Happy Holidays, WLIU Bonnie Grice, Adriano Douro red, Tamari Malbec, De Martino Organic Cabernet, Torre Muga 2001 Rioja

Greetings from all of us in New London -

Thames River Wine & Spirits - 860-443-9463 - 84 Bank Street
Shop On Line: http://thamesriver.com/wine/instock.html
Calendar of Events: http://www.thamesriver.com/wine/calendar.html

Thames River Greenery - 860-443-6817 - 70 State Street - www.thamesriver.com
Brie & Bleu - 860-437-2474 - 84 Bank Street - : http://www.brieandbleu.com/
IMPORT - 860-443-6817 - 60 State Street - http://thamesriver.com/trg/featured.html

Looking at the calendar I can see that this will be our Holiday Edition of the weekly newsletter - Yikes the year went by fast.
We have a delicious line up of wines for the Friday tasting - we hope you can make it - they are listed below these bits of news and information.

• If you are not already listening to 88.3 FM - WLIU - you don't know what you are missing - especially on Saturday afternoons for the "Eclectic Café" One of the best music shows on the air - period. WLIU is part of the Long Island University Radio Network. The signal is strong and widely available here in Connecticut and of course - everywhere - online at www.wliu.org

Our own Jim Morrison was a guest on WLIU last Friday morning - "Hostess with the Mostess" - Bonnie Grice talked to Jim about our WineRadio project - www.wineradio.com - the famous people that we have had on our show and about enjoying wine for the holidays. Many thanks Bonnie - you rock.

• On Tuesday night our special holiday Champagne tasting is sold out - thank you - but you can still catch the highlights by visiting our website and learn the TRUTH ABOUT CHAMPAGNE - take a look and a listen here: http://thamesriver.com/wine/calendar.html

• The support that everyone has shown for IMPORT has been fantastic - thanks for all of the comments we appreciate them - take a peek here: http://thamesriver.com/trg/featured.html

• If you would like to see Charlotte talk a little about what is going on at Thames River Greenery for the holidays take a look here: http://thamesriver.com/trg/gourmet.html

• It's not too late to order deliveries from our stores. One call can solve a lot of problems. Check out the web sites, give us a call, and let us help for the holiday. There are lots of specialty items, gift baskets, cards, gourmet & cheese gifts, stocking stuffers and more. If you are downtown - please stop by and say hello - Happy Holidays to all. Thanks for making this season very special.


This Week At Brie & Bleu - the cheese of the week is Valdeon

Valdeon at $15/lb is the featured cheese of the week at Brie & Blue. Valdeon is named best blue cheese in Spain's 2003 national competition, Valdeón is a rich, creamy, intensely flavored semi-soft cow/goat milk blue that's saltier than Stilton yet less wild than Cabrales. Made in Spain's remote Valdeón Valley in the northern region of Asturias, Valdeón is wrapped in Sycamore leaves, giving it a distinctive appearance and lending to its complex flavor. Valdeon pairs well with wines made from the gamay grape, such as Beaujolais cru and with Muscat. It is delicious with smoked and cured meats and is excellent melted on top of a hanger steak. Pair with a nice Beaujolais bought at Thames River Wine and Spirits for an additional 10% off the cheese.
Happy Holidays,
Colleen

Wine Tasting Please Join Us
Friday December 22 - 6-9 p.m. - No Charge
You have all been asking for great REDS for the holiday - The Wait Is Over.

1 - Adriano Douro red 2003 $10 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duero
The House of Adriano Ramos-Pinto, founded in 1880, is famous for its estate-bottled and highly-esteemed ports. Ramos-Pinto also produces still wines under the proprietary name, Adriano. These red and white table wines are 100% estate-grown and bottled from grapes sourced in the awe-inspiring Douro Region of Portugal. Adriano is a tribute to the founder of Adriano Ramos-Pinto, a fervent art collector who is the namesake behind this well-known brand. The color of this wine is an intense brilliant ruby red. Aromas of blackberry and black plum are followed by spice notes. The wine is a smooth with lively tannins and nuances of ripe fruit, plum and cherry. The finish is fresh, savory and long. This wine is a perfect accompaniment to red meat, BBQ, hamburgers, pizza, pasta and vegetables. It is a great choice for the table this holiday and a bargain for the price.

2 - Tamari Malbec 2005 $12 www.tamari.com.ar
In the late 1500s, Spanish missionaries found that the foothills of the Andes had the best conditions for vine-growing and the city of Mendoza was founded in 1561. In 1900 a new wave of immigrants, from Italy, Spain and France, brought their own regional vine-growing and wine-making skills to Mendoza, Argentina's largest wine-growing region.

Aromas are of intense berries, cherry and plum, with cinnamon and slight vanilla notes. Well-structured flavor, with strong and ripe tannins, excellent balance between alcohol and acidity, obtaining a good marriage between ripe berries and tannins provided by French oak. This is a Full-bodied, warm and harmonious wine and another great value from South America - please try it on Friday.

3 - De Martino Organic Cabernet 2004 $15
According to Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: "(Inky ruby. Primary, grapey aromas of blackberry and candied plum. Youthful and tightly wound, with pure, sweet cassis and dark cherry flavors nicely supported by solid tannic structure.
According to the Wine Spectator: "Solid red and dark berry fruit with loam and smoke notes on the finish. Drink now. only 2,000 cases made." You don't need a magazine to tell you why this is supposed to be good - just try it. If you like it - it's good. This wine offers a lot of expertise in the bottle for a fraction of what others in the same category charge. Please try it on Friday you may be very surprised.

4 - Torre Muga 2001 Rioja - $75 - (rated 96 points Robert Parker)
Here is what Robert Parker said about this wine:
"The modern-styled, expensive, but terrific 2001 Torre Muga is an unfiltered blend of 75% Tempranillo, 15% Mazuelo, and 10% Graciano. Aged 22 months in large (18,000 liters) American oak vats, followed by 16 months in new French oak, and bottled without filtration, it offers an opaque ruby/purple color in addition to sweet plum, cedar, tobacco, new saddle leather, Allspice, raspberry, and black cherry fruit aromas as well as flavors. It is a wine of admirable intensity, full body, and superb purity, size, potency, and harmony. Give it another 1-3 years of bottle age and consume it over the following 12-15."

The Bodegas Muga was founded in 1932 by Isaac Muga and his wife, Aurora Caño, both of whom came from families with a long tradition of activity within the wine-making industry. Over the years, Muga wines have gained international recognition and acclaim, and from working with just a few thousand kilos of grapes per year. This stuff is a bombshell - it is a house favorite here and even though the price pushes it up and over the mark for an everyday wine - we can dream can't we?
You will want to try this on Friday - and if you consider how much you have been doing lately - to keep everyone happy, taking care of all the loose ends - getting ready for guests, family and who knows what else - you just might want to treat yourself to this one - you deserve it.


Many thanks to all of our friends and customers - it is a busy, stressful holiday season and yet everyone that stops in to say hello has a warm greeting and a smile. That's why this is still the best party in town - it's your clubhouse.

Please Join Us - It's fun informal and a great way to start your weekend.

AAA.