News Alert – Orin Swift Launches New Wine: ABSTRACT

The Orin Swift team has been keeping some secrets! Last year as they drank around the table dreaming big dreams, and thinking of their next, they came up with another blend, another fantastic wine.

At the beginning of October, Orin Swift launched their newest baby, ABSTRACT. How do they come up with these names and amazing labels? That’s all Dave Phinney. He is a marketing genius and dreams up all of his labels.

I tasted this wine and it was delicious. This is a red wine blend and for $25.00 bucks a “pop”, no pun intended,  is a red wine worth enjoying everyday!

Abstract is a blend of Grenache, Petite Sirah, and Syrah primarily from hillside vineyards in Sonoma County. The aromas are all berry and black fruits, with neatly integrated caramelized oak. A huge entry coats the mouth. The wine has tons of weight on the mid-palate and is dense with layers of ripe cherry and strawberries. The finish is laced with long soft tannins that go on and on.

Abstract can be purchased directly from Orin Swift and can be found in a few select markets in the US.

Those bad boys over at Orin Swift are up to some pretty cool stuff and as soon as I get the go ahead will be telling you all about it! Until then…enjoy a bottle of Abstract, The Prisoner, Saldo, Valadora, Papillon, or if you can find a bottle…Mercury Head!

Tasting Room
The Odd Fellows Lodge
1352 Main Street
St. Helena, CA 94574
OrinSwift.com

Ricardo Perez Co-Founder of VINTAE & Rising Star Winemaker Raul Acha

Catch this interview with Ricardo Perez, co-founder of VINTAE Wines and his rising star winemaker Raul Acha. We had a challenging start to our interview when we couldn’t establish a connection, but after a few adjustments and about ten minutes into the show, we connected and had a great interview in spite of the language barrier.

VINTAE Wines is a young wine company producing some exceptional Spanish wines from six different regions in Spain.  They currently have seven wine projects they are working on including the renowned MATSU, Winery Arts, and Maetierra DominVm. They are firm believers in preserving terroir and practice sustainable, biodynamic viticulture.

Ricardo Arambarri Pérez, Richi, as his friends call him, is manager and co-founder of Vintae. Passionate and a wine lover, he travels all over the world to expand the VINTAE dream that the whole team is creating. Entrepreneur by family inheritance, his main wish is create and boost projects. Ricardo holds a Bachelor and MBA in Business Administration by ESADE Business School.

Raul Acha is the Technical manager and Winemaker of Vintae. The seven oenologic projects of Vintae

in six regions of Spain were born due to his great team of oenologist and the enormous quantity of kilometers that he drives every year along the different wine making areas in Spain. He was born in Cárdena, a small village in La Rioja in 1976. He grew up in a family of viticulturist from which he learned all the wine making tradition of Rioja. He holds an engineering degree in Agronomy, bachelor in Oenology and Diploma of Advances Studies of Oenology.

Join me as I interview each of these remarkable young men and learn more about their vision. Also try their delicious Tempranillo, “El Picaro”, from the MATSU collection.

Dan Tudor of Tudor Wines & RADOG Wines

What a spectacular interview with winemaker Dan Tudor of Tudor Wines and RADOG Wines.  An entrepreneur at heart, Dan realized early on that he wouldn’t be a good employee and would more than likely never be able to work for anyone other than himself.  Dan stumbled into the telecommunications sector by accident and was briefly distracted from his passion long enough to launch several successful ventures and create one of the first phone cards in the world. It was then that he realized that he wasn’t passionate about telecommunications and wanted to get back to his destiny…making wine.

The Tudor family has been growing grapes and lavender-and making wine on the Island of Hvar in Croatia-for over 600 years. The Tudors began growing grapes in California early in the 1900’s and continue to operate one of the largest table grape vineyards in the country.

Listen to Dan share his fabulous journey, story, life and his passion for the perfect Pinot Noir with me.

Purchase RADOG & TUDOR Wines at TheWineWenchShoppe.com

2007 Ici La-Bas “Les Reveles” Pinot Noir

Fantastic Pinot Noir by wine rock star Jim Clendenen! One of my favorites. PURCHASE Ici La-Bas HERE

Anderson Valley is located in the coastal mountains of California in Mendocino County. This area was pioneered by Louis Roderer; he was looking for a grape growing region which had cold winter and a short mild growing season similar to Champagne. The Elke Vineyard is on the warmer southern end of the Anderson Valley, close to Boonville. The vineyard was planted more than twenty years ago, and is mainly selections of Pinot Noir of historical importance. Ici/La-Bas has been sourcing fruit from Tom and Mary Elke’s vineyard near Boonville since 1997.

