I Can Only Say, “Amazing.” in 1972, a Young Man, Don Schliff Was Hired As the First Sales Representative of What Is Now a Ma
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APRIL 2020 I can only say, “amazing.” In 1972, a young man, Don Schliff was hired as the first sales “Richard Mayson” leads the discussion “ Chef Wolfgang Puck ” representative of what is now a only allow 40 very exclusive guests, I was one of them. I sacrificed the first half of the Super Bowl mainstay of wholesale wine in to attend, and Don aptly renamed the event “The Super Bowl of Port.” Los Angeles, Wine Warehouse. Sound engineer turned wine salesman, and Don had One question I get quite frequently is, “how would a 100-year-old wine taste?” I can now confidently answer “incredible!” Let me clarify, regular still wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon much to experience. One of his first accounts was or Merlot will not survive 100 years. Thus, the age of the bottle becomes collectability, not my father’s store, Palos Verdes Wines and Sprits. A the character. Port, however, because it is fortified with wine spirits during the process of relationship with my father started that has endured manufacturing, can and will last. Well, the oldest wine we tasted Sunday was from 1834 or 185 through Don’s entire career culminating as President years old, and it was fabulous. Not just because it was that old, meaning that the age component of the organization for many years. Dons love of Port was essential to the character, but the wine was just flat out gorgeous. wine, and the collection began at this time and has culminated into one of the greatest collections of We started at 1834 and went thru 1844, 1851, 1858, 1870, 1887, 1908, 1912, 1927, 1931, 1945, Porto in the WORLD. 1955, 1963, 1970, 1983, 1994, 2000, 2011, 2017 and one mystery wine! Each unique and each was forcing one to find new terms to describe. Thankfully, there were the who’s who of the Our tenure together landed me an invitation to what port wine world to walk other wine dignitaries and me through the tasting. Richard Mayson Don billed as Decades of Tasting with only enough of (noted Porto authority) commented that this was probably one of the greatest Porto tastings some of the rarest vintages available in the world to MEMBERSHIP IN THE WINE OF THE MONTH CLUB IS OPEN TO ANYONE WITH contd >> AN INTEREST IN & APPRECIATION FOR SUPERB WINES... @WineoftheMonthClub @WineoftheMonth & EXCELLENT WINE VALUES. MEMBERSHIP IS FREE. ever assembled. Oh, and just for fun, I had a great conversation with Wolfgang Puck (he created the days’ meal). Did I mention the Champagne? As an aperitif, we had Krug 160-year Edition in Jeroboams (6 regular bottles). And at intermission, Jacquart Brut Mosaic, of course, there was intermission, can’t taste 20 something ports without a break! More to come, but I did want to mention that the accumulated value of the wines was $57,630!! Guess it was worth half the Super Bowl! (anyway, the exciting part was the second half). Salud, Paul Kalemkiarian Owner/Cellarmaster “Darrell Corti” explains the 1844 port THE PURE WINE CLUB SERIES TASTE THE DIFFERENCE FLASHBACK January 2006 Selection of Domestic Wine A LOOK BACK AT SOME STELLAR Petite Sirah, 2007. Congress Springs. $7.99/bottle (750 ml) SELECTIONS WITH ED MASCIANA This winery sat on the highest ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains and was one of the most legendary wines in the state. We featured it when it was its peak of popularity. March 2010 Selection of Domestic Wine Havens, 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. $8.99/bottle (750 ml) After more than 30 years of winemaking and building an incredibly successful brand for over 20 years, Michael and Kathryn sold their winery to an investment group in 2006. Michael stayed on as a consultant to make sure that the wines lived up to his reputation. But didn’t have to deal with the day to day routine of running a very complicated business. The investment group that took over tanked it in three years, and Michael had to come back and liquidate the inventory. Guess who got first dibs? WHY I CHOSE THIS WINE “ Classic PR Merlot. Vineyard designate. ” – PK e SCO lu RE a * SUSPICION v 2016 MERLOT 96 Paso Robles, California 13.4 % Alcohol by Volume “ mur • loh ” Suspicion is crafted by Ancient Peaks Winery and Vineyard in Paso Robles, a COLOR showplace destination for private parties, weddings, and great wines. Its pride Very Deep of ownership is the Santa Margarita Ranch, a distinctive