August 22 – Wine of the Week: 2007 Alamos Malbec from Argentina
100% Malbec aged in French and American oak – The 2007 Alamos Malbec shows an opaque, dark violet color. The nose is full of ripe blueberry fruits with notes of violets and sweet spice. The mouthfeel is full and rich with ripe black cherry and cassis fruit layered with notes of wildflowers, spicy black pepper and anis. The finish shows a supple silky texture with and bright, racy acidity and a stony minerality.
“Round and fleshy, with enticing spice, blueberry, fig and boysenberry flavors backed by fruitcake and melted licorice hints. Stays fresh and vivid on the finish, with a mocha hint. Drink now through 2009.”
-Wine Spectator 90 points
August 15 – Wine of the Week: 2007 Peay Scallop Shelf Pinot Noir
The 2007 Scallop Shelf delivers on the promise of the vintage and our vineyard site. The vines are now 10 years old and have begun to shake off some of their baby fat to reveal more complex, non-fruit based aromas. The nose balances scents of orange pekoe tea, copper and peppery matsutake mushroom with classic pinot notes of cherry and ham. It is an elegant nose with medium concentration and a bright red hue that you can
August 8 – Wine of the Week:
2007 Bluffs Pinot Noir Blend, Russian River Valley, California
The second of the two Pali AVA blends, this is a very pretty and balanced wine easily associated with the Russian River Valley. Deep red cherries, lavender, rose petals and herbs on the nose lead to a juicy rounded mouth feel. A bit tight now (2009) but should open up nicely over the next two years.
A great Pinot for the money!
August 1 – Wine of the Week:
2006 Cambria Katherine’s Vineyard Chardonnay
This classy 2006 Katherine’s Vineyard Chardonnay is bright with citrus, apple, peach, and vanilla aromas. Rich mouth filling flavors of grapefruit, citrus blossom, white peach and sweet oak lead to a crisp finish with a lsting impression of spicy oak. - Dennis Shurtleff, Winemaker
July 25 – Wine of the Week: 2007 The Spanish Quarter
A interesting Chardonnay-Albarino blend perfect for hot weather!
The resulting wine is a lively straw-green color with a fragrant floral nose of exotic fruits with hints of fresh citrus. The rich and luscious palate has highlights of ripe peach, tropical fruit, and a long, clean citrus finish.
July 18 – Wine of The Week: Can Feixes Blanc Selecciò 2007
Something FUN to go with Spanish style Tapas…
I spoke with Carl Zytowski from Classical Wines about the producer & this great summery wine:
“The wine is made from a combo of local cava grapes Parellada and Macabeo…..with a touch of Chardonnay, and of Malvasia de Sitges. It is grown on gravelly mountain soils, and smells
like it: gorgeous minerally aromas, completely bypassing the Young Fruit
Bomb syndrome. On the palate, it tastes like life–fermenting, transforming, filled with energy. There is not major complexity here–but there is major freshness, and major acidity, combined with that ultra-appealing stoniness. A great wine for food.”
David Rosengarten, Rosengarten Report, 2008-07-14
July 11 - Wine of the Week: 2007 Lucien Albrecht Pinot Gris
This wine, made 100% from Pinot Gris, expresses the rich yet dry power and character of this exceptional varietal. The clay/limestone soil gives a creamy, velvety wine with a long finish. A great Alsatian wine from France
July 4 – Wine of the Week: Red Truck in the 3 Liter Barrel
AS SEEN ON THE TODAY SHOW!! This little barrel is a great bargain because it holds 4 bottles of top-selling Red Truck Red Wine!! Same great wine, but in new eco-friendly packaging. Lots of wine, lots of quality. Great cab nose of black fruit, cedar and toasty vanilla with a soft mellow mouthfeel. This wine has flavors of black cherry, cassis, vanilla.
June 27 – Wine of the Week: NV Barefoot Riesling
Spicy Chinese Stir Fry and this light crisp off-dry Riesling are the perfect match! Sweet fruit aromas of citrus flowers, crisp yellow apple and hints of lemon, this is a great wine for HOT weather. I’ll be chatting with Jennifer Wall, winemaker at Barefoot about this wine as well as her other products.
June 20 – Wine of the Week: 
2005 Terra d’Oro Deaver Vineyards Zinfandel.
We spoke to winemaker Chris Leamey about the famous vineyard and this great Amador County Zin.
The 2005 Deaver is a balance of beauty, power and grace. The deep eggplant hue suggest the richness and concentration in your glass. Bark berry flavors are touched with pretty floral aromas and kissed with sweet caramel oak. Long and luschious on the finish, this is a great wine! Now where’s the BEEF?
June 13 -Wine of the Week: 2007 Buehler Napa Zinfandel 
The grapes we choose for our 2006 Buehler Vineyards Napa Valley Zinfandel are a mix of those off our estate vineyards and grapes from other select Napa Valley high quality, low-yielding vineyards. Dry-farmed for over a decade, our 4.5 acre estate block consists of mature thirty-six year old vines which typically give us around 3.0 tons/acre of beautiful hillside zinfandel fruit. Interspersed among the head-trained vines are a handful of Petite Sirah vines representing perhaps 5% of the total vines in this block. A traditional field companion to Zinfandel in pre-prohibition California vineyards, Petite Sirah contributes pepper, color, and tannin structure to the wine.
“90 POINTS” – WINE SPECTATOR
Good Life Guy says…buy by the case before it’s gone for ever, this is a great wine.
June 6 – Wine of the Week: 2007 Benton Lane Pinot Noir
This deep ruby colored pinot noir has impressive and varietal aromas of bing cherries, red plums, hibiscus and wild mushrooms. The smooth, ripe tannins give a voluptuous texture to the mixed berry and chocolate flavors of the wine. A hint of white pepper adds further complexity to the lively and seamless finish. Pick up a bottle at Jacob Liquor Exchange on the Good Life Guy Wine of the Week rack.
May 30 – Wine of the Week
Merryvale winery in the heart of Napa with winemaker Sean Foster and Vineyard Manager Remi Cohen. Always a fan of Merryvale, the wines have never been better and the awards keep flowing, thanks to these two talented young pros!
2007 Merryvale Carneros Pinot Noir Rich and floral on the nose, this Carneros Pinot may be the best ever produced by Merryvale. Mouthcoating with flavors of strawberry, candied ruhbarb and earth – this is a lot of Pinot for the money
2007 Starmont Napa Chardonnay is a great value. Tropical aromas with a touch of oak fill the nose followed by big chardonnay fruit and drippy rich flavors.
May 23 – Wine(s) of the Week: Viu Manent & Altosur
In the second half it was all about the Wines of Bacchus Imports with Managing Partner Ricardo Viloria. We will be focusing on the wines from Viu Manent and Altosur…two great labels from Chile.
Viu Manent Cabernet is a rich easy drinking fruit forward Cab with all the bells and whistles at a great price. Black fruit, vanilla and soft tannins on a ample finish.
Altosur Chardonnay is again a great value chard that has aromas of citrus, buttered popcorn and toasty oak on simple finish that lingers.
May 18 -Wine of the Week
The 2007 Napa Cellars Pinot Noir (another Trinchero property) is a delicate, fruit forward, seductive pinot with aromas of strawberry, cherry and sweet spice and flavor to match. A long complex finish will leave you wanting more!
Learn more at www.tfewines.com
