Shop Small *Wines* This weekend
NOVEMBER 25TH, 2023
Hello and we hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
It's Small Business Weekend and Wines in Tandem is celebrating in two ways:
1) Enter for a chance to win $500 through the DavisDowntown Shop Small Weekend Raffle. Shop at Wines in Tandem and for each $10 you spend, you get to enter a raffle ticket (up to 10 tickets) that will be selected by the DDBA next week.
2) True to our mission to support small family wineries we are featuring six delicious wines, including several micro wineries, this weekend: Onward Malvasia Bianca, Peter Franus Old Vine Zinfandel, and Road 31 Pinot Noir. The Three Wine Established 1885 reserve nearly sold out in one day! I just love those wines, and clearly I'm not alone. We'll move into the Three Wine Carignane when the 1885 is gone.
Finally, I hope your wine selections were just right for Thanksgiving dinner. We poured the Claiborne & Churchill Dry Gewurtztraminer, André Vatan Sancerre Rouge (Pinot Noir) and the Road 31 Pinot Noir. Dinner was served a bit late, at 7pm, and by that time I had moved to the Road 31 Pinot and it was excellent with turkey and all the fixings! An amazing Fall wine for the rich holiday meals.
Hours this weekend: Saturday and Sunday 1 - 6pm. I discovered the Vince Guaraldi Fall 🍁 playlist on Spotify so the music will be extra good.
That's all from us and hope to see you soon!
New Holiday Catalog Tasting - Thanksgiving Wines!
November 17th, 2023
Countdown: 6 days to the big day
----
Hello!
We are so excited to announce our first wine catalog. People (including myself) still love catalogs and to get started with the features we'll be opening 10 great Thanksgiving wines.
I hope you'll give it a read for some witty wine commentary and features on holiday-focused wine selections. A limited run of printed copies will be ready in early December, but you can access the e-catalog starting now. /Shop/Catalog
Tasting Bar this Weekend
We've chosen 10 wines from our 2023 Holiday Wine catalog to share with you, including many that are new in stock and that have not been opened yet. We hope to see you and show you the goods.
Tasting Hours this Weekend and Next Week
Friday to Sunday 2-6pm
Shop hours next week:
Open 2-5pm next Tuesday and Wednesday. A few wines will be open for tasting
Closed Thursday
Resuming normal business Friday afternoon
Open for Tasting!
We've got aromatic whites and full bodies whites, gorgeous light reds and full bodied reds, and a tawny port to pair with pecan pie a la mode. And let's not forget a sensational grower producer Champagne that makes a wine called... Tandem! Can you tell we're excited?
All wines and more details are on the event page for this weekend's tasting:
/events/2023-Holiday-Catalog-Tasting-Thanksgiving-Wines
Gifts and More
At the end of November we'll be announcing several new items, including big reds and gifting options. More info coming soon!
November Wine Club
For those of you who haven't picked up your November wines, they are waiting for you and hoping you'll invite them to Thanksgiving :-)
Burgundy Wine Dinner
I blame the tardiness of this email on the outstanding dinner we co-hosted with Mustard Seed last night. Thanks to everyone who participated! A few of the wines we opened last night are available for sale, but in limited quantities. If you're curious about them, we'd be happy to share more details on the wines and the pairings!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, and we'll see you soon.
Wines of burgundy
November 9th, 2023
What an exciting week here at Wines in Tandem. We're so glad to have made it into the realm of Burgundy, France. There's a fantastic tasting AND wine club pickup starting Friday at 2pm. To answer a few of you who recently asked: All are welcome to come taste and shop during wine club pickup weekend, it's not an exclusive event.
If you are interested in Burgundy then we recommend coming in THIS weekend. Several of the wines being poured will not be open for tasting next weekend. The weekend before Thanksgiving will be amazing, but the theme (also "Burgundy") will be focused on Chardonnay and Pinot from other regions, not just France.
A funny story about the wines of Burgundy... Early in my wine days, I was told by a wine importer that "all palates lead to Burgundy" before he proceeded to open up an enormous vineyard map of the region and school me on everything he could during a one hour lunch. I've since forgotten most of what he said, but my key takeaway was that Burgundy is not for 21 year olds who could hardly explain the difference between Napa and Sonoma.
