Tiffany's Wine Shop

Aril 28 update!

Dennis — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:34:27 +0000

OK, Bandon, you loved them at the Rotary Wine & Cheese Extravaganza earlier this month, so Zerba Cellars is now in stock in the Tiffany’s wine shop! We are carrying the Viognier, Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, Merlot, Barbera, and Wild “Z”! Also, watch for an announcement soon for our Wine Tasting next Friday night, May 6!

Support King Estate

Dennis — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:44:35 +0000

As some of you know, King Estate is involved in a legal battle over land use laws. Please visit www.kingestate.com/support to see if you would like to sign their petition. I highly recommend signing the petition, especially after watching the video about them. King Estate is the kind of commercial enterprise in a rural setting nearly everyone would support, so I believe there is a problem with the antiquated land use laws.

New press!

Dennis — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:04:00 +0000

The free April issue of Oregon Wine Press is now in the store and highlighted 9 Oregon Wine Shops that have been in business for 20 years. We were the first one listed with a paragraph about us. Very Cool!!!!!

MARCH 10: NEW ITEMS AT TIFFANY’S WINE SHOP!

Dennis — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:31:45 +0000

We just received Russian River Brewing’s Temptation Ale, which is a barrel-aged brew. I’m taking one home tonight to try it! You will find this brew on the beer end-cap. Look for more exciting beers in the weeks to come!

We also received two great values, Conte Bregonzo Amarone and La Loggia Barolo, each $19.99. Can you imagine a Barolo or an Amarone for only $19.99? These will be located on the two wine barrels in the wine aisle. Both barrels are stocked with new items or great deals!

Zero One Vintner’s Wild Sky Cabernet Sauvignon is back in stock now. This is the 2008 vintage of a really good Washington Cabernet Sauvignon. The previous two vintages were rated 92 & 93.

The 2008 Marilyn Merlot is in for all you Marilyn Monroe fans!

Another new item is Coco Rosso, a red wine infused with dark chocolate. Here’s what the label says: Imagine the finest wine infused with natural dark chocolate to create a decadent wine experience. Delicately blended with inviting aromatics of black cherry, raspberry and plum highlighted with rich, velvety dark chocolate. Savor this indulgent wine as a sweet accompaniment to any meal or dessert or simply enjoy on its own.

Finally, I have a conflict next Friday night, so Christie has postponed her wine tasting until the end of April. However, Natalie Sigafooe from Lemelson Vineyards will be here to pour some great Lemelson Vineyard Wines on Friday, March 25, from 4-6 PM. Everyone should try to make this tasting.

Ciao for now!

March 3, 2011 News

Dennis — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 20:31:25 +0000

Some new wines have arrived that you should be interested in. In February, I told you that I had tried the best Chardonnays I have ever tasted from Oregon. These were the Evening Land Vineyard Chardonnays, and I have all three in stock now.

Since then, I have also added two more phenomenal Oregon Chardonnays and these are from Bergstrom Wines. Bergstrom also makes outstanding Pinot Noirs, and I have three of those in stock as well.

Check out the wine barrel in the aisle for special buys and great deals!

I have two tastings scheduled for this month. Christie Brassard from D’Vine Wines distribution will be here on Friday, March 18 to taste us on some wines from Washington State.

Natalie, from the Lemelson Vineyards Winery will be here to pour her wines on Friday, March 25! Both these tastings will be from 4-6 PM.

Finally, something I have wanted to talk about for quite sometime. Many customers are interested in Organic wines, but what they fail to realize is that nearly all Oregon wineries practice organic farming. It is expensive and time consuming to be certified organic and some wineries reserve the right to apply chemicals to new vines in order to ensure survivability to protect their investment.

Thanks for reading!

February 2011 news!

Dennis — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:01:44 +0000

I received some Joseph Drouhin French Burgundies today. Included in that lineup are the White Burgundies, Premier Cru Chablis, Meursault, and Chassagne Montrachet. The Reds include Pommard, Beaune des Mouches, Nuits-Saint-Georges, and Gevrey Chambertin.

