It has been a year this month since we first started importing the amazing wines from Quinta de Gomariz, and they are already making a name for themselves! In the recently released June issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine, both the 2008 Alvarinho and 2008 Loureiro were recognized as “Top 100 Values of the Year” and the winery itself was recognized as one of two “Top Portuguese Value Brands.”
This is quite an honor for such a young winery- the first vines were planted in 1999 and their first harvest was in 2004. We’re very excited to be working with such an up and coming producer, especially as the Vinho Verde region gains more attention in the media and the competition stiffens. We’ve been fortunate enough to be working with Vitor Mendes from Vinixa, who has been instrumental in helping to make these wines available in the US.
I will be in New York City next week for an event hosted by the Vinho Verde Commission and will be pouring these fantastic wines, so if you live or work in New York please register for the event and make sure to stop by and try the new 2009 vintage!
World renowned wine figure Jancis Robinson recently tasted several wines from one of our Spanish producers, Coto de Gomariz. She tasted both the 2008 Blanco and the 2008 “X” Albariño and seemed to enjoy them enough to feature them as her “wine of the week” picks on her website, www.jancisrobinson.com. While the region of Rias Baixas is still gaining popularity for it’s Albariño’s, Coto de Gomariz is located in nearby D.O. Ribeiro where treixadura is the grape of choice for producing crisp and complex white burgundy-esque wines. Wonderful acidity and mineralty due to the granite and schist soils make these wines a fantastic summer wine, especially when pairing alongside seafood and shellfish. I recently had a glass of the Blanco with the Bonito del Norte Salad from the Garces Trading Co. in Philadelphia and it was incredible. (Sorry Chef Garces, Cat Cora is still my favorite Iron Chef!)
While Jancis’ recent post mentioned that the Coto de Gomariz wines aren’t available in the US, I assure you they are, albeit in small quantities. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Boardcarries both the 2008 Blanco and “X” Albariño, along with another one of their white wines, the 2007 Colleita Seleccionada. They also carry three fascinating red wines from the same producer using other native varieties such as Mencia, Brancellao, Ferrol, Sousón and Caiño. The 2008 Coto de Gomariz Blanco will also be available very soon for order through Flickingerwines.comwho is set up to ship to any state where direct shipping of alcohol is allowed. So, if you live in Pennsylvania or nearby bordering states, you shouldn’t have a hard time finding these amazing wines at your nearest PLCB wine store. If you’re not located near to any of these stores, I encourage you to visit Flickingerwines.com and see their entire listing of amazing wines from all over the world.
Good news for all you Spanish wine fiends! With the success of last years inaugural event in New York City, the Vibrant Rioja campaign decided to include a date in Chicago this year. This years events are focusing on the amazing quality-to-price ratio that many Rioja wines have been able to maintain even during these tough economic times. The key to this years events are not focusing on the least expensive wines necessarily, but the best “Value Wines.” I have noticed many Reservas from Rioja are still quite affordable and, in my opinion, the best “Value Wines” one can find from Rioja. However, don’t exclude the amazing array of Crianzas from around this famous region, most of which you can easily find in any market for under $15.
We will unfortunately only be able to attend the Chicago event due to upcoming wine events Pennsylvania, but we hope we can make it to the “Big Apple” next year. Both events in Chicago and New York are for members of the press and trade only, so if you are a Spanish wine lover but not part of the press or trade, have no fear, you’ll be there with us in spirit! Don’t feel angry or left out however, these events are taking place for importers and distributors to find outlets to make all these wines available to you, so you are actually the beneficiary in the end. If you are however a member of the press or trade and would like to attend either event, you can sign up online here. This years events will be held May 4th in Chicago, and May 5th and 6th in New York City, so if you’re in the area and can attend, please sign up. We look forward to meeting many of you that are able to make it to the Chicago event!