17 years later my palate is doing just as he said it would, leading me to Burgundy, and this weekend is a momentous occasion culminating from years of discovery.
I sure hope you will join us.
Tasting Bar this Weekend
The tasting this weekend will include nine wines, only two of which we have opened in the shop. This means many new and delicious wines that are drinking beautifully right now and hopefully get a feature on your Thanksgiving table. The 2021 Givry 1er Cru is dark and brooding and still a little tight still, so we'll pour that one from the decanter.
The full details of the tasting will be ready on the event page Friday at 2pm: /events/Wines-of-Burgundy-France
Weekend Hours
Friday to Sunday, 2 - 6pm
(We stay open later on Friday, but we don't begin tastings after 6pm)
Fee is $20, waived with a 3 bottle purchase.
Free for wine club members.
November Wine Club and Pickup
Please join us this weekend as we open three excellent wines featured in the club, including one white and two reds. Burgundy is known and respected for both red and white wines so I took the opportunity to include an example of both. The dominant white grape is Chardonnay, however it is one of the most divisive grapes I know. Wine drinkers certainly have a love/hate relationship with 'Chard', so I opted for one of the other white grapes of Burgundy to include. Can you guess what it is??
Do not fret Chardonnay lovers, some really great Chardonnay will be open this weekend and next!
The "Grand Vins de Bourgogne" dinner is on Thursday, November 16th and for those who RSVP'd I will follow up on Monday with final details. You are also free to ask any questions this weekend :-)
Holiday Catalog and Business Hours
Next week we plan to launch Part One of our *digital* holiday catalog. Part One will largely include wines better suited for Thanksgiving - food friendly, more fruity and savory, and crowd pleasing. Part Two is set for early December and will feature bigger, bolder, gift-worthy wines geared toward the December holidays and New Years.
In respect to the environment, we will not blindly mail catalogs to people's homes. However, we do plan to print some that will be available in the shop. Timeline for those is the first week of December. If you or anyone you know would like to see our catalog first, there is a signup form on our website at /home#catalog.
The themes of the catalog will largely guide the tastings for the remainder of the year and we'll also make sure to be open more hours to pour wines, including Thursdays.
We can't wait to start celebrating the holidays with you. See you in the shop!
"Frenchgiving" + Wine Sale
November 2nd, 2023
Bonjour!
Last week we poured a wonderful tour of USA Wines for Thanksgiving, including a few standouts like Claiborne and Churchill Pinot Noir (only a 6 bottles left!). And though Thanksgiving is quintessentially an American holiday, let's be frank:
No one understands a good meal like the French.
This weekend we'll pay homage to the real artisans of food and wine, with a French wine tasting suitable for your Thanksgiving table. If you have been following along since mid September, then you know how entrenched we are in France. Our selection has tripled, and we still haven't featured Burgundy or Bordeaux yet!
That doesn't mean we can't do a checkpoint tasting to refresh the regions we've covered so far. PLUS, we'll open a wines from Beaujolais and Arbois because they are wonderful food wines and do not get the attention they deserve.
But wait, there's more! The Fed didn't raise rates yesterday, so ... should we assume that the economy is 'landing softly' and therefore also make this weekend a sale? Qui! I think we should!
All weekend long, ANY wine from France qualifies for a special discount. That means: 10% on 6 bottles and 15% on any 12 bottles from France. Wine club members add an additional 5% off your 15% discount when purchasing any mixed case of 12 bottles.
What exactly does this mean, Ryan?
Well ... if you love Champagne, then superbe! Extra savings!
Those wonderful Rhone and Loire Valley wines from recent tastings? Now is your chance to grab a few more, including the Vaqueras and Saint Joseph!
Looking to restock on Sancerre from Andre Vatan? Perfect timing! We just got more!
Tasting Bar this Weekend:
French Wines for Thanksgiving
Friday - Sunday, 2 - 6pm
$15 for the main tasting + $5 for the sweet wines.
Waives with 3 bottle purchase.
Additional discount on 6+ bottles from France.
Alright, enough exclamation marks. We put together an oversized lineup of whites, reds, sweets, and sparkling that we handpicked for the big day. Crisp and refreshing white wines to cut through the extra butter. Fruit forward and earthy reds to perfectly match that Turkey covered in gravy and stuffing. Sweet lovers, we've got what you need including ultra lush Domaine Rotier Renaissance Vendange Tardives to pair with your best pumpkin, pecan, or apple pies.
