A NEW WINE SHOP!

Thanks to our member Robin we have a new shop to frequent, and I'm very excited about it for three reasons: 1)it's in the neighborhood; 2)they have some excellent wine tastings and events; and 3)their prices are extremely reasonable. The store is The Village Wine Cellar, and it's located at 249-70 Jericho Tpke. in Bellerose Village. That's roughly a mile or so from the Cross Island Parkway, a mere stone's throw from DiVine Wine Co. headquarters.

Mom and I attended a tasting there last Friday night and were very impressed. The tasting was free, and they asked only that you buy two bottles of anything in the store. Not a problem! We tasted 7 wines: a Spanish albarino (you may recall that we chose an albarino as our favorite in the last meeting), a pinot gris, a riesling (yay! said Mom), a temparanillo, a syrah/grenache blend, a zinfandel, and a port. Very nice selection. The store even provided plenty of snacks including cheeses, crackers, sausage slices, breads, pita, and hummus. And let me tell you, the people were pouring in. The store has lots of regulars so many of the customers actually knew each other, and the atmosphere was super friendly, not stuffy and stodgy like in some of the shops in Manhattan. It did get pretty crowded, and you had to get your glass and move away from the tasting bar right away so others could get theirs. Then when you were ready, you elbowed your way back to the bar for the next taste. Mom really liked the pinot gris -- if you haven't tried it and you like white wines we recommend it. It was creamy and buttery on the nose and had a fresh, fruity taste with body and a long finish. She actually bought a bottle along with a viognier that the manager recommended, while I came away with what was promised to be a bold petite syrah and a rich chardonnay. We shall see! All four wines were under $20 each.

The store has a website: www.villagewinecellar.com, and it includes a mailing list that you can join to get alerts for upcoming events. Next time you're in Queens or Nassau County, I recommend that you check it out.

Arrocal Ribiera del Duero 2006 (Spain) - Followup

Thinking that the debate was going to be another WWE-style diss fest, I figured it would be more interesting observing it a little buzzed (very little, considering i have to be up at 3AM!). After being christened four days earlier, I opened & let it breathe approx 15 minutes (about the first time I said, "Say Wha?" to something McCain said). Was not as leathery on the nose this time around, which is usually something that I have to get past first on reds before I can smell the fruits of the wine. The drop off on the back end was a little stronger, like someone storming out of a room slamming a door, however disappeared altogether with the aid of cheese. As for the buzz affect, I was in complete rowdy mode when Schafer asked the mud-slinging question, thinking we were about to get a Nas vs. Jay-Z type showdown. Nevertheless, it didn't disappoint.

--AGP.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER DIVINE WINE CLUB MEETING -- WE LOVE SPAIN!

Hey, everyone! We were finally able to have our Spain/Argentina/Portugal/Chile meeting this month, and man, was it ever worth the wait! We had fun with these wines, mainly because we were able to sample grapes that were new for us like tempranillo and garnacha, and to revisit an old favorite, malbec. Plus, after not meeting for 8 weeks, we had serious club withdrawal! It was very nice to get together again.

We had 7 members present at Saturday's meeting and sampled 7 wines. Two interesting things: 1) we actually had a white, a rose, and some reds, so our sampling ran the wine spectrum; and 2) even though Portugal was included and we did have a couple of Portuguese wines, no one brought a port, which is very interesting considering how much we love the stuff. Could it be that we're still on overload from January's chocolate pairing meeting? Hmmmm....

So, here go the results:

THE WINNER:
Don Olegario 2006 Albarino (Spain)
http://www.donolegario.com
This was a light, crisp Spanish white made from the albarino grape. Fruity on the nose with a hint of ale, this wine turned out to be pleasantly semi-sweet, much like a kabinett riesling. The wine was surprisingly smooth and citrusy, and many members chose it as a favorite.

SECOND PLACE:
Tinto da Anfora 2005 red (Portugal)
http://winelibrary.com/reviewwine.asp?DCMP=froogle&item=38288
This wine featured blackberry on the nose, with cocoa powder and tobacco. Intriguing! Yes, we actually picked up all this! On the palate, the wine proved to be lighter than anticipated despite some pretty tough tannins right up front. When tasting, the wine hits you right away, then mellows out nicely. Unfortunately it didn't have a long finish, which would have helped round this out.

THIRD PLACE:
Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha 2007 (Spain)http://www.bodegasborsao.com/pages/trespii.htm
Psyche gave the most interesting description of this wine: "Like a five-part harmony, but missing a note." I love that, and I loved this wine, despite the missing note. This was our first experience with the garnacha grape (which is apparently completely different from the grenache grape, contrary to what I'd thought) and the thing that struck me right away was the spiciness, both on the nose and in the taste. The berriness was immediately obvious, but there was a definite spiciness there, and the nose was a bit metallic as well. Mom said she tasted white pepper in this one. A very complex wine, with a nice finish. My personal favorite, and I've already bought myself another bottle!

THE REST:
Vega Sindoa rose 2007 (Spain) http://www.marketfinewine.com/155854?id=Haa9HinJ
This rose, a blend of 50% garnacha and 50% cabernet grapes, smelled very sweet, like cherry soda. But the taste was drier and very light. It was not tasteless like many roses. Not amazing, but pleasant.

Eagle Rock malbec 2006 (Argentina)
Although the wine had a pretty tight nose, we still were able to pick up a hint of mint and some meatiness. Mom said it reminded her of a steak cooked in butter (!). I found this wine too light, not at all robust like the malbecs I usually like. The wine tasted young, like it should be put away for a few years before drinking. I should revisit it, though; it may be helped if allowed to breathe for a while.

Arrocal Ribiera del Duero 2006 (Spain)
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=420480
Made from the tempranillo grape, this wine was more leathery and bold on the nose; what I'd imagine the malbec would be if allowed to mature. It had big tannins and was fruitier than the malbec, but disappointingly, it disappeared on the back end. Nothing to hate here. Apparently, Arthur found this a good wine to drink while watching Wednesday's presidential debate! (Hey, AGP, care to give a follow-up review?)

Armador syrah 2005 (Chile)
http://www.stirlingfinewine.com/r/products/armador-syrah-2005
Wine Enthusiast describes this wine as "a bit funky at first." Boy, is that an understatement. This wine will forever be known in the club as "the cat pee." Eslin picked it up first, and right away...this wine had a serious litter box aroma on the nose. If you weren't at the meeting, you missed some serious ick faces on your fellow members! As for taste, it was complex: bitter at first, but then it was hard to get past the smell to appreciate the rest. Surprisingly, cheese helped it a lot; mellowed out the aroma and the bitterness, and a nice fruity red came through. In the end, Ishmael and Robin liked it, the ladies not so much, and Arthur has permanently sworn off Chilean wines. (See August meeting minutes!)

You'll notice I'm adding something new to our blog. Going forward I will try to include in the reviews links to websites where you can see, read about, and perhaps order the wines we tried. Hope you find this useful.

Next meeting, November 8, and if you read my email you know it is going to be an important one. Really hope you can make it. See you then!