At Vintner Select, we have seen our Portuguese sales grow astronomically since 2008 when we first brought in the Ports from Kopke. Over the last 4 years, through the end of 2012 our Portuguese wine sales have grown 115% and an astonishing 183% so far this year over last year, mostly through the addition of some new items added to the portfolio. However, even our sales of Kopke Port are up 21%. Our market is finding a lot to like in Portugal.

The history of Portuguese wine is an interesting study. Wine has made in this area since around 2000 BC for a long time centered around the coastal areas. The Ancient Greeks and Romans did much to spread viticulture throughout the region. Most of the expansion in Portugal occurred in the Minho region (now famous for Vinho Verde) and the Douro (made famous by Port). Port wine, or Porto, developed in the 17^th century, long supported by the British partially as a result of wars with France, has long dominated what most people think of as quality modern Portuguese wine, but that is evolving, and evolving quickly: “A revolution has been taking place in the vineyards and cellars of Portugal…nothing short of astonishing!” says Jancis Robinson in her book, Jancis Robinson Tastes the Best Portuguese Table Wines.

Since late 2008 we have represented the fine Ports from Kopke. This house has the distinction of being the first of all Port producers founded in 1638. (Port wine, as we know it (generally sweet and fortified with brandy), was actually first exported in 1675.) Kopke makes lots of fine styles of Port but is the standard bearer for tawny Port and especially single year aged tawnies called Colheita. Kopke enjoys a whopping 25% of the world’s market share of this high quality style of Port. Our sales of Kopke continue to grow year after year in our market area. Our customers have enjoyed taking advantage of the great value and styles of Kopke Port along with the availability of Colheitas back to the 1930’s.

A few years ago we developed a relationship with noted producer Quinto dos Roques located in the Dão, near the center of Portugal, and the winery’s sister property at Quinta das Maias. Winemaker Luis Lorenco and his wife, Louissa (daughter of the estate’s owner) toured through our area and we grew to really enjoy these wines. Roques, called by The Wine Advocate, “one of the leading producers in the region,” is always winning awards and, along with the red and white wines they produce at Maias, offer incredible value.

This year we begin importing our first Vinho Verde to great success. A label called Anjos de Portugal made by Quinta da Lixa in the Minho region. Composed of the indigenous grapes, Trajadura, Arinto, and Loureiro, this white Vinho Verde is bright and refreshing with lively notes of apple, grapefruit, lemon and wildflower on the nose and palate. Crisp acidity merges with a subtle herbal note on the finish.

Two other wines that arrived recently are made by Sogivinus, the parent company of Kopke Port. They are from the Douro region using varieties often found in fine Port. Both are made by one of the Iberian Peninsula’s outstanding, young winemakers, Francisco Gonçalves .

Veedha is a blend of Touriga National, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz sourced from the higher altitude Quinta do Arnozelo in the Douro Superior. The nose is very fragrant with ripe blackberry fruit, vanilla, honeysuckle and dark chocolate aromas. Aged in new 225 liter French and Hungarian oak barrels, this elegant, fresh, clean red is medium bodied, well balanced and quite charming with very good length. While a little more limited in availability this wine still is an incredible value under $15 retail.

Doural is a fun, easy-to-drink red wine (an incredible value line-priced with our Vinho Verde). Fermented and aged 10 months in stainless steel vats, this blend of eight native Portuguese varietals is an incredibly food-friendly wine brimming with inviting notes of cherry, blackberry and baking spice. Firm tannins and balanced acidity merge with hints of vanilla and oak on the finish. Mark Squires in a recent issue of The Wine Advocate said, “It is easy to knock back.”

All three of these wines combined with the wines from the Dão and even Kopke Port offer great value and are all worth seeking out.

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Gold Medals
Jean Lallement NV Brut Champagne
Sattler 2011 St. Laurent
Seghesio 2007 Barolo La Villa
Storybook Mountain Vineyards 2009 Antaeus
Vinum Cellars 2009 Cabernet Franc The Scrapper     OH & KY only

Silver Medals
Cantina del Taburno 2009 Aglianico del Taburno Fidelis
Cucao 2011 PX Pedro Ximenez
Cuvée du Vatican 2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Gruet NV Sauvage Blanc de Blancs     OH & KY only
Kopke 10-Years Old Tawny Port
La Spinetta 2009 Langhe Nebbiolo
Pierre Gimonnet NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Secco Italian Bubbles 2011 Moscato Colli Euganei
Vinum Cellars 2010 Red Dirt Red     OH & KY only

Bronze Medals
Colli di Lapio 2010 Fiano di Avellino
Domaine Jean Fournier 2010 Marsannay Clos du Roy
Gruet NV Extra Dry     OH & KY only
Rayun 2011 Chardonnay
Revelry Vintners 2010 The Reveler
Sean Minor 2010 Pinot Noir Carneros
Strub 2011 Riesling Soil to Soul

Congratulations to the producers of these extraordinary wines!

