Windham Wines

02/01/2023

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Wine and book recommendations; winter tasting calendar Windham Wines Newsletter Book Recommendations  Wine of the Month Wine Recommendations Virtual Tasting Calendar  We have made it to the end of t

09/28/2022

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And Maysara is back! Windham Wines September 2022 Scenes of Summer Where did summer go? Each year, it seems to get shorter. Fall is in the air, and also starting its display in the maples. With fall,

04/13/2022

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Earth-friendly wine recommendations; final virtual tastings of spring season Windham Wines Newsletter Earth-Friendly Recommendations  Virtual Tasting Calendar Wine Clubs?  At the very beginning of A

03/10/2022

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Women Winemakers for March Virtual Tastings Windham Wines Newsletter Keep your masks handy: We are still wearing masks at Windham Wines Wine Recommendations  Virtual Tasting Calendar Return of the Wi

03/08/2022

Please join us on Saturday, March 12th, at 4:00, for a virtual tasting with Bàrbara Mesquida Mora, owner of her eponymous winery on Mallorca. We'll taste a white made from a blend of Prensal Blanc, Grió and Chardonnay, and a red blended from Callet, Gorgollasa, Mantonegro, Monastrell, Cabernet and Merlot, farmed biodynamically. We have a lot of new grapes to discover. Thank goodness we have Bàrbara as our guide. Plan to make a Coca de Trampo to enjoy while tasting, then relax and sip some wine while we channel Mallorca through our glass.

02/23/2022

Please join us on Saturday, February 26th, at 4:00 as Xabi Sanz, of Vina Zorzal in Navarra, Spain, guides us for a virtual tasting of two of his family’s varietal wines—Garnacha and Graciano. Contiguous to La Rioja, Navarra is one of those D.O.s that has not marketed itself and has therefore been overlooked. These D.O./AVA/AOC/DOCs tend to have affordable land and therefore attract entrepreneurs who see opportunity. Lucky for us, importers like David Bowler discover those values and make them available to us, for which we are grateful.

Xabi and his brothers, Inaki and Mikel, are busy, busy, busy, finding new “old vine” vineyards, developing new collaborations with other ambitious young people, and experimenting with single-vineyard lots to see just how nuanced these indigenous varieties can be. Our preliminary conversation with Xabi last week whetted our appetites for more. Come into the shop to get the two bottles we will sample together with Xabi (Garnacha, $13; Graciano $16), make a batch of pintxos (tapas) or create a charcuterie plate and sign-in at 4:00 for a lively, informative conversation about Navarra/Rioja, Vina Zorzal’s plans and, of course, our wines.

01/05/2022

Happy New Year customer-friends. Here is a wine to accompany you as you ease into 2022. We have been on a Gamay kick, this from a region that is new-to-us, Beaujolais-Lantignié. The Vergers checks off all the right boxes-- it is juicy, savory and bright.

The distributor from whom we ordered this wine wrote the post below.

More fun Beaujoalis because we can't get enough of it! From our friends at De Maison Selections the Chateau des Vergers Beaujolais-Lantignie comes from Cosima Bassouls, a young, charismatic leader of the bucolic Beaujolais-Lantignié region, of which she is its most passionate advocate. Her family property, Château des Vergers, dates to 1604 and is one of the grand, old properties of Beaujolais, historically producing both fruit and wine.

Located just north of Brouilly, west of Régnié, and less than one kilometer from the border of Morgon, Beaujolais-Lantignié is a gem of a village where you can find exceptional quality. This bottling is 100% Gamay from 70+ year old vines. Vinification: 11 days of whole-cluster, semi-carbonic maceration, slow pressing, then fermentation with native yeasts in cement tanks. Aging: Eight months on the lees in concrete tanks. Farming: is practicing organic.

The wine is full of bright red fruits, delicate spice and charming floral aromatics. A lovely wine.

12/29/2021

We’ve “rediscovered” the Guimaro, Camino Real, Riberia Sacra, after a few years’ absence and are savoring its return. Ribeira Sacra is located in the southeastern hills of Galicia; it means “sacred banks” in Gallego, the local Galician dialect that is a hybrid of Spanish and Portuguese. The Sil River has cut a deep, winding gorge through the hills of Ribeira Sacra, along which determined farmers have built terraces and planted vines. The Rodriguez family—Manolo and Carmen with son, Pedro— farms these dramatic, precariously steep slopes organically and, as required, manually. Harvest is hot and backbreaking, with berries collected in crates that are transported along a ladder-trolly to trucks on the road below.

