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Turkey Day Wine Guide

Thanksgiving is around the corner (we can’t believe it either)!!! Don’t procrastinate this year… get ahead of the game and shop our delicious wines that pair perfectly with appetizers, turkey, and dessert. We’re making it easy for you with our Turkey Day Wine Guide!

Aperitifs:

Riva Rosé is a delicious sparkling rosé from the Mediterranean. The wine displays delicate yet persistent bubbles. The nose exudes aromas of small red fruits such as strawberry and raspberry. The palate offers refreshing notes of grapefruit and spice. Perfect for aperitifs and to possibly drown out the noise of your relatives… haha, just kidding!

The Main Meal:

Pinot Noir Wines are a perfect pairing for turkey! Here are two that we love –

Elouan Pinot Noir Dark: Shimmering ruby red. Deep notes of plum, red cherries and blackcurrant jam with subtle touches of toasty vanilla and spice. Rich, ripe fruit flavors of plum, cherry, mixed berry jam, and blackberry. Smooth tannins round out the mouthfeel.
Beaujolais-Villages Sélection Georges Duboeuf: An intense, brilliant cherry color with purplish tints. Complex nose with red and blackberry aromas. A smooth wine with fine tannins, harmonious and complete.

Along with a good red, we also love a good white wine to pair with turkey. Here are two delicious white wines from Trimbach.

Trimbach Reisling: The nose shows restrained citrus and a slightly lifted, very slightly aromatic touch of conifer. The palate is taut and slender, presenting sober, clean citrus flavors. This stands upright and has a wonderful backbone of freshness.
Trimbach Gewurztraminer: A very shy nose just releases the most teasing hint of peach. The palate is utterly restrained: peach flavors are dry and brightened by lemon and have a wonderful lightness of touch. The finish is dry, clean and long.

Dessert/After-dinner Drink:

You can’t forget about the post-feast wine! A great dessert wine is in order

Haut Charmes Sauternes 2015: Haut Charmes is a very special Sauternes bottling, made from the younger vines of the region’s most legendary château. While we aren’t allowed to actually reveal the source, it’s safe to say its location in the Ciron Valley exposes the Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon fruit to conditions perfect for the development of botrytis. Charming, elegant and an exceptional value for what’s in the bottle.

Not in love with these wines?! Head on in and let us help you choose the perfect wine. Our educated staff is always happy to help!

Thanks,

The Mystic Wine Shoppe Team

November 1, 2018/by Eric Faiola

Holidays, Monthly Cocktail

Cocktail of The Month: Spiked Hot Cocoa

The days are getting colder, leaves are falling and carving pumpkins is on everyone’s to-do list… fall is officially here! We’re not sure about you, but we love this time of year! If you’re looking for a warming cocktail to enjoy this fall, try our Spiked Hot Cocoa. It’s delicious and easy to make.

We used The Irishman Irish Cream to make this cocktail and it didn’t disappoint. You could also replace with Bailey’s Irish Cream and possibly add some Kahlúa (yum).

Ingredients:

2 ounch of The Irishman Irish Cream
Hot Chocolate Mix
1 cup of milk
Handful of Marshmallows (or more if you’re really crazy.. :))

Directions: Combine all ingredients and enjoy! We suggest grabbing some fun Halloween decor to create a fun and festive evening!!

Do you love making themed cocktails? Tell us, what is your favorite?

Stop into Mystic Wine Shoppe and grab all your cocktail needs!

October 16, 2018/by Eric Faiola

Weekly Wine Pick, Wine

Appassimento

Raisins are nature’s candy. The dried, sugary essence of a grape, concentrated into one little morsel. It seems hard to imagine a wine made from such a thing, but there are actually many. The most famous ones are from Italy, specifically the majestic Amarone, a blend of grapes used to make the very light and delicious Valpolicella wines and Vin Santo, the sweet, luscious desert wine the Italians eat with little biscotti called “cantucci.”

There are other wines made from shriveled grapes – mostly those affected by “noble rot” or botrytis and some “icewine,” made after the water has frozen in the grape so that you when you cold-press the grapes, you just get the sugars and acids and none of the frozen liquid. Excellent examples of these techniques come from Bordeaux in the form of Sauternes or Barsac and Germany, with their Trockenbeerenauslese (dry-berry harvest), but also in the Finger Lakes and the Niagara area where the grapes hang until they freeze before harvesting. I have an on-going love affair with all raisinated, botrytized and frozen wines, but they are all “special occasion” wines, so not on the regular rotation of every day wines.

