Holiday Edition 2008

Friday Night In The Big City

Greetings from New London,
Like most of New London we had to close early because of the storm on Friday - it was the right thing to do. So this Friday will be extra special.

Many thanks for all of the support and enthusiasm over this holiday season - we appreciate it. The Day After Christmas Wine Tasting is all set and it includes a "first timer" - check out the list just below a few items of interest.

Saturday night at Brie & Bleu was a cozy winter affair - and an impromtu gathering of fans and friends led to an intimate dinner. The wine was flowing, the flurries were falling and a topic came up that we should mention. Some of our readers work for banks, pharmaceutical companies, and other large organizations that "FILTER" your email. Many of them remove all of the graphics and photos that we include each week. The images are replaced with an "X" or other symbol that indicates where the image would be. We want to remind you that all of our emails can be seen in their Full Uncut Directors Version - HERE

And they are fully searchable - so if you are trying to remember what that hard to find gem from three tastings ago was - you can look for it in our archives.

This Just In:
Trapiche Single Vineyard Gift Packs $150
Free Decanter with every purchase.
Limited Quantities.
First come, First Served - 8 6 0 - 4 4 3 - 9 4 6 3

Each year, Trapiche´s chief oenologist and winemaker Daniel Pi and his team, will select Mendoza's three best Malbec grape growers to communicate Trapiche´s foundations: the richness of diversity.

"It's been only recently, after 20 years in the industry", said Pi, "that I realize just how blessed I have been to work in Argentina, a country with the most diverse wine growing areas and unique climatic conditions."

Three outstanding wines, three remarkable grape growers, one variety: Malbec. The essence of Trapiche's Single Vineyard Malbecs lies in the combination of these factors.
Reserve Yours Now - 8 6 0 - 4 4 3 - 9 4 6 3
Order Now

Friends & Neighbors:
The State Street Studios will host a reception at their sweet new digs on Sunday December 28, from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00p.m. Located just next door to Thames River Greenery & City News, and ALVA Gallery at 60 State Street all five studios will showcase their work.
INFORMATION: 8 6 0 - 9 6 1 - 4 0 0 1

Make Someone Happy
We have seriously fine cigars in stock at City News, including many famous brands like Partagas, H. Upman, Avo, Padron, and Punch to name just a few.

We select our cigars in the same manner that we stock our famous wine cellar. We seek out the experts & artisans of the industry, choose carefully, and stock items that are hard to find & represent real quality. Handmade with tradition and pride - not on a machine that can make thousands in an hour - but by people that might make 30 or 40 on a good day.

Combine cigars with fine wine & spirits in a gift basket and you've got a gift that will bring hours of enjoyment to the connoisseur in your life. Of course we will gift wrap your choices at no extra charge.

We Rely On The Experts & Artisans
Full Boxes, Singles & Gift Box Samplers Ready To Go.
8 6 0 - 4 4 3 - 6 8 1 7
City News
70 State Street New London

The Monday Tasting 12.22.08

Gruet Brut Blanc de Noirs $17
Let's pop some bubbly on Monday afternoon!

Champagne winemaker Gilbert Gruet planted plots of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the hills near Albequerque, New Mexico in the early 1980's.

Sparkling wines with the quality of Champagne from the sunny American Southwest?

The secret lies in the limestone soils and the high altitude - the limestone mimics the terroir of Champagne, and at 4,300 feet, Gruet's vineyards are some of the highest in North America, giving the fruit cool nights and long maturation.

This Blanc de Noirs is 100% Pinot Noir with at least two years maturation - the wine has tons of berry fruit plus brioche toastiness that harkens to vintage Champagne. Priced under 20 bucks!! Order Now

Holiday Edition 2008
The Friday Tasting - Please Join Us
Friday December 12 -26 - 9 p.m. - No Charge

1 - Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2008 $30


The Marlborough region is blessed with a unique terroir where a cool, maritime South Pacific climate produces wines of great fruit intensity.

Widely regarded as the quintessential expression of the acclaimed Marlborough wine region, Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc is an international benchmark wine noted for its vibrant aromatics, layers of pure fruit flavours, and fine structure.

Meticulous viticulture combined with modern technology and traditional vinification methods, consistently produces a style that has become the reference for this remote southern wine region.
We are offering this wine at our wine tasting for the first time in our history. Order Now








2 - Pares Balta Mas Elena 2005 $15




Parés Baltà is situated South of Barcelona, in the Penedès region of Catalunya. The winery was founded in the 1930's in an area that has been producing wine since the 1700's. Parès Balta is owned by the Cusiné family and produces red, white, as well as Cava wines.

