Events

Monday, February 6, 2012 - 5:00pm
Boulder Wine Merchant


We have the distinct pleasure of hosting two great winemakers from Italy on the 6th of the month.  Stop by and taste the amazing Aglianico wines of San Martino in Basilicata and Antoine Guccione's wines of Valdibella in Sicily.  

The San Martino wines are made organically in the area of Vulture in Basilicata, the central-southern part of Italy.  This family run business offers beautifully crafted wines from the Aglianico grape. 

Valdibella is a Cooperative of 6 organic vine growers with land cultivated in the areas of Camporeale and Monreale in Sicily with a total vineyard surface of 38 hectares. They work with locally grown Sicilian grape varieties like; Nero d'Avola, Catarratto, Grillo and Perricone together with international varieties such as Cabernet, Chardonnay and Müller Thurgau. All grapes are grown organically.

A great opportunity to meet two Italian producers!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012 - 4:00pm
Boulder Wine Merchant

 

The Rivetti family story begins in the 1890s, when Giovanni Rivetti, grandfather of the three Rivetti brothers, Carlo, Bruno and Giorgio, left Piedmont for Argentina. Like many Italians of that time, he dreamed of returning rich and a powerful man, perhaps even one day able to make a great wine in his homeland.
He never did, though his son, Giuseppe (nicknamed Pin) did. Pin married Lidia, bought vineyards and began to make wine. In 1977 the family took up residence at LA SPINETTA (top of the hill) in Castagnole Lanze. It was the heart of the Moscato d’Asti country, home of a rather light and simple dessert wine. But the Rivettis believed that Moscato had the potential for greatness and set out to prove it by making Moscato Bricco Quaglia and Biancospino

Eventually though the family’s vision became even grander. In 1985 LA SPINETTA made its first red wine, Barbera di Pian. After this many great reds followed: In 1989 the Rivettis dedicated their red blend Pin to their father. In 1995 they started to make their first Barbaresco, Gallina. In 1996 and1997 the Barbarescos Starderi, Barbera d'Alba Gallina and Barbaresco Valeirano follow. In 1998premiered the Barbera d'Asti Superiore.

In 2000 the family’s ambition of also making a Barolo became reality. The Rivettis acquired vineyards in Grinzane Cavour and built a state of the art cellar, Barolo Campè. Since 2003 visitors are welcomed to visit also Campè, outside the town of Grinzane Cavour.

In 2001 LA SPINETTA expanded over the borders of Piedmont and acquired 65 hectares of vineyards in Tuscany, between Pisa and Volterra, to make three different 100% Sangiovese wines, as Sangiovese to La Spinetta is the true ambassador of the Tuscan terrain.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012 - 6:30pm
Radda Trattoria

 

Giorgio Rivetti of La Spinetta is back in Boulder!
Join us for a 5-course meal at Radda Trattoria featuring the wines and olive oil from La Spinetta's wineries in Piedmont and Tuscany.  Additionally, the sparkling wines of Contratto, Italy oldest producer of sparkling wine since 1867, will be served with the meal.  Giorgio and his son Andrea have made the wines since 2007 and purchased the estate in the summer of 2011.  This should be a spectacular event – cost is $55 per person, plus tax and gratuity.
 Call Radda at (303) 442-6100 to make your reservation.

Saturday, February 11, 2012 - 2:00pm
Boulder Wine Merchant

Premium Port Wines, Inc.is the North American importer for the Symington Family Estates of Portugal and only specialized importer of Port, Madeira and Douro DOC table wine in the United States.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - 5:00pm
Boulder Wine Merchant

Nicolas Potel, after his first steps as winemaker in the family Estatein Volnay: le Domaine de la Pousse d’Or, he built up his own negoce in 1996 then, in 2000, Maison Potel-Aviron in Beaujolais region. 

In 2005, Nicolas built up his own Estate, Domaine de Bellene, in Beaune with 15 Ha of organic vines in Côte de Beaune. In 2008, after the departure from SAS Nicolas Potel company, Nicolas Potel launches his new negociant business called "Maison Roche de Bellene". The philosophy is the same as Nicolas used to in Nuits-Saint-Georges: we have been keeping the same source of wines and the same relationship with growers that Nicolas have been working with the last 15 years.

