitlyn Love, our newest employee. All you need to know about Caitlyn is that she sleeps three hours a night and ate live shrimp last week. There. Be afraid.
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See You Soon, John and Jen
~ German Proverb |
