The wine lineup at Nicolas-Jay..
Just a decade after their very first vintage and two years since producing the first full vintage in their own facility, Nicolas-Jay has very quickly built a reputation that is world class. Some would say this isn’t too surprising given that the “Nicolas” in Nicolas-Jay is none other than Jean-Nicolas Méo, winemaker and owner of Méo Camuzet, one of the very best wineries in Burgundy.
However, exceeding lofty expectations in a highly competitive and increasingly finicky wine industry is a significant achievement, regardless of wine pedigree.
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Last year we had the pleasure of sitting down with Moe Momtazi, founder of the highly respected Momtazi Vineyards and critically acclaimed Maysara Winery in Oregon’s northern Willamette Valley.
Tahmiene Momtazi.
We learned the story of the their humble beginnings and how Moe and his wife Flora’s journey truly defied the odds beyond any winery story we’ve heard to date.
They fled their native Iran on motorcycles during the revolutionary period of the early 1980s seeking political asylum in the United States. As they outran Iranian authorities they initially reached Madrid, Spain; Flora 8 months pregnant with their eldest daughter Tahmiene. That daughter is now the winemaker at Maysara since 2007. A mother herself to two young children, Tahmiene Momtazi’s journey in both wine and parenthood has now come full circle.
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A very informative tasting of wines from Valpolicella.
AdVINEtures was fortunate enough to be invited by our friends at Town Hall Brands to a terrific Masterclass and tasting of the wines of Northern Italy’s Valpolicella Region. The event was produced by the Consorzio per la Tutela dei Vini Valpolicella, the association that represents more than 80% of the producers in the appellation. The Masterclass was very capably led by local sommelier and wine educator, Daenna Van Mulligen.
The day was divided into 3 parts: first, the Masterclass to inform us about Valpolicella, then a tasting of 11 wines from the region, and finally a walk about session to meet and taste with some of the region’s producers. This was a great way to get some real context about the region and to taste some of their wines.
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Iris Vineyards.
Our recent visit to Iris Vineyards, just outside of Eugene, OR, was quite a revelation. Iris claims as its foundation the ancient Grecian concept of “areté”. Don’t feel sheepish if you don’t know the meaning of the term; it is hardly used in modern English. The ancient Greeks used the term to mean excellence or virtue in your purpose. I was surprised when I heard the people at Iris use the term since I had not heard it used since taking a course on Aristotle when I was at university.
Areté to Aristotle, we were taught, was not a theoretical concept, but a practical implementation of maximum effectiveness at a chosen goal. Areté in winemaking, to use a concrete example, is different than areté in cooking. Both have a similar philosophical underpinning, but each is a distinct form of areté. The concept of areté is abundantly present in all of the endeavours at Iris that we encountered: from how they grow the grapes to how they vinify the wine to how they offer it to their customers.
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Cantina Jermann.
Cantina Jermann, or more commonly known as just “Jermann”, is an iconic producer of primarily white wines that have gained a reputation among many notable wine writers as Italy’s finest. Further, they stand tall on the world stage of white wines.
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Pierre Peters Rosé Champagne
In light of ‘National Rosé Day’, we’re going in a slightly different direction for our annual article by focusing on the very best of the bubbly kind: Rosé Champagne.
Rosé Champagne is that wonderful looking pink variety of sparkling wine that comes from the Champagne region in northeastern France. Its popularity is taking off and here are the things you will want to know about buying and drinking rosé Champagne.
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Friuli-Venezia Giulia is Italy’s foremost region for producing white wine.
A fabulous region to visit on all fronts.
Pronounced free-you-lee venn-eat-see-uh Julia, it is often referred to as simply Friuli for short. The region, located in the northeastern corner of the country is truly an undiscovered gem; a picturesque producer of world class wines sold at very fair prices and without the heavy tourism that seems to have taken over much of the wine world.
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A glass of champagne to kick off a new AdVINEture…
In a ‘Wine High Club’ series first, we’re featuring an airline for the 3rd time. We boarded Lufthansa for a much anticipated AdVINEture to Italy and Croatia with lofty expectations given our previous experience. With the amount of time and effort that is put into the airline’s wine selections each year, it should come as no surprise that we were duly impressed not only by the current wines being served, but also by the fact that we have yet to come across a duplicate wine selection given our frequency flying with this airline.
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