Let's Taste Australia! Part 2
February 22nd, 2024
And we're back! Okay, we never really left, but without an official tasting last weekend we were still quite busy. Thanks for keeping me company even when I tried to keep things low key :-)
This week the themed Tandem Tastings return with Australia, part 2.
Join us as we dive into five never-before-opened wines here at Wines in Tandem, plus one recent favorite, the Moorooduc Estate Pinot Noir.
I am particularly excited to share three Cabernets from Margaret River in Western Australia (WA). This relatively new region in the wine world is about as far away as wine country can be from Davis. Grapevines benefit from the confluence of the warm Indian and cool Antarctic 'Southern' Ocean, as well as extremely diverse soil types. Many grape varieties are planted there now, but Cabernet truly is king.
Take a break from those political ads, rain days in front of the TV, and come taste this lineup of delicious wines from down undah. We don't have much stock of any of these wines and it's possible a few will sell out before the tasting is over on Saturday.
Tasting Bar this Friday and Saturday
Kirkton Estate Semillon. Fresh yet complex from the classic white variety of Hunter Valley.
Ben Haines Amber. Skin contact Semillon, Roussanne and Marsanne orange style from Victoria.
Paxton Now Shiraz. Certified organic, zero sulfite added Shiraz from McLaren Vale.
Moorooduc Pinot Noir. A February wine club wine that I am compelled to open again. Burgundian style from the cool climate Mornington Peninsula.
Howard Park 'Miamup' Cabernet 2016. Yes, a 2016. Smooth, easy drinking Cabernet from Magaret River with some age on it and a low price tag.
Vasse Felix 'Filius' Cabernet Sauvignon. The 'son of' and entry level version of the next wine, both from the founding estate in the region.
Vasse Felix Premier Cabernet Sauvignon. The Region's original Cabernet, since 1972. Elegant, spiced, ageworthy.
Additional info on the wines will be available on the website Friday, 2/23 at 2pm.
/events/Australia-Part-2-Wine-Tasting
Tasting Details
Friday and Saturday, 2-6pm
$15 fee, waived with 3 bottle purchase
Free for club members who have not yet tasted in February
Sundays
A reminder we will be closed on Sundays through the Winter and plan to reopen Sundays in the Spring.
Loyalty Points
As mentioned last month, we are nearly ready to make the Loyalty Points program official. I hope to have this up and running next week and make an announcement soon. Until then, thanks for your loyalty. Your patronage is adding up :-)
That's it! See you for Australia, part 2!
bye Week
February 16th, 2024
Hello and Happy Friday!
It's been a busy four weeks of events here, including the Bordeaux Dinner at Mustard Seed, Georgian Wine Tasting, Australian Club Tasting, and then Super Bowl Blind Tasting. Therefore we are taking a little break from events this weekend. In sports they call that a Bye Week.
The themed Tandem Tastings are back in action for Australia part 2! next Friday and Saturday. Can't wait to open some delicious Aussie Cabs and more with you all.
For anyone who missed The Drop email on Wednesday, the featured Cotiere Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara are sensational wines and wonderful values at the Drop price.
Although there are no big events, we are open. I will open one of each for tasting at 3pm today and Saturday for everyone who ordered from the email and wants to pick them up. If you don't know what I am talking about, you can sign up for The Drop emails on our website.
Business Updates
Today
We're opening at 3pm today. Good News Wine in Sacramento is closing down tomorrow, and I'm going over to pay my respects at lunch by eating a hot dog, drinking a glass of natural wine, and maybe buying one of those hipster hats that all the cool kids wear. See you at 3pm.
Shop Hours: Sunday
We love seeing you on Friday and Saturdays, but Sundays are a little lonely. Sundays were very busy over the holidays and it's understandable that during the winter months things slow down.
Starting this weekend, we'll switch hours to be closed again on Sundays. Seasonality in wine and retail is real, and it's natural to make these changes. In the Spring we may reevaluate the schedule because I know Sunday can be a convenient day for wine shopping.
Super Bowl Blind Tasting Recap
Wow, last weekend was amazing! Well, except for the Niners losing. But at least everyone had fun at Wines in Tandem! Thanks to everyone who came and packed the house on Saturday. We had a blast and hope you did too!
First order of business is to answer this FAQ: Yes, we will certainly do more blind tasting events. Thanks also to everyone who provided feedback about how to make it more fun, and maybe a bit easier, in the future.
And now a Big Congrats to the winners. It was a very close race at the top, with scores of 20, 19, and 19. (Out of 38, yes I know it was difficult.)
The winner gets the illustrious Vins Lombardi Trophy which is a Magnum of Uccelliera Rosso di Montalcino in a special box. Our runner ups get a bottle of the crowd-pleasing Road 31 Pinot Noir from Napa Valley.
1st place: Henry Steilberg (20 pts)
2nd place: John Evans and Cedrik Zemetkis (19 pts)
Henry is a trained Sommelier, and it was clear he was in his element and having fun. Therefore special kudos to John and Cedrik, who performed admirably without being trained Somms. Way to go winners, and everyone who participated!
The blind tasting wines were, in exact order:
Division Chardonnay Oregon (USA) 2021
Best's Riesling Australia 2021
Regis Bouviet Pinot Noir Marsannay (France) 2020
Scherrer Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley (USA) 2018
Overtime: Finca Edetaria Old VIne Carignane Terra Alta (Spain) 2018. I did give +1 point if you guessed any of the Carignanes, but it didn't change the results.
Thanks everyone and see you soon!
SB Blind Tasting This Weekend!
