Gary's Wine Club News Monthly: December 2009

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

THE BEST LAST MINUTE GIFT - A WINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP

http://www.garyswineclub.com/gift_center.shtml

A Gary's Wine Club Membership is Perfect for Gift Giving!

With wine experiencing unprecedented growth in its popularity, customers have come to rely on a gift of membership in Gary's Wine Club for consistently high standards of excellence in gift giving - for weddings, birthdays, holidays, corporate gift-giving... or even as a gift to yourself!

Need a card? We've got you covered!

Gary's will send an elegant card the recipient of your gift, welcoming them to the club in your name and informing them on the duration of their membership.

All you have to do is type a message in the comments section of your order form, and we'll do the rest!

Click here to choose a club,

If you would like to give a Gary's Wine Club Membership as a gift, you can click on the membership you're interested in below to print out a membership certificate for instant giving:

Vintner Selections Certificate
Reserve Selections Certificate
Cellar Selections Certificate
Premiere Collections Certificate
Strictly Red Certificate
Strictly White Certificate

http://www.garyswineclub.com/gift_center.shtml

Gary's Wine & Marketplace - Madison | Bernardsville | Wayne
1308 Route 23 North • Wayne, NJ 07470 • 973-633-3900
E-mail: info@garyswine.com • Toll Free: 1-888-99-GARYS
http://www.GarysWine.com • Buy Wine Online • NJ Wine Store

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

2006 GF Grand Finale Jericho Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/11006.html

Brand: GF Grand Finale
Style: Red Wine
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Napa Valley
Category: California
Size: 750 ml

Price: $74.99
Reg: ~~$94.99~~

It's always been Gary's belief that the wine business is not just about moving volume. It's about enjoying life, enjoying wine, and enjoying the company of friends. Otherwise, we might as well be selling carburetors. After 30 years in the wine business, Gary decided he'd like to begin to share the same camaraderie he's developed with the winemakers he's met along the way with his other friends, our most loyal customers. Thus, the GF Private Label project was born with the philosophy that there's always an extra barrel or two available for a friend.

For the flagship Grand Finale series, we've begun sourcing single barrels of ultra-premium wine as a "thank you" to our very best customers. We've worked directly with the winemakers to craft these wines, traveled extensively to check up on them as they develop into truly one-of-a-kind bottlings. You will not, cannot, find these wines anywhere else. They're just for us. And as such, we think they're a fitting Grand Finale to any special occasion. Our first project choosing a single barrel from Jericho Canyon Vineyards just happened, ever so providentially, to fall in the amazing-for-Napa-Cabernet 2007 vintage. Crafted by winemaker Robbie Meyer, this hillside Cabernet is a force to be reckoned with. Powerful and intense, this wine is inky purple in the glass, and full of wild berry flavors, black truffle and licorice, ending with a mouthful of fleshy tannins. Give this monster some time to nap if you can; those powerful, brooding tannins will soften with time to reveal an increasingly complex and showy wine.

Food pairing: Standing rib roast

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/11006.html

Gary's Wine & Marketplace - Madison | Bernardsville | Wayne
1308 Route 23 North • Wayne, NJ 07470 • 973-633-3900
E-mail: info@garyswine.com • Toll Free: 1-888-99-GARYS
http://www.GarysWine.com • Buy Wine Online • NJ Wine Store

2005 Oakville East Exposure Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/04464.html

Brand: Oakville East
Style: Red Wine
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Oakville
Category: California
Size: 750 ml

Price: $69.99
Reg: ~~$125.00~~

The Oakville AVA of Napa Valley is home to many of California's finest Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines: including Joseph Phelps Bacchus, Dalle Valle, Showket, Rudd and Screaming Eagle. In fact, in a profile of the region that appeared in the October 14, 2004 edition of the Wine Spectator, wine critic Matt Kramer wrote, "... what emerges from this rocky, sun-drenched zone is like no other Cabernet in the world." It's a special piece of terrior, and one that has treated relative newcomer to the scene, proprietor Elliot Stern, and his Oakville East Exposure Cabernet quite well. He chose a stretch of iron-rich land along the collapsed Vaca Mountain range and a winemaker who knows Oakville fruit like the back of her hand. (Sara Gott formerly made wine at Joseph Phelps.) The grapes are farmed organically and production is kept low: about 500 cases per vintage. The resulting wine is full of dark berry, plum and cedar notes with chocolaty, fine-grained tannins on the finish. Gary was particularly excited to discover this wine a few years back, and was even more excited that he could offer it to our customers this time around at less than the usual $100+ per bottle!

