11/13/2012 Newsletter

Greetings from the Wine Cellar:
Plenty happening here in Old Town this week:  Friday, November 17^th,
Historic Downtown Yuma will be the scene of yet another North End Art Walk.  It’s a recurring downtown event featuring Yuma-area artists, downtown merchants & property owners and the City of Yuma’s Arts & Culture Commission, with up to 50 local artists teaming with downtown businesses to create showplaces for their artistic creations.  In addition to multiple varieties of art, including paintings, jewelry, ceramics, photography and glass, the Art Walk will feature performances of live music along with hors d’oeuvres and beverages.  Things get going at 5:00 PM and continue until 9:00 PM; participating locations include many of the businesses on
Main Street as well as the Yuma Art Center, Historic Yuma Theatre and the North End Artists Co-op next to the Theatre.  And of course the Old Town Wine Cellar – enjoy some great art along with the usual great wine!
And then on Saturday, November 18^th, it’s the first-ever Yuma Medjool Date Festival here in Old Town on the Main Street Plaza from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.  It’s a celebration of “food, fun, family and all things dates!”
presented by Yuma Heritage Festivals and Bard Valley Medjool Date  growers.  The festival includes displays and demonstrations of specialized farm machinery for cultivating and harvesting dates plus exhibits of historic pictures, artifacts, equipment and more at the Yuma Art Center, along with presentations by two of the regions’s largest growers, Gus Nuñez and Steve Shadle.  And there will be ongoing entertainment and fun festival food all day.  Sounds like a worthy addition to our downtown festival line-up – come down Saturday and check it out!
THURSDAY & FRIDAY WINE TASTING – $10.00 to try them all, or
$10.00 for a full glass:

Jermann 2009 Pinot Grigio (Venezia-Giulia, Italy)    $22.99
Silvio Jermann is known for making some of Italy’s finest white wines in this cool mountainous region of northern Italy.  This Pinot Grigio shows great purity and depth of flavor coupled with a finely etched mineral character, all in perfect balance.  It’s fresh and lightly spicy on the nose, leading to a clean and yet surprisingly rich palate.
Bodega Chacra 2009 Pinot Noir (Patagonia, Argentina)   $29.99
Only 800 cases were produced from a handful of vineyard sites in Patagonia’s Rio Negro Valley, some planted as long ago as the 1930s.  This cherry-and-lavender-scented Pinot definitely leans toward the Burgundian style, with plenty of kirsch and spice flavors and a dry,yet elegant finish.
Andrieux & Fils 2009 Côtes du Rhône Villages Cuvée Jules (Rhone
Valley, France)    $15.99
From the Rhone’s celebrated 2009 vintage, this is a blend of Grenache, which
gives the wine bright fruit, Syrah, which adds complex flavor elements, and
Mourvedre to provide body and depth.  The result is a mouthful of ripe black cherry and raspberry fruit with delicious licorice accents.  It’s full-bodied,
spicy and rich, with a long and complex finish.
Bodegas M 2008 Tinto de Paso Tempranillo (Paso Robles)   $22.99
This Paso Robles Tempranillo offers scents of red cherries and blueberries.  A pleasant, smooth character on the palate is indicative of the wine’s balanced tannic frame.  Fresh black plum, cherry and dark fruit flavors are accented with notes of anise and vanilla.
Finca El Origen 2010 Malbec Reserva (Uco Valley, Argentina)
$14.99
This is a bold and full-throttle, yet at the same time surprisingly mellow Malbec.  The nose is full of cherries, blackberries and currants.  On the palate, this Reserve level wine is big and rich, with deep dark fruit flavors.  Forceful tannins carry the wine, and frame a strong finish that shows plenty of grip at the end.
Hess Collection 2008 Mt. Veeder 19 Block Cuvée (Napa Valley)
$29.99
This is named for the 19 vineyard blocks on the Hess Winery Veeder Summit Vineyard that provided the fruit, at altitudes of up to 2,000 feet.  It’s a ripe and concentrated red, with a cool-climate backbone and ample tannins.  Dark cherry, wild berry and cassis fruit flavors carry to a lasting finish.  A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Merlot & Petite Verdot.
NEW ARRIVALS:
Tenuta La Marchesa 2011 Gavi (Piedmont, Italy)    $16.99
This is classic Gavi, beautifully framed with refreshing acidity around pure fruit flavors.  Fresh-cut apples dominate both the bouquet and palate, along with hints of wildflowers.  Ideal as an aperitif white and great with seafood dishes, lighter pastas and salads.
Esser Vineyards 2009 Merlot (Monterey County)    $12.99
This Monterey Merlot offers bright and fresh aromas of ripe cherry, dried herbs and spicy oak.  It’s full and polished on the palate, with savory flavors of cherries, spice, vanilla and  plums, with smooth, well integrated tannins.
Henriot Champagne Brut Souverain (Reims, France)    $59.99
Begun in 1808, Henriot is among the oldest houses in Champagne and is still
managed by the Henriot family.  Their Brut Souverain shows a fine, toasty,
aged quality. It’s a rich yet vibrantly fruity sparkler, with a delicious mix of baked apple and fresh citrus flavors.
Conterno Fantino 2009 Barbera d’Alba Vignota (Piedmont, Italy)    $29.99
An elegant style of Barbera, with aromas of dried flowers, fennel, strawberries
and blueberries.  The palate is softly textured, with bright red raspberry and black cherry fruit and a dark chocolate accent. Vibrant and pure, this glides to a lingering finish.
Napa Smith Brewery Hopageddon (Napa Valley)    $7.99
Hopageddon is a barrel-aged Imperial IPA with an intensely full, aromatic hop profile.  At 144 IBUs, it glows with a gorgeous, fiery orange color, and shows a distinct, creamy white head. Unique flavors from extended dry-hopping and a shockwave of bitterness lingers on the palate, leaving hopheads with a ‘post-ahopalyptic’ yearning for more…
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