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1 Dear Wine Club Members, This month your wine club shipment contains three of our newly released red wines: 2007 Malbec o 2007 Merlot 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon September 2, 2009 The Malbec grape is named after the Hungarian peasant who introduced the vine into France centuries ago. Malbec wine has a distinctive taste that is similar to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Malbec has a more distinctive, full bodied fruity plum favor and it is typically a medium to full-bodied red wine. Malbec's distinctive flavor characteristics include the blackberry, cherry and plum. Malbec reportedly goes under some 400 different names but a few are more commonly used than others. In the Bordeaux regions it is called Côt or Pressac, while in the Cahors region of France it is known as Auxerrois. The Merlot grape is a close cousin to Cabernet Sauvignon in many respects. It is lower in tannins and makes wines that mature faster and are softer in texture. Merlot makes a wine that is dry, rich in flavor and smooth as it finishes in your throat, and usually has ripe berry components in the bouquet. The wines tend to be soft, fruity and smooth in texture. Merlot should be served slightly below room temperature. When alcohol reaches 74 degrees F., it is likely to cause an unpleasant sharpness in the taste. Cooling the bottle for 15 or 20 minutes (but not much longer) in a refrigerator can be a good way to reach the desired serving temperature When you think of the finest red wines in the world, you often are thinking of wines made with Cabernet Sauvignon. It is the dominant grape in the Bordeaux region of France. The Cabernet Sauvignon grape produces distinctive wines that are tannic and can have long aging potential. It is usually blended with other varieties to make wines with increased complexity. DNA testing shows that it is descended from Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. Typical Cabernet Sauvignon taste characteristics include dark cherry, cedar, tobacco, and black currant. Cabernet Sauvignon is known in some parts of the world by other names including: Petit Cabernet, Sauvignon Rouge, and Vidure. All three of these wines pair well with red meats such as roast beef, steak and prime rib. Mexican, Cajun, Indian and Italian foods, especially those with rich tomato sauces, also complement the boldness of these deep red wines. Included with your wine shipment are: o wine tasting instructions o wine tasting score sheets o placemats with wine tasting notes o a delicious lasagna recipe from our own Chef Frank Chullino (he told me this is his favorite recipe) We hope you will gather together with friends, taste your wine, enjoy a great meal and a have memorable evening! As the wine maker, your comments are important, so I d love to see your tasting notes if you d care to pass them on. Looking forward to hearing from you, Frank Roth,Wine Maker

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3 Bordeaux So what is a Bordeaux? It is a wine produced with grapes from Bordeaux, France. Significant grapes of the Bordeaux region are Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon, which are featured this month in our Wine Club. A Brief History Bordeaux is an area in southwestern France considered by most wine enthusiasts as the world's greatest wineproducing region because of the large quantity (ranging from 700 million to 900 million bottles annually) and the high quality of the wines. This large region has about 280,000 vineyard acres and essentially covers the same territory as the Department of Gironde. At its center lies the seaport city of Bordeaux, which sits on the Garonne River and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The Bordeaux region's fame dates back some 2,000 years when Romans first sang the praises of its wines. The wide popularity of Bordeaux wines in the United Kingdom (where they're called clarets) can be traced back to the period from 1152 to 1453, when the English owned this region. Bordeaux was the capital of the Guyenne in southwestern France, and was part of the dowry of Eleanor of Aquitaine when she married Henry II of England in Bordeaux and the Aquitaine were held as fief by the kings of England until 1451, near the end of the Hundred Years' War, when they were conquered by the French army and incorporated into the kingdom of France. Bordeaux's commercial ties with the French West Indies and its role in the lucrative sugar and slave trade enhanced the city's economic and demographic importance in the eighteenth century. Between 1750 and 1790, Bordeaux's population nearly doubled, from 60,000 to around 111,000, making it the third largest city in France. Interesting Facts Bordeaux is famous for its red wines which make up over 75 percent of production. The primary red grape varieties used in Bordeaux are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot (with twice as much acreage as Cabernet Sauvignon), Malbec and Petit Verdot. The primary white grapes are Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle. The region's rich, sweet white wines from sauternes are world renowned, and its dry white wines from Graves have a serious following. Bordeaux's primary appellations are: o Bordeaux AC-for red, white, and rosé wines o and Bordeaux Supérieur AC-a designation for red and rosé wines that requires lower grape yields and slightly higher alcohol levels than basic Bordeaux. The smallest AC s typically produce the highest-quality wines...continued on next page

