Wine Tips of the Week # 10 - Villa Giada Moscato d’Asti and Dona Paula Estate Malbec

"Cheers" from Vintage Connections
Dean and Lisa Foster, Wine Educators and Consultants

This Week’s Wine Tips!

This week we describe two more of the wines we will be serving and pairing with chocolate desserts at Wine after Five with Chocolate at the Gallery School of Pottstown on Saturday, Feburary 13.  Go to the Gallery’s link for more information and to register for this Valentine Day’s treat.  http://www.galleryonhigh.com/wineafter5.html

Villa Giada Moscato d’Asti

This lightly effervescent, gently sweet wine is made from the white muscat grape from the heart of the Piedmont area of Italy.  It has a fresh fruity and floral aroma and tastes like spring in a glass.  It tastes and smells of fresh pear, peach, mango fruits and has a pleasantly long finish.  Not over powering or syrupy.  Drink now, well chilled.  We are serving the 2005 vintage during the Wine and Chocolate tasting at the Gallery.  Only the 2006 vintage is currently available in PA Wine and Spirits stores and is in very limited supply (at the time of this writing a few bottles were available at the stores in Wayne, Media, Flourtown, Narberth) and lists for $14.99.  We usually recommend wines that are readily available in PA, but this one is an exception.  A friend recommended it to us, we found a few bottles, and couldn’t resist.  Hopefully, a new vintage will be more easily available soon.

PLCB code is 25210.  Alcohol is 7% by volume. 

Dona Paula Estate Malbec

This deep ruby wine with violet tones is made from 100% Malbec grapes.  It is grown, produced and bottled on the estate in Mendoza, Argentina.  It is “elegant and complex” with aromas of licorice, plum and black cherries and flavors of blackberries and peppery spice.  It has a long and lingering finish.   We are serving the 2008 vintage during the Wine and Chocolate tasting at the Gallery and have to admit, the wine is young and the tannins are noticeable.  The 2007 vintage is currently available in PA as a Special Liquor Order (SLO) and lists for $18.19 with a minimum of 6 bottles.  PLCB code is 54945.  The tannins in the 2007 vintage should have softened a bit by now, but the wine is best laid down for 2-3 more years.  Alcohol is 14% by volume, which is typical for a Malbec, especially from Argentina.

Wine Video - Go to the link below for a 3-minute video of our Wine after Five with Art on the Side wine tasting seminar at the Gallery School of Pottstown.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNxdudt7SSI


Up-coming Valentines Events

Wine after Five with Chocolate!  Wine and food pairing seminar. Five wines paired with five chocolate desserts prepared by Chef Steve O'Donnell.
At the Gallery School of Pottstown
Saturday, February 13, beginning promptly at 6:30 PM

(snow date, Saturday February 20)

Begin with a Sparkling Raspberry and White Chocolate Mousse.
End with Bogle's Phantom, a wonderful rich red blend and decadent dark chocolate dessert.
$120 per couple, $65 single, $55 per person for Gallery members.

For more information and to register, go to the Gallery's website at

http://www.galleryonhigh.com/wineafter5.html

Berks County Wine Trail, Wine and Chocolate Weekend
Saturday and Sunday, February 13 and 14

For more information, go to the Berks County Wine Trail website at
http://www.berkscountywinetrail.com/

Cookies and Wine for Valentine's Day at Galen Glen Vineyard and Winery

Saturday, February 13.  For more information, go to 

http://sz0051.wc.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/mail#8

NEW BLOG SITE
The Pottstown Mercury has started publishing our weekly wine recommendations on-line in The Grapevine, a blog you can access through the Mercury's on-line edition at http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/grapevine/blog.html

Please take a look and post some comments on our wine blogs.  We'd really like to get some wine discussion going on these two blogs.


Additional Upcoming Wine Events in the Pottstown Tri-County Area

Thursday, April 22, Wines of the USA, one night wine seminar at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown, 6:30 - 9:30 PM, $52.

Thursday, April 29, Wines of the World, one night wine seminar at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown, 6:30 - 9:30 PM, $52.

Wednesday, May 5, Cinqo de Mayo, wines from Spain, Chile, and Argentina at the Gallery School of Pottstown.
Begins promptly at 6:30 PM.  Cost TBD.

Saturday, October 23, Mom's House Benefit Wine Tasting Dinner.  Location, Time and Cost TBD.

Many other events are TBD.  Contact us to schedule an event in your home, at your business, or for your organization.

Vintage Connections provide  

* Wine Appreciation Classes and Seminars

* Customized Educational Wine Tastings in your home or at your business

* Wine Consulting

* Benefit Educational Wine Tastings for non-profit organizations

If you want your address removed from this distribution list, please let us know.

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Vintage Connections
Lisa and Dean Foster