1st March 2013

2 notes 

Did he really say that?

We May Not Be Posting, But We’ve Been Tasting Some Great Wines Lately! Beautiful Chilean Selections From Classic Producer Concha Y Toro…

Harvest Wine Tasting: Chile Featuring Concha Y Toro…

Join us for Harvest Wines Friday

We’re Tasting from 5:30pm…

842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT 06119

 Featuring…

Concha Y Toro Gran Reserva Serie Riberas

Gran Reserva Serie Riberas is a special selection selection of Gran Reserva wines coming from vineyards located close to different river basins. This translates into unique, distinctive fresher wines.

Tonights Wine Selections…


Gran Reserva 2011 Sauvignon Blanc
From Ucúquer Vineyard, south bank of Rapel river, central Chile. Aged 6-months in stainless steel tanks. Straw-yellow color; vibrant and round with citrus and mineral notes. Clean finish.

Gran Reserva 2010 Carmenere
From Peumo Vineyard, north bank of the Cachapoal River, central Chile. Aged 13-months in medium-toast French and American oak. Dark purple color; bright black fruit, spice, cedar notes. Supple tannins.

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Tags: wine wine tasting west hartford tasting

16th November 2012

Did he really say that?

Harvest Wine Tasting: Holiday Table White Wines

Harvest Wine Tasting: Holiday Table White Wines
Featuring Amanda Doll of CDI Wines…

Join us for Harvest Wines Friday

We’re Tasting from 5:30pm…

842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT 06119


Featuring…


Donnachiara Sante Spumante Falanghina Brut


100% Falanghina, made using the Martinotti lungo method of fermentation to maintain traditional flavors of the region, fine perlage (smaller, more numerous bubbles), floral aromas, fresh fruit, citrus, minerality and a tropical bouquet.


Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard Riesling

The dry style Riesling is the signature of Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard. Exceptional grapes from each of our three vineyard locations come together to create this mouth-watering wine. This wine is fermented in small lots to ensure quality and then blended to perfection to create an elegant and balanced wine. With each vintage, we seek to match the appropriate level of fruit flavor with refreshing crispness that lets the true qualities of the Riesling grape shine through. Hints of lime and orange blossom on the nose set the stage for a succulent palate of apricot and grapefruit. Our trademark minerality creates a beautiful texture that carries into a long, lingering finish.

Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard  Gewürztraminer

Much like Riesling, Gewürztraminer is a variety that is ideally placed in the cool climate of the Finger Lakes. This wine draws from the oldest planting of Gewürztraminer in the region and subsequently exhibits outstanding depth and maturity. A long harvest in 2011 allowed for a long ripening period, resulting in outstanding flavors. This dry-style wine accentuates the characteristic floral and spice notes particular to Gewürztraminer. A vivid flowery bouquet with hints of peach and spice masterfully prepare the way for a silky mouthful of melon and a touch of coriander.

Tags: Wine Tasting wine harvest wine & spirits

19th October 2012

Did he really say that?

Harvest Wine Tasting: Rainy Day Reds

Join us for Harvest Wines Friday

We’re Tasting from 5:30pm…

842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT 06119

Featured Red Wines for Rainy Days…


Rhone Gang Wines

Le Hold-up Lot. 08

Grapes : 30% Grenache 70% Pinot noir
The Rhône Gangsters made an unpredictable but successful « hold-up » : they robbed delicious Pinot Noir and Grenache, and reinvented one of the coolest blends ever. Hold-up is a hedonistic wine, fresh and mineral, intense in the mouth, offering sexy notes of red fruits and Kirsch.

30 % Grenache from old vines (60 years old vines growing on limestone soils) from the Southern Rhône valley, and 700% Pinot noir from Burgundy and a cool climate region with calcareous marl soils, ideal for growing Pinot Noir grapes. Both are hand sorted and carefuly selected by the gang at perfect ripeness.

After picking, the Pinot noir undergoes a cold premaceration (or cold soak), and a 15 days fermentation with everyday pigeage to keep the wine fresh. Aged in Stainless-steel tanks.

The Grenache is not destemmed and undergoes a long fermentation. Aged in tanks, with a minimal handling approach (just a few rackings during the whole pre-bottling life of the wine) to keep the freshness and the fatness of the wine.


