Free tasting | Saturday, March 10, 2018 | 4-6PM

Wine Mélange with Cafe Europa
Wine Mélange is back! A hodgepodge of delicious, affordable wines from around the world. Come try them with our friend Bethann from importing company, Cafe Europa!

NV 1701 Franciacorta, Franciacorta Brut – Lombardy, Italy, $32
Palazzo Cazzago is the home to 1701’s Franciacorta’s organically certified winery. The estate is 15-hectares of glorious hillside is the only Demeter certified biodynamic producer in the Franciacorta region, a region known as the ‘Champagne’ of Italy, and this sparkler is from the same grapes in Champagne, Chardonnay and Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir). It’s a deep bright yellow hue with a nose of brioche, and tastes like biting into a fresh, red apple.

2016 Manoir de la Tête Rouge, Tête d'Ange Saumur – Loire Valley, France, $26
Ah Chenin, let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach! Sorry, getting sidetracked by 19th century sonnets. Chenin really does strike a chord though. Its pleasant acidity, its touch of honeysuckle and white flowers on the finish, and its full-bodied, mineral mouthfeel just checks all the right boxes. The Reynouard family produces some of the most honest wines in Saumur where they grow Chenin Blanc, as well as Cabernet Franc and Pineau d’Aunis on their 13-hectare property. Vines are planted on clay limestone soil and all organic practices are used in and out of the cellar.

2015 Eric Kent, Sonoma Coast Rosé – Sonoma Coast, California USA, $22
Kent Humphry's rockin' rosé - a blend of Pinot Noir, Syrah and Grenache - tastes like strawberry short cake with some sort of cinnamon and clove spice finish. Plus, the artwork on the label is just as beautiful as the wine!

2014 Edetària, Vinya d’Irto Garnatxa Negra – Terra Alta, Spain, $20
Edetària is an organic estate in Terra Alta, a DO south of Priorat, that has been making wines within the same family for four generations. Winemaker Joan Angel Liberia loves Garnacha. I mean, he LOVES it. Joan works with all-estate organic fruit and this versatile wine is a light-bodied expression of black raspberry and plum fruits. Slight clove spice in the finish. A really wonderful wine for this weird March weather!

2015 Bastida Alceo Tempranillo – La Mancha, Spain, $14
Taken from Familia Bastida’s website, is a Hemingway quote that we just had to include here: “Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation that, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.” This estate-grown, hand-harvested Tempranillo is from 10-20-year-old vines and is aged for 4-5 months in American oak. Alceo is full bodied with a round palate, soft sweet tannins, and a long, robust finish.