Archive for October, 2010

Upcoming Dr. Loosen Tastings

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

CLEVELAND, OH – Heinen’s/WVIZ World Series of Wine

On Saturday, November 6, join Brian “The Harlanator” Harlan at the World Series of Wine for “Loosen” Your Tastebuds with Rieslings – Powerful, Pristine and Pure

Here’s the write-up from the event program:

The grand cru German estate vineyards produce some of the finest Rieslings on earth. The Dr. Loosen Estate utilizes impeccable vineyard sites and famous slate soils from the Mosel Valley in Germany. As a result, the wines from Dr. Loosen are unquestionably the flagship of Riesling and the Mosel Valley. Don’t miss your chance to taste these profound wines from great recent vintages: 2009 Riesling Trocken; 2009 Dr. L. Riesling; 2007 Erdener Treppchen Kabinett; 2008 “Blue Slate” Kabinett; 2007 Urziger Wurzgarten Spatlese; 2007 Graacher Himmelreich Spatlese; 2007 Estate Beerenauslese; and 2007 Estate Eiswein.

Saturday, November 6
4:30 – 5:30 PM
$50 Per Person
Private Meeting Rooms
Renaissance Cleveland Hotel
24 Public Square, Cleveland, OH 44114

The Harlanator also will be pouring at Friday’s Grand Tasting and two separate grand tastings on Saturday.

More info here

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NEW YORK CITY – Zachy’s Gala Wine Tasting

If you’re in NYC this Wednesday, get your wine-lovin’ self over to the Zachy’s Sixth Annual Gala Wine Tasting, where our own East Coast Sales Manager Ian Dick will be pouring Dr. Loosen wines alongside some of New York’s top chefs. 100% of the event proceeds are to benefit Robin Hood in the fight against poverty in New York City.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010
la venue
608 West 28th Street at 11th Avenue
New York, New York

More info here

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Harvest Time at J. Christopher

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

It’s harvest time at J. Christopher Winery, our new joint venture with winemaker extraordinaire Jay Somers in Newberg, Oregon.

2010 Bella Vida Pinot Noir Pommard Clone, October 11th and still hanging. Very late in the Willamette Valley but the fruit is hanging very nicely with no issues and two weeks of great weather in the forecast. Looking to be an excellent classic Pinot Noir vintage for Oregon.

2010 Bella Vida Pinot Noir Pommard Clone, October 11th and still hanging. Very late in the Willamette Valley but the fruit is hanging very nicely with no issues and two weeks of great weather in the forecast. Looking to be an excellent classic Pinot Noir vintage for Oregon.

Sorting fruit. 2010 Olenik Vineyard Pinot Noir.

Sorting fruit. 2010 Olenik Vineyard Pinot Noir.

Harvest Team 2010

Harvest Team 2010

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Wine Amplified Amps Up Dr. Loosen Tasting

Thursday, October 14th, 2010
From left to right: Mystery Man (if you see this, tell us who you are!), Brent Reinick, Matt Silva, Greg Schueler

From left to right: Mystery Man (if you see this, tell us who you are!), Brent Reinick, Matt Silva, Greg Schueler

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When Rick Derringer added “hooch-ie-koo” to rock’n roll, we wonder if he envisioned the future mashup of wine and rock that is Wine Amplified.

This fifth annual rock’n roll tasting event at Mandalay Bay Beach in Las Vegas Sept. 24 & 25 really brought the house down with tastings from 50 wineries and performances from Third Eye Blind.

Here are some fun pix of the Dr. Loosen tasting just to prove that when we say “rock” we don’t always mean terroir.

About Rock N Roll Wine
(From their website)

Founded by Sommelier Chris Hammond and business partner Sonny Barton, Rock’n Roll Wine is a wine events, marketing and promotions company dedicated to revolutionizing the way people approach, perceive, purchase and enjoy wine. In addition to making their own award-winning, music-themed line of wines, Rock’n Roll Wine produces monthly high-energy wine events in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Ann Arbor.

Rock’n Roll Wine, LLC
6883-B W. Charleston Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89117

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SFO Chronicle Recommends Dr. Loosen & Robert Weil Wines!

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010

riesling-grapesDon’t miss this great article about the 2009 German Rieslings by Jon Bonné on SFGate, the San Francisco Chronicle’s website.

In “The Chronicle Recommends: German Riesling” here’s what Jon wrote about Dr. Loosen and our “Friends of Ernie” portfolio member, Robert Weil, wines:

DR. LOOSEN

“2009 Dr. Loosen Erdener Treppchen Mosel Riesling Kabinett ($26): Loosen’s ’09 wines are opulent and silken, sometimes almost a bit soft for the year, but this is buoyed by intense slate and saline mineral, with a beautiful counterpoint of green apple and tangerine. Quintessential Mosel, with focus and delicious, lively fruit. The 2009 Urziger Wurzgarten Spatlese ($32) is more honeyed, but still very precise. (Importer: Loosen Bros.)”

