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We offer you the opportunity to taste
suggested wines at great prices through our
"Fifteen under Fifteen" special.

November's Offerings;

Robertson LAte HArvest Gewurtztraminer
Aquinas Pinot Noir
Toro d' Oro Zinfandel
Contempo Prosecco
Contempo Pinot Noir
Contempo Pinot Grigio
2 Jakes Red Blend
Lady Grace Pinot Noir
Lady Grace Chardonnay
Pin Point Chardonnay
Pin Point Pinot Noir
Dona Paula Los Cardos Malbec
Argento Pinot Grigio
Argento Malbec
Vignale Pinot Grigio

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Tips on Choosing a Wine Right for You

Step 1: Decide if you want a white wine or red wine
Decide whether you want a white wine, red wine, sparkling wine, dessert wine or fortified wine. This will narrow down your choices and give you some direction.

Step 2: Decide on your preferences for wine taste
Have a think about your own preferences for the taste of a wine.As a minimum, decide whether you prefer a dry or sweet wine. (Dry is the term used to describe the absence of sweetness in a wine.)

Step 3: Buy wine that is well looked after
It is important to purchase wine from merchants who take proper care of their wine. Extreme heat or cold, direct sunlight, and dramatic temperature fluctuations are not good for wine. Also, before you buy, make sure the wine is filled up to the neck of the bottle, the cork is not pushing out of the bottle, and there are no signs of leakage.

Step 4: Enjoy exploring variety and diversity
There are lots of good reasons to explore all of the wines. Don't just stick to the well-known varieties like Chardonnay or Shiraz - experiment with other whites like Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Gewurztraminer or reds like Zinfandel, and Pinot Noir. Also, try examples of a particular variety from different wine regions to understand how regional conditions affect the wine's character. Expose yourself to every type of wine. The more you taste the more you will understand and the easier wine selection will become.

Step 5: Only rely on your own taste buds
The ultimate goal of wine buying is to buy wines that taste good to you. Just because a merchant, friend or wine writer says a wine is good doesn't mean you'll like it. Conversely, don't shy away from a wine because someone else says that it is no good. The only judge of good taste in wine is you.

Wine Speak

Low Tannins vs High Tannins: Tannins are a vital ingredient in wines, especially red wines. It comes from the stalks, skins and pips of grapes. Tannins in a young wine produce a bitter, puckering taste on the palate.

Short Palate vs Long Palate: The "length" of a wine is the amount of time the sensations of taste and aroma persist after swallowing. Usually, the longer the better.

Low Acid vs High Acid: Acids of various types are present in wine, and are essential to the wine's longevity and also to your enjoyment. Too little can affect the wine's quality and too much can spoil the wine. A higher acidity makes the wine more tart and sour tasting; whereas a low acidity results in flat tasting wine that is more susceptible to spoilage.

Acidity is that quality that makes your mouth water and your lips pucker, and without it, wines (and anything for that matter!) taste pretty flat and one dimensional. However, when acidity is present in the right quantities, it is the element that makes all of the other flavours in the wine stand out, including the undertones of fruit, spice and herbs. The flavour in wine that you would describe as tangy, sharp, refreshing, bracing, bright, crisp or zingy is the acidity.

Light Bodied vs Full Bodied: To get a picture of the differences between a light-bodied wine and a full-bodied wine think about milk as an analogy. Light-bodied is analogous to skim milk and full-bodied wine analogous to full-cream milk, and the variations in the "body" of wne are like varying levels of fat-content in milk.

What makes it even easier, is that a wine's body is directly proportional to its alcohol content. On every wine label you'll notice a percentage of alcohol by volume. Note how it applies to body:

7.5% - 10.5% indicates light body

10.5% - 12.5% indicates medium body

12.5% and over indicates full body

No Oak vs Heavy Oak: Wines might be stored in oak barrels, usually to impart extra and more complex flavours. Oaky describes the aroma or taste quality imparted to a wine by the oak barrels in which it was aged. The terms toasty, vanilla, dill, cedary and smoky indicate the desirable qualities of oak; charred, burnt, green cedar, lumber and plywood describe its unpleasant side.