2010 Foxglove Paso Robles Zinfandel

“Springy, berry character, generous bodied, moderate alcohol style wine with lively freshness. So and smooth tannins that leave the finish to the bright fruit.” ~ Winery notes

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

The 2010 Zinfandel is a ridiculously fine wine for the money. It bursts from the glass with rich dark fruit, mocha, spices and new leather to match its huge, exuberant personality. This is quite a mouthful. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2015. These two wines from the Jim and Bob Varner’s Foxglove negociant label deliver tremendous value. (8/ 2012)

At the core of Foxglove is Bob Varner, also the winemaker at Varner Wines. Beginning with their first vintage in 1991, Bob sources the wine from a variety of places, all of which are in Edna Valley. The resulting wine has Central Coast appellation pricing, and is full of complex fruit flavors that the Edna Valley appellation is known for.

Edna Valley, a relatively small appellation, grows mostly Chardonnay on about 1000 acres. The entire acreage is tightly controlled by a few owners employing the most up-to-date vineyard practices that give the valley impressive evenness. Located just south of San Luis Obispo, its vineyards are some of California’s closest to the Pacific Ocean. Mild winters, cool, foggy summer, and clay-loam soils produce a combination of flavors that have been described as “textbook Central Coast.”

Tags: wine Wine Tasting harvest wine & spirits

31st July 2012

Your soooo good looking!

Winery Spotlight: Montenidoli Ask yourself, how delicious does a Vernaccia have to be to get a 92pt score from Tanzer’s IWC? I mean, we are not talking about Napa Chard here. We are talking about an indigenous varietal, UN-OAKED mind you! And it’s Italian white wine that is NOT Pinot Grigio.  So again, ask yourself how delicious does a Vernaccia have to be to get a 92 pt score from IWC. The answer is VERY delicious. The Tradizionale  is produced with the traditional gross less contact, done in glass lined cement tanks. The Fiore is all free run juice, done in steel. As for the Garrullo Chianti Colli Senesi,  Elizabetta (owner, winemaker)  uses the original Rascoli Chianti recipe.  As far as I know she is the ONLY one who still does.  When you drink Garrulo, you are drinking history.  Montenidoli itself is the highest point in San Gimignano, and the vineyards, a patchwork of rows separated by woods and fields of wild flowers, is farmed organically. The vineyards are an ancient sea floor, rich in limestone and LITTERED with fossilized mollusks>  The property has been continuously under vine since the Etruscans and was briefly home to the Knights Templar. You’ll see in the photo below that from Montenidoli you look down on the massive stone walls and towers of San Gimignano, making it a perfect refuge for a band of God’s warriors. This is one of my all time favorite properties, made all the more wonderful by the price of it’s wine.  —Jim Morrison Artisan Wines . . . . . 2011 Montenidoli Canaiuolo Rosato Toscana (100% canaiolo nero): Very pale pink. Sour cherry, raspberry and yellow apple on the perfumed nose. Juicy and a touch sweet, with bright acidity giving a cool quality to the medicinal flavors of red cherry, violet and fresh herbs. Finishes slightly tart and a bit youthfully clenched, but with good length. Canaiolo nero can make excellent rosati, and this is a fine example. 90 2010 Montenidoli Il Garrulo Chianti Colli Senesi (14% alcohol): Good deep red. Pretty aromas of redcurrant, fresh herbs and flint. Bright and fresh, showing a restrained sweetness and lovely inner-mouth aromatic character to the spicy red fruit flavors framed by lively but harmonious acidity. The bright finish features lively tannins and very good length. Excellent Chianti made in the old way, with white grapes. Another rare example of very good Chianti Colli Senesi, a DOC that Italian producers have not invested in (I for one do not believe that having created a San Gimignano Rosso category helped anybody at all).  90 2009 Montenidoli Vernaccia di San Gimignano Fiore  Pale straw-yellow with a golden tinge. Bright citrus and mineral aromas are complicated by mint, white pepper and a whiff of quince. Bright and fresh on entry, then richer and deeper in the middle, with ripe citrus, pear, floral and mineral flavors lingering impressively at the back.  This outstanding, almost dry, riesling-like vernaccia will age for another six to eight years effortlessly. 92 (Via.. International Wine Cellar write-up By Ian D’Agata) *All wines are available… Harvest Wine. 842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT.

Winery Spotlight: Montenidoli


Ask yourself, how delicious does a Vernaccia have to be to get a 92pt score from Tanzer’s IWC? I mean, we are not talking about Napa Chard here. We are talking about an indigenous varietal, UN-OAKED mind you! And it’s Italian white wine that is NOT Pinot Grigio. 

