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Jazz Up Thanksgiving Traditions with Novel Pairings |
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At this time of year, your wine-pairing mojo will finally get its rightful place in the sun. There’s no more epic meal in the American repertoire than Thanksgiving, but the hodge podge of sweet and savory often leaves diners scratching their heads on drink selections. And just how do you pair with green beans and yams and gravy? There are classic solutions: Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Beaujolais (Bernard Vallette, Domaine Jean-Paul Dubost)--all Thanksgiving stalwarts that have earned their rightful place at the table.
But why not mix it up this holiday with a few off-the-beaten-path options that’ll make this feast truly sing? |
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We are partners with many leaders in natural, organic and biodynamic viticulture and vinification. Working with Zev Rovine and his import portfolio has been eye-opening on how producers can push beyond farming, further into the natural world, by using minimalist approaches to winemaking to create a more natural and true representation of what the land provides us (these are the types of wines our ancestors most likely drank). We are strongly committed to supporting these growers and producers, but with an overall objective to sell delicious, authentic wines (delicious over dogma!).
We are happy to see more and more domestic growers following organic and biodynamic farming practices. We\'ve partnered with Chris Condos and Suzanne Hagins to bring Illinois their organic, handcrafted, small batch California wine. Horse & Plow and The Gardener are the newest additions to our natural viticulture portfolio.
Click to read more on the winery and see items |
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Paradigm - Small Batch Grower Napa |
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Paradigm Winery continues to shine with their expressive offerings of estate-bottled reds. Located in the Oakville AVA inside Napa Valley, the winery is owned and managed by Ren and Marilyn Harris who have been growing grapes in Napa since 1964. They purchased Paradigm in 1976, and their wines are a rich expression of the vineyard they've been farming now for almost 40 years. They bottled their first estate wine in 1991.
Continue reading about Paradigm |
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Celebrating 30 Years - L'Ecole No. 41 Defines Exceptional Washington |
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L’Ecole No 41’s roots are deeply intertwined with those of winemaking in Walla Walla: its founders, Jean and Baker Ferguson, were instrumental in the movement to make the area an official Washington State AVA in 1984, and the winery is the third oldest in the region. The family’s second-generation is now running the show, with daughter Megan and her husband Marty Clubb at the helm. Their children, Riley and Rebecca, are poised to become the third.
Continue Reading about L'Ecole No. 41 |
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The Spirit of Jazz in Your Glass |
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Get your groovy juices flowing this weekend by uncorking the right libations. For the celebration of this truly American music phenomenon, we’re looking at homegrown wine and spirits to get us in the mood. With the right stuff in your glass, you’ll be be-bopping all the way to the Cultural Center this weekend.
Pair Your Wine with Jazz |
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Hard cider has a long history in America, dating back to the Colonial period when it was the most popular beverage in the country. It made its way here with the English settlers, who soon learned that apples were much easier to grow in the New England soil than the barley and grains for beer. By the turn of the 18th century, Americans were drinking an average of 35 gallons of cider per year. There was even a weakened version called Ciderkin for children.
But its heyday didn’t last--and the Midwest is partly to blame. When brewers discovered that the Midwest’s soil was prime for growing barley and grains, beer took off. Plus, a new wave of beer-thirsty immigrants, and, later, Prohibition didn’t help matters any for the humble cider.
Read more about Cider and Cream Cider Selections |
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Sometimes there’s an inverse relationship between the weather wine is grown in and the weather in which it’s suited for drinking. Austria, a relatively cold, central European country with 62 percent of its landmass covered by Alps, makes wines that are so zippy and refreshing that you’ll want them by your side all summer long. Grapes are finicky creatures: they need enough sunlight to ripen and develop sugars, but if they ripen too fast, the wine will taste like Kool-aid. A cooler, slower, longer growing season allows the grapes to develop acidity as they ripen, and this translates to structure and backbone in wine.
Read more about Austrian Wines |
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Just Say Yes to White Wine Exploration |
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With its Mediterranean climate and 4722 miles of coastline, Italy is a white wine mecca. From north to south, there’s a vibrant seafood-based cuisine, and a litany of white wines to accompany it. With a sea of Italian whites flowing from coast to coast, it’s time to branch out beyond our Pinot Grigio obsession and explore the quirky, the fragrant, the downright delicious.
Begin Exploring (click for info on our adventurous whites) |
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Small’s Limited Edition Flag Label |
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The world of gin is not just London Dry. This summer be a part of American gin history by making “liberty” cocktails using Small’s American Dry Gin. American Dry Gin is a batch distilled gin, as opposed to continuous column distilled gin. The spirit of batch distilling offers higher quality and greater complexity of flavor and aroma that continuous columns cannot achieve. American Dry Gins have neutral spirit bases made from 100% American grown grains and/or sugars and are distilled and bottled in the United States.
Click to read more about American Dry Gin |
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Sancerre is Sancerre, not a beverage called Sauvignon Blanc. |
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When Brooklyn-based wine importer and natural wine world’s new “it boy” Zev Rovine invites you to France, you clear your schedule, book a plane ticket, pack a small bag and begin an intensive hydration regime. Hey, its not like I needed much convincing to leave Chicago in February, but what a fantastic opportunity to visit the Loire, attend contra wine fairs like Renaissance and Le Dive, meet legendary vigneron and visit some of their domaines. I first met Sebastien Riffault at VinNatur at Villa Favorita in March 2012. Zev was courting Seb who was still raw from a traumatic so called national importer breakup. His wines spoke to me then with a pure energy rarely seen in modern winemaking. Within 6 months Zev was importing, and thus, Cream distributing these funky electric boogaloos. What a treat to visit him and taste at his biodynamic estate less than one year from our first encounter. Seb is a gentle giant who lets his unique horse plowed terroir do most of the talking. If you have not tasted through his current releases, recently showcased at our portfolio tasting, please contact your salesperson for an appointment. Below is an excerpt from an article by Alice Feiring that reminded me of our visit and what a diamond in Chicago’s industrial wine rough we have to offer.
Cheers, Andy
Read More |
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