Wines for the Holidays
November 15, 2008Saturday 4:00pm until 7:00pm (or until it's gone)
$5 per person
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2006 Foris Gewurztraminer $15.95
Oregon, Rogue Valley100% Gew?rztraminer, 100% Estate grown, Gerber Vineyard. Fermentation in stainless steel at cool temperatures captured the essence of Gew?rztraminer. Five months sur lie aging (on the yeast lees) added even more body to this unctuous wine.
Winemaker's notes: It's exciting to harvest ideally ripened Gew?rztraminer. The beautifully pink fruit, small, tight clusters, and very spicy flavors let you know that you have great fruit to work with. Citrus blossom, gardenia and rose blossoms intermingle to create a heady floral perfume. Very rich and viscous, yet restrained by moderate acidity, the flavors are reminiscent of white peach, Meyer lemon, pink grapefruit and a trace of ginger and vanilla spice.
Gew?rztraminer, a mutation of Traminer, is often directly translated from the German word Gew?rz meaning "spiced" but it is more accurately translated as "perfumed". French synonyms for Gew?rztraminer are Traminer Parfum? and Traminer Aromatique.
2006 CMS White by Hedges 17.95
Washington State, Columbia Valley33% Chardonnay, 3% Marsanne, 64% Sauvignon Blanc. 100% stainless steel fermentation to dryness at cool temperatures in order to retain maximum fruit aromas and flavors. Fruit was sourced from five different Columbia Valley vineyards.
CMS White is a fresh and vibrant wine that effortlessly balances body and depth from the Chardonnay, spicy aromatics from the Marsanne, and structured mineral flavors from the Sauvignon Blanc. CMS White is perfect as a summer aperitif or as an accompaniment to a variety of seafood and shellfish.
Tasting Notes: Ripe pear and pineapple aromas dominate the bouquet with notes of banana, candied apple, grapefruit, grass, anise, caramel, and gooseberry. That same ripe pear and pineapple are the more prominent flavors, as well as some herb, fig, and sweet fruit notes. The mouth feel is nicely viscous combined with crisp acidity.
2006 Firesteed Oregon Pinot Noir $17.95
Oregon2006 Firesteed Oregon Pinot Noir continues the tradition of consistent style, achieved with gentle techniques in the cellar and imagination in the vineyard. The grapes were fermented in stainless steel tanks with selected yeasts propagated from cellars in Burgundy, pressed during the last days of fermentation, and racked as soon as the wine finished malolactic fermentation. Just a touch of barrel-aged wine was included in the blend to round out the flavors and enhance complexity. Grapes for this wine, as in previous years, were sourced from throughout the Willamette, Umpqua, Rogue and Walla Walla Valleys, creating a truly 'Oregon' blend.
The wine is richly aromatic, like a warm berry cobbler topped with cold vanilla ice cream. Lively in the mouth, each sip is brimming with black cherry and raspberry flavors that continue through to the richly rewarding finish.
2006 CMS Red by Hedges $17.95
Washington State, Columbia Valley52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 4% Syrah. About 60% French oak, 40% American oak with lots stored for up to ten months in barrel.
CMS Red is structured yet approachable with soft fruit flavors framed by subtle hints of oak. This Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah blend is a fantastic compliment to almost any food and is the perfect introduction to the enjoyment of red wine.
Tasting Notes: Excellent garnet-purple in color; this wine has a nice, sweet vanilla toast with creamy raspberry, black cherry, blackberry, and dried blueberry fruit, along with just a hint of herbs, clove spice, and earthiness. Black cherry and blackberry fruit continue on palate with the sweet vanilla toast rounding out mid-palate. The finish is long with just enough acid and tannin to let one know this is a bit more serious and longer-lived wine.
