The Burlington Wine & Food festival is here, celebrate deliciously with the ever-so-scrumptious Melville Pinot Noir.
One sip of this craveable wine telegraphs to all of your senses: “Hey this is not just an exquisite vino, this is made with a whole lotta love and expertise – I need more!”
They’re not making more of this stunning 2013 Pinot Noir… so wash your palate with it whilst you can.
“Off-the-charts good… these are some of the greatest values in the world of wine today” – The Wine Advocate
This is 100% Melville fruit from our Sta. Rita Hills estate, and is a collection of 16 pinot noir clones. 40% of the fruit was fermented as whole-clusters with 60% gently de-stemmed in small (1.5 ton) open-top fermenters. Total skin and stem contact averaged 30 days (7 day cold soak, 2 + weeks of fermentation and 1+ week extended maceration).
From the press, the wine was transferred directly into neutral barrel (10+ year old French oak), where it remained sur lie without sulfur until June, when it was gently racked for the first time and prepared for bottling in August.
Tasting Notes:
Pale ruby in color, spicy aromatics of ginger, black tea and cinnamon stick emerge initially. On the palate, fresh and lifted nuances of candied orange peel, pomegranate and gardenia mingle with hints of toasted marshmallow and dried cherries. The mouthfeel is focused and vibrant, finishing with excellent clarity and precision.
30 Days of Rosé | #20 | Shelburne Vineyard | Whimsey Meadow Dry Rosé | 15% ABV | $14.99
After a couple of super exciting projects (new wine cave feature, new tags, and more) our 30 Days of Rosé feature continues!
Today, we are delighted to be featuring Whimsey Meadow Dry Rosé by our local friends at Shelburne Vineyard.
From the bottle: Each winter we spend many snowy afternoons in the winery reaming of summer and crafting the perfect blend for our Whimsey Meadow Dry Rosé. The result is a harmonious union of several of our Vermont grown grape varieties. This rosé is a bright addition to a day well spent, any time of year.
Tasting Comments: Every year, the bend for our Whimsey Meadow Rosé varies. For the 2016 vintage, we’ve combined along with Marquette, some Petite Pearl and Louise Swenson to create a rosé that is juicy and perfectly satisfying. It has a soft aroma of watermelon and ripe berries while the taste bursts with juicy, fresh red fruits and thirst quenching acidity.
Fruit Source:
71% Marquette (Shelburne Vineyard)
21% Petite Pearl (Shelburne Vineyard)
8% Louise Swenson (Shelburne Vineyard)
Food Parings:
Sweet and smoky barbecue
Grilled salmon
Double and triple creme cheeses
Strawberry salad with balsamic drizzle
Our Company Mission As one of the early pioneers in Vermont wine making, we strive to make the highest quality wines from locally grown northern varietal grapes. We continuously aim to deliver not only the best products but the most accommodating service so that all of our customers can enjoy their experience at Shelburne Vineyard to the fullest.
Our Sustainable Mission We have commitment to sustainable practices in all aspects of our business. In our vineyards we follow the Cornell University “Vine Balance” protocol. Our Winery and Tasting Room building is designed to LEED standards, and all products we use are specifically chosen with environmental sustainability in mind.
Our Community Mission We are dedicated to making a positive impact on our community. By involving ourselves in a number of local networks and hosting monthly fundraising events to benefit non-profit organizations, we aim to support our surrounding citizens and local businesses.
Jazz Odyssey | Teutonic Wine Company | Willamette Valley White Blend | $13.99
The Official Wine of the Winooski Jazz Festival –
The Winooski Jazz Festival is here which brings along aural delights… be sure to take care of your other senses with the official festival wine… Jazz Odyssey from Teutonic Wine Company!
Jazz Odyssey is a field blend of Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Chardonnay and from the Wasson Vineyard in the Willamette Valley. This zippy refreshing wine is semi-sweet, hits of carmelized green apple, peach nectar and honey comb with refreshing acid.
Experience the Jazz Odyssey and see where it takes you.
12% Alcohol by volume
About Teutonic Wine Company:
It all started in 2002 when Barnaby was the wine buyer at Papa Haydn Restaurant in Portland’s southeast location. German wine importer Ewald Moseler, showed him 14 different Rieslings from Germany’s famed Mosel wine region. Barnaby bought all 14 and started one of the largest German wine lists in Portland. That same night he told his wife, Olga that he needed to learn how to make wines that are as expressive to terroir (expression of the place the grapes are grown) as these Rieslings.
