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Woodland Wine Merchant
August/Labor Day 2007 Newsletter

It has been one month since we opened our doors!
Thank you to everyone who has come in and supported us. We are truly inspired by the spirit of the East Nashville community and feel lucky to be a part of this neighborhood.
Please let us know what we can do better and what you would like to see in the store.

We wish everyone a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

Please remember that we are required by law to be closed on Monday, September 3.

Don't forget to stock up early!

Labor Day Sale

Punta Pays Viognier $8 (usually $10)
To help you celebrate the "end" of summer (though we all know quite well that we've still got at least another month of heat to muscle through!), we're offering a lovely summer white for a party-drinkin' price.
Viogniers can be plush, full and, well, heavy, but this great value from Argentina is none of those. Instead, it retains the enticing aromatics of the varietal while offering a light, crisp and refreshing body. More dry than sweet, it combines peaches, melon, pineapple and cantaloupe with some nice tanginess on the finish. We like to call this the affordable alternative to the alternative whites (you know, Conundrum, et al). On sale through September 8.

Exciting New Reds from France & Spain!

Other than getting to know and trust the friendly staff of your local wine store (us!), one of the best ways to buy wine is to get to know and trust an importer. They tend to build cohesive portfolios based on their own tastes and, thus, if you find one or two to be to your taste, chances are you'll like most of the wines they import.

We just got a bunch of new things in from two of our favorites: Kermit Lynch and Eric Solomon (aka: European Cellars).

Lynch's wines tend to be elegant expressions of what's known as terroir: that sense of place found in wine (influenced by soil type, location, weather, etc). The wines we just received from him pretty much blew our collective minds with their combination of outstanding value, beautiful fruit and authentic taste. We'll be happy to tell you all about them the next time you come in (for the sake of space here!).

Solomon's main interest is Spain, though he does dabble in France a bit. We have some absolutely fantastic values from him right now. They are all a lovely balance of lush, bright fruit with earthier elements.

Some of the highlights:

• Altos del Cuadrado $15
  From the fantastic Jumilla region, this is made with the Monastrell grape (aka Mourvedre) and it's dark and rich while still being quite juicy.
• Huella de Adaras $14
  Dark and masculine, with cigar, earth, and a spice-tinged smoothness. Very well put together.
• Tikalo Rubens $13
  100% tempranillo from Spain's vast La Manche region. Plenty of wild raspberry notes in a deep smoky frame.
• Capcanes Costers del Gravet $20
  Mostly Cab & Grenache from the up-and-coming Montsant region. Many sommeliers claim that in a few years the price of wines from this area will skyrocket - so stock up now! Certainly age-worthy, but lovely now as well: gorgeous, elegant structure with rich layers of dark fruit.
• Andezon Cotes du Rhone $15
  Made from 60-90 year old Syrah vines. Very flavorful with some nice peppery spice. Organic with no added sulfites.

Highly Recommended

2004 Celler Cal Pla Priorat $30
95 Points - Robert Parker, ‘The Wine Advocate’ "The 2004 Mas d'En Compte Tinto is 50% Garnacha, 40% Carinena, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 14 months in new French and American oak. Purple/black, the nose offers up aromas of scorched earth, espresso, kirsch and wild blackberries. Full-bodied, the wine has a high-toned, racy style with intense, spicy flavors and terrific balance. Drink this stylish effort over the next 8-10 years."
Very Limited - don't hesitate

2004 Montepeloso Eneo Toscana I.G.T. $35
91 Points - Robert Parker, ‘The Wine Advocate’ "Readers won't want to miss this producer's 2004’s. It is a superb vintage for Montepeloso. Chiarelotto's Sangiovese-based 2004 Eneo, a dark ruby, opens with a huge nose of scorched earth, smoke, herbs and tobacco followed by lovely core of red cherry fruit. Muscular and powerful, yet medium in body, it displays excellent length, a fine finish and lovely overall balance."

2003 Raymond Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon $32 Napa Valley
Awarded 5 stars and the top wine in Decanter Magazine's recent round up of Napa Valley Cabs from the 2003 vintage. The Raymond Reserve beat out some very heavy hitters for top honors.
"Sweet fruited; ultra-ripe Victoria plums and damsons, smoky, soft and supple, but with balanced acidity. Nicely judged oak, exotic spice, attractive balanced wine. Charming and almost ready to drink."

