Are you interested in learning more about wine?
Join the Denver Wine Group to savor wine and conversations,
build new friendships, and learn as you go.
Beginners and experts welcome!
|
|
Terroir and elegance often walk hand in hand,
with thought-provoking subtleties.
|
|
|
|
Read about it today, experience it tonight.
|
|
|
Magnus 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California
Elegant, yet abundant with flavor offering a wide variety of tastes.
It is polished and rich with deep black cherry flavors, cassis, plum,
roasted coffee bean, black licorice, sandalwood, balsamic,
vanilla, and dark bitter-sweet chocolate.
Its complexity evolves as the wine is open.
A regal wine for a special evening, or the catalyst for creating a magical night.
96 points tasted 2/7/2008 -BF $60
The following restaurants carry Magus Cabernet Sauvignon on their wine list:
Izakaya Den, Fruition, Brookes Steak House in Greenwood Village,
Sweet Basil in Vail, Laughing Ladies Restaurant in Salida,
Old Blinking Light in Highland Ranch, Steakhouse 10, Table 6,
Yia Yia's Eurocafe, Black Cat Boulder, Barolo Grill, Black Pearl,
D19 Aspen, Flemings Prime Steakhouse in Englewood, Del Frisco's Double Eagle in Greenwood Village,
Deno's Mountain Bistro in Winter Park,
Em's Velvet Vine, Jing, La Marmotte in Telluride, Mezzaluna in Aspen,
Montauk Seafood in Vail, Rustique Bistro in Aspen,
The Wine House in Crested Butte, The Wine Spot in Aspen, Tortugas in Longmont,
The Kitchen in Boulder, Allred's in Telluride,
Mateo in Boulder, Shells and Sauce in Denver, Radda in Boulder,
Pesce Fresco in Centennial, Pi Restaurant, Venice Ristorante in Greenwood Village,
221 South Oak in Telluride, St. Regis in Aspen,
The Palace Restaurant in Durango, carry this wine.
Top
|
|
|
Cousino Macul 2004 Finis Terrae, Maipo Valley, Chile
This old vine cabernet sauvignon and merlot blends is a myriad of flavor.
As soon as this wine was opened its generous flavors filled the mouth.
It overlaps layers of boysenberry, black cassis, cherry pie, caramel,
and bitter-sweet chocolate. Rich, dense, with spicy notes of cinnamon,
vanilla, and clove, lead to a good dose of acidity. Sultry tannins
do not overwhelm the fruit flavors. A touch of dried fruit flavors like
raisin and crème de cassis show themselves on the finish.
94 points -- tasted 1/15/2008 -BF $22
Reserve List, Highlands WineSeller, Reserve List Eagle Bend,
Wilburs Total Beverage in Fort Collins and carry this wine.
Top
|
|
|
Chessman 2005 Hanes Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma, California
Unbelievable complexity, an undervalued wine. Perfume like aromas greet your nose,
just before you imbibe its spicy canvas. Notes of licorice, cassis, tar, roses,
sandalwood, lime leaves, mulberry, and milk chocolate offer distinct layers.
Smooth, yet captivating.
95 points tasted 1/20/2007 --BF $15
Wilburs Total Beverage in Fort Collins, County Line, Highlands WineSeller,
Primo Vino, Downing Street Wines & Liquors, Reserve List Eagle Bend,
and Mile High Wine and Spirits at Belmar carry this wine.
Top
|
|
|
337 Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Lodi, California
Black Forest Cherry cupcake aromas escape from the glass.
Smooth canvas, mocha, licorice, milk chocolate, and very bright cherry flavors.
Its jammy, blueberry and creamy, offering a medium bodied profile.
Very slight tannins and prominent acidity make it an easy drinking cabernet.
93 points -- tasted 2/27/2008 --BF -$13
Wilburs Total Beverage in Fort Collins,
County Line Liquors, and Highlands WineSeller,
carry this wine.
