Painted Wolf The Den Pinotage 2015

Today is another wine from Jeremy Borg and Painted Wolf Wines Pack, Paarl, South Africa,  Painted Wolf The Den Pinotage 2015. This wine helps support the preservation of the African Wild Dog or Painted Wolf. There are only 6500 left in the world. Another species in danger. Every bottle sold goes to support this cause.

Painted Wolf The Den Pinotage 2015

Painted Wolf had its beginnings in 2006 and their first vintage in 2007. Along with Jeremy and his wife Emma, the formation of the company began with the first pack members Billy Hughes, Paul Kempton Jones, Mark Gray & Quinta do Portal. The first wines were a Pinotage and a Cape Blend. Since then they have won many awards for their wines.

The grape

Pinotage is a grape variety that was created in South Africa in 1925 by Abraham Izak Perold, the first Professor of Viticulture at Stellenbosch University. Perold was attempting to combine the best qualities of the robust Hermitage or Cinsault with Pinot noir, a grape that makes great wine but can be difficult to grow. Pinotage typically produces deep red varietal wines with smoky, bramble and earthy flavors, sometimes with notes of bananas and tropical fruit, but has been criticized for sometimes smelling of acetone.  This is another great example of what Pinotage can be.

The wine

This wine is 100% Pinotage picked from vineyards in Swartland and Paarl. This is in the Wine of Origin Coastal region.  Most of the grapes were destalked and fermented in tanks with French and American oak staves. Malolactic fermentation was completed on staves which we removed from the wine. Approximately 15% of the wine was fermented in small open fermenters and hand-punched before being pressed off prior to full dryness into small older French and American oak barrels.

What I found

I let the bottle breath for about 30 minutes. The color is a bright burgundy with long luscious legs. I just love looking at it in the glass. The aroma jumps out with red cherry and blackberry to boot. I get a hint of oak as well. The flavor is very oaky earthy red berry. It is a very dry stick to your tongue sensation. The finish as well is very long and dry.  13.5 % alcohol content. It runs about $12.00 a bottle, not bad for a good bottle of wine. I think this would go great with Bar-B-Que or other spicy foods. I had it with Arrabbiata Sauce over angel hair pasta, worked perfectly. Give it a try, I bet you like it. I found it at ABC fine wines and spirits here in Florida.

Until next time, pop a few bottles but keep it between the guard rails.

The Duel of Wine, 37th Annual Telluride Wine Fest

The Duel of Wine, 37^th Annual Telluride Wine Fest 

Exclusive Screening: The Duel Of Wine from 27th June to 1st July 2018

By Osvaldo Villars

The Duel of Wine, 37^th Annual Telluride Wine Fest. The official Colorado debut of the award-winning international film, The “Duel of Wine”, starring actor/sommelier/wine educator Charlie Arturaola Special Guests: The Duel of Wine star Charlie Arturaola from Miami Florida.

Price $20.00  https://telluridewinefestival.com/tickets/

Charlie Arturaola

Event Details

The Duel of Wine, 37th Annual Telluride Wine Fest.

The official Colorado Wine Film starts with of the award-winning international film, The Duel of Wine, starring actor, sommelier, wine educator and communicator Charlie Arturaola.  Cinematograph Film Director Nicolás Carreras is born in Argentina. He is a Director of Group CactusCine. Buenos Aires is the South America Capital of the Movies since the 1930’s with the (films) of the unforgettable Carlos Gardel. Nicolas Carreras is a director, cinematographer, and editor who also teach at the Universidad de Cine in his native Buenos Aires. Following many years working in film and TV, in 2011 he wrote and directed The Way of Wine, of which The Duel of Wine is a sequel. He has obtained several International Awards.

Nicolas Carreras_film producer on left

Synopsis:  Charlie fell from grace after starring in the film The Ways of Wine (Camino Del Vino). The history continues in the second film (The Duel of Wine) with the character he played, a “sommelier that lost his sense of taste,” become stuck to his image and brought his career to ruin. In “The Duel of Wine” His wife, Pandora, get him a way back into the wine tasting world, but he must work behind the scenes as a “ghost taster” for a young and ambitious sommelier Luca Gardini.

Thanks to Charlie’s palate Luca Gardini quickly becomes one of the most promising young sommeliers in the world of wine. A professional couple of Luca and Pandora are a hit in the big leagues (likes Baseball Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins), and they are called to participate in The Great Wine Duel, the “World Cup” for wine tasters. Charlie is frustrated and decides not to participate. After a fight with his wife, he leaves to tour the small towns of Europe. On his journey, he realizes that his sense of taste has become sharper than ever, and is so incredible that it seems to verge on the fantastic. After meeting with important personalities in the field of wine of the Old World, he devises a plan to win back his wife and his lost fame to regain his crown and his marriage.