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Duke Energy Convention Center
3rd Floor
525 Elm Street
Cincinnati, Ohio
cost: $20  tickets available at the door

Vintner Select will be sampling wines from a wide variety of producers within our fine wine portfolio…Come visit our tables to find new favorites and to get reacquainted with old ones!

GRAND TASTINGS  ~ OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Friday, 6:30-9:00 PM and Saturday, 2:30-4:30 PM & 6:30-9:00 PM
visit www.winefestival.com for details

These producers will be there from Vintner Select:

Charles Smith Wines
Field Stone Winery
GEO Wines of Chile
Gruet Winery
Indigenous Selections of Italy
K Vintners
Marc de Grazia Selections of Italy
Sean Minor Wines
Revelry Vintners
Secco Italian Bubbles
Storybook Mountain Vineyards
Tarrica Winery
Terry Theise Selections
Torii Mor Winery
Vinum Cellars
Vintner Select Imports of France
Wineworth Importers of Portugal

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Even though it’s after New Year’s, the time is always right to drink sparkling wine. There is no other wine category that is so useful across the board. They make great aperitifs, wonderful food wines that can match up to almost anything that a still wine wouldn’t and can bring a festive atmosphere to the dreariest of days.

Champagne, been there, done that. American sparklers, ditto. How about Prosecco? It’s starting to get some traction along with French Cremants, now that Spanish Cavas have also become ubiquitous. What’s left for you or an uber wine geek to do? A quick answer to that question is, German Sekt. And not that industrial swill that you might mistakenly suffered through on a Lufthansa international flight. One would be better off with some good old Cook’s from the USA.

What I’m talking about here is a hand crafted Sekt using the greatest of all white grapes, Riesling! We all know of the bad rap that Riesling sometimes gets, “It’s too sweet!”, and no matter how dry it really is. This perception is hard to break. 2008 Minges Riesling Sekt turns this perception on its head. This wine was made by the small, artisanal wine producer, Theo Minges of Germany’s Southern Pfalz. The Pfalz is the German growing region whose weather most closely aligns with France’s Champagne region. For Germany, the Pfalz is fairly warm, while Champagne is France’s coolest region. Still they are roughly on the same latitude and can usually ripen grapes reliably without too many problems with over ripeness.

The soils in Minges’ portion of the Southern Pfalz generally feature a preponderance of limestone with small outcroppings of chalk. While not the same as the chalk found in Champagne, limestone is a relative and imparts a similar yet harder mineral imprint on a sparkling wine much as you’d find in Champagne. The 2008 vintage of Minges’ Riesling Sekt is Theo’s first bubbly foray into the American market, being up to now known strictly for his still wines utilizing many different grape varieties besides Riesling. Made in the Method Traditional(fermented in the bottle, this for 4+ years), this bubbly’s  flavors are imbued with a racy character informed by bright acidity that is a hallmark of the 2008 vintage throughout Germany. Acidity should always play a major part in laying a solid foundation for any sparkling wine. It helps add focus to the bubbles, which already have an acidic nature of their own. The natural grape acids act as a compliment to the CO2. Flavors of apple and pear skin on the front palate lead to stony apple and caramel notes that seem almost crunchy due to the pronounced  minerality. The caramel notes, along with a touch of spice, come to the fore as the wine warms and takes on air. The finish is long and graceful.

Calling all rock heads, this should be on your short list of new finds for the New Year. With a suggested retail price of $33.99 Minges Riesling Sekt might not be Champagne but for this price the quality is certainly there and it’s pretty darn close.

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It is that time of the year again… The Holidays… you have 12 holiday parties to go to, 2 dinners with your family and then New Year’s Eve.   That makes 12 host gifts, 2 dishes or wine to bring to your family’s house for dinner and Bubbles for New Year’s.   The obvious choice is to bring wine (at least for me).  So how do you avoid bringing the same old boring wines that everyone else brings?  I am here to share my personal holiday wine tips to help guide you while keeping it under $20 per bottle.  First, “the only job of a wine is to be delicious” as my friend Tim always says.  It does not have to be expensive.   The part of your homework is to find a good retailer that can help you get these wines.

