Join us Wednesday, May 9th, starting at 6pm to welcome back one of our favorite artist/customers

brittny teree smith

for a viewing of her collection “NW YORK”

Wines featured at the reception:

NV Lamberti Sparkling Rose- Veneto, Italy – $14
Powerful aromas of ripe strawberries, cranberries and flowers introduce fresh, fruity flavors with good energy and pleasant acidity. Try with a fresh-fruit dessert pizza or soft cheeses. The grapes for this wine (34% Pinot Bianco, 33% Raboso, 33% Pinot Nero) come from superior vineyards across the Treviso in Italy’s Veneto region.

2010 Cuma Torrontes – Cafayate Valley, Argentina – $14
New York Times panel tasted 20 Torrontes and named Torino’s Cuma the best of the bunch – and also the best value! Like the nicest Torrontes from Argentina, this one is intensely aromatic, with ripe cantaloupe and orange flavors, a touch of honeysuckle and a hint of ginger. Fantastic with spicier ethnic food. 2009 Ridge East Bench Zinfandel – Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, CA – $28 This is yet another unbelieveably classic Zin from Ridge. The 2009 East Bench is 100% Zinfandel and simply bursting with fruit. 100% of the wine is aged in new and seasoned American oak, adding a stand-up straight backbone of spice and tannic grippiness to this big, inky wine. Notes of black pepper, cedar, and baking spice only add to the complexity to this decadent wine.

2010 Chateau Haut Vigneau – Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux, France – $24
For the Left Bank lovers out there, this red from Pessac-Leognan – land of the famed Haut Brion – is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, and spends a year lingering in oak before bottling. It’s got the gumption of classic Bordeaux – aromas of dark, delicious fruits (think blackberries and cassis), gorgeously good tannic grip, and the kind of balance that makes us want to grab a few of these and see how they do over the next five or ten years. But meanwhile? We’ll settle for a black n’ blue filet on the grill. 15% off featured wines during the tasting!

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Dreaming Italian; Imagining Argentina
Friday, May 11th, 6-9pm

If you’ve ever spent any time in Argentina, you might have noticed that not only do an awful lot of the last names end in a vowel, their Spanish is peppered with “Ciaos!” and other bits and bites of La Lingua Italia, not to mention their love affair with the Italian red grape, Bonarda (which they do quite well with, thank you very much!). So in honor of this lovely little bi-continental friendship, we thought we’d do a little Ital-Argentine sippin’ session – because what better way is there to spend a Friday night?

2010 Castello di Luzzano Bonarda Frizzante – Oltrepo Pavese, Lombardy, Italy – $17
Say hello to Lombardy’s answer to the ubiquitous Lambrusco from Emilia Romagna. This fizzy Bonarda is deeper, darker, firmer and drier than the ocean of stuff coming from the region next-door. The intense black raspberry fruit, assertive tannins and moderate bubbles pair perfectly with cured meats – and go nicely with the rest of the meal.

2010 Terredora Dipaolo Falanghina – Campania, Italy – $15
The full-on yowza potential of this fruit (estate-grown, thank you very much) will absolutely blow you away – especially when you reallize this 100% Falanghina from comely Campania is made entirely in stainless steel. That spiciness there? That’s the grape! So is the luscious, creamy body, notes of yellow apple and pear, and the lingering bits of candied ginger on the finish. Find the nearest fishmonger slinging soft shell crabs, fry ‘em up, and slather on some lemony mayo for a decadent summery supper treat.

2010 Corte dei Papi ‘Colle Ticchio’ Cesanese – Lazio, Italy – $17
From the DOCG of Cesanese di Piglia comes this a funny little red wine from grapes grown in the soils of the Ernici Mountains in the Lazio region of Italy, just southeast of Rome. Made mostly from the persnickety Cesanese di Affile, this medium-bodied sipper has a black-peppery nose, a mouthful of blackberry fruit, and a dry, tea-leaf finish that leaves you smacking your lips and deaming of seared lamb chops. 2010 Bodega Noemia ‘A Lisa’ Malbec – Rio Negro Valley, Argentina – $20 When most of us think Malbec we think Mendoza – but this one hails more than 600 miles from the big M in Rio Negro, where an Italian countess and a Danish winemaker discovered a Malbec vineyard planted in the 30s and scooped it up tout de suite. Some of the grapes for A Lisa – 90% Malbec with a little Merlot and Petit Verdot rounding out things – come from the biodynamically farmed vines Noemia planted in ’04, and when you taste this wine you’ll get why the countess found it such a special place. The nose is posy of summer violets, with ripe, luscious black plum and black cherry on the palate, but with a medium, restrained body that doesn’t get carried away with itself. In other words, this is one elegant Malbec. We dig it with duck. 15% off all wines featured at the tasting!