Our next Third Thursday Wine Class is on October 18th, and the topic is How To Enjoy Wine: Desert Island Favorites. This tasting seminar will cover basics like how to describe taste, when to decant, when to cellar a wine and how to pick the right wine for your dinner plans. The fun part is that I will be using my Top Ten wine picks to be stranded on a desert island with as examples of what makes a wine great.

 

This is a tasting for beginners and seasoned drinkers alike. Among the featured wines will be creations by Bonny Doon, Ridge, Duckhorn and the three wines listed below. The class will start promptly at 6:30 and run until 8 PM. Cost is $25 ($20 for CAP members) and reservations in advance are required since space is limited. Please call us today at (847) 673-5711 to reserve your spot.

The arrival of Didier Dagueneau's latest release is what inspired me to create my desert island favorites wine class. He is widely known as the best producer in Pouilly-Fume, and all of his releases are truly artistic, delicious and memorable. He makes his wine in the tiny town of Saint-Andelain. This winemaker with his long tousled hair, his bushy beard, his intense gaze (not to mention his passion for sled dogs), has earned the nickname "the madman of the Loire." He is very popular with the press, not just for his wild look but also for his outspoken nature concerning how wine should be made. He is less popular with his neighbors, who he accuses of over-producing, in the interest of pure profit, and at the expense of the reputation of the area.

 

Dagueneau owes his success to the strength of his convictions. He is extremely meticulous and has a special intuition where winemaking is concerned. His goals are always authenticity and perfection. He goes way beyond the regulations of the appellation, pruning severely, thinning clusters and keeping low yields. He once showed the media photocopies of his bill for the workers who hand-harvested his vineyards, to prove he is "the real deal." Tasting his wines proves all of this.

 

We have a limited quantity of his Blanc de Pouilly Fumé 2004 now available. And it will be one of the highlights of my Desert Island Wine class on October 18th.

Blanc Fumé de Pouilly par Didier Dagueneau 2004, $54.95/750ml, $593.40/case - SAVE 10%!

Willamette Valley in Oregon is about the best place on our continent to grow Pinot Noir. Whenever you find a small producer from that area, you can bank on it that their wine is going to be wonderful. Here is a real treasure from Raptor Ridge. They only make about 700 cases of this wine, sourced from some of the finest local vineyards.

 

This wine will turn any meal (including our BLTs the night we tried it) into a grand occasion. It immediately became a candidate for the Top Ten class. Be sure to buy a couple, enjoy one now and set the other aside for a few years. I can't wait to discover how this wine will evolve. I probably won't be able to wait.
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Raptor Ridge Reserve Pinot Noir 2005, $42.95/750ml, $463.80/case - SAVE 10%!

Join us in our tasting room this Saturday when we will be featuring Italian wines and foods. A lot of new discoveries and old favorites, so be sure to stop by between 11 AM and 5 PM. Hope to see you there.

On Saturday, October 13th, Schaefer's will be hosting a Zen Green Tea Liqueur tasting. Zen Green Tea Liqueur is a super premium from Japan. Made with neutral spirits infused with special tea leaves and blended with herbs, including lemongrass, Zen is an exquisite liqueur with a delicate green color, aromatic nose and a subtle balance of flavors.

Zen Green Tea Liqueur, CAP Price $29.97, Regular Price $33.95

 

 

That's all for this week. If we may be of any further service, please stop by our store at 9965 Gross Point Road in Skokie (for directions, click here), visit our website at http://www.schaefers.com, give us a call at 847-677-WINE (9463), 800-833-WINE (9463), or click here to contact us.