Loire Valley Wine Bureau Tasting - NYC 2011

A private exhibition gallery in New York's Nolita (nothern little italy) neighborhood for the Loire Valley Wine Bureau in order to expose wines from the Loire. I'm truely excited as the Loire is my favorite wine region and in turn, one largely neglected in America.

In all, I sampled 98 items out of 181 offerings. I afforded myself the chance to try not only item from multiple distributors but items from previously unseen importers looking for representation. In all, it was a good showing and gave me the opportunity to try some new items. Aside from the usual bread and cheese board was a table of shucked Malpeque oysters, a nice palate cleanser with a bit of muscadet.

A couple hightlights were the chance to sample through the large section of wine from Vos selections which doesn't often make visits to lowly South Jersey. Another was the discovery of an excellent Vouvray Pettillant from the never seen label of Gilet. One I'm still working on to become available in New Jersey.

Regal Imports at Zengo - 2011 Fall Tasting

A busy day with South Jersey based Regal Wine Imports as they continue to woo the Manhattan crowd at the stylish Zengo, a Latin-Asian hybrid restaurant on Midtown's east side. In fact, since Regal has entered the NY market, they have done it with flair by holding their trade tasting at attractive restaurant venues which offer their clients some exceptional palate cleansing hors d'oeuvres.

The main floor of Zengo from the upstairs lounge.

The tasting pretty much shows their total portfolio, but the hightlight for me is their exceptional Spanish imports from Chris Campbell and his C&P Wines and the Montecastelli Italian imports. In just a few years Chris Campbell and his partner have put together one of the top Spanish portfolios in the business. His Castellroig Cava is not only one the best Spanish sparklers, but one of the top fizz under $25. Exceptional when you consider it retails in the $13-$16 range. Castellroig also makes a stunning mineral driven Xarello that is not to be missed.

The affable Chris Campbell.

The Castellroig Cava.

Montecastelli Selections continues to updrade their portfolio with diversified items and some terrific values. Their Cardetto Orvieto has never been better with an electrifying backbone of mineral. The Sicilian grape grillo has never been terribly interesting until trying their diGiovanni grillo. Bright, crisp and a fine band of mineral on the finish.

ABD/Opici at the Mansion

 Like last years ABD/Opici trade tasting event, they have returned to the Mansion, part of a suburban business complex to show their wines and spirits. And like last year, they have made improvements to the portfolio with both new items and acquisitions from other distributors.

One of the conference rooms set up with wine and chaffing dishes of food.

Aside from tasting their new items, the primary focus for me is to get reacquainted with the mass market products of a major wine distributor. While I find a few pleasant surprises amongst some major brands, many leave me unimpressed and dismayed they these brand names are what most Americans are consuming. But the facts are that the brand names are what most consumers drink and its necessary for me to stay current with popular brands.