So again, ask yourself how delicious does a Vernaccia have to be to get a 92 pt score from IWC. The answer is VERY delicious.
The Tradizionale  is produced with the traditional gross less contact, done in glass lined cement tanks. The Fiore is all free run juice, done in steel. As for the Garrullo Chianti Colli Senesi,  Elizabetta (owner, winemaker)  uses the original Rascoli Chianti recipe.  As far as I know she is the ONLY one who still does. 
When you drink Garrulo, you are drinking history. 
Montenidoli itself is the highest point in San Gimignano, and the vineyards, a patchwork of rows separated by woods and fields of wild flowers, is farmed organically. The vineyards are an ancient sea floor, rich in limestone and LITTERED with fossilized mollusks> 
The property has been continuously under vine since the Etruscans and was briefly home to the Knights Templar. You’ll see in the photo below that from Montenidoli you look down on the massive stone walls and towers of San Gimignano, making it a perfect refuge for a band of God’s warriors.
This is one of my all time favorite properties, made all the more wonderful by the price of it’s wine. 
—Jim Morrison
Artisan Wines
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2011 Montenidoli Canaiuolo Rosato Toscana

(100% canaiolo nero): Very pale pink. Sour cherry, raspberry and yellow apple on the perfumed nose. Juicy and a touch sweet, with bright acidity giving a cool quality to the medicinal flavors of red cherry, violet and fresh herbs. Finishes slightly tart and a bit youthfully clenched, but with good length. Canaiolo nero can make excellent rosati, and this is a fine example.

90

(14% alcohol): Good deep red. Pretty aromas of redcurrant, fresh herbs and flint. Bright and fresh, showing a restrained sweetness and lovely inner-mouth aromatic character to the spicy red fruit flavors framed by lively but harmonious acidity. The bright finish features lively tannins and very good length. Excellent Chianti made in the old way, with white grapes. Another rare example of very good Chianti Colli Senesi, a DOC that Italian producers have not invested in (I for one do not believe that having created a San Gimignano Rosso category helped anybody at all). 

90

2009 Montenidoli Vernaccia di San Gimignano Fiore

 Pale straw-yellow with a golden tinge. Bright citrus and mineral aromas are complicated by mint, white pepper and a whiff of quince. Bright and fresh on entry, then richer and deeper in the middle, with ripe citrus, pear, floral and mineral flavors lingering impressively at the back.  This outstanding, almost dry, riesling-like vernaccia will age for another six to eight years effortlessly.

92

(Via.. International Wine Cellar write-up By Ian D’Agata)
*All wines are available…
Harvest Wine. 842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT.
Tags: wine winery vineyards italy montenidoli chianti vernaccia

25th May 2012

Did he really say that?

Harvest Wines Friday With B.R. Cohn

Join us for Harvest Wines Friday

We’re Tasting from 5:30pm…

842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT 06119

Featured Wines… By B.R. Cohn Winery

Pear and citrus aromas, rich flavors of green apple with a hint of lemon, surrounded by toasty French oak, followed by a clean, crisp, lingering finish.”

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Clean and fruity, straightforward in a fresh-picked piquant style, this pear and apple-scented offering finds added notes of grains, oak and gunpowder in its aromatic makeup and repeats those complex bits in flavors that are medium in density and still on the youthful, not yet fully developed side. Time is clearly on its side, and the wine can be held for a bit yet.
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The 2009 Silver Label Cabernet Sauvignon reflects a blending of grapes grown from select North Coast vineyards. This combination offers full, rich flavors of berry, cassis and black cherry with hints of vanilla in the background. Aging with French oak adds complexity and depth, resulting in a high quality Cabernet Sauvignon with great value.

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The 2009 Zinfandel is produced from grapes selected from the finest Zinfandel vineyards in the Sonoma Valley. This combination yields a blend of berry and cherry aromas mingled with the bouquet of creamy vanilla custard and a hint of peppercorn and clove. The 2009 Zinfandel is full-bodied and warm with a long smooth berry flavored finish.

B.R. Cohn Zinfandel is aged for 18 months in carefully chosen French and American oak barrels. This wine compliments a wide range of foods such as lamb, duck and all cuts of steak and ribs

B.R. Cohn Winery is located in the heart of the Sonoma Valley. This small family operated winery is surrounded by the 90-acre Olive Hill Estate Vineyards, where soils warmed by underground natural hot springs and gentle ocean breezes create a unique microclimate resulting in ideal growing conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon. B.R. Cohn also produces Chardonnay from the Carneros Region and Merlot from Sonoma Valley.