Without a clue as to how to start or find investors for financial backing, we (Barnaby and Olga) started on a long journey into one of Oregon’s most difficult industries- the wine business. As our luck would have it, a friend of ours offered her fallow farm land in Alsea, Ore., to start a vineyard. So in 2005, along with a handful of good friends, we put 2000 vines into the ground, mostly Pinot Noir and some Pinot Meunier and Pinot Blanc. As we were learning how to manage the vineyard, Barnaby left his restaurant career and started as a rookie at a shared winery facility in Carlton.
Barnaby and Olga working the 2013 harvest.
We produced our first commercial vintage in 2008 which included our Estate Pinot Noir from the Alsea vineyard and Pinot Meunier made with fruit from a U-pick vineyard called Borgo Pass. From there, we increased our production by purchasing fruit from other vineyards around the Willamette Valley. We always look for colder sites, higher elevation and dry-farmed vines that are ideally 30 years or older. Today, Teutonic Wine Company produces roughly 6,000 cases of wine per year, all varieties that are typical to the Germany’s Mosel region. These include Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chasselas, Gewürztramer, Silvaner, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, Rosé and a variety of white blends. All the wines we make, with the exception of one blend, are single vineyard wines.
Because we love the wines from the Mosel Valley so much, we began traveling there every summer and met some local producers who make superb Rieslings. Barnaby, being tenacious as he is, asked many questions and was able to learn and emulate many of their techniques for making Riesling. Even though Oregon’s soil type(s) is nothing close to ones in the Mosel Valley, our wines are similar in style. When we pour our wines for our German winemaker friends, they nod their heads and smile. That right there tells us we’re doing something right!
We have a small but dedicated team at Teutonic. Alex Neely (green shirt) is our Assistant Winemaker who not only helps in the cellar, but also works the vineyards and the tasting room several days a week. Gus Wahlstrom (far right) has been with us for more than four years. He started out doing the over-night shift during harvest, pressing off one load of fruit after the other. Now he also works in the tasting room, winery and in the vineyards on a regular basis.
Bellalua is the pinnacle of all the Languedoc has to share: Passion, Know-how, and Joy for Life. This blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache boasts a magnificent pale color and aromas of violets, citrus, and peach tree flowers. The aromatic essence of Syrah ideally mingles with the sweet fruity Grenache, which combine to create a subtle wine that will transport you to the South of France. Enjoy it by itself or with all light fare dishes.
Every estates’ wines change from one year to another depending on the characteristics of the harvest, quality of wine making, even if is from the same producer and from the same terroir, each year’s batch is unique. Soil, weather, geology, varietals, and the style of wine making used, are all decisive yet variable factors that give each wine a unique character. I travel several times a year and visit every estate and try every wine I purchase. When you choose #besteurowines you choose the best taste and value for traditional small estate French and Spanish wines.
– JP Bourgeois
30 Days of Rosé | #18 | MIP | Made in Provence | Cinsault-Syrah-Grenache Rosé Wine | Côtes de Provence | $16.99
We adore Rosé. We buy multiple kiddie pools worth of Rosé. We don’t buy stacks of every Rosé much less give it the special treatment of a fabulous home garden picture (Kate!! <3 ) so when we stack a Rosé, it’s because it we want to make sure it lasts for more than a hot minute over here. MIP – Made in Provence Rosé whispered to us through our nose, and yelled in our mouth “buy a lot!” so we stacked it. Enjoy!
The estate with its eight hectares of vineyards at the foot of the Mont Saint Victoire in Puyloubier, near Aix-en-Provence, was created by Michel Fabre in 1979. The children’s arrival in the business (Virginia in 2005, followed by Aurélien in 2009), brought fresh impetus to the running of the family estate. Since then, the estate’s work methods and winemaking practices have been completely overhauled. This process of change has in particular led to major investment in cellar technology (press with protection against oxidation, cross-flow filtration system, bottling line with protection against oxidation), as well as in vineyard machinery (latest generation wine harvester, hydraulic cultivator), but above all to changes in the estate’s sales and marketing strategy. The young Fabre generation has succeeded in implementing a modern, technology-focused and unique approach to winemaking while conserving the authenticity of this large and still family-run estate. The vineyards are being expanded with the planting of new grape varieties to enable diversification of the product portfolio.
A refreshing, easy-to-drink wine and guaranteed crowd pleaser.
Vinification method: Immediate pressing under oxygen-excluding conditions. Fermentation at low temperatures.
Ageing: Four months on fine lees.