4 Bordeaux is broken up into many districts and contains numerous individual appellations. The five main districts that have individual appellations are Pomerol, Saint-émilion, Graves, Sauternes, and, most important of them all, Médoc. The vineyards of Saint-Emilion and Pomerol are planted more heavily in Merlot and produce softer, more supple wines. The vineyards of Médoc and Graves favor Cabernet varieties, which create more intense, tannic and long-lived wines. There are many individual communes within Médoc that have their own specific appellations. Some of them, like Margaux, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Julien are quite well known. Bordeaux winemakers typically blend grape varieties for their wines. The prevailing practice in the United States is producing varietal wines. It should be noted that American vintners are now making more blended wines, which are called Meritage wines when approved Bordeaux grape varieties are used. European wineries have very strict rules protecting wine descriptions and place names and have long chafed at U.S. vintners use of geographic terms, such as Bordeaux. Under a 2006 agreement, U.S. wineries agreed to stop using such place names in order to be allowed to sell wines in European Union markets. This explains why Tagaris Winery named our Bordeaux Boar Doe and our Rhone Red Roan. Lasagna Ingredients: 3 oz. sheet of pasta dough (or lasagna noodles) 6 oz. braised meat of your choice 3 oz. mozzarella cheese 3 oz. herbed ricotta.25 oz parmesan cheese, grated.1 oz basil chiffinod Salt & Pepper to taste In a baking dish, layer in this order: (remember to season as you go) Pasta dough (or lasagna noodles) ½ mozzarella bulb Pasta dough (or lasagna noodles) Herbed ricotta cheese Pasta dough ½ mozzarella bulb. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove cover, bake another 20 minutes. Garnish with basil and parmesan cheese. Serves 1 The bold flavors of the wines this month pair very well with this recipe. Enjoy! Chef Frank

5 Red Wine Tasting Guide Tasting wines is a straightforward adventure that will deepen your appreciation for both wines and winemakers. Look, smell, taste - starting with your basic senses and expanding from there you will learn how to taste wines like the pros in no time! Keep in mind that you can smell thousands of unique scents, but your taste perception is limited to salty, sweet, sour and bitter. It is the combination of smell and taste that allows you to discern flavor. Step 1 Look: Check out the Color and Clarity. Pour a glass of wine into a suitable wine glass. Then take a good look at the wine. Tilt the glass away from you and check out the color of the wine from the rim edges to the middle of the glass (it's helpful to have a white background - either paper, napkin or a white tablecloth). What color is it? Look beyond red. Is the color maroon, purple, ruby, garnet, red, brick or even brownish? Move on to the wine's opacity. Is the wine watery or dark, translucent or opaque, dull or brilliant, cloudy or clear? Can you see sediment? Tilt your glass a bit, give it a little swirl - look again, is there sediment, bits of cork or any other floaters? An older red wine will be more translucent than younger red wines. Step 2 Smell: Our sense of smell is critical in properly analyzing a glass of wine. To get a good impression of your wine's aroma, gently swirl your glass (this helps vaporize some of the wine's alcohol and release more of its natural aromas) and then take a quick whiff to gain a first impression. Now stick your nose down into the glass and take a deep inhale through your nose. What are your second impressions? Do you smell oak, berry, flowers, vanilla or citrus? A wine's aroma is an excellent indicator of its quality and unique characteristics. Gently swirl the wine and let the aromas mix and mingle, and sniff again. Step 3 Taste: Finally, take a taste. Start with a small sip and let it roll around your tongue. There are three stages of taste: the Attack phase, the Evolution phase and the Finish. o The Attack Phase, is the initial impression that the wine makes on your palate. The Attack is comprised of four pieces of the wine puzzle: alcohol content, tannin levels, acidity and residual sugar. These four puzzle pieces display initial sensations on the palate. Ideally these components will be well-balanced one piece will not be more prominent than the others. These four pieces do not display a specific flavor per se, they meld together to offer impressions in intensity and complexity, soft or firm, light or heavy, crisp or creamy, sweet or dry, but not necessarily true flavors like fruit or spice. o The Evolution Phase is next, also called the mid-palate or middle range phase, this is the wine s actual taste on the palate. In this phase you are looking to discern the flavor profile of the wine. If it s a red wine you may start noting fruit berry, plum, prune or fig; perhaps some spice pepper, clove, cinnamon, or maybe a woody flavor like oak, cedar, or a detectable smokiness. If you are in the Evolution Phase of a white wine you may taste apple, pear, tropical or citrus fruits, or the taste may be more floral in nature or consist of honey, butter, herbs or a bit of earthiness. o The Finish is appropriately labeled as the final phase. The wine's finish is how long the flavor impression lasts after it is swallowed. This is where the wine culminates, where the aftertaste comes into play. Did it last several seconds? Was it light-bodied (like water) or full-bodied (like the consistency of milk)? Can you taste the remnant of the wine on the back of your mouth and throat? Do you want another sip or was the wine too bitter at the end? What was your last flavor impression fruit, butter, oak? Does the taste persist or is it short-lived? After you have taken the time to taste your wine, you might record some of your impressions. Did you like the wine overall? Was it sweet, sour or bitter? How was the wine's acidity? Was it well balanced? Does it taste better with cheese, bread or a heavy meal? Will you buy it again? If so, jot the wine's name, producer and vintage year down for future reference.

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