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Toast the sun’s Eclipse with a final taste of summer – Sicilian style
Donnafugata SURSUR 2016 ($20) is a spirited, delicious way to celebrate the final, waning days of summer and toast the Solar Eclipse. SURSUR is a youthful, fruity wine, called Grillo. It has the smell of a bouquet of elderflowers and has the taste of a basket of ripe peaches and a hint of rosemary. Grillo is an ancient Sicilian grape variety. The name also is the nickname for the cricket, a cute little animal that is supposed to bring good luck. The name SURSUR also means cricket in the classical Arabic language that was once spoken in Sicily when the early North African settlers inhabited the land as the first winemakers.
Wine of the Week – Ferarri Rose Trento DOC-$28
Summer vacation time is here and if, for some reason, you've had to opt for a staycation instead of jetting off to an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean or booking a week at that timeshare you've owned for years, but never had time to visit, why not treat yourself to a liquid vacation retreat. Ferrari Rose Trento DOC NV-$28.
Wine of the Week: Two wines from Italy answer grill wine riddle
What wine do I serve with barbecue and grilled meats and other grilled foods? It turns out two wines from very different regions of Italy have solved the riddle.
Wine of the Week: Miner Family Napa Valley winery delivers great summer barbecue wines
Look no further than California's famed Napa Valley and Miner Family Winery for some terrific summer barbecue wines that are sure to set your garden party head and shoulders above all others. The wines are complex, but designed to please with lush fruit flavors, a nice balance of natural acidity and intense concentration that allows the flavors to really shine through and complement just about everything that comes off the grill. Grilled meat dishes, such as grass fed beef burgers with blue cheese or grilled bison steak brushed with olive oil and rosemary are the perfect pairings with 2014 Miner Winery Emily's Cabernet Sauvignon ($50). This decidedly Bordeaux-style red combines 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot in a highly expressive and elegant blend that honors the wine's muse, Miner Family Winery co-founder Emily Miner. Founded in 1998 by Dave and Emily Miner along the eastern hills of Oakville appellation in the heart of Napa Valley, Miner crafts reserve-style wines using only fruit sourced from the Napa Valley.
Wine of the Week – Voga Italia Pinot Grigio - $9.99 from Italy with style
They say that first impressions are everything. Voga Italia Pinot Grigio is a wine that is not only dressed for success, but delivers with bright fruit flavors and delicate floral aromas, all packaged in a bottle that says the word STYLE in capitol letters. VOGA Italia is a contemporary wine created especially for today's palate. Light and crisp, it is a wine that can be enjoyed on its own or with a wide variety of cuisines. Its perfect for summertime. Bring it to your next garden party and it’s sure to garner attention, not only for its sleek, elegantly designed bottle, but also for the terrific wine that’s inside.
Wine of the Week: Lynfred Winery in Roselle, IL - A Local legend in the making
Illinois has a thriving wine industry and, thanks to Fred E. Koehler, founder of Lynfred Winery in Roselle, the wines have garnered national attention and several prestigious awards. Perhaps you’re already familiar with Lynfred Winery's tasting rooms, Tasting deVine, which originated in Wheaton in 1999, followed by the Tasting deVine Cellars in the basement at 21 W. Jefferson Ave in Naperville, which opened in 2004, followed by a new tasting room in Wheeling in 2008. Lynfred Winery in Roselle is an impressive facility. The grapes are imported from California, then vinified and cellared in a state-of-the-art facility that has expanded by leaps and bounds. With a complete line of red, white, sparkling, fruit wines, ports and ice wines, there's no end to the dynamic range of tasting experiences at Lynfred. The story began in 1975 when Fred and his late wife Lynn began making wine in the basement of their home. What began as a hobby quickly grew out of hand, and the Koehler's decided to go commercial, establishing the first winery in Illinois in 1975. What began with just 7 varieties and 5,000 gallons of wine has grown to more than 80 varieties and 100,000 gallons of wine a year.
Wine of the Week – 2015 Wente Eric’s Small Lot Chardonnay - $25
Went 2015 Eric's Small Lot Chardonnay is a tribute to the art of winemaking. The grapes for the Small Lot wine are hand harvested from selected blocks of estate grown and certified sustainable vineyards. Influenced by the warm days and cool nights of t he San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, the grapes are picked at their optimum and sorted at harvest to ensure premium quality. Fermented at cold temperatures in stainless steel tanks in order to retain the optimal fruit character, aromatics and flavor, the wine is then aged for four months in stainless steel tanks. No oak touches this wine, therefore the pristine flavor of the grapes and their juice is preserved. The resulting wine is a masterpiece. Eric Wente is a Fourth Generation Winegrower. Founded in 1883, Wente is the nation's oldest continuously operated family-owned winery. Owned and managed by the Fourth and Fifth Generations of the Wente family, the winery draws from nearly 3,000 acres of sustainably farmed estate vineyards in some of California's prime wine producing areas; Livermore Valley, San Francisco Bay, Arroyo Secco, and Monterey.
96 Souls in select theaters and on VOD
dcasimere@thetimesweekly.com What if you could see people's inner souls and discern their true thoughts and intentions? That's exactly the premise of winter/director Stanley Jacob's 96 Souls now playing in selected theaters around the country and available on all VOD platforms May 30. Research scientist Dr. Jack Sutree (Grinnel Morris) has a lab accident while developing a compound that allows one to see smells, which can somehow be used in the fight against malaria and other deadly diseases. Exposed to his creation, he can suddenly visualize smells. He is further impacted when the ashes of his dead dog are blown into his eyes and he suddenly develops the superhuman power to see people's inner lives. The results are wacky and make for an entertaining hour and fifty some-odd minutes of viewing. It t makes a while to get into the concept, but its just kookie enough to gram your attention long enough to be a willing participant in the madcap ride. Dr. Sutree sets about patching up things with his estranged wife, helping a homeless woman find her lost mother, and screening the jury members in an upcoming trial against his research lab's corrupt corporate founders.
Wines of Greece Kissed by the Summer Sun
wine@thetimesweekly.com Greece is one of the oldest wine producers in the world. In fact, it was the Greeks who brought wine to Rome. Therefore, its somewhat surprising that when wines of Greece presented its Grand Tasting at City Winery is New York and Chicago in advance of a national rollout, they were being greeted by both the public and the media as "something new." After tasting some 40 of the latest vintages from producers representing all of the country's wine growing regions, it was evident that Wines of Greece are well crafted, with a unique flavor profile that is both fun and food friendly. Tasting Greek wines is an instant education in the country's unique terroir and grape varieties. Names such as Moschofilero (mo-sko-feel-ero) from Mantinia located the high plains of the Peloponnese peninsula, where this pink-skinned grape reigns supreme, or Agiorginko (a-yor-gee-tiko), which translates to St. George, in Greek.
Wine of the Week – LeBolte Dail’
A "Super Tuscan" for under $20? No way, you say. But that's exactly what is happening with Le Volte Dell' Ornelliaia 2015 ($15). The wine is nearly perfect in every way. It has a nice structure and rich fruit. It is the direct beneficiary of one of the best growing years in Tuscany's recent wine history. 2015 was a year that saw a warm, sunny summer, followed by a cool, dry harvest in the fall. The resulting wine had a deep Ruby red color with flavors of ripe blackberries and dark cherries with a hint of black peppercorn and sage.
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