Asheville’s Best Wine Tasting– Saturday, December 10th, 2011 2PM-6:30PM
http://www.appalachianvintner.com/
JUST ANNOUNCED! Thats right folks Appalachian Vintner will be “moving” across the parking lot directly in front our current location, to 745 Biltmore Ave in the next month or two. The new location will feature an expanded bar, tap lines and market, CASK system, an outdoor seating area, tons of exposed brick walls and antique hard wood floors and a HUGE marquee sign….finally! More to come…
Wow! Where to begin….. well first of all THANK YOU so very very much for all the amazing support last Friday. Our Anniversary was to date the single greatest tasting we’ve had at Appalachian Vintner! We hosted over 200+ wonderful people and raised nearly $1,000 for Mission Children’s Hospital.
December 22nd 6pm Holiday Wine, Cheese and Champagne Tasting– The perfect tasting to find the best wine to accompany your holiday gatherings and the best sparkling wine & Champagne for a memorable New Years Toast! Enjoy a local cheese selection from our good friend Victor in Fairview, handmade Pâté (family recipe) and other delectable goodies. Come and see why traditional French Champagne has been the king of sparkling wine for centuries. $5 per person.
~ Asheville’s Wine Tasting ~
While last Fridays tasting was on all accounts a smashing success, we still have plenty of great wine & beer at Asheville’s best prices, see below for current listing of new arrivals. We also are offering a 20% discount on any solid special order case through the holidays, give us call for more information or to place and order. FYI if you find it cheaper anywhere else, we will match or beat the price!
Château de Valmer Vouvray– 100% Chenin Blanc from its iconic home in the Loire Valley. Wines from the Vouvray region have been on French kings’ tables since the 14th century. Seated on a rocky spur between the Raye and Brenne Valleys, the vineyard of the Chateau de Valmer and its 60+ acres carrying the label of Vouvray and Touraine appellation benefits from its proximity, less than 4 miles as the crow flies to the Loire River, the last wild European river to be added to the World Heritage Sites of UNESCO. The family winemaking tradition of the Chateau de Valmer dates back to the end of the 19th century, and more precisely, to 1888. This wine is produced in a “dry” style but certainly has more residual sugars than say, the wines of Savennières, another world-class area for Chenin on the Loire River. Direct importing by The Country Vintner of Ashland VA, keeps this little wine VERY well priced for its sourcing. Vinified in glass lined vats and aged on the fine lees for a lush texture and richly accentuated fruit throughout the palate. Shelf $12.99 Tasting $11.69
Seifried Winery Nelson BayUnoaked Chardonnay– 100% estate grown Chardonnay from the Seifried Rabbit Island and Brightwater Vineyards planted along the Tasman Bay due west of Marlborough. The Rabbit Island plot is the site of an ancient Maori kumara (sweet potato) farm. The soil is very poor but has a high water table, perfect for producing strong vines capable of making concentrated flavorful wines. The nose has nicely proportioned tropical fruit with hints of hazelnuts alongside riper summer stone fruits like peach and apricot. The palate is beautifully textual with creamy palate weight offset by fine acid giving length and definition. Certified through Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand. Truly a great value, especially with the price inflation coming out of New Zealand. Shelf $12.99 Tasting $11.69
Marchesi di Barolo Maràia Barbera Monferrato– Barbera 90% – Dolcetto 10%. While most wine drinkers are familiar with Barbera from Asti or Alba, the grape is believed to have originally hailed from the hills of Monferrato in central Piemonte, Italy where it has been known from the thirteenth century. Documents from the cathedral of Casale Monferrato between 1246-1277 detail leasing agreements of vineyard lands planted with “de bonis vitibus barbexinis” or Barbera, as it was known then. The wine ages for one year in small French oak barrels and partly in traditional 100-hectoliter barrels. In this way the wine becomes more harmonious and it increases the intensity of its bouquet. The color is a lively and brilliant dark ruby-red. The nose is fresh and deep with clean scents of fresh wild berries, currants and sour black cherry. A light hint of vanilla and toasted oak. The flavor is warm and robust, full-bodied, pleasant and balanced. Originally brought to our attention by our friend and resident artist, James Daniel III while dinning in Washington D.C. Maràia has become one of our best sellers from our Italian shelf. Shelf $ 12.99 Tasting $11.69
Fontanavecchia Aglianico del Taburno– Aglianico (pronounced “ah-LYAH-nee-koe”) is a black grape grown mainly in the regions at the southern most tip of Italy. The vine more than likely originated in Greece and was brought to the south of Italy by Greek settlers. Etymology derives the name Aglianico from a corruption of Apulianicum, the Latin adjective which indicates the whole of southern Italy in the Roman age. In early Roman times, it was the principal grape of the famous Falernian wine which was the Roman equivalent of a First Growth wine today. Aglianico produces monstrously structured wines with bracing tannins and firm acidity, bottlings that in the past have taken decades to mature to palatable drink. Today with modern winemaking taking a front seat in most areas, wines such as these have been replaced with juice that is much more approachable upon release, such as the Fontanavecchia we have here. From the Grandfather of the Estate: “…My wine has flesh and bones, which are perfumed with my memories, the taste which covers ones tongue, and wakes up all of your senses, my wine is the blood of these fields and everything that I have in me.” Libero Rillo. Another amazing direct import from the Haw River Wine Man. Shelf $16.99 Tasting $15.29
Lange Pinot Gris
Stonecap Chardonnay
Isenhower Last Straw Red
Vina Montes Alpha Carmenere
Napa Cellars Sauvignon Blanc
Dry Creek Vineyards Heritage Zinfandel
Tensley Santa Barbara Syrah– 92pts
Bacchus Cabernet Sauvignon
Bashee Central Coast Red
Maison Roche de Bellene Bourgogne Rouge Vieilles Vignes– 50 year old Pinot vines, native yeasts, biodynamicly farmed!
Mas Olivier Faugères Rouge
Château de l’Aiguillette Muscadet Vielles Vignes– our new fav from Loire!
Raphael Trouiller Elicio Vin de pays de Méditerranée
Cheto Chiarli Brut de Noir Rose– this is serious sparkling from the original Lambrusco house.
Drie Trocken Riesling
Tomas Cusine Vilosell Costers del Segrie
Pinord Clos de Torribas Crianza
Bookwalter Bookmark
2011 Sweetwater Festive Ale
2010 Sweetwater Festive Ale
J.K’s Solstice Hard Cider– This is the best winter cider we’ve every had period! Its 100% USDA Organic too!
2011 Olde Hickory Event Horizon
2010 Olde Hickory Event Horizon– DRAFT!
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere
Southern Tier Choklat– like dark chocolate?Like beer? This one is made for you!
Southern Tier Krampus
RJ Rockers 1st Snow Winter Ale
Ross-on-Wye Rum Barrel Cider– its really here this time.
Mikkeller To From Via 2011
Mikkeller From via To- 2010
Mikkeller Barrel Aged From Via To
Mikkeller Red/White Christmas 1.5L Magnums
Nogne-O Winter Ale
Haandbryggeriet Bestfar
Highland Cold Mountain Winter Ale
Asheville Natural Wine Blog at Appalachian Vintner 