Feburary 8th, 2024
Team,
This will be a quick but important update. I have overtaxed my creativity with heavy doses of T.Swift references and football puns in recent emails. Time to rest up and save any remaining creativity for Saturday!
Saturday
Emma and I hope you can join us for a very fun, very memorable, and potentially educational Super Bowl Themed Blind Tasting Challenge on Saturday the 10th from 2pm - 5pm.
The rules are quite simple: We pour five wines, you make guesses, we tally the scores, and several of you walk away winners!
There are multiple ways to score points and all results are anonymous, therefore all are encouraged to participate and give it your best guess.
This event is FREE, just stop in anytime between 2pm and 5pm. You do not need to be present to win. Winners will be rewarded with wine plus incentives to return to your favorite wine shop.
What:
Super Bowl Themed Blind Tasting Challenge
Saturday, Feb 10th, 2-5pm
Free! But it would be nice if you bought some wine on the way out the door.
Also, please return your wine boxes if you have them. Our 4 bottle box stash is down to zero and will not be replenished until next week. Thank you ;-)
Sunday?
We will be closed Sunday Emma has a thing for football and insists that Super Bowl Sunday is a national holiday. If you need something white, red, bubbly (or orange) stop in today through Saturday to stock up.
That's it! See you Saturday!
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"You miss 100% of the wines you don't taste"
- Coach Vins Lombardi
WiT is going down under
February 1st, 2024
Note: This email has been enhanced by dozens of Taylor Swift song titles. Please enjoy responsibly.
Australia Wine Tasting and February Club Info
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G'Day!
After a brief hiatus over the holidays and into the new year, we are back in action with our signature Tandem Tastings. There's no going back to December now, and your New Years Day plan to slow down the drinking is now a month old. In February we set sail over the equator and begin a multi month long journey of wines across the Southern Hemisphere where all of your wildest dreams will come true.
Our feature in February is Australia, and we'll start strong with wine club pick and tasting of several gorgeous wines from, primarily, the Victoria region in the far south. Then in a few weeks we'll feature several Cabernets and a few anti-hero wines including an Amber of Semillon and zero sulfite Shiraz.
Why Australia?
Oz is an exciting wine country with a marketing problem here in the US. Most Americans simply 'dont get' Australian wines... they are perceived as cheesy cartoon animals wines, or way over-the-top and bombastic. Lots of cheap Aussie wine and bad blood hangovers have been spilled on our shores. For anyone who still thinks this about Australia, shake it off.
There are heaps of small producers making the pure, honest, even delicate wines that we love all too well, so we went searching in that happy middle ground of family owned wineries producing seriously good juice for a great value. What a bounty we found!
Starting Friday, Feb 2nd at 2pm (that's tomorrow) we will be pouring seven amazing wines, mostly from the Victoria region in the far south, so you can begin again and write your own love story to Aussie wines.
Local delivery and shipping go out on Monday!
Tasting this Weekend
Australian Wine Tasting and Wine club pickup
We can't wait to share what's trending down in Oz and introduce you to some exciting wines! Australia understands the global wine customer better than anyone (2/3 of their wine gets exported) and is actually ahead of the curve in many regards, including sustainability and adapting to climate change, honoring their First Nations, adopting new packaging and offering new styles to match consumer tastes.
If you forgot that Aussie wines even existed, fill that blank space on your calendar, don your favorite cardigan, and come explore seven great wines including Semillon, Riesling, Grenache, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and sweet Muscat. There's a perfect wine for every wine lover during this forever winter. You just might have to compete with Emma for the Semillon, because when Emma falls in love with something, she starts buying it all up.
Additional information about the wines can be found on the event page starting Friday at 2pm.
Hours and Details
Friday and Saturday 2 - 6pm
Sunday* 2 - 5pm
$15 fee, waived with 3 bottle purchase
Free for club members.
* It's possible that not all wines will be open for tasting on Sunday. If you prefer to try all the wines, please come on Friday or Saturday.
Email and Newsletters
Last week I mentioned a change in our email system and we are still working on that. One thing you can do to ensure a smooth transition to our new tool is to confirm your interest in our newsletters by signing up on our website. If you don't confirm, eventually we are never (ever) getting back together. The two newsletters are:
The Shop (that's this one) features happenings here at 222 D St including upcoming tastings and events, new wines in stock, wine club info, and our most fun and relevant wine store details. Sent on Thursday.
The Drop (that's new) features our most interesting wines and limited offers sent directly to your inbox on Wednesday. I especially encourage those who don't live in Davis, or don't frequent the shop, to sign up because it's much easier for us to sell and ship wine from this email.
PSA: Re-use!
This is a public service announcement to re-use those sturdy cardboard wine carrying boxes. We'll take $2 off your order each and every time you bring one back. This is especially useful for wine club pickup weekends.
Are you ready for some... Blind Tasting?
There's no judgment if you do not care for football or do not plan to watch the Super Bowl. I can understand that. But no matter which side of the fence you are on, or which team you want to win (*ahem* the Niners) we are hosting a very fun Blind Tasting Challenge on Saturday the 10th.
All are welcome to join and participate. You will learn a lot and the results will be anonymous (unless you win) so there's no reason NOT to participate and at least you can say 'this is me trying'.
The blind tasting runs from 2 - 5pm and will only take about 30 minutes and come any time before 5pm to participate. Winners will be crowned Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince, memories will be made, and fun will be had by all.
"What are we listening to during the challenge?" you didn't actually ask, but I'll assume you were thinking it...
T Swift, all the way.
Are you ready for it?