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Archive for January, 2012

Jan 30

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Sybille Kuntz

A short while back, the husband and wife team, Sybille Kuntz and Markus Kuntz-Riedlin came to town to talk through and share their wines.  From the Mosel region near Bernkastel, Sybille is a sixth generation winemaker who initially inherited a half a hectare of vineyards from her father.  In 1984, she took over her father’s half acre and bought out her brother’s, and today, she and Markus own 10ha of prime vineyard parcels.  As a female vintner in Germany who established her own estate, Sybille is dear friends with opposition and conflict.  As a winemaking team that refuses to play by rules of this regional game, Sybille and Markus have redefined the box.

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Jan 26

TEW About Town–Wine Tastings & Events

 

Getting into the swing of 2012, we’ve got a few tastings and events lined up for the week.  We’d love to see you in the new year!  So stop by and let us pour you a sample of our fine selections. Read more

Jan 26

Liquor Locker on Main St.

Much like the estates of many of our producers, Liquor Locker of Westport, Connecticut has been in the family for years.  ”Forty-four years,” says Harvey Skolnick, the wine shop’s proprietor, “that’s what my ex-wife told me.  At the time this was Main Street, and basically the only street.  There was very little…we had three liquor stores, three hardware stores, three supermarkets and two pharmacies, and everyone owned their own stores.”  This is a serious contrast to what Main St. has become.  Much like lower Broadway in NYC and downtown East Hampton, this Main Street in Westport is lined with one luxury box store after another, providing our man Harvey with an eye-witness account of the transformation that has affected “Main St.” in America.  And though his lips were sealed to the many “secrets” that his four walls held, Harvey has also witnessed the transformation of America’s relationship to wine.

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Jan 24

Nicholas Roberts Fine Wines

On Tuesday, I met Fernando, our Chief Operating Officer in Connecticut to visit with a handful of our accounts, including Nicholas Roberts Fine Wines a boutique shop in Darien, CT. Here we met up with Peter Troilo, baby-faced with a beard and statured intent, whose father Nicholas first opened the shop with Peter’s brother Robert, in 1990. A freshman in high school at the time, Peter stocked shelves and swept floors while taking in the talk.  ”It was an interesting way to go through high school,” says Peter.  ”Most of my friends were trying to score six-packs while I’m drinking wine with dinner with my parents and learning about Burgundy.” Laughing, Peter recalled bringing stemware to high-school house parties, while his peers were sucking back Bartles & Jaymes.

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Jan 23

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New to Our Portfolio: Les Vins de Vienne

Y. Cuilleron (left), P. Gaillard (top), F. Villard

Greeting the new year head-on, we are psyched to announce that we are now the exclusive tri-state importer for Les Vins de Vienne, a much revered portfolio of Northern Rhone wines.  A collaboration inspired by history, Les Vins de Vienne is a partnership of Yves Cuilleron, Francois Villard and Pierre Gaillard, three superstar, Syrah-specialist vignerons in Rhone. “A lot of people credit them with the resurgence of Northern Rhone wines in the 1980′s,” says Patrick Burke, our French Portfolio Manager. “Everyone who’s a Northern Rhone fan knows these names.”

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Jan 19

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Domaine Tortochot

“Chantal Tortochot, who directs this biologically farmed 11 ha domaine, described 2009 as a ‘classic vintage…the wines have tasted good since the very beginning and this included before the malos were completed.  They should age well but have that wonderful benefit of being approachable young.’  The Tortochot wines are relatively old school in terms of style and structure though they do evidence noticable wood when the wines are young.”

                        –Allen Meadows (Burghound, Jan. 2012)

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Jan 16

Staff Picks–Scinniri IGT Sicily 2010

STAFF PICK from Chris Wilford: 

Scinniri IGT Sicily 2010

One of my favorite new additions to our book is the Scinniri IGT from Sicily. A killer blend of 60 % Nerello Mascalese,  30% Cesanese and 10% Petit Verdot from the slopes of Mt. Etna.  I have been a huge fan of the wines of this region for years. This beautiful unoaked blend is no eception.  Exuberant and yet refined, showing fruity notes of black cherry along with smoke, white pepper, herb de Provence and black tea.  All this balanced by the unmistakable minerality of the sicilian volcanic soil.  This wine has become a staple at my table for its sheer ease and versatility.  Simply a killer of a wine and a steal at its price.


 

Jan 12

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Western Carriers–A Wine’s Journey

On Monday, Peter, Taylor and I ventured through the tunnel to our warehouse/distribution facility, Western Carriers, in New Jersey.  With five buildings and over a million square feet of temperature controlled space, Western Carriers is the largest of maybe five such warehouses in the NY/NJ area.  Here, you’ll find ceiling fans large enough to lift and propel the building off the ground, and approximately 2 million cases of wine, 40,000 of which belong to T. Edward Wines.

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Jan 9

TEW–Looking Back on 2011

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Reflections of 2011.

We’ve created a video to celebrate the passing of yet another a beautiful year at TEW, which you can access here:

T. Edward Wines–A Retrospective

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Jan 6

Chateau des Rontets

In the vineyard at Chateau des Rontets by Spencer Tunick

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On October 3, 2009, the photographer Spencer Tunick photographed 700 people in the vineyards at Chateau des Rontets.  Organized by Greenpeace to convey the fragility of the vineyard, the photo-shoot also aimed to expose with the fragility of humankind (alongside the absence of ego!), due to the effects of global warming.  Known for his stagings of live nude figures in public spaces, Tunick has organized over 75 such site-specific instillations since 1994.  In 2005, Fabio Monstrasi, of Chateau des Rontets, participated in one of Spencer’s projects that was staged in Lyon, but unfortunately, we haven’t any identifying images of that!

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