Winemaking: The grapes arrived at winery in perfect condition and very cold. This allowed for a 4 day “cold soak” to extract the water-soluble fruit driven components from the must. During the 14 day fermentation the must was punched down twice a day. After completion of fermentation the wine was pressed, lightly settled and barreled down into 75% new Francois Freres barrels. The wine was kept in these barrels until March of 2009. The flavor foundation of the superb, expensive French barrels is one of the most important components of the ICI/LA-BAS wine style.

Wine-Rich, leesy aromas of strawberries and cream are the first impressions. The hallmarks of the Elke Pinot are its fine persistent finish and concentrated texture. First impressions are followed by a cascade of evolving flavors and perceptions.

Drinkability: Short term drinkers will find the wine fresh and intense and could be a great match for wild salmon. Longer term cellaring will reveal secondary aromas of herbs and hints of harder spice.

2005 Alexander Valley Vineyard “Cyrus”

It’s a rare year indeed when a winemaker has the opportunity to work with large volumes of fruit that also happens to be of exceptional quality. But that’s exactly what happened in 2005 and those fortunate circumstances provided Winemaker Kevin Hall with the choice of a much larger array of barrels to craft the 2005 CYRUS. PURCHASE CYRUS HERE

This proprietary Bordeaux blend is traditionally produced from our best lots. In 2005, the foundation for CYRUS was Cabernet Sauvignon from three different estate vineyards, a blend of old and new vines offering notes of black cherry, blueberry and cassis. To balance the big flavors of the Cab and contribute to the weighty mid-palate of the wine, Kevin blended equal amounts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. A dollop of Malbec and Petit Verdot intensified the color and made this a truly multi-dimensional wine that offers beautiful flavors of dark cherries, plums and chocolate.

Food Pairing: This is a big structured wine that would work perfectly with a pepper-crusted grilled beef tenderloin or even a intensely flavored cheese like an aged New York Cheddar.

Awards:
Double Gold – 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Gold, Critics Choice Award – 2010 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Wine Competition
Best of Show Red – 2009 Hilton Head Wine Fest
Gold – 2009 Houston Rodeo Wine Competition

About Alexander Valley Vineyards:
Cyrus Alexander, the man for whom we named our top wine (and the namesake for the Alexander Valley) arrived in the area in 1840 in search of land suitable for ranching. Cyrus was drawn to the property where our vineyards now reside by a number of qualities including good soil and a plentiful supply of water and timber. The adobe he built on the property is currently used by Alexander Valley Vineyards for wine dinners including the annual CYRUS dinner held every year in mid-March to mark release of the new vintage.

Vineyard Notes:
76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot

Iconic 2007 JUSTIFICATION Bordeaux Blend

This is a very Delicious Cab/Franc, Bordeaux blend, by Justin Vineyards & Winery. It’s no wonder it is considered an iconic wine! With aromas of currant, black tar, leather and cedar make up the nose our 2007 right bank Bordeaux blend. The entry is bright with red fruit, soft, elegant and extremely approachable. The mid palate has good weight, and exhibits flavors of red currant, blackberry, cedar and caramel. Slightly dusty tannins from the Cabernet Franc blend perfectly with vibrant fruit from the Merlot, to make this wine elegant and seamless from start to finish. The finish is a bit tight, showing the age worthiness of the wine. Drink now to 2025. Find out more about the vineyard, winemaking techniques and PURCHASE HERE

Ratings
92 Points, Wine Enthusiast – Easily one of the best JUSTIN reds in years. An unusual blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, it shows a wonderful texture, courtesy of softly ripe tannins and just-in-time acidity. The flavors are all cherries: pie filling, red currants, and ripely fresh fruit off the tree on a hot summer day. Delicious and compelling. —S.H.

Food Pairing: Properly seasoned roasted, grilled, sautéed meats, poultry & game.

Dishes: Steaks,Herb Roasted Lamb, Duck, Venison, Hearty stews.

Cheeses: Brie, Camemebert, Roquefort.

2007 Incredible Red Zinfandel – BEST BUY – Wine Enthusiast

From teacher to psychologist to store owner to wine maker this guy has done it all! What a story, what a wine! Listen to the great interview with Doug and Josh Beckett.  Doug’s son, Josh, is head winemaker at Peachy Canyon and he and his brother Jake have started their own side wine project that is taking off in the Gen X market called Chronic Cellars with wine names like Sofa King Bueno and labels that rock, there are a total of 8 wines in their collection.

Douglas P. Beckett was born January 1, 1946 in Morgantown, West Virginia. Born into a Navy family, he traveled most of his early years. He settled in San Diego where he met and married Nancy Thibodo in 1971. In that same year Doug graduated from college with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. He earned his Masters degree in Psychology in 1975.

