After winning the best white wine in all of Spain by El Mundo last year for their 2009 Colleita Seleccionada, it seems Coto de Gomariz isn’t slowing down anytime soon. This year, Coto de Gomariz was honored by the Xunta de Galicia for producing the best white wine in all of D.O. Ribeiro in their annual “Best Wines of Galicia” report. Their Ribeiro blanco, which received the gold medal, is produced from the native varieties Treixadura (80%), Godello (10%) and Loureira (5%) and Albariño (5%). It’s a complex white wine with wonderful citrus aromas, green apple notes and herbs, and wonderful minerality. Its wonderful orchard fruit and bitter citrus flavors on the palate are powerful enough to pair with thick cream or butter sauces, but is also delicious on its own!  If you’d like to taste this wonderful wine, it is available for purchase online at Flickingerwines.com.

Congratulations to Sebio, Ricardo, Inma and the rest of the Coto de Gomariz team for another great nomination-keep up the good work!!

- Michael

In conjunction with all the wonderful wine bloggers out there, this is my installment of Wine Blog Wednesday! As this Wednesday’s focus is all about Spain, I figured I would introduce you to one of my favorite producers we are fortunate enough to work with, Coto de Gomariz. While I’ve written about them quite a bit, it’s mostly for their amazing white wines that have garnered some knockout attention. However, today I want to introduce you to the relatively unknown and highly underrated red wines they are producing in D.O. Ribeiro.

D.O. Riberio is located in Galicia, northwestern Spain, where it sits on the border with Portugal. In my opinion, it is the most beautiful part of Spain, with lush green valleys and wideflowing rivers dominating the landscape. It seems more similar to images from Ireland than it does to the blazingly hot plains of central Spain that I’m sure many people imagine the entire country to be -The people are of Celtic origin so I guess the similarity to Ireland isn’t such a far off concept to grasp. However, once you get past the similarities in culture and landscape, you realize this is a world apart from Ireland, and interestingly enough, Spain. Fiercely independent, the people of Galicia speak their own language (Galego) and have maintained their way of life, isolated in the northwestern pocket of Spain for centuries. This isolation and pride of their Galego way of life is one of the major factors in why there are so many different grape varieties grown in this region.

Historically, when the Moors occupied Spain, they ripped up vines for religious purposes, but as the Galegos were so isolated, the Moors never managed to gain control of that part of Spain, saving the indigenous varieties. Unfortunately, when the dictator Francisco Franco took complete control of Spain in 1947, he made it his mission to stamp out any autonomous communities throughout Spain, including the Galegos. He made their languages, customs, and basically their entire way of life illegal. He also began ripping up native vines all over Spain to plant grains, cereals, and bulk producing grape varieties. Galicia’s native vines were hard hit during this period, and an undocumented amount of native vines have since vanished from the region. However, some vines managed to survive being ripped up, and today are seeing a resurgence as more and more producers in the region are making it their mission to restore and use their native grapes for both white and red wines.

On that note, the wine I chose for today’s Wine Blog Wednesday utilizes several of the regions indiginous red varieties; Sousón, Ferrón, Brancellao, Caiño, Mencia and Carabuñeira, to name a few red varieties. The wine, Coto de Gomariz’s VX Cuvée Caco, is a blend of Sousón, Caiño, Garnacha Tintorera and Carabuñeira, which is known as Touriga Nacional in Portugal. The wine is ruby red in color, with spicy red berry and cherry notes on the nose. The berry and cherry notes are also all over the palate, with a definite dollop of smoky oak, but it’s well integrated and dominated the other flavors.  The finish has wonderful mineral elements to it (due to the schist soil dominating the region I imagine) and a beautiful spiced quality rounding out this unique wine. Fans of oak probably won’t find this wine their cup of tea, but they definitely won’t dislike it either- it’s a very unique wine that will pair well with all types of cuisine, from a great steak or burger, to a thick cut pork chop. On my last visit to Galicia, we even had this slightly chilled  with some grilled pulpo (octopus) that was one of the more memorable pairings I’ve had. The charred taste from the pulpo went perfectly with the smoky oak hints in the wine!

