Stop by the store this Friday to expand your horizons and to taste some utterly delicious wines made with grapes most have never heard of. There’s a really cool group called The Wine Century Club, and it is specifically for adventurous wine drinkers who have tried at least 100 different grape varieties. Many folks don’t realize that there are over 1,000 different grapes on the planet used to make wine! They go through life drinking the typical wine (Cabs, Chards, Pinot Grigios and Malbecs to name a few) without ever realizing that there is a whole other world of wine out there. This other world of wine includes grapes with odd names like Bukettraube, Monastrell, Baga and Touriga Nacional that yield delicious wines with a ton of QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) — that means they don’t cost much, but they taste real good! That’s what we’re pouring this Friday, and we encourage you to come mark a couple of grapes off your Century Club List.
All of the tasting wines are 10% off by the bottle, 15% off if you mix six of them and 20% off if you mix twelve. Here’s what we’ll be pouring:
1. 2012 Cederberg Bukettraube (Cederberg, South Africa)
Ben and I were absolutely knocked out by the wine when we tasted it last week! This is one of the most exotic and aromatically intoxicating white wines in the store and there isn’t much Bukettraube planted in the world. Think Riesling meets Viognier meets Chenin Blanc meets Muscat in this floral, fruit packed flavor bomb. Trust us, this is one that you won’t forget.
2. 2010 Castano Hecula (Yecla, Spain)
The Castano family are one of the best wine producers in south-eastern Spain and their main focus is the native Monastrell grape. Known as Mourvedre in France, the grape yields wines with lots of body and tons of blue and black fruit notes. Hecula was the name given to Yecla under the Roman Empire occupation, and the wine with the same name is composed of old vine Monastrell that is aged for six months in French and American oak. In addition to the boisterous blueberry and cassis notes, there is a subtle smoke and spice accent to the wine. For those who like jammy Zins and Shiraz, this might be your cup of tea.
3. 2007 Sao Domingos Bairrada Reserva (Bairrada, Portugal)
This is one of our favorite new reds as it delivers a ton of flavor and complexity for less than $15! From Portugal’s northern Bairrada region, this is your introduction to Portugal’s native Baga grape. It is a robust grape with plenty of tannin and acidity and the capacity to age for long periods of time. We think it tastes like a rugged and rustic version of Nebbiolo, with its firm structure and earthy, leathery undertones. This one sees 40% Baga blended with 30% each Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz and the resulting wine shows a nice mix of fresh and dried berry fruit along with notions of exotic spice, tobacco and licorice.