2005 Riesling Reserve, Albert Seltz (Alsace, France)
Price: $14.99             Special Price: $13.49             Case Price: $12.74
Albert Seltz is passionate about wine. And he should be- he comes from thirteen generations of winemakers in Mittelbergheim. At the age of nineteen, Seltz took over his father’s business, abandoning his plans to become a professional skier. Fanatical about honesty and originality in vinification, his grapes are hand-picked at various selection times to gain the maximum flavor for each grape varietal.   Made from 20 year old vineyards in Mittelbergheim; following pressing, these hand-harvested grapes are fermented in stainless steel with minimal intervention at the winery, using natural yeasts. Lemon aromas give way to beautiful acidity with great length.
Food Pairings: Shellfish, Sushi, Thai

2005 Gewürztraminer Reserve, Albert Seltz (Alsace, France)
Price: $15.99             Special Price: $14.39             Case Price: $13.59
Albert Seltz is passionate about wine. And he should be- he comes from thirteen generations of winemakers in Mittelbergheim. At the age of nineteen, Seltz took over his father’s business, abandoning his plans to become a professional skier. Fanatical about honesty and originality in vinification, his grapes are hand-picked at various selection times to gain the maximum flavor for each grape varietal.  The Gewürztraminer Reserve is made from 20 year old vineyards on the Berg (mountain) vineyard in Mittelbergheim. This is a wine with a lot of finesse and pleasure, notes of rose flower.

2006 Pinot Noir Adelsheim Vineyards (Willamette Valley, Oregon) 
Price: $32.99             Special Price: $29.69             Case Price: $28.04
This is lovely Oregon pinot noir: intense, redolent of wild cherries and raspberries and silken in texture. Everything has come together seamlessly: a classically cool Oregon vintage in 2006 that delivered pure fruit flavors and refreshing natural acidity; hands-off, purist winemaking; obviously superb raw material.   Bold, spicy scents of candied red cherries are found in the mouth-watering aromas of the 2003 Pinot Noir Goldschmidt Vineyard. A powerful, medium to full-bodied wine, it is jam-packed with red fruits (mostly syrupy cherries), and displays admirable concentration as well as depth. A note of lead shaving can be detected in the finish.
Food Pairings: Lamb, Salmon, Chicken 

2003 Malbec, Bodegas Tahuan (Mendoza, Argentina)
Price: $19.99             Special Price: $17.99             Case Price: $16.99
Tahuan (a shorter version of the name “Tahuantinsuyu”) was the native word for the Incan Empire that occupied a large part of what is now west-central Argentina’s chief wine growing region.   A blend of 90% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon It is an opaque purple-colored wine with an unmistakable nose of vanilla ice cream and black raspberries. This wine gushes with jammy black fruits that have soaked up its aging in 100% new oak casks. Although extremely intense and rich, it comes across the palate as elegant, with no sense of heaviness, rather remarkable in view of its exceptional intensity and length.
Food Pairings: Grilled Meat, Stews 

2005 Syrah Bodegas Tahuan (Mendoza, Argentina)
Price: $19.99             Special Price: $17.99             Case Price: $16.99
Tahuan (a shorter version of the name “Tahuantinsuyu”) was the native word for the Incan Empire that occupied a large part of what is now west-central Argentina’s chief wine growing region.   An intense ruby colored wine with aromas of violets, caramel, coffee, saddle leather, and spice.   The palate is silky with many of the same flavour notes found in the bouquet and braced by ripe firm tannins and bright acidity.
Food Pairings: Grilled Tuna, Beef

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Bodegas Tahuan (Mendoza, Argentina)
Price: $19.99             Special Price: $17.99             Case Price: $16.99
Tahuan (a shorter version of the name “Tahuantinsuyu”) was the native word for the Incan Empire that occupied a large part of what is now west-central Argentina’s chief wine growing region.   Highly expressive aromatics exhibit scents reminiscent of raspberries, cassis, violets, blueberries, and cherries. A medium to full-bodied effort that admirably couples power, concentration, depth, and extraction with elegance, purity, freshness, and focus, it offers loads of dark fruits, cassis, flowers as well as spices in its flavorful character. This wine’s wonderfully long finish displays notes of candied red cherries that envelop its fine, ripe tannin.
Food Pairings: Grilled Beef, Blue Cheeses 

Beer Tastings

There are over 27 million pints of beer sold EVERY DAY in the UK.   It goes without saying that beer is a large part of the culture and that the English take their beer seriously, so seriously that 35 years ago an organization formed called CAMRA (The Campaign for Real Ales), whose sole purpose is to uphold the traditional production of real ales.   What are “real ales”?  Simply put, it is a type of beer defined by its traditional production (Also known as "cask or bottle conditioned" beer) with the fundamental distinction between real and other ales being that the yeast is still present in the container from which the beer is served, although it will have settled to the bottom and is not poured into the glass. Because the yeast is still alive, the process of fermentation continues in the cask or bottle on the way to the consumer ensuring a fresh and natural taste.   These beers are sadly few and far between, and to have a beer recognized by CAMRA is along the lines of your restaurant getting a Michelin star.   This week we will be trying three CAMRA award winning ales from two of the best small breweries from the west mid-lands of Britain. So stop by and sample some of the best beers from that “green and pleasant land”.

Dorothy Goodbody Wholesome Stout, Wye Valley Brewery, Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire
Wye Valley Brewery is a family run business started in 1985 by former Guinness Head Brewer Peter Amor, in Canon Pyon, Herefordshire. In April 2002, the brewery moved to its present site in Stoke Lacy, where it is now recognized as the leading cask ale brewery in the country. During the relocation, the plant and equipment were completely upgraded and re-designed, though our commitment to using only the best quality ingredients and employing traditional methods is as strong as ever. Wholesome Stout, which was voted Supreme Champion at the CAMRA Winter Beer Festival 2002 and was awarded Bronze Medal in the 2005 CAMRA West Midlands Stout Category, is produced using only the finest ingredients available. They include Pale malt with roasted barley which produces a rich dark colour. Flaked barley is used to create a full and creamy head. The Stout is flavoured with Northdown hops which give a dry resinous taste.

Dorothy Goodbody “Our Glass” Bitter,  Wye Valley Brewery, Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire
The complex flavor profile has an initial fruity ester aroma with delicate citrus hop notes leading to a satisfying sweetness from the crystal malt with the distinctive amber malt flavor coming to the fore. The finish is crisp and bitter without the cloying effect other ales at this strength sometimes have.

“Ale Mary” Scottish Red Ale, RCH Brewery, Weston Super-Mare, Somerset
A reddish deep brown coloured beer which is a deceptively drinkable strong bitter with a fine combination of citrus hops and cherry fruit bittersweet flavours which gives a strong dry bitter finish. RCH Brewery started in the early 1980's at the Royal Clarence Hotel in the picturesque Severen Bay town of Weston Super-mare in Somerset (as a historical curiosity the brewery is located just 8 miles from the famous city of Cheddar).   In its 23 years RCH Brewery has won dozens of awards in the UK and across Europe.