Wine Newsletters

Wine Newsletters

January 2010

Welcome to 2010! In This Issue:

Help for Haiti
Coming to Massachusetts Residents - Winery Direct Shipping
South African Wines Defy Global Downturn
Bordeaux Vineyards Threatened by Proposed High-Speed Train Tracks
A Pink Tide
Tip of the month
Wine of the month
At Home Wine Tasting
Wine Club – The Boston Winos
2010 Wine Vacations

Help for Haiti

Several wine bars and restaurants across the country have stepped up to the plate with vows to help financially support the reconstruction from Haiti’s 7.0-magnitude earthquake last week.

In Boston, Jan 25 at UpStairs on the Square is home to three fundraising opportunities in support of Haiti’s recovery. This includes Hope for Haiti, a three-course prix-fixe lunch ($30) between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. $10 from each lunch sold will be donated to Partners in Health Earthquake Relief Fund.

Later that evening, a minimum $25 donation gets you Haitian-inspired food served family style with proceeds going to Partners in Health.

Want to make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross? Text "Haiti" to 90999 and the money will be deducted from your next cell phone bill.

South African Wines Defy Global Downturn

South African wine shipments to the U.S. market advanced by 9.4% to a record high of 1.6 million nine-liter cases in the 12 months ending June 2009, according to Impact Databank. Global South African wine exports rose by 14.2%, to 45 million cases, in the same period.

South Africa was the ninth-largest wine importing country in the U.S. last year with a 2 percent market share, according to the 2009 edition of The U.S. Wine Market: Impact Databank Review & Forecast.

Tip of the month

Wine serving temperatures.

When it comes to serving temperatures, it is a common belief that white wines should be served at refrigerator temperature and reds at room temperature.

Although the final choice depends on your own personal tastes and preferences, if you want to sample wines at their most flavorful temperature, an easy rule of thumb is to place the red wine in the fridge for half an hour before you serve it.

And for white it’s the other way round - take it out of the fridge half an hour before you serve it.

Summer 2010 - Westport Rivers Tours

In 2010 from June through August, McLucas Wine Experience will be hosting weekend tours to the Westport Rivers winery, one hour south of Boston.

If you like Champagne then you will love Westport Rivers, a family owned vineyard and winery producing estate grown wines from New England’s largest vineyard located in Westport.

The half day trip includes a special tour of the winery and tastings that are exclusive only to McLucas Wine Experience. Tours will be available each weekend starting June 26th/27th until August 28th/29th.

Perfect for:

Corporate Functions/outings
Team Building Exercises
Birthday Celebrations
Charity Functions
Family breaks
Last minute getaway

Includes:

Transport by air-conditioned bus from central Boston and return
Exclusive tour of winery, winemaking facilities, storage areas and vineyard Tastings of the full range of wines PLUS special tasting of a limited release, reserve or library collection wine (7 tastings in total)
The Westport Rivers Family VIP Card – this offers some wonderful benefits and discounts, discounted event opportunities, free tastings, and more!
One etched wineglass per person
25% case discount

Sparkling Wine (estate grown)

2003 Brut Cuvée RJR - 70% Pinot Noir/30% Chardonnay 2000Blanc de Noirs - 87% Pinot Noir/13% Pinot Meunier

1999 Blanc de Blancs - 100% Chardonnay
2001 Imperial Sec - 88% Riesling/12% Rkatsiteli
1992 Cuvée Maximilian - 78% Pinot Noir/22% Chardonnay

For further details or to book a place, contact us at 617 642 9991or visit http://www.mclucaswine.com/exclusive-wine-tours.htm

Support your local winegrowers. No prior wine or tasting experience necessary.

2010 Wine Vacations

Welcome to 2010!

Need some ideas for this year’s summer vacation? All inclusive, week long package tours to a choice of wine regions in France or Italy.

Prices fixed in dollars - no need to worry about exchange rate fluctuations. For details visit

www.mclucaswine.com/wine-tours-in-europe.htm

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Coming to Massachusetts Residents - Winery Direct Shipping

Massachusetts residents may finally gain access to boutique wines not carried by the state’s wholesalers in the near future. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled recently that the state’s 30,000-gallon cap limit on wineries permitted to ship wine directly to Massachusetts residents is unconstitutional, confirming a lower-court ruling from 2008.

The winery cap law in Massachusetts had been in place since 2006, when it was passed by the state legislature, overriding a veto by then-governor Mitt Romney. The law allowed any winery making less than 30,000 gallons of grape wine a year to ship to Massachusetts residents, defining those wineries as “small” wineries. Under that definition, 98 percent of wine made in the United States was ineligible for direct shipment.

Bordeaux Vineyards Threatened by Proposed High-Speed Train Tracks

Winegrowers in Bordeaux's Graves appellation were dismayed to learn last week that vineyards belonging to 10 Châteaux could be torn up to make way for a new high-speed train line. The new TGV rail link, which will carry passengers from Bordeaux to either Toulouse or Spain, will be constructed south of the city of Bordeaux through some of the region's oldest vineyards. Winery owners and growers are vowing to fight the proposal.

Ten estates will be affected by the line and its 2,000-yard corridor, damaging an estimated 124 acres out of the appellation's total production of 9,390 acres. Tracks will cut across the most northern part of the Graves area, including well-known estates such as Château Le Tuquet, Château Méjean and Château Saint-Jérôme.

A Pink Tide from Provence

Across France these days it's not difficult to find winemakers suffering from the latest chapter in their country's wine crisis—years of declining domestic consumption and now a global recession and a euro so pricey it's killing exports. Yet producers in Provence are experiencing a boom, all thanks to a class of wine that has often gotten little respect: rosé.

A recent study released by the Provence Wine Council shows a 28 percent jump in imported rosé sales in the United States in the past year—a category led by France (with 28 percent of the world's rosé production) and specifically, Provence. The growth in imported rosé sales is nearly eight times faster than the overall growth of wine sales in the U.S.

Overall, U.S. wine consumption continues to grow because "people see it as an affordable indulgence," said Danny Brager, vice president of Nielsen's Beverage Alcohol Team. Imported rosé is hitting a sweet spot of consumer trends: An increase in drinking moderately priced wines at $10 to $20, wine pairing with lighter world cuisines and a thirst for dry light wines.

Wine of the month

Wolf Blass Yellow Label Shiraz 2005 Australia

$13.99

GRAPE VARIETIES:
100% Shiraz

The nose shows aromas of sweet raspberries leading to a medium to full bodied palate displaying flavors of plum and spice, interwoven with subtle cherry oak.