Staff Favorites

Will
2005 Domaine de la Cadette $22
Vezelay, Burgundy, France
A fantastically-priced wine from a fantastic vintage in Burgundy. This chardonnay is grown in soil very similar to that of Chablis. Aromas of fresh pear and citrus with a faint touch of yeasty earth. Lovely mouth feel with nice, crisp, minerally and lingering finish. 100% organic.

Courtney
2005 Schellmann $22
"In Gumpoldskirchen Cuvee" Thermenregion, Austria
You're thinking, 'Um, is that a typo?' Nah, it's just the really-hard-to-pronounce name of a super awesome vineyard near Vienna. The wine is a blend of Chardonnay and two native Austrian grapes (are you ready??): Zierfandler and Rotgipfler! The taste is a modern take on Burgundy: The richness of Chard accented with charming floral and citrus provided by the oddly-named Austrian grapes. So gorgeous and delicious, and just wait ‘til you lay your eyes on the fetchingly graphic label.

Tyler
2006 Leth Gruner Veltliner $16 Wagram, Austria
A terrifically complex wine for under $20 that works magic with just about anything edible. Shrimp, artichoke, asparagus, spicy stuff, sweet stuff - the list is just about endless, including things that are notoriously hard pairings. This wine is fresh and elegant young, but unlike many whites, this one has aging potential. In this case, however, I am personally incapable of waiting. Great array of fresh citrus, nice herbs in the background with a hint of white pepper spice. Impeccable balance of richness and crisp refreshing acidity. I wish I were that smooth.

Belgian Beers

This tiny country nestled between France, Germany, The Netherlands and Luxembourg has about 125 different breweries. They produce over 500 different beers, not including "special bottlings". Their brewing history is long, dating back to the Middle Ages, and strong. InBev is the largest brewery in the World by volume.
Recently Eric Asimov of the New York Times (one of our favorite critics) reviewed a handful of lighter style Belgian beers for summer. We thought we would follow that up by sharing with you some of the beers from his list that we carry, plus a few of our favorites.

Affligem Blonde
Light and very refreshing. Great texture of creamy bubbles and nice crispness. Like a more mature hefeweizen, or at least one with the fruit turned down. Excellent balance of malt and hops.

Orval Hoppier
Bitter style with crisp, spicy finish. Great traditional Belgian yeasty quality. Citrus and a little earthiness add nice complexity to this traditonally-styled ale.

Corsendonk
Almost too easy to drink. Light, fruity nose with healthy yeast aromas. Nice and light with slightly fruity, hoppy character, followed by a nice dry finish.

Grimberger
Nice light body. Fruity, yet slightly bitter hops with elegant bubbly texture and good crisp finish.

La Chouffe
Somewhat new to the Belgian game, but they have made a name for themselves very quickly. Lightly spicy, strong but smooth character intensified by tight creamy bubble texture, plus nice hops but not overdone. Classic yeastiness with clean finish.

Although many Belgian beers have similar characteristcs (yeasty, fruity, tiny bubbles, etc.), it is one of the most varied beer categories.
If these lighter, old world stylings aren't your thing, chances are Belgium has got several other offerings you would enjoy. Plus we have many other beers from around the world.

Belgian Beer links:
http://www.belgian-beer.net/ Huge list of Belgian Beers and beer styles. Great way to find new things.
http://www.belgianstyle.com/mmguide/pronounce/speak.html Wondering how to pronounce beer names and styles correctly? Listen to a bevy of Belgian beer vocab in English, Flemish and French. (Just don’t expect us to understand what you are talking about.)

Move Over Mojito: Presenting Piscos!

The cocktail-conscious have moved from one South American liquor (Brazilian cachaca) to its northern neighbor, pisco from Peru and Chile. Pisco is a grappa-like spirit.

We carry the Capel (which is oak-aged and from Chile) for $17 (750mL).

Key Lime Pisco Sour
1 medium egg white, 1.5 ounces Pisco, 3/4 ounces fresh squeezed key lime juice, 3/4 ounce simple syrup, angostura bitters, ice.
In a cocktail shaker, combine the egg white, pisco, lime juice, simple syrup and 1 dash bitters. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Fill the cocktail shaker with ice and shake for 20 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and top with 3 drops of Angostura.

Pisco Smash
8 seedless red grapes, 1.5 ounces pisco, 2 ounces Riesling, 1/2 ounce simple syrup, 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice, ice.
In a cocktail shaker, gently muddle the grapes until they burst. Add the remaining ingredients and enough ice to fill a rocks glass and shake well for 20 seconds. Pour contents of shaker into the rocks glass.

PLEASE REMEMBER:
WE ARE REQUIRED TO CLOSE LABOR DAY, SEPTEMBER 3.