[Cornell Wine] Cornell Wine This Week

[Michael Beard]

CORNELL WINE COMPANY
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UPCOMING TASTINGS
Saturday March 24 – CWC’s 13th Anniversary and Mick’s ?? Birthday Sale
March 30 – Cabernet Sauvignon
April 06 - Piemonte
April 13 – Walla Walla
April 14 – April Club Selections
April 20 – Tuscany
April 27 - Zinfandel

FRIDAY, March 23, 4:30 - 7:00pm

GREECE

CHEESE & DOLMATHES PLATES
As a change this week we are offering a plate of dolmathes in  
addition to our usual cheese plate.

Our cheese plate was to be all from Greece, but as most Greek cheeses  
are somewhat salty, we have included a cheese from the island of  
Menorca.
Kasseri                                          Sheep/Goat’s  
Milk              Greece
Mainly made in Macedonia, this cheese is used as a table cheese and  
is often the cheese in the Greek version of pizza.
Mahon                                          Cow’s  
Milk                         Spain
We’ve used this before – from the island of Menorca, it almost tastes  
like sheep’s milk cheese.
Manouri                                       Sheep’s  
Milk                       Greece
One of the country’s top cheeses, it has its own Controlled  
Denomination of Origin.  Again, it hails from Macedonia and is from  
Sheep’s milk.  It is also produced in Thessalia where goat’s milk is  
often added.
CHEESE SAMPLER PLATE COST $4.00

Each dolmathes plate will contain one meat and one vegetarian version.
DOLMATHES SAMPLER PLATE COST $2.00
1. As with most of our Greek wine tastings we start with a white from  
the island of SANTORINI.  ASSYRTIKO is a white grape grown in the  
Cyclades Islands and thought by some to have originated on  
Santorini.  The grape is well suited to the island’s climate as it is  
impervious to drought, and resists diseases such as powdery mildew.   
Considered by many as Greece’s finest white varietal, the wine offers  
white stone fruit with touches of honeysuckle on the nose, and the  
palate and finish have a wonderful underlying mineral acidity.  Many  
examples age in a similar manner to white Burgundy - $20.00

2. We now move to the island of RHODES to taste a red from the  
MANDELARIA grape which is known as AMORYANO on the island.  I visited  
the winery in 2004 and thought all their red wines were over-oaked.   
Maybe they listened as the 2004 RHODOS AMORYANO is a light to medium  
bodied red with bright strawberry fruit, spice, and no noticeable oak  
- $12.75
3. XINOMAVRO is one of the two most important red varietals in Greece  
(see the premium pours for the other).  The name means “black acid”.   
The wines tend to be somewhat tannic in their youth, with subdued  
fruit and high acidity, and show better with food; magazines such as  
The Wine Spectator do not understand the grape.   However, the wines  
age like fine pinot noir offering supple strawberry and cherry fruit,  
some spice, all while maintaining some acidity and tannins.  Some  
wines from the grape are made to be drunk when relatively young, and  
one such is BOUTARI 2004 NAOUSSA.  BOUTARI is a long established  
(1879) producer of a wide range of wines, most of which are good  
value.  Their flagship red is the NAOUSSA RESERVE, but unfortunately  
the local distributor does not carry it - $15.00

4. While I think the best wines in Greece are from the native  
varietals, some fine wines are being made from “international”  
varietals.  KOSTAS LAZARIDIS in the DRAMA region makes good Merlot  
and Cabernet Sauvignon.  However in his 2004 AMETHYSTOS he blends  
CABERNET and MERLOT together with the native varietal LIMNIO.  This  
local grape takes its name from the island of Limnos.  Wines from the  
grape are known for their body and alcohol, and usually have sage and  
laurel characteristics - $20.00

TRY THESE FOUR WINES FOR $10.00

Once again we offer two Premium Pours:

The KIR-YIANNI 2001 RAMNISTA is from the NAOUSSA Denomination of  
Superior Quality and is 100% XINOMAVRO.  This is a much more serious  
wine than the Boutari Naoussa in the basic flight and is just  
beginning to come out of its shell.   YIANNIS BOUTARIS spearheaded  
the BOUTARI WINERY’s move to some single-vineyard wines and in 1996  
left the Boutari Group to focus on winemaking at the YIANAKOHORI  
ESTATE in IMATHIA (originally the vineyard source for the Boutari  
Naoussa Reserve).  The 1997 of this wine is drinking superbly now,  
and this 2001 should be even better given time - $24.00

TRY THIS WINE FOR $3.00/Taste or $5.00/4 ounces

The second of the important red varietals is AGHIORGHITIKO (sometimes  
spelt without the ‘H’).  It is often known as SAINT GEORGE after the  
tiny chapel of Saint George in NEMEA.  The GAIA ESTATE KOUTSI  
VINEYARD is 100% AGHIORGHTIKO grown on the winery’s site in Koutsi  
Korinthias in NEMEA, PELOPONNESE, and in most vintages is my favorite  
Greek red wine.  The 2003 is no exception offering, lush plum and  
berry fruit together with dusty, earthy overtones.  Greeks love lamb,  
and this is the wine to pair with grilled or roasted lamb - $37.50

TRY THIS WINE FOR $4.50/Taste or $8.00/4 ounces

TASTE BOTH FOR $6.50

NB: All prices are subject to change without notice.  The above  
information is based on verbal information from distributors, and  
actual wine prices will depend on the price invoiced at delivery to  
Cornell Wine Company.

SATURDAY, March 24th

13th ANNIVERSARY SALE!

See earlier email for more details

* We will have several wines open from NOON – 5:00PM for free tasting

* Free cheese and meats from 1:00PM while it lasts

* Door Prizes

* With one or two exceptions, SPECIAL DISCOUNT ON ALL WINES  
throughout the day

Looking forward to seeing you all,

Cheers,

Mick & Pauline
Cornell Wine Company
14740 NW Cornell Road, #90
Portland, OR 97229-5400
(503) 531-3981
mick at cornellwine.com
www.cornellwine.com
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