VINO

Friday Flights

VINO Friday FlightsVINO’s Friday Flights happen the first and third Friday of every month, running from 4:30 until 8:00. You get a flight of five wines for $10-$12, and we will usually have 2 or 3 bonus pours for a nominal extra charge. You can drop in anytime, and all are welcome from newbies to wine know-it-alls. We always provide the bread to cleanse your palates and please feel free to bring snacks and other nibbles with you!

Featured Wines
Burgundy Bargain: 2020 Domaine Pillot Mercurey

If only we could buy pinot noir from Oregon this good for such an amazing price. Instead we have to go halfway around the globe <sigh>. This is such a treat for all of you/us who think that true[more]

2021 CANTINA VALLE ISARCO Kerner “Alto Adige”

Every vintage this Italian beauty from Cantina Valle Isarco is one of my favorite wines, red or white, that I carry here at VINO. I love the pretty, pure whites produced by this great Alto Adige winer[more]

European Explorations!

2021 LA COMARCAL Tinto “Delmoro” $20.95 bottle/ $201.00 case I don’t know if I’ve had this irresistible a bottle of Spanish red in years. I am just 100% smitten here! La Comarcal (“The Distr[more]

Vin Blanc/Vino Bianco/Vino Blanco

Vin Blanc/Vino Bianco/Vino Blanco However you want to say it in Europe, here’s three more whites very deserving of your attention, and your wine glasses! 2021 DOMAINE TABORDET Pouilly-Fumé SOLD OUT[more]

Marvelous Merlot: 2018 L’ECOLE #41 Merlot “Columbia Valley”

Quite possibly my favorite Washington merlot right here, and a wine that the experienced hands at L’Ecole totally have dialed in. This is richly textured and flavored, impeccably balanced, and a per[more]

Sudtirol Sublimity: Colterenzio Schiava!

I fell in love with the reds made from the schiava grape when I was in northeastern Italy’s gorgeous Alto Adige region last year. It was the perfect red to imbibe after a day spent hiking in the stu[more]

Well Accessorized!!

Most, but not all of these, come through an importing company called Haus Alpenz ( alpenz.com ), where you can find further descriptions and cocktail ideas. Others you can google and get loads of info[more]

March 15, 2024

Grenache, Syrah, & Friends- alone, together, and delicious!!

Now I know this sunny weather is getting you all excited (based on calls I’m already getting) for some Friday Flight patio time, but sorry to say it won’t be this Friday. For so many reasons…
~ Even with the warming weekend, tomorrow will still be cool-warm by the late afternoon/early evening.
~ It’s still very wet out there. The tables and benches are soaked by winter rains and I have too much respect for your varied fashion choices to expose them to”wet butt syndrome”
~ It looks like a vacant lot out there after a long, hard , cold winter. The hours needed to clear debris and do all the other spring cleaning hasn’t taken place…yet. The picnic tables , after hanging in their for 14 years, need to be replaced. Plus the fence will (hopefully) soon be replaced.
So with all that, there’ll be no outdoor seating yet. But be patient, it’s coming!

But I can promise you the wines we’ll be sharing tomorrow will taste amazing no matter where you have them! I’ve been looking forward to this event for a long time. Grenache, syrah, other Rhone-style grapes, and various blends of them are being made everywhere these days. With varying degrees of success, of course. I almost always find them (the good ones!) to be so appealing. Great on their own, terrific with robust foods, and fabulous with anything off the grill. Not to mention exuberantly crowd pleasing. So here you go, eight more reasons your drinking future is very bright indeed!

~ 2022 BIELER PERE & FILS Rosé Coteauc d’Aix-en-Provence (France) …$10.95
32% grenache/ 23% syrah/ cinsault, cabernet, rolle, grenache blanc, counoise
~ 2020 CHATEAU STE. MICHELLE Syrah “Columbia Valley” (Wash.) …$13.95
100% syrah
~ 2021 DOMAINE DE LA SOLITUDE Cotes du Rhone (France) …$15.95
50% grenache/40% syrah/10% mourvedre
~ 2020 FRANCOIS VILLARD Syrah “L’Appel des Sereines” (France) …$21.95
100% syrah
~ 2022 STOLPMAN “Para Maria de Los Tecolotes” Santa Barbara County (Cal.) …$25.95
75% syrah/ 25% petit verdot

To be followed up by the usual array of next level temptations…
~~ Bonus #1- 2017 GRAMERCY CELLARS Mourvedre “Lower East” (Wash.) …$30.95
75% mourvedre/ 25% syrah/ 5% grenache
>> 92 pts- Wine Enthusiast: “The aromas are arresting, with notes of smoked meat, white pepper, raspberry, moist earth and dried herb. The palate is elegant yet flavorful, with a nice yum factor. Peppery notes linger on the finish. Pair it with grilled lamb”
>> 91 pts- Vinous/ >>90 pts- Wine Advocate
~~ Bonus #22020 CROUS ST. MARTIN Chateauneuf du Pape “Hommage a l’An 1879” (France) …$42.95
>> 91+ pts- Wine Advocate: The 2020 Crous Saint Martin Hommage à l’An 1879—an assemblage of 80% Grenache and 10% each Mourvèdre and Syrah—features earthy, loam-like aromas and hints of black olive and roasted meat. Dark and savory, it’s full-bodied and loaded with velvety tannins. It’s dark and monolithic, and it shows excellent intensity, richness and length.”
Bonus #3- 2020 PENFOLDS Cabernet-Shiraz “Bin 389” (Australia) ….$47.95
Yes, slightly off topic, but it does have a healthy percentage of Shiraz (syrah). But the main reason is I was able to swing an incredible deal to get this is your glasses It’s all over the interwebs for anywhere from $55-$75 (the winery lists it at $80). Obviously not inexpensive even at $48, but for what you get and what others are asking you to fork over, it’s  bargain! Plus this…
>> 96 pts- Wine Advocate: “Here, the 2020 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz has consummate polish and sleek tannins, imbued as they are with graphite, black tea, licorice and resin. The fruit is pure and black and chewy… gorgeous wine. And it lives for decades. This has always been a collector’s dream and continues so through this vintage. Highly recommended.”
>> 94 pts- Wine Spectator/ >> 94 pts- Vinous

And that is a rather strong lineup, if I may. Just tremendously levels of satisfaction no matter your price threshhold, and I truly hope you can carve out some time to taste through this amazing flight! We’ll be here ready and pouring from 4:30-8:00 Friday. This week the first five get into your glasses for just $10, with a very worthy bit more for that awesome bonus lineup. Bring long snacks to soak up the octane, and friends to share the experience, and we’ll see you here!!