Oh My Grenache, The French Connection, and Let the Wine Make Itself

  ***We will be closed this Sunday, September 4th for Labor Day weekend while we bravely set out to find you more wine.  Oh, poor us.***

        Like Michael Caine, the Grenache grape is seemingly everywhere doing great work and getting little credit.  Grenache Noir ('Noir' added to differentiate it from Grenache Blanc) is typically used as a red blending grape and tends to add a rustic, fruity, dusty taste with lots of dark fruit notes.  You probably know this grape better by some of the blends it supports like Chateauneuf du Pape and the wines of Cotes du Rhone in France, or the many Grenache/Syrah blends becoming more and more popular in California and the Northwestern US.  Grenache Blanc is an even lesser known varietal that is easily one of our favorites here at the store.  It is a grape that can produce beautiful, rich, aromatic whites with bright floral notes and is often used to blend with the grapes Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne.  But alone, when done right, a 100% Grenache Blanc can be quite a heavenly experience.  And yes, we've got one and we're pouring it this Friday night in our all Grenache tasting. 

Wine Tasting Schedule  

Oh, My Grenache

This Friday the 2nd

$15/person

5 wines, cheeses, crackers, bread

5:30-8:30pm

(you can show up anytime before 8pm to start your tasting)

Reservations recommended: info@cowineco.com or (323) 478-1985

Wines

Odysseus Garnacha Blanca 2003, Priorat, Spain

Tablas Creek Cotes du Tablas White 2003, Paso Robles, California

Anglim Grenache 2003, Paso Robles, California

Proyecto 4 Red 2000, Spain

Zaca Mesa Z Cuvee 2002, Santa Ynez, California

**There will be no tasting this Sunday since we'll be closed and travellin'**

"Let the Wine Make Itself"

     That's an old Burgundian saying that basically reflects a 'hands off' approach to winemaking in Burgundy, France.  If you ask most wine folks what they would drink for the rest of their lives if they could only choose one type of wine, almost all of them would say Burgundy.  Why?  As we've said before - land and climate.  The primary grapes in Burgundy are Chardonnay for the whites and Pinot Noir for the reds and virtually all other regions and countries growing these grapes look to Burgundy as the ideal.  Unlike in Bordeaux where Chateaus can be palatial manors with acres and acres of vines, Burgundy has a land ownership system that is seemingly made to confuse.  There are thousands of tiny vineyards grouped together as domaines, each with multiple owners, resulting in many different wines from one domaine generally produced in small quantities.  This complex system is rivaled only by the labyrinthine German system.  So if the Sideways mania has driven you to California Pinot, good!  Now try a red Burgundy and experience the original Pinot Noir.  And if you are one of the many who have proclaimed they will absolutely NOT drink any more Chardonnay because California has oaked and buttered it to death, grab yourself a white Burgundy.  You won't be disappointed. 

Here's a few selections from our store:

Red

Domaine Magnien Michel Corvee de L'Eglise Bourgogne Passetoutgrain 2002, Morey St. Denis -- $16.99/btl

Domaine Michelot 2002, Mersault, Cote d'Or -- $17.99/btl

White

Domaine Barat A.C. 2003, Chablis -- $17.99/btl

Verget Les Vallons de Lamartine 2003, Macon-Villages -- $17.99/btl

Roger Lassarat Cuvee Unique Macon Vergisson 2003, Macon-Villages -- $18.99/btl

The French Connection

     A couple times we have had customers come in and ask for Fume Blanc and when we walk them through our California Sauvignon Blanc section they kind of repeat themselves as if we didn't hear them correctly, "Sorry, no.  I meant Fume Blanc."  Well, this is entirely understandable as tons of people have been fooled, duped, hoodwinked, double smokescreened, bamboozled and beguiled and the guy who did all of this to them is named Robert Mondavi.  In the 70's, Mondavi wanted to boost sales of Sauvignon Blanc so he made up the term "Fume Blanc" to make his wines sound more French.  Fume Blanc is Sauvignon Blanc, plain and simple.

See You Soon at Compagnie de vin du Colorado,

John and Jen

"The First Duty of wine is to be Red...the second is to be a Burgundy"

~Harry Waugh