Farewell to Marnie at Kaleidoscope Bistro

January TWITs:

When:  Saturday, January 16th, 2016 6:30pm ET

Theme:  Farewell to Marnie at Kaleidoscope Bistro

Where:  

Kaleidoscope Bistro and Pub

Village Place Brookhaven

1410 Dresden Drive Suite 100

Atlanta, GA 30319

          404-474-9600 
Wines:
 We tasted 
"Parallele 45" Cotes du Rhone
Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, La Marca

Champagne, Laurent Perrier 

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