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| MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Upcoming Wine Tastings -October 24, 4:30-6:30 – A Wine Tour of Spain -November 13, 4:30-6:30 – Taste with the Winemaker from Et Fille -November 7th & 14th, 4:30-6:30 – Burgundy 101 – A Two Part Tour of Burgundy!  In the fall we always have much excitement and many changes happening at the store. Wines we ordered from France months ago are starting to arrive and new vintages are appearing from all over the world. Wines tend to come and go faster this time of year than during the languid summer. Featured Wines & New Arrivals Be aware that two favorite wines from Burgundy will have run their course in the next few months: We will soon be ordering our last 25 cases of Joseph Drouhin Bourgogne Blanc 2021. An excellent example of white Burgundy at a terrific price. This will be one of the wines included in Geoff’s Burgundy 101 tastings coming up in November. We have also received the last 6 cases of Domaine Poulleau Bourgogne Rouge Côte d’Or 2022. This is mostly Volnay fruit with a little from Meursault and Savigny-lés-Beaune. It is a crowd pleaser, should age well for a handful of years, you should stock up before it disappears!  We are thrilled to announce a new wine in our store: from Bodegas Familia Chavarri comes Izarbe Reserva Rioja 2011. They have been in Rioja Alavesa growing grapes and making wine since 1882. According to riojawine.com they have the oldest bottling registration number in Rioja Alavesa. The vines are old, up to 75 years, the vineyard is at high altitude – nearly 2,000 feet -and the wine is 100% Tempranillo. It is a delightful wine displaying both maturity and freshness, and it will be featured in Dave’s Wine Tour of Spain tasting Thursday, October 24th. Upcoming Wine Tastings & Classes A Wine Tour of Spain – $37 / person Hosted by David Burns Thursday, October 24th, 4:30-6:30 (arrive by 6:00pm to taste all the wines) Call 504-227-3888 or reserve a spot online!  Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 1.2 million hectares (3.0 million acres) planted in wine grapes, making it the most widely planted wine-producing nation in the world. It’s also the third largest producer of wine by volume behind Italy and France and ahead of the United States. In addition, it is second in wine exports, just barely behind Italy. Spain has an abundance of native grape varieties, with over 400 varieties planted throughout the country, though 88 percent of the country’s wine production is from only 20 grapes — including the reds Tempranillo, Garnacha, and Mencia; the whites Albariño, Hondarrabi Zuri, Verdejo, and Viura; and the three Cava grapes Xarel·lo, Parellada, and Macabeo. We’ll taste through a variety of Spanish grapes and styles as we enjoy the great wine coming out of this old-world wine country. Cheese and charcuterie will be provided to pair with the wines. Sign up online, give us a call, or stop by the shop to reserve your spot. Taste with the Winemaker – FREE! Jessica Mozeico from Et Fille Wines Wednesday, November 13th, 4:30-6:30 Call 504-227-3888 or sign up online!  We are happy to be partnering with Lauren Luquet, of Luquet Wine Co, to bring Jessica Mozeico, of Et Fille Wines in Willamette Valley, Oregon, to NOLA Wine Merchant for a free tasting of her wines. The idea for the winery began in the 1980s when Jessica’s father Howard was making wine in his garage. In 2003 Et Fille (‘and daughter’) was founded and Jessica continues on with her daughter now that her father has passed. Fresh Viognier, the best Gamay from Oregon we have ever tasted plus some Chardonnays and, of course, Pinot Noirs! We are very much looking forward to tasting and learning with Jessica on Wednesday November 13th, we hope you will join us! Burgundy 101 Hosted by Geoff Worden November 7th &14th 4:30-6:30pm (arrive by 6:00pm to taste all the wines) $55 per class, or sign up for both for $100 Call 504-227-3888 or sign up online!  A two-part event featuring a tour of Burgundy through two days of tastings, one devoted to Bourgogne Blanc and the other to Bourgogne Rouge, hosted by Geoff Worden. While there is no way to encapsulate Burgundy in two tastings you will certainly have a better understanding after attending. If you’re already a Burgundy fan and understand the basics, this is a great opportunity to sample 10 wines at each event and find some new favorites. If you’re at all interested in Burgundy and want to explore, this is a fantastic way to do it for a reasonable price. We will focus on wines that have specific sourcing to help you learn what to expect if you want to spend a bit more and explore village level wines and Premier Cru. Burgundy offers fantastic rewards when you find the right wines, but it can be an expensive place to choose blindly and hope you find a winner. Our job is to improve your chances of finding the right wines for you! November 7th – Bourgogne Blanc Albert Bichot Bourgogne Aligoté 2021 Philippe Gavignet Bourgogne Aligoté 2021 Joseph Drouhin Bourgogne Blanc 2021 Alain Gautheron Bourgogne Blanc 2022 Michel Juillot Bourgogne Blanc 2021 Alain Chavy Bourgogne Blanc 2022 Domaine Chevrot Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune Blanc 2022 Thierry Pillot Bourgogne Blanc 2020 Jean-Marc Pillot Bourgogne Blanc Le Haut des Champs 2022 Guy Bocard Bourgogne Côte d’Or 2022 November 14th – Bourgogne Rouge Claude Manciat Bourgogne 2021 Michel Juillot Bourgogne 2021 Henri Latour Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune 2022 Etienne Delarche Bourgogne La Garenne 2022 Lequin-Colin Bourgogne 2022 Domaine Chevrot Bourgogne 2022 Jean-Claude Bachelet Bourgogne 2020 Gérard Seguin Bourgogne Cuvée Chantal 2021 Gérard Seguin Bourgogne Cuvée Gérard 2022 Gachot-Monot Bourgogne Chant de Muses 2021 Perfect Pairings We are rolling out a series of social media posts with some of our favorite recipes and wines to pair with them. Our whole team is involved, as are some of our customers! If you have a great pairing, please feel free to send it to us. We will add it to our collection! On a recent lazy Sunday, Geoff and Anne prepared the classic Bolognese Meat Sauce from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Good Bolognese always takes time and this is a minimum three hour cook plus some prep work but it only requires occasional stirring once it’s really underway, so you can be doing other things while it cooks. We tried a few wines that certainly got along with the dish, but the one that provided that ideal synergy of elevating both the wine and the food was Angelo Negro Prachiosso, Roero DOCG 2019. Angelo Negro traces their viticultural history to 1670 in the Roero region of Piedmont, Italy, and they first planted the Prachiosso vineyard that same year. This comes from the classic 2019 vintage and is 100% Nebbiolo. The firm, fine tannins of the grape are absorbed by the richness of the Bolognese while the fruit continues to speak. Hints of leather, classic for Nebbiolo, play well with the hint of sweetness from the carrots and also the deep savoriness of the dish from the long, slow cooking. Enjoy! We have posted the recipe here. You can follow along for more through our Instagram or Facebook, or by visiting the Pairings section of our website. |
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