I have also added some Oregon wines, including the highly acclaimed Evening Land Vineyards. I recently tasted some of their wines and was really impressed. Their Oregon Chardonnays are the best Oregon Chardonnays I have tasted! Currently, I have one Chardonnay of theirs and three Pinot Noirs. Evening Land Vineyards bought the old Seven Springs Vineyard site and now they are the exclusive winemaker of Seven Springs Vineyard wines. In the past, several different wineries bought grapes from that site and made Seven Springs Wines.

I also recently barrel tasted the 2010 vintage of Ken Wright Wines. In a difficult year weather wise, I can say that his wines are showing beautifully right now.

Dennis

Sake Tasting

Dennis — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:28:34 +0000

The Sake Tasting on Friday created quite a buzz around town and we had 40 people come to taste, so that was a nice crowd. It was a learning experience for many of us and some of us found out that we might even like it! With seven different Sakes to try, there was something for everyone.

By the way, all my close out wines have been slashed in price again. It is time to move them out. My $15 and under rack is now a $10 and under rack. The wines on the back end cap have also been lowered in price, so hurry in for the best deals!

Finally, I have a couple of new wines: The Blue Pirate Pinot Gris is quite nice and this month is retailing at $6.49. The Blue Pirate Pinot Noir is really quite smooth with no funky earthiness, and retails for $11.99. Blue Pirate is from Dundee, Oregon.

Our next tasting is scheduled for August 27. Trium Winery from southern Oregon will be here to pour their wines!

Thank you,

Dennis

May update

Dennis — Mon, 17 May 2010 23:56:43 +0000

Thanks to all who attended the Burgundy Tasting May 7. It was a well-attended tasting, and those wines are now on the shelf.

Evesham Wood has released a Tempranillo, and I had it with dinner last night. This is a very young Tempranillo and would benefit from aerating or decanting, but eventually becomes quite good, especially for $14.

The Raincoast Crisp Crackers are a big hit! We tasted those at the tasting as well; they come in five flavors and pair favorably with wine and cheese. The flavors are Salty Date & Almond, Cranberry & Hazelnut, Original, Fig & Olive, and Rosemary Raisin Pecan. I checked out their website and there are plenty of recipes and ways to use the crackers. A couple that sounded good were to use them in place of crostini in Tomato bruschetta, or with Fresh mozzarella, sun-dried tomato paste and kalamata olive half with a sprinkling of sea salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. I am out of the Rosemary Raisin Pecan until my next order. They are a Canadian product distributed through Washington State.

Lemelson’s ‘09 Pinot Gris has been released, and is very good. I have some more coming in on Thursday, but there is still one left in the cooler.

Finally, I received a surprise in the mail last Friday. I received a Bobble head likeness of Chester Osborn, the winemaker at d’Arenberg Winery out of Australia. The distributor for this wine is from Napa, California, and they sent out 100 bobble heads to their top customers, so as far as d’Arenberg in the west is concerned, I guess I made their Top 100 List! I even received a letter from Chester, and I would like to post it for you:

Chester Osborn: “I can honestly say this has taken the art of being different to a whole new level and must admit that this is my first bobble head experience. While my main connection to this project has been to give consent (which I happily provided), I had no idea what a bobble head was! Anyway, this will serve as a reminder that we are deadly serious about the winemaking up until the wine is in the bottle, from then on it should be fun! I’m not sure what’s weirder–to be the bobble head or to want to have the bobble head–I may never understand Americans! What I am sure of is my overwhelming gratitude to you for your strong support of d’Arenberg wines. Your efforts in telling the d’Arenberg story are a big part of our lasting success in the U.S. On behalf of my dad, d’Arry, and I, we offer our thanks to you!”

The next time you are in my shop, you will find the bobble head in the locked wine cabinet. d’Arenberg has the Stump Jump Shiraz, the Top 100 wine that sells for $9.99/bottle.

And to quote Thomas Jefferson, “Good Wine is a Necessity of Life for me!”

An April Update

Dennis — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:13:31 +0000

New into the wine isle is the inaugural vintage of former NFL Quarterback, Drew Bledsoe’s Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is made by Chris Figgins, who has worked with his father Gary making Leonetti wines for the last few years. I have tasted the wine and it is very good. Unfortunately, it comes with a high price, $91.49.