So let’s break it down:

White wines, Red wines and Bubbles (maybe Port) can all be good and inexpensive.  I’ll  put a list of specifics together at the end, but for now I will just rant about the grapes themselves.

It seems more and more that people tell me “no I don’t drink white wine, only robust reds”.  My response is, “Well you are missing out on half of the great wines in the world!”  I say this more for me I suppose.  I digress, good interesting white wines that are good and different.   I think people get bored with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio – you know the usual suspects.   So let’s do something different this year!  How about Riesling (dry or sweet) or  Gruner Veltliner,  maybe and Albarinio or Grenache Blanc, Viognier perhaps.   So many white wines from all around the world to choose from…Scheurbe or Chenin Blanc.   No need to be afraid of these wines because they are interesting and tasty.

Now let’s deal with sweet wines.  I hear “oh my, I don’t drink sweet wines.”  Again, why not?  Sweet wines are tasty, generally low in alcohol and often misunderstood.    First thing to get out of you head is: all German wines are sweet and all Rieslings are sweet.  This is just not true, and so what if they have a little sweetness, it is like drinking peaches and apricots in a field full of flowers (who wouldn’t want to do that?)  Ask any sommelier their favorite white wine.  I would bet 9 out of 10 would say German Riesling.   What?  Yup! it is the best kept secret in the wine business.  While everyone is obsessed with dry white wines, the wine industry is secretly drinking all the tasty German Rieslings.  Why?  Because they taste good and are great food wines.  I would even argue the best food white wine in the world.   Also, look for Sheurebe (a cross of Silvaner and Riesling) from Germany…so good!!  You are still not convinced and you want a dry white wine?  Well, how about a Gruner Veltliner?  “Those are from Austria and are in the German section so they must be sweet”  people may say.  Nope!!  These are some of the great dry whites in the world – don’t confuse them with wines from Germany.   By law, Austrian wines are dry.   So you are looking for more of the Chardonnay- style wines with new and unique flavors?  One of my favorite white wines is Grenache Blanc, either from France or Spain!    Grenache Blanc has been one of the staples for Southern Rhone whites for thousands of years!  They are voluptuous and stylish!!  Don’t forget about Viognier.    Ah, and then Chenin Blanc – the great white from the Loire Valley (and of course California)…rich and flavorful – a must have!   Don’t turn your back on white wines this holiday season.  It does not make you more of man (or woman) or more sophisticated if you just drink Reds.  You just miss out on half of the great wines of the world.

Now to Bubbles!!

Champagne you say is so expensive…there are great sparkling wines under $20 bucks.   Let’s Start with Prosecco – Italy’s great bubbly wine… juicy and fruity made from the Gelra grape with just the right amount of sweetness.   Cava from Spain…a wonderful Champagne alternative.  Made in the Pendes from grapes no one has ever heard of (macabeu, parellada and xarel·lo) and Chardonnay.  Cavas are produced in the Method Champenoise (or traditional method) or in layman’s terms:  the same as they do in Champagne, meaning the secondary fermentation is in the bottle.    You say “I am just into domestic wines.”   Well how about a nice Bubbly from New Mexico? Gruet  - a great domestic producer  making stunning Bubbles from Chardonnay and Pinot noir. They have been in the Wine Spectator Top 100 and are always listed as a Best Buy.  Gruet produces several styles and sweetness levels.  There are other domestic producers making Sparkling wines from all sorts of grapes such as Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc.   Bubbles are a wonderful food wine, aperitif and a great way to start a Sunday, too.

Now, what you all have been waiting for… Red wines to impress your friends and family!!

Red wines can range from delicate to bold, from fruity to earthy, and from medium to full-bodied.  How to choose, how to choose…   First, figure out the style you enjoy.   If you only like Cab and Zin, then you are most likely are in the bold fruit-forward, full- bodied camp.   If you like Pinot, then you are generally in the delicate, fruity/earthy, medium-bodied camp.  So let’s talk about wines you have never tried and where they would fall.

How about Syrah (I know not very creative).  People generally are unaware of how great this grape can be – expressing full, bold flavors, meaty undertones, straight up rock ‘n roll.    Cabernet Franc is a wonderful alternative to Cabernet Sauvignon.  Petite Verdot , Petit Sirah and Malbec will all fall into the bold and beautiful category.    Let’s talk sleek and elegant…Grenache, Tempranillo,  Zweigelt, and Blaufrankish are all some of my favorite varietals in that category.  I think being creative in your wine selection is not only fun but it shows that you have put some thought into your selections  versus just running into the grocery store and picking up whatever is on the end cap.

