CheapSkate 2004 Miser Meritage, California
Even a miser would want to spring for a case of this blend. Big blueberry, vanilla cream aromas escape from the glass. In the mouth flavors of vanilla, leather, spice, chocolate, and cookie dough evolve. This wine is dangerously smooth. An incredible value.
-BF $11
Joy Wine & Spirits, Reserve List, and City Wine carry this wine.
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Zolo 2004 Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina
This is a dense wine. Deep violet in color, it offers flavors of black raspberries and sugar cookie dough on the palate. Blueberry prevails on the finish. A full bodied wine with tannins and acidity balanced against the brooding fruit.
-BF $14
Libations Wine & Spirits carries this wine.
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Alto Cedro 2004 Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina
Alto Cedro means 'tall cedar.' Old vine malbec is layered and interesting. Hints of strawberries develop on the front of the palate. This wine has a bright presence in the mouth. The mid-palate carries spice, kiffer lime, and black fruit flavors. A steal for the price.
-BF $15
Reserve List carries this wine.
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Meritage: Mehr-ih-tihj, pronounced like heritage
It wasn't that long ago that many bottles of domestic wine were named Burgundy, Rhine, Chianti, or Chablis. In the late 1970s, instead of propagating the misnomer, some US producers started labeling their wines with the name of the grape used to make the wine. This was a good choice considering no one knew where Sonoma was back then and using the name "Hearty Burgundy" for a wine made from zinfandel made no sense. Since that time, consumers have become very comfortable shopping for Californian wines by grape name. In recent years, wine without the grape name on the label usually did poorly in the US market.
     Ironically, during many years, the quality of the wine as a blend exceeds the quality of each grape's solitary flavor. In 1988 the Meritage Association was formed by a group of Californian wine growers, looking for a way to elevate the stature of blended wines. In order to be called a Meritage, a wine must use only permitted grape varieties. The grapes in a red Meritage are the standard five Bordeaux varietals; cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot, malbec, and cabernet franc, plus a few historic Bordeaux grapes such as Saint Macaire, gross verdot, and carmenere. The blend must be two or more permitted grape varieties, with no variety making up more than 90% of the blend.
     Since Meritage is a registered trademark, some producers use the British term Claret to specify their Bordeaux blends, while others coin proprietary names for their blends. Regardless of what's on the label, these blends are known for making wines with longevity and as with European wines, the winemaker has the ability to create better balance and hopefully a touch of synergy.

Bethel Heights 2005 Pinot Gris, Oregon
Bottles of pinot gris produced in Oregon are not permitted to be labeled pinot grigio. These two different wine styles use the same grape. Oregon controls the quality of its pinot gris down to the name. There is no confusion when you taste the Bethel Heights 2005 Pinot Gris. It is the opposite of the mass produced Italian white. A perfume-like nose leads to concentrated flavors of melon and honey. Layered on the palate are notes of apricots, anise, tomatillos, and sassafras. The acidity dances with the cornucopia of flavors offering a twinkle of lime on the finish. It is topped off by a Stelvin closure to insure freshness.
-BF $15
Reserve List carries this wine. Are you a retailer who carries this wine? Email us and we'll add you to the 'where to find it' listing.
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Pinot Gris
This grape gets its name from its gray skin and because it is one of those mutant spawns of the fussy pinot noir grape that actually makes good quality wine. Italians call it pinot grigio (pee-no gree-jee-o) and make a light-hearted, quaffable wine from it in mammoth proportions. Pinot grigio is the single largest category of wine exported from Italy, numbering into the millions of bottles.
     The French call it pinot gris (pee-no gree) and regard it as a serious variety with a touch of stature. It is the Alsatian area of France, along the border of Germany that cultivates this grape and vinifies it to regal heights. Alsatian wines are almost always bottled in a flute, which is a tall, thin, green bottle. Unlike other French wines, the label lists the name of the grape, plain and simple on the front.
     Each county has its own style and the rest of the world pays homage to these styles when making wine from this grape. When you see an American producer use the name pinot grigio you can count on the wine being in the Italian style, bright, crisp, citrus-like, and simple. See the name pinot gris on the bottle and regard it as a more complex offering, layered with the same flavors the Italian versions offer, but with more intensity and a capability to age over a several years.
     Both styles offer notes of lemon, lime, melon, pear, apple, fresh cut herbs, and white flowers. An Alsatian-like pinot gris from Washington or Oregon, for example, will be exotic and luscious, while a Californian pinot grigio will be refreshing and less serious.
     Use these styles as a gauge when shopping for pinot gris. Remember, even though the bottle from Alsace looks like a German wine, like the Italian version, it is fermented totally dry.
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Cork House
Situated in East Colfax, the Cork House was once the site for 32 years of one of the best restaurants in Denver, Tante Louise. Now, the Cork House continues the tradition of good food and wine. In a casual and relaxed environment, the Cork House offers a wide variety of cheese flights, small plates and appetizers in an infusion of American cuisine with some Mediterranean flair. Our patio offers al fresco dining. Our lounge and dining room offers casual and relaxed dining, and our fireplace offers a romantic and intimate setting.

Happy Hour 3p-6:30p Monday-Thursday, 10p-midnight Friday and Saturday. Cocktails and bottled beer $2, martinis $3, all wines by the glass half price. 303-355-4488

Join the cru at the Cork House Wednesday, September 25th, from 6pm-8pm, while they host a wine tasting with Peter Lehmann Winery from Barossa, Australia. We will be tasting an extraordinary lineup from the Lehmann winery. Cost is $25, appetizers and cheese will be served. Email kris@corkhousedenver.com with questions and requests.

The Cork House: 4900 East Colfax Avenue, Denver 80220
Located 9 blocks east of Colorado Boulevard on the intersection of Colfax and Eudora.
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Stay tuned for dozens of beer reviews
After the 2006 Great American Beer Festival

Great American Beer Festival--Here comes the Judge
Even though California is a wine making behemoth, producing 2.2 billion bottles of wine annually, there is a respectable faction producing top quality micro-brews. In the land of outstanding dining, beer brewers happen to be just as talented as the chefs and winemakers.
     Last fall I found an extraordinary collection of brews from the Golden State at the Great American Beer Festival. My trek from booth to booth came to a high point, when I found the Santa Rosa based Third Street Ale Works booth and met Denise Jones.
     I was impressed at what California had brought to the show. She agreed "California has a lot of great micro breweries; I'm very proud of our beer state. My hope is that micros can be elevated to the sophistication of wine."
     Denise was a rarity at this event. She was one of about four women brewers in attendance, among hundreds of men. "I was the first woman to graduate from the American Brewers Guild, but since then there have been many more women. The American Brewers Guild has been around since 1994-1995 and is a spin off from a UC Davis program." She shrugged off my attempt to call her a pioneer, "I don't think of myself as any different. I'm a brewer." Read more
To buy tickets go to http://www.ticketmaster.com/promo/5b1mkx.
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