I have added several Melrose Vineyard wines to the shelf, and Nora and I especially like the Viognier and the Pinot Gris. We had the Viognier with a Bussman Ham for our Easter dinner. It was a really good match. You will find these wines on the bottom shelf on the Oregon side of the aisle. Melrose Vineyards does not have a winemaker, so Henry Estate makes their white wines for them and Brandborg Winery makes their reds, both using Melrose grapes. This is a common practice for smaller wineries that don’t have a winemaker.

I have also added some Willakenzie Estate wines to the shelf. Willakenzie has been around for quite awhile but their Pinot Noirs are well-known and sell out quickly. I have a few more of their Pinot Noirs coming in next week. Their Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are good white wines.

On Easter Saturday, we drove to Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards and tasted their wonderful wines. They are a very small producer, so you won’t see their wines in any retail stores. I think they might have a few wines in one or two shops in Roseburg, but they just don’t make enough for wide distribution. For example, they are releasing a Viognier very soon, and after filling their wine club member’s shipments, they have only 13 cases left. Anyway, here are some tips on how to taste wine is from Reustle Prayer of Rock Vineyards:

Wine tasting is a sensory experience, so let your senses explore the wine.
Holding the glass by the stem-to avoid warming up the wine and unsightly fingerprints-look at the color of the wine.
After observing the color, swirl the wine by the glass in slow, steady circles. This exposes the wine to air and helps to release the wine’s full bouquet.
Next, sniff the wine. The aroma should be clean and pure and at the same time, complex, emitting scents reminiscent of apples, berries, peaches or other fruits, of spring flowers or fresh, green fields-each aroma is unique.
Finally, sip the wine and swirl it around in your mouth to enjoy its full flavor. The taste of a well-made, well-balanced wine should carry through the promise of its bouquet.
There are no absolute rights or wrongs-only what you like or dislike.
A good wine will have a clean, agreeable, appealing taste with no off-flavors or unaccountable bitterness or flatness. In the same way, the aftertaste, or finish of the wine after you swallow, should be a pleasant, lingering sensation. In short, a good wine gives joy and leaves a pleasurable, satisfying memory.

Finally, we have all heard about the health benefits of drinking wine. Here is an article from Prevention Magazine that Betty Fedje supplied to me, and it is the third time I have heard about the red wine from Sardinia:

There’s increasing evidence that red wine may offer generous health benefits for heart and mind. Studies suggest that drinking moderate amounts daily—one or two 5 ounce servings—may lower heart disease risk by as much as 40%, possibly by boosting levels of good cholesterol and suppressing clot formation. In the Nurses’ Health Study, women who had one drink a day reduced their odds of cognitive decline as they grew older—and their risk was 20% lower than the teetotalers in the group. And the next time you raise a glass to your health, fill it with a wine from southwest France or central Sardinia, where traditional winemaking methods are still used. Red wines from these regions had higher levels of protective polyphenols—up to 10 times more—compared with wines tested from Australia, Greece, Spain, South America, and the U.S., according to a British study.

I currently have two red wines from Sardinia in the wine aisle. They are both Cannonaus, which is what Grenache is called on the island of Sardinia. They are on the shelf that is near the Port section.

Now, what are polyphenols? They are the most abundant antioxidants in the diet. Studies also suggest that they play a strong role in the prevention of degenerative diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases and cancers.

Here’s to your health,

Dennis

Malolactic Fermentation

Dennis — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:03:50 +0000

In my last post, I mentioned ML or MLF (Malolactic Fermentation). This is a process in winemaking where tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer tasting lactic acid. Malolactic fermentation tends to create a rounder, fuller mouthfeel. It has been said that malic acid tastes of green apples. By contrast, lactic acid is richer and more buttery tasting. Grapes produced in cool regions tend to be high in acidity much of which comes from the contribution of malic acid. MLF is also thought to generally enhance the body and flavor persistence of wine, producing wines of greater palate softness and roundness. Many winemakers also feel that better integration of fruit and oak character can be achieved if MLF occurs during the time the wine is in the barrel.

The chances are that if MLF is not used under controlled conditions, it will happen spontaneously, usually after the wine has been bottled, and that can be disastrous, as the wine will appear to the consumer to still be fermenting (as a result of CO2 being produced). Typically, malolactic fermentation is used only on red wines destined for aging and selected white wines, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. Winemakers will use a starter culture to induce MLF. They will then bring the temperatures of the wines up, (depending on which culture they use) to over 70°.

Life is too short to drink bad wine!

Dennis