Quick Sips: Chateau Vannieres with Eric Boisseaux

Eric Boisseaux of Chateau Vannieres in Bandol sharing his great wines with our French wine buyer Josh Hoover, including some with age from '88,'95, '01 and '09. The Rosé was delicious too. -Gary Faust

May Wine of the Month: Juliette 2015 Vin de Pays de Mediterranée Rosé

"It's the most wonderful time of the year..." Of course, we are talking about Dry French Rose season which is just starting; we loved this one so much, we made it our wine of the month. Juliette comes from the Provence region of Southern France, home of the most exquisite and traditional rose wines in the world (and you'll see many more in the next few months!). Produced at the maison of Domaine de La Sangliere, Juliette is a true expression of a traditional Provencal rose wine.

The Style - Juliette is refreshing and elegant, bone dry rose wine, with layers of lively fruit and a bright, smooth finish-just the way a true rose wine from Southern France should be.

Tasting Notes - Elegant and pretty, soft fruits resonate in the nose with layers of mixed melons, plantain, ripe peach and a touch of creme fraiche. The palate is hugely lush yet tempered with acidity. Minerally notes and stone fruits dance with light brown spices and a touch of sea salt/salt air-and the finish echoes with gently receding fruit flavors.

Pairing Notes - Juliette is also an exceptional food wine that pairs with so many different types of cuisines. While Juliette serves an excellent standalone aperitif wine, Juliette is a perfect pair for grilled fish, seafood, steamed fish, lobster, shellfish, bouillabaisse and other traditional Provencal cuisine.

$9.99 750ml [345444] Buy it here.

Spring Paella Party, Saturday, March 26th

Wine Bar Notes - Tobin Sharp

Though he now has a proper stand to cook on, we could not pass up a chance to showcase Todd's ability to adapt to & overcome any obstacle attempting to keep him from his paella.

This is a good thing as we have a Spring Paella Party at the wine bar tomorrow, Saturday, March 26! We will drink Spanish wines and seize the day. $30, 2-8:30pm.

Next Week at the Wine Bar:
Ten Dollar Tuesday 3/29 - The Wines of Gérard Bertrand. 6-8pm, $10!

Thursday, 3/31 - California Chardonnays!
Spring is here, and we’ll kick it off by tasting some fantastic Chardonnays! What kind, you ask? Well, let’s taste Kistler, Hudson, Rochioli, Patz & Hall, and many more! $25, 4:30-8:30pm.

Wine Bar: This Weekend

Tonight (Thursday, 3/24) at the winebar it's all about 2011 Barolo!  We will taste a fantastic lineup of classic, classy Italian wines... $35, 4:30-8:30 p.m.

Friday night (3/25) we are tasting new releases from France and it will be another excellent night for wine tasting! $25, 4:30-8:30 p.m.

We don't have the lineup yet but Saturday's tasting (Spring Paella Party with Spanish Wines) looks to be another great time at Hi-Time! ($30, 2-8:30 p.m.).

French Wine - New Releases!

Freshies!  New wines in the French wine category...click on the photograph to get a 'close-up' view.  We will be telling you more about some of these shortly or look for them on our website... cheers!

Winemakers Visit Hi-Time Wine Cellars

Gary Faust reports: Winemakers David Duband from Burgundy and Jean-Louis Dutraive of Domaine de La Grand'Cour from Beaujolais, visited Hi-Time from France (...and lucky for us, they brought some of their wines with them! -ed.).

William Fevre Winemaker at Hi-Time

by Gary Faust

Didier Seguier, winemaker for William Fevre, stopped by Hi-Time Wine Cellars today with Gina Schwan. Quote of the day from Didier,"I want to make Chablis, not Chardonnay." From top to bottom, the wines were clean with brilliant acidity and minerality.

Our Fevre offerings at hitimewine.net.

Winemaker Mark Fincham from Maison Marchand-Tawse Visits Hi-Time

Winemaker Mark Fincham from Marchand-Tawse, no stranger to the Hi-Time wine bar, was back again as we tasted through their Burgundy lineup, seen here with our own Gary Faust.  We had a nice crowd here last night (Thursday, 3/3) but that's not a surprise as it's a. Burgundy and b. Marchand-Tawse (always a crowd favorite).  Keep up with our wine bar schedule here.  Cheers!  -Tobin Sharp

This Week's Wine Bar at Hi-Time: February 10-13

We always have something going on at the wine bar and this week's lineup looks fantastic-- including our pre-Valentine's Day Deluxe Champagne tasting on Saturday featuring The Champagnes of Aurélien Suenen (hint: ladies love bubbles!).

Tonight (2/10) we start with our Wednesday Wine Workshop: "Under the Radar" Spanish wines with Connor Clarke. $20, 7-8:30 p.m. Come learn and taste!

Thursday 2/11, 4:30-8:30pm: Oregon Wine Trail
Oregon is on a hot streak of vintages, and we’re going to pour some show stoppers tonight! Mostly Pinot Noirs, but a few whites to start. $20

Friday 2/12, 4:30-8:30pm: Loire Valley, France
This French region along the Loire River is mostly known for white wines from the Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc and Melon de Bourgogne grapes, there are excellent red wines made (especially around the Chinon region) from Cabernet franc.  We will try a mix of whites & reds. $25.