More info about the Dr. Loosen portfolio of wines.

WEINGUT ROBERT WEIL

“2009 Robert Weil Estate Dry Rheingau Riesling ($28): Weil’s lineup is almost timeless in ’09, but here’s a great example of the potential for dry Riesling. There’s lots of stuffing and a softer texture here to balance the intense freshness – a subtle soapstone and iris nose, with nectar and bright lime accents. Also seek out Weil’s Kiedrich Grafenberg Spatlese ($76) with its tremendous honeyed nectarine fruit, though it needs a few years to mellow. (Importer: Loosen Bros.)”

More info about the Weingut Robert Weil portfolio of wines.

Read the entire article here.

And, while you’re at it, do read Jon Bonné’s companion article, “’09 Rieslings offer ripe blend of fruit, acidity.”

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Decanter Magazine World Wine Awards!

Monday, October 11th, 2010

decanterWe’re invoking a whole lot of Hoo these days, especially with the recent World Wine Awards we received from Decanter Magazine!

Highlights:

2007 Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling received a Gold Medal for sweet white from Germany.

2009 Dr. L Riesling got a Silver for German white.

2008 Eroica Riesling (our joint venture with Chateau Ste. Michelle) took a Bronze.

Our Dr. Loosen Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett and Ürziger Würzgarten Kabinett also received awards. (Please note that because of limited production, these wines are not available in all markets.)

Thanks, Decanter! Cheers!

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Wine & Spirits Top 100: Stop By for a Taste of Dr. Loosen Erdener Prälat Auslese

Friday, October 8th, 2010

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Will you be attending the Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting in San Francisco on October 13?

Stop by the Dr. Loosen table for a taste!

erdener-pralat-labelKirk will be pouring the 2008 Dr. Loosen Erdener Prälat Auslese.

This wine scored 92 points in Wine & Spirits. Here’s what they said about it:

“The site’s warmth is evident in the plush yellow peach, poached pear and mango flavors, but there’s plenty of acidity to balance the ripeness. It should become more complex and harmonious with time in the cellar.”

Here are the deets:

Date: Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Press & Trade Preview: 4:30 pm
Consumer Tasting: 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Location: The Galleria at the San Francisco Design Center
101 Henry Adams Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

MORE INFO

See you there!

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J. Christopher Barrel Cellar is Complete!

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

We’re celebrating a huge milestone with our new joint venture with Jay Somers — J. Christopher Winery and Appassionata Vineyards in Newberg, Oregon. Phase 1 of the construction, the barrel cellar, is complete! Jay will be producing the 2010 vintage there. Our first vintage in the new winery!

Check out these beautiful pix of the new space.

Tasting in the caves: The. J. Christopher line-up, prepared for a visit from our distributor in Virginia.

Tasting in the caves: The. J. Christopher line-up, prepared for a visit from our distributor in Virginia.

Sunny Sept. 30 at Appassionata Vineyard: The harvest will be very late this year, causing a lot of concern about the weather turning bad. But the long-range forecast looks moderately promising. If we get some more days like this, we should have a decent harvest.

Sunny Sept. 30 at Appassionata Vineyard: The harvest will be very late this year, which is a concern if the weather turns bad, but the long-range forecast looks promising. If we get more days like the one in this pic, we should have a good harvest.

Cellar and Warehouse: The front of the barrel cellars, which extend underground into the hillside. Next year a bigger building, for all of the fermentation tanks, will go up in front of the cellar. The yellow building on top of the hill is a warehouse for the bottled wines.

Cellar and Warehouse: The front of the barrel cellars, which extend underground into the hillside. Next year a bigger building, for all of the fermentation tanks, will go up in front of the cellar. The yellow building on top of the hill is a warehouse for the bottled wines.

Barrel Cave: This is the longest of the five caves, filled with barrels and ready for the first harvest.

Barrel Cave: This is the longest of the five caves, filled with barrels and ready for the first harvest.

New Equipment: Shiny new stainless steel fermentation vats, a new destemmer, sorting table and hydraulic device for dumping the bins of grapes onto the sorting table.

New Equipment: Shiny new stainless steel fermentation vats, a new destemmer, sorting table and hydraulic device for dumping the bins of grapes onto the sorting table.

White Fermentation Cave: One of the five caves will be dedicated to white wine fermentation this year. It’s always best to keep them separate from the red wines. When the real fermentation building is constructed next year, there will be a separate small building for the white wines.

White Fermentation Cave: One of the five caves will be dedicated to white wine fermentation this year. It’s always best to keep them separate from the red wines. When the real fermentation building is constructed next year, there will be a separate small building for the white wines.

Jay Somers, J. Christopher Winemaker, in the new cave.

Jay Somers, J. Christopher Winemaker, in the new cave.

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