Brazos Tasting with Brad Patrick at Le Caveau

Brazos Tasting with Brad Patrick at Le Caveau - December 15, 2016

Holiday TWITs 2015 - Oregon "Pick Your Pinot" - hosted by Ms. Marilyn -Friday, December 4th

Holiday TWITs 2015 - Oregon "Pick Your Pinot" - hosted by Ms. Marilyn - Friday, December 4th

December - TWITs Event

WHEN: Friday, December 4th, 2014 - 7:00pm ET

THEME:  Oregon "Pick Your Pinot"

BRING:  Bring a bottle of Pinot (could be Pinot Noir or Pinot Gris), from Oregon, within the specified price range (Up to $20/bottle for Singles, between $20 - $40/bottle for Couples)

1)  2013 Illahe Vineyards Williamette Valley Gruner Veltliner ~ $17 @ Le Caveau

100% Gruner Veltliner

light, crisp, refreshing

2)  2014 Brainstorm Silver Linings Rose - $14.99 @ Minx

12.5% alcohol

light pale pink color, light on the palate, some acidity, dry

3)  2014 Winderlea Dundee Hills, Oregon Rose of Pinot Noir ~ $26-28 @ Brookhaven Wines

14.1% alcohol, 100% Pinot Noir

darker reddish pink, fabulous, viscous, light, nice acidity, delicious

4) 2014 Erath Pinot Noir - $15 @ CostCo

13.5% alcohol  100% pinot noir

lovely ruby color, almost no nose at all, velvet smooth, cran/orange palate, dusty road, chocolate powder, powdered chalk, charcoal, flat cherry cola, orange, citrus peel, satsuma, cheap chocolate orange.

5) 2013 Cristom "Jessie Vineyard" Eola-Amity Hills Pinot Noir - $46.99 @ Total Wine Brookhaven

13.5% alcohol, 100% Pinot Noir
Marilyn guesses 2011 or 2012, more brown in color, showing some age, asphalt, chocolate, crumbly cooked chocolate, it did a complete 180 in my glass, smells perfumey, "like my boyfriend who thought I'd like donuts in the parking lot", perfumey, floral, a little flabby on the palate, the palate is typical Pinot Noir, light, the nose is more promising than the palate

6) 2014 Williamette Valley Vineyards Whole Cluster Pinot Noir - $29 @ Whole Foods Emory

13.7% alcohol, 100% pinot noir

milk chocolate nose, fruit forward, you smell bush? a privet bush, cola on the nose

7) 2012 Shea Estate Wine Cellars Pinot Noir - $36 @ CostCo Perimeter

14.3% alcohol, 100% pinot noir

stinky, funky, perm solution, Frenchy, funky, super bitter, tart, pucker, "assaulting me in a good way" or "a-salting me", smells like placenta, briny, salty and bitter, sea air, "you could commit a crime and I wouldn't remember it."

8) 2012 Rex Hill Pinot Noir - $28 @ Savi Market Buckhead

14% alcohol, 100% Pinot Noir

darkest color yet, toffee, French, funk, mint and eucalyptus, reminds us of Cotes du Rhone, bitterness on the finish, a little pepper, chalky

9) 2013 Kings Ridge Pinot Noir ~ $19 @ d'Vine Wine Dunwoody

13% alcohol, 100% Pinot Noir

lighter color, lighter alcohol, dry, bitter, perfumey, tart "Pinot more in the yard", blackberry, cherry, cola

10) 2013 Omero Williamette Valley - $24.99 @ Le Caveau

12.1% alcohol, 100% pinot noir

pepper, cherry, bell peppers, lilac and violet aromas, black plums, and spice

11) 2014 Elk Cove Pinot Gris Williamette Valley ~ $20 @ Savi Market Buckhead
13% Alcohol, 100% Pinot Gris
light, hint of sweetness, crisp, 

Marilyn's "Dishwasher Salmon"

Le Caveau 5th Annual Holiday Champagne Tasting

Devon Price and Sarrah Wile from Sour Grapes attended, as we tasted through a lineup of small production grower Champagne from four different terroirs including the Solera Reserve from R. Dumont that contains 20 vintages with 1991 as its base vintage! 