After much anticipation, we have received the long awaited shipment of fantastic white and rose wines from famed Bordeaux producer Denis Dubourdieu. If you’re not familiar with Denis Dubourdieu, he is what some consider the “godfather” of white wine elaboration in Bordeaux. Denis Dubourdieu Domaine’s consists of several different chateau’s and regions, and we selected three estates that we felt catered to the American market. We selected several wines from his offerings: the Chateau Reynon Sauvignon Blanc in the Cadillac region, Clos Floridene Blanc and Rose from the Graves region, and Chateau Cantegril fromSauternes. We feel that these wines will offer amazing quality and for an amazing price, ranging from $13 to $30 at any of the wine stores in Utah. We are currently only selling these wines in Utah and Wyoming, but will hopefully be expanding availability throughout the US in the near future to try and make it possible for everyone to enjoy these incredible wines. To go along with these wines I would highly recommend visiting Freshies Lobster Co. for incredibly fresh Maine lobsters, clams, mussels, and lobster rolls for an amazing meal delivered straight to your door! Freshies was recently featured in Salt Lake Magazine where they wrote a company profile about the company. I have ordered several times from Freshies and have always had the freshest seafood available to us in land locked Utah. I actually wound up chasing a live lobster all over my kitchen because it was so fresh and alive it decided to take a spin throughout my house- don’t worry, no wine was spilled…….
Anyone that happens to live in or be visiting Jackson Hole the weekend of Friday October 16th to the 18th should consider staying an extra day and attending what I’m sure will be a delicious Spanish themed dinner at The Wort Hotel on Monday October 19th. With the help of the beverage directors and chefs at The Wort, I think we’ve created a wonderful food and wine pairing featuring several wines we import and mouth watering dishes which I’m sure won’t disappoint. What I’m most excited about is for everyone attending to try the Emilio Lustau “Old East India” sherry- I hope it will open some eyes (and palates!) to a whole new flavor profile and exploration into the wonderful world of wine. Here is the menu that the chef’s have created:
Wine Dinner
Fabulous Four-Course Dinner Featuring
Cuisine and Wines of Spain
* Cuerno de Beef Carpaccio – a little Horn of Thinly Sliced Rare Beef, Stuffed with Micro Greens and Manchego,
I will be fortunate enough to be attending and I look forward to meeting everyone and discussing the wines and answering any questions. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the event or the wines!
For those of you currently in the Beehive State (or here visiting during Labor Day!) the Sundance Food & Wine Festival will be happening this Saturday, September 5th. For those that have attending the event before, you know this year will be just as good as last year- if not not better! There will be some amazing restaurants serving up delicious food like good old Americana grub from Tommy’s Texas BBQ, some delicious (and underrated) pizza from Pizzaria 712 and some Asian cuisine from Shabu. Another little secret treat will be Utah’s award-winning High West Distillery featuring some liquors in the Owl Bar. There will be many others attending, so come support our local restaurants and businesses and enjoy some fine wine from all over the world. Tickets are $65 for wine and food, $50 for food only and can be purchased here. You can even bring your mountain bike and cruise all the trails the beautiful Sundance Resort has to offer or get in some fly-fishing beforehand on the famous Provo River. We’ll be featuring several of our Spanish and French wines at the festival, as well as a delicious late harvest Furmint wine from Alana-Tokaj, so please stop by to say hello and try something new!
After a fun-filled and informative weekend at the 2009 Wine Bloggers conference, I have come away from the trip with a new outlook on the California wine “scene.” As we work exclusively with wines from Europe, it was a nice break to explore the wines being produced in my neck of the woods- especially because I have limited knowledge about California wines. Many people will ask, “What, you haven’t had a Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon from California?” Yes, yes, I have thank you very much, but there is much more to the area than just Chard and Cab, which can only be experienced by visiting the area.
From having over one hundred variations of soil, to the exploration of growing varieties like Tempranillo, Albarino, and an ongoing struggle with the TTB to resolve issues dealing with the pending Calistoga AVA, there is a lot happening in Napa. This was interesting for me as we have had to deal with similar problems in Europe in regard to DO’s and DOC’s dealing with what types of grapes can or cannot be grown, how high plants can be grown, how far apart they must be, etc. To have a controversy like this only a few states next to where I live, I was surprised (and a bit ashamed!) that I didn’t recognize the scope of what is happening in California.