Guimaro translates as “rebel” from Gallego; the irony is that Pedro Rodriguez has pursued a rebellious path of eschewing modern practices of increasing yields and producing more extracted wines. Instead, he has restricted yields, foot-stomps whole cluster, relies on ambient yeast for fermentation and flavor, and bottles without fining or filtration.

The Camino Real is mostly Mencia, but includes splashes of other indigenous varieties: Merenzao, Mouraton, Brancellao, Caiño Tinto, Sousón, Alicante Bouschet. It is aged about half in large foudre and half in smaller, used French barrels. We’ve been smitten by this wine, loving the combination of fruit, floral and mineral. It's a beauty.

11/08/2021

We enjoyed an informative and delicious virtual tasting on Saturday with Marco Cirese, owner and winemaker at Noelia Ricci in Romagna. Coincidentally, Eric Guido, Italian wine critic for Vinous, just published a piece last week entitled "Italy's Food and Wine Epicenter: Emilia-Romagna," in which he wrote that,

"The fact is that it’s incredibly important to consider food when talking about the wines and culture of Emilia-Romagna. This region's prosperity is the result of a love of fine foods and the desire to eat, drink and live well, but also its success in exporting this experience around the globe. Parmigiano-Reggiano, prosciutto di Parma, aceto balsamico and every shape of dried pasta imaginable are expertly produced here. . . ."

Before reviewing some of the region's wines, Guido observed that "while the production of fine wine has yet to be proven here on a large scale, there are a small number of wineries turning out examples that show just how much potential exists within the region." Among that small number of wineries-- Noelia Ricci.

Thank you to Katja Matthews, of Artisanal Cellars, who took the images below of pairings recommended by Marco for each of the 3 Noelia Ricci wines we have at Windham Wines: 'Bro, a white made from Trebbiano, paired with the Delicato Monte Verdi from our friends at Agricola Farm in Panton, VT; Il Sangiovese, paired with Rigatoni alla Gricia; and Godenza (a single vineyard Sangiovese) with seared duck breast. Katja declared the pairings "bravissimo!"

11/03/2021

We have a virtual tasting this Saturday, November 6th at 4:00 with Marco Cirese of Noelia Ricci in Emilia-Romagna. Marco is passionate about Sangiovese from Romagna; it shows in his Il Sangiovese that we'll be sampling with him-- fruity, floral, earthy spicy-- it checks all the boxes for a wine of interest, and follows through on the palate. There is a lot of wine here for $20, and organic, to be certified by Ecocert for vintage 2020. We will also taste the Noeila Ricci white wine, 'Bro, made from Trebbiano (Romagnolo and Fiamma) that has weight and energy. Come by the shop to get the wines, then settle in at home on Saturday for an informative virtual visit to Romagna.

10/26/2021

If you enjoy sparkling, the Mas Goma, "el creuer," is a must-try. It comes from the heart of the Cava region in the Penedes, 60+ year old vines, farmed organically, 60% Xarel-lo, 40% Macabeu. While all of those ingredients should make a very solid sparkling, what gives this wine such depth is that the wine spends at least 40 months on the lees before disgorgement. It is Brut Nature (no dosage), and yet there is a richness and seriousness to this wine that is head-turning, or at least will cause you to keep returning to the glass.

Brioche, roasted almonds, camomile, praline, apricot, soft, creamy, minerally. Seven people enjoyed two bottles in two different settings. The verdict was unanimous-- wow! $27, but this sparkling drinks way above that. In one setting, we followed up with a Champagne. Everyone preferred the Mas Goma. This will be making a regular appearance at our house in the season ahead.

10/10/2021

We will be tasting wines from Mt. Etna on Saturday, October 16th at 4:00 with Valeria Agosta, co-owner at Palmento Costanzo in Passopisciaro (San Spirito district). Etna remains an active volcano and has contributed mightily to the terroir of the area. We'll taste the two entry-level Palmento Costanza wines, Mofete Bianco (70% Carricante, 30% Catarratto) and Mofete Rosso (80% Nerello Mascalese, 20% Nerello Cappuccio) which are available at Windham Wines for $20 each. Come in, pick up the wines, leave us your email so that we can send you the Zoom link, then enjoy the wines while we have a conversation with Valeria.

We had a lovely visit to Palmento Costanzo's vineyards and cellar before tasting with them 4 years ago. Below are some pictures from that visit.