I Don't Know Anything About Wine, My Own Private CoWineCo, and Wine! Romance! Adventure!

     This Friday the 10th we're pouring wines from the extremely enthusiastically named wine distributor, Adventures in Wine.  They've got a great book and we've got one of their best and brightest to teach you the ways of swirling, drinking and swinging across gator-infested rivers.  Yes, you may notice one wine (see below) is just a wee bit on the Middle-Earthy, crossbows-n-catapults side, but the taste of this Pinot Gris will make you forget all about your 12-sided die.

Upcoming Wine Tastings    

Adventure!  Romance!  Wine!

Time: 5:30-8:30 (but you can show up anytime before 8pm)

Cost: $15/person

Cheeses, Breads and Crackers

(Reservations Recommended)    

Wines

Colombelle White 2003, Cotes du Gascogne, France

Elvenglade Pinot Gris 2003, Oregon

O'Reilly's Pinot Noir 2004, Willamette Valley, Oregon

O'Reilly's Merlot 2002, Oregon

Domaine Prieure Saint-Sixte Lirac 2003, Rhone, France

Rose Colored Glasses: Part II

Time: 1:00-4:00pm

Cost: $10/person

Cheeses, Breads, Crackers

Jen and I (me John....big tree) run the tastings on Sundays and pick a theme midweek.  We hear Thursdays are the new Sundays but we think that's silly.  Because we are closed on Mondays, Sundays are like Fridays to us and we tend to join in the tastings like it's a Friday to normal people.  Stop pink wine oppression!  Roses are yummy.

Wines

Crios Malbec Rose 2004, Argentina

SoloRosa Rose 2004, California

Les Close de Paulilles Collioure Rose 2003, France

Curtis Heritage Series Rose 2003, Santa Barbara, California

My Own Private CoWineCo

     Wanna pretend you own our wine bar for a night?  The bar area of our store is rentable for private parties on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings to groups up to 30 people.  You are welcome to bring in your own food or simply subsist off of fermented grapes.  You can pick the wines, you can have us pick the wines, we can pick the wines together in harmony, whatever you like.  Call or email for details!  (323) 478-1985  /   info@cowineco.com  

I Don't Know Anything About Wine   

     This is one of the most frequent introductions we get from customers when they walk into our store.  Well, you actually do know something about wine.  You know what you like.  You know you've tasted wines before that made you spit them out, made you pucker, made your mouth dry out, made you smile, made you say, "wow" or simply made you silent they tasted so good.  As with most industries or hobbies, there is a vocabulary that wine geeks share to discuss all of these reactions and it's that language that probably scares you into believing you know nothing about wine.      

     It all comes down to communication and memory (the hard part).  Unless you're going into the wine business, you only need to figure out what wines make you happy and why.  When you taste something you like, remember something, anything.  Tear the label off and put it in your wallet.  Make a note that just says the name of the wine and one descriptive word like "fruity" or "crisp."  Remember the weird importer's name.  Remember the country where the wine was made.  Any one of these bits of information should be enough to at least get a wine store employee moving in the right direction.  If this is too roundabout for you, go to a wine tasting.  There's tons in LA almost every single night and it is the best way to taste a bunch of wines at once without having to spend money on each and every bottle, and (hopefully) have a wine expert right there to answer any of your questions.  

The Asian Food Pairing Issue

     The broad range of rich and spicy flavors in many Asian food dishes make wine pairing seem like a shot in the dark, hence the typical accompaniments - beer, warm sake.  Foods that are spicy generally require a crisp wine with low alcohol because the heat from too much alcohol locks in and exaggerates the spice.  If your dish isn't too spicy, go with something slightly sweet to counteract the saltiness of many Asian dishes.  Here are a couple suggestions from our store:

For Spicy Dishes:

Dr. Loosen Riesling 2004, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany    $11.99/bottle

Dr Weins-Prum Riesling, Graacher Himmelreich, Germany  $17.99/bottle

For Salty Dishes:

Curtis Heritage Series Rose 2003, Santa Barbara, California   $9.99/bottle

Zaca Mesa Viognier 2003, Santa Ynez, California    $14.99/bottle

Chateau La Paws Cote du Bone Blanc 2002, California  $11.99/bottle

See You Soon,

John and Jen

"Drink wine, and you will sleep well. Sleep, and you will not sin. Avoid sin, and you will be saved. Ergo, drink wine and be saved."
Medieval German saying