Food pairing: Braised short ribs over polenta

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/04464.html

2006 Ramey Shanel Vineyard Syrah

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/11277.html

Brand: Ramey Wine Cellars
Style: Red Wine
Varietal: Syrah
Region: Sonoma Coast
Category: California
Size: 750 ml
Ratings: RP 93 WS 93 IWC 93

Price: $34.99
Reg: ~~$43.99~~

In a recent Wine Spectator article, writer Tim Fish contended, "Some winemakers are farmers, others are scientists or technicians or even desk jockeys. A few, like David Ramey, are philosophers." David Ramey has no vineyards. He prefers instead to source his fruit from what he sees as the best vineyards around him, then take the wine from there. What he does have is about 30 years of winemaking under his belt. When we sat down with "the philosopher-winemaker" recently to taste his wines, that breadth of knowledge really came out. With 20 or so glasses in front of us, Ramey explained how this oak vs. that oak, this lot in the vineyard vs. that lot, even this strain of yeast vs. that one, really changes the same wine. "Here; taste this," he'd say, and the incredible thing was that we absolutely could. His expertise really shines in this Syrah from the Shanel Vineyard on the Sonoma Coast. A rarity, the Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, and International Wine Cellar all agreed that the wine warranted 93 points and the highest praise from their critics.

Food pairing: Crispy glazed duck or goose

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/11277.html

2007 GF Go Figure Napa Valley Red Lot 5

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/11008.html

Brand: GF Go Figure
Style: Red Wine
Varietal: Meritage Blend
Region: Napa Valley
Category: California
Size: 750 ml
PROMO:

Price: $49.99
Reg: ~~$69.99~~

For Gary's own personal project, the Go Figure series, we've begun sourcing wines crafted by the industry-leading winemakers who had a little extra left over from their own bottling. The result is stellar wine hand-selected by Gary. This was our first bottling from the 2007 vintage, and we wouldn't say it if it weren't true; this is quite possibly the most amazing deal we've found in years! For our Lot 5 bottling, we convinced one of the hottest wineries in Napa, whose regular bottlings sell well over $100, to sell us some extra (delicious) red wine. You know what we can't tell you is the name of the winery, but what we can tell you is it's a blend of Merlot, Cabernet, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot with fruit so rich and complex and mocha tannins so velvety-smooth, it's like buying standing-room only seats and ending up front-row-center-orchestra!

Food pairing: Seared filet mignon and Gorgonzola

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/11008.html

2005 Holly's Hill Mourvedre

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/11583.html

Brand: Holly's Hill
Style: Red Wine
Varietal: Mourvedre
Region: Sierra Foothills - El Dorado
Category: California
Size: 750 ml

Price: $20.99
Reg: ~~$25.99~~

I always wonder why I don't hear wine lovers, particularly those who are die-hard Cab fanatics, talk about Mourvedre more. True, it doesn't have the same widespread recognition and cachè as Cali Cab. But when it's time to curl up next to a fire with a dark, earthy, spicy yet smooth red wine, I just can't think of anything better than a Mourvedre. Often Mourvedre is paired with Grenache and Syrah to produce a weightier wine. But when grown in the right climate, it can have great structure, complexity and finishing spice all on its own. Taking a lesson from one of the most seasoned producers of Mourvedre, Chateau de Beaucastel in the Rhone Valley of France, a few fans of the grape decided to bring some cuttings over from Beaucastel to California. They had to be quarantined for three years for testing before they were released to and propagated by enologists at UC Davis, but at long last, some of the cuttings were used at the small winery Holly's Hill in the Sierra foothills. The result: classic Mourvedre, earthy and spicy as ever.

