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Join the Denver Wine Group to savor wine and conversations,
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Beginners and experts welcome!
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Terroir and elegance often walk hand in hand,
with thought-provoking subtleties.
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Read about it today, experience it tonight.
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Tempest 2006 Chardonnay, South Australia
This memorable label contains a memorable wine.
Layered and interesting,
rich flavors of pear, apple pie, and melon paint a lush canvas.
A hint of butterscotch and fig develop on the mid-palate,
while the finish sings with tangerine.
The older oak barrels offer a creamy note on the back of the tongue,
yet allow the beauty of the chardonnay to shine.
The Stelvin closure is a plus.
92 points -- tasted 1/15/2008 -BF $10
Downing Street Wines & Liquors,
Wilburs Total Beverage in Fort Collins,
Colorado's Liquor Outlet in Colorado Springs, Keg, Bubbles,
Bergen Park Wine Cellar,
Wildcat Canyon Liquors, Little Daisy Liquor,
Clear Creek Liquors, Southwest Liquors, Saddlerock Liquors,
and Highlands WineSeller carry this wine.
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Tempest 2006 Shiraz, Limestone Coast, Australia
Blockbuster from beginning to finish!
Smooth and dense with dark chocolate nuances,
yet spicy, offering clove, vanilla, notes of balsamic, and black licorice.
Raspberry liqueur with hints of blueberry and wild cherry.
Concentrated flavors on the mid-palate linger on the memorable finish.
Its polished tannins softly frame the fruit, spice, and complexity.
This Shiraz is of exceptional quality for the money.
93 points -- tasted 1/15/2008 -BF $10
Marczyk Fine Wines, Heritage Wine & Spirits, Highlands WineSeller,
Reserve List Eagle Bend, Wilburs Total Beverage in Fort Collins,
Downing Street Wines & Liquors, Keg, Bubbles,
Bergen Park Wine Cellar, Wildcat Canyon Liquors, Little Daisy Liquor,
Saddlerock Liquors,
Bonnie Brae Liquor Mart carry this wine.
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Tempest 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Limestone Coast, Australia
The Limestone Coast ocean breezes offer
grapes an opportunity to cool off at night.
Complexity is the result.
Cherry, mint, eucalyptus, raspberries, cassis, plum, charred marshmallow, and dark chocolate
flavors evolve in the mouth.
The mature, polished tannins offer an attention getting structure.
Twelve percent Shiraz adds a spicy edge against the layers of ripe fruit.
93 points -- tasted 1/15/2008 -BF $10
Downing Street Wines & Liquors, Highlands WineSeller,
Wilburs Total Beverage in Fort Collins,
Colorado's Liquor Outlet in Colorado Springs,
Keg, Bubbles, Wildcat Canyon Liquors, Little Daisy Liquor,
Clear Creek Liquors, Southwest Liquors, Saddlerock Liquors,
Bonnie Brae Liquor Mart, and Heritage Wine & Spirits carry this wine.
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Oxford Landing 2006 Chardonnay, Australia
Bright green apple aromas lead to
flavors of melon, cream, and baked apple pie.
The mid-palate shows notes of pear, anise, and honey.
The finish lingers with resounding notes of lemon oil, allspice, and lime zest.
Great acidity that stretches the whole length of the palate.
92 points -- tasted 1/23/3008 -BF $10
Downing Street Wines ↦ Liquors, Heritage Wine & Spirits,
Highlands WineSeller, Reserve List Eagle Bend,
Wilburs Total Beverage in Fort Collins, Colorado's Liquor Outlet in Colorado Springs,
Wine Mine in Telluride,
Bonnie Brae Liquor Mart, and Costco Liquors Arvada carry this wine.
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CapuVino Wine Bar
CapuVino is a wine and coffee café serving over
forty wines by the glass, specialty coffees, desserts,
and a full food menu with sweet and savory crepes, homemade sandwiches,
paninis, salads, and Antipastini plates.
CapuVino has a relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff.
Wireless Internet and comfortable digs.
Some nights they offer live entertainment.
HAPPY HOUR EVERY NIGHT - from 4:00pm to 7:00pm
Only place in Denver to offer ten different wines for $4,
$4 wells drinks, $4 martinis and $2.50 draws!
