03/01/2016 Newsletter

Greetings from the Wine Cellar:

 

This weekend in our beautiful Yuma winter season brings Midnite at the Oasis, a fantastic event in its own right, but there are plenty of reasons to head down to Historic Downtown as well.   A playbill for a Friday night show at the Historic Yuma Theatre caught my eye recently:

“The Lion is no longer sleeping – he’s rocking through the jungle with The Tokens, the group that gave us “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and other  hits over the past 40 years like “One Fine Day”, “He’s So Fine”, “See You In September”, “I Got Rhythm”, ”Tie A Yellow Ribbon”, “Knock Three Times”, “Denise” and many more!  It’s an evening packed with hit after hit, along with their comedic routines and lots of audience participation.  In 1961 The Tokens, four boys from Brooklyn, recorded “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” on the RCA label. The song (originally a Zulu folk song called “Mbube” that was anglicized to “Wanoweh”) soared up the charts to become the nation’s Number One hit song.  A survey conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Record Industry Association of America put “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” at Number  159 in the top 365 records of all time!”

 It sounds like a fantastic nostalgia trip to me, and a great way to spend your Friday evening, after of course sampling the wines on offer at the Old Town Wine Cellar.  The Tokens concert begins at 7:00pm in the Historic Yuma Theatre, located next to the Yuma Art Center at 254 S. Main Street (373-5202).  Doors open at 6:30PM, reserve seat tickets are $25.00.  Hope you can make it here and there!

THIS WEEK’S WINE TASTING):

 

Vera 2014 Vinho Verde (Portugal)    $11.99
Vera is as fresh and light as the maritime climate of northern Portugal.  Drink it as the Portuguese do, chilled as an end-of-the-work day relaxing apéritif, or as a delicious partner with snacks and lighter fare like sushi, seafood, pastas and salads.

 

Jekel Vineyards 2011 Pinot Noir (Santa Barbara County)    $17.99
For over 40 years, Jekel Vineyards has crafted vibrant wines that truly reflect the character and diversity of Santa Barbara County.  This Pinot offers cherry, smoke and floral elements on the nose.  It’s soft and balanced in the mouth, with lingering dark cherry fruit.

 

Monte Volpe 2012 Primo Rosso (Mendocino County)    $11.99
Monte Volpe’s wines are crafted exclusively with grapes of Italian origin that are deep in color and rich in both fragrance and flavor. This Italianate red blend is fruity and savory, with aromas and flavors of spicy plum and boysenberry.

 

Goldschmidt Winery 2013 Fidelity Red (Alexander Valley)    $15.99
All the grapes for this wine were obtained from Nick Goldschmidt’s Crazy Creek Vineyard in Alexander Valley. A Meritage-style blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, it’s rich and supple, with notes of cherry, cedar and dark chocolate.

 

Descendientes de J. Palacios 2013 Pétalos Mencia (Bierzo, Spain)    $24.99
The region of Bierzo in northwest Spain is a gaining lot of notice lately. Mencia, the predominant grape grown there, benefits  from the cooler climate, hillside vineyards, mineral-laden soil and very old vines.  All these conditions help to make wines with fine concentration, complexity and purity.

 

Cosa Obra 2012 Proprietor’s Red (Sonoma County)    $29.99
The 2012 Cosa Obra Red is a Northern Rhone-style blend of 80% Syrah and 20% Grenache.  It has a heady nose of blackberry and black pepper, with hints of earth.  Impressively rich, this is balanced and well structured, with intense dark fruit flavors that carry it to a spicy finish.

 

NEW WINE & BEER ARRIVALS:

 

Ernesto Catena 2013 Tahuan Malbec (Mendoza, Argentina)    $19.99
Ernesto Catena’s Tahuan Malbec offers bright, pure aromas of dark cherry, blackberry, black olive, violets and licorice.  The palate is velvety and plush, with layers of cherry, fig and raspberry fruit flavors followed by notes of cocoa, cedar and licorice that linger on the muscular finish.

 

Chateau de Fontenille 2014 Entre-Deux-Mers (Bordeaux, France)    $14.99
A traditional “White Bordeaux” blend of 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Sauvignon Gris, 20% Semillon and 20% Muscadelle, this wine has fresh and snappy aromas of peaches, limes and lemons. It offers a refreshingly crisp and zesty character with a bracingly clean finish.

 

Chateau de Fontenille 2011 Grand Bordeaux (Bordeaux, France)    $14.99
This Bordeaux red is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The bouquet has notes of blackberry and black currant plus savory accents of toasted oak. The palate is balanced and refined, with solid tannins and pleasant hints of espresso and spice.

 

Firestone Walker Brewing Wookey Jack Black IPA (Paso Robles)    $6.99
A riff on the Black IPA style, Wookey Jack is gnarly on the outside, yet refined on the inside.  Malted rye and a dash of Cara rye impart spiciness, while double dry-hopping with Citra and Amarillo hops brings a citrusy dimension to the aroma profile.  The beer is unfiltered to retain its natural “woolly” character.

 

Cheers!

 

Mike Shelhamer
Old Town Wine Cellar
265 S. Main Street, Suite E
Yuma, Arizona  85364
928-373-0405

 

http://www.facebook.com/oldtownwinecellar

 

http://www.yumawine.com