• Home
  • Case Special
  • Tastings
  • About
  SOUTHERN DURHAM'S EVERYDAY SOMMELIER

Hope Valley
Wine & Beverage

Two Tastings This Week

8/28/2019

 

Trinchero Family Estates
The Return of Dr. LOV!

Picture

Friday, August 30th
5:00 - 7:00

We are firm believers that any good business is based on great relationships.  Our main goals revolve around forming a relationship with our customers, getting to know them and their tastes, and providing the best service we can.  Just as important as our bonds with our customers is our relationships with the people that we buy wine from.  There is actually a lot of good wine out there, and often it is who the wine comes from that can put the pieces in place to get us to offer a certain wine to our followers.  There are a number of companies that we find supply us with the best over and over, but there are also some individuals that we are dedicated to.  Laurence O. Vuelta, aka Dr. LOV, has been an ardent supporter of this store since the very first day, and we are proud to support him back.  Drew was the GM at Nana's when he first met and started working with Larry, who at that time was selling the California wines of Semler Malibu Estates.  As soon as Hope Valley Wines was open, Larry was here making deals and finding us the best of his portfolio, and we sold a lot of Semler wines for a number of years.  Larry then made the move to represent Aveniu Brands in 2014, and we moved with him, diving into their great Spanish portfolio and sharing the best finds with you over those years.  Well, Laurence has had another change, bidding adios to Aveniu Brands and picking up the mantle of representing Trinchero Family Estates for North Carolina.  This is an excellent portfolio of wines, with a strong showing of California gems but also with stellar offerings in their imports.  We've just started down the road of tasting through these wines with Laurence, and have already found some favorites, which we can't wait to share with you!  Good old Dr. LOV is back in the saddle, and will join us this Friday night to taste through a first of many looks at the wonderful wines he now represents!

Avissi Prosecco Extra Dry
Prosecco DOC, Veneto, Italy, NV


Three Pears Pinot Grigio
California, 2018
 
Mason Sauvignon Blanc
Napa Valley, California, 2018
 
Folie à Deux Pinot Noir
Sonoma Coast, California, 2017
 
Neyers Vineyards 'Left Bank Red'
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot
Napa Valley, California, 2016
 
Napa Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley, California, 2016

Weekly Saturday Tasting

Beautiful Blends

Picture

Saturday, August 31st
4:30 - 7:00

The idea of labeling a bottle of wine by the grape name is a relatively new trend in the wine world. Some areas, such as Alsace in France, have done so for years, but they were very much in the minority. Historically the name that went on the label most often, the name thought to be most important, was the region, village, or vineyard the wine came from. It was often the case for many of these classically known wines that they would also not necessarily be made of just a single grape, but were blends. Many believed that blending a variety of grapes which prospered in a specific area would give a better sense of terroir, that the wine tastes of where it was grown. In the Southern Rhone Valley Chateauneuf-du-Pape is king, and can be composed of up to 13 recognized grape varieties. Red Bordeaux has thrived based for centuries on a classic collection of 5 noble grapes, and Tuscany's Chianti allows 4-5 other grapes to be blended with the mainstay Sangiovese grape. Even in Californian wines, many people drink more blends than they realize, as a wine need only be 75% of a single grape to be listed as that grape on the label, and they are not required to indicate if it is blended with other grapes (though the large majority do). So this Saturday we are going to look at five of our current favorite blended wines, and investigate if the whole is truly more than the sum of its parts!

Pine Ridge White Blend
80% Chenin Blanc, 20% Viognier
California, 2016

A.A. Badenhorst 'The Curator' White Blend
60% Chenin Blanc, 20% Chardonnay, 20% Viognier
Swartland, South Africa, 2019

Cono Sur Organic Red
49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Carmenere, 25% Syrah
Chile, 2018

Alma Negra 'M Blend'
* They like to be mysterious about this wine, so don't say exactly what the blend is,
but we're confident that Malbec and Bonarda play big roles

Mendoza, Argentina, 2015


Bodegas La Cartuja
70% Garnacha, 30% Mazuelo
Priorat DO, Spain, 2016


Comments are closed.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    October 2021
    July 2021
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016

COntact Us

​(919) 403-5200
hopevalleywine@gmail.com​

Hours

Closed Mondays
Tuesdays: 10:00 - 7:00
Wednesdays: 10:00 - 7:00
Thursdays: 10:00 - 7:00
Fridays: 10:00 - 7:00
Saturdays: 10:00 - 5:00
Closed Sundays

Location

Hope Valley Wine & Beverage
​Woodcroft Shopping Center​
4711 Hope Valley Road, Suite 4E

Durham North Carolina, 27707
Copyright © 2016
  • Home
  • Case Special
  • Tastings
  • About