April Wine of the Month Picks - Gary's Wine Club Web Video

Gary Fisch and Wine Club Director Maggie Fox taste two 'green' wines that are their picks for April Wine of the Month at the Wine Tasting Bar in Gary's Wine & Marketplace in Wayne, NJ




2005 Silverado Vineburg Chardonnay

Ripe apple and orange blossom aromas with vanilla and oak in the background. Stone and mineral aromas echo on the palate. Balanced acidity with a silky mid-palate lead to a zesty finish.

$25.99
$37.99
ON SALE!

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2005 Duckhorn Migration Pinot Noir

This medium-bodied wine has bright fruit complemented by ripe and broad tannins that provide great balance and a lengthy finish. The aroma features blueberry, plum, strawberry pie, and toasted oak. The flavors are focused and follow through with ripe strawberry, plum, and cherry, complemented by clove. A lighter style than our Goldeneye, this wine shows the range and suppleness of the Pinot Noir varietal.

Reviews

Wine Spectator 89 points

Rich and savory, with a cherry cola-sassafras aroma that spills over to the palate, giving it a distinctive flavor profile. Finishes with a long, complex, fruity aftertaste, with a hint of mineral. 89 points

$29.99
$37.99
ON SALE!

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April 2009 Gary's Wine Club Selections

A Good Kind of Green

We're hearing the word green thrown around quite a bit these days, in reference to everything from household cleaners to transportation. But in the wine world, calling a bottling "green" hasn't always had positive connotations. In less eco-conscious times, a "green" wine was a wine made from grapes that had been picked a little too early, before they were fully ripe, resulting in a thinner texture and tart vegetal taste on the finish.

But today, we often call wines "green" as a form of praise for their eco-friendly farming practices. Here at Gary's, we've begun identifying wines that we know to be either organically, biodynamically, or sustainably farmed with "Gary's Green Selections" tags. It can be tricky to navigate the intricacies of the terminology (after all, "organic wine" has an entirely different meaning than "wine made from organic grapes"), but we think that sharing this information is at least a step in the right direction toward being ecologically-informed wine drinkers.

So this month, in celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd and all things deferential to Mother Nature, we tip our hats to the wineries that, in some form or other, have "gone green" in the best sense of the word. No vegetal tang, we promise.

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2007 Jasci Trebbiano d'Abruzzo

2007 Jasci Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
Grape variety: Trebbiano
Region: Abruzzo, Italy
Food pairing: Almond-crusted wild cod

Some of the best farming on Earth is conducted by families. Perhaps there's more investment in the quality of your crop when you've spent hours bickering and laughing with your siblings over the best pruning style. The Jasci family of Abruzzo personally participates in every step of their viticulture, making this a true "family crafted" wine as well as an eco-conscious one.

Since 1980, the Jasci grapes have been certified organic by the Soil and Health Association, which guarantees both the organic production of their grapes as well as all of the winemaking processes in their modern "organic architecture" winery facility. All of these measures, the family feels, preserve the genuineness of the fruits and ensure that future generations of Jascis will be able to bicker among those vines. Look for fresh and "springy" flavors of white flowers, fresh white stone fruits, and hints of salted almonds.

2007 Argiolas Perdera Isola Nuraghi

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2007 Argiolas Perdera Isola Nuraghi
Grape variety: Monica, Carignano, Bovale Sardo
Region: Sardinia, Italy
Food pairing: Organic eggplant stuffed with tomato, garlic and Pecorino cheese
Off the western coast of Italy lies the island of Sardinia, where grape varietals indigenous to the island and unique winemaking practices have been (thankfully) preserved. And at the southern end of this island lies the Argiolas estate winery, where oenologist Giacomo Tachis crafts what Robert Parker called "a reference point" for Sardinian wines. "Simply put," Parker said, "I was blown away by the quality of the value-priced wines I tasted from Argiolas and I can't recommend them enough, particularly for readers who haven't yet discovered the uniqueness of the island's wines."

The star grape of this bottling is the indigenous and organically farmed Monica grape, which carries a vibrant ruby color along with flavors and aromas of ripe berry fruits, licorice, flowers and black pepper. A small amount of Carignano and Bovale Sardo round out the blend before it's fermented in glass-lined cement tanks and aged in French oak for six months for elegance and structure.

