   |  Newsletter ArchivePilgrim's Progress, Heaven in a Hand Basket, and Take a Load Off Fanny Pilgrim's Progress, Heaven in a Hand Basket, and Take a Load Off FannyA quick suggestion to lead into this week's newsletter: If you know you love a specific wine from our store and you have a holiday party coming up, call us at least 48 hours in advance to ensure we have your wine and the amount you need. We aren't a huge store and can't promise we'll have 3+ cases of a specific wine on a given day, but we can order almost anything for delivery 1-3 days later. Thank you!!!!
WE'RE OPEN THANKSGIVING DAY FROM 11AM-4PM FOR ALL YOU LAST MINUTE CHEFS!! (regular hours continue on Friday including the tasting)
Pilgrim's Progress
It's that time of year again when you're wondering, "which wine will fill the void in my soul after my mother's dry turkey sucks all the water out of my body," right? (not you, Mom...I swear). Well it's our job to make you want to include CoWineCo when you give thanks to the food and drink on your table. Here we go... Thanksgiving menus vary widely from table to table, from a straight-forward turkey, to the infamous Turducken, to sweet potatoes with brown sugar, to roast duck or a standing rib roast. Regardless of the menu, most people sit down to a huge array of tastes before them, and that requires a wine that works on many levels, or a series of wines to pair with each course. If you want to go ahead with the single bullet to cover the whole offering, we recommend pairing a jack-of-all-trades like a dry bubbly . Dry sparklers offer that crisp acidity with notes of citrus, fruit and an underlying yeastiness which compliments most food. Pinot Noir is really the go-to red for Thanksgiving. You get a medium to light bodied, low tannin red that tends to have hints of cherries, strawberries and earth-tones, complimenting both the crispy skin on a roasted turkey and the sweet, carmelization on the sweet potatoes. For the more adventurous, shoot for a light, fruity 100% Grenache or a Gamay (Beaujolais) to bring out the sweet in cranberry sauce and herbal qualities of Fall side-dishes. Gewurztraminers are a darkhorse in the whole Thanksgiving meal because they can often be too sweet and overpower a regular dish. But when you consider how many varying degrees of sweet are typically on the Thanksgiving table, a little sweetness might be exactly what you need. Try to find a slightly sweet Gewurztraminer with spicy notes to compliment any pumpkin or squash sidedish.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS: Dry Bubbly: Gruet Brut Blanc de Noir, New Mexico $13.99 (rich and toasty) Allimant-Laugner Cremant d'Alsace Rose, France $17.99 (this dry rose would be our top pick if your'e not afraid of pink, 100% Pinot Noir)
Pinot Noir: Campion Central Coast Pinot Noir 2004, California $17.99 (balanced, earthy, cherries) Belle Pente Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir 2004, Oregon $21.99 (dark fruit, herbal, light oak)
Grenache: Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Grenache 2005, California $10.99 (raspberry, white pepper) Las Rocas Vinas Viejas (Old Vines) Grenache 2004, Calatayud, Spain $15.99 (91pts S. Tanzer, blueberry, cracked pepper, long, long, long)
Gewurztraminer: Clayborne and Churchill Gewurztraminer, Central Coast, California $17.99 (the dryer of our two picks, floral, spicy) Meyer Fonne Gewurztraminer 2005, Alsace, France $17.99 (viscous, petrol, nectarines, apricot)
Heaven in a Hand Basket
(pictured wines not included in basket)
Gift baskets are always tough because 90% of them look like country-goose-home-is-where-the-heart-is-cellophane nightmares. So we found some warm, modern-ish baskets and made our own. Here's how it works: we fill two baskets at the $25 and $60 price levels with wine accessories that will satisfy any wine geek and help you choose which bottle(s) suits your situation best. Simple. Or, if the type-A, event-planner deep inside your soul demands a custom basket, you can buy the basket and accessories individually and make your own.
The $25 Basket Includes: Rialto two-step, waiter's corkscrew Bullet-shaped, modern, stainless-steel wine bottle stopper Oh so pretty bow
The $60 Basket Includes: Rialto two-step, waiter's corkscrew Bullet-shaped, modern, stainless-steel wine bottle stopper Stainless-steel champagne stopper Two, Acacia-wood, Ironwood Gourmet wine-glass/cheese trays A pocket-sized spray bottle of Wine Away, red wine stain remover Oh so pretty bow
**please call ahead for multiple basket orders!**
Wine Tasting Schedule
Wine Tasting: Take a Load Off Fanny Friday, November 24th $15/person 5 wines and gourmet cheeses from Auntie Em's Marketplace Reservations recommended! Call ahead anytime and get your name down: info@cowineco.com or (323) 478-1985 On this day in 1976, The Band played their last concert, chronicled by Martin Scorcese in The Last Waltz . So there will surely be some Band tunes mixed into our playlist tonight . We know there will be great temptation to nap away the day after Thanksgiving but wouldn't you have a better nap with a little wine in your tummy? wines Montezargues Tavel Rose 2005, France A to Z Pinot Gris 2005, Oregon Morgan Cotes du Crowes Grenache/Syrah 2004, California Crucillon Grenache 2004, Spain Copertino Red (negro amaro/malvasia) 2004, Italy
Sunday the 26th 1:00-4:00pm $10/person 4 wines and gourmet cheeses provided by Auntie Em's Marketplace No reservations necessary This Sunday we'll be pouring two whites and two reds. Email or call on Sunday for specific wine selections info@cowineco.com or (323) 478-1985. (Wines TBD)
See You Soon and Have a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving, John and Jen
Neil Young: [walking on stage]
Hey, Rob, thanks for letting me do this.
~The Last Waltz,
dir. by Martin Scorcese
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