vineyard settled by the Purple missionaries in the late 1700s. NOSE The vineyard is the only vineyard in the Santa Margarita Ranch area. Beginning in Blueberry, 1999 the vineyard was planted by none other than Robert Mondavi. He saw the Lilac great potential. PALATE Today three prominent families control the ranch and winery. Doug Fillipponi is Full, Jack Fruit, Spice COO, he is also president of Fillipponi-Thompson Drilling. Rob Rossi, a Paso native who introduced the Robert Mondavi Winery to Santa Margarita’s stunning grapes. FINISH And Karl Wittstrom, a longtime Paso rancher and grape grower. One look at this Continuing Swirl stunning property, and you know these guys know what they’re doing. Merlot is a relative newcomer to Paso Robles, and despite what some wineries PAIRING Red Meat, think further north, it has flourished here like few others. Santa Margarita is Game further west than most, so it relies on the cool ocean breezes to improve the temperature, a condition in which Merlot thrives. It is mostly used as a blending CELLAR grape with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. But, here it shines brightly on Now through 2025 its offering supple blueberry and cranberry flavors to enhance beef ribs off the grill or smoked spare ribs with jalapeno jelly. ID: C0420R1DC Comparable Price: $18.95 Reorder Price: $9.49 Comparable Price: A price comparable to wines of similar grapes, vintage and region. * VALUE SCORE: THE POINTS AWARDED TO A WINE COMPARED TO WINES TASTED OF THE SAME PRICE, REGION AND VARIETAL. WWW.WINEOFTHEMONTHCLUB.COM | 1.800.949.9463 TASTING NOTES Wine: _______________________________________________________ Color: _______________________________ Date:___________________ Tasting Comments: ____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Overall Rating: _______________(1-100) WWW.WINEOFTHEMONTHCLUB.COM | 1.800.949.9463 WHY I CHOSE THIS WINE “ Been trying for years to land this one. Here it is. ” – PK VILLA e SCO lu RE a * SAN-JULIETTE v 2017 SAUVIGNON BLANC 97 Paso Robles, California 12.4 % Alcohol by Volume “ saw • VEE • nyon • blahnk ” Ken and Julie Warwick took an unconventional route to get into the wine COLOR business. They were born in Liverpool, England, and grew up to produce Very Pale Emmy winning television shows. You may have heard of one... it’s called American Idol. NOSE As producers, they traveled extensively to interview and audition new talent. Spice, One of those auditions occurred in Paso Robles. For those of you who have Fresh Herbs heard similar stories, we all know the ending. They fell in love with the area and its wines and decided that this was their new calling. So, in 2005, Villa PALATE Clean Peach, San-Juliette was born. Citrus Like most wine newbies, they realized early on that they didn’t know a thing FINISH about growing grapes or making wine. Fortunately, there are a lot of people Very Crisp in Paso Robles who do. That lead them to winemaker, Dan Smith, an Oregon native who graduated Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in wine and viticulture. PAIRING Fish, Though the climate is quite different between the Willamette Valley and Paso Fowl Robles, the mindset isn’t. Dan brought with him a sense of delicacy, nuance, and complexity that, when mixed with lower alcohol levels, produce wines CELLAR that envelop the palate, not assaulted it. Now through 2022 Our selection is a perfect example of Dan’s lighter touch. Picking took almost a week as only the mature grapes were harvested. Thus, assuring the delicate aromas would be held in suspension ID: C0420W1DC by the lively acidity for as long as possible. This lovely Comparable Price: $13.99 combination would sing with shrimp in a basil cream sauce. Reorder Price: $8.49 Comparable Price: A price comparable to wines of similar grapes, vintage and region. * VALUE SCORE: THE POINTS AWARDED TO A WINE COMPARED TO WINES TASTED OF THE SAME PRICE, REGION AND VARIETAL. WWW.WINEOFTHEMONTHCLUB.COM | 1.800.949.9463 TASTING NOTES Wine: _______________________________________________________ Color: _______________________________ Date:___________________ Tasting Comments: ____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Overall Rating: _______________(1-100) UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO SEND US YOUR UPDATED INFORMATION PLEASE UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS FOR SHIPMENT & TRACKING NOTIFICATIONS. MOVE RECENTLY? CREDIT CARD LOST OR STOLEN? To ensure uninterrupted delivery of your hand selected wine,