Tasting: Very light rose petal coloured robe. Pleasant and powerful bouquet with notes of white flowers and small yellow fruit. This is a wine with a delicate mouth feel which is ideal as a pre-dinner drink on a summer evening or as an accompaniment to light meals.
Food pairings: Ideal with light meals, salads, BBQs and with Provençal-style cuisine in general. Perfect for a before-dinner drink with friends. Try with grilled Mediterranean seafood.
About Domaine Sainte Lucie:
Early September is when the harvest is due to commence. The winemaking cellar is fully disinfected, the vats are descaled and the equipment is set up to receive the grapes. At Domaine Sainte Lucie, harvesting starts around 5th September. During a three-week period, the cellar operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to ensure that the expression of our terroir and our work throughout the year are transferred to the wines.
For the majority of our wines harvesting is done mechanically and at night so that the harvested grapes are cool (reducing the energy required for cooling). The cooler the harvested grapes are, the less transfer of colour there is from the grapes to the juice. The current trend in Provençal rosé leans towards wines with a pale coloured, glistening robe. Our up-to-the minute harvester has in-vehicle technology enabling the grapes to be harvested whole, without damaging the vineyard.
The grapes are then quickly transferred to the winemaking cellar in stainless steel hydraulic-flow bins. A natural approach to protecting the grapes is implemented right from their arrival at the cellar. Our processes are driven by our sustainable winemaking principles, which aim for the lowest addition of sulphites possible.
Growing characteristics: Use of sustainable agricultural practices
Winemaking characteristics: Vinification under oxygen-excluding conditions with no sulphites added at harvesting and low-temperature fermentation to avoid denaturing the flavour of the grapes and the character of the wines.
The winemaking process – technique & tradition
Several winemaking techniques are implemented at the winery. For the rosé wines, which account for the major part of our production, either immediate pressing or skin-contact maceration is used. However, there is also a third winemaking technique, which is specific to our estate. This secret technique is of course what gives our wines their specific profile.
Pressing or maceration – Rosé wines
Our rosé wines are produced using one of two techniques: immediate pressing or maceration. Immediate pressing is employed. As soon as the grapes arrive at the winemaking cellar, they are protected with dry ice and cooled. The harvested grapes are entirely destalked and lightly crushed.
The juices extracted at pressing are again cooled to facilitate settling. This settling stage, known as débourbage, consists of allowing the rosé grape must, which is full of plant debris and pulp, to clarify naturally by settling. Débourbage takes from 12 to 24 hours depending on the maturity of the grapes.
Once the very clear juice has been separated from the rest, the sediment is filtered out, enabling a highly aromatic juice (known as the suc de la vigne) to be obtained.
It is only once this clarification stage is complete that the fermentation of the grape must can commence. Alcoholic fermentation at low temperatures, lasting 15 to 20 days at a constant 16°C, helps to preserve the future wine’s aromatic potential. During fermentation, vats are checked three times a day and the contents tasted regularly.
30 Days of Rosé | #17 | Mont Gravet | 100% Cinsault Rosé | Languedoc
We’ve been on a kick with featuring some of our luscious, moderately priced Rosé lately. Today, we are featuring Mont Gravet Cinsault Rosé for under $10… an incredible everyday Rosé for the price!
Mont Gravet Rosé
Pays d’Oc | Languedoc, France
Grape Variety: 100% Cinsault
12% ABV
$8.99
About the Producer
Close to the producers, and in order to source from the best vineyards, our winemaker has found some amazing “terroirs” in the South of France. The Languedoc climatic conditions allow a perfect maturation for the grapes which are moderated by the humid influence of the Mediterranean.
Mont Gravet Rosé comes from specially selected Cinsault vineyards in the Languedoc region, located near the warm Mediterranean shoreline in Southern France. The Cinsault variety is also one of the main varietals used in the production of Provence rosé and some of the best reds of the Southern Rhone Valley.
Winemaking
Harvested at night the grapes when it is coolest, the grapes undergo a modern winemaking process of 100% direct pressing with temperature carefully controlled and monitored through-out the entire production process. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks.
Tasting Notes
Mont Gravet Rosé is a wonderfully fresh and fruit forward dry Rosé wine. The wine has lovely aromas of raspberry and blackberry and is full body and long on the palate.
Food Match
This Rosé is a wonderful “anytime” wine and a delicious aperitif. It pairs well with a wide variety of foods, as it’s refreshing, savory and well-balanced. It will accompany beautifully any salads, fish, BBQ and white meat dishes.
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