However, the main reason for my attending the conference was for the social media aspects, meeting new contacts, and listening and learning from the fantastic speakers throughout the weekend. I learned a great deal how to better our site, our blog and what I can do now and in the future to get a better hold on the markets we currently sell to. While the speakers focused more on the blogging side of things (obviously), being an importer I still took away a wealth of information from the weekend even though blogging isn’t the most important aspect of my job.
The best part of the weekend for me was meeting all the wonderful winos out there that I’ve been following on twitter and facebook but have never met in person, so it was great to meet the faces behind the blogs! I had wonderful and humorous conversations with The Whineaux and her husband, and even hitched a ride back into San Francisco with them.
Not to mention the incredible outdoor tasting and panel discussion we had about AVA’s at Storybook Family Vineyards, being hounded into taking a pull of a bottle of Absinthe with the fellas from Mutineer Magazine, and managing to rock the late night “tasting” put on by ViniPortugal, the weekend was fun-filled to say the least! I was also fortunate enough to meet and be welcomed to dinner to the private residence of the owners of Lieff Vineyards who opened up their home to 30 random strangers (and bloggers of all people) which was definitely another highlight of my weekend.
It was also great to catch up with my friends from Catavino.net as well as Oscar Quevedo from Quevedo Port Wine and chat about the upcoming European Wine Bloggers Conference coming up this fall in Lisbon Portugal that I hope to attend. I hope to be fortunate to attend the EWBC and hopefully have a similar experience this October and November in Portugal.
A huge THANK YOU to all the volunteers, sponsors, and organizers of the WBC 2009, I had an amazing time and look forward to Walla Wall in 2010!!!
After along and anxious wait, Alana-Tokaj wines have finally hit the shelves in Utah and Pennsylvania. It was quite the ordeal getting the shipment out of Hungary and clearing not only Hungarian customs, but also US customs. It was well worth the wait, however, as we recently sat down for a wonderful dinner at Fresco to celebrate with Andras and Allison of Alana-Tokaj and enjoyed the first bottle opened in Utah!!
We enjoyed just one of three different wines being imported from Alana-Tokaj, the 2006 Furmint. It has an incredible nose of intense pear, delicate quince and wild herbs. On the palate it has characteristics dried stonefruits, mandarin and lindenblossom.
The 2006 Cuvee “Autumn in Tokaj” is another beautifully made wine, with notes of tropical fruit and floral touches on the nose. A pure, elegant wine, this wine has all the characteristics of a late harvest Tokaj wine.
Last but not least, the 2005 Betsek has already raised some eyebrows in its home country, as well as in Austria where it scored 94 points by Peter Moser of Falstaff Magazine. Here are his tasting notes-
“Glowing yellow gold. On the nose subtle nuances of nutmeg, a little cumin, anise and marshmallow, a very welcoming bouquet. On the palate, juicy, racy, pure yellow Muscat fruit, beautiful balance, with a convincing length, marked by terroir; spicy finish, very very big presence and great aging potential. So balanced that the residual sugar is perceived no more than a fine touch; fascinating wine.”
If you’d like to purchase any of these fantastic wines, they are currently available in select stores throughout Utah and Pennsylvania. Here is a list of their respective PLCB or UDABCcodes-
2006 Furmint- UDABC: 916992 / PLCB:10762
2006 Cuvee- UDABC: 916994 / PLCB: 10735
2005 Betsek- UDABC: 916995 / PLCB: 10699
If you’re interested in learning more about Alana-Tokaj and Tokaji wines in general, please feel free to contact us and we’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.
There is never a dull moment at Bodegas Medrano Irazu, where winemaker Amador Medrano Irazu always wears a smile- well, more like a smirk. He is a wiry man in his mid thirties who loves his work and is passionate about it, there is no doubt. So, it comes as no surprise that he owns some of the highest vines in all of DOC Rioja, designed his own trellis system to achieve maximum potential for his vines, and is known all over Rioja Alavesa. Some think he’s crazy, others maybe part genius/part mad scientist, but one thing is clear- he is leading the way for every producer in DOC Rioja.
