For All The Hippie Freaks!!!

This one's for all you tofu eating, hemp wearing, patchouli smelling, granola chewing, crunchy, mud diving Widespread Panic, listening hippie freaks!!!

Sustainable earth friendly farming techniques have long been an important topic in the wine making business. The whole idea behind organic wine making is that wine made without chemical fertilizers, insecticides, or other chemicals is not only better for the environment, but also better for the wine drinker. This topic is one that has gradually been building momentum in the past few years. I'm not sure if I can be persuaded. Forget bright fruit notes, I love a little DDT in the nose of my wines.

In all seriousness, there are a ton of amazing organic wines out there. Most recently, I stumbled across a lovely little wine from a small Maryland wholesaler. The 2006 Earth 2.0 from Navarra, Spain is a fantastic buy. Made from 100% Tempranillo, this wine is great for anyone looking for an easy drinking, medium bodied red. At $10.99/bottle, this proves once again that Spain is the best region for value reds.


P.S. I'm starting a new organic movement called "Save The Planet While Getting Buzzed." T-shirts will be available shortly.

Scotch Tasting

On Wednesday, November 12th, we're inviting all of our customers for a Compass Box Scotch tasting at The Still from 6-8pm. The evening will begin with appetizers, and then will proceed with a Scotch education which will include tasting the Compass Box portfolio. The guy giving the presentation will perform a magic show/circus act while schooling you on all of the finer nuances of Scotch drinking. (Ok that last part was a lie, but that would be pretty cool if it were true.)
The price is $20 if you reserve your spot before November 9th, and $30 if you end up crashing the party. Call us if you would like to reserve a spot. 410-321-6500

Grape of the Year

The end of the year is slowly approaching so it's a good time to think about what's been going on with wine in 2008. I'll start with what I think has been the grape of the year......(drumroll please) Malbec. Not just Malbec, but specifically Argentinian Malbec. I would say that in the past two years, I've been tasting an incredible amount of awesome Malbec from Argentina. I've also had more people than ever specifically ask for Malbec. I love Argentinian Malbec because you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to buy great stuff. In fact, all of my favorites are in the 25 and under price range. I'd recommend Malbec to anyone looking for a less aggressive alternative to Shiraz. The good ones are typically rich and almost velvety in taste with plum and dark berry flavors on the palate.

My favorites:
2006 Altos Las Hormigas Riserva Malbec: This is not only my favorite Malbec, but it also ended up being one of our e-newsletter favorites from this year. $24.99/bottle

2007 Layer Cake Malbec: This ended up being one of the customer favorites at a recent wine tasting we did a couple of weeks ago. Although quite young, this wine is still very lush and easy to drink. No need for long winded, pretentious tasting notes. Try it, 'nuff said. $16.99/bottle

The beginnings of a blog

With the newsletter being such a hit, I've decided to step it up a notch and try my hand in Blog Universe. Honestly, the current worldwide economic slide has given us the opportunity to get incredible deals on amazing wines on an almost daily basis. Instead of inundating people with emails, I've decided to use this blog as a resource to feature more in-depth profiles of specific wines and wineries. I'll also update the blog with email offers to help people keep track of different wines we've offered. This is only a supplement to emails, so our email newsletter subscribers will always get the best deals first. Finally, the blog is also a great way for all of you future Robert Parker's to comment on the different wines we feature. Tasting notes, and critiques are always welcome so feel free to let me know what you think. Although we're still in the beginning process now, I hope to be able to put some stuff together for everyone rather soon. Thanks, Justin

Winery Profile: Kaesler

Last week I had the great privilege of meeting Reid Bosward, the winemaker for Kaesler wines in Australia. Tasting with the person that actually makes the wine always seems to be special. Reid was no exception. We tasted through a handful of wines and these two ended up being my favorites.

2006 Kaesler Semillon $17.99/bottle
It's always fun to find something different, especially in whites. Semillon is a lesser known grape normally found in France. This wine is the answer to people that think that whites can't be aged. It has a lovely pear nose with an almost nectarine finish. The Kaesler semillon would be great for anyone bored with Chardonnay, but looking for something that's still full-bodied.

2006 Nashwauk Cabernet Sauvignon $28.99/bottle
Nashwauk is a new line from a recent vineyard acquistion from the McLaren Vale. Nashwauk comes from the name of a ship that sunk near the vineyard site in the 1800's. This is honestly one of the better cabs I've had in awhile. This wine is full bodied with bright fruit, but very restrained and light on the tannins. This is a wine asking to be consumed immediately!

1995 Pol Roger Brut Champagne

From: Champagne, France

Varietal: 100% Chardonnay

Price: Regularly $79/bottle, Email Special $59/bottle

For: Bubbly fans (Obviously!)

2001 Allegrini Amarone

From: Valpolicalla, Italy

Varietal: Mostly Corvina

Price: Regularly $79/bottle, Sale $59/bottle

For: Fans of SUPER rich, fruity wines that can be aged for decades.

2006 Las Rocas Grenache

From: Spain

Varietal: Grenache

For: Fans of Cote du Rhone, and new-world easy drinking reds

Press: 91 Points: The Wine Advocate

Tis the season for Tasting

Crazy prohibitionist laws in this state mandate that we only get a certain amount of tastings a year. We put a hold on them for the summer, but we're having our first tasting of the season on Friday, October 3rd from 3pm to 7pm. The wine list hasn't been set up yet, but I promise it'll be worth it. (I mean, it's free so of course it's worth it.) We're thinking about doing them every Friday and Saturday for the rest of the year. Emails will be sent shortly.

2005 Flavium Mencia

Flavium

From: Bierzo, Spain

Varietal: Mencia

Price: Regularly $9.99/bottle, Special $7.99/bottle

For: Those who want a light, easy to drink everyday wine.

Press: 90 points from The Wine Advocate