[wine] Pot Roast Reds, Sassy Whites at Chez Gregory

Greetings, Thanks to Russ for posting his tasting notes. We have an invitation to Chez Gregory. Limit is 10 for this sit down dinner. Wine styles are Sassy Whites... (aka anything interesting.) and Big, Hearty Reds. I don't recall the full list, but am thinking it was along the lines of: Cab/Brdx Blends Spanish Shiraz/Syrah The "white" and "desert" options are always open. "Hearty Burgundy" didn't make the list, but you've only your reputation to lose.... ditto the Romanian Pinot. Warren, Ruth Gregory 651-698-5337 2139 Randolph wrcgregory(a)qwest.net Who/What Bob Cheeses Warren/Ruth hosts/Pot Roasts. Jim/Louise Breads/??? Russ/Sue Nicolai Betsy Lori That's 10 so anyone else is on the waiting list... ----- Forwarded message from The 30 Second Wine Advisor <wine(a)wineloverspage.com> ----- THE 30 SECOND WINE ADVISOR, Monday, Feb. 7, 2005 ________________________________________________________________________ TODAY'S SPONSOR: * CALIFORNIA WINE CLUB Tuscan Sun Sweepstakes! http://www.cawineclub.com/store/special_promotions?Args= ________________________________________________________________________ IN THIS ISSUE * IN THIS WEEK'S PREMIUM EDITION The road less taken in Southern Italy. * WT101: RIOJA, PLUS Our wine-education forum goes to Spain this month, with an expert guest host. * FAUSTINO V 1998 RIOJA RESERVA ($16.99) Straightforward Rioja Reserva from a giant producer. * CALIFORNIA WINE CLUB Tuscan Sun Sweepstakes: Win an $8,000 Tuscan Wine and Culinary Adventure! * THIS WEEK ON WINELOVERSPAGE.COM New material this week ranges from African-Americans in the wine world to new releases, bargain Riesling and magnetic gimmicks that claim to "age" wine. * LAST WEEK'S WINE ADVISOR INDEX The Wine Advisor archives. * ADMINISTRIVIA Change E-mail address, frequency, format or unsubscribe. ________________________________________________________________________ IN THIS WEEK'S PREMIUM EDITION: THE ROAD LESS TAKEN IN SOUTHERN ITALY One well-known principle in the quest for wine value is to look at the top wines from less-familiar wine regions as a good way to beat the supply-and-demand equation. In this week's Wine Advisor Premium Edition we'll take a look at a hearty, highly regarded red wine from Southern Italy, where unfamiliarity holds even the best wines well under the lofty price peaks reached by their cousins from Piemonte and trendy Tuscany. The Premium Edition, our subscription-only E-letter, helps you shop with confidence when you're considering a more pricey bottle for a special occasion. The $24 subscription price - no more than you'd pay for a bottle of exceptionally fine wine - will bring you a full year of biweekly E-mail bulletins. Proceeds go to buy these special wines at retail, and help support WineLoversPage.com too! For a free sample of a previous edition, click here: http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/premsample1.html Click here to subscribe today: http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor/premium.phtml ________________________________________________________________________ WT101: RIOJA, PLUS Ranked third in the world after Italy and France for the title of top wine producer and actually leading in vineyard acreage, Spain may also outpace the competition as the source of wine value. With the limited exception of a relative handful of pricey "cult" reds from Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Priorat, Spain pours out a river of affordable, amiable red, white and pink wines that offer good drinkability and admirable value, remaining good bargains even in a weak-dollar era. For this month's topic in our Wine Tasting 101 Forum, let's explore two key Spanish wine regions. Rioja, the historic wine region in Northern Spain's Basque country, near the Pyrenees; and Castilla y Leon, a broad term for the wide upland plain that extends from Rioja south and west to the outskirts of Madrid and to Spain's border with Portugal, a geographical region that includes such wine-producing areas as Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Toro. Rioja, on the banks of the Ebro river, is subdivided into Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja and Rioja Alaversa. A little white Rioja is made, but red is the dominant style and Tempranillo is the dominant grape. In recent times, like many other European wine regions, Rioja has seen a growing gap between "traditional" producers and "modernists" who experiment with innovative wine-making processes and