Friday October 21, 2021
THIS JUST IN: a specially curated Halloween Kit from Twin Cities Wine Education.
This Week: Apologies for a late newsletter full of construction and wine updates! This week got the best of us. Another week ahead of us saying a lot of "don't mind the dust"!

Some good news: We're moving our tasting indoors. This was inevitable. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to taste with Shar from Bourget tonight!

Better news: new Somm Kit has dropped from TCWE. See the above picture for a spoiler alert. Find more information about purchasing the kit HERE. Wines perfectly en theme, totally delicious and offered at a sweet, sweet discount. Oh, and a little side of education so you know what you're drinking!

Wishing everyone a great weekend and thanks again for putting up with our mess while we expand and improve our space!

Cheers,
The Team at NL Wine & Spirits
the Monte Carlo
a delightful, lesser known classic.
This week I was having trouble deciding what to write about so I went to my colleagues. My friend Paul brought up the Monte Carlo cocktail as one of his favs. It sounded delicious and also the restaurant/bar of the same name is right behind North Loop Wine & Spirits. So it was decided.
The Monte Carlo first appeared in print in 1948 in David Embury's "Fine Art of Mixing Drinks". This is one of the first classic cocktail books that I ever purchased and it is still a favorite. This is a very simple cocktail which proves it doesn't have to be complex to be good. Considering myself a minimalist bartender, I'm all in on this. The Monte Carlo lands in this happy medium place between a Manhattan and an Old Fashioned. It uses Rye Whiskey mixed with Benedictine and bitters.

I will be using 45 Parallel New Richmond Rye (also Paul's Choice). It is from New Richmond, Wisconsin using locally sourced rye and corn. It has a nice spicy cinnamon flavor matched with toffee and earthy notes that you expect from rye whiskeys.

Benedictine dates back to 1510 when Benedictine monks started using 27 herbs and botanicals to make a liqueur that has an herbal spice and a sweet honey finish. It's a good one to have on your back bar.

So the Benedictine gives you the sweetness you want in an old fashioned with the herbal spiciness of your manhattans. It is a great drink.

Monte Carlo (Original Version from 1948)
2 oz Rye Whiskey
1 oz Of Benedictine
2 dashes of Angostura bitters

Add all ingredients into a mixing glass, add ice, stir, strain into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with a lemon peel.

Some people find the original a bit too sweet. Many of the early cocktail book's recipes could use a little tweaking because of changes in the taste of many of the spirits and Liquors used. So this is an updated version to go with the modern palate.

Monte Carlo
2 1/4 oz New Richmond Rye Whiskey
3/4 oz Benedictine
2 dashes of Angostura
2 dashes of Orange Bitters

Add all ingredients into a mixing glass, add ice, stir, strain into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with a lemon peel.

So, here is a drink for Paul. Thanks for bringing it to may attention,

Cheers,
Nikola
Staff Picks: What to Drink This Week
Things our staff thinks you should drink.

2019 Lost Slough, Wild Cortese, California - $22.99
Did someone ask for a Natty California take on the Piedmonte white wine Cortese? Yes, but make it an 'orange wine' to boot? Lost Slough's Wild Cortese is hand harvested from sustainable vineyards in the Clarksburg region of Northern California; it's unfined/unfiltered and left 'on the skins' becoming an orange wine with soft phenolic complexity that presents as a tannic tea-like backbone. Expect juicy notes of orange blossom, tangerine juice and oil, and salted apricots - with a refreshing, if not eclectic, dose of acidity! Enjoy this bottle with some WILD friends and a goat cheese board. 
-Katrina

2018 Voge, 'Les Peyrouses', Cotes du Rhone - $36.99
This 2019 Cotes du Rhone from the estate of the late Alain Voge is all Syrah. Alain Voge was a champion of great Syrah from Cornas and helped develop the legacy of the region. The grapes for the 'Les Peyrouses' are sourced close to Cornas and the wine is always an excellent entry into the world of great French Syrah. The wine shows aromas of dark backberry fruit which carries through on the palate with some dark cherry fruit and licorice notes. The 2019 is the most approachable vintage I have ever tasted. Try this wine with venison chops or your favorite rack of ribs. 
-Rob

2018 Domaine des Ouches, Les Clos Boireaux, Bourgueil - $26.99
Full disclosure- I have a real soft spot for the Gambier family, who have been farming Cabernet Franc in this region of the Loire for eight generations. It was the very first winery I visited on my first work trip to France. I've had the pleasure of visiting twice, and each time they welcomed us into their home with a blazing fire and a home-cooked dinner, all while disappearing to the cellar to pull out bottle after bottle of their famously age-worthy wines. Brothers Thomas and Denis have made it their mission to create wines that express the multifaceted spirit of Cabernet Franc, locally called Breton. The Les Clos Boireaux is a real show stopper from a single vineyard with sandy soils under Silex (flint), giving it plush and silky tannins. No hard edges here, just perfectly elegant, structured and graceful Cabernet Franc. 
-Angie

2015 LAN, Reserva, Rioja - $22.99
Named for the 3 Spanish provinces (Logrono, Alava, and Navarra) that make up the DOCa region of Rioja, LAN produces this Reserva Rioja under their LAN Range series. Sourcing the traditional grapes that make up the wine from vineyards in Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, LAN adheres to the strict rules for this wine to be labeled "Reserva" by aging it for 18 months in oak and then in the bottle for another 21 months in their estate cellar. Where LAN is innovative is in their use of hybrid oak barrels for aging. Chief winemaker, Maria Barua, champions the combination of American oak staves and French oak bases to create these unique barrels, made nowhere else. The length of aging in these hybrid barrels adds vanilla notes from the American oak while the French oak adds notes of spice and cocoa to the finished wine. After opening this 2015 vintage (one of the finest years in Europe for red wine in the last 30 years) for my tasting I was met with aromas of ripe tart cherry and white flowers. The palate was full of cherry and black berries combined with notes of vanilla, cinnamon, clove, and sweet tobacco. The tannins were firm and velvety, going for a long and satisfying finish. Enjoy this wine with a plate of thin sliced Jamon Iberico served with Manchego cheese and Marcona almonds! Yum!
-Patrick
VERY IMPORTANT: Furry Friends That Visited This Week
Cheers everyone!
-The Team at North Loop Wine & Spirits