As Spain continues to produce fantastic white wine from all over the country, it seems like white wines in Rioja have succumbed to the same scrutiny as their red wines- should they be made in a traditional or modern style? While you can find incredible white wines of both styles in Rioja produced mainly with the Viura variety (along with others such as Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca), they are usually overshadowed by Albarinofrom Galicia and Verdejo in Rueda. In response to other regions and varieties gaining more and more popularity, the Rioja Consejo Regulador has recently allowed the use of chardonnay and other non-native varieties in Rioja as well. While I’m sure this will be quite the controversy within Rioja, I worry more about the response to the addition in the US. As we’re already saturated with California Chardonnay, I just hope that the US consumer doesn’t begin to associate chardonnay with Rioja. Along with Ryan and Gabriella of Catavino.net, I don’t feel there was anything wrong with the white wines being produced in Rioja- I just think they haven’t explored the full potential of what their native white varieties can achieve. In my opinion, the addition has the potential to destroy Rioja’s image, not improve it, and is only an attempt to gain some of the white wine market share being exported from Spain.
Not one to sit back and watch his beloved Rioja become eclipsed by these other regions and varieties, Amador has been experimenting with the Viura variety to determine what kind of potential this grape possesses. With his love of Tokaji, Sauternes, and sweeter Sherries, he set out to see if Viura could make a quality sweet wine. After one successful and one disastrous attempt under his belt, I guess you could say that the “third time’s a charm” as he has been granted the first late harvest, or “Vendimia Tardia” approval from the DOC Rioja. I’ve had the chance to taste both successful vintages and they are absolutely fantastic and intriguing. These wines have wonderful acidity and complexity, as well as incredible floral aromas and honey notes on the nose. While there are some producers in Rioja such as Marques de Caceres producing sweeter wines with native varieties, they have yet to receive an official guarantee from the Consejo Regulador. With Medrano receiving the first official guarantee, I hope many other producers will now realize that they literally have incredible potential growing right at their feet.
I can’t wait to see how Amador will develop and brand this groundbreaking wine in the future. Hopefully it will bring some attention back to Rioja and it’s native varieties and what can be accomplished with a bit of imagination and hard work!
After wrapping up all our loose ends after nearly a month on the road, I finally found some time to sit down for a new post and edit the hours of footage to make a short video for everyone to enjoy. We had an absolutely incredible trip that began in Pittsburgh before moving on to Philadelphia for wine shows during the Pennsylvania Wine Week. The shows went well considering the current economic situation, and we were excited to show some new wines at both shows such as the recently available Alana-Tokaji Late harvest Furmint. This wine received wonderful responses in both cities and we were glad that everyone enjoyed it! We were also quite lucky to have Paul Sharp from Europvin join us in Philadelphia to help educate consumers about sherry, which also went over well with the crowds. I think with Paul’s amazing wealth of information we were able to change some opinions about sherry and hopefully expand some more palates.
After the Pennsylvania shows we headed to directly to Spain where we spent some time with friends in Madrid. They took us to some “secret” tapas bars around the city and introduced us to some new foods, which I’m sure we’ll try to recreate in our kitchens. I’m always amazed at the diversity of food Spain has, it seems every time I return I try at least 10 new items I’ve never had before.
We then bid farewell to our friends in Madrid, and met two purchasing agents from the PLCB at the Madrid airport and flew directly to Vigo where we stayed the evening in an amazing hotel right on the Spain/Portugal border as we all tried to recover from our jet lag. The next morning we spent an incredible day in Portugal where we visited Quinta de Gomariz in the northern Vinho Verde region of Portugal. Here we toured the winery and met the people behind these incredible white wines before heading south to the Douro region to visit Quinta de Carregosa, a small producer making excellent red wines. The Douro was an incredible region that was quite literally mountain after mountain completely terraced and covered with vines. The Douro was one of the most breathtaking places I have seen, I hope to return one day and spend some more time enjoying the region. We had an amazing dinner later that night courtesy of the hard work from the fine people at Vinixa who had set up all of our visits to the various wineries. The family team at Vinixa has been an immense help to us since we began working together last February and we couldn’t have accomplished our tour of Portugal without them. Before and during the dinner, we met and tasted through the line of Quevedo Ports along with Oscar Quevedo. The ports were absolutely incredible with Portuguese dishes like grilled lamb chops, roasted veal, and an amazing chocolate dessert with an orange cream sauce paired with Quevedo’s LBV and Tawny 10 year- delicious!
