Best Free Wine Tasting - Asheville, North Carolina

Table Wine Welcomes Noah Dorrance of Banshee Wines

Wednesday, March 5th from 7-9 p.m. — $20/person…..$16 for Grape Nuts — This is going to be one heckuva’ wine tasting! We’ll roll the wine racks back and bring out the tables and chairs for a seated and informative tasting of 7 wines from one of the rising star producers of California. We’ll be joined by my good friend and Banshee co-founder Noah Dorrance; I’ve been harrassing him for over a year to come see us in Asheville, and he finally succumbed to my pestering.

Noah Dorrance of Banshee Wines -- Josh Spurling of Table Wine Asheville.

Noah and myself doing what we do best!

Noah and a couple other cool guys founded Banshee Wines in 2009, and we’ve stocked their wines since we opened. They source fruit from top growers and vineyard sites throughout Sonoma and Napa, and their wines are solid from top to bottom. Respected wine writer Antonio Galloni just did an article entitled “The Undiscoverd California” highlighting some of the states top new producers, and Banshee was one of just thirteen producers featured in the article. Needless to say, these guys are doing an awesome job, and this is a grand opportunity to taste pretty much all of their wines in one setting.

Included with the price of entry, you’ll get to taste seven Banshee wines, and we’ll have bread and cheese for you to cleanse your palate. Furthermore, we’ll be offering all of the wines for sale at 10% off by the bottle, 15% off if you mix any six Banshee wines, and a whopping 25% off if you mix any 12 of them! You can reserve your spot by calling us at 828.505.8588 or by stopping by the store to pre-pay. Due to our advanced planning needs, we can only issue refunds for cancellations made within 72 hours of the tasting. Thanks for understanding.

The Wines
All tasting wines will be discounted 10% by the bottle, 20% in mixed six packs and 25% in mixed cases!

1. 2012 Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma County: Banshee worked with vineyards in the Russian River and Dry Creek Valleys to craft their 2012 Sauvignon Blanc. A hefty dollop of Sauvignon Musqué (a highly aromatic clone of Sauvignon Blanc) is blended into this wines and about 30% of the wine is fermented in neutral oak barrels. The resulting wine is marked by sweet pea, gooseberry, mint and herbal oil notes……..it’s one you’ll just want to smell all day!

2. 2012 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast: This is Banshee’s first Chardonnay release ever, and it’s the perfect counterpoint to their Pinot Noir. These guys love the wines of Burgundy, and you can detect that in this wine. From a very strong North Coast vintage, this one charms right out of the shoot with lovely pear, lemon, spiced apple, vanilla and just a whiff of toasty oak.

3. 2013 Rosé of Pinot Noir Sonoma County: We’re going to kick off dry rosé season a little early this year, and we can think of no better representative than Banshee’s Vin Gris. Wild strawberry, fresh cherry, cranberry, melon……..I’m already drooling!

4. 2012 Pinot Noir Sonoma County: The estate’s flagship wine is one of the best QPR Sonoma County Pinot Noirs we’ve ever tasted! Vintage 2012 was a dream year for growers throughout Sonoma and the boys at Banshee work with some great folks. In the words of the Banshee boys, “the dreamy 2012 vintage brought clarity, focus, and harmony to our flagship wine.”

5. 2012 Pinot Noir “Marine Layer” Sonoma Coast: Just a couple few barrels (about 100 cases) of this wine are produced annually, and it comes from four of the top vineyard sites throughout California’s Sonoma Coast. It is drop dead gorgeous and we’re lucky to be able to pour and sell this one!

6. 2012 Pinot Noir “Tina Marie Vineyard” Sonoma Coast: Just 3 barrels (about 75 cases) of this one were made in 2011, and it got some raging good press…….2012 is even better! Very fine, full of finesse and full of pure red fruit, tea and complexity galore. What a treat!

7. 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley: The cool and challenging 2011 vintage was a great test for the guys at Banshee, and in our estimation, they passed with flying colors. They cut a lot of fruit in late August and they sold half of their fruit on the bulk market, leaving them with only the very best barrels from the best blocks. The resulting wine is elegant, chiseled and pretty with a solid core of lively red fruit, earth, pepper and spice.