Unfortunately, the red wines from Galicia are still a tough sell here in the US, with most wines imported from the region being Mencia based wines from Bierzo. However, if you are are lucky enough to live in Pennsylvania, the VX Cuvée Caco, as well as the entire line up of Coto de Gomariz wines are available through the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

Here’s to exploring new wines and regions!

Cheers,

Michael

We’re very excited to be attending this year’s Miami International Wine Fair, one of the largest wine tradeshows in the US. Approximately 500 producers from all over the world will be attending, and an estimated 1,500 wines will be available to taste through, so make sure your palate is trained if you’re planning on attending! We’ve never attended this event before, so we’re anxious to make it to Miami to take a look and present our wines at this amazing event. We’ll be pouring several wines from various producers- Quinta de Gomariz from Portugal, Domaine du Gros Pata from France, Bodegas Ondalan and Coto de Gomariz from Spain just to name a few. (We have to keep some surprises!)

If you are planning on attending, please make sure to stop by and taste the amazing wines we are fortunate to represent. We will be located at stand 400 and will be sharing the space with Bodegas Medrano Irazu from Rioja and J. Miquel Jané from Penedes region of Spain, so there will be a wide range of fantastic wines to try.

Hope to see many of you there, cheers!

- Michael

I want you to drink Rioja Wine!

Good news for all you Rioja wine drinkers! Due to your impeccable taste in wine, sales for Rioja wines in the U.S. rose nearly 30% in the first half of 2010. Not only are we drinking more Rioja wines, but there are a growing number of new and exciting wines from the region being imported/distributed and available all throughout the US.

According to the Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja, total shipments in the first two quarters totaled 5.4 million bottles. Here is the percentage breakdown for each style of wine:

Cosecha/Vino Joven: +34%

Crianza: +32%

Reserva: +13%

Gran Reserva: +27%

Based on these numbers, and with the holiday season right around the corner, I would expect these numbers to rise slightly higher. With the Rioja region FINALLY getting up and not resting on it’s laurels as “the premier wine region” of Spain, I think the proof is in the pudding. Something had to be done in Rioja to remain at the top of it’s game, and I think the region is accomplishing this. With the help of various organizations such as Vibrant Rioja and Wines From Spain, I think Rioja is here to stay. There has been some concern lately from many people in the wine industry that Spanish wine might suffer a similar fate as Australian wine, but I don’t feel that this will happen. The concern is that there are too many “bulk” wines being brought in from Spain to hit that sweet $7 to $10 mark. While I completely agree that there are too many of these wines entering the market- I’m not too concerned with Spanish wine sales dropping off like Australian wines have. With more people 21+ years old drinking wine in particular, I think wines of all price ranges/styles from Spain will see a boost in sales.

Based on the numbers from the Rioja consejo, I think we’ll continue to see an increase of Spanish wines, and in particular, Rioja wines. I was most impressed with the stats about Gran Reserva wines, also a hot topic lately from Rioja. There has been some fear that Gran Reservas might go the way of the Dodo bird due to Rioja bodegas elaborating wines to hit the 90+ points from US reviewers, rather than focusing on making the best wine THEY feel possible, not reviewers. (Here is a great article that touches on this on this from Catavino.net) However, I think as more and more people are drinking Spanish wines and exploring the various regions of Spain, they are also exploring new wine styles within particular regions, such as Gran Reservas from Rioja.

My question to you, the Rioja drinkers of the world, what category of wine do you prefer- Vino Joven, Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reserva? Why?

Stay thirsty my friends…..

- Michael

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 Board carries 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.com who 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.

Cheers,

Michael

We’ve just finished tying up all our loose ends and are ready to set out for our third year attending the Pennsylvania Wine Week events- with a little detour in Chicago for a Vibrant Rioja event! the three events this year are again being held in Pittsburgh, Hershey and Philadelphia, and we always look forward to making the journey to Pennsylvania. While we have attended the Pittsburgh Wine Festival and Philadelphia Wine Festivals before, we are excited to attend the Wine Festival in Hershey for the first time. If you live, work or play in either area, these events are always a fun and informative way to spend your evening tasting some amazing wines from all over the world. More importantly, all three events will be benefiting great organizations such as the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, UPMC Cancer Centers, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

