My Wine Education

Party Town Adds a Tasting

We're about to brave the possibly inclement weather and head to Kinkead Ridge, Meranda-Nixon, and Harmony Hill for the day. Cross your fingers that the rain holds off for us.

Before we leave, I want to tell everyone about a new tasting that Party Town has added. It's on Tuesday evenings from 6-8 6-7 pm. This is in addition to their popular Saturday/Sunday tastings and their Friday night beer events.

I was told that soon, these Tuesday night tastings will become wine and food pairing events. They're starting off small, gauging interest. Since I know we all want these to evolve into pairing events, please go!

As always, wine tastings at Party Town are free!

Party Town is located at 6823 Burlington Pike, Florence, KY‎, right off Turfway Road. I'll see you there!

Pouring: Hahn SLH Pinot Noir

On Friday and Saturday this week, I'll be hosting a tasting at Liquor Direct. On Friday, you'll find me at the Covington store and on Saturday, I'll be at Fort Thomas. My theme, of sorts, is Spring Wines (or perhaps, Wines That Remind Me of Spring). All week I"ll be posting the tasting notes for some of the wines I'll have on my table. Come out to the tasting this weekend - I'd love to see you  and the tasting is free!
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So, because some of my choices weren't available, we're only going to have one red wine on the table this weekend (but a lot of great whites). If you scorn reds, that's okay. Mike will have a whole slew of them on his table at the opposite store.

Our lone red for this tasting is the Hahn Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir. I think a Pinot is perfect year round, but because it's not as heavy of a red as say a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Zinfandel, Pinot Noir is a pretty good choice for Spring as well.

Back in January, I got to meet Adam Lazarre, former winemaker for Hahn, at The Party Source. I was instantly smitten with the man and his wines, so it was a no-brainer to put one of his amazing Pinot Noirs on my table.

Here are my notes for this particular Pinot from that Party Source event:

Ah, pinot. I love a good pinot noir. According to Lazarre, making the wine is easy - it's growing the grapes that's hard. I think a good pinot noir can be sexy, of all things, and Lazarre's pinots get sexier by the bottle. This one is a blend of four different vineyards. I found the nose to be smoky, with a lot of recessed fruit that was begging to be let out. The taste had a lot of black cherry in it, sort of velvety. I bet this wine would open up even more, given the chance. In my head there was a black cherry in a short skirt, strutting into a smoky bar.

So it's a sexy Pinot, and I bet you'll enjoy it. I hope to see you this weekend!

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Don't forget to buy tickets for the 2nd Annual Krystal Pepper Memorial Scholarship Dinner & Silent Auction. It's April 18, 6-10 pm. Buy Tickets Now. 

Pouring: McNab Ridge French Colombard

On Friday and Saturday this week, I'll be hosting a tasting at Liquor Direct. On Friday, you'll find me at the Covington store and on Saturday, I'll be at Fort Thomas. My theme, of sorts, is Spring Wines (or perhaps, Wines That Remind Me of Spring). All week I"ll be posting the tasting notes for some of the wines I'll have on my table. Come out to the tasting this weekend - I'd love to see you  and the tasting is free!
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You may remember that we had this at our Oceanaire brunch I wrote about last week. I was so taken by it that I begged the nice folks at Liquor Direct to order some for our tasting this weekend.

French Colombard is a white wine that McNab Ridge is growing to "preserve history in the county." Not many people grow French Columbard anymore, but it used to be quite common. It is believed to be an offspring of chenin blanc, another favorite grape of mine. Colombard was originally grown in France for distilling into Cognac and Armagnac (yum), so I'm not surprised I have an affinity for it.

This is an off-dry wine with 1.8% residual sugar. It had natural, bright acid. I noted that it was sweet, light, aromatic, and refreshing. Kevin noted the intensely floral characteristics, such as white flowers and pansies. During our more traditional first course at brunch, this wine added a bit of spice to the first course - or perhaps the food added the spice to the wine. It was certainly easy to drink and based on our own experiences, I think it might pair well with your own Easter brunch.
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Don't forget to buy tickets for the 2nd Annual Krystal Pepper Memorial Scholarship Dinner & Silent Auction. It's April 18, 6-10 pm. Buy Tickets Now.