CapuVino
728 South University Blvd, Denver, CO, 80209
303-282-4914
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Dream Italia Tours
Jazz in Italy! Tour
July 12-19, 2008
Even if you’ve been to Italy before, you’ve never experienced an Italian vacation like
our new jazz89 KUVO Signature Event, Jazz in Italy!, our eight day Umbria Jazz Festival
Tour with Dream Italia. Indulge yourself with another side of Italy during this
unique Italian vacation. Begin in fashionable Florence, the 15th century birthplace of
the Renaissance of human civilization. Take in the mystique of the medieval hilltop
villages and the rustic landscape of vineyards and olive groves in Tuscany and Umbria,
framed by the Apennines Mountains, as you journey to Perugia for the world class
Umbria Jazz Festival 2008. You’ll enjoy a mixture of festival concerts and events,
and sightseeing to neighboring towns for a blend of cool jazz, warm summer nights,
and the unforgettable food, wine and art in the romantic heart of Italy.
Even better, as a featured Signature Event, your purchase of this trip benefits
KUVO!
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Shiraz -vs-Syrah, are they really the same grape?
Syrah has been around for thousands of years. Romans introduced grape vines throughout Europe, but when they arrived in the Rhone Valley of France, they found syrah being cultivated and made into wine. Some say syrah is indigenous to the region of Gaul (France), but many believe that its roots stretch all the way to Persia and the city of Shiraz.
The French winemaking culture has been followed faithfully for hundreds of years, often by instituting laws that define winemaking techniques and recipes. The Australians love to follow the recognized French recipes, but they often put an Aussie spin on many of these formulas. They pair two Bordeaux varieties, merlot and cabernet sauvignon with the Rhone Valley grape syrah, something the French would never think of doing, especially since it is against the law in France. The Aussie coined a new name for syrah and made it their very own.
Since the time Australians started calling syrah-Shiraz, the rest of the new world has been embracing their unique style for this spicy grape. Blessed with ample sun, often too much sun, Australia produces a jammy, soft, big bodied, high alcohol Shiraz. The fruit flavors are often extreme and not the least bit shy; many are aged in new American oak barrels. This new world style is the complete opposite of syrah's traditional profile.
Syrah of the Northern Rhone Valley is sultry, mysterious, and filled with flavors from the earth and sky, or what the French call terroir (teh-rwahr). Of course it boasts flavors of fruit, but those berry notes are often subtle and evolve on the mid-palate or finish. Southern Rhone Valley syrahs are usually blended with other permitted red varieties and can be a touch more spicy and fruit forward then their northern cousins.
A good rule to follow is if it is called Shiraz, it falls under the Australian new world recipe, featuring big jammy berry flavors and high alcohol. If a producer refers to the grape as syrah, expect an old world style with subtle flavors, often with deep concentration on the mid-palate.
The grape is the same, but its personality can be either syrah or Shiraz, depending on what the grower and winemaker desires. Of course there are shades between each name, so studying this purpled hued wine can be a tasty venture.
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Vocabulary
Each week we'll include a few wine (or beer or spirits) terms.
To read more terms go to the
vocabulary
page. This page will grow as we add more terms.
vigneron (vee-nyeh-rohn):
There are some word in French that do not interpret to English, like terroir.
Conversely, there are some words in English that do not interpret to French, like winemaker.
Europeans believe that wine makes itself.
They also believe that you cannot make qualtiy wine without great grapes,
regardless of the skill of the winemaker.
The European belief that wine is made in the vineyard is driven home by the
fact that they, in particular the French, do not have a word for winemaker.
Vigneron means vine grower or grape grower.
This word is widely used in Europe and now being used more and more in the United States.
Malolactic fermentation:
is a process where the tart fruit acidity called malic acid
is changed into a softer, creamier tasting malic acid.
Malo, as it is called, is the introduction of bacteria into the wine,
either by inoculation, or by natural means.
Some Champagnes allow natural malolactic fermentation to occur.
Malo is performed on most red wines to soften their prominent
acidic flavors and some white wines, to soften the acidic flavor
and to impart flavors of butter.
Many new world chardonnays use a recipe of malolactic fermentation
and aging in newer oak barrels.
terroir (teh-rwahr):
is the subtle component that is often absent in new world wines.
Terroir is the flavor of the land, weather, and environment.
It is often called aspect.
It is the slight flavor of rocks, chalk, autumn leaves, spring rain, dust, baked earth,
ocean breeze or minerals.
Terroir is destroyed by sulfites that are added when the grapes are first crushed.
It is also diminished by the quick ripening that happens in hot growing regions.
A whopping alcohol level is a sign that the delicate flavors of terroir are lost.
Aspect of the land is an old world occurrence.
More and more new world producers try to preserve terroir in their wines.
The best examples of terroir can be found in European wines.
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