Tags: wine Wine Tasting West Hartford brcohn

3rd December 2010

Did he really say that?

Ravines Finger Lakes Winery Tasting Tonight…

Join us @ Harvest Wines Friday (Tonight!!!)

We’re Tasting from 5:30pm…

842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT 06119


Dry Riesling

Our Dry riesling is made in the elegant RESERVE style with a medley fine aromatics of white flowers, pear, apple & lime with distinct mineral finish.

2008 Keuka Village White

“With this innovative blend, we are producing a French-American hybrid blend that breaks down the boundary between traditional hybrid wines and vinifera wines.  The nose shows great fruity intensity with aromas of melon, peach and mango. In addition, the wine displays noticeable floral and mineral components which results in a broad array of aromas.  This is a very lively, fresh, fruity off-dry wine with just enough sweetness to balance the acidity, resulting in a smooth, easy-drinking white wine for just about any occasion.” - Winemaker Notes

GRAPE VARIETIES: Cayuga white 80 %, Vignoles 20 %

Meritage

Ravines Meritage is made from the traditional Bordeaux grape varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. These varietals are then blended into a fuller, more complex and interesting wine. Aged in toasty French oak barrels, this robust wine shows great fruit intensity and is well suited to cellar aging. The soft ripe tannins make our Meritage easy to enjoy with many different types of food.

Tags: WINE

1st December 2010

1 note 

Your soooo good looking!

Roll out the Barrel: 7% Alcohol by Volume and 28 IBUs. This American-style porter has robust malt flavor with a slight hop character. Available in the Winter Season on tap and in 16oz cans. Quality Supreme: Porter is crafted in small batches at Trinity Brew House in Providence, RI and Cottrell Brewery in Pawcatuck, CT under the supervision of Brewmaster Sean Larkin. The 16oz Cans are produced at the award winning High Falls Brewery in Rochester, NY. It is brewed with chinook hops for bitterness, simcoe hops for aroma, black malt, pale malt, chocolate malt, munich malt, crystal malt, roasted barley, and ale yeast. Giving it an imperial taste. Taste & Enjoy: Gansett Porter offers an extremely approachable craft experience that, unlike many of the other porters on the market, is not overly smoky or bitter. The Narragansett Porter has a deliciously mild chocolate flavor with just a hint of smokiness and hops to balance out the finish. The History: The Porter has been a part of the Narragansett Brewing Company’s brewing tradition dating all the way back to 1916 (often found under the name “Narragansett Dark” in bars). In fact, the Porter helped ‘Gansett survive Prohibition because the brewery was given a patent by the US Government to brew it for medicinal purposes. Apparently, ‘Gansett Porter was believed to be the cure for whatever ailed you, and doctors would write prescriptions for it to help patients throughout New England with anemia and various other maladies.  Now the Porter is back and better than ever, and you don’t even need a prescription to get it.  So grab a 16oz pint can and enjoy! via www.narragansettbeer.com

Roll out the Barrel: 7% Alcohol by Volume and 28 IBUs. This American-style porter has robust malt flavor with a slight hop character. Available in the Winter Season on tap and in 16oz cans.

Quality Supreme: Porter is crafted in small batches at Trinity Brew House in Providence, RI and Cottrell Brewery in Pawcatuck, CT under the supervision of Brewmaster Sean Larkin. The 16oz Cans are produced at the award winning High Falls Brewery in Rochester, NY. It is brewed with chinook hops for bitterness, simcoe hops for aroma, black malt, pale malt, chocolate malt, munich malt, crystal malt, roasted barley, and ale yeast. Giving it an imperial taste.

Taste & Enjoy: Gansett Porter offers an extremely approachable craft experience that, unlike many of the other porters on the market, is not overly smoky or bitter. The Narragansett Porter has a deliciously mild chocolate flavor with just a hint of smokiness and hops to balance out the finish.

The History: The Porter has been a part of the Narragansett Brewing Company’s brewing tradition dating all the way back to 1916 (often found under the name “Narragansett Dark” in bars). In fact, the Porter helped ‘Gansett survive Prohibition because the brewery was given a patent by the US Government to brew it for medicinal purposes. Apparently, ‘Gansett Porter was believed to be the cure for whatever ailed you, and doctors would write prescriptions for it to help patients throughout New England with anemia and various other maladies.  Now the Porter is back and better than ever, and you don’t even need a prescription to get it.  So grab a 16oz pint can and enjoy!

via www.narragansettbeer.com

Tags: WINE
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