Tenuta Vitanza Chianti, Macrostie Chardonnay, Sierra Cantabria, Cline Cashmere, Duckhorn Merlot,

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Greetings from all of us in New London, Mother's Day is just around the corner on the 11th, don't forget to order early - we have lots of ways to say "I love you mom" - Mother's Day We have a beautiful line up for Friday night - including a very famous name from California. And speaking of famous names - we have a special guest in the cellar this week - Roger Hoadley will be on hand to answer your questions and regale us with stories of the wine trade. Mr. Hoadley is on loan to us from Slocum & Sons, one of Connecticut's largest distributors of fine wine. Many of you know that we have dispatched our Jim Morrison to Argentina this week. He has worked hard to earn this trip and he will be drinking wine tirelessly on our behalf. That's the kind of dedication that is hard to find now a days. So let's raise our glasses to Jim this week and imagine that he is doing the Tango in Buenos Aires - while we enjoy the wines for this week. The list is just below a few items of interest.

NEWS & UPCOMING EVENTS

Pampered Poultry Duck Confit on wilted arrugula Brie & Bleu Dinner Special Friday & Saturday - May 9 - 10 Reservations: 8 6 0 - 4 3 7 - 2 4 7 4 Crispy Roast Duck Confit with Lyonnaise Potatoes & Wilted Arugila - $14.95 This French classic can't be beat! We have the meatiest, most succulent duck legs available from D'Artagnan. Crispy on the outside, rich in flavor & juicy on the inside. The Perfect Wine: Paired with Louis Latour Valmossine Pinot Noir. This clear, light-ruby wine from the hills of Var in Provence is a Burgundian-style red made in the style of the ancient "Vin Vermeil," Fresh with bright flavors, light-bodied but crisp red fruit and earthy notes that follow the nose. There's a wisp of tannins along with clean fruit in the finish - Just $6 a glass, $18 a bottle. ··· Thursday May 8 - Maasdam Arrives The Cruise Ship season begins with the arrival of Holland America's Maasdam. We never get tired of watching these majestic liners ease into New London's harbor. A perfect spot for watching is the deck at Brie & Bleu. Have dinner, a glass of wine and watch the departure. ··· Food Stroll - Wednesday, May 14, 2008, 5:30-8:30 PM Spring will officially kick off in The District at New London Main Street's annual Spring Food Stroll. More Info Here

Dave's Fave Special Monday Tasting Click on the label to order it now Tenuta Vitanza Chianti Colli Senesi 2005 $16 CIAO, VITANZA!!! "Charm, Love and Passion," is their motto... Let's go to Italy - Bellissima! Every day I descend our cellar steps and give a nod to the CHARM of the big mags of Vitanza Brunello de Montalcino 2001 at the top of the Italian rack, smoldering, getting more delicious every day, secure in the knowledge that every grape crushed in those bottles actually came from Montalcino! (Yeah, I went there) I'll pick up one of those big boys my next big supper! Hey, wait - there, with the pink label - Vitanza Rosso de Montalcino! I LOVE that wine and the price is quite within my stratosphere indeed! But now along comes Vitanza Chianti, as if the small family operation at Vitanza knew cheap musicians in Connecticut have a PASSION for elegant, smoky Sangiovese! Just try to find a comparable Chianti at this price, with such a noble lineage. You've got to try it!

