New Feature-Winery of the Month!!!

January's winery of the month is Odisea, whose Spanish and Rhone inspired wines are awesome and affordable.  I was first introduced to this winery last fall and I was instantly a fan. If you love wine from Spain, you'll love their stuff.
http://www.odiseawineco.com/default.aspx

Vina Robles 2007 RED4

Vina Robles 2007 RED4

Dark vibrant garnet with aromas of black cherry and plum with dark currant and spice, violets and toasty oak. A lush, fresh and fruity wine with dense blackberry, ripe cherry and vanilla notes.
Enjoy now through 2012

* Recommended - California Values for $20 or Less – Wine Spectator, December 2009
* 85 Points/Best Buy - Wine & Spirits, August 2009

If you are looking for a great, everyday drinker, this is it.

32 Winds Pinot Noir 2006 Sonoma Coast

I may not be able to sell Sea Smoke, but that can't keep me from selling awesome California Pinot Noir. 32 Winds Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir shows us how good the Sonoma Coast is at creating great wine. This one is quite deceiving, too. It is an extremely pale, almost garnet color, but it's aroma is huge with cherry and light cola. The taste is pure elegance, with rich cherry. Robert Parker gave it 92 points and said it is "unbelievably good". I agree. Coming in at around $56.00, it gives Sea Smoke a run, and for less money. Try it the next time you feel like splurging on a wine you will remember forever.

Owen Roe Sinister Hand 2008

I have to admit I am always a sucker for the GSM (Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre). I also tend to really like wine from Washington. This wine is both and I love it. The blend is 62% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 3% Mourvedre. This is classic Southern Rhone, another of my favorites. This wine smells great, smokey from the Syrah, great berry fruit from the Grenache and Mourvedre. On the palate it has wonderful red berry fruit, like cherry and strawberry. This one tastes really good now, but in a year or so it will be awesome. This wine retails for 30 dollars which for what you get is a great price. This is a great food wine as well as one for the cellar. I think this wine will evolve over the next couple of years into a great wine.

Sandeman 100 Years of Tawny Port

I have to say this new item from Sandeman is strange. It makes me think selling 200 dollar bottles of port must be difficult. Who am I kidding, selling 20 dollar bottles of port is hard. This however, puts the subject under a very clear and interesting perspective. It is called "100 Years of Tawny Port" because that is what you get; 10 year, 20 year, 30 year and 40 year. Add those up and you get "100 years of Port". Very clever. The bad news is this package will run you close to 350 dollars. The good news is that it all tastes incredible and you can see what the years of aging do to the wine. The 10 years tasted like cherry and chocolate. The 40 year tasted mellow and nutty with a hint of mellow cherry and dark chocolate. Incredible! The other good news (this is really the good news) is that it is rumored that one of our local restaurants is going to pour this as a flight for something in the neighborhood of 15 dollars. That will be worth it, trust me.

Mumm Napa DVX Sparkling Wine

I got to try this yesterday and I was blown away. Even with a relatively high retail price (somewhere around $55.00) it still tasted like a bargain. If you are looking for a great sparkler for this years new year celebration or you just like sparkling wine, this one comes highly recommended.

Miramont Eclipse Lot 51

Miramont Eclipse Lot 51

This deep ruby purple wine, which the management of Coffee Creek Wine Shop had a hand in developing, is a remarkably complex blend of Cabernet, Zinfandel and Syrah. The nose is full of blackberry notes, with hints of a wood fire smoke. That blackberry bouquet shifts to a raspberry and cassis flavor, with a hint of blackberry still lingering in the background along with a touch of toasted oak from the barrels. As the fruit flavors fade, balanced finish of supple tannins and light acidity lingers on the palate well after you've finished that sip, enticing you to take another.

Food Pairings: grilled meat and BBQ