Top
|
|
|
Huber Hugo 2006 Gruner Veltliner, Austria
Bright, zippy, and at the same time a touch elegant and intense.
This unusual white wine is fairly easy to find in the Colorado market and
well worth a try.
The nose offers minerals and honeysuckle.
The palate is refreshing offering notes of
tangerine, lime zest, pineapple, and white flowers.
The mid-palate is layered and offers a lingering hint of honey.
Austria is known for its dry white wine because of it slightly warmer climate
than the surrounding winemaking areas, Germany in particular.
Hugo Gruner is always a tasty offering.
93 points -- tasted 12/14/2007 -BF $14
City Wine, Primo Vino, Reserve List Eagle Bend,
and Marczyk Fine Wines carry this wine.
Top
|
|
Durango Wine Experience
With more population than Telluride, Aspen and Vail combined,
Durango is the perfect place for a wine experience.
We have multiple Wine Spectator acclaimed restaurants,
over 50 licensed establishments, 600+ hotel rooms,
almost a 100 boutique galleries and shops, all right downtown.
We truly have the perfect environment for a wine event.
There is more to do in this county than any other county in Colorado.
Come for the weekend and explore Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge train,
Mesa Verde, world-class kayaking and rafting, just to name a few.
All net proceeds will go to a local non-profit changing annually.
Thursday the festivities start with a welcome reception for the trade, sponsors,
and Platinum Package ticket holders.
Friday enjoy a moving tasting at art galleries and
fine downtown merchants with light appetizers served at all locations.
Saturday join them for a Grand Tasting featuring several seminars.
Saturday night enjoy a winemakers dinner at any one of the many participating Durango restaurants.
Send a little time on Sunday sleeping in or enjoying the sites around Durango before you head home.
Check out all the details at:
http://www.durangowine.com/
Top
|
A Blockbuster Movie Night in Platt Park
Fundraiser for 3PA
Presenting Sponsor: Joseph Freed West
Developers of Metropolitan Gardens
on the former Gates East Campus.
Cinema Paradiso
Saturday, March 1, 2008 at Cameron Church, 1600 South Pearl Street, Denver, 80113-2811.
-6pm to 6:45pm - appetizers and wine will be offered.
-7pm to 9pm - showing of Cinema Paradiso.
-9pm - Table Talk at Izakaya Den (order from the menu; pay for dinner at the restaurant.)
Tickets: 3PA members $20 - non-members $25
Tickets available at:
This is a 3PA fundraiser.
All proceeds go toward production of the Platt Park Pattern Book,
aimed at helping preserve neighborhood character.
Event Sponsors:
Sample light fare from Izakaya Den.
Enjoy wine from the Reserve List.
Learn about Dream Italia's wine tours of Tuscany.
Colorado wine from Balistreri Wine
For more info please e-mail info@3pa.org
Top
|
|
King Cab
Cabernet sauvignon is a member of some very elite groups. It is an official Nobel Grape, the remainder of the quartet being riesling, chardonnay, and pinot noir. As an official grape of Bordeaux it is preferred by four of the five first growths. It is the darling of Napa Valley, California's premiere growing region. Italy's strict laws couldn't keep it from leaking into the Chianti, even when they forced it to be a Super Tuscan first.
These great wines are mimicked all over the world. Where the terroir loves the grape,
cabernet sauvignon find a home. Survey every new world producer and you'll find
practically every one of them vinifies cabernet sauvignon. It is a favorite pick of the budget conscious consumer, yet graces the table of dignitaries and captains of industry.
Cabernet sauvignon is a full bodied grape with ample tannins because of its thick skin. It offers fruit flavors of cassis, black cherries, plum, and red raspberries. Cabernet sauvignon can be extremely complex and is often aged in vanilla imparting French oak barrels.
It is the child of cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc, one lighter bodied red grape and one highly acidic white grape. The cross between these two grapes created the king of red, cabernet sauvignon, a full bodied regal grape.