The cost was $25 per person:

NV Champagne Bourdaire-Gallois Brut 

NV Champagne José Michel 'Cuvée Pinot Meunier' Brut

NV Champagne Perseval-Farge 'Cuvée Terre de Sable' 1er Cru Brut 

NV Champagne R. Dumont & Fils 'Solera Reserve' Brut

2007 Champagne José Michel 'Special Club' Brut

Friday, November 20th, 2015 - Au Rendezvous

Friday, November 20th, 2015 7pm ET at "Au Rendezvous Bistro"

Theme:  Wines from France and some lovely affordable French Cuisine!


Bring:  TWITs should bring a bottle of wine from France.  The wine could be a red, white, or sparkling wine.  It is up to you.
Au Rendezvous does charge a $4/person/visit corking fee.

Where:  Au Rendezvous Bistro
4102 Clairmont Rd
Chamblee, GA 30341
Tel. 404-303-1968 or 404-343-4983

RSVP:  Please email the TWITS mailbox to RSVP so we can give a headcount to the restaurant.
appetizers will be provided, but there is a full menu if you would like to have dinner there.  I hope you will find, as we did, that this is a rare, affordable French restaurant, a hidden gem in Atlanta.

Tasting Notes:
1) 2013 Domaine Romaneaux-Destezel Herve Souhaut L'Ardeche ~ $ unknown.
70% Viognier, 30% Rousanne, 12% alcohol
peaches, orange blossom, dune blosson, burnt candy

2) 2012 Domaine de la Pinte Arbois Pupillin Jura Chardonnay Fonteneille ~ $30 @ Le Caveau
Chardonnay
orange cream, unfiltered, smells like a church with flowers, hyacinth, a dead church, gladiolis (which is apparently a funeral flower in Germany)

3) 2014 Domaine Jean-Paul Dubost "Recolte" Beaujolais Villages Tracot ~ $20 @ Le Caveau
100% Gamay
tart, oranges, cranberries, buttery, brick color, tastes like turkey

4) 2012 Domaine Vinci Vin de Pays des Cotes Catalanes ROC ~$23 @ Le Caveau
70% Carignan, 30% Mourvèdre, 12.5% alcohol
funky, saddle just been wiped down, barnyard, licorice, sourdough bread a foot away

5) 2010 Domaine du Pesquier Cotes du Rhone ~ $20
56% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre and 14% Carignan. 14.5% alcohol
delicious, dark fruits and berries

6) 2014 M. Chapoutier Belleruche Cotes du Rhone - $12.99 @ Whole Foods Briarcliff
60% Grenache, 40% Syrah
13.5% alcohol
smooth and balanced, fruity, dark berry, garrigue, spicy, lavender

Virginia is For Lovers Tasting at Le Caveau 11/12/15

"Virginia is for Lovers" wine tasting with Christine Vrooman of Ankida Ridge Vineyards and Rockgarden Cellars, nestled 1,800 feet up the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains! They are small, family-run winery making beautifully balanced wines from sustainably farmed vines on granite soil. We also tasted a couple of ciders from Foggy Ridge just a couple of hours southwest of Ankida Ridge, in Dugspur, Virginia. The Pippin Gold was said to taste almost like a Calvados!

I think the Chardonnay and Pinot need more time but the 'Voyage de Rouge' was on point!