Don’t forget Port.  I always enjoy a bit of port by the fire swirling it in a big snifter as the wood crackles and the snow falls.  Generally, in the under $20 category, you will find Fine Ruby and Fine Tawny Ports.  A Ruby is going to be more fruit forward with red fruit dominating and a Tawny can be more nutty and golden.  Both are delicious and make great gifts.  I find that very few people go out and buy Port just to have around, but I also have found that no one turns down Port on a cold and wonderful holiday evening.

My rant is all food for thought… not the Holiday rule.   I will also quote the great comedic actor Kristen Wiig “When you go out of your comfort zone and it works… there is nothing more satisfying.”   So this holiday season, explore some new wines and enjoy your time with coworkers, friends and family.

~ Jeff Hickenlooper, CSW

BTW Here is a list of wines I would recommend:

White wines
Revelry Riesling
Berger Gruner Veltliner
Mar de Vinas Albarino
Colinas Ebro Bianco Grenache
Vinum  Cellars Chenin Blanc
Geil Scheurebre
Vinum Cellars  White Elephant (Chenin Viognier)

Bubbles
Conde Suirats Brut Cava
Bortolotti Prosecco
Vinum Cellars Chenin Bubbles
Gruet Blanc de Noirs and Brut

Red Wines
Vinum Cellars Petite Sirah
Altivo Malbec
Altos Malbec Terrior
Les Jamelles Grenache
Sinfonia Tempranillo
Berger Zweigelt
Glatzer Blaufrankish

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As you probably know, cork closures come from the Mediterranean area, mostly Spain, Portugal, and Northern Africa and sourced from the Quercus suber (a type of oak).  Evidently, the tree must grow 25 years for the first harvest, and another eight to 14 years until the next bark has been formed which is not good enough for corks until the third harvest.  Whoa, that is a long time!  But there are about 5 million acres of these trees using carbon dioxide and do not require a lot of water.  Cork is especially good as wine closure because of its impermeability and elasticity, and besides in spite of the timing of the harvests, it is a renewable resource.

But with the increased occurrence of corked bottles (at one tasting I did in 1993, of the 100 bottles opened, 14 were corked!), many alternative closures were utilized by wineries around the world  (notably screwcap, synthetics, plastic-glass caps, and even something called, the Zork, ) and according to a recent article I read on Reuters on line, “the cork business plummeted”. But change is a brewing, or maybe better said, fermenting…Reuters also reported that “now the traditional cork business has recovered, rescued by unlikely saviors: cutting-edge laboratory researchers in white coats who are demonstrating why nature’s stopper may still be one of the best ways of preserving and serving bottled wine.”  And in some of the world’s most famous wine areas regulations prohibit the use of alternative wine closures.

However, the wine buying population have embraced alternatives big time, especially the screwcap.  Back in 2000 I predicted that every wine retailing under $20 would be Stelvin-finished (a premium type of screwcap) within 10 years.  I see now that my prediction has very nearly come true as we see more and more wines we bring into our market arriving with Stelvin closures.  And our customers don’t seem to mind, in fact, nobody complains, and people I talk to at public tastings tell me they prefer screwcaps above all others.

There have been many experiments on these alternative closures, the most notable I read about recently by Bordeaux first-growth Chateau Margaux cited recently in various journals including The Drinks Business and The Wall Street Journal.  It seems that managing director Paul Pontallier reports Margaux has been examining the age-ability of its wines sealed with various closures.  Those sealed with synthetic closure were “”absolutely catastrophic,”  he stated after tasting the 2003 Margaux, it was the wine under natural cork that was the “youngest and freshest”, but concluded that the wine aged under “impermeable screwcap was probably my preferred because I find the mouth softer.”  But he also stated that the company  wants to see how the wines evolve and compare them again after another 5-10 years. “Our number one priority is to make the best possible wine, and if screwcap is better, then I don’t know how we could resist the temptation to change.”  When I made my prediction back in 2000, I never would have expected this kind of revolution in the world of wine closures.

But some producers are switching back to natural cork after trying Stelvin for a number of vintages.  The other day I read of an Australian vintner, Christian Canute of Rusden, that “wasn’t happy with how the wines bottled under screwcap had been aging,” he says. “Our wines are handmade and bottled without fining or filtration, and under a screwcap I have noticed the wines seem to sweat – producing overly dominant reductive characters, a problem we have never had under cork.”  But he is concerned if his customers will accept the flip-flop.

