Best Free Wine Tasting Asheville, North Carolina

Friday Winedown - Around The World Wine Tasting

The lovely Anne Kaufmann from The Country Vintner will join us this Friday, June 22 for a Winedown featuring a smorgasboard of new, super tasty wines from all over the globe. The theme is quite simple – all of these wines taste great in their own unique way. Come by and see if you agree – we’ll sample 7 wines, so you’re to find something you like. The tasting runs from 4:00 to 7:00 and the cost is $5/person or it’s free if you’re a Grape Nut.

1. 2009 Macrostie Chardonnay Sonoma Coast – These guys have been making great wines at great prices since 1987. Their specialty is Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and this is one heckofa’ wine. The grapes come from some of the top Chardonnay sites in the county, and the finished wine is rich and complex with a nice mix of citrus and orchard fruits along with notions of baking spices and vanilla.

2. 2010 Chateau Valmer Vouvray – Vouvray is located in the Loire Valley of France, and Chenin Blanc is the region’s specialty. This one is just a tad sweet, but nicely balanced by zippy acidity. The flavors lean towards fresh apple, pear and citrus with just a touch of stony minerality.

3. 2011 Conde de Villars Vinho Verde Rosé – Dry Rosé season is in full bloom, and here’s a wine that will make your mouth water and tastebuds jump for joy. Slighty fizzy and dry, this is super fruity and friendly with aromas and flavors of ripe cherry, strawberry and raspberry. The perfect wine to chill and chill out with on a warm, sunny day.

4. 2010 Honoro Vera Garnacha – This is one of the top selling red wines in the store………for good reason! 100% Garnacha from Calatayud (the same place that Evodia and Filon get their grapes), this is full bodied and flavorful, but lush and seamless. Bold black cherry and black raspberry are framed nicely by toasty, spicy oak notes.

5. 2010 Juan Gil Monastrell – This family run operation is based in Jumilla in southeastern Spain and is home to some of the oldest, ungrafted vines in the country. This is 100% Monastrell (aka Mourvedre) and it is a full bodied effort boasting notes of blueberry, black cherry, black raspberry, toasty oak and black tea.

6. 2010 Ancient Peaks Zinfandel – It’s a new vintage of this super delicious and popular wine. This is classic Paso Robles Zinfandel – jammy, juicy and spicy, it is a hearty and flavor packed wine with brambly berry notes followed by nuances of pepper, clove, nutmeg and allspice. Red Zin is the quintessential summer grilling wine.

7. 2010 Ancient Peaks Cabernet Sauvignon – Paso Robles Cabs are a bit different than those from Napa and Sonoma. They possess all of the big dark fruit that the grape is known for, but the tannin and acidity levels tend to be lower resulting in soft and luscious wines. This is exactly that – brimming with blackberry and black cherry fruit, there is also a nicely integrated toasty oak finish to the wine.