Also on the tasting bar are a few wines we've never opened:
Jean Foillard Beaujolais-Villages ($27) Vibrant and forward Gamay from one of the "Gang of Four'' sons, Beaujolais martyrs championing traditional, authentic style from the region.
Camille Mélinand Beaujolais Chiroubles ($34). Stunning example of Cru Beaujolais from one of the highest Crus - old vines, hand picked, and all the things (or NONE of the things, since this is minimalist winemaking) we love. Dark in stature, with more minerality than one could expect. A total winner for the table.
Sylvain Faudot Trousseau Noir Arbois ($27) If Cru Beaujolais isn't hip enough for you, or wines from the Gang of Four not inspiring, allow me to to introduce you to Trousseau, the grape of Arbois France halfway between Dijon and Lake Geneva. Incredibly smooth, and a unique balance of red fruit, earth and spice. A ringer for excellent Bourgogne Rouge, but for under $30.
Champagne Colin Castille Brut 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs ($53). We've poured the wine's sister rosé and it's just so darn enjoyable. This 100% Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs is from one of our favorite Champagne families and carries a bit more zest and less fruit than their rosé. We can't stress this enough: the time and work that goes into making excellent Champagne for ~$50 retail makes it one of the worlds best wine values.
All 14 wines will be listed at the link below starting Friday at 2pm.
/events/French-Wines-for-Thanksgiving
New Wines in Stock
Not into French wines on Thanksgiving? Looking for something local? We hear you. We are bringing in lots of great stuff right now, especially from the US. Stop in and we can show you our favorite new finds including:
In stock now: Malvasia Bianca from Suisun Valley and Napa Valley Pinot Noir.
Next week: Sonoma Chardonnay and our very first Napa Valley Cab blend (it only took 10 months to find something we loved so much we had to have it).
Keep checking in because our inventory is always changing!
Dia de Los Muertos
I don't think I am able to connect the true meaning of this Holiday into a wine email with any coherence, but I will try....
While listening to the Moana soundtrack on repeat for the 754th time, the kiddos have found a new favorite song "We Know the Way" that coincidentally was THE song of the week in our household. It's a beautiful song (as is the whole soundtrack) that has a very sweet component about remembering those who came before...
We keep our island in our mind
And when it's time to find home, we know the way
Aue, aue
We are explorers reading every sign
We tell the stories of our elders in a never ending chain
Aue aue
When we explore the wine world, in all of its history and intrigue, we cannot help but place additional emphasis on the wineries with long family traditions. Families that survived multiple wars, grew their holdings (or, opted not to) from early days as grape growers, to being a part of the most connected world the industry has ever known.
If this type of history intrigues you as it does us, come explore the French wines we are opening. It's astonishing just how much family history goes in to some of the bottles we feature at Wines in Tandem.
Tandem Wine Club for November
Let's conclude with the wine club! Oh my goodness, we dove in the deep end with Burgundy in November.
The club wines will be ready for pickup Friday, November 10th, and we'll ship out and start delivering starting on Monday 13th. One might think, and we don't blame you, "Gosh, Burgundy is so expensive, how could we get three amazing bottles for just $85?"
I am so glad you were wondering that, because I've spent MONTHS solving this one. You'll be delighted with the results (three bottles, not two) and we'll start pouring Burgundy, next Friday the 10th.
Club members who RSVPed for the Burgundy dinner on November 16th, I'll follow up with additional information next week. For other people interested, we are excited to work on more themed dinners in the future. The December Wine Club is Bordeaux, and we plan to have a Bordeaux + Mustard Seed Dinner in the middle of December. Details coming soon!
Thanks everyone and we'll see you this weekend!
On the Tasting Bar this weekend:
2019 J. Laurens Cremant de Limoux 'Clos Demoiselles', 60% Chardonnay, 25% chenin blanc, and 15% pinot noir from Limoux. A flavor-packed and gently bubbly for the perfect way to start off your Thanksgiving dinner. The winery was awarded a level 3 (the highest level) High Environmental Value Certificate for sustainability. They follow AOC laws and take care to hand-harvest the grapes, while maintaining high quality in their sparklings especially.