Wine Tasting Please Join Us Friday May 9 - 6-9 p.m. - No Charge Can't Make It To The Tasting? - Order it now - click on the photos 1 - Macrostie Chardonnay Carneros 2006 $24 Fruit from the high hills of Carneros go into this lovely, balanced wine - 2006 was a winemaker's dream with a very long, cool growing season. Aged in French oak, on the lees for six months. This wine is made by fanatics, if there is a better example of this type of chardonnay from Carneros - we would like to know about it. Beautiful lemony scents and a creamy custard & butter finish. This is a medium weight Chardonnay and a modern Californian benchmark. 2 - Sierra Cantabria Rioja Crianza 2003 $17 Classic: the Sierra Cantabria vineyards are set in an ancient village in Northern Spain, the upper reaches of Rioja. Very low yield, old vines digging deep in stony, red soil (as if on Mars): Tempranillo grapes, 14 months in oak, smoky and voluptuous - a shining, affordable pearl from Rioja! Noted wine expert Robert Parker had this to say about the 2001: "I have served friends the brilliant 2001 Crianza (98% Tempranillo and 2% Graciano) just to prove what great wine can be purchased even with a weak dollar. It is a complex, elegant, deep ruby/purple-tinged offering boasting a sweet nose of lead pencil shavings, white chocolate, blackberries, and cherries. Medium-bodied with supple tannin as well as admirable structure, definition, and ripeness, it can be enjoyed now and over the next 5-8 years." Rated 91 points. 3 - Cline Cashmere 2005 $15 Cline initially created this blend as an auction lot for the Hospice du Rhone charity that's held in Paso Robles California each year. Cashmere is a very flavorful, smooth wine offering big cherry, raspberry and chocolate notes with hints of cracked black pepper and plum. A portion of the proceeds from every bottle sold will be donated by Cline Cellars to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Our own Dave Anderson has this to add: "All of our friends keep requesting this wine - okay okay, you can have it!!! From Cline, out in little Oakley, California, just between Napa and the Bay Area, these hippie-freaks make big, gorgeous, velvety Rhone-varietal reds, which you, our valued wine-freak-friends know means: Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre - but mostly Mourvedre here, oddly enough! Rhone via California - big, lush and ripe - not quite like rocky old France. Cline made this wine for a cancer research benefit and couldn't stop! Proceeds continue to fund the cause." 4 - Duckhorn Merlot 2005 $56 A great fan of Merlot since traveling to St. Emillon and Pomerol, Dan Duckhorn felt that this elegant varietal was under appreciated in North America. "I liked the softness, the seductiveness, the color," says Dan, "the fact that it went with a lot of different foods; it wasn't so bold, didn't need to age so long, and it had this velvety texture to it. It seemed to me to be a wonderful wine to just enjoy. I became enchanted with Merlot." From its modest inaugural vintage of 800 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon and 800 cases of Merlot in 1978, to its addition of Sauvignon Blanc in 1982, Duckhorn Vineyards has crafted a tradition of quality and excellence that continues today. Dave Anderson: "While Jim's in Argentina, we will take the time to explore the wine of a mysterious, distant land: a place called "Napa" in the State of "California" where they apparently keep making wine - red and white wine just for your pleasure! This particular treat is one of my (Dave's) favorite wines from this alien locale, actually, if my crusty memory serves, right where I used to go to dinner at the vineyard in St. Helena while we watched UNLV basketball games and Buster Douglas beat up Mike Tyson... Oh boy, one sip takes me back to the cusp of 1990! This is Merlot with a Capital Napa - one of the finest examples from the USA, one of California's best at any price, the star of our Friday night show: "THE DUCK!" Please Call Us Anytime With Questions - 8 6 0 - 4 4 3 - 9 4 6 3 As always, thank you for making this the best party in Connecticut - week after week. With your continued support we are making changes and adding programs and events, and putting together a great season. We are listening. We hope to see you this week. Please join us. It's fun, informal, and a great way to start your weekend. AAA.

Pares Balta Mas Elena, Felsner Gruner Veltliner, San Romano Dolcetto di Dogliani, Fabre Montmayour, Sierra Cantabria, Ivan Ruiz

Greetings From All Of Us In New London,

Just a couple of remarks and a big announcement - before we list the wines for Friday night.

• One of the most frequent requests that we get from you is to add more
"Winemaker Dinners." Well, we are listening.
We have been extremely fortunate to host some of the greatest names in the wine world -
Rock Stars of their profession.
So many of you say:
"How do you get them to come to New London? - they don't even appear in big cities."
They answer is simple - it's you. Our customers & friends have created a buzz that is talked about in the business - it is your support that makes it happen.

For those of you that have attended our Meet The Winemaker series, you know it is not a room full of people shouting over each other and trying to get a look at the the guest from a mile away. Our dinners with the winemakers are special. We sit side by side with them - you get to eat with them, drink with them, and share an evening with them.

In some cases customers have gone on to stay in touch and have even made trips to visit them on their own home turff - or should I say terroir.

So, to kick off the 2008 season of dinners we have a big announcement - Truly a rare opportunity to meet one of the great winemakers in the world.
Our first guest of the season has been voted Italy's Winemaker of 2007
by the Gambero Rosso & Slow Food.

Casimiro Maule from Nino Negri vineyards will be our guest on
Monday January 28 - 6 p.m. -
Reserve Early - 8 6 0 - 4 4 3 - 9 4 6 3 - $85 plus tax & service.
http://www.gruppoitalianovini.com/ninonegri/ing/versioni.htm

Meeting Casimiro Maule is a life experience. Huge charisma. A person you would listen to for hours. Not only history of wine but history of a part of Italy - the Valtellina.

He is on his 37th Harvest at the winery. And is largely recognized as the one to have restored Valtellina winemaking to the exceptional standard it has reached today. His "Cinque Stelle" wine is among the elite of four wines to have received the Tre Bicchieri award, from Gambero Rosso, for 10 consecutive years, and the 2002 Cinque Stelle was voted the BEST wine of the year by Gambero Rosso 2006. Our menu will be paired with the wines, which will be served with each course - a night to remember.