Food pairing: Cassoulet

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/11583.html

Lucien Albrecht Brut Rose NV

http://www.garyswine.com/shop_champagne/60319.html

Brand: Lucien Albrecht
Style: Sparkling
Region: Alsace
Category: Sparkling
Size: 750 ml

Price: $15.99
Reg: ~~$21.99~~

Generally it's only once a year that we send out sparkling wines in place of white wines for the Wine Club, because we can rest assured that this time of year everyone has at least one celebration to warrant some effervescent quaffing. This year, our wine team had a lot of fun choosing the sparkler for the Reserve level. As we tasted this lively cremant from Alsace, we stood around the tasting counter trying to guess all the grapes within (Pinot Auxerrois, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Gris, by the way,) enjoying the creamy mousse (that's the bubbly foam on top), and before we knew it, we had our own celebration going! It even made one staff member so happy she likened it to the "fizzy lifting drink" from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. (Yes, that was Laura.) Now, it's by far our favorite biodynamic Alsatian cremant of the season!

Food pairing: Potato latkes with smoked salmon, crème fraîche, and American cavia

http://www.garyswine.com/shop_champagne/60319.html

2007 Angels Landing Jaeger Oak Knoll Merlot

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/10597.html

Brand: Angels Landing
Style: Red Wine
Varietal: Merlot
Region: Napa Valley
Category: California
Size: 750 ml
PROMO:

Price: $16.99
Reg: ~~$24.99~~

A few months back, we got rave reviews from our customers for bringing in a new brand of Napa Cabernet called Angel's Landing. We've long since sold out of that bottling, but we practically rejoiced when we got their Oak Knoll Merlot just in time for the holidays. Now as Merlots go, this isn't the demure "little sister to Cabernet" that many Merlots may be. This bottle, as Merlots go, is a monster. Sourced from the Jaeger Vineyard in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley, this is actually a Pomerol-style blend of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon. With its ripe berry and cherry flavors and a touch of cassis, this wine is downright rich with great depth and complexity usually found in wines two times this price. Serve it up with venison, grilled pork chops, veal dishes and turkey.

Food pairing: Roast turkey

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/10597.html

2008 Natale Verga Prosecco

http://www.garyswine.com/shop_champagne/10598.html

Brand: Natale Verga
Style: Sparkling
Varietal: Prosecco
Region: Veneto
Category: Sparkling
Size: 750 ml

Price: $9.99
Reg: ~~$12.99~~

When it comes to celebrations, there's nothing like hearing the light "pop" of a bottle of bubbly. But let's face it; sometimes we want to celebrate without the French Champagne price tag. What we love about Prosecco is its versatility; it can serve as a graceful "welcome to our party" aperitif, an ingredient in festive brunch cocktails like mimosas or bellinis, or as a perfect bottle for two to pop when the rest of the family has finally left! You just can't open a bottle of Prosecco without feeling festive. This is one of our favorite new Italian sparklers, just arrived in time for the holidays. The bubbles dance on the line between delicate and vivacious, with a creamy mouthfeel and notes of lemon, honey and almond. Not so sweet as a sparkling Moscato, but not quite so dry as Brut Cava or Champagne, Prosecco is a celebratory bubbly for anyone and everyone

Food pairing: Italian cheese board: Pecorino, Romano, Ricotta Salata, and Burrata

http://www.garyswine.com/shop_champagne/10598.html

About Gary's Wine Club

With all of the monthly wine clubs out there today, Gary's Wine Club is setting a new standard. Our frequent travels to the wine regions of the world, our close relationships with winemakers, and our access to unique bottlings allow us to bring you wine selections few others have.

Each month, we taste, evaluate and sift through dozens of choices to bring you the best buys of the season, both for immediate celebrations and for long-term cellaring. Each bottle gains our personal seal of approval ... from a team that really knows their wine!

Join our club today and experience a new adventure every month!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

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