Wine For Novices

Fine & Rare Wine Tasting-May 9-Franklin, TN...

A Fine & Rare Wine Tasting
Friday, May 9
7pm

We will be tasting:

1992 Opus One
1980 Whitehall Lane Cabernet (Alexander Valley)
1990 Whitehall Lane Reserve Cabernet Napa
1990 Silver Oak Alexander Valley
1986 Cain "Five" Napa Red Table Wine
1988 Anselmi Amarone Re Cioto Della Valpolicella
1989 Joseph Phelps Insignia Napa Red Wine
1987 McDowell Syrah Mendocino
1991 Girard Napa Cabernet
1987 Carmenet Sonoma Red Wine

Also featuring gourmet tapas appetizers and a complimentary wine glass.

All proceeds benefit Creative Community, Inc. A 501c3 non-profit Artist Development Center.

$100. per person (RSVP & payment in advance)
Only  25 5 spaces left.

The evening will also feature original watercolors and a wine auction sponsored by Frugal McDoogal
For more Info E-mail me HERE.

For more great posts today on culture and the arts check out Watercooler Wednesday.

My Thanksgiving Wine Choice

The concentrated dark fruit flavors include deep berry, cocoa, and black currant.  Other aromas and flavors include black licorice, smoky spice, bay, dusty earth and mineral.  Full bodied, with very fine tannin structure, good grip and a long finish. French oak is spicy and well integrated. The wine is full bodied, with very fine tannin structure and a long finish.

$34.99

For more about this wine, go HERE.

My Favorite Red Under $20.00

Hook & Ladder "The Tillerman" Cabernet Blend Russian River Valley

HOOK & LADDER'S BESTSELLER! The Tillerman is a unique blend of Cabernet, Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese from a single vineyard -- The Los Amigos Ranch, where the family lives in Healdsburg. It is the wine families favorite and has layers and layers of lush red fruit combined with complex olive and cedar notes.

$16.00

What is YOUR favorite Red Wine under $20?

Tell Us HERE

My Favorite California Cabernet...

2003 Hendry Block 8 Cabernet Sauvignon

Hendry Block 8 is located on bench lands west of the town of Napa. The vines grow on thin stony soil between 200 and 300 feet above sea level.  Morning fog and strong afternoon breezes from San Pablo Bay moderate the climate.   The vines were planted in 1974.

The wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was aged for 22 months in 90% new French oak barrels.

This Cabernet Sauvignon, similar in profile to the 2002, has layered aromas of black licorice, cigar box, violets, caramel and dark cassis. Flavors echo the aromas, adding sweet dark berry and cedary fruit, mineral, mint and red dust.  Tannins are present, firm but fine-grained.  The alcohol is 14.5%.

960 cases produced.

A Seductive Red Wine From Italy

A Dark, Jammy, Caramel, Organic, Full-Bodied Wine from the Veneto region of Italy.

It was one of two favorite discoveries during our trip to Italy last month. It is hard to find in the USA, but HERE is a place you can get it.

Wine Down Main Street...

...in Franklin last night featured wines that were mediocre and forgettable at best. But WFN did manage to find six wines that were standouts from the 185 featured. There was also two premium tasting rooms that offered slightly better known names for an additional price of $20. each. Those rooms should be included in an already pricey $75.00 ticket. The "premium" wines were not enticing enough to upgrade.

The food-not the wine-was the star on a perfect evening in Franklin. Tremendous food from Zollo's, Red Pony, Sol on Main (newly opened last night), Bonefish, Nick & Jim's Bar-B-Que, Sperry's and many others.

Chris and I had a wonderful chat with Kix Brooks of country duo Brooks and Dunn about his new Arrington Vineyards (which he obviously loves) and his Red Fox Red was a tremendous wine that really excites me about the possibility of great vineyards in Tennessee.

Ethos Top 5 Wines from Wine Down Main Street

1. Grateful Palate First Class Shiraz
2. Turkey Flat "The Turk" Shiraz
3. Arrington Vineyards Red Fox Red
4. Wente Riva Ranch Reserve Chardonnay
(tie) 5. MillsReef Sauvignon Blanc
       5. Grateful Palate Boarding Pass Shiraz

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

 

...in Franklin last night featured wines that were mediocre and forgettable at best. But WFN did manage to find six wines that were standouts from the 185 featured. There was also two premium tasting rooms that offered slightly better known names for an additional price of $20. each. Those rooms should be included in an already pricey $75.00 ticket. The "premium" wines were not enticing enough to upgrade.

The food-not the wine-was the star on a perfect evening in Franklin. Tremendous food from Zollo's, Red Pony, Sol on Main (newly opened last night), Bonefish, Nick & Jim's Bar-B-Que, Sperry's and many others.

Chris and I had a wonderful chat with Kix Brooks of country duo Brooks and Dunn about his new Arrington Vineyards (which he obviously loves) and his Red Fox Red was a tremendous wine that really excites me about the possibility of great vineyards in Tennessee.

Ethos Top 5 Wines from Wine Down Main Street

1. Grateful Palate First Class Shiraz
2. Turkey Flat "The Turk" Shiraz
3. Arrington Vineyards Red Fox Red
4. Wente Riva Ranch Reserve Chardonnay
(tie) 5. MillsReef Sauvignon Blanc
       5. Grateful Palate Boarding Pass Shiraz

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.