[wine] [jellings@me.umn.edu: Sangiovese at Trattoria Da Vinci]

Greetings, Looks like this didn't go out on Monday as planned. C J ----- Forwarded message from "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> ----- Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2004 16:58:47 -0500 From: "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> To: wine(a)thebarn.com Subject: Sangiovese at Trattoria Da Vinci User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.4i Lots of good food, wine at Corner Table. This week, it's Sangiovese from Chianti and most anywhere else at at Tratoria Da Vinci Thursday, 6:30 p.m. Trattoria da Vinci 400 Sibley St., St. P, 55101 651 222-4050 Lori Bob Betsy Warren, Ruth, Ruth's Brother. Jim/Louise Any others would be just guesses... We can do a the Champagne Brunch at Bobino some Sunday if we are interested. Cheers, Jim ----- Forwarded message from The 30 Second Wine Advisor <wine(a)wineloverspage.com> ----- Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2004 17:22:58 -0400 (EDT) To: jellings(a)me.umn.edu Subject: The 30 Second Wine Advisor - Report from a wine festival From: The 30 Second Wine Advisor <wine(a)wineloverspage.com> X-Sender: <wine(a)wineloverspage.com> THE 30 SECOND WINE ADVISOR, Monday, Aug. 30, 2004 ___________________________________________________________________ TODAY'S SPONSOR: * CALIFORNIA WINE CLUB Something New and Exciting! http://www.cawineclub.com?Partner_ID=winelovers ___________________________________________________________________ IN THIS ISSUE * REPORT FROM A WINE FESTIVAL We visit a memorable annual gathering of wine friends. * A MOCOOL TASTING SAMPLER A tantalizing selection from the weekend's wine reports. * CALIFORNIA WINE CLUB Something New and Exciting! * THIS WEEK ON WINELOVERSPAGE.COM Au Revoir to Julia, and a whiff of garrigue. * LAST WEEK'S WINE ADVISOR INDEX Links to recent articles in the Wine Advisor archives. * ADMINISTRIVIA Change E-mail address, frequency, format or unsubscribe. ___________________________________________________________________ REPORT FROM A WINE FESTIVAL This past weekend brought the annual "MoCool" festivities, a non- profit, cooperative gathering of Internet-connected wine lovers who've been getting together at this time every year since the early 1990s in Ann Arbor, Mich., for a session of good wine, good food and good friends. As I've written at greater length in my online reports (links below), "PIGS Will Fly" was supposed to be the year of the "scaled- back" MoCool, a back-to-the-basics event that would return to the simpler, smaller roots of this 13-year-old tradition in the form of a one-event, one-day picnic for online wine lovers from the Midwest and beyond, called "MoCool" after its full moniker, "MOtown Co- Operative Off-Line Tasting." It was difficult to detect any real reduction of fun, food, wine or fellowship in the weekend's official and unofficial events. Everyone brought wines in that kind of amiable wine-enthusiast attitude that has nothing to do with snobbery or trying to outdo your peers but everything to do with sharing wines that you really like in company with friends who feel the same way. Many thanks go, as usual, to all the volunteers who made this venture a huge success. A tremendous amount of work behind the scenes goes into MoCool, and the work of the organizing committee should not go without public thanks and praise. I've put my brief reports online, along with some photos and my own tasting reports on about 60 wines tasted over the weekend. You can read them by clicking the links at the top of our MoCool Home Page, http://www.wineloverspage.com/mocool/index.shtml or visit the three individual events pages: * "Unofficial" Friday gathering: http://www.wineloverspage.com/mocool/mocool082704.phtml * Hotel tastings: Mas La Plana, Allegrini: http://www.wineloverspage.com/mocool/maslaplana.phtml * Saturday Picnic, "PIGS Will Fly" http://www.wineloverspage.com/mocool/mocool082804.phtml If you're interested in next year's event, the MoCool Home Page also contains a sign-up form for the organization's E-mail list. ___________________________________________________________________ TALK ABOUT WINE ONLINE If you would like to comment or ask questions about today's topic (or other wine-related issues), you'll find a round-table online discussion about this article in our interactive Wine Lovers' Discussion Group, where you're always welcome to join in the conversations about wine. http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/index.phtml?fn=1&tid=53449&mi… 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. ___________________________________________________________________ A MOCOOL TASTING SAMPLER You'll find more than 60 brief tasting reports online at the links above. To whet your appetite, though, here are a few of my comments on noteworthy wines of the weekend, focusing on wines that may still be available in local retail channels rather than essentially unattainable cellar treasures. DREW 2001 PURISIMA MOUNTAIN SANTA YNEZ VALLEY (CALIFORNIA) GRENACHE - Raspberries, luscious and ripe. Good acidity for balance. FAIRVIEW 2001 PAARL (SOUTH AFRICA) SHIRAZ-MOURVEDRE - Grapey, but good earthy notes and acid balance. LAS ROCAS 2001 SAN ALEJANDRO CATALAYUD (SPAIN) GARNACHA - Garnet. Raspberry and caramel, a touch of sweetness over a crisp acidic core. TORRES 1998 MAS LA PLANA PENEDES CABERNET SAUVIGNON - Dark garnet. Clean scent, spicy oak. Sweet fruit, smooth but substantial tannins. Fresh, clean but unevolved fruit. ALOIS LAGEDER 2003 ALTO ADIGE (ITALY) LAGREIN ROSE - Pretty pale rosy pink. Lucious strawberry aroma and flavor, dry and crisp, an exceptionally find rose wine. PAPE JOHANNOU 1999 NEMEA (GREECE) OLD VINES "ST. GEORGE" - Dark garnet. Spicy red-berry frult, crisp and "sweet," a good, subtle red wine capable of standing up to international competition. PANARROZ 2003 JUMILLA - Fragrant pepper and big, sweet berry fruit. An excellent Monastrell (Mourvedre) from Spain. LAURENCE FERAUD 2003 "PELICAN" VIN DE PAYS D'OC (FRANCE) GRENACHE/SYRAH - A bomb of raspberry frult with good acidity and spice. Sold under $10, a crowd-pleasing wine of real value. ___________________________________________________________________ THIS WEEK ON WINELOVERSPAGE.COM Here are links to some of our recently published articles that I think you'll enjoy: * DAVE MCINTYRE'S WINELINE: Au Revoir, Julia! Julia Child, who died this month a few days shy of her 92nd birthday, was an inspiration to all of us who care about food and wine, whether we realize it or not. In his WineLine No. 45, writer Dave McIntyre offers her a fond "au revoir" and "bon appetit! http://www.wineloverspage.com/mcintyre/wineline45.phtml * WINE LOVERS' DISCUSSION GROUP: What the heck is "Garrigue"? This French term turns up from time to time in wine-tasting notes - Robert M. Parker Jr., for one, is fond of it - but it's not a meaningful term unless you have traveled in Provence or the Languedoc and sniffed the herbal scents that infuse the air of the region. Reader Tom Hill requests, and receives, definitions in our Wine Lovers' Discussion Group, http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/index.phtml?fn=1&tid=53366&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: * PIGS will fly this weekend (Aug. 27, 2004) http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tswa040827.phtml * Summer sippers and beach novels (Aug. 25, 2004) http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tswa040825.phtml * Picking wine for a party (Aug. 23, 2004) http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tswa040823.phtml * Complete 30 Second Wine Advisor archive: http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/thelist.shtml * Wine Advisor FoodLetter: Salmon and potatoes (Aug. 26, 2004) http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tsfl040826.phtml * Wine Advisor Foodletter archive: http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/foodlist.phtml ___________________________________________________________________ SUBSCRIBE: * 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, August 30, 2004 Copyright 2004 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 * ----- 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 *