Pouring: Saint-Meyland Brut

On Friday and Saturday this week, I'll be hosting a tasting at Liquor Direct. On Friday, you'll find me at the Fort Thomas Covington location and on Saturday I'll be at the Covington Fort Thomas location. My theme, of sorts, is  Spring Wines (or perhaps, Wines That Remind Me of Spring). All week I"ll be posting the tasting notes for some of the wines I'll have on my table. Come out to the tasting this weekend - I'd love to see you  and the tasting is free!
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I love bubbly. I particularly like French bubbly. And I particularly believe in bubbly and mimosas for Easter. That's why I'm pouring the Saint-Meyland Brut this weekend at Liquor Direct.

First off, it's French and it's only $15. However, it is not officially "champagne." It's made in the traditional method, but it's just not quite located in the Champagne region of France, and well, it can't take the name. It's made from hand-picked grapes and has plenty of tiny bubbles and that nice dry taste you associate with a French Champagne. The nose has some vanilla and floral aromas and it has a long balanced flavor. It tastes more expensive than it is.

I can't wait to pop this one open this weekend. This wine is a real value and your family might be impressed you showed up with such a tasty morsel from France for your Easter brunch. Depends on your family I suppose.

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Don't forget to buy tickets for the 2nd Annual Krystal Pepper Memorial Scholarship Dinner & Silent Auction. It's April 18, 6-10 pm. Buy Tickets Now. 

Local News: Discounts, Tastings, and Paella

There are three interesting events / offers coming up at local wine shops. These are in order of occurrence, but make sure you RSVP soon for the Liquor Direct event listed at the end.

Tomorrow is the day when the new Kentucky tax goes into effect, raising your taxes in the middle of a recession. That's right everyone. Go buy your alcohol today!  In response to the tax, The Party Source is launching a new program effective April 1: The Party Source New Deal, which will help you combat the tax and save money when buying in bulk.

• 10% discount on solid cases of wine (previously 5%)
• 5% discount on mixed cases of wine (new)
• 10% discount on solid cases of spirits (previously 5%)
• 5% discount on mixed cases of spirits (new)
• 5% discount on mixed cases including both wine and spirits (new)

It starts to get a little more complicated when you start adding in sizes. For instance, a 3-5L bottle or a box counts as 3 bottles towards your case.  But if you hate math (like me), don't worry. The Party Source has provided a cheat sheet you can download that details the whole program. One last fun item on this - any wine or beer spirits orphans in your cart, outside of the case, gets a 5% discount.

Next, our friend Hector Esteve of Paella at Your Place will be at Chateau Pomije in O'Bryonville this Friday, April 3, for Casual Friday. The accompanying wine tasting will showcase the medal winners from the recent Cincinnati International Wine Festival. The tasting runs 5:30-8:30 pm and costs $15 per person.

Finally, Liquor Direct is having a nifty event on April 7 (next Tuesday). From 5:30 - 8 pm at the Fort Thomas location, you can enjoy a special event led by Bruce Neyers, owner of Neyers Vineyards near Rutherford (Napa). Bruce is also the National Sales manager for the excellent Kermit Lynch Wine Selections.  Bruce will lead the tasting and discussion centering around some of his own wines as well as some selections from the Kermit Lynch French portfolio. You can show up early for appetizers and a meet and greet. Spaces are filling up fast, so call 859.291.2550 or email Kevin to make your reservation. Oh, and like so many events at Liquor Direct, this event is free.

Southern French Whites: Aromatic Wines

Recently, Kevin & I attended a class on Southern French Whites at The Party Source EQ Center. I'm  a big fan of these whites, which includes my favorites - aromatics - including Viognier, Picpoul, Roussanne, and Marsanne. We brought home several of these bottles.

Photo Credit: Chateau de Lancyre, Pic St. Loup

All prices are per The Party Source.

Cave de Vignerons de Montagnac Picpoul de Pinet 2007, Languedoc/Hérault, $9.99:
The grape on this one is the Picpoul, which is actually fairly hard to come by at stores around here. Tart lemon, zesty, and then mineral-y in the mid-palate. This would be an excellent first course, salad wine. Kevin called it a good patio wine.
Our rating:

Ninet de Pena Viognier 2006, Vin de Pays, $9.99:
This Viognier had a nose of daisies and apricots, which carried through on the palate. I found it a little oily in texture (again, think truffle oil, not gasoline) and Kevin thought it dried out his mouth on the finish. It paired fantastic with apricot preserves on brie.