With our one day, one night whirlwind tour of Portugal over, we headed north back to Spain to the Galicia region in the northwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula. There we visited with our good friends and winemakers at Coto de Gomariz to try their new vintages of amazing red and white wines that really impressed all of us. Their red wines were quite a surprise as they are made with interesting local varieties rarely seen outside of Galicia, let alone Spain. Souson, Ferrol, and Brancellao are native red varieties that were almost lost to the region during many political upheavals that Spain has experienced throughout its history. Luckily, there are several producers such as Coto de Gomariz who have dedicated their work to restoring these native varieties and producing incredible wines with them.
After Coto de Gomariz we headed southeast to Ribera del Duero to visit the famous Vega Sicilia family of wines, which include Bodegas Alion and Bodegas Pintia(which is located in nearby DO Toro). We had an amazing tour of the facilities at both Alion and Vega Sicilia before sitting down to an incredible meal where we had the unbelievable opportunity to try wines such as the ’99 Unico, ’02 Valbuena, ’05 Alion and ’06 Pintia. This was the biggest lineup of wines I have ever had the chance to taste, surely one of those days I will never, ever forget for the rest of my life. After our tasting, we had the chance for some down time at the hotel, so we passed the time talking and enjoying a beer for a change on the patio with a cool river running right below us. The next morning it was on the road again, by this time we were getting good at the stop and go schedule we had lined up.
We then headed out to the Rioja region where most of the bodegas we represent are located. We had a few jam-packed days visiting the bodegas and sampling the new vintages and new wines that many of the winemakers have been working on. We first stopped at one of the most famous producers of classic Rioja wines, La Rioja Alta. We visited their amazing facility as well as tasted through their family of wines. I always love to try these wines as you are able to taste and feel the history of Rioja when drinking these delicate, delicious wines. We had fantastic meals at every bodega, and even had the classic Riojana dish “chuletillas a la parilla” (lamb chops grilled over last years dried vines) at both Bodegas Ondalan and Bodegas Medrano Irazu. We also had the opportunity to catch up with “Mr. Non-stop,” Miguel Angel from Bodegas Miguel Angel Muro. This man has more energy that anyone I have met and he has been busy creating a wonderful new reserva wine, which we were able to enjoy. We also caught up with the husband and wife duo of Charo and Julian from Bodegas Ruiz de Vinaspre, where we had the opportunity to try their new line of wines that didn’t disappoint. At Bodegas Santiago Ijalba we were able to try many of the new vintages, and I was most excited to try their new organic wine. Even with all these visits in a short amount of time, we were also able to enjoy some free time in the village of La Guardia. This turned out to be absolutely chaotic as there was a huge soccer match between Barcelona and local favorites, Atletico Bilbao. People were partying in the street setting off what seemed like quarter sticks of dynamite based on the sound of the explosions- and this was even with their loss to FC Barcelona! Europeans are soccer crazy to say the least……There is always something new to experience in Rioja; I think that is what keeps us going back!
Once our tour of Rioja had ended, we drove up north to one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, San Sebastian. This is still one of my favorite cities to visit as they have the most incredible gastronomy scenes in Europe, it’s unbelievable. From the hundreds of tapas bars and a visit to a traditional sideria, we experienced some amazing food and wine while finally being able to relax a bit as our non-stop schedule had finally come to an end. Our visit to San Sebastian was the perfect way to end our wine filled tour of Spain and Portugal and reflect on all the amazing sites and generous people we had seen and met.
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After much anticipation, we have received the long awaited shipment of fantastic white and rose wines from famed ![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7c726bbd-8450-4ddc-8574-1b83acae48a8)
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For those of you currently in the Beehive State (or here visiting during Labor Day!) the ![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=202afdd7-6168-41bf-a42a-c6f2a0d31ce4)
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