Wine Blogging Wednesday #46: white Rhone varieties hosted by Good Wine Under $20
Good Wine Under $20, Grenache Blanc, GWU20, Marsanne, Picpoul, Qupé, Roussanne, Tablas Creek
We’re a day late for Wine Blogging Wednesday, but hopefully you’ll forgive us since the subject is something dear to our hearts: white Rhone grape varieties. Seems we’ve been on a white Rhone kick of late, having hosted the Tablas Creek dinner last week (thanks Jason, it really was an amazing night), and having brought in close to two fistfuls of SKUs into our store that fit this subject. Okay, so ten wines is nothing for retail giants, but considering how small we are, ten is not insignificant!
Wines we’ve brought in include the most recent vintage of the Curran Grenache Blanc, and the Ferraton Cotes du Rhone white that Dr. Debs, herself, reviewed for the occasion. We just got the Qupé Marsanne, which will certainly make both Cousin Roussanne from Tablas Creek (not even entered into inventory yet) and sister Roussanne from Qupé very happy. We’ve narrowed down our Picpoul choices to one imported by Peter Weygandt, or possibly the new vintage from Chateau de Pinet/Arnaud Gaujal. We’ll get back to you when we’ve made our decision. Maybe we’ll bring in both!
More important than our inventory activities, though, is the sensation these wines give us. There’s just something that feels seasonally appropriate about these grape varieties and these wines, and the balance of crispness and viscosity, the refreshing stone fruits and, in some cases, tropical fruits, tempers unseasonably hot weather, or brings warmth to us on the odd chilly spring L.A. day. And maybe that’s why we’ve said yes to so many of these wines and see them taking up a greater percentage of our limited shelf space these days.
Thanks to Dr. Debs for hosting, and for having the premonition that June should be white Rhone month. Thanks to Lenn for inventing WBW. And thanks to all of you for reading…
5 Responses to “Wine Blogging Wednesday #46: white Rhone varieties hosted by Good Wine Under $20”
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get your wine on
2005 The Great Whatsit Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley
Our first ‘domaine547 selection’ is a deep, brooding and delicious Syrah, made by the fine folks at Stolpman Vineyards. It’s due to arrive very soon, and is on special at a mere $20 a bottle. Get some, open it up and drink it in. We’re super-excited to share it with you. What’s that? Whatsit!
2006 Vigna Senza Nome Moscato d’Asti
Gary Vaynerchuk called this one of the best Moscatos he’s tasted on today’s show. You know where to go to see his videos. But it you’re looking for a west coast source of the wine, look no further than us. We love it too and have had it in stock since the day we opened. On sale while supplies (11 bottles left) last$17 bucks in honor of Vaynerchuk
2005 Tenuta di Valgiano Colline Lucchesi Palistorti
We have a knack for picking Italian wines that score really horribly in the press. This one gets an 82 from the Wine Spectator — but we love it nonetheless. It’s a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Syrah that hails from a biodynamic estate outside of Lucca. It couldn’t be from anywhere else, unlike the 98 point yielding Super Tuscan blends that we’ve on occsasion mistaken for California iterations of Bordeaux varieties. This will probably end up in our six-pack prize of wines that will not make the Spectator top 100…$37 for 82 points (how’s that for transparency?)
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freshly pressed
Corkage Week Announcement!:
The week of September 7th will be “Corkage Week” at domaine547! What does this mean? We’re going to devote the week to issues surrounding bringing your own wine to restaurants. Yay!
In the meantime, it would be nifty if any of you could email us (info at domaine547 dot com) with any BYO stories of your own, and maybe you’ll wind up on the front page of d547. In fact, if you go out in the next few days and decide to give corkage a try, send us a picture of the bottle you brought, the receipt with the corkage charge, and any stories you care to share. If your story is selected to appear in our hallowed pages, we’ll send you a gift certificate to d547 for the amount you paid for corkage (within reason).
And now, a quick tip for corkage etiquette: avoid bringing a bottle that is already on the wine list of the restaurant you’re going to. This can mean downloading a restaurant’s wine list online, or calling in advance to check for duplication.
See you in a couple of weeks for lots more on corkage!
Corkage Week Announcement!
The Week Ahead
Price Check: 2006 Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc, North Coast
wine jargon
Frizzante
From Wikipedia: Frizzante is an Italian wine term term for semi-sparkling wine (as opposed to Spumante, which is generally used for fully sparkling wines). Frizzante wines generally owe their bubbles to a partial secondary fermentation in tank. You might notice a light fizz or tingly sensation on the tongue with a Frizzante wine, compared to the more carbonated sensation that more fully sparkling wines yield.
Scorekage
Okay, so we made up this word yesterday after a great restaurant experience. We brought a bottle of wine with us, expecting to pay a corkage fee. But the restaurant either forgot to charge us the $15, or decided to be nice to us. We scored! Hence, “scorekage” has entered our lexicon. This can also refer to BYO friendly restaurants that don’t charge for corkage under any circumstances.
grapewise
The 89 Project
We’ve joined a group of bloggers (wannabe critics, some have said!) as part of “The 89 Project,” an effort to explore the complicated matter of the 100 point system of evaluating wine. Go take a peek at the 89 Project blog, which has apparently already started a bit of controversy (and we’ve yet to make a post!). It’s interesting stuff.
d547 In the News! Pasadena Star
Just a quick link to another article about our little biz. This one is small scale but sweet. Thanks Pasadena Star!
The 89 Project
d547 In the News! Pasadena Star
Pssst! Secret discount from a competitor…
June 12th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Wow these all sound like great finds!
June 12th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Glad to see that our Rhone white hunger can be fed! The Qupe Roussanne looks especially intriguing. Thanks as ever for participating!
June 12th, 2008 at 11:04 am
You’ve discussed some interesting varietals. I knew nothing about white Rhones (have enjoyed my share of reds) before this WBW. I’m keen to try more.
June 14th, 2008 at 10:33 am
I intended to participate in the WBW this month but I lost track of time and missed the deadline. I’ll have to try some of your suggestions! I agree with Dr. Debs – the Qupe Roussanne sounds intriguing.
June 15th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Sounds like you had as much fun with your Rhone-style white as I did on this Wine Blogging Wednesday!