Wine Tasting 1-4pm Saturday, Jul 2

Wine Tasting 1-4pm Saturday, Jul 2   Your host will be Michael Tobin of Worldwide Wines. Copain Winemaker Wells Guthrie started his career working at the Wine Spectator's San Francisco office as a tasting coordinator. It was during these first few years that he fell in love with Syrah and moved to the Northern Rhone. Wells worked for Chapoutier for two seasons in both the winery and vineyards learning about the Northern Rhone varietals and Biodynamics. Outside of Chapoutier, Wells spent as much time as he could with Jean Louis Chave, who he feels had an equally important impact upon his experiences in the Rhone. Following Chapoutier, Wells returned to work at Turley Wine Cellars working in both the vineyards and cellar. Today, Wells is the full-time owner and winemaker for Copain Wine Cellars. He crafts Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Rhone varietals. The wines are vinified in a modern shared winery in Santa Rosa. Pinot Noir Les Voisins 2009             $41.99 Deep red. Intriguing aromas of red and dark berries, cherry pit, incense and cinnamon. Shows good heft but comes across as quite fresh, offering an array of palate-staining berry and bitter cherry flavors and a sexy candied rose quality. Impressively energetic pinot with excellent finishing cut, grip and sappy persistence. This benefits a lot from air.  Tanzer, 91 pts Rosé of Pinot Noir 2010                    $19.99 Light, orange-tinged pink. Expansive, exotically perfumed bouquet evokes wild strawberry, tangerine and dried rose. Sappy, penetrating red berry and blood orange flavors are complemented by a sexy note of candied flowers and a touch of white pepper. Finishes floral and impressively long. Syrah Les Voisins 2009                     $36.99 Inky ruby.  Intensely perfumed nose shows sexy blackberry and cassis aromas complicated by mocha, candied violet and smoky Indian spices.  Sappy dark berry preserve and gingerbread flavors are energized by zesty minerality, picking up candied licorice and floral pastille notes with air.  Juicy and precise on the finish, which features fine-grained tannins and lingering smokiness.  I suspect that this will be approachable in the next couple of years.  Tanzer, 91 pts Viognier Tous Ensemble 2009         $21.99 Plenty of ripe flavors, balanced by excellent acidity and structure makes this modern Viognier a perfect companion to the warm summer months just ahead. Has a heady aroma, light body, bright acid, and stone fruits.

Argentina's answer to Sauvignon Blanc

As summer is entrenching us with its long warm nights and vast amounts of sunshine, chilled whites wines are the perfect counterpart in helping cope with the summer season. Personally, a chilled bottle of torrontes is the perfect match. The indigenous white grape of Argentina refreshes the palate with beautiful structure and enjoyable acidity. Hints of peaches, oranges, citrus and floral notes can be seen throughout and leave you coming back for more. Enjoying this beautiful wine by itself or pairing it with soft cheeses, seafood and even spicy middle-eastern foods make this wine not only unique but irresistible. A few of our staff favorites are,

Jelu Torrontes – $13.99

Vinalba Torrontes- $9.99

Don David Torrontes - $16.99

-Chris O

I LOVE this wine!

We just recieved a new Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa. It is the second label from "Ghost Block" who is a small but brilliant producer. This release is called "Oakville" and is from the wonderful 2007 vintage. Ghost Block '07 is no longer available and this is also a very limited production wine (In total we were able to get 3 cases), I had the opportunity to taste this wine and I can tell you IT IS AMAZING!

In fact when I asked William to buy a case for the shelf and he took the last three cases available (after the staff grabs theirs the amount will drop to be sure). If you are looking for a special bottle of Cabernet... This is the one!
Price $49.99btl

-Christelle

More QR Codes from different producers

So I was looking around the store tonight and found a couple more producers using the QR Codes on their labels. I have to say that I think they are a great tool and the guys using them are doing the wine buying public a great service buy adding them to the label. These little coded boxes seem to be popping up everywhere, you can't open a magazine without seeing them and we have even started adding them to our newspaper ad. Once everyone starts understanding what they are and how beneficial they are for information I think we'll wonder how we lived without them. We'll see...
-Patrick

Your host will be Paul Cullen of Martin Scott Wines.

Houchart Cotes de Provence Rosé 2010 $11.99
A sophisticated, dry rose with tropical aromas. Ripe fruit and crisp acidity give this wine a rich mouth feel and great balance.


St Michael Eppan Pinot Grigio 2009 $14.99
This wine is straw yellow in color with a nose of pears, apples, floral and mineral notes. It is medium-bodied with crisp acidity, good structure and rich flavors of apples, pears, peaches and citrus. The wine is well balanced, dry and smooth on the palate, and leaves a long, pleasing finish.


Frenzy Sauvignon Blanc 2010 $9.99
The color is clear and bright with pale green and straw highlights. Intense flavors or lime, grapefruit and apple are balanced with a creaminess, crisp acidity and concentration. Its long finish hints at lime and grapefruit.


Elk Cove Pinot Noir 2008 $29.99
Deep red with a bright rim. Pure but subdued aromas of blackcurrant, cherry pit and rose petal. Juicy and penetrating but quite tight, even austere, hinting at musky dark fruits and succulent herbs. This youthful, concentrated wine offers little immediate sweetness but unwinds nicely with an hour or so of aeration. Tanzer, 88 pts

Refreshing white wines

'Tis the season for chilled white wines!
I recently had an opportunity to serve two distinctly different white wines to some friends and family. The wines were the 2010 Chateau La Tour Beraud and the 2009 Felsner Gruner Veltliner.
The Beraud is a beautifully floral wine with a myriad of fruit flavors including peach and green apple. There is a lush body to this wine which would lend it as a great alternative for chardonnay drinkers.
The Felsner is bone dry wine showing a rich "minerally" character. The fruit takes a backseat to the rich terroir shown in this Austrian white.
Both wines would pair nicely with light summer cuisine.

