Buongiorno! Fall is just around the corner and with that comes our 4th annual Italian Tasting! Learn just what that special something is in Italian wine. We'll be tasting lovely wines from Piedmont, Tuscany and Veneto.  Upcoming regions like Abruzzo, Puglia, Sicily and Lombardy will be represented too!  We're talking Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Nero D'avola, Montepulciano, Fiano, Corvina and Pinot Grigio just to name a few.
     To add to the festivities will be Marcus belting out some traditional Italian opera tunes. Yes you heard that right!  Opera and wine. That's how we roll at Wine Republic. So strap on you best Italian duds, get your mind right and join us Saturday, October 6 from 3 to 5 pm and get ready to knock back some tremendous vino. Ciao Bella!

Patti & RJ

So, I finally broke down and bought a Coravin and I wondered what old man Rothchild would’ve thought of this machine? Do the modern toys make wine better? I don’t know. If we look at how past people thought of wine we find beautiful poetry. “For folly that he wisely shows is fit; But wise men, folly-fallen, quite taint their wit.” spoke Billy Shakespeare. Was he a secret wine searcher? Did he spend much time in his cellar? His total genius as a tracker of the human condition probably included much wine tasting without a modern decanter. He wrote, “Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.” There was a sulfite or two in his wine but not the heaps we find in today’s plonk. What I’m trying to say is that you don’t need all the toys, the fancy and shiny things that accompany wine. Don’t get me wrong, they’re cool as hell but not necessary for your daily sipping. In my humble opinion you just need your own good judgement. Did anyone tell you what flavor ice cream is your favorite? No you didn’t. The same goes for wine. But there are so many wines! Yes, that is true but you don’t have to be Jancis Robinson to understand what makes you happy. Are you doing paleo or keto? Order some Fitvine because they coax their wines into existence with low sugar and calories. Do you love Bordeaux, then get some Kirwan because they are delicious without killing your bank account. Are you a curious wine drinker? Get some Caduceus wines because Arizona is where Washington and Oregon were twenty years ago and Maynard’s wines are delicious. Be happy that you love whites only, or reds only and don’t let anyone give you any grief about wines you love because ultimately you have only yourself to please. Unless you’re married then you had better take your significant other’s palate into account or you’ll be in the doghouse like I am sometimes. Also keep in mind that you want your wines as organic as possible because too many bad chemicals will circulate in your body and that is no bueno! (Go sustainable or biodynamic also) So make your way to Excelsior to our weekly local wine event Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. Or shop now online.

     So unless you’ve been purposely ignoring your cell phone, computers or all the other all of a sudden boxing experts you are aware of the boxing match between mixed martial artists Conor McGregor and long time boxer Floyd Mayweather. This battle is being framed as MMA versus boxing but I disagree. You have two dudes gonna go in and box, Conor will loose 90% of his purse if he pulls some kicks or throws but how awesome would that be if he picks Floyd up and chucks him out of the ring.
     What to do about this Saturday night? You throw a party and watch these two savages go at it! I personally think this thing is gonna roll one of three ways. First, Conor is gonna knock Floyd out within the first six rounds. Yup you hear that right. Second, Floyd will win by decision. The guy is 49 and 0 at this point so you have to give a nod to that. And lastly Conor may be disqualified because he forgets where’s he’s at then chokes the life out of Mayweather. 
     Whichever way this crazy fight goes you can still have a rocking party honoring this nutty event. So what is the best drink for this party? You can be rough posh life Conor and break out Nebbiolo, you can do the Barolo but any good Nebby from Piedmonte will work. You’ll want some Syrah from northern Rhone because it’s big, bold, spicy as hell and tres chic. There should be some big bold American reds because they are jammy as hell and who doesn’t like that. Cabernet is the key and you already know how to pronounce it. You may also want to grab some Pinot Noir from a warm area like Calistoga because the heat jacks up the sugar to give these wines a firmer nature.
     Now come in to Wine Republic in our downtown Excelsior shop to get this stuff before the party because you won’t want to leave the house once the fights start. And if you’re landlocked in the house, order online at www.therealwinerepublic.com and we’ll deliver it to you. Cheers and keep those hands up! Check out our next blog IS FITVINE A SCAM?​

RJ

It’s summer, it’s hot and it’s steamy, humid.  What is the best wine for this scenario? Might I suggest some wines that are light in weight, clean unsullied taste which also finishes bone dry. Wines that you may know are Albarino, Chablis (unoaked Chardonnay), Chenin Blanc & Pinot Gris or Grigio. These lovelies will refresh with their bright acidity and zesty nature. But wait there’s more! Some tasty vinos that you may not know are the Aligote (little known Burgundian white), Assyrtiko (Greek goddess wine), Cortese/Gavi (Italiano), Garganega/Soave (also Italian), Grenache Blanc (white wine from northern Spain), Muscadet (French melon de Bourgogne), Picpoul de Pinet, Pinot Blanc, Verdejo (Spain and Portuguese) and Verdicchio. These wines will lull you into submission with their acidity. The acidity will hit you smack in the salivary glands just behind your jaw. They will make you salivate and sate you and cool you down.  Who doesn’t want to be satisfied and sated in the sweltering heat?!?  

   Next we’ll roll into our light bodied wines with some herbal nature. What are you talking about sir? If you’ve ever had Sauvignon Blanc and noticed that grassy nature you know exactly what I’m talking about. This “green” aroma hits like bell pepper, grass or in some cases jalapeño. Wines that will give you this added herbal hit are Gruner Veltliner (Austria), Vermentino (Sardinia in the house!) and Vinho Verde (which is made from Alvarinho, Loureiro and Trajadura–there are others but they are in small proportions). These wines are great with salads, fruit and light meats. You’ll find that the herbaceousness adds an added lovely dimension to these foods and quite wonderful on their own.

   Finally we’ll bow down to those of you with a sweet tooth. These final wines will have a hint of residual sugar (RS) from the sugar in the grapes. Riesling will jump to the top of the list but you’ll want to get to know Gewurztraminer (with it’s exotic lychee smell and flavor), Moschofilero (another Greek wine you will want to get to know), Moscato (yeah baby) and a bracing slap in the behind with Argentinian Torrontes. These wines go extremely well with spicy foods like Mexican, Thai and anything with a high Scoville scale. If you have some semi hard cheese you will experience an astounding pairing that is rarely seen.

   So there you have it. These are not even all the white wines you can drink and we’ll go over others in a following post about Creamy/Dry wines and really Bold & Sweet wines. All these wines can be found here at Wine Republic. The home of Sustainable, Organic and Biodynamic wines. See you soon and stay cool in the heat.