The grape in question is Falanghina (the h is silent) and it is a de-light in the summer.  It hails from the southern Italian wine region of Campania, a region that has much in common with the heat of a New Orleans summertime.    Falanghina is an ancient grape that seemingly only grows well in the stark, hot, rocky climate of Campania and I was first introduced to its magical powers at a wine fair in Tuscany in July of 2006. With a heat index of damn near 115 and not a speck of A/C in sight drinking down this glass of Falanghina felt like diving into a refreshing pool of cool water, literally.  Maybe I was crazy from the heat, maybe the wine was just that good – regardless the wine was the perfect balance of dryness and fruit, neither one being too dominant and it really shows how well done a hot climate white can be made to pair with both food AND environment.

There’s one in particular I’m in love with and just brought a decent slug into Cork & Bottle.

2009 Cantina del Taburno Falanghina, $16.99

This wine was harvested last fall and spent a scant 2 months maturing in stainless steel tanks, preserving the freshness of the fruit.  The wine was bottled and away it went to us.  The flavor of the wine is just an absolute delight. It really shows the white calcareous soil of Campania with a load of austere minerality on the nose which combines nicely with its slightly fresh, fruity, ripe pear, pineapple-ish nose (and just a hint of herbs too).

It will be a perfect match with light pasta and seafood of all forms (for better or worse at this point).  In fact, I think I might spy in my future a little fresh pasta from Dan Esses mixed with some olive oil, sea salt and cherry tomatoes from Jim Core at the Crescent City Farmer’s Market enjoyed with a glass or three of this Falanghina this afternoon.  Care to join me?

PS – As a side note the Roman writer/philosopher Pliny the Elder who is credited with coining the phrase “In Vino Veritas” (there is truth in wine) met his demise in an erupting volcano in Campania.  I wonder if he was drinking Falanghina.

We’re tasting all the high end Jameson’s Irish Whiskey for free tonight in our wine bar, Clever.

The tasting will start tonight, Tuesday 6/22, around 6:00 and will go till about 8:00.

Enjoy!

At a time like this The Gulf Coast Fund is serving the needs of those that are “falling through the cracks” relative to other support mechanisms in place to handle this tragedy and we want to support this very worthwhile charity.

Why do this?  Well, my first thought of the day is my best – they usually go downhill from there.  The other day I woke up and immediately began thinking about the ongoing crisis with the oil spill in the Gulf.  I thought about its impact on the men and women affected by the various industries that rely on the Gulf of Mexico for their living.  I also thought about how lucky I was to be so excited about my wine project and how proud I was about making such a top notch wine.  Then I pictured those men and women who make their living from the Gulf of Mexico who aren’t nearly as lucky right now and I decided to take the (literal) fruits of my labor to lend assistance to them by donating a portion of the proceed from Cork & Bottle’s very own wine to oil spill relief efforts.

So, for the month of June Cork & Bottle will donate $5 for every bottle of 2008 Cork & Bottle Selections purchased from our retail store and $1 for every glass poured from our wine bar.

On Thursday, July 8th we will present a check to The Gulf Coast Fund.  We ask that you please help us give some assistance to those so terribly affected by this ongoing tragedy (and drink some really fantastic wine in the process)!

Thank you.

More information on The Gulf Coast Fund can be found online at http://gulfcoastfund.org/bp-oil-disaster.html

Join us this Friday June 11th at the historic Pitot House on Bayou St. John as we continue into our 5th year of “Vino on the Bayou” a monthly wine tasting/fundraiser.  The event lasts two hours from 5:30 to 7:30 and costs $10 per person.  All proceeds are donated to the Louisiana Landmarks Society which helps to preserve and protect some the most historically significant landmarks in New Orleans.

A mix of the old and the new, located just down Bayou St. John from each other, Cork & Bottle enjoys a view of the bayou perched from the relatively newly renovated American Can Company building whereas the Pitot House has been a Bayou St. John fixture since the 18th century. The charm of the Pitot House attracts visitors, inspires artists (such as the work done by local artist Corey Allen and it is a key fixture in the history of our city.   Now, more than ever, the Pitot House needs your support. Fine wines, an historic property, beautiful gardens and a setting sun along the bayou: what a perfect marriage and a great way to help the week melt away.

Featuring live music by The Courtyard Kings, the cost is only $10 for a tasting of four wines in a gorgeous setting with some really nice traditional jazz all in one of the most beautiful and serene settings in the City that Care Forgot.

