- A Phenomenal Newcomer!
- Matching Food and Wine
- Veronique's Wine Club
- Recipe of the Month
- Wine Trivia Challenge

May 2007

1 -- May Day
2 -- Full Moon Day
5 -- Cinco de Mayo
13 -- Mother's Day
25 -- Wine Day
26 -- International Jazz Day
28 -- Memorial Day

DIDIER: Our latest discovery is an all around champ!
Biodynamic, Vegan, No Sulfites Added...
And a fabulous taste!

A Rare Gift From Nature!

Friends, as you can probably imagine it takes a lot of proding and tasting (Yes, yes, this is a tough job!) to discover a wine that has character, presence, meaning and fits the market requirements of style, presentation and price. These rare birds come by only once in a while, which is why we have grown our catalog slowly and patiently, one could say organically and only with products that we really feel good about.

But boy! Do we have one for you today!
Back in January, in the French town of Narbonne, we met (my dear friend and assistant Claudia, our partner Paul Chartrand and myself) with Didier Cabannes, a local winemaker. This simple presentation around a table and a few glasses ended up lasting 2 hours such was the interest this man and his wines generated! First, let me tell you that Didier does not go around unnoticed! Massive, solidly planted, with powerful hands, a good smile and a strong regional accent, you’re bound to remember the encounter!

To begin with, Didier is a healer, and not one sanctioned by a diploma but one who has so much energy in his hands that he HAS to offer it to the people he is drawn to! This side of his personality alone was worth the meeting but then he went on to explain how he brought to his vineyard his exceptional perception of energy in living things. How he takes every conceivable step from the ground up to end up with wines that have a rare flavor of authenticity!

This was a fascinating discussion, both from the human and technical perspective! At the end of the day his wines are vegan (like himself), made from grapes grown with his own biodynamic practice, using indigenous yeasts, very little filtration and NO added So2! The result is nothing short of phenomenal! Made of a majority of Syrah grapes with a balance of Cinsault and Grenache, his Didier bottle does not strike you only by his choice of graphics and color on the label: The nose is powerful, balanced, fruity and the aromas well supported by 14% alcohol. The mouth is soft even though this is a 2004 vintage, still young for this level of extraction.

Notes of different berries come to mind (raspberries, blackberries). The fruit is savoureux, full and complex, the finish long and the after taste flawless! In any case, as a no added sulfites wine it will easily ridicule anything else you may have tried in the same category. It’s a whole new standard set up right there! As you can imagine we grabbed this wine immediately and we are proud to present it to you today! We so want you to enjoy it that we are introducing it at a ridiculously low price for its quality: $15 per bottle! But mind you, not for long!

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
-- Scott Adams

Matching Food and Wine

For a long, long time, it was thought you had white wine with fish and white meat and red wine with steak and other red meat. However, there are no hard and fast rules -- except -- if it tastes good together, go for it.

The good part is, practice makes perfect. Each time you try a new recipe, try a new wine with it. If the wine complements the food, it's a match. In time, you'll begin to notice that spicy foods may require a different wine than a sweet dish.

If you haven't had the opportunity to "experiment" enough to choose a wine for your next meal, you'll have pretty good success with the following suggestions.

• Cabernet Sauvignon: steaks, hamburgers, roasts, pasta with red sauce
• Merlot: a wide variety of meats, pasta with red sauce, chicken
• Syrah: pasta with heartier red sauces, pizza, beef, wild game
• Pinot Noir: lamb, pasta with lighter red sauces, salad, salmon, pork
• Chardonnay: chicken, fish, light pasta, pork, salad
• Sauvignon Blanc: chicken, pasta with white sauce, crab, shrimp, clams
• Gewurztraminer: multiple flavored foods, spicy Asian, picnic foods

TOP

My deepest thanks for all these years of good service.
I am thrilled to have you both to find organic and no-sulfites wines. I have spread the word in San Diego! Thank you again for your excellence, fine picks in wines. My husband and I enjoy getting our shipment every month!
-- Jen, CA

Veronique's Wine Club

We'll deliver 3 bottles of fine wine made from organic grapes to you each month! Talk about convenience and fun! We'll expand your wine repertoire by selecting three bottles of wine and shipping them directly to your home. Only $47/mo (+ S&H).

Club members get a presentation of the wines selected, privileged access to some rare products and a continuous 20% discount on every full case order they place from the General Catalog. Exceptional Customer Care! (Free advertising for myself!)

Each month, you'll try some of the best wines we carry. And, as a welcome gift with your subscription, you will receive an extra bottle of wine, FREE! Currently a Sparkling Blanquette de Limoux or a Château Bousquette Prestige!

A great gift idea, you can order it for a few months and cancel at any time without a fuss. Try it, you'll like it!

Click here for more information.

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
-- J.R.R. Tolkien

Almond Chicken with Peas

• Serves 4
• 1 12-ounce package peas
• 3 tbsp. water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1.5 lbs. skinless chicken breast -- cut into half-inch cubes
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 cup almonds blanched and slivered
• 1/3 cup sherry
• 3 tbsp. premium soy sauce
• 1 tsp. minced ginger

1. In a bowl, mix ginger, sugar, cornstarch and blend in water, soy sauce and sherry. Thaw peas.
2. Heat oil on medium heat. Add almonds -- stir frequently and cook for about 3 minutes.
3. Add chicken and cook until it turns white.
4. Pour in sherry mix and cook until it thickens. Add peas. Stir-fry until hot and glazed. Serve over a bed of rice.

• Wine Pairing
• Try this dish with our inspiring Gewurztraminer 2005.

Two great resources for intelligent and healthy recipes:

The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken
too seriously.
-- Samuel Butler

Wine Trivia Challenge

Question 1.) A red wine is more opaque when?
a.) It is a young wine
b.) It is served too cold
c.) It is an older wine
d.) It is served too warm

Question 2.) A barrique is the standard Bordeaux barrel used for aging wine. How many bottles does it hold?
a.) 200 bottles
b.) 250 bottles
c.) 300 bottles
d.) 350 bottles

Question 3.) Casks are much larger than barrels. They can hold up to how many bottles of wine?
a.) 5,000 bottles
b.) 10,000 bottles
c.) 20,000 bottles
d.) 40,000 bottles

Question 4.) Previous to the mid-17th century, the French wine makers used what instead of corks?
a.) Oil-soaked rags
b.) Wax plugs
c.) Wooden plugs
d.) Compressed grape leaves

TOP | ANSWERS

Wine Trivia Answers
#1. a.) It is a young wine
#2. c.) 300 bottles
#3. c.) 40,000 bottles
#4. a.) Oil-soaked rags