Parés Baltà prides itself in using ecologically friendly farming techniques, such as using sheep to fertilize the vineyards, thus eliminating any need for artificial fertilizers and bees to facilitate pollination. In 2004 the winery was certified "organic.

The Mas Elena is made up of Cabernet Sauvignon 31%, Merlot Pujols 25%, Merlot Miret 36 % and Cabernet Franc 8%. The four varieties were macerated and fermented separately. Maceration lasted for 18 to 23 days. Malolactic fermentation was induced using indigenous bacteria.

The wine was fermented for eight months in 2nd and 3rd fill French Oak barrels from Allier. A full bodied Bordeaux blend in the French style. Order Now







3 - Green & Red Chiles Canyon Zinfandel 2006 $28

FromGreen & Red Vineyard, named for its red iron soils veined with green serpentine, is located in the steep hills on the east side of Napa Valley.

The planting was started in 1972 on ground originally in vineyards in the 1890's. The vineyards are a small percentage of the 200-acre property, which ranges in elevation from 900 to 2,000 feet.

Vines on our red hillsides produce a vigorous, spicy black pepper and berried wine. Dryed rose petals over anise and black cherry. Tastes of dark red berries dashed with Christmas spices. Goes well with rare roasted wild duck. Order Now











4 - Domaine de la Pertuisane "Le Nain Violet" 2005 $24

Made from grapes from extremely low yielding 50 year old Grenache and Carignan Vines. Harvested from steep schistous slopes surrounding the village of Maury in Roussillon. Le Nain Violet is wild yeast fermented and after 18 months in French oak, bottled unfiltered and unfined for the truest expression terroir. Big and succulent and very French.

Order Now









Thanks very much for your support over the holiday season - we appreciate it.
The new year is just around the corner - and so are some of the exciting things we have been working on - Dinners, Special Events and Guests - all based on your input. We welcome all comments and suggestions, we need your help to stay on the leading edge and to get better at what we do. We love to hear from you.

Please join us. It's fun, informal and a great way to start your weekend.


AAA.

The Paris Tasting, Stags Leap Cask 23, Summer Film Festival,Cloudy Bay, Chateau de Pizay Morgon, Domaine de Fenouillet, Silver Oak 2004 Alexander

Greetings from all of us in New London,
The list of wines for the Friday tasting is just below these words of interest.

Hi-Ho everybody - the summer is cruising along nicely and this week we have TWO big names to drop for our weekly tasting extravaganza.

First, you won't believe what Dave Anderson is pouring on Monday - check out Dave's Fave to learn more. AND Jim Morrison is pulling the cork on one of the biggest names in California on Friday night - you won't want to miss this.

People say all the time - "I've never heard of a wine store doing such a thing." "Why do you do this?" - "How can you do this?"

Basically - this is how we roll.

From day one, we decided that it would be our job to go against the grain of traditional wine shops and "packy's." We want everyone to have a little fun before they die - not just the fat-cats and lotto winners. Your enthusiasm and support has made it possible. Thank you

One of the hardest working women in New London show business has got to be Alva Greenberg. She set the bar rather high when she first opened her gallery here on State Street and has not stopped since. The recent unveiling of her new gallery is ready for your viewing pleasure.





ALVA Gallery, located at 54 State Street, New London, is now open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm. The gallery promotes "dressing with flair and living with style" through the sale of clothing, jewelry, accessories, gifts and art. ALVA GALLERY

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On The Big Screen - Garde Arts Center

Don't Forget: The New London Summer Film Festival Starts This Week.
Every year the Garde Arts Center brings us an amazing line up of entertainment that includes the always anticipated Film Festivals. Steve & Jeanne Sigel work tirelessly to bring a Big City experience right here to New London.
Start a great evening with us - have a glass of wine and a light dinner on our deck, and then stroll the beautiful flower lined streets of NL up to The Garde. It does not get any better. Festival runs: August 6-17. FILM SCHEDULE HERE

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Brie & Bleu News:
The new summer menu at Brie & Bleu has just what you need to get the old man off of the sofa and out for a date night.

We have added things like Short Ribs and Roasted Chicken to our regular bistro style menu.

Add to that our signature potato and cheese dishes and a great wine and beer list - and even the biggest appetite will be satisfied.

Please Join Us.

Dave's Fave
Special Edition - Starts At 6:00 p.m.
The Monday Tasting

Click on the photo to order it now

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23 2000 $180

On May 24, 1976, a wine tasting took place in Paris that changed the world's view of California wines forever. The unthinkable happened. Warren Winiarski's 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon - his first vintage produced with grapes from vines a mere three years old - was judged the best.