For more information call us at 504.483.6314.

The Pitot House is located on the web at www.pitothouse.org and on planet earth at 1440 Moss Street.

What’s WineSense, you say?  Well, WineSense is the series of educational seminars we started back in 2003.  They’re laid back, educational, a hell of a lot of fun and a great wine to taste some fantastic wines.  Tastings are on Wednesdays, they start at 6:30 and last about an hour. To book an early seat click here, or just stay tuned to the blog.  We also have a great way to save on our tastings this summer too.

Here’s the line-up this Summer:

June 23 – Que Syrah, Shiraz – or – Rhone on the Range, $25
Its no secret that Rhone wines, and Rhone inspired wines, are your humble wine merchant’s favorite wines made.  Join Jon as he walks you through a tasting of 8 wines, whites and red, of how the wine world interprets grapes like Marsanne, Viognier, Syrah, Grenache and more.  Its everything you ever wanted to know about Rhone Varietals but were afraid to ask.

June 30 – What’s Better with Cheese: Wine or Beer?  $25
Our in-house beer geek Jeremy Labadie and Dan Stein of Stein’s Market and Deli team up against Jon Smith as we taste through 6 wines, 6 handcrafted beers and 6 artisanal cheeses to determine what goes best with cheese: Wine or Beer.

July 14 – Under the Radar: France, $20*
Its an under the radar Bastille Day.  Taste through 8 wines completely off the beaten path from myriad wine regions of France.  This is the first in a four part series of Summer WineSense tastings and we’re starting with a country that we do best.  Check this one out for sure.

July 28 – Under the Radar: The Southern Hemisphere, $20*
Our second installation of our WineSense where we introduce you to wines off the beaten path brings us down under to the countries of Argentina, Chile, Australia and South Africa.  Inspired by the World’s Cup, we hope to “score” a winner with you on this tasting . . .and other corny lines.

August 11 – Under the Radar: Spain, $20*
Forget the old familiars, if any country has blown the beaten path up its Spain.  The third part of our four part wine tastings this summer bring us to the Reino de España.

August 25 – Under the Radar: Italy, $20*
Wrapping up our Summer long series we welcome in Mr. Chris Noyes (remember him) who will walk us through 8 wines from Central and Southern Italy that you’d never know existed, but would be so happy to get to know.

*(buy a seat to 3 of the “Under the Radar” tastings and get the 4th tasting for free!  That’s only $60 for the chance to taste 32 amazing, new, exciting wines with instruction on some of the world’s great wine regions)

a special Winemaker’s Dinner

featuring Mr. Paul Hoffman, Owner and Winemaker of Exclusive Fine Wines

Wednesday June 9, 2010

Calcasieu
930 Tchoupitoulas St.
New Orleans, LA 70130

Reception for 6:30, Dinner for 7:00
$75/person ++

Please join us on the evening of Wednesday night, June 9th at Chef Donald Link’s Calcasieu as we welcome to town winemaker Paul Hoffman for a four course dinner featuring five of Paul’s wines. In addition to being the consulting winemaker for the inaugural release of our very own wine, Paul is also owner of his own line of wines including some amazing single vineyard Rhone Varietal wines from Napa and Sonoma, some deft and balanced Zinfandels (no small task, I assure you) and some delightfully dry and crisp whites.

Paul is in town to help us launch our wine and to showcase the purity and honesty of his own wines as well. Surely there’s no better way to do so than to pair it with the down-home, yet refined flavors coming from the kitchen at Calcasieu.  The good folks at Calcasieu are working on the menu right now, pairing the menu with 5 of Paul’s best selections.

This is a VERY limited dinner, please call us at 504.483.6314 or email Jon Smith at jsmith@cbwines.com for reservations.