The Duel of Wine goes to 37th Annual Telluride Wine Fest Colorado

The Way of Wine is a film about the whirlwind lifestyle of Miami sommelier, Charlie Arturaola. There’s the glamour of traveling the world on a wine bottle, as he says. His whole life depends on his palate. Even his wife, Pandora, is his manager and books him to host tastings.

The Way of Wine and The Duel of Wine are fun films with larger-than-life Charlie Arturaola providing plenty of laughs and madcap silliness amongst the serious side of wine. Charlie is funny for those who work in wine, although, it is good to know (spoiler alert!) the pied piper gets a taste of cold, hard reality in the end. Charlie devises a stratagem that will allow him to participate in the competition: he will hide behind the mystery and buffoonery (like in a Moliere Comedy) of a disguise, the “Masked Count” becoming like the Count of Montecristo (By Alexander Dumas).

The film shows also the reality and difficulties on the international wine competition and represents a great opportunity to grasp any creative and cultural wine changes since Argentina, to Rioja Alavesa, Champagne Gosset, with International top Chefs (“Haute Cuisine”) like Cesare Casella NYC NY, Jean François Rouquette (“Pur”) Paris Place Vendome, Karlos Arguiñano (RTVE Euskadi), Italian Chef Giancarlo Vissani.

Chef Jean Francois Rouquette and Charlie

Chef Cesar Casella

Showing also portraits of a hospitality in the food worlds of those most famous  Chefs and behind-the-scenes looks into what happens in the wine industry and kitchens of world-class chefs. The Duel of Wine changes the landscape of today’s film of Wine-Gastronomy and Wineries Tourism films industry. The filmmaker Nicolas Carreras showcased by 37^th Annual Telluride Wine Festival has reached worldwide success.

The festival keeps focusing on detecting new trends, creative experimentation, and connecting Winemakers, Wineries, filmmakers, actors, producers, emerging authors, most of who have been showcased by the most influential international festivals worldwide, such as Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, NY, Seminci Valladolid, Ireland New Zealand, and have come home with very prestigious awards. Such dedicated work has contributed to increasing the festival’s audiences over the decades, while also attracting the attention of American producers and distributors.

left_to_rght_arturaola, osvaldoVillar_nicolas_carreras

Telluride Wine Fest

The Duel of Wine, 37th Annual Telluride Wine Fest.

For 37 years, the Telluride Wine Fest has introduced unique experiences in wine, spirits, beer, and the culinary arts to attendees in the stunning San Juan Mountains of Southwestern, Colorado. This year, alongside Colorado’s own, Telluride Wine Festival is embracing the uniqueness of a different kind with its inaugural The Duel of Wine and his unique food pairing dinner. This event is one-of-a-kind and has never been done in a festival format. The Telluride Wine Festival brings to Colorado’s tourism industry and economy. Its  37th year, guests are invited to experience luncheons and dining delights hosted by local restaurants, tastings, and seminars by International Award Winning Wine Communicator IWSC (London) Charlie Arturaola (Grappolo Blu Miami) and some of the world’s most revered chefs, and sample wines and spirits from across the globe. Chefs will cook the most reputable and esteemed food and great wines of the world. Guest will have the opportunity to be involved in new experiences to be held to the highest standard.

The Duel of Wine,37th Annual Telluride Wine Fest

Tickets for this event are available on an invitation-only basis. If you are interested in attending, please send a letter of interest to info@telluridewinefestival.com. And epicurean indulgences set against the breathtaking background of Telluride’s box canyon https://telluridewinefestival.com/tickets/

Osvaldo Villar about.me/osvaldov

Indaba Chenin Blanc 2016

Today I get started on my exploration of South African wines.   Indaba Chenin Blanc 2016 is my first selection. Indaba is a winery in the Southern Cape of South Africa. They are Integrity & Sustainability certified by the Wine and Spirit Board of South Africa, this seal is a guarantee of the wine’s origin, vintage, and variety as stated on the wine label. It is also a guarantee that the wine complies with IPW criteria – Integrated Production of Wine, a voluntary environmental protection program. They do everything they can to protect the environment. The practices range from natural Habitation Practices to natural pest management. Water is a valuable and sometimes scarce commodity, they take the utmost care to save and recycle every bit possible.