This year we’ll be pouring some fantastic wines from Spain and Portugal. We will have several different red wines, such as crianzas from Bodegas Ondalan, Bodegas Miguel Angel Muro and Bodegas Ruiz de Vinaspre. We’ll also be featuring an amazing reserva from Bodegas Medrano Irazu, all from Spain’s famed Rioja region. (Click here for a great post on the Rioja classification system by Catavino.net) We’re also excited to feature the amazingly fresh, crisp and refreshing white and rose wines from the Vinho Verde region of Portugal. These are a real value and the region is receiving quite a bit of attention lately for it’s quality to price ratio- it’s definitely worth seeking out wines from this region! Quinta de Gomariz is a young producer from the region and is already making a name for itself by gaining 92 points for its Alvarinho and 88 Points for its Espadeiro Rose from Wine & Spirits Magazine – both were featured as “Best Buys” in the August 2009 Issue.

We’re looking forward to sharing all these wines at the events and hopefully many of you will be able to attend one of the three!

Salud,

Michael

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!

Salud,

Michael

Despite travel issues cause by the “Snowmeggedon” storm system that whipped the through much of the East Coast last week, we were lucky enough to have many importers and distributors brave the chaos and attend the D.O. Ribeiro wine tasting last weekend at Jaleo. Celebrity chef José Andrés was on hand to taste many the wines and samples the fantastic tapas that his kitchen staff was shooting out of the kitchen at a surprising rate, as well as discuss why he feels these wines are some of the best wines from Spain.  Polbo á feira, caldo gallego, queso tetilla with membrillo were just some of the wonderful creations on hand to that chef Andrés created to pair with the amazingly fresh wines present.

Located in the northwestern region of Spain, Galicia has seen a considerable amount of media and press attention due to the popularity of the Albariño variety being produced in the neighboring Rias Baixas region. Where as Albariño shines in Rias Baixas, D.O. Ribeiro has a higher elevation and is located more inland, providing prime growing conditions for the Treixadura variety, the star white grape of Ribeiro. The white wines are amazingly crisp, fresh and full of minerality and well balanced acidity that provide the perfect pairing for a variety of shellfish and seafood, as well as light meat dishes of pork and chicken.

Also occurring this past weekend, the Washington D.C. International Food & Wine Festival did in fact go on as planned, despite the continued travel issues cause by the severe winter storms. A surprising number of attendees were on hand, from importers and distributors to restaurateurs and the general public, and all arrived eager to try new and exiting wines from various countries and regions of the world. There were wineries present from the Spain, Italy, France and Alana-Tokaj from Hungary, as well as several US producers from Idaho, Pennsylvania, and the Washington DC area as well. While the event was sponsored by the Kingdon of Navarra, there was a never ending stream of people packing in and around the D.O. Ribeiro booth. While the majority of wines on hand were the incredible white wines from the region, there was quite a bit of interest in the red wine produced by Coto de Gomariz, the Cuve Caco. Produced from indigenous varieties, Caiño Longo, Sousón and Mencía, the Cuve Caco presented a completely different flavor profile from the various other Spanish red wines on hand. Very few people had heard of  these varieties, and only about five people had ever tasted a red wine from Galicia, all of which were mono-varietal wines produced from Mencía from neighboring Ribeira Sacra.

With all the buzz around the Cuve Caco, I began to think if it was just a matter of the demographic at the event, or if the obscurity of the red wines from Galicia are just due to the fact that the white wines overshadow them due to their popularity and coverage in the press. So, my question to the readers, have you ever tried a red wine from Galicia? Where was it produced? What varieties were used?

Looking forward to hearing some responses!

Cheers,

Michael

It seems Emilio Lustau continues to dominate the sherry market, picking up yet another award, this one arguably the highest honor a Spanish producer can receive. Here is a press release from Europvin, whom we are fortunate enough to represent in several markets.

“We are proud to announce that EMILIO LUSTAU has taken the Spanish Wine Producer of the Year Trophy in the 40^th Anniversary edition of the International Wine & Spirit Competition.  This is in addition to the eighteen medals awarded to our Sherries, of which we advised you in the summer.

The gala awards banquet was held on 26 November 2009 at the Guildhall in London, and Lustau was announced as the winner from a shortlist which included such renowned names in the Spanish wine industry as Marqués de Murrieta and González Byass, amongst others.”