Foggy Ridge Handmade Cider

2013 Ankida Ridge Vineyards Chardonnay

2012 Ankida Ridge Vineyards Pinot Noir

2012 Rockgarden Cellars 'Voyage de Rouge'

Foggy Ridge Pippin Gold Cider

Castello di Verduno tasting dinner at Southbound

The Wines of Castello di Verduno Paired with Small Bites by Chef Bethany Colvin and visit with winemaker Mario Andrion

NV Castello di Verduno Brut Rosé 'S-ciopét'  

Salmon Mousse, cucumber

2012  Langhe Nebbiolo

 Lamb Lollipop, huckleberry gastrique

2012 Verduno Basadone 

 Foie gras torchon on sourdough cracker

2010 Verduno Barbaresco 

 Mushroom Duxelle Roulade

2009 Verduno Barbaresco - Faset Vineyard

  Catfish Brandade in piquillo pepper

2006 Verduno Barolo - Massara vineyard

 Smoked Short Rib Rillette, toast 

My serendipitous encounter with Jancis Robinson! 10/14/2015

My serendipitous encounter with Jancis Robinson!

I'm in New York City for work.

It's just about 1pm on October 14th.

A Coworker and I were talking about what I should do for dinner.

I was inclined to go to Ten Bells (a natural wine place.  Natural wines mean the winemaker does not tamper with the yeasts during fermentation, etc.  It’s about as “organic” as you can get with wine).

BUT

my Coworker says “have you heard about Eataly?”

So I google it, and I’m checking it out,

And Lo and behold…  Jancis Robinson is doing a Book signing and Brunello tasting at Eataly.

As in

“Just for one night, Eataly’s rooftop restaurant, La Birreria, will be host to more than 30 of Italy’s best producers of the much-lauded 2010 vintage of Brunello, hand-picked by the Companion’s editor Jancis Robinson, “the most respected wine critic and journalist in the world” (Decanter Magazine), and Walter Speller, Italian specialist of JancisRobinson.com, both of whom will be in attendance on this special evening.The special price of the ticket event includes:

·         a signed copy of The Oxford Companion to Wine and the possibility of have your copy personalized by Jancis Robinson and Walter Speller in person!

·         presentations by Jancis Robinson and the President of Consorzio del Brunello di Montalcino, Fabrizio Bindocci

·         a tasting of an incredible assortment more than 30+ Brunello di Montalcino wines

·         an array of special appetizers prepared by Eataly just for this event

·         a special wine glass designed and provided by Italian manufacturer Bormioli Rocco

·         a tasting booklet curated by the Consorzio del Brunello di Montalcino"

So I clear it with my hubby.  Just because it isn’t cheap.  I mean it’s cheap considering the cost of the book, and the fact that most of these wines we were tasting were well over $200 a bottle…. And don’t worry NO I didn’t try all 30, that would be insane! Ha ha. 

BUT

I digress.

The hubby is like “yeah you should go”

Anyhoo….

So I get there, I’m having a blast.

The I find an EXTRA ticket under a napkin.  You had to have a ticket to get the book.

So I got TWO books signed,

and one I had personalized to say Happy Birthday to my dear friend Valerie (as her birthday is soon).

Oh,

And I met a couple, the gentleman has a rooftop vineyard in Brooklyn and Jancis was coming to visit him and do a piece in the NY Times.  I gave him a TWITs card, and he gave me his card, and one of these days I need to set up a visit. Oh goodness!

OMG I could not be more tickled.

And this all happened because my coworker recommended Eataly.  Serendipitous!

Ampeleia Tasting with Simona Spinelli - Le Caveau Fine Wines -10/02/2015

Ampeleia Tasting with Simona Spinelli @ Le Caveau on 10/02/2015.  

Doug Strickland from Integrity Wines (Importer of the wine) was there.  Simona was visiting from Italy.  She manages the administrative and commercial aspects of Ampeleia.

Ampeleia is a winery in Maremma, within Tuscany, Italy.  The wines are made biodynamically and the grapes grown in 3 different altitudes.  

Simona Spinelli, Abbie, and Doug Strickland

TWITs - Red Wines of the Piedmont - September 26th, 2015 - hosted by Abbie & Matt

TWITs September 26th, 2015  - hosted by Abbie & Matt
2p-4p ET

Theme:  Red Wines of the Piedmont

Bring:  TWITs should bring a bottle of red wine from the Piedmont region of Italy within the specified price range (Up to $20/bottle for Singles, between $20 - $40/bottle for Couples).  We will do our usual blind tasting method.