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/italy/70013.html

2006 Silverado Vineburg Chardonnay

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2006 Silverado Vineburg Chardonnay
Grape variety: Chardonnay
Region: Carneros, California
Food pairing: Free Range orange-glazed chicken breast

Silverado Vineyards have become quite a recognizable wine brand, but that doesn't mean that they've compromised quality or commitment to the sustainability of their vineyard land in doing so. Among the "green" practices they can boast are a solar powered winery, hybrid vehicles, and a Napa Green Certification, which verifies that the winery practices soil, water and wildlife conservation and has a long-term plan in place for sustainable farming.

They can also boast a very talented winemaker in Jonathan Emmerich, and consistently high-quality wines at very reasonable prices. Their single vineyard Chardonnay from the Vineberg vineyard in Carneros carries ripe yellow apple flavors and aromas of orange blossom, vanilla and stone. A superbly well-balanced wine from an ecologically well-balanced vineyard.

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/65140.html

2006 Tres Sabores "Porque No"

2006 Tres Sabores "Porque No"
Grape variety: Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Petite Syrah
Region: Napa Valley, California
Food pairing: Beef, lamb and mushroom kebabs
Julie Johnson is no one-trick pony, nor is her ranch on the Rutherford Benchland of Napa Valley. On her dusty California soils, Julie grows organically certified Zinfandel, Cabernet, Petite Syrah and Petite Verdot grapes, along with olives, Meyer lemons and pomegranates.

For some years, she has used the grapes to make two stellar estate wines: Rutherford Zinfandel and Rutherford Perspective Cabernet. Eight years ago, she had a few barrels of each left over, so she asked herself what would happen if she combined all the good wine she had left over from both with a little touch of Petit Verdot and Petite Syrah into one bottling. The answer was, naturally, "Porque no?" ...Why not? The spontaneity worked out well, forming a wine that's packed with black cherry and berry fruits, structured tannins from the Cab, spiciness from the Zin, and earthiness from the Petite Syrah.

2005 Duckhorn Migration Pinot Noir

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2005 Duckhorn Migration Pinot Noir
Grape Variety: Pinot Noir
Region: Anderson Valley, California
Food pairing: Braised duck over lentils

If you're going to create an entire winery based around one species of wildlife, then it's only fair to say you've got to be wildlife supporters in the long haul. The folks at Duckhorn (who create varietal wines under the Duckhorn, Paraduxx, Goldeneye, and Migration labels), have just such a commitment through their sustainable winemaking practices and Napa Green Certification (a program that ensures that the soil, wildlife, and water are conserved on and around their vineyard properties.)

Migration Pinot Noir is the sister label of Goldeneye, and is produced entirely of Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. Choosing from a veritable palate of 22 clonal varieties in 23 separate vineyard blocks, winemaker Zach Rasmuson crafted a wine in the 2005 vintage that carries a nose of earth and cherry, a palate full of delicious cherry fruit, and a silky finish with notes of forest floor. Drinks beautifully now, and should continue to do so through 2010/2011.

2006 Downing Family Fly By Night Zinfandel

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2006 Downing Family Fly By Night Zinfandel
Grape variety: Zinfandel
Region: Oakville, Napa Valley, California
Food pairing: Organic pork loin with cherry reduction The Oakville appellation within Napa Valley has been well-established as a benchmark Cabernet producing appellation for some time, but it took some foresight on the Downing Family's part to discover it as a great Zinfandel appellation as well. Just a few hundred yards across the road from the famed Opus One vineyard lies a vineyard called H&H, which is farmed organically by Napa organic farming pioneers the Pelissa family.

How the Pelissas and the Downings got together and determined that this Cabernet land was suitable for great Zinfandel is still a mystery to us, but somehow they knew, and today the St. George's rootstock and White Barn Ranch clone vines produce the top-notch Zinfandel that goes into the Downing Family's Fly By Night Zinfandel. Remarkably bright red fruit and what many call a "Cabernet-like depth and complexity" make this a Zinfandel worth cellaring for a few years, should you choose to be so patient.

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/california/57235.html

2004 Elio Grasso Gavarini Chiniera Barolo

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2004 Elio Grasso Gavarini Chiniera Barolo
Grape variety: Nebbiolo
Region: Barolo, Piedmont, Italy
Food pairing: Organic beef tenderloin

The 2004 vintage was such a fantastic one in Barolo (and in much of Italy, for that matter), that any winemaker worth their salt should've made killer wine. But Elio Grasso of Monforte d'Alba, a sub-appellation of Barolo, made his killer 2004, (all from organically grown grapes), with a hefty dose of opinionated traditionalism to boot. His wines tend toward the old-school style of Barolo, carrying more tobacco-laden tannins than hedonistic fruit that's popular today. "We have a philosophy of our relatives who worked in the vineyards before us," he stated to one reviewer. "We need to respect that. We need to be honest with ourselves. If I was going to change, I would have changed 30 or 40 years ago. I'm 60 years old... why would I change now?" Fair enough.

The 2004 Vigna Chiniera, a single-vineyard Barolo that's made only in great vintages, indeed carries that classic tobacco and earth-laden Barolo character that staunch traditionalists like Grasso so aspire to, with some dusty berry to smooth out the mid-palate.

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/italy/06284.html

2007 GF Grand Finale Saintsbury Pinot Noir Lee Vineyard I & H Swan

2007 GF Grand Finale Saintsbury Pinot Noir Lee Vineyard I & H Swan
Grape Variety: Pinot Noir
Region: Carneros, California
Food pairing: Delice de Bourgogne Cheese

At Gary's Wine and Marketplace, it's our 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 Fisch would 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. Therefore, we've commissioned the GF Private Label project, 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 from the world's best winemakers. Invitations to buy this exclusive wine will be extended only to our very best customers as our way of saying "thank you." 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.

We were so honored to work on our very first Grand Finale Pinot Noir with THE authorities on California Pinot, the folks at Saintsbury. In a very educational and thorough blending session at their certified Napa Green and solar-powered winery, winemakers Dick Ward and Jerome Chery helped us choose the perfect combination of clones and vineyard source for our one-of-a-kind 2007 bottling. (Talk about kids in a candy store!)

The winning combo: I & H Swan clones from the Lee Vineyard, situated just across the street from the Saintsbury's winery on Los Carneros Ave. Ira and Shirley Lee first planted their vineyard here in 1969, and later created the "Keep Carneros Green" initiative to keep the rolling hills pristine and free from overdevelopment. It's no surprise that we loved the Lee Vineyard fruit, as this vineyard displays the most primal Pinot Noir fruit character of all three of their vineyards, and is quite possibly the best for ageing potential.

Brooding aromas of ripe red and black plums, raspberry, and cedar give way to some wild herbs and flowers on the nose. Dark berry fruits, forest floor, and a creamy texture balance bright, mouth-watering acidity on the palate. She's already a beauty, and is only getting better each time we re-taste.

April 2009 Gary's Wine Club - Recipes

Easy Recipe for Greener Eating

This month's "recipe" is one for greener eating without going crazy trying to figure out when it's important to buy organic, or otherwise. Each person needs to set their own guidelines based on what's most important to them, but a few suggestions:

When to go organic:

Meat, Milk and Eggs: Those growth hormones and heavy antibiotics get passed on to you, not to mention facilitate rather unhygienic and environmentally devastating "factory farming." You have a much better chance of getting well-tended meat and dairy when you buy Free Range, Organic and/or Hormone Free.

Peaches, Apples, Bell Peppers, Celery, Berries, Leafy Greens and Grapes: Basic rule of thumb - if you eat the skin or outer membrane, you don't want the chemicals on the outside. Many pesticides don't wash off easily with water, so go organic with these types of fruits and veggies whenever possible.

When you can get away with the conventional: Fruits and vegetables with a protective skin (bananas, avocadoes, kiwi, mango, onion, pineapple, papaya) generally keep the chemicals on the outside. So if you can peel it, you're better off.


Check out www.GarysWineClub.com for other great recipes