Free tasting | Saturday, September 28, 2019 | 4-6PM

Dave from Vineyard Road is pouring a bagful of September Sippers to get you in the fall mood! These wines are all perfect with the changing season and meant to sip with or without food, with friends, on a patio in the sun, all while watching the leaves change from green to amber. Join us for this special tasting as we fall into fall with you! As always, we honor a 10% discount on all tasting wines. Gather up your wine before the October Salem madness!

September Sippers Line-up:

2018 Domaine Felines Jourdan, Picpoul de Pinet 

Who: The Jourdan family 

What: 100% Picpoul

Where: Languedoc-Roussillon, France

How: From estate fruit from three sites: Félines, Les Cadastres, and La Coulette. 100% steel-aged.

Farming Method: Sustainable

Fun Fact: Picpoul translates as "lip stinger.” 

What It Tastes Like: Notes of citrus fruit, aniseed, fennel, lime tree, honeysuckle, and acacia. Pair with oysters or pasta and seafood.

2018 Antidoto, Ribera del Duero ‘Rosélito’

Who: French winemaker turned Spanish winemaker, Bertrand Sourdais

What: Tinto Fino: 70%; Albillo: 30%

Where: Ribero del Duero, Spain

How: Direct pressing with whole bunches mixing red and white grapes. 21 days fermentation in stainless steel tanks. 

Farming Method: Organic

Fun Fact: Antídoto is Spanish for ‘antidote’ and has a particular meaning for Bertrand’s wine philosophy: his wine serves as an antidote to the many Ribera de Duero wines that substitute heavy-handed winemaking for a sense of place and variety. His wines taste of place, in a light-hearted, playful, and fun way - the way wine should be! 

Tasting Notes: An oceanic-type vintage, with complex aromas of white flowers and herbs. On the palate, a bit of strawberry and cream comes through with an easy and dry finish. A total stunner! 

2018 Ampeleia, Costa Toscana ‘Unlitro’

Who: Elisabetta Foradori, one of Italy’s top superstar winemakers (famous for her work with Teroldego in the Alto Adige) along with her friends Giovanni Podini and Thomas Widmann 

What: 80% Alicante Nero [Grenache], 20% Carignan

Where: Tuscany, Italy

How: Separate vilification for Alicante Nero and Carignan, undergoing partial semi-carbonic fermentation and aged for 6 months in cement vats. Super fresh wine! 

Farming Method: Biodynamic

Fun Fact:  The estate overlooks the medieval village of Roccatederighi, located on three different levels of altitude varying from 200 to 600 meters above sea level: Ampeleia di Sopra (Upper Ampeleia), Ampeleia di Mezzo (Central Ampeleia) and Ampeleia di Sotto (Lower Ampeleia).

Tasting Notes: Fall in a glass! Notes of blackberries, earth and garden party. Give a little chill. How cute is this bottle, right?!

2018 Anne-Sophie Dubois ‘Les Cocottes’

Who: Anne-Sophie Dubois

What: 100% Gamay

Where: Beaujolais, France (southern part of Burgundy)

How: This organic Gamay is fermented in whole clusters and undergoes carbonic maceration that leaves the wine light and oh-so-fresh! 

Farming Method: Biodynamic

Fun Fact:  Anne-Sophie grew up in Champagne, France and seized the opportunity to purchase an 8-hectare plot of Gamay vines in Fleurie.

Tasting Notes: Anne-Sophie is also an artist and drew the wine label herself; she used herself and her friends, Les Cocottes, aka The Chicks, as ‘models.’ 

2018 Alvaro Palacios, Priorat ‘Camins del Priorat’

What: 40% Garnacha, 30% Samsó, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah 

Where: Catalonia, Spain (Priorat is part of Catalonia; I like to compare it to the Rhône of Spain)

How: A combination of estate vineyards and purchased grapes. The grapes are destemmed and sofly crushed. Fermentation is in stainless steel, cement and large wooden vats. Remontages and punching down. Aging takes place for 8 months in barrel. 

Farming Method: Biodynamic

Fun Fact: Alvaro was one of the original producers to rekindle the Priorat wine region in the 1990’s. He is a biodynamic leader in Spain and he has been instrumental in delineating the special differences between the villages in the Priorat. He also helped make Gratallops the first sub-DO in Catalonia wine country.

What It Tastes Like: Notes of sour cherries, lively, medium-bodied. Lovely freshness and a long, silky, pure Catalan finish.