Alternative Red and White from all over the world at Cafe Maxx

The memory of some bottles can stay with your for life. While the wine doesn't have to be old and rare, a great old bottle can be like a time capsule, capturing in its flavors and aromas the time and place of its creation.

MIREILLE GUILIANO, French Women for All Seasons

This is one of the new events that we have added to the line-up for the season of Wednesday night tastings at Café Maxx where we explore some of the stranger, more unique varietals that exist in the world of fine wine.  We could have called this the Austria, Greek and Sicily wine tasting but I think that Alternative White and Red wines could get more attention but we shall see.

Many of the world’s most popular grape varietals are relatively recent inventions but there are literally hundreds of thousands of different grape varietals and many of them are so obscure there is only a single producer on Earth that makes them. 

Tonight we have the obscure and there is no much more obscure than Greek wines which is ½ of the tasting tonight with a sprinkle of my favorite new varietal Nerello Mascalese from Mount Etna on the largest active volcano in Europe.  Check out something different in the world of wine next Wednesday night at Café Maxx.

These tastings at Cafe Maxx for $35 are the best value of any event that we do. Eight wines are pre-poured in order to allow them to open up. Master chef Oliver Saucy will be sending out a few small courses to accompany the wines.  These tastings are a great opportunity to get a taste of Cafe Maxx and an education in wine all at the same time, the fee for the tasting in $35+ tax+ Gratuity for reservations call 954-782-0606.

Alternative Red and White Tasting at Cafe Maxx
Wed, Sep 21, 2016
6:30pm

2014 Landhaus Mayer Gruner Veltliner Austria
Price: $16.75       Sale $14.74          Case $171

Peppery notes mingle with clear grapefruit aromas; the body is well-balanced, offering a pleasant acidity and delicate herbal spiciness; lively on the finish.

Dafnios Vidiano White 2014
Price: $15.75       Sale $13.86          Case $161

An excellent wine made with 100% Vidiano grape; a very old Cretan grape which for many years was ignored, but due to the arduous and persistent efforts of some inspired winemakers of Crete has come back to the foreground and has given high quality wines in recent years. The white "Dafnios" is produced with no barrel usage.

Alpha Estate Malagouzia 2014
Price: $20.25       Sale $17.82          Case $207

Brilliantly, light yellow in color with greenish tints. Strong and lively nose, typical Malagouzia, suggesting rose petal with floral aromas and sweet spices, melon, litchi with a note of honeysuckle. Round and mellow on the palate, fat but balanced, high in alcohol with plenty of finesse. Well structured, reminding the nose aromas with a hint of rosemary. A richly textured wine with superb length and balance. A classy wine with long finish and persistent aromas.

Domaine Sigalas Assyrtiko Athiri Blend  2015
Price: $23.75       Sale $20.90          Case $243.00

Assyrtiko Pronounced "a SEER tee ko". This white varietal is native to Santorini and the other Aegean Islands. Used to make crisp dry wines similar in style to dry Riesling, it is often blended with other varietals - both indigenous and international - such as Sauvignon Blanc. This grape is also used to make the popular Greek dessert wine, Vinsanto.

2009 Preisinger Zweigelt austria
Price: $23.00       Sale $20.24          Case $235

Winemakers Notes: The grapes for this Zweigelt grow in the same top sites in the Pannobile Area like the ones that I use for the Pannobile. Hand picked in the first weeks of September, first selection in the vineyard, second selection in the winery, natural fermentation in stainless steel tanks, matured for 10 months in small barrels on the yeast. Juicy, full bodied and at the same time soft, this wine can be served right now and also ages pretty well. A wine about pleasure and joyful drinking.

Skouras St. George Agiorgitiko
Price: $19.25       Sale $16.94          Case $197

The 2012 Saint George (that is, Agiorgitiko) is a pretty reliable bargain here and this might be one of the best vintages for it. Aged in second-use French oak for 12 months, it comes in at 13.7% alcohol. Light and bright, it is vibrant, elegant and aromatic, not to mention rather delicious. It is not the most concentrated Agiorgitiko in Skouras' stable, but it adds a layer of concentration to the Zoe red, also reviewed, plus a hit of oak and more power. It can (and perhaps should) be drunk a bit cool, around 60-65F, too. It is a style with intensity of flavor, crafted well enough to seem a little serious at times. It's a very nice value and well worth the small, price uptick over the Zoe. (MS) (8/2015) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2012 Torre Mora Scalunera Etna Ross    
Price: $25.50       Sale $22.44          Case $261

Pomegranate, mereschimo cherry, with a distinct volcanic minerality that is Mount Etna.   A blend of 95% Nerello Mascalese and 5% Nerello Capuccio with pretty floral notes and some truffle earthy notes coming out as the wine opens.  This wine is silky smooth with fine tannins and bright red berry fruit, pomegranate and sour cherry with that distinct mineraltiy of Mount Etna lengthening the finish.  Finish 45+  Excellent +

2013 Passopisciaro Passorosso Sicily
Price: $45.00       Sale $27.00         

This wine is made from the grapes of Nerello Mascalese planted in various Contrade (Crus) of Malpasso, Guardiola, Santo Spirito, Favazza and Arcuria. These Contrade lie between 500 and 1,000 m/1,650 and 3,300 ft above sea level on the northern side of Mount Etna. The vines are bush trained and are between 70 and 100 years old. Generally, the higher crus are on a more gravelly soil, the lower ones in a deeper powder made with more oxidized, older lavas. As a blend of different altitudes and soil types, Passopisciaro demonstrates the breadth of flavors that Etna can produce.

2013 VINTAGE
As opposed to the 2012 vintage, which was a hot and dry year, 2013 was quite cold and rainy throughout the growing season. We waited until the middle of October to start tasting the red grapes in the vineyards, but everything was still quite unripe: there was still a taste of greenness in the grapes after the cold summer. However, at the end of October, we had almost a week of warm weather, which helped the grapes to reach maturation. The berries were small but healthy, with dark skins. We started harvesting on the 25th of October in the lowest vineyards, finishing on the 10th of November in Rampante.

Once in the cellar, the musts had an acidic quality, with intense and dark fruits, very different from the bright, round, and rich 2012. For Barolo lovers, 2013 is a vintage not to miss, because of its austerity and elegance, freshness and intensity.

These tastings at Cafe Maxx for $35 are the best value of any event that we do. Eight wines are pre-poured in order to allow them to open up. Master chef Oliver Saucy will be sending out a few small courses to accompany the wines.  These tastings are a great opportunity to get a taste of Cafe Maxx and an education in wine all at the same time.  The fee for the tasting in $35+ tax+ Gratuity for reservations call 954-782-0606.