🍴Pairs with prosciutto wrapped cantalope slices.
La Bastide St. Vincent Vermentino, 100% Vermentino from Vaucluse Rhône. A return of a very popular wine, and for good reason. This Vermentino is light and drinkable with a flavorful long finish. A great white for fall themed hors d'oeuvres.
🍴Pairs with brussel sprouts and sweet potato hand pies. Link to recipe.
2018 Chéreau Carré Muscadet ‘Comte Leloup’, 100 y/o vines of Melon de Bourgogne in Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine. Old vine whites are hard to come by and this wine lives up to every standard. A grape in the same family as Chardonnay, it is smooth, savory, with some acidity and very aromatic.
🍴Pairs with pan seared halibut with beurre blanc. Link to recipe.
2022 Petite Roubie Picpoul de Pinet, 100% Picpoul from a region of the same name. Yes that's accurate, and a pretty unique grape at that. You don't see picpoul too often but this acidic and "lip stinger" white is sure to please white wine fans at the table.
🍴Pairs with baked yams w/ saffron aioli. Link to recipe.
2022 Rouët Côtees de Provence Rosé 'Reserveé', Grenache & tibourenc from Le Muy, 30 mins from St. Tropez. A rosé combo you don't see very often. This cool bottle shape and pale pink but powerfully finishing wine will stun guests.
🍴Pairs with spicy deviled eggs and paprika.
2019 Jean Foillard Beaujolais-Villages Gamay, Beaujolais. Foillard's style and winemaking uses organic farming and careful selection to really bring out the special aspects of each red. Bright berries and spice makes this a good versatile pairing red.
🍴Pairs with root vegetable tian. Link to recipe.
2019 Camille Mèlinand Beaujolais Chiroubles, Beaujolais. Single vineyard Beaujolais Gamay.
🍴Pairs with cheesy scalloped potato bundt. Link to recipe.
2019 Sylvain Faudot Arbois, 100% trousseau from Arbois. A fun and more affordable substitute wine for Pinot lovers. This wine has lots of character, with a hint of acidity that brings out dark fruit and spice aspects to the wine. All the flavors really mesh well with this well-balanced wine.
🍴Pairs with sweet potato gnocchi with maple cinnamon brown butter sage sauce. Link to recipe.
2019 André Vatan Sancerre Rouge ‘Maulin Bèle’, Pinot noir from Sancerre. This October wine club standout makes a return. It's long tannic finish, notes of spice, and fresh acidity makes it a great, affordable pairing for the dinner table. This might be the turkey wine.
🍴Pairs with acorn squash w/ brown butter. Link to recipe.
2017 Château Belles-Graves Lalande de Pomerol, Vin de Bordeaux.
🍴Pairs with spiced turkey breast with Persian golden prunes. Link to recipe.
2010 Fontanel Muscat 'l'Age de Pierre', Muscat a Petite Grains VDN from Rivesaltes. A Muscat that's smooth, and not overly sweet or thick. Would be enjoyable as an apertif or over ice cream... however you prefer.
🍴Pairs with classic warm apple pie and whipped cream.
2018 Cave de l'Abbé Rous Cornet & Cie Banyuls Rimage, Grenache based Vin Doux Naturels (VDN) from Banyuls. Also an after dinner drink, but add some tannins. A fireside sipper, maybe throw on Elf and enjoy this deliciously sweet wine.
🍴Pairs with dark chocolate pot de crème. Link to recipe.
2017 Domaine Rotier Renaissance Vendanges Tardives, Incredibly lush botrytized wine from Tarn, near Toulousellac. Made from a native grape to Gaillac. A well-blanaced sipper with a beautiful palate and aromas of dried fruits and quince.
🍴Pairs with ... you guessed it ... the pumpkin pie.
Champagne Colin, Brut blanc de blancs from Champagne. It's time to replace the pink with the gold for the holidays. This Champagne is truly delicious just like it's rosé counterpart. Perfect as a pre-dinner OR after-dinner drink.
🍴Pairs with homemade cranberry pie! Link to recipe.
Join Us!
$15 for the main tasting + $5 for the sweet wines.
Waived with 3 bottle purchase.
Additional discount on 6+ bottles from France.