One extremely important difference from the past is the we are now only focusing on offering the finest wines, in limited cuvées in order to achieve our goal: being the only "Haute Couture" negociant in Burgundy. Our range, mainly focusing on wines from the Côte de Nuits, has the widest selection of Grand Crus from Burgundy and also has some prestige cuvées like the Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses or the fine Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Les Combottes. Nicolas Potel has also launched a range of very rare older vintages, under the name"Collection Bellenum". These wines, dating back to 1959 to 1996 are the result of a very strict selection of old vintages exceptionnaly released from the wine cellars of some of the most famous producers of Burgundy. As an example, in 2009, we have tasted more than 500 old wines in order to only select 40 unique cuvées.

BELLENE...The origin of the name Bellene comes from Belenos, an ancient Gallic god of sun and beauty similar to Apollon to the Greeks and to the god of the sun to the Celtic. The first name of Beaune City was Belena during the roman period, then in the Middle Age Belena was renamed Bellene and Baulne in the 18th century to finally become as it is now, "Beaune".

Here is Doug Krenik rocking out!  Come join him for a tasty glass of Burgundy!

Friday, February 17, 2012 - 4:30pm
The Mediterranean Restaurant

Don't miss this amazing opportunity to taste a preview of the much anticipated 2010 vintage from Burgundy.  A selection of William Fevre Chablis wines and Bouchard wines from the Cote d'Or will be showcased at this special event.

There is no charge, and we will be offering many Grand Cru level wines in the mix! It is the perfect Friday Afternoon Club excuse!

All wines will be available for purchase in the future.  We will have order sheets available

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - 6:00pm
Arugula Restaurant

 

Tuesday, February 21st ~ Campania wine dinner at Arugula Restaurant featuring Vesevo

The cost is $45/person for dinner, with an additional $34/person for the wines (+ tax and tip).  Reservations are required.  Call Arugula at (303) 443-5100

Grape growing and wine production has taken place in Campania since before the time of Homer, interrupted only be the eruption of Mount Vesuvio. Over time, the lava crumbled leaving fertile, mineral rich soil in its place. Vesevo, named after the famed volcano, has carefully chosen vineyard areas and is equally careful about when they harvest. Experience and modern techniques make the most of what this ancient land has to offer.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - 5:00pm
Boulder Wine Merchant

 

The best beers...imported by hand.

What exactly does that mean, and how do we do it?

The best beers are brewed with a sense of place, a distinctive house character, and an appreciation for tradition, value, and/or the natural art of beer-making. Most often, this is expressed in breweries producing less than 5,000hl per year, though some brilliant exceptions exist, especially in Germany.

Beer should have depth, texture, and nuance – it should sometimes even be a little rough around the edges. There are a few (very few) exceptions to every rule, but generally speaking, that means the following about a brewery’s beers:

  • Brewed in small batches using traditional methods
  • Unsweetened
  • Unpasteurized
  • Unfiltered / Bottle-conditioned
  • Little to no use of spices or adjuncts
  • Slow-fermented
  • Distinctive house yeast or yeasts
  • Dry as opposed to sweet

There’s no miracle to importing good beer – just hard work and a lot of travel. We specifically seek out unmanipulated beer, generally looking to small breweries with craftsmen taking seriously their passion for a natural, traditionally-made product.

Shelton Brothers is the only beer importer with these specific criteria for hand-selecting what we offer to our customers. We’ve turned down offers from large European breweries, and we’ll do it again. We’re only interested in bringing you the very best.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - 5:30pm
Boulder Wine Merchant

**NOTE: This education class has been moved from February 22nd to February 29th due to scheduling***

Drew will be exploring the amazing wines of Austria...four wines in total...an amazing night of education...and a phenomenal resource to ask questions to!

Reservations are required. Call Boulder Wine Merchant at 303-443-6761 to reserve a spot - only 12 seats available!

Monday, February 6, 2012 - 5:30pm

Our friend Summer Wolff joins us to pour a vertical flight of 3 vintages of one of Italy's undisputed great Barberas, the Barabba of Fabrizio Iuli. This wine, year-in and year-out, explores the qualitative ceiling that the Barbera grape is capable of. Sourced from a plot of 75 year old Barbera vines in Monferrato, the wine is aged for up to 3 years in French oak, yet astonishingly absorbs it beautifully, never showing "oakiness" and interspersing deeply vibrant fruit aromas with terrific minerality. And they age. To demonstrate this we will be pouring the 2002, 2004, and 2006 Barabba. The commune of Monferrato is thought to be the birthplace of Barbera, the varietal being mentioned as growing here as far back as the 12th century. This is, in our opinion, the most profound expression of the grape from the region of Monferrato.