My rating:   Kevin's rating:

Château de Lancyre Roussanne 2007, Pic St. Loup, $16.99:
This Roussanne could age for another couple of years. It was a very food friendly wine. Acidic and earthy all at once, with a sweet and floral nose. Kevin even found violets on the finish. I probably would have upped it to my top score had I paired it with a meal.
My rating:    Kevin's rating:

Château Beauchêne Côtes-du-Rhône Marsanne 2006, Southern Rhône, $15.99:
This Marsanne was golden in color. The nose had lemon, butter, apricot, and honey - very rich flavors. The taste followed up, rich and full with lemon and butter, very smooth. I got spices on the smooth and easy finish.
Our rating:

Domaine la Fadèze "Quatuor" 2003, Vin de Pays, $11.99:
This one is a blend of Viognier, Roussanne, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. The nose is salty and full of sea air. The taste had a nicely balanced acidity and tartness. It wasn't rich and fat, but it was still very full in the mouth. The finish had lilies; it was mellow and pleasant.
Our rating:

Alain Paret Condrieu 2006, Northern Rhône, $39.99:
Oh goodness. That's the first thing I had written down on this 100% Viognier. If you didn't notice, the price jumped on this one, and for good reason. The nose adhered to what I always think a viognier should smell like - fruit loops. Seriously. Go stick your nose in a box of fruit loops and inhale. It smells vaguely fruity and sweet. Granted, I also love when a viognier smells like flowers, and this one was also floral on the nose. Kevin picked out tulips. It tasted light, yet full on teh tongue, filling your mouth. These was a lot of complexity to this viognier, which continued onto the light and buttery (but not thick) finish.
Our rating:

Crowdsourcing: Name that Liquor Store!

Literally!

Liquor Direct is searching for a new name. Submit your marketable ideas and this spring, we'll get to vote.

Re-branding is a huge proposition and I wish them luck. In all fairness, they sell so much wine - fine wine, good wine, affordable wine - it's time for a name upgrade.

What are your suggestions? Even if you send them in (or if you don't), leave your ideas in the comments. This could be fun!

Recession Tip: Staff Favorites Tasting, Liquor Direct

This weekend there are some nifty Staff Favorites tastings occurring at both Liquor Direct locations. I got this email from their "wine guy" Kevin Keith:

So far, we’ve got heavy hitters from Jorge Ordonez, Torbreck, Orin Swift and Hendry.  The staff’s limitations are the best wine they can find under $50, already in our store, and in good supply.  We invite everyone to come check these out – after all, it’s free.

Staff Favorite tastings are always a great way to try some higher-end wines that you might not always get to taste. Hey!  That makes these tastings Recession Tips! Go try expensive wines for free! 

Liquor Direct Tastings Resume

As an FYI, the good folks at Liquor Direct resume their ever-popular weekly tastings this weekend. Times are 4-8 pm Friday, 2-6 pm Saturday at both stores. This particular weekend, you can try Best Value Whites at Covington on Friday and Best Value Reds at Ft Thomas. Those tastings flip on Saturday.

Remember, tastings are a great way to try more wines during a recession. Especially "Best Value" wines, which you can probably afford to take home as well.

Hope to see you there!

A Fond Farewell: Wine C.A.R.T., Kona, and more

I never made it out to the Wine C.A.R.T. in West Chester - mainly because I rarely make it out to West Chester. But with all the folks who do live on that end of town - why didn't you go to the Wine C.A.R.T?

Sadly, the economy has taken it's toll and the Wine C.A.R.T. is officially closed. I received their last e-newsletter today.

To all,
The economy has become an 800 pound gorilla that wasn’t there, nor foreseen, when we opened our doors in early 2007.  Today it is - - it has strangled our opportunity to get further funding and enough relief to keep our doors open.
It is with great sadness that I must say goodbye to all of you.  With no end in sight to the current financial crisis, I have had to make the tough decision to close our fabulous wine bar. 
I won’t close our doors without remembering the great camaraderie and personal friendships that we have built in our short time in business.  Wow, it was awesome for me and I hope for you too!  I hope you enjoy some of the wonderful pictures (too many to post) from 2008.
I wish you the best in your future wine purchasing and hope to see you all at Jungle Jim’s special wine tastings in the future - - tell Dave and Todd I sent you!
Happy New Year . . . Mike, Jane and I will miss you,
Chris

Of course, the Wine C.A.R.T. isn't the only place we've lost this year. The following restaurants come to mind: we lost the following restaurants:

• Kona Bistro, Oakley
• Wah Mee
• Seny
• Pacific Moon
• Tropicana

I'm sure I missed many. Let me know in the comments the other . In the meantime, our fondest farewell to the Wine C.A.R.T.