-2010 Chateau La Tour Beraud Blanc, Region-Rhone, Grapes - 50% Grenache Blanc, 25% Roussanne, 25% Marsanne. $9.99

-2009 Felsner Gruner Veltliner, Region-Austria, Grape - Gruner Veltliner. $12.99

-Greg

Wine Tasting 1-4pm Saturday, Jun 18

Your host will be Peter Slywka of Michael Skurnik Wines.



Gobelsburger Rosé 2010 $13.99

For the Rosé CISTERCIEN we harvest Zweigelt and St. Laurent grapes from the cooler sites of Langenlois and Gobelsburg. The wine shows a brilliant clear rosé colour. The type of this Rosé is more towards a white wine, as no malolactic fermentation is applied. Decent bouquets from fresh cherry fruit on the palate, lean structured and fresh pungent acidity makes this wine to a very universal food match.



Hofer Gruner Veltliner 2010 one liter $13.99

Here you get a 1-liter bottle for the price of a 750ml. This is the “hot” white grape of Austria, and is popping up on more and more restaurant lists because it is great with food. With straightforward citrus and yellow stone-fruit flavors and a touch of minerality, it shows as very crisp and clean.



Pinot Project 2009 $12.99

The Pinot Project drinks as an absolutely delicious, yet serious, Pinot Noir that any wine lover would be proud to pour liberally at their dinner table! Hand-crafted from the finest California PINOT Noir grapes. Pure PINOT aromas and flavors -- black cherries kissed by oak and complimented by just the right amount of Asian spice. Extremely versatile with a host of your favorite dishes.



Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2010 $13.99

THIS GIRL IS SERIOUS! Aromatic, smooth, vibrant and tasty. Think tangerine, apricot, wet stone, key lime, clove and nectarine.

SPEAKER SERIES: Greece, A triumphant return to center stage in the world of wine

SPEAKER SERIES: Greece, A triumphant return to center stage in the world of wine Wed, June 22nd 2011 7pm-9pm Harry's, 2094 Post Rd, Fairfield, 259-4692 This night, Dimos Mitas, Owner/Importer of Minas foods will introduce the world (or at least our class) to the wonderful and, in our estimation, very under-appreciated world of Greek wine. At Harry’s we have had the good fortune to have tasted many of the newest additions to his Greek portfolio and will be able to help introduce them to the public in the coming weeks and months. Spring/Summer 2011 is the season for the rebirth of Greece and its delicious wines. Earlier this year we did a wine and food pairing class which was a great success and this summer we will do both a class and dinner with Dimos and his portfolio of wines. Join us! $35 one week

New Arrivals to the floor

We just recieved a couple of new white wines from the Loire valley. Both are 100% Chenin Blanc and are from Anjou Saumur, an area that is not well known, however, the wines are very good. Most people are more familiar with it's neighbor, Sancere.

The primary difference between these Chenin Blancs and the more well known Vouvray (also Chenin Blanc) is that these wines are vinfied bone dry while the Vouvray offers fruitiness that borders on mildly sweet. If you are looking for an alternative wine that pairs well with Oysters and other seafood, this should be on the list.

While I'm thinking of the Loire valley... if you are in the mood for a new red to try, how about one that is 100% cabernet franc. Listed below are some ideas in both catagories


Chateau Souchere
Anjou Blanc 2010 $16.99

Reserve Des Vignerons
Suamur 2010 $10.99

Laffourcade
Anjou 2009 $15.99 (Cab Franc)

-Christelle

Spring in Spain Dinner 7pm, Friday, Jun 17, 2011

WINE DINNER: Spring in Spain Fri, June 17th 2011 7pm Meigas Restaurant, 10 Wall St, Norwalk, 203-866-8800 Harry’s Wine & Liquor Market, Meigas Restaurant & Classic Wines Present: Spring in Spain With Host Anish Ajoomal of Classic Wines Friday, June 17, 7PM $55 plus tax and tip Tapas on the Patio Pipeta de Vieras Scallop Ceviche Pippete, Citrus Juice Peras en Manchego Fresh Pears, Shredded Manchego, Organic Agave Cucharita de Solomillo Spoon of Filet Mignon Tartar, Micro Cilantro Raymos Sparkling Moscatel N.V. Merluza en Salsa Verde Spanish Hake, green sauce, potato foam, parsley caviar Fefinanes Albarino 2009 Abadia de Cova Albarino 2010 Arroz Cremose de Calamares Ink baby squid, Idiazabal cheese, Bomba rice Loxarel Rosé Cava N.V. Sorbette Fresh mint and lime Cochinillo Asado Roasted suckling pig, seasonal fruit salad, PX & agave reduction Valserrano Garnacha 2005 Pato en dos Cociones Duck cooked two ways, apple compote, foie gras reduction Pico Guadro Ribera del Duero 2007 Almond encrusted goat cheese, pears, wine caramel Home made Spanish bread (French Toast) soaked in cinnamon & red wine syrup, homemade vanilla ice cream Martinez la Cuesta Vermouth Reserva N.V. For reservations please contact: Meigas Restaurant 10 Wall St,  Norwalk, CT RSVP  203-866-8800 manager@meigasrestaurant.com www.meigasrestaurant.com For wine info please contact: Harry’s Wine & Liquor Market 2094 Post Road, Fairfield Phone:  (203) 259-4692 harrys@snet.net www.harryswine.com