The only store downtown offering a full selection of wine, select beer and premium spirits. first vintage of 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon shockingly (to the French, anyway) won the blind tasting now known as the Judgment of Paris, in 1976. Says Chris, “It was the first wine I ever had that was to be sipped instead of quaffed. Simply exquisite.”
Just a 100 yard walk from the plaza you’ll find over 2,000 wines from around the world. call us 505-982-2121 or stop by.
California’s Central Coast is an emerged region that maintains the simple integrity of its beginnings. Daniel Oesterling, who works at Ristra, says of Josh Jensen’s winery, Calera, “He’s truly a Pinot Noir specialist, particularly with single-vineyard, site-specific releases.” Calera, a longtime supporter of Santa Fe Wine and Chile, was founded in 1975. “I’m reminded when I taste his wine, year in and year out,” continues Daniel, “California Pinot can compete with any in the world. Burgundy included.” Marilyn Litton, a restaurant manager at Luminaria Restaurant in the Inn and Spa at the Loretto, reminisces about her time in the Central Coast area. “I always knew I loved wine, but it was the summer I went to Paso Robles that locked it in,” she says. “Each day, I spent with winemakers. It gave me a much broader sense of the industry. I’ll always remember what Gary Eberle [of Eberle Winery] told me, ‘We’re just farmers.’” In response to inquiries, a note arrived from James M. O’Neill, a restaurant manager and freelance wine consultant. He writes, “After a grueling wine march across southern Italy with a road crew of buyers and handlers from [importer] Winebow, I wound up in the home of Dr. Cosimo Taurino. The late doctor was a pioneering oenologist who put the region of Puglia on the map with a little-known grape, negroamaro, from the even littler known town of Salice Salentino. The region is very flat, the climate warm, and vineyard yields from red grapes grown there are abundant. However, white wine grapes are another story. Taurino was convinced he could grow Chardonnay in Puglia. When I sat down at my place at the dinner table, a colleague leaned over to me and whispered, ‘Don’t drink the Chardonnay.’ ‘Why,’ I asked? ‘Smell it,’ he said. As I lifted the glass the distinct aroma of turpentine rose up to burn my nose and cause my eyes to water. The lesson here: drink wine from where it grows well!” As for me, thirty years ago I had work that took me to France. I was a beer and tequila guy. I thought, “If I’m going to France, I’ll learn to drink wine.” I did. I drank wine in cafes and Champagne in my hotel room. Still, I didn’t catch on; the only thing I caught was a buzz. It wasn’t until meandering along the Loire River in a rented Renault did I first taste wine that came from where I stood, grown on vines I saw, labeled for towns I slept in: Sancerre, Chinon, Vouvray. Has any wine ever tasted so good? Wine is a global industry comprised of the mighty and the boutique. In trying to make sense of this macrocosm, we rely on glossy periodicals with scores and stars, books as thick as bibles, tasting room touts or anointed suits lecturing at wine dinners. We become intimidated by the metaphoric jargon, the poetry of wine, its geography and science, thereby constraining our own instincts. It never fails to amaze me that every year, halfway through the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta, I stop amid the throngs, their voices, spirits and glasses raised, and realize what the event is truly about: people. Speak to your neighbor, be they winemaker or server, chef or citizen. Chances are you’ll have a glass of wine in your hand offering up its ceremony of the senses. And at that, each of us is an expert. 38
SEPTEMBER 2013
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125 East Palace, Santa Fe, NM Telephone (505) 982-2121 visit us at www.lacasasena.com Follow uS oN FacEbook
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The Selection you Desire The Service you Deserve... Proud Sponsor of the 23rd annual Wine & Chile Fiesta September 25-29, 2013
er! ett b e l l t it ee a l ’ll f ine .You W ..
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