But this wine is something new, that maybe you could drink more regularly. It is a raisinated wine from the Montepulciano grape, famous for the light, bright, fruity wines of Abruzzo. Most Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wines are meant for drinking casually, a cheerful blend of plums and cherries, with high acidity and low tannins that also “cleanse” the palate when you have it with pasta in a rich sauce. But when you dry the grapes and then press that precious, concentrated liquid into juice that ferments slowly and carefully, you get a deeply colored, deeply flavored wine that will stand up to heavy sauces and red meats and spice! This is a wine that has the intensity of a California Cabernet with all the mouth-filling aromas of fruit and some herbs, but has the acid brightness of wild cherries and summer plum, like a much lighter wine. It is a wonderful, unusual combination that will have you taking just one more sip, just to see if it really does have all that complexity. And the texture will have keep you sipping once you are used to the unusual mix of flavors, it is smooth and viscous. At $14.99, it will give that Amarone you’ve been saving for a special occasion a definite run for its money.

We had it last night with roasted leg of lamb and a wonderful mint sauce – definitely a regular from now on!

October 10, 2018/by Eric Faiola

Weekly Wine Pick, Wine

It’s all about managing expectations

I remember the first time I tasted a Soave in my wine class. I was expecting Riunite – a sweet fruity drink that would loosely be classified as wine. Boy, was I disappointed! My first taste – which went against every expectation I had – was tough. It was totally dry, dry as the Sahara dessert and therefore shocking to my palate.

Let me back up a step. Expectations are always a tricky thing. Sometimes, they become a self-fulfilling prophecy – you expect something to be bad, you make it bad in your mind by picking it apart. And vice versa, you expect something to be good, so you only see the upsides. But most of the time, expectations can mislead you. When someone hypes something to you and raises your expectations too high, you are bound to be disappointed. And again, vice versa, you hear only negative reviews of something, but then when you actually try it, it’s not so bad! My husband used to always tell me to spend about 20 percent of my time managing expectations. In order to get a job for example, you have to talk yourself up. But then when you actually get the job, you need to make sure people are going be realistic about what you can accomplish. So, walk the line of not being a complainer, but talk about the challenges, your problem solving strategies and so forth. Make sure people know what they are getting so then, they will be happy with the outcome!

Now, back to the shock to the palate. Soave is dry! Dry, dry, dry but also delicately floral with notes of peach and pear and a very refreshing, crisp, mineral-driven finish. In fact, it is one of the great wines of Italy. One would not necessarily know that because it is not as recognizable as Chianti or Prosecco. And furthermore, it is made from the terribly named Garganega (pronounced gar-GA-nega) grape. Sounds like mouthwash, but tastes sublime – it is fresh, lively and can pair with everything from white meats to shellfish.

Soave Classico is the heart of great wines made with the Garganega grape. It is in the extremely picturesque part of the Veneto that is just east of the gorgeous Lake Garda. The valleys are lush and beautiful dotted with castles and modern buildings alike. Rocca Sveva is made by the cooperative winery, the Cantina Di Soave, which having been established in 1898, is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year. They use high-technology to analyze soils and ensure the quality of the grapes supplied by their growers as well the latest techniques to ensure quality but make wines that are extremely traditional and hark back to their origins.

The Rocca Sveva Soave Classico 2016 is a wonderful, easy-to-drink, highly enjoyable wine. It’s beauty is in its simplicity. It doesn’t require any concentration to appreciate its depths like a white Burgundy might and it doesn’t lull you into a stupor like a big, high-alcohol, buttery Chardonnay might. In fact, at 12.5% alchohol, you can enjoy that second glass guilt free. And really prolong the enjoyment on a hot summer’s day. This wine has lovely notes of grapefruit and lemon zest with a hint of white peach on the nose. It has a nice, soft mouthfeel with some mineral notes and it leaves your palate with a fresh, dry snap.

Cheers! Seema

July 20, 2018/by Eric Faiola

Weekly Wine Pick, Wine

Wine of the month: Taking Route Blanc de Cabernet

Moldova is a fascinating country. It sounds both very remote and yet very familiar to my ear – something about Transylvania and the Carpathian Mountains to the west, the Black Sea to the east. It seems to sit at a sinister juncture of fairytale and legend. But in reality, Moldova is a country covered by gently rolling hills that reach no higher than 1000 feet. There are lush valleys and rich pastures with a very temperate climate that is not too cold in the winter and not too hot in the summer and it gets just the right amount of rain for farming grapes.

In fact, Moldova has been growing grapes for millennia. There is evidence suggesting that the native Moldovans were making wine as early as 3000 B.C.E. There has been constant cultivation since that time, excepting the 300 years of Ottoman rule that destroyed many of their vineyards. Further damage was caused during both World Wars, decimating their wine stocks. However, in the post-war period, there has been a concerted effort to replant the wonderful hillsides with vines and bring production back to its former glory.

They have succeeded to a very great extent and replanted many indigenous varieties such as the difficult to pronounce “Feteasca Alba”, “Rarã Neagrã” and “Zghiharda.” They have also followed global trends and replanted the lands with more international varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon, which seems to thrive almost everywhere, as well as Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay.