Photo Credit:  Portovinoitaliano.com

Fun Facts:

Piedmont, in Italian, means at the foot of the mountain.

http://winefolly.com/review/piedmont-wine-guide/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piemonte_(wine)

http://www.winespectator.com/vintagecharts/search/id/37 - shows the Piedmont Vintages and when to drink or hold, etc.

http://www.made-in-italy.com/italian-wine/regions/piedmont-piemonte

***  Several of the bottles had the word "Albeisa" on them.  We looked it up. "The purpose is to showcase and to distinguish even more the superb wines of the Langhe and Roero hills. In fact, only the wines from the official denominations of this area may be bottled in the Albeisa. The Unione Produttori Vini Albesi is a non-profit organisation whose primary mission is to more fully develop and promote the wine production of the Alba area by means of events, such as the "Nebbiolo Prima" (preview tasting for the world wine press), and by the creation of promotional materials, such as the new Riedel-Albeisa tasting glass."

Tasting Notes:
Welcome Wine:  We opted to serve a white wine (albeit it was made from a red grape varietal) for our welcome wine.  This was to make sure we didn't accidentally serve one of the same wines that someone may have brought for the tasting.
2012 Costello di Verduno, Belis Perennis, Vino Bianco $21.99 @ Le Caveau
100% Peleverga Piccolo, 13% alcohol

1) 2012 Costello di Verduno Langhe Nebbiolo ~ $21 @ Brookhaven Wines
100% Nebbiolo, 14% alcohol
red brick color, this is lovely, oh yeah, cranberry, fruity, earthy, spicy, fruit, rich, berries and currant, guessing a 2011 or 2012 and 14% alcohol (Marilyn was on the money), peppery finish

2) 2011 Renato Ratti Colombe Dolcetto d'Alba $22 @ Brookhaven Wines
100% Dolcetto, 12.5% alcohol,
grandma's old chest, musty, oaky, old wet wood, fell from a tree, purply color, leather, smooth, not grippy, quite quaffable, a little fuzz on the tongue, effervescent essence, front palate, fuzzy on tongue, light bodied, cotton candy ball, evaporates, dry, fleshy, reminds Val of Beaujolais, needs a hearty meat, would be good with food, not as good on its own.

3) 2011 Michelle Chiarlo Barbera d'Asti, Superiore, La Orme - $15 @ Minks
100% Barbera, 13.5% alcohol
oh I love the nose, fruity, berry, caramel, buttery, oh wow, shortbread cookie, sweeter, butterscotch, butternut squash, spice, chili, creamy chocolate pepper

4) 2009 San Lorenzo Barbera d'Alba, Bartolo Mascorello - $42.99 @ Le Caveau
100% Barbera, 14.5% alcohol
candy palate, funk on the nose, chocolate, soft palate, soft mushy, scented candle, koolaid, cranberry juice concentrate, mushy, cherry pie, light, slight tannins, grapey.

5) 2010 Pelissero, Lange, Nebbiolo - $30 @ Le Caveau
100% Nebbiolo, 13% alcohol
candied orange, chocolate, citrus, coffee at the end, grapefruit, dark roast, anise, caramel, chocolate, good body, well balanced, Marilyn guessing 13.5-14% alcohol, 2010 or 2011, rusty red color, earthy, mossy, citrus and spice on the end, pairs well with chocolate!

6) 2011 Franco Serra Lange Nebbiolo - $18.01 @ Marietta Wine Market
100% Nebbiolo, 13.5% alcohol
rusty red color, translucent, chocolate, bitter, cacoa, pixie stick, sweet tarts, berries, it's very light, cigar, tobacco

7) 2010 Brovia Barolo, Nebbiolo - $67 @ Le Caveau
100% Nebbiolo, 14% alcohol
ooh it blooms! currant, turpentine, hay, leathery, forest floor, wet wood, Lovely!
opened 3 hours ago, and decanted for 2 hours, could cellar for 20 more years, but we accelerated the aging process but letting it breathe.