Wine Tips - Montepulciano (reprise) and Lake James (NC) Gewurtz

Greetings from Vintage Connections! 
This week's wine tips.

Cantina Zaccagnini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo -  Reprise

We reviewed this wine over a year ago and after discussing this wine with some friends last evening, we thought it would be good to re-review this excellent Montepulciano for those of you didn’t  read it then and as a reminder to those who did.

 We have used Cantina Zaccagnini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo from Italy for several events and find it to be an excellent, medium-bodied dry red wine. It has the distinctive fruity flavor of a good Montepulciano.  It has a nose of strawberries and ripe plums, with a hint of leather and flavors of cherries, peaches and plums and a hint of tobacco. It has soft tannins and is good to drink now.  Great with rich, flavorful cheeses, lasagne and other pastas with red sauce.  Each bottle is decorated with a small cutting from the vine. It sells for $13.99 at most PA Wine and Spirits stores. It's PLCB code is 4560.

Montepulciano is both a wine grape variety and a wine region in Italy, which can cause confusion when purchasing wine.

The Montepulciano wine grape (also known as "Montepulciano d'Abruzzo) is found in numerous regions in Italy and is grown in some areas of the US. The Montepulciano wine grape makes a medium-bodied red wine, rich deep red in color, with purple shades that evolve to a rich garnet color as it ages.  The juice actually spends some fermenting time in stainless steel allowing the distinctive fruit flavor of the montepulciano grape to evolve.  It is then finished in oak barrels from Slovenia for 4 months. 

The Montepulciano region of Italy is known for its sangiovese grapes, the main ingredient in Chianti. It is located north of Chianti, Italy (yes, there's a region named Chianti, too) in Siena in Tuscany. The region is known for its "Vino Nobile, the wine of the noblemen" often made of a blend of sangiovese with caniaolo, malvasia or trebbiano to add structure and complexity. It is a beautiful area of Italy with rolling hills, some 2500 vines, beautiful churches and "wonderful art and architecture.

Lake James Cellars Gewurztraminer NV
This excellent Gewurztraminer from Glen Alpine, NC just outside of the Yadkin Valley is a full, rich-bodied gewurztraminer.  It is a beautiful golden color with rich honeysuckle aromas.  The flavor of apricots was the first thing that came to mind at the first sip of this delicious white wine.  It has a wonderful long finish, making it a great summer sipper.  It is available not only at the winery, but at many retail stores in North Carolina.

Lake James Cellars is located in an old restored textile mill in Glen Alpine.  Nearby is the beautiful Lake James.  They charge $4 for a tasting and you may choose 6 wines to taste.  Most often some member of the family is at the tasting bar and they are happy to talk about their wines. 

Up-coming Events

Private Tasting of 6 USA Red Meritages (or similar red blends)
Sunday, July 11, 4-6 PM, we are hosting a private (blind) tasting of six USA Red Meritages.  Two seats are available at $25 each.  As we prepare for Bottle Shock Revisited on September 18, we are tasting wines that we may use for that event.  Join us and help determine what wines we will use as the finalists on 
September 18.

Please email us at VintageConnections@Comcast.net if you have questions or want to reserve these two remaining seats.


The Great PA WIne Toast
August 14
Across the Commonwealth
Let's Toast!
More Info Coming Soon

Bottle Shock Revisited!
USA vs. France blind wine tasting
Saturday
September 18
6:30 - 9:30 PM

Benefits the American Wine Society Educational Foundation

Wine and Appetizer pairing and
"blind tasting" 
of USA vs French wines.

Taste and vote for your favorites!

Perkiomen Valley Library, Schwenksville
$49 per person
$90 per couple
$350 per group of eight.
More details coming soon!
Visit the Perkiomen Valley Chapter of AWS.

Mom's House
Benefit Wine Dinner 

Saturday, October 23 
Five course dinner, each course paired with a different wine.  
Kimberton Arts Center  6:30 PM
For more information about Mom's House, click HERE

Contact us to schedule an event in your home, at your business, or for your organization.