In other Sherry news, check out the finalist for the 2009 Vinos de Jerez Cocktail Competition. A huge thanks to akawinegeek for passing along this info!!!

They are:

Alex Raij, Txikito, NYC – “Elkano”, Manzanilla

Reza Esmalli, CONDUIT Restaurant, SF – “Espana en Emerica”, Pedro Ximenez**

Charles Joly, Drawing Room, Chicago – “Bread and Wine”, Oloroso

Danny Valdez, Cure, NOLA – “That Night a Forest Grew…”, Pedro Ximenez

Misty Kalkofen, Drink, Boston – “The Dunaway”, Fino

Todd Thrasher, Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA – “Walla Walla Bing Bang (aka the Witch Doctor)”, Amontillado

Erick Castro, Rickhouse, SF – “French Toast Flip”, Oloroso Dulce

Phil Ward, Mayahuel, NYC – “The Smoked Palomino”, Amontillado

Corey Bunnewith, Coppa, Boston – “Balao Swizzle”, Dry Oloroso

Thomas Waugh, Death & Co., NYC – “Delores Park Swizzle”, Amontillado

These 10 finalists will compete in the live finals on December 15th at Clover Club in Brooklyn, NY, to determine who will be crowned the winner of the 2009 Vinos de Jerez Cocktail Competition.

If you want to try out some of these cocktails at home, visit the Secret Sherry Society for the recipes of the cocktails.

And one other thing- please drink more sherry people!!!!

Salud,

Michael

P.S. Bloggers heads up- there is a ridiculous amount of flash on most of the restaurant websites……

We at the P.R. Grisley Company are fortunate enough to be able to work closely with the fine people from Europvin and their amazing portfolio featuring world reknowned wines from all over the world. One of the many gems that we are priveleged to work with from their portfolio is Emilio Lustau Sherries, one of the most well known and awarded sherry producers in the world. At this years Internation Wine Challenge, the 26th edition, Lustau again proved why it is one of the most beloved sherries all over the world. Below is a press release from Europvin about the great acheivments Lustau was awarded with this year-

“The 26th edition of the International Wine Challenge will go down in the pages of Lustau’s history as their best ever achievement.

Some 9,000 wines from the five continents were entered in this competition, all of which were competing for the medals and trophies of their respective categories (red wines, whites, fortified, sweet and sparkling).  Lustau is one of the most constant and principal players in the fortified category.

Of the thirty two prize winning sherries in this edition, eighteen came from Lustau, more than half of the total awards.  This clearly reflects the quality of the Lustau range of sherries.  Three trophies (the maximum award) were presented to the company, five gold medals, four silver, five bronze and four “highly recommended” mentions.  Thus Lustau was the sherry producer to garner the highest number of awards – and outstanding achievement.

During the awards ceremony, which was held at Grosvenor House on 2 September last, personal awards to relevant people in the trade were announced (enologists, wine writers, etc).  Manuel Lozano, Lustau’s Cellar Master, was named “Best Fortified Winemaker”, following on from his predecessor, Juan Fuentes, who took the same award in 2005.

These superb results give recognition to the efforts which Lustau has dedicated over the years to placing its sherries on a par with other great wines of the world.  They have created a wide range of sherries in which quality is the focal point, and which originates from the three towns in the Sherry Zone.  Their extensive spectrum of sherry styles are to be found in the best restaurants, hotels and wine specialists in all five continents.”

Manuel Lozano talks about his wines: “It is truly an honour to work with wines of this level of quality and elegance.  The variety and excellence of the Lustau soleras are a rare gift for the wine connoisseur, and especially for the Sherry lover.  The fact that Lustau matures wines in the three towns of the Sherry zone gives us access to an immense collection with the most diverse styles and characteristics.  It is like having a whole library of old volumes and limited, unrepeatable editions at your fingertips – a true luxury.”

We currently represent Europvin and Emilio Lustau sherries in the states of Utah, Pennsylvania and Wyoming, with a wide range of sherries available in all three states. If you currently live in any of these states and would like more information on pricing, availability or tasting notes/technical information, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll be more than happy to answer any questions and provide information to you. If you don’t live in these states and would still like information on these wonderful wines, we will still be happy to help you find the importer or distributor in your area that represents Lustau and/or Europvin.

Cheers,

Michael