WineLife365

Archive for June, 2010

He loves wine; she loves fashion.  But together, one thing’s for sure – Carey and Rob over at Corks & Caftans sure know how to live it up – Livin’ la Vida Loca style!  Apart from that though, they also know how to pay it forward and share the wealth with others, as you’ll soon find out in their BYOB Post.

Take it away C & C!       

It’s hard not to wonder how “the other half” lives.  Being enthusiasts of the finer things (wine and fashion, respectively) that tend to comprise the more expensive, less necessary things in life, we are well aware where each dollar goes, and enjoy these material things to the fullest, albeit, for what they are—little pleasures.  And when it comes to wine, it’s all about the experience—the indulgence—with full appreciation for what went into it.

“The other half” does things like order astonishing bottles of wine, have a glass each, then sign the bill and leave the bottle on the table.  Our friend, Meg, author of blog The Maker’s Table, sent out a tweet describing this scene a few weeks ago:  “Two tables over, they order a Ridge Monte Bello, 2000. They drink a glass each, pay, and go.  Next table gets the bottle.  Lucky dogs.”  Sigh.  The other half.

Photo Courtesy of Corks and Caftans

There was one night, however, where we found ourselves sandwiched right between both halves.  For our first anniversary, we journeyed back to Nantucket, the place of our nuptials.  We were huddled inside Black Eyed Susan’s on a blustery, cold Grey Lady night.  We’d brought a bottle we bought in Napa during our honeymoon from Rubicon, Edizione Pennino.  The couple at the table next to us were astonishingly good-looking, well-dressed, and wrapping up a meal with two open bottles. (BES’s is a BYOB joint, and a fun place to keep your eyes out for what others are bringing in.)

Photo Courtesy of Corks and Caftans

We were talking about the wine and taking notes for a post, and this caught their attention.  As they got up to leave, they offered us the rest of their (very expensive, very lovely) bottles to enjoy—a white and a red.  He mentioned he was a wine distributor, and she was in fashion.  We swooned.

Photo Courtesy of Corks and Caftans

You know that thing—and don’t try to say you haven’t done it!—when something really fantastic happens, and you wait until you’ve got a moment alone, and you do the happy dance.  The victory shake.  The jump’n’clap.  We totally did.  And with more wine than we knew what to do with, we dove into a fabulous meal.

When we broke to lift our heads, we noticed we were the only ones left in the restaurant.  The kitchen—which is completely open and basically inside the dining room—was closing up shop. The chef and sous chef were behind the bar chatting.  We looked at one another, then stood up with the bottles in hand.

We spent the next hour sharing the bottles with the remaining staff, talking shop, talking wine, and talking island life.  It was so incredible to get to share this gift from complete strangers with those who had slaved away to create such an amazing meal for us.  The upper echelon of the wine world, the culinary magicians working behind the scenes to earn their keep, and the two that fall somewhere in between.

See, that’s the thing about wine lovers—and it doesn’t matter where you fall in the mix.  It’s about passion and sharing.  It was a perfect anniversary dinner we’ll never forget.

Thanks Carey and Rob for sharing your WineLife experience with us!

Sexy from head to toe is the best way of describing the 2008 Altovinum Evodia Old Vines Garnacha.  I discovered and fell in love with the 2007 Altovinum Evodia Old Vines Garnacha last year.  But oh, oh, oh, oh – the 2008 edition is truly something special and just pure gold in the under $10 wine category.  Produced from 100 percent Garnacha vines, some up to 100 years old, from an altitude of 2400 – 3000 ft. in the village of Atea in Calatayud, the 2008 Altovinum Evodia is rock solid from start to finish.

The word Evodia comes from a Greek word that means “aroma”, and yes, the 2008 Altovinum Evodia Old Vines Garnacha certainly smells quite nice with its mineral, earthy essence; but the real X-factor with this Spanish red is the major POW that it delivers in the taste department with its sweet, dark fruit flavors laced with black tea and peppery notes.  And get this:  It achieves its delicious smack down without ever spending any time in an oak barrel – a truly remarkable feat considering its complexity and affordability!

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that the 2008 Altovinum Evodia Old Vines Garnacha just might be the best tasting red wine on the planet for under $10.  To this end, if you’re reading this review and know of a red wine that’s as good as or better than this beauty (for less than 10 bucks), I’d sure like to hear about it!

4 Stars out of 4.

($9.99)

What’s with the 2007 Domaine La Guintrandy Cotes Du Rhone Saint-Leger?

I can see it has a really bad medieval thing going on with the label – reminiscent of a middle-schooler’s Dungeons & Dragons artwork.  And it’s definitely got an earthy smell – dare I say the smell of the slow release fertilizer, otherwise known as manure.   But does it taste bad too?

Amazingly, it doesn’t.  It actually tastes pretty darn good! 

It’s 50% Grenache and 50% Syrah and for 10 smackers this Rhone red is not half bad!  The vibrant red berry flavors that mingle with fresh ground black pepper make this wine a solid value, even if you need a clothes pin over your nose in order to enjoy it!

3 Stars out of 4.  Air out before consumption.

($10)