   |  Newsletter ArchiveEl Fin de Drew, A Herd of Gazela, and Hostess CupTakes *** REMINDER! OUR HOURS CHANGE TONIGHT - ON THURSDAYS, FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS WE ARE NOW OPEN UNTIL 11PM! ****
El Fin de Drew According to Mr. Wikipedia (a good friend of the store...problem drinker), the expression fin de siècle is used to characterize anything that has an ominous mixture of opulence or decadence, combined with a shared prospect of unavoidable radical change or some approaching "end." Well, we are both sad and proud to announce that this Friday is Drew's last Friday tasting at CoWineCo. Why proud? Because Drew is pointing his car towards the Russian River Valley to learn winemaking. Please join us on Friday to tip a glass to our good friend and wish him well on his journeyin winemaking! (and giving CoWineCo a FANTASTIC discount on his sure-to-be-award-winning wine) *** A Herd of Gazela
Like a mocked and shunned middleschooler who grows up to be President of the United States, the Gazela Vinho Verde has become one of our best selling wines, in spite of our opinions on its appearance. We struggled between a bad cruise ship/resort logo, 1980's Windows wallpaper, and some sort of cleaning product for the bathroom when summing up the packaging for this wine, but we were quickly reprimanded by customers who loved the wine AND its packaging.Well, we agree on one thing -- fizzy, crisp, dry, limey white wine for $7/btl is a thing to be celebrated. We've got loads in stock now and a handful are always ready and chilled on these hot Summer days.
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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: El Fin de Drew This Friday the 27th 5:30-8:30pm (wines by the glass available from 8:30 to 11pm) $15/person 5 wines and gourmet cheeses from Auntie Em's Marketplace Please RSVP to: info@cowineco.com or (323) 478-1985 We are losing employee numero uno next week so tonight is celebrating Drew's last big Friday at CoWineCo. He will be sorely missed! wines
L'Ecole Chenin Blanc, California Abundance Chardonnay, California Queen of Hearts Pinot Noir, California(new vintage!) Hedges Cellars CMS Red, Washington Plungerhead Zinfandel, California
Lazy Sunday Tasting Sunday the 29th 1-4pm $12/person 4 wines and gourmet cheeses from Auntie Em's Marketplace Our Sunday tastings will now feature slightly higher-end wine selections. Our Friday tastings get a little too loud to discuss the wines in great detail (we're not complaining), so if wine knowledge is your grail, Sundays are the best tastings for you. Call or email Sunday for selections. (323) 478-1985 or info@cowineco.com
And remember, every Wednesday from 4-9pm you can choose any wine in the store and pop it open for no corkage charge!
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The Poll Booth - Hostess CupTakes Our last poll revealed some interesting opinions from our customers and readers. 19% of you believe that, when having friends over for dinner who aren't exactly wine afficionados, the high-end stuff should be free flowing. 25% of you believe that the more affordable stuff is fine because even though these close friends loaned you money, babysat your children and rescued you from a speeding, out of control train, they wouldn't know the difference. 20% of you went Switzerland by voting to offer both high-end and low-end wines to see what they choose (boooooring). 28% of you made the wise choice of starting with high-end and moving to low-end. And a remarkable 8% of you admitted to thousands of readers that you indeed have no friends. We would have voted with the majority here. It is absolutely true that your palate develops over time, just like it does with food. Wouldn't it be nice to still think that Sizzler, Long John Silvers or the Ground Round were ultra fine dining options? Doesn't throwing peanut shells and popcornon the ground mean high class? It would certainly be easier on the wallet. People are on different levels of wine appreciation and as long as they're enjoying the experience, who cares how much it costs. But it's also tons of fun to see someone's face when they realize 'oh, so THAT'S why people get so wrapped up in wine'. It's fun to geek out with fellow wine lovers by popping the fancy stuff, but it's equally as fun to play a part in expanding someone's palate. It's one of the great joys of being in this business. And no, that does not have to mean 'more expensive', but oftentimes it does. The difference between a $10 Cab and a $20 Cab can (and should be) drastically different. But, is a $200 Cab twice as good as a $100 Cab? With a handful of notable exceptions, no, not really. We recently had the sommelier from a very fancy Los Angeles restaurant come in and tell us about a customer who was loudly proclaiming the subtle qualities of his bottle of Screaming Eagle ($1200/btl). But all the qualities he was describing for his date and the rest of the restaurant to hear were odd. So the sommelier asked to check the bottle and he realized it was corked beyond belief.....it was like smelling spoiled garbage. They drank down the whole thing happily. Do you tell them that they're not tasting what they're supposed to? Does it really matter if they like it? Go here and give us your .02 cents. But now on to our next poll. You go over someone's house for dinner.Your hosts/hostesses aregreat cooks who appreciate unique wines so you bring something wonderful. You proudly present your bottle of '1973 Chateau Mortgage-Payment' and the hostess promptly takes the wine, thanks you and puts it away in their wine collection, never to be seen or tasted by you again. Do you steal it back later? Suck it up? Feign illness and drink it by yourself in the locked bathroom? Let us know by answering our new poll@ www.cowineco.com
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WEEK O’ WINE: July-Aug, ‘07 - $41.99/4-pack
Domaine de Piaugier is situated in and around the village of Sablet where Jean-Marc Autran, son, grandson, and great-grandson of wine growers, produced his first wine in 1985 in the cellars built by his great-grandfather, Alphonse Vautour, in 1947. Alphonse, who along the slopes of the Briguières hill had made all his wine in the family's original property called Ténébi, decided to build the present cave on the side of the road leading up to the Ténébi.
In the early 70’s Michel and Louis Bronzo acquired the property of the Bastide Blanche. After producing some award winning reds from the Bandol appellation over the years, they also turned their attention to producing more affordable table wines like this light Viognier. This Viognier is Vin de Pays de Hauterive in the Languedoc-Roussillon area, an area that alone produces more wine yearly than all of the United States. It’s also where you get some of the best deals in French wine today. If California was your introduction to Viognier, more than likely this is going to taste lighter and crisper, and probably spicier than what you’re used to.
The Blue Danube wine book is probably the most odd and adventurous we have come across in our two years in business, comprised entirely of wines from Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, and Montenegro. The Bibich Debit and the Craftsman Cab Franc are our two newest additions from them. This is a dry white wine made from the indigenous Debit varietal of Croatia's Northern Dalmatian Coast. Try pairing this one with goat cheese and red onion dishes, or lobster on the grill.
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COMING SOON: CoWineCo's first annual White Trash Wine Pairing 2007! Stay tuned for details...
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See You Soon, John and Jen
"It is better to hide ignorance, but it is hard to do this when we relax over wine." ~ Heraclitus (540 BC - 480 BC), On the Universe |