Until I tasted this remarkable wine, I couldn’t really predict what I would be tasting. I have had many, many red Cabernet Sauvignon wines and even had a few rosés, but I have never had a white wine made with it. This wine makes you appreciate just why Cabernet Sauvignon is indeed a superstar among grape varieties. My son would call it “o.p.” or overpowered. When it is gently pressed to preserve its fruit flavors and keep out the colors and polyphenols from the skins, it yields a white wine that has some beautiful aromas and flavors. Fresh and approachable, you smell grapefruit, herbs, perhaps some mango, pineapple and banana, and maybe just a hint of jalapeño. Then on the palate, you get creamy textures of summer fruit and with a mineral finish that is completely satisfying. Like most Cabernet’s, this is a full-bodied wine that is perfect with a range of flavors including shell fish, mature hard cheese, and charcuterie.

Thanks for reading,

Seema

July 10, 2018/by Eric Faiola

Holidays, Monthly Cocktail

4th of July Vodka Spritzer

As 4th of July quickly approaches we’re getting more excited for all the upcoming celebrations. We’re not sure about you, but we have a lot of great cookouts and parties posted on our calendar. If you’re hosting a celebration you know it can fun, but also a lot of work! We designed this cocktail with the hostess in mind… easy, refreshing and delicious!

Enjoy this month’s bonus cocktail –

Ingredients:

1.5 ounces of vodka (we love Titos or Grey Groose for this cocktail)
Fresh strawberries and blueberries
Soda water

Directions: Mix together and enjoy (easy, right?!)

What is your go-to 4th of July cocktail? We also found these tasty cocktails that certainly look tasty, but are nowhere as easy to mix-up.

Cheers and happy 4th of July!

June 12, 2018/by Eric Faiola

Wine

What does “terroir” mean exactly?

When I first began drinking wine, I heard a lot of talk about terroir. I assumed at that time that “terroir” just meant the soils in which the grape vines are grown. Over the past several years of study, I have come to understand that terroir is sort of a short hand for the entire environment in which a grape grows and ripens. It is about the climate, the winds, the amount of sunlight, the change in temperatures from day to night (“diurnal range”), the amount of water that gets to roots and so forth.

So, when you hear that a wine expresses its “terroir,” what does that mean exactly? It means that you should be able to taste certain characteristics of its home if it is a well-made, carefully handled wine. That is the difference between a small-batch hand made wine and a mass produced wine, but more on that another time.

When you taste a wine, do you feel like it is balanced? Is there some sourness (“raciness” or “acid” or “mouthwatering crispness”)? Are there flavor characteristics that balance out the acidity? Fruit, floral aromas, minerals – which can often give wine a faint saltiness, herbaceousness? Is there any sweetness in the wine? Does it feel a bit hot on your palate in a way that you know you are drinking alcohol? Is that in balance with the other sensations or does it overwhelm the wine? Is the taste after swallow pleasant or do you detect a lingering bitterness? If so, is the bitterness a welcome sensation? And most importantly, does it please your palate?

Each of these questions potentially addresses a different aspect of terroir. If you detect acidity, it could very well be underripe grapes. But it could also indicate cool nights that enhance the development of acids in the grape, which is a desirable trait. If you taste some sugars, it could be that it is a low alcohol wine where the fermentation was stopped in order to preserve some sugar or it could mean that is made with grapes that received a great deal of warmth and sunlight and were able to ripen to a great degree. If you taste minerality, it could be that the wine was made in a cool climate using neutral vessels such as stainless steel or concrete or it could mean it was a coastal wine that somehow expresses the wet stones and salty breezes of its home. If the alcohol is well integrated, even at high levels, the wine will taste round rather than prickly. If you detect the alcohol level right away, you know it is unbalanced. So each aspect of a wine can have multiple explanations but you can learn a great deal about it from taking a minute to savor all the sensations and smells and tastes it imparts. And you can decide whether this wine has individual character and interest or if it is made to cater to the consistency of certain palates.

Which brings us to this week’s wine, the Steve Bird Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand. It is first and foremost, delicious. But more than that, it is a carefully made wine that expresses its terroir beautifully. It is grown in the Wairau Valley zone of the Marlborough wine region. This is the area that saw the birth of the New Zealand wine industry in the 1970s and has since showcased its best Sauvignon Blanc wines. It is a warm, dry area that has bright sunlight during the day and is cooled at night by the ocean breezes from Cloudy Bay. This means you get plenty of ripe fruit flavors such as passion fruit and grapefruit as well as plenty of sugars for balanced alcohol (13%) while retaining many of the acids and more delicate aromas of apricot, gooseberry and herbs that are so characteristic of the Sauvignon Blanc grape. And the finish is marvelous, tangy and lingering with a fruity mouthwatering end. All this adds up to a luscious, round and satisfying glass of wine.

Cheers! Seema

Photos from Steve Bird Website

June 8, 2018/by Eric Faiola

Holidays

Father’s Day Gift Guide

Not sure what to get the special Dad in your life for Father’s Day? From fine wines to high-end Whiskey to everything in-between we’ve got you covered at Mystic Wine Shoppe. Check out our gift guide below –