The winemaker

The winemaker is Bruwer Ratt has been a winemaker with them since 2008. He is s widely known as the owner and winemaker of Raats Family Wines of South Africa. He monitors all aspects of the wine process for selecting the perfect grapes, To the finished product. All grapes are hand-picked at vineyards contracted to Indaba.  Grapes were sourced from select vineyard sites in Swartland, Paarl, Stellenbosch, Durbanville, Robertson and McGregor, characterized by soils of Table Mountain sandstone, decomposed Dolomite granite, shale and red Karoo clay. The vines range in
age from 5 to 35+ years old, and more than half are low-yielding dry farmed bush vines to make Indaba Chenin Blanc 2016.

The Grape

Chenin Blanc’s roots are in the Loire Valley of France and the most widely planted grape variety in South Africa and the Capes signature wine. Nearly one-fifth of all plantings are Chenin Blanc. The Dutch East India Company was instrumental in the importation of this and most wine varieties in S.A.  Chenin blanc is a white grape variety also known as Steen in South Africa.

What I found

I allowed the temperature to get to the proper range with my trusty Kelvin K2 about 45-48 degrees to bring all the aromas and flavors out. The color is a beautiful crystal clear straw color. Very lite and delicate. The aroma brings cut grass and pears to the top. I also find a hint of green grape. The flavor is crisp and fresh with the pear standing out with a touch of spice at the finish. It is a great dry wine with a long enjoyable finish. Only 1% of this wine is aged in French oak barrels. Alcohol is 13.2% I picked this up at ABC wines and Spirits for $8.99, a great price for a great wine.

Until next time have a Wine-derful week, stay safe and pop a few corks

Lew

il Carnevale di Venezia 2016 Merlot

il Carnevale di Venezia  2016  Merlot

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This weeks wine is il Carnevale di Venezia  2016  Merlot Indicazione geografica tipica.  The Carnevale di Venezia is a public festival in the Italian city of Venice.  It is an international event that celebrations include performing arts, music, masquerade parades, and the traditional volodell’angelo(flying angel). All in the unique setting of some of the ancient Venetian Palaces. In the theme of il Carnevale di Venezia this wine was born. It is produced in the Veneto wine region in North East Italy. The producer is C.V.N.V. Cermenate Italia and imported by Distributed by: Cantina Wine and Spirits LLC of Florida.  Merlot is one of the world’s most widely planted grape variety with plantings of the vine outnumbering even the more well-known Cabernet Sauvignon in many regions, including the grape’s homeland of France. More than two-thirds of Italian Merlot being used in Indicazione geografica tipica (IGT) blends (such as the so-called “Super Tuscans”)  Being a higher quality wine VS DOC or DOCG. The merlot grape goes back to Bordeaux 1784 and by the middle of the 1800’s it emerged in Italy.

      What I found:

il Carnevale di Venezia Merlot 2016 Indicazione geografica tipica.

I allowed the wine to cool to the proper temperature 62-67 degrees before trying. The color is that of a brilliant ruby red with almost clear edges. Not much in the line of legs appearing on the glass.

The aroma is a bit floral and berry and you can smell the oak. This one of the more delicate merlots that I have had in some time. The taste is an earthy red cherry stirred with oak. It is a delicate dry flavor where the tannins stick to your mouth. The finish is long and fruit filled. 12% alcohol.

I like this wine very much for the price point of $6.00-7.00 area. We had it with Rotisserie Chicken and vegetables and went very well. I would say this is going to be great for grilled poultry or vegetables, cheese and crackers, or a good bread.   Give it a try if you see it, I found it at my local Walmart.

So, until next week, be safe, Crack a bottle and enjoy!

Whispering Hills Cabernet Sauvignon

Whispering Hills Cabernet Sauvignon

Today will be a quick one. With my wife being ill I sometimes neglect my weekly reviews. This is an outlet for me to get away for a  bit.  Whispering Hills Cabernet Sauvignon is something I picked up to see how it would be. It did surprise me with a price point in the under $5 range.  It is a Spanish wine produced and bottled by Felix Solis advantis. which is 34th in the top 100 Best Wineries by the World´s Association of Wine and Spirits Journalists and Writers. They bottle multiple brands this one imported by Prestige Beverage Group of Princeton, Mn.

Whispering Hills Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine is a blend so it has no vintage. By blending they can keep the consistency of the wine.   I was pleasantly surprised how nice this is for the price. The color is a nice brilliant garnet red going out to light edges. The legs are small but visible. The aroma is cherry blackberry with oak. The Flavor is again the same with toasty blackberry, dark cherry with a long dry finish of berry. It is not a complex wine, just an enjoyable drink. I think it would go with pot roast or steak. I enjoyed most of it sipping as I wrote this. If you like an 85 ish point wine and want to drink a bargain look it up at Walmart.

Cheers until next week, and another adventure.

Lew