The Dinner Will Be:

Spinach Salad with Gruyere Beignets and Red Wine Vinaigrette
2008 Atmosphere “Tribute” Fume Blanc, Denmark Street Vineyard, Sonoma Valley
(100 cases produced)

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
2007 Atmosphere Marsanne/Roussanne, “Dos Burros” La Prenda Vineyard, Sonoma Valley
(100 cases produced)

Braised Pork Belly with Pork Risotto and Lemon Salsa Verde
2006 Curveball “Spinning” Red  (Old Vine Zin, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Blend)
(475 cases produced)

Seared Lamb Loin with Flash Fried Herbs and French Lentils
2007 Headbanger Wines Zinfandel “Rock n Red” Sonoma County

- AND –

2007 Atmosphere Syrah “Valley View” Block, Parmelee-Hill Vineyard, Sonoma Valley
(264 cases produced)

Lemon Buttermilk Pie
Coffee Service

Join us this Friday May 14 at the historic Pitot House on Bayou St. John as we continue into our 5th year of “Vino on the Bayou” a monthly wine tasting/fundraiser.  The event lasts two hours from 5:30 to 7:30 and costs $10 per person.  All proceeds are donated to the Louisiana Landmarks Society which helps to preserve and protect some the most historically significant landmarks in New Orleans.

Featuring live music by The Courtyard Kings, the cost is only $10 for a tasting of four wines in a gorgeous setting with some really nice traditional jazz all in one of the most beautiful and serene settings in the City that Care Forgot.

For more information call us at 504.483.6314.

The Pitot House is located on the web at www.pitothouse.org and on planet earth at 1440 Moss Street.

Regulars to the New Orleans craft beer scene no doubt know Jeremy as one of their own and I’m thrilled at the chance to have Jeremy around to help me with the ever growing selection of beer we have at Cork & Bottle.  Jeremy is a beer geek’s beer geek and he keeps a pretty interesting blog at http://www.thebeerbuddha.com/.  If you’re one of those Twitter types you can follow him there.   I’ve always enjoyed talking beer with Jeremy and I’m even more excited about it now that he’s on board at “The Cork.”  Jeremy is also going to be hosting a monthly beer seminar with us so stay tuned for those.

Anyway, enough about Jeremy and more about beer.  One of the things we’re working on is making some more room on the shelves for even more new and interesting selections and that means there’s some things that have to go. To help move this along, Jeremy and I put together dozens of different beers that we’re selling for $6 per Six Pack. Some of these beers usually sell for much more and certainly there are some great beers on the rack that are all selling for $1 a bottle to make room for more new brew.

Come on over and check out what we’ve got on the rack today!

Dan's not an actual pirate, you know.

The word “Tapas” seems to have myriad interpretations about what it is/should be (fodder for another blog post?). Some people call a full meal tapas, so long as it is served on small plates. Others insist tapas need be nothing more than small nibbles of food to fortify hours of drinking. I generally take a Potter Stewart-esque approach to tapas: I know it when I see it. Regardless of what the true – or interpretive – definition of Tapas is its back at Clever Wine Bar.

So, come and get yourself fed tonight, Tuesday 5/11, at Clever Wine Bar as we welcome back the skillful hand of Chef Dan Esses of New Orleans tapas and fresh pasta fame. Formerly of Marigny Brassiere (and Budakan in NY and The Bank in NOLA. . . ) Dan’s become a fixture in the local bar/tapas scene, however his time’s running out since this summer he’s opening his own place in the Marigny.

Anyway, we’re lucky to have a chef with Dan’s chops (get it) on hand to dish out small plate of bad ass food tonight starting around 6:00 pm-ish.

Last week I had landed in my lap a good slug of the 2007 vintage of Domaine Coteau Pinot Noir from the Wilamette Valley in Oregon.  A good Oregon Pinot shows the best of California – that good, ripe fruit – balanced with a touch of the earthiness of Burgundy. When you find a Pinot from Oregon that has both that New World fruit and that Old World sense of place you know you’ve found a great wine.  It tastes even better when its nearly half price!

Founded in 1994, Domaine Couteau follows a Burgundian model of making wine, low yields, high-density vineyard, etc and the result is a subtle, elegant, classy, balanced wine that embodies everything that is right and good about Oregon Pinot. The winery takes a painstaking approach to winemaking and makes a paltry amount (less than 1,500 cases a year). Brennan and I sampled a bottle and realized in no time flat about half the bottle was gone.  Earth, spice, good red fruit – it truly is a delicious bottle of Pinot. If you’re a fan you’ll want to grab some while you can at this price because when its gone, its gone.

Stephen Tanzer88 points
“Medium red. Musky aromas of red berry skin, cherry, pine resin and dried rose. Light bodied, sweet raspberry and cherry flavors are framed by silky tannins and gain weight with air. The sappy finish repeats the raspberry and floral notes and clings with good persistence. This really benefited from air.”