Dave's Raves

David Ferrie

Cantele Salice Salentino 

This Italian is from Salento, which forms the southernmost part of Puglia and flanks the Adriatic and Iona Seas. This red presents with a lush, intense black raspberry nose. The flavors are a bit lean with a soft red fruit, which would appeal to people looking for an alternative to Pinot Noir. This has an elegant, smooth and lithe mouth-feel, delivering a pleasant, albeit short finish

Dave's Tasting Tips

David Ferrie

Don’t assume you like one varietal and don’t like another varietal. When people come into my shop saying something like “I only drink Pinot Noirs,” I will always challenge them.

First of all, if they’re drinking Pinot Noir because it is a medium body wine and not very tannic (that’s the sticky residue left in your mouth after sipping some “dry” wines) I’ll try them out on a Grenache or a Tempranillo because it’s a shame to limit one’s self to such a narrow experience when the fun of wine tasting is the HUGE variety.

Second, there is an enormous selection of flavor profiles within each varietal so that a Cabernet Sauvignon could have that same soft, medium body that those people were looking for in the Pinot Noir.

Third, it could just be they have not yet had a really good wine in another varietal. When starting out in wine drinking, we tend to start out buying cheap. That’s understandable because you don’t want to plunk down a ton of money on something you’re not going to like. Unfortunately, it’s difficult (not impossible) to find really good cheap wines. They are out there. They’re just few and far between.

I’ve told people for years to find a wine guy and a wine shop they can trust and stay there. These are the guys who have tasted the wines you want to buy. Next time, tell your wine guy the flavors you like and see what’s suggested.

Taste the Aromas

Kimberly Grasso 

One of my favorite things about being a wine consultant at Kafevino is being able to use my Aromatherapy background to taste the smells of all the wonderful wines we have available! So what is actually happening here? In the back of your mouth there is a passage called the retronasal passage. As you are tasting a wine you also inhale it up into this interior nasal passage.  As you draw in air across the wine and into your mouth you are vaporizing the aromas just as you did when you swirled the wine in your glass before tasting it! Pretty neat huh?

On a recent aroma adventure I got my nose into the Kings Ridge Pinot Noir. This Pinot had the classic cranberry, raspberry and currant on the nose and palate. With subtle hints of herbs and earth this was much different than any other Pinot Noir I had tried. The delight, to my surprise, was that it opened up with each glass and went well with my lobster bisque, bon appetite! Stop in at Kafevino and smell the wine, it’s always in season!