Tannins give a wine long life. Young cabernet sauvignon can be stingy with flavor and very astringent in the mouth because of its tannic structure. Time or breathing can unveil a complex myriad of flavors in better quality cabs. Even the inexpensive cabernets are improved with a little exposure to air.
It is this complexity that makes a bottle of cabernet sauvignon worth giving, worth getting, worth having on hand. Flavors are not limited to licorice, smoke, leather, roses, tar, chocolate, coffee, cigar box, and tobacco. A cabernet sauvignon blend often includes merlot and cabernet franc which adds to the quality of the wine. There are some fantastic cabs and cab blends on the market. It is easy to find an impressive bottle in any price range.
Are tannins going out of fashion?
Back in the early 1980s I attended a ten week class with a sommelier. He instructed us to drink nothing but European wines until we got the hang of things. He said that California produced wonderful wines, but they weren't very organized, so you never knew what you were buying. I don't know if this is true, mostly because I took his advice and drank only European wines, pretty much until I began working in the wine industry a few years ago.
Because I drank mostly French and Italian wines, I became accustomed to tannins, mouthwatering acidity, and hints of terroir, or what I called earthiness. Back then wine was not mainstream and if you were to order a glass at a bar you were likely to get white zinfandel, Riunite, or something from a large jug mislabeled with a French name. Because of this, most of my wine consumption was at home, centered around a gourmet meal. I didn't mind the tannins; I was always softening their astringency with cheese or olive oil.
Lately I've noticed a trend; tannins seem to be going out of fashion. Of course you can't omit tannins, especially from red wine, but producers are finding ways to soften wine's tannic bite. It may have started with the wave of Aussie wines that have flooded our shelves, with their dense fruit flavors, light tannins and acidity, and heavy alcohol. European producers are even jumping on the bandwagon with their versions of fruit forward, softly tannic wines as well. We are making a demand on the market and many producers are happy to comply. Tannins are important when you want to age a wine, which can produce complex flavors. For the bottle that I'm going to open tonight, I prefer that it's quaffable now. Besides, I like the enamel on my teeth.
Top
|
|
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.
oak:
has been used to store libations for hundreds of years.
In fact, one Sherry producer admitted he has American oak barrels that
are older than the United States.
Oak barrels allow a wine to breathe slightly through their pours.
The wood adds flavor to whatever is being stored in it.
Newer oak barrels add the most flavor, with distinct notes of
vanilla, cinnamon, coconut, and caramel from toasting of the wood.
Barrels also add tannins to the wine.
White wines, which have their skins removed as soon as the juice is released,
generally do not have tannic components.
Newer oak barrels will add tannins to white wine (and red wine too).
Traditionally wines were aged in oak as a convenience
or to add a soft touch of spice.
Barrels were used as long as they had structural integrity.
The older the barrel--the less flavor it adds to the wine.
Older oak barrels will soften the wine's flavor,
adding a soft sensation on the back of the tongue.
New oak barrel aging has nearly become a prerequisite for red wines sold in the US.
tannin:
Tannins, tannic, tannic acid, an astringent component in wine that
comes from grape skins, seeds, and stems.
Tannic acid makes your mouth feel rough, like eating walnuts and can be softened by eating fats.
Tannins can also be imparted in the process of extracting the juice from the grapes or aging wine in newer oak barrels.
Tannic acid allows wine to last longer and often mellows as a wine is stored over time.
free run:
refers to the juice that is released from grapes under their own weight.
Free run juice comes from grapes that are not pressed.
Grape juice that is released from pressed grapes
tends to be more tannic because tannins are released from the skins of the grapes.
Free run juice is reputed to be the best grape juice.
A winery will often collect the free run juice first and
then collect the juice from pressing separately.
|
|
Want to get the best of Denver without having to search for it?
Sign up for ThisWeekInDenver's weekly eCalendar and they’ll keep you up to date on
all the city has to offer, including arts and entertainment, music, nightlife, shopping and
dining. Where will your week take you?
View a sample
eCalendar.
ThisWeekInDenver follows a strict anti-spam policy.
Top
|
|
