Beaujolais Nouveau is traditionally the first wine of a vintage to hit the market. Well, it's that time of year again: the 2009s debut Thursday (November 19) in a celebration of all that is fresh and fruity in the wine world.
Of course, every store with a liquor license will have bottles of Nouveau stacked by the front door. Mass produced Nouveaus are one of the scandals of the wine business: pale, indistinct wines marketed to capitalize on the French wine's traditional end-of-harvest festival. There is decent Beaujolais Nouveau, and three wine shops in town are hosting tastings so you can find one you like the very first day it's available.
The Wine Rack on Frankfort Avenue will have two different Nouveaux open from 5 to 8 PM Thursday.
Whole Foods (4944 Shelbyville Road)will sample Nouveau from 5 to 7 PM.
Westport Whiskey & Wine will feature a Nouveau in its regularly scheduled (6:30 - 8:30) Open Bottle Thursday tasting, which also includes wines from Starry Night Winery.
Tom Johnson writes LouisvilleJuice.com, where he recently referred to Beaujolais Nouveau as a harbinger of doom.
Ah, the annual panic over what wines to serve with Thanksgiving Dinner. Why we worry so much about wine is anyone's guess, and everyone's opportunity to taste lots of wine for free.
The problem is, there are two Turkey Day tastings on Tuesday, November 17, so you're going to have to prioritize. Then there's a third on Thursday if the pressure to decide is too much and you can't get out of bed until the crisis has passed.
In town, at The Wine Market on Bardstown Road, they'll be pulling selections off the shelves from 4:30 to 6:30, tasting a range of wines that the staff thinks will keep your guests from complaining. I'd throw the bastards out, myself, but The Wine Market apparently advocates a more civilized approach.
Out in the eastern 'burbs, 4 Flights Wine Boutique will table a classic flight from crisp Sauvignon Blanc through a southern French Rosé and on past fruity Beaujolais to a solidly structured red Portuguese from the Ribetajo region, which is producing some really good wines at remarkably low prices. In a world where Thanksgiving warm-ups are built around Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir, give 4 Flights credit for thinking a little off center. They're opening bottles at their Norton Commons shop from 6 to 8 PM.
(As a public service, for those of you intent on never missing a free tasting, here's Google's version of directions from The Wine Market to 4 Flights. I'd cut across the park to the 64, myself, rather than fighting my way all the way down Bardstown to the Watterson, but who am I to argue with Google?)
Finally, on Thursday, November 19, they're cracking Thanksgiving-applicable wines at Whole Foods on Shelbyville Road. They promise a surprising selection and jazz things up a little with first-day-tastings of 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau, which is barely wine at all.
All three tastings are free, so you've got no excuse for not expanding your wine horizons.
Tom Johnson writes the wineblog LouisvilleJuice.com, and doesn't worry even a little bit what wine he serves to people at Thanksgiving, since everyone's going to eat so much no one will even notice the wine.
There's a lot to do this week. Wednesday, November 11, is Veteran's Day, so the first thing on your agenda should be finding a veteran and saying "thanks." Seriously. It will be good for the veteran but better still for you, because gratitude is good for the soul.
Wine is also good for the soul, so maybe you should take a veteran to a tasting. On Wednesday, The Wine Market on Bardstown Road is hosting a tasting of Robert Kacher Selections. Kacher's a DC-based importer with a solid portfolio of distinct, personal wines. The tasting runs from 4:30 - 6:30 and its free, so you can improve your soul, thank a veteran, and taste some good wines at no cost.
When you're done at The Wine Market you can rush across town to Westport Whiskey & Wine in Wesport Village. Or you can if you're female, as WW&W is hosting another of its incredibly discriminatory "Women's Only Wednesdays." The event announcement says "holiday wines," but I know from watching movies that when women get together without men they strip down to their underwear and have pillow fights. Gift items will also be on sale, chair massages will be available, and one of these Women Only Wednesday's I'm going to dress up in drag and sneak in. The cost of this event is $5.
Finally, if you're serious about food and wine you'll want to consider the French Dinner at the Fireside Bar and Grill in Sellersburg, Indiana. You can read the menu yourself, and as soon as I'm done with this I'll do a whole write-up about the dinner over at my blog, but for now all you need to know is: this is a deal. The wines are solid, off-the-beaten-track Frenchies that demonstrate the kind of value France can deliver. The stand-out is the 2005 Chateau La Bardonne, a Cabernet-based Bordeaux from an exceptional vintage that I, personally, think highly enough of to stock a box in the basement. The dinner is Wednesday, November 11. The reception begins at 7 PM, the dinner at 7:30. The cost is $48 including tip. Reservations can be had by calling 812/246-5456.
Which brings us to Thursday. Westport Whiskey & Wine's open bottle night is like a three-ring circus this week. First, there are wines from Villa San-Juliette in Paso Robles. VSJ is owned by people who star in/develop/produce reality TV like "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance." The winery itself was the subject of the Fox reality show Corkscrewed. I have no idea if the wine's any good. Also featured are Tanterra, a wine from Uruguay, and selections from Castello di Vicciomaggio in Tuscany. If that's not enough, Dumante Verdenoce Liquer will mix cocktails, and there will be snack tables set at indecent intervals around the store. Open bottle night kicks off at 6:30 and costs $10.
All of which tires me out and makes me glad that I can sleep peacefully at night, courtesy of America's veterans. The least we can all do is hoist a glass in their honor.
Tom Johnson is the ringmaster of Louisville Juice, a local wine blog that you can be the first to read just by clicking here.
The menu for the event works its way from the deepest reaches of the great blue sea to the high plains of cattle country. Courses include lobster, duck, lamb and New York strip steak. But it is the wines that stand out. This isn't something that just came over from the store shelves; someone's digging into their cellar. Among the teenaged goodies:
Elyse Morosoli Vineyard Zinfandel 1991
Elyse Howell Mountain Zinfandel 1992
Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon 1991
Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon 1992
Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1993
There are other, newer wines, too, but in this market we don't see a lot of tastings offering wines with some age on them. Granted, none of the wines is really old, but putting almost 20 years on a couple of big-bodied Zinfandels is an interesting experiment, and the Beringer Private Reserve (well preserved in a 3-liter bottle) ought to be a real treat.
The dinner in honor of Harper and Davis will be held Thursday, November 19, starting with a reception at 7:00. (The wine being served at the reception is Schramsberg “J. Schram” Brut 1999.) Dinner is served at 7:30. The cost is $150 a person, plus tax and tip.
Tom Johnson writes Louisville Juice and doesn't share his old wine with strangers.
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sent Thu Nov 19 @ 10:15 PM
Tom Johnson