As for myself, while I love the charm of pulling the cork, the ease of opening a Stelvin-finished bottle is sometimes preferred especially as the evening wears on.

So what do you think?  Which closures do you prefer?  Maybe you agree with Canute who stated, “Any winemaker should be able to have the choice of using the closure they see as best for their product without negativity surrounding their decision.”

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The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino is comparable in quality to the exceptional 2006 vintage but has the additional advantage of being softer and more approachable now, while having the structure and balance to evolve and give great pleasure for another ten to fifteen years. Whether consumers are looking for a great red wine for immediate drinking or something to cellar and enjoy over the next decade, 2007 Brunello di Montalcino is a great choice.

The 2010 Rosso di Montalcino are absolutely gorgeous wines that make clear that 2010 will be a great vintage for Brunello di Montalcino. These beautiful wines, typically produced from younger vines, are ready for immediate drinking and represent great value with prices one third to one half the price of their big brother Brunello siblings.

From the dozens of Brunello and Rosso available to us, I have chosen to purchase what I consider to be the best of the best ….. Uccelliera, La Serena, Le Macioche, Le Potazzine, Scopetone and Voliero which were pre-sold and Ciacci Piccolomini Brunello and Brunello Pianrosso which was not pre-sold but which is now available.

Uccelliera Brunello, possibly the Brunello of the vintage, was sold out on our pre-sell but there are still a few cases of La Serena, Le Macioche, Le Potazzine, Scopetone and Voliero still available. We also have good quantities of Ciacci Piccolomini Brunello and Brunello Pianrosso available.

Don’t miss out on the 2010 Rosso di Montalcino. These are the best Rosso di Montalcino I have ever tasted and an extraordinary value.

Gordon Hullar

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First, allow me a trip down memory lane.  There was a time when selling Kendall-Jackson and Beringer paid my bills.  Having started in the wine business with a large distributor, I was well schooled in the Gallo U principles.  “Stack them high and watch them fly”, etc.   But, when I would catch little glimpses of ‘authentic wine’ I always took notice.  Coming to Vintner was a natural progression for me, as I prefer to sell the kinds of wines that I enjoy on my own table.   The Vintner Select portfolio is really an embarrassment of riches.  From each country we represent there are relationships, families and stories behind the carefully selected wines.

In looking to add a stateside supplier of French wines to this portfolio, Rosenthal was my first choice.  Their company philosophy is so similar to ours here at Vintner, and their wines are chosen on the same principles.  Being a person of strong integrity, Neil insisted that we meet each other and taste the wines together before making a handshake agreement to work together.  So, he assembled a few other distributors that he has been working with for years, and we met in Brooklyn at the Mad Rose warehouse to taste thru an extensive collection of wines.  45 wines.  Before lunch.

Neil chose to pour mostly older vintages, some of them from more difficult years, chosen to demonstrate the producer’s quality in lesser years.  As we tasted, he gave us all an in depth picture of the people, processes and land behind each label.  We discussed Character, Typicity and Grace.  The overriding theme was BALANCE.  I couldn’t agree more with Neil as he stated that “Striving for balance is the human condition”.  To me, balance is what makes a wine resonate with us on a deep level.  It’s like recognizing that person in a crowd who has managed to find happiness and balance in their life – balanced wines just stand out.

As for the 45 wines, to say that they were all ‘unique and expressive of terrior  would be the grossest understatement.  We took hours to taste, but the wines were demanding of more time and attention.  Usually in that lengthy of a ‘lineup’, it’s easy to skim over most of the wines and easily assign them to certain categories of style.  Not so easy with these wines.  They made new categories for themselves – giving a gentle stretch to the part of my brain that stores tasting impressions.

Neil’s portfolio has a few unique defining characteristics.  Often the vintages are released years behind what is typical in this business, as traditional wines take time to in the bottle.  There is NEVER any acidification added to any Rosenthal wine.  Ever.  Sometimes there is chaptilization when necessary.  Also, there are no Stelvin closures on any of the wines for the following two reasons  - 1) the romance  2) ‘it’s not right for a living thing’  For natural wines that evolve in the bottle, this makes sense.  Wine should breathe, and stay balanced – as should we all.

Personally, I’d recommend seeking out a glass of Rosenthal’s Thevenet Brut,  Soucherie Anjou Blanc  or Chat. Peyre Bordeaux.  These wines pair beautifully with a wide variety of foods, but also are fully balanced and complete on their own.  Or, set up your own Rosenthal tasting, and share one of ‘Those Moments’ with friends.  Santé!

- Jennifer Stewart

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