Thank you to everyone who made it out to the tastings last week. I am
sorry that I missed the Friday tasting but Memphis was calling my
name. Well for this week I have a treat for you. We will be joined by
John Mason from Grassroots Wine Wholesalers. John is very
knowledgeable about wines and just a great guy to be around. He help
me pick these wines for the tasting. The wines are:

Tittarelli Torrontes Reserva 2006 Mendoza, Argentina $15.99

Pietra Santa Chardonnay 2005 Central Coast, California $15.99

Joseph Leitz Riesling Rudescheimer Klosterlay Kabinett 2006 Rheingau,
Germany $18.99

Castano Hecula Monastrell 2004 Yecla, Spain $11.99

Los Planos Syrah 2004 France $9.99

Tittarelli Tempranillo Reserva 2004 Mendoza, Argentina $15.99

So it is a little bit of something new and a little bit of some old
favorites. I am really excited for you all to try the new ones from
Tittarelli. Their Malbec Reserva is fantastic so I know you will love
these two wines. 

In other store news...

It gives me great pleasure to formally announce our next wine dinner.
The Epiphany Cafe and The Wine Source will host Brian Loring of the
Loring Wine company. For those of you familiar with Brian Loring and
his wines he needs no introduction. For those of you still scratching
your head's over who this guy is he is one of the top producers of
Pinot Noir in California. His wines consistently garner high scores
from the wine critics. They are usually snatched up by serious
collectors as soon as they become available. Loring Wine Company is a
small production boutique winery that produces several single vineyard
Pinot Noir's from the top vineyards in California. This is going to be
one hell of a wine dinner. For those Pinot freaks out there we will be
sampling four of Brian's single vineyard Pinot's. These fantastic
wines will be paired exquisitely with the culinary masterpieces of
Tres Jackson. Check out the menu below for a full list of both the
wines and the dishes. Here is an excerpt from the Loring Wine Company
website that should give you some more insight into just who Brian
Loring is and how he constructs his wines. 

My name is Brian Loring and my obsession is Pinot Noir. OK, I'm also
pretty crazy about Champagne, but that's another story. While in
college, I worked at a wine shop in Hollywood (Victor's), where one
of the owners was a Burgundy fanatic. So, my very first experiences
with Pinot Noir were from producers like Domaine Dujac, Henri Jayer,
and DRC. Needless to say, I found subsequent tasting safaris into the
domestic Pinot Noir jungle less than satisfying. It wasn't until I
literally stumbled into Calera
 (I tripped over a case of their wine in the store room) that I found
a California Pinot Noir that I could love. But it would be quite a
while before I found someone else that lived up to the standard that
Josh Jensen had established. I eventually came to understand and
enjoy Pinots from Williams Selyem 
, Chalone 
, and Sanford

, but I really got excited about California Pinot Noir when I met
Norm Beko from Cottonwood Canyon 
 at an Orange County Wine Society 
 tasting. 

My philosophy on making wine is that the fruit is EVERYTHING. What
happens in the vineyard determines the quality of the wine - I can't
make it better - I can only screw it up! That's why I'm extremely
picky when choosing vineyards to buy grapes from. Not only am I
looking for the right soil, micro-climate, and clones, I'm also
looking for a grower with the same passion and dedication to
producing great wine that I have. In other words, a total Pinot
Freak! My part in the vineyard equation is to throw heaping piles of
money at the vineyard owners (so that they can limit yields and still
make a profit) and then stay out of the way! Since most, if not all of
the growers keep some fruit to make their own wine, I tell them to
farm my acre(s) the same way they do theirs - since they'll obviously
be doing whatever is necessary to get the best possible fruit. One of
the most important decisions made in the vineyard is when to pick.
Some people go by the numbers (brix, pH, TA, etc) and some go by
taste. Once again, I trust the decision to the vineyard people. The
day they pick the fruit for their wine is the day I'm there with a
truck to pick mine. Given this approach, the wine that I produce is
as much a reflection of the vineyard owner as it is of my winemaking
skills. I figure that I'm extending the concept of terroir a bit to
include the vineyard owner/manager... but it seems to make sense to
me. The added benefit is that I'll be producing a wide variety of
Pinots. It'd be boring if everything I made tasted the same. 

You can definitely see that this is one serious winemaker. The dinner
will take place on April 16. It will cost $169 per person plus tax and
gratuity. While this is some serious coin it is a relative bargain for
wines and food of this caliber. If you are interested in attending
then please call the Epiphany Cafe immediately (205-344-5583). The
reservations for this dinner will fill up fast!

Epiphany Cafe 

519 Greensboro Avenue

A wine and food dinner featuring Brian Loring of Loring Winery, The
Wine Source and Glen Toney, paired with the cuisine of Epiphany and
Executive Chef Tres Jackson. Sponsored by Carpe Vino A Wine Shop in
Temerson Square.

Wednesday April 16th at 7 p.m.

One 

Sustainably Raised Scottish Salmon in Parchment with Napa cabbage,
Squash, Peppers, and Ginger

Paired with Loring Pinot Noir Green Valley Keefer Ranch Vineyard 2006

Two

Springer Mountain Chicken and Shitake Mushroom Ragu with Parmesan
Reggiano 

Paired with Loring Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands Rosellas
Vineyard 2006

Three

Duck Consomm with Duck confit Wontons and Duck egg roll

Paired with Loring Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands Garys Vineyard
2006

Four

New Zealand Lamb Chop and Lamb Loin Carpaccio with Yukon Gold potato
Bilini, mint ratia, and lemon Gremolata

Paired with Loring Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Durrell Vineyard 2006

Five

Baked Meringue with Mint chocolate ganache, shaved chocolate, and
mint

Paired with Lanson Champagne 

$169 per person plus tax and gratuity

Yes I know this is a repeat of the announcement from last week but I
wanted to make sure that everyone got it. This is going to be one
kickass event and I want as many of you to come as possible. Well I
hope to see you all Thursday and Friday night.

Thanks

Jonathan Harder

Manager

Carpe Vino Inc.

205-409-4738

Carpe Vino is conveniently located in Temerson Square in downtown
Tuscaloosa. It is directly behind the RBC bank building. Our hours
are 11:00 A.M. Until 9:00 P.M.