blends. We'll hope to explore these differences in more detail during February. Tempranillo is primary, too, in Ribera del Duero, although - as befits the region's size - there's a diverse collection of grapes and wines throughout Castilla y Leon. It's my pleasure to introduce my friend Joe Perry, a Boston-based wine lover and Rioja enthusiast, as guest host of Wine Tasting 101 for the month. Joe will participate regularly in the forum, offering tasting notes and responding to questions and comments about these regions and their wines. He has already begun a couple of active topics, which you're welcome to read and join in: * Joe introduces himself and the topic in "February, Spanish Wine Month," http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/index.phtml?fn=7&tid=58128&mi… * He provides a good, concise overview of Rioja, including an extensive wine-shopping list, in "Rioja: Searching for the end of the rainbow," http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/index.phtml?fn=7&tid=58169&mi… As always, I've selected a couple of "benchmark" wines for the month, for those who wish to calibrate their palates, and compare tasting notes, with the same wines. * From Rioja, FAUSTINO V 1998 RIOJA RESERVA ($16.99) from Bodegas Faustino, a major producer that's said to be Spain's largest exporter of Rioja wines. * From Castilla y Leon, an excellent value, low-end wine that I featured in the June 30, 2004 Wine Advisor, OSBORNE 2001 "SOLAZ" VINO DE LA TIERRA DE CASTILLA ($7.69). My tasting note on the Faustino V is below. My report on the Osborne "Solaz" is online at http://www.wineloverspage.com/wines/tn.phtml?id=439 ________________________________________________________________________ TALK ABOUT WINE ONLINE Remember, you're encouraged to participate actively in WT101, our free online wine-education program that's aimed at sharing information, and gaining experience reporting your wine-tasting experiences, in a friendly and supportive community of online peers. http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/index.phtml?fn=7 If you prefer to comment privately, feel free to send me E-mail at wine(a)wineloverspage.com. I'll respond personally to the extent that time and volume permit. ________________________________________________________________________ FAUSTINO V 1998 RIOJA RESERVA ($16.99) This is a clear, dark reddish-purple wine, blackish in the glass. Black- cherry and brown-spice aromas add a whiff of oaky vanillins; swirling the glass brings up perfumed notes and a heightened sense of alcohol. Flavors follow the nose, rather light-bodied and tart, but there's plenty of crisp, spicy black fruit. It's a straightforward Rioja, not overly complex, but I wouldn't bet against it evolving with cellar time. Crisp acidic snap makes it a good food wine. U.S. importer: Palm Bay Imports, Boca Raton, Fla. (Feb. 6, 2005) FOOD MATCH: It made a fine match with hearty buffalo-meat cheeseburgers lightly seasoned with Tex-Mex spices. VALUE: The mid-teens is an appropriate range for a mass-market Rioja reserva. More sought-after labels will go for substantially more. WHEN TO DRINK: Rioja reserva is built to last, and even this relatively simple rendition should last for years in a good cellar. It's ready to enjoy now, though, so there's no need to wait. PRONUNCIATION: Faustino = "Fow-STEE-noe" Rioja = "Ree-oh-hah" (A more precise rendition would be something like "Dee-oh-khah," but unless you're fluent, I recommend sticking with the Anglicized version.) WEB LINK: Bodegas Faustino's Website is available in Spanish and English: http://www.bodegasfaustino.es/ The U.S. importer's fact sheets about Faustino wines begin here: http://www.palmbayimports.com/xq/asp/VID.251/qx/brands.html FIND THIS WINE ONLINE: Find vendors and compare prices for Faustino's wines on Wine- Searcher.com: http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/Faustino/-/-/USD/A?referring_site=WLP ________________________________________________________________________ THE CALIFORNIA WINE CLUB: TUSCAN SUN SWEEPSTAKES Win an $8,000 Tuscan Wine and Culinary Adventure! To enter, visit The California Wine Club's website at www.cawineclub.com. In addition if you join The California Wine Club's International Selections, you'll be entered again. Plus, each time you send a gift of the International Selections you'll be entered again! For details on the "Tuscan Sun Sweepstakes" please visit http://www.cawineclub.com/store/special_promotions?Args= or call 1-800-777-4443. ________________________________________________________________________ THIS WEEK ON WINELOVERSPAGE.COM Here are links to some of our recently published articles that I think you'll enjoy: * WOOD ON WINE African-Americans and Wine African-Americans spend an estimated $300 billion on goods and services every year. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out the market potential here, Columnist Linwood Slayton says, in the first of several columns that will look into African-Americans in the wine industry as vintners, consumers, enthusiasts and advocates. http://www.wineloverspage.com/wood/afram05.phtml * BUCKO'S WINE REPORTS Winter Releases As he looks forward to joining us on our wine tour of the Rhone in June, new releases columnist Randy "Bucko" Buckner ramps up his tastings of wines from the Southern Rhone, plus a number of value-priced Spanish wines to add a European accent to his monthly report. Here's his account of 100 recent wine releases from around the world ... bon appetit! http://www.wineloverspage.com/bucko/bucko0105.phtml * QPRWINES Where wine quality and price relate The latest edition of Neil Monnens' innovative E-mail wine-buying guide QPRwines is now available, featuring wine-value reports on 2002 and 2003 German Riesling. QPRwines groups wines by the major critics' average wine scores, then lists them by price and ranks them by value. http://www.wineloverspage.com/qpr/qprwines.phtml * Wine Lovers' Discussion Group: The magnet effect Several new wine accessories purport to "improve" immature wine by exposing the bottle to a magnetic field. Was Barnum right? Forum participants discuss this topic and propose a rigorous testing protocol. Read and join in the debate: http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/index.phtml?fn=1&tid=58109&mi… ________________________________________________________________________ LAST WEEK'S WINE ADVISOR INDEX The Wine Advisor's daily edition is usually distributed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (and, for those who subscribe, the FoodLetter on Thursdays). Here's the index to last week's columns: * Wine from ... India? (Feb. 4, 2004) http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tswa050204.phtml * Offbeat grapes and wines: Sagrantino (Feb. 2, 2004) http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tswa050202.phtml * What's up with French wine? (Jan. 31, 2004) http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tswa050131.phtml * Complete 30 Second Wine Advisor archive: http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/thelist.shtml * Wine Advisor FoodLetter: Duck pasta (Feb. 3, 2004) http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tsfl050203.phtml * Wine Advisor Foodletter archive: http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/foodlist.phtml ________________________________________________________________________ SUBSCRIBE: * WineLoversPage.com RSS Feed (free) http://www.wineloverspage.com/rss/ * 30 Second Wine Advisor, daily or weekly (free) http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor/index.shtml * Wine Advisor FoodLetter, Thursdays (free) http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor/foodletter.shtml * Wine Advisor Premium Edition, alternate Tuesdays ($24/year) http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor/premium.phtml ARCHIVES: For all past editions: http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/thelist.shtml CONTACT US E-mail: wine(a)wineloverspage.com SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: For information, E-mail wine(a)wineloverspage.com ________________________________________________________________________ ADMINISTRIVIA To subscribe or unsubscribe from The 30 Second Wine Advisor, change your E-mail address, switch from weekly to daily distribution, or for any other administrative matters, click to http://www.wineloverspage.com/admin.php?id=20970&cs=7d1109b668af1f87d36… We welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future columns. We do not use this list for any other purpose and will never give or sell your name or E-mail to anyone. All the wine-tasting reports posted here are consumer-oriented. In order to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest, I purchase all the wines I rate at my own expense in retail stores and accept no samples, gifts or other gratuities from the wine industry. Monday, February 7, 2005 Copyright 2005 by Robin Garr. All rights reserved. ----- End forwarded message ----- -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *