   |  Newsletter ArchiveMajor Incredible, Rhone is Where the Heart Is, and the Kogi BBQ Truck Comes Hither
Folks, there are two things that your friendly neighborhood wine store owners can't get enough of....taco trucks and Korean food. I lived in South Korea for a year teaching children English and chomping up every bit of Kalbi Tang and Bee Bim Bap I could fit in my tummy, and Jennifer has sought out the best taco trucks in LA for close to fifteen years. So, sometime last Fall when we saw an article about the Kogi BBQ Truck it was like Lady and the Tramp over a bowl of spaghetti...it was like Kermit and Miss Piggy running through the fields to each other....it was like Siegfried and Roy pre-tigerpounce....we realized that CoWineCo and Kogi were a match made in heaven. In case you missed the massive amounts of press these guys have received this year, Kogi is a truck that fuses the tastes of Korean BBQ and the portability of tacos and burritos -- an idea spawned by founder Mark Manguera and put into edible form by Chef Roy Choi, the only American ever to work in Iron Chef Michiba's kitchen.
What does all this mean? A food/wine tasting with Kogi parked in front of our store on Thursday, February 26th, an all-inclusive price for a sample plate and specifically paired flight of wines, and the guarantee that this one's gonna be a busy tasting.
More specifics (price, wine selections, menu) to come in a near-future newsletter but please SAVE THE DATE! And if this is all the info you need to join in, we're accepting the first 100 RSVPs -- info@cowineco.com or (323) 478-1985
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Rhone is Where The Heart Is
Domaine Les Grands Boise Cotes du Rhone "Cuvee Les Trois Soeurs" 2007 $12.99/btl ($12.16/btl for 12+ btls) - 90pts, RP
We've learned a few things in our almost 5 years in the wine retail business...when someone wants a LOT of Cristal it's usually a scam, wine is a subject that you can never finish learning about, and when Domaine Les Grands Bois importer Peter Weygandt is excited about something, we're undoubtedly gonna be too. So attention all ye fans of horsey, leathery, spicy red goodness, the critics are wetting themselves about the 2007 vintage in the southern Rhone, including Mr. Parker... “Throughout the southern Rhône, 2007 is the greatest vintage I have tasted in my thirty years working in that region… Nearly every producer has attained largely unprecedented levels of quality. Moreover, the vintage is remarkably consistent from top to bottom.” ~ R. Parker 2007 was a year of relative uneventfullness in the southern Rhone, and that is a very, very good and very, very rare thing. Because the weather was behaving, vintners were able to harvest late, allowing the grapes to ripen fully, giving us plushy round earthy reds that have the potential to age AND taste great right now. CLICK HERE to continue reading...
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New Arrivals!
Yes, we take a little break from tasting and adding new wines in December, but we got right back on the horse on January 2nd, 2009. Here's a sampling of some new items on the shelves this month:
CALIFORNIA RED Bear Bottom Creek Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2005 - $12.99/btl Quivira Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2006 - $19.99/btl Genuine Risk Santa Ynez Valley Merlot 2005 - $20.99/btl Campion Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2005 - $21.99/btl Hey Mambo Red 2007 - $8.99/btl WHITE Preston Dry Creek Valley Organic Sauvignon Blanc 2007 - $15.99/btl Quivira "Fig Tree Vineyard" Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2007 - $17.99/btl BEER Alesmith Wee Heavy Scotch Style Ale - $10.99/750ml btl
FRANCE Domaine Les Grands Bois "Les Trois Soeurs" Cotes du Rhone - $12.99/btl Domaine Les Grands Bois "Cuvee Phillipine" Cotes du Rhone - 92pts, RP
ITALY Dalla Pancia Chianti 2006 - $17.99/btl Zenato Lugana Trebbiano 2007 - $14.99/btl
AUSTRALIA Marquis Philips Roogle Red 2007 - $10.99/btl
NEW ZEALAND Torlesse Canterbury Pinot Noir 2006, Waipara - $19.99/btl
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Regular Wine Tasting Schedule
*** We hold tastings twice a week on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons , and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays the bar is open for wines by the glass . Please see our calendar for details on any given day: www.cowineco.com/calendar ***
Wine Tasting: Major Incredible Friday, January 30th 5:30-8:30pm (wines by the glass also available from 4:00 to 11pm) $15/person 5 wines and gourmet cheeses from Auntie Em's Marketplace Please RSVP to: info@cowineco.com or (323) 478-1985 Today is the 52nd anniversary of the first comic book pseudo-hero, Major Incredible. Rather than fight crime, he would use his meager powers to just survive in the regular world....albeit, with great flair. For example, in Issue 7, Vol. 8, to woo a beautiful woman he popped a wheelie on his child's size Huffy then punched through a styrofoam wall. Did he get the girl? No, but does that really matter in the end? The point is...tonight we tip 5 glasses to Major Incredible. It's a better world with you in it....fictionally anyway. wines Chateau Cazat-Beauchene White Bordeaux 2007, France Koehler Sauvignon Blanc 2006, Santa Ynez, California Chateau La Fleur Bibian Bordeaux, Medoc, France 2005 Le Jaja de Jau Syrah 2007, Rouissillon, France Bear Creek Zinfandel 2006, Dry Creek, California
Lazy Sunday Tasting - Special Superbowl Widow's Edition Sunday, February 1st 1-4pm $12/person 4 wines and gourmet cheeses from Auntie Em's Marketplace No RSVP necessary wines (call for other selections)
Wine Cellar Wednesdays Every Wednesday 4-9pm No corkage fee on any bottles in the store! Grab anything off the shelf for the price of the bottle, ask the nice bartender for some glasses, sit, and enjoy
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Wine For Everyone?
Ouch...it hurt when we checked the last entry in our "Wine For Everyone" blog and realized the last entry was in September of '07! Man, sorry about that. Somewhere between the holiday shopping season, the election, and our economy falling into a pit of nothingness, we let our little blog starve. Well, no more! Ever wonder why most beer and wine selections at bars or restaurants really suck? There are many answers to that, but there is one specific reason that you may not know if you've never worked in the food and beverage business. It's rigged...it's crooked....it's a sham...you're getting hoodwinked... beguiled...ripped off... schnookered....bamboozled... hopplecapped....ok, I made up that last one. Here's the thing, there are a few (but primarily one) big alcohol distribution companies that handle most of the wine/beer/liquor in any given state or territory. A typical visit from one of these companies to your bar might go like this:
BAR: Hi, I've just spent my life savings and worked my ass off to open this bar.... I'd like to taste some wine and beer with you, choose what I like the best, then bestow on you the honor of featuring the best of the best in my bar.
THEM: Shutup. The only way we'll sell you these three liquors that you have to have in any bar to survive, is when you devote 4 of your 6 taps to our beers (no matter how mediocre) and all of your wine lineup.
Nice, huh? The only other version is when they punch you in the face and steal your wallet when you're done with that conversation. Seriously, there's no other possible variation to that exchange. This is why you see the same wines over and over and over again as 'glass pours' in these establishments. It's easier...it's cheaper...it's less stressful really if your pride hasn't been destroyed. So, let me issue a call to arms for all you barflies and foodies...cheer on those establishments that buck this trend! They work hard to keep in the obscure stuff, the stuff from the little guy that eventually expands your palate and brings you back to that stool. Especially in an economy like this when the big players are offering deals that are structured to drown the little guy out of business, it's more important than ever to save money, but also to spend those precious few bucks wisely. CLICK HERE to comment (especially if you work for one of these gigantic alcohol conglomerates)
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See You Soon, John and Jen
A drunkard and a prohibitionist amount to the same thing. ~Anonymous |