Between 1970 and 1979 Doug taught multi levels of school ranging from Kindergarten to the University level and ending his teaching career as a high school counselor. Prior to leaving education, he became involved as a full partner in a small chain of convenience stores, which lasted until 1981 when he and his family, wife Nancy, and their two sons, Josh and Jake, moved to Paso Robles.

Doug’s first job in Paso Robles was as a carpenter, which he held for a number of years, working exclusively on barns. At the same time he started making wine with friend, Pat Wheeler. Over the course of 18 years he also developed land, sold real estate, taught school as a resource specialist and started his own import-export company specializing in art glass from Eastern Europe.

In 1988 Nancy and Doug founded Peachy Canyon Winery as a 500 case venture which today produces over 80,000 cases. Peachy Canyon wines are currently sold in 48 states, Europe, the Pacific Rim and Canada.

Learn more about Incredible Red and PURCHASE HERE.

Thomas Houseman On Sustainable Viticulture from Anne Amie Vineyards

Listen to this interview with Thomas Houseman, head winemaker, from Anne Amie Vineyards. The winery is named after Dr. Robert Pamplin’s, the owner of Anne Amie Vineyards, two daughters. Even though you want to pronounce it as it sounds, the name is pronounced Anna-me. Located in Oregon this family owned, low production winery practices sustainable viticulture (Salmon Safe and LIVE certified) and makes some fantastic Pinot’s as a result. They have many award winning wines in their portfolio including 92 pts and BEST BUY award from Wine & Spirits for my favorite 2007 Anne Amie Pinot Noir. These wines are very versatile and can be purchased to drink now or cellered for 5 to 10 years. Meet Thomas and learn more about this awesome Oregon winery that is protecting the environment and making fabulous wine, one grape, one bottle at a time!

Listen to Thomas Housman’s interview.

Au Bon Climat 2008 Pinot Noir

One of my favorites and in my own personal collection of ready to drink wines. When I tasted this wine, the bottle had been opened for about 2 hours. This is an amazing wine for the price. With so many Pinots shooting up in price this is still a perfect by-the-glass wine. Drink this with any grilled meat; the smoky flavors really bring out the best in this wine. The structure of this wine will hold together for many years, it is drinking well right now and will improve and evolve for another 3 or 4 years.

A blend of Premiere Coastal Grapes: Los Alamos, Rancho Vinedo, Garey, Bien Nacido and Le Bon Climat vineyards. This cuvee really reflects the 2008 vintage with balanced fruit flavors, structure, and surprising richness. Like all ABC Pinots in all price ranges there is sophistication to this wine.

This pinot is fermented in open top tanks which are punched down by hand twice a day until dry. (About two weeks). The wine was pressed and put into barrel with plenty of lees to give the wine complexity and depth. The wine was racked and fined with egg whites in April and bottled in July.  PURCHASE HERE

Un-WINE-d Won’t You: Drinking Wine Reduces Weight Gain in Women Over 39

Go ahead ladies and “whine” if you want to, in fact, it’s good for your health, especially when it comes to preventing cancer, heart disease, stress and weight gain in women. According to an article in Wine Spectator, a glass, or rather three to four 4-ounce glasses, of red wine a day keep the pounds away.

Evidence from a recent study in Archives of Internal Medicine, strongly suggests that women who drank more gained less across all socioeconomic classes. The 13 year study headed by Lu Wang, M.D, Ph.D, found that out of the 19,220 women participants over the age of 39 who drank more gained less weight as they aged, on average of 3.3 pounds, compared to their lesser drinking gal pals who gained on average 8 pounds.

Need more evidence to support your wine addiction? Look no further than prevention of cancer. In another article from Wine Spectator, William Li, president and medical director at the Angiogenesis Foundation, argued at a recent TED conference that the main reason why wine prevents cancer is the angiogenesis inhibitors, compounds found in wine like resveratrol. These compounds prevent the growth of new blood vessels and tumors need new blood vessels in order to mutate, angiogenesis inhibitors stop tumor growth. So not only are you benefiting from your wine’s antioxidants but from these Antiangiogenics too.

Lastly, wine helps you un-wine-d and let go, not to mention allow your creative, fun, relaxed mind to come to the foreground. In days of old, wine was used just for that purpose as well as aspirin and to relieve host of physical ailments. Should we really start questioning our ancestors now? NAHHHH

So ladies, raise a glass tonight for your own enjoyment or invite some drinking pals over but sit back, relax and unwined…after all you deserve it and as my daddy used to say, “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”

***This article was originally posted by Freda at BangleandClutch.com

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