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A Little Horn Tootin’ To Start The New Year
If
you are reading about PRIMA for the first time, welcome
aboard.
We’re thrilled to have you. If you are a PRIMA veteran, of
course, we’re
happy you’re back too. Peter and I are
anticipating a banner year in 2006 and wanted to take this opportunity
to
(re)introduce our restaurant and wine shop to you. It’s not that
a lot has changed since Peter and I took over, it’s
just that there will probably never be a better time to restate who it
is we
are and what we’re about.
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PRIMA is also a wine shop. Even after 28 years, there are restaurant customers who don’t know that, and, conversely, we have wine shop customers who have never set foot next door in the restaurant! Go figure. It’s a good wine shop if I may say so myself. The service is personal, friendly and professional. Wine Shop Manager Frank (World’s Friendliest Wine Merchant) Rothstein, who doubles as our Minister of Value, leads my staff. Though he loves any aromatic wine, Riesling makes his hummingbird-like heart beat even faster. He also administers PRIMA Il Consorzio wine club. David (The Colonel) Perry buys our Australian collection, having spent a good deal of time making wine Down Under, but he’s also helping me with Spanish wine this year and will be spearheading our 2005 Bordeaux Futures campaign as well. Franco (Cab Franc) Cassal will spend as much time in Napa and Sonoma this year as here (doesn’t he wish!) because his PRIMA bailiwick includes keeping his hand on the pulse of the newest, most exciting projects in Napa and Sonoma. He also runs the California Consorzio, your inside track to California’s best. Nichole (Don’t Call Me) Ise, still the rookie, has survived her hazing period and is finally working on carving out a niche other than preparing hundreds of gift boxes for the holidays. (Check out her Valentine’s Day creations on the website.) She is also offering a new shop-at-home alternative if you want the wine shop to come to your home instead of the other way around. Call her to hear the details. |
 Bradley (Sergeant Rock) Brandt makes sure your wine gets where it’s going, no matter where it is you are. He’s REALLY good at it. I personally am still very much involved in wine shop life, staying in touch with many clients, running the Super Consorzio wine club and buying the Italian, Spanish and Rhone wines, as well as indulging my Pinot Noir vice in any form. ~John Rittmaster |
~ * ~ February Features Fabulous Whites ~ * ~
2004 Cantina Taburno Greco di Tufo, Campania $13.50 NETThis
crisp and delicious Southern Italian white will
conjure visions of the searing blue skies, luxuriant green sea and the
endless
waves of lemons of the Amalfi coast, just in time to brighten the
grayest days
of your winter. Taburno is the largest
co-op in Benevento, the site of much innocuous Greco and Falanghina
over the
years, but thanks to the vision of consultant Luigi Moio, they’ve
changed their
focus from quantity to quality. This
broadly flavored yet tightly focused white is just what the doctor
ordered for
a wide range of antipasti, fresh fish dishes or spicy calamari. You need at least a case of this to get you
through to spring!
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 2005 Innocent Bystander Pinot Gris,
Victoria $15.50 NET The
wonderful Tokay Pinot Gris of Alsace are the
inspiration behind this lovely, mouthfilling Aussie white. Rich
and mouthfilling with the telltale
‘petrol’ feel of its Alsatian brethren, you’ll love this wine for its
great
stone fruit and mineral appeal. It also
feels like a wine that will age gracefully too.
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2004 McManus Viognier, California $8.50 NETSome of you remember how wonderful that McManus Syrah was a few years ago. I think we sold close to a hundred cases of that darned stuff. Well, McManus has captured lightning in the bottle again. This carries with it the lovely, peachy essence of Viognier without any of its stylistic excesses. Forward, ripe and round, this easy-drinking white works well completely on its own but would also work well with herby roast chicken, a broad selection of spicy or salty Asian dishes or a nice piece of roasted fish. |
2004 Theo
Minges Riesling Halbtrocken QbA, Pfalz Liter
Bottle $15.50 NET
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| 2003 Tormaresca Rosso
(Negroamaro/Cabernet
Sauvignon), Apulia $7.50 NET Even a few
years ago it would be hard to imagine getting this excited
about an $8 red from Southern Italy, but my, how times have
changed. This forward-looking blend of
Negroamaro (70%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (30%) captures the sunny,
woodsy
character of the South without drifting to the overripe, prune-y or
clumsy. A distinctive smoky edge to the
wine creates its lovely affinity for similarly flavored foods like
grilled
chops, but I can also see it alongside spicy calamari pasta or your
favorite
spaghetti and meat balls recipe!
Ridiculous value.
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2004 Poliziano Rosso di Montepulciano $13.97 NET For lack
of a
better press agent, I guess, Montepulciano still remains in the shadow
of its
much larger and better-known neighbor, Montalcino, when it comes to
producing
high profile reds. But when it comes to delivering the quality in
the
bottle, this much smaller appellation rules southern Tuscany. And
within
Montepulciano there are few rivals to Poliziano.
Their Rosso is
deep purple with a grape-y high-toned fruit quality that speaks of
smashed
black cherries and dried blueberries along with a touch of
woodsmoke and
mineral. 2004 produced precise wines with lovely, pure fruit and
great
balance. There are a lot of Rossi di Montalcino that should be
embarrassed at their $30 price tags in the presence of this amazing
bargain! Great for everyday service alongside antipasti, cow's
and sheep's
milk cheese with some age, and spaghetti with your best Bolognese
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2003 Las
Rocas ‘Vinas Viejas’ Garnacha, Catalyud $10.97 NET Imagine a bottle
of Las Rocas’ regular
$7.50 Garnacha boiled under low heat for a few days and reduced to a
few
tablespoons and you have the nearly black, glossy-textured Vinas Viejas. ‘Vinas Viejas’ means ‘old vines’ and one
look at these gnarly old Garnacha vines in the hills of Catalyud easily
explains why the wine is so concentrated and intense.
Wonderful broad blueberry fruit and a generous
sprinkling of both
white and black pepper. Another
stunning value that should make those offering less for more than twice
the
price quake in their boots!
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2003
Teira Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley $12.50
NET Sweet jammy fruit
and more than a whiff of Sonoma County bramble and rhubarb define this
very
tasty mid-weight, nicely made Zin. Good
Zin is a good thing and good zin at less than $13 a bottle is even
better! This negociant wine is made by old friend
Bill Knuttel (of Chalk Hill fame) and assembled by industry veterans
Dan
Donahoe and Alexis Woods. |
2003 Neal Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley $49.97, 44.97 by the case
We fully realize that mentioning this wine in the newsletter is akin to dangling a piece of Niman Ranch steak in front of a hungry wolf. But John did ask me to recommend my current favorite and here it is! The 2003 Neal is bigger and badder than the 2002 and it takes at least an hour or two in the decanter to get it to speak to you, but once it opens up, watch out! It’s a stunner, even better than the amazing 2002. I know I’ll be drinking it Christmas Day. Will you?
By the
way, we have several rare and exciting six-bottle
cases consisting of one bottle each of Neal’s 2002 single-vineyard
Cabernet
Sauvignons. The cases are $480 each and
will be the ultimate gift for the Neal-lover on your list!
-FC
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