[Cornell Wine] Cornell Club September

[Michael Beard]

CORNELL WINE CLUB
SEPTEMBER WINE SELECTIONS

Below are details of the September selections for our Wine Club.   
Wines are available for pick-up by members from Saturday, September  
1st  The wines will be available for all to taste on Saturday,  
September 8th Noon – 5:00PM.  Remember, members get a 15% discount on  
monthly selections, so SIGN-UP AND SAVE!

EARL and COUNTESS LEVEL

BENANTI 2006 BIANCO di CASELLE, ETNA, SICILY

In the 2007 edition of the Italian wine guide, Gambero Rosso, BENANTI  
was named Winery of the Year: “The awesome showing by Giuseppe  
Benanti’s wines this year didn’t surprise us.  We have followed the  
progress of this winery closely since its first entry to the Guide in  
1995.  Giuseppe set his sights on conquering the difficult Etna  
conditions, selecting the best soils, identifying the best clones and  
refining cellar techniques.  Time is kind to those who labour with  
love and tenacity.  So Giuseppe, with his sons Salvino and Antonio,  
is at last reaping his well-deserved success.”  Benanti has conducted  
in-depth research on the indigenous varietals of Sicily, and this  
white wine is made from the local grape, CARRICANTE.  The grapes come  
from head-trained vines planted at 2950ft. in volcanic soils on the  
slopes of Mount Etna.  The wine sees no oak treatment, and is a  
crisp, refreshing wine with lovely fruit on the mid-palate, and  
mineral elements in the finish.  It is suitable as an aperitif, or to  
accompany most fish/seafood dishes.

Regular Price: $17.50
Member Price: $14.88

SANCTUARY 2003 CABERNET SAUVIGNON, USIBELLI VINEYARD, NAPA VALLEY,  
CALIFORNIA

SANCTUARY is a new winery for me, and the wines are marketed by the  
folks from SONOMA-CUTRER.  While the wine clocks-in at 14.3% alcohol  
and spent 24 months in French oak, it is not a “Napa Cabernet on  
steroids”, but is more in the style of a classic Napa Cabernet of the  
mid-1990s.  Rated at 92 points in The Wine Enthusiast, the wine  
offers lots of cassis fruit, well-integrated oak, and enough acidity  
to make the wine food-friendly as well as a wine that could be sipped  
on the deck.  If there were more Napa wines like this, I might start  
buying them again for my own cellar!

Regular Price: $29.75
Member Price: $25.29

Total Member Monthly Cost: $40.00

BARON and BARONESS LEVEL

J. CHRISTOPHER 2006 RIESLING, WILLAMETTE VALLEY, OREGON

JAY SOMERS, owner winemaker at J.CHRISTOPHER WINES makes very good  
PINOT NOIRS, but also has a wonderful touch with white wines.   
Several of you are regular buyers of his white blend CRISTO MISTO,  
but his talents are best shown in how he handles RIESLING.  Jay has  
spent some time with German wine super-star ERNIE LOOSEN, so it is  
hardly surprising Jay makes his RIESLING in a traditional off-dry  
German style.  The wine offers aromas of peach and apricot with just  
a classic touch of petrol (this is good!).  The wine is medium weight  
on the palate and the finish is beautifully balanced between residual  
sugar and acidity.  Who needs German wines?!

Regular Price: $18.50
Member Price: $15.72

VAONA 2005 VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO, VENETO, ITALY

This is the current release of what has become the shop’s best- 
selling Valpolicella after its entry into the Oregon market with the  
2003 vintage.  The VAONA family has owned prime vineyards in the  
VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO zone since 1931. Today the current grower- 
producer is ALBERTO VAONA, the grandson of the person who originally  
purchased the property.  Under Alberto’s direction, the winery has  
made great strides, and today’s wines offer some of the best  
quality : price available from the area.  This wine is a classic  
blend of 40% CORVINA, 30% CORVINONE, 25% RONDINELLA and 5% MOLINARA,  
and is nothing like the “industrial Valpolicellas” that were common  
in the 1980s.  The nose offers lovely berry aromas and this leads to  
intense (for a Valpolicella!) fruit on the palate.  On the finish the  
fruit is well-balanced by moderate acidity, making the wine a lovely  
accompaniment to many pasta dishes with meat sauces, and to fowl such  
as duck or goose.

Regular Price: $11.50
Member Price: $09.78

Total Member Monthly Cost: $25.00

Cheers,
Mick Beard
Cornell Wine Company
(503) 531-3981
mick at cornellwine.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.pacifier.com/pipermail/cornell-list/attachments/20070901/f2b08173/attachment-0001.html