The Cabernet had bested four top-ranked Bordeaux, including first-growths Château Mouton-Rothschild and Château Haut-Brion. The 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay from California bested its French counterparts.

Dave: "If you're a regular around here, you may know we're a little nuts, but when we say we're going to do something, we do it.

Like, pour one of the most famous Californian red wines for free, so we can all taste it. I'll get back to bargains next week, but this week, I'm uncorking a bottle of Cask 23. On a Monday, at 84 Bank Street, in New London at 6:00 p.m.

Why I've been given the green light isn't totally clear to me, but we all agree it is hilarious.

In 1976, Stag's Leap's first commercial vintage of Cabernet made was, remarkably, judged in a blind tasting to be the finest red wine over first-growth Bordeaux by a panel of experts in Paris - blowing their fancy French minds and immediately putting Napa on the international wine map.

Stag's Leap's flagship wine, Cask 23, is made with only their most exceptional Cabernet grapes, including fruit from some of their original 1972 vine plantings. This is a 2000 vintage and has been resting in our cellar for years.

I hope to see you on Monday - the tasting will commence at 6PM, and it may not last long!"

There is a new movie opening this week that commemorates the The Paris Tasting - it's called:"Bottle Shock" starring Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman

"Bottle Shock" movie trailer: WATCH THE TRAILER HERE

For more info on the 1976 Paris tasting: Read More Here

Wine Tasting Please Join Us
Friday August 8 - 6-9 p.m. - No Charge

Can't Make It To The Tasting? - Order it now - click on the photos

If for some reason we did not get your attention with the Cask 23 - look what Jim Morrison has pulled out of our cool dark cellar for you to try. Don't wait until the last minute this Friday - wines like this will not last long.

1 - Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 2005 $30



This is NOT the more famous Sauvignon Blanc, but the oft overlooked Chardonnay. The Cloudy Bay vineyards are located in the Marlborough region, at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island.

Grown under ideals conditions, the vines produce intensely flavored fruit with distinctive varietal character. This is a complex, full bodied wine with ripe fruit, citrus and grassy notes.







2 - Chateau de Pizay Morgon 2007 $15

Since the Middle Ages the fine wines of the Château de Pizay have been appreciated by Beaujolais-lovers. Noble descendants of the aristocracy of selected Crus and vinified with every respect given to tradition, these wines are tasted all over the world.


Produced from Gamay du Beaujolais, the wine is bright grenadine in color, and distinguished by it's robust personality and charm.


3 - Domaine de Fenouillet Cotes du Ventoux 2006 $12


The Domaine de Fenouillet is situated in the village of Beaumes de Venise at the foot of the "Dentelles de Montmirail", the heart of the finest vineyard sites in the southern Cotes du Rhone. The Domaine has been in the hands of the Soard Family for many generations, until 1989 the grapes were harvested and immediately sold to the growers' cooperative.

Vincent and Patrick Soard took over direction of the domaine in 1989 and, at that point, began to vinify their harvest and bottle the wines now made at the estate. There are 16 hectares planted to grapes, 3 hectares within the Cotes du Ventoux appellation. Average production levels are 34 hectoliters per hectare yielding approximately 5,000 cases of wine per year for the entire estate.


4 - Silver Oak 2004 Alexander Valley Cabernet 2004 $75

The 2004 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a refined and complex wine that combines subtlety and depth.

It has a dark ruby color with a deep red edge and displays aromas of fresh blackberries, violets, cola, nutmeg and licorice. In the mouth, the wine has a juicy attack and offers great expression of fruit and spice on the mid-palate. Its fruit-driven finish is long and elegant.

The 2004 Alexander Valley, a blend of wine from several different vineyards, is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The winemaker blended the vineyard lots in early 2005 and transferred the wine to 50% new and 50% once-used American oak barrels for aging. Blending prior to barreling allows the winemaker to achieve a balance of the wine's natural elements, such as fruit and tannin, before they are influenced by oak.

The wine was then aged in barrel for approximately 25 months and another 15 months in bottle to harmonize its components before release.











New London is the place to be. There is a cultural and restaurant scene that is building to a fever pitch. This past week alone saw cruise ships, live concerts, movies in the park, and visitors from all parts of the USA and beyond.

Thanks for making us part of it, and for supporting all of our events.

Please join us.
It's fun, informal, and a great way to start your weekend.

AAA.