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A Taste of Brazilian Cuisine
E.&J. GALLO
501.614.6682
If you are of a certain age, the E.&J. Gallo label may conjure up jug Chablis and wine by the tanker trailer, instead of the slim 750 ml corked bottle of artisanal pinot grigio. After all, Gallo also makes Thunderbird and Night Train Express. But some years back, the 80-year-old winery, which enjoys a full 25 percent of the entire American wine market, decided to lift its glass (and its profile) to wines grown by small wineries in the Napa Valley and internationally. It now owns some 60 labels, giving small vintners the juice they needed to stay in business. For example, in 2011 Gallo bought the Central Coast winery Edna Valley, which will be represented at Celebrate the Grape with a cabernet, a chardonnay, a sauvignon blanc and a pinot noir. The globe’s vineyards are also represented in Gallo labels to be poured: the Italian sparkling wine La Marca Prosecco, a dry Spanish white (Martin Codax Albarino) and a Spanish red (Las Rocas Garnacha), and a sweet German riesling from Polka Dot. Also from California: Gallo’s Mirassou Sunset Red blend, Louis Martini Cabernet, Red Rock Merlot and The Naked Grape Pinot Noir. LNP.
501.319.7035
2701 Kavanaugh Blvd hillcrest
20
MAY 30, 2013
ARKANSAS TIMES
EDNA VALLEY
SEAN MINOR WINES An education may require a fine vintner to be a bit nomadic. The resumes of the best show them bouncing from winery to winery and region to region as they pick up skills and techniques. Sean Minor of Sean Minor Wines is definitely one of those nomadic winemakers. Born in Kansas, Minor got his start at Napa’s Beaulieu Vineyards, then moved on to King Estate Winery in Oregon. In the cool Pacific Northwest, Minor learned what he calls “site-specific viticulture,” working with the land and climate to create unique and flavorful wines in what would seem like lessthan-ideal conditions. In 2001, Minor and his family returned to California, where he managed Renwood Winery. In 2005, Minor felt he was finally able to do his own thing, and started Sean Minor Wines. Later, he started the Four Bears label. Headquartered near Sacramento, Minor pulls grapes from small vineyards in cooler areas along the California coast and processes them at a cooperative production facility in the Napa Valley. Critics and diners seem SEAN MINOR to think he’s learned a thing or three in all that traveling. The April 2013 issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine listed two Sean Minor wines among the top 50 best-selling restaurant wines of 2012, and its pinot noir earned the 17th spot in a poll of more than 200 fine-dining restaurants. Best of all, most Sean Minor Wines retail for less than $20 bucks a bottle, which makes them taste even better. At Celebrate the Grape, Sean Minor Wines will be offering its Red Blend, Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, and Carneros Pinot Noir, while Central Coast pinot noir, Paso Robles cabernet sauvignon, Central Coast chardonnay and sauvignon blanc from Minor’s Four Bears label will be poured. DK.