Saturday 2/13, 2-8:30pm: The Champgnes of Aurelien Suenen
"...one of the up and coming stars in the world of grower Champagne." -John Gilman, View From the Cellar. Aurélien will be here (from 2 to 5 p.m.) to pour and discuss his Champagnes; we will taste seven in all. $25

About Aurélien
Semi-pro basketball player Aurélien Suenen made an about-face in the mid-2000s, leaving basketball and returning to the family estate to help his ailing father. And he hasn’t looked back since. He farms five hectares of Chardonnay vines in the Côte des Blancs (in grand cru AOCs Cramant, Chouilly and Oiry), and Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay in the St. Thierry hills, due northwest of Reims. Approaching sustainable viticulture with the same zeal as his athletic training, he has been seeing to the revitalization of his soils—implementing mostly organic practices.

Heavily influenced by Burgundian winemaking, as well as the savoir-faire of mentors Anselme Selosse and the Agrapart brothers, he seeks slow, gentle, temperature-controlled vinifications and a separation of cuvees by individual parcel to achieve rich, ripe, layered, vibrant and mineral-driven champagnes. Beyond those memorable traits, Aurélien’s wines are filled with a character that goes beyond mere taste. Seeing how ardently he directs his passion, it is clear that these wines are destined for greatness.

A New Year

Pricing, Service, Selection... since 1957
by Tobin Sharp

February, while the second month of the calendar year, has, at Hi-Time, traditionally been our "first month" of the new year-- generally following a busy fourth quarter (and 2014 was awesome, thanks to you our loyal friends and customers!) led by such holidays as Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's celebrations.   January has been our recovery month for many years.  It's a time for us to get the store re-stocked and shipshape for the upcoming year while also spurring us to come up with ideas and plans for the next 11 months.

It has been when we've mapped out the newsletter for February-- specifically-- while eyeing the rest of the year as well and trying to think ahead.  Since I took over as newsletter editor (way back in June, 1998), this has been an annual ritual.  A couple of years ago we made the decision to cease the "dead tree" version (i.e. "paper") as both printing and paper costs, and environmental concerns, made strong arguments against the newsprint line.

After much thought over the last year, and final meetings in January, we have decided to focus our storyline (that of our store and the great drams, etc., we carry) away from a monthly newsletter and toward a trio of online media outlets: this blog, our almost-daily emails and social media (mainly Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with perhaps more to follow).

Our emails, in conjunction with our website, will be the main sales portal and source of all that's new, cool or on sale here at the shop.  When we get the latest and greatest high-scoring California Cab, or Bordeaux, rare Bourbon or Scotch, hoppiest beer around, etc., we will most likely let you know via email.

The blog will undoubtedly cover some of the same topics as our emails but will afford us the chance to go into more depth, maybe covering a bit more history, perhaps have an interview with the creator of the featured beverage of the day.  It will also allow us to quickly get the word out on items that are important but maybe not necessarily something we'd email.  Last call on a particular wine.  One more case of that one beer was found.  One of our favorite winemakers is stopping by this afternoon.  It will also be a place where our staff can talk about what we're drinking, or places we've visited, vineyards we've strolled through.  Many of the traditional newsletter items (wine of the month, featured wineries, et al) will be seen here and perhaps in briefer format in our emails.  It will undoubtedly morph a bit here and there, as we delve deeper into the well of words (in conjunction with our whisky tumblers) as the year progresses, but our goal is to make it interesting and informative.

Social Media covers a little bit of everything-- news about what's going on at the wine bar or in the store, hopefully humorous items related to booze, items of interest to help us all get through the work week on the way to the weekend.  It's really just a great way to be in touch with you all and be there to answer questions, get a chuckle now and then, keep the narrative moving forward (toward Friday!).

Our goal is to provide the same information we have in the past but in a more immediate way across the three platforms mentioned above.  Underlying all of this are the three main pillars we stand upon at Hi-Time, and have done so since 1957: fair pricing, excellent service, tremendous selection.

We look forward to seeing you all online and instore this year-- Cheers!

 ***
February 2015 Wine of the Month
Mas Grand Plagniol "Tradition Rouge" $10.99 [334188]
Costières de Nîmes
50% Syrah, 50% Grenache

Cyril Marès has several vintages under his belt now and father Roger has happily handed over title to the domaine. The wines always show exceptional aromatic appeal, supple texture and uncannily intelligent balance between fruit and oak. We never seem to buy enough of them, mainly because they have little to sell. Wines like these offer incontrovertible proof that not much money can buy you a lot of love. In a market now brimming with Nîmois wines, these remain at the top of the pile.

The great ones do their best work in the lesser vintages, as proved by Cyril in years like 2008 and 2002. We challenge you to find a wine that better combines aromatic flair, suave texture and sheerly delicious spicy Rhône fruit at such a silly price.

Our tasting notes: The nose is rich, sweet, dark and spicy-- cassis, raw meat, boysenberry, dark florals & spices, vinous plum and assorted blue/purple fruits, black tea. The palate is full of dark fruits, blue to purple to black. Subtle tannins and excellent acidity keep the wine buoyant, not bogged down. Notes of cola berry, mixed herbs and baking/brown spices are reinforced by a layer of bright fruit in the mid-palate. The finish is lengthy with sustained notes of reiterated dark fruits and spices.