Dave's Fave - Monday Tasting - No Charge
Pares Balta Mas Elena 2004 $15
Dave Says: "We discovered this wine last year and dug it right off the bat, maybe because of our penchant for Cab Franc, which adds an earthy touch. From Penedes on the Catalonian coast of Spain, this is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet and Cabernet Franc. The vineyard is organically farmed, while flocks of sheep graze on weeds and frolick, and kept bees pollinate and buzz happily in the Spanish sun... When Patricio Brongo visited us from the vineyard (See the interview on Wineradio), Jim asked him, "So the sheep basically run the place, don't they?" "...Yes," he conceded."
Anyway, this is one of our favorite table reds, and the 2004 bottling has a chic black and orange bottle. I haven't tried the new vintage yet, hope you will join me Monday!

Wine Tasting Please Join Us
Friday January 18 - 6-9 p.m. - No Charge


1 - Felsner Gruner Veltliner "Lossterrassen" 2006 $14
The Felsner family estate is run by Manfred and Renate Felsner, the family’s 9th generation of winemakers. Manfred was just 15 years old when his grandfather gave him a vineyard for his birthday. He’s made wine ever since, winning a plethora of awards along the way. The estate’s steep slopes ideally angled to catch the Austrian sunshine, and free-draining ‘loess’ soil, ripen the Grüner Veltliner to plump perfection. Noted wine reviewer Jancis Robinson writes: “It starts discreetly, the nose fresh and subtle, lively and a touch peppery. The flavours the same: crisp, pristine, definite but far from obvious, its fruit becoming rounder – apricots and apples – an elusive taste of orange flowers and tinged with a delicious hint of white pepper. Intensely appetizing and lingering well. Extremely appealing apéritif, but I see this working with dishes from roast pork to sushi. A very special wine you should not miss!” - This is a wine that would go very well with most food and it is great with cheese too. - give it a try on Friday night.

2 - San Romano Dolcetto di Dogliani "Vigna del Pilone" 2003 $15
This is a wine that can be traced back over a thousand years. Hand harvested after aggressive pruning to limit the yield and assure quality.This single vineyard Dolcetto is bottled unfiltered and has an aging potential of up to ten years. Like all the wines of Piedmonte, Dolcetto works very well with food including white and red meats, either roasted or stewed, as well as 1st courses and mature cheeses. Close your eyes on Friday night and sip - you will be transported to Italy. A very good value at this price - and an especially cheap way to visit Italy.

3 - Fabre Montmayour Gran Reserva Cabernet 2003 $18 -
only 2000 cases produced for the world market.
This wine is brought to us by a gentleman named Ivan Ruiz - a human dynamo that has dedicated his life to the food and wine industry. After moving to the USA from his native Columbia at age 17, he started as a "garbage boy" at a White Castle hamburger joint near Summit New Jersey. Now at age 41 he is not only the importer of the finest wines from South America, he is also a friend and confidant to some of the greatest chefs working today - he also teaches the chapter on Latin American wines for the American Sommelier Association. This is what he says about this Cabernet: "The Fabre Montmayou wines were born from a dream, combining old and new worlds,adventure and rigour, with constant dedication to quality. The selection of soil, vines, and grape varietals with the most natural methods show the constant search for perfection. The Fabre Montmayou wine holds true to the high standards set by the traditions of the Bordeaux region, paying close attention to care, preserving its strong character: an authenticity guaranteeing high quality." - This is an intense ruby colored wine. Full bodied, with a delicate and complex finish. If you would like to read more about this modern day Horatio Alger story - look here: http://www.ivanselections.com/wine./ivans_bio.html

4 - Sierra Cantabria Rioja Gran Reserva 1998 $35
From Jorge Ordonez, a man that goes way beyond buying and selling wine; he advises, cajoles, teaches, pleads, strong-arms, consults with wineries all over Spain to update techniques, explore old grapes and new properties, and - bottom line - make better wine. He candidly offers fresh ideas and constructive criticism on quality control, vineyard management, dreaming up new blends, marketing, and packaging. His astonishing track record - 13O wines from 4O wineries - speaks volumes. Some of our favorite wine comes from his portfolio - and this is no exception. The world’s most influential wine critic Robert Parker has twice named Señor Ordoñez Wine Personality of the Year, and called him one of the most influential wine personalities of the past twenty years. This is a very well aged and well priced Rioja from our good friend Jorge Ordonez. All of the power and complexity that you would expect from a ten year old Rioja. This will go quickly - please try it on Friday night.



Lots more on the horizon to share with you - it's going to be an exciting year.
Thanks very much for your support and for making this the best party we could ask for.


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



AAA.