Saturday, December 14th

from 1-4pm @MetroWines

"Size UP The Holidays"
Hosted by Gwen Cooper
of Epiphany and Mutual Distribution 

Taste and Shop at Event Prices!
***on the house ***
https://metrowinesasheville.com/wine-blogs/blog/entry/size-up-the-holidays



Sparkling in All Different Sized bottles
from a four pack of individual sparkling with a cork

 to Magnums 

And This Just IN:
Cynthia Drew is Back

by very popular demand from 1:30 to 3:30

on December 14th @MetroWines!

"Nouveau Noir" and a Bottle of Wine
is the perfect gift for wine lovers.
Local author tells the story in Dashiell Hammett style 
of an entire vintage of wine poisoned!

And This IS The Grape In the Book!
And once you are at home with your new book,
read it with Gamay Noir from Oregon!


This wine has floral accents and pepper spice, sweet fresh juicy red fruit,
gentle structure, weightless length, and is youthful.
This bottle works with a variety of flavors making it a holiday staple.
$32.99 at Westchester Wines
$29.00 @MetroWines

News Release: Thursday, December 12th, 2019

Oceans South Imports says: "We are a North Carolina wine importer/distributor that works with hard to find quality wines at amazing values for our customers." More information: 

"10 to Try"
Try some of our best sellers from 2019 in 2020!

Gina Trippi of The Asheville School of Wine
in December 50 + Living, page 10
https://issuu.com/realestateweekly/docs/50plus_decem_19?fr=sZWU1YjU2NDkzNg

News Release: Saturday, November 30th, 2019

From The MetroWines Book Review Department
Lampedusa by Steven Price



In sun-drenched Sicily, among the decadent Italian aristocracy of the late 1950s, Giuseppe Tomasi, the last prince of Lampedusa, struggles to complete the novel that will be his lasting legacy, The Leopard. With a firm devotion to the historical record, Lampedusa leaps effortlessly into the mind of the writer and inhabits the complicated heart of a man facing down the end of his life, struggling to make something of lasting worth, while there is still time.

Always ahead of the curve!, Ciao Asheville showed "The Leopard" last year!
Join us the last Sunday of the month, starting again in January, for an Italian Film with English subtitles with introduction and discussion by Robert Formento,
Ciao Asheville Film Coordinator. Popcorn on the house!

The book is at Malaprops here:
https://www.malaprops.com/search/site/lampedusa%20steven%20price

Your Read it With Wine is @MetroWines
Kermit Lynch Import


The Portellis have mastered the wine making process to get the most out of their grapes—their wines are loaded with charm and luscious fruit while possessing plenty
of structure on the backend. They grow two varieties: Frappato and Nero d’Avola,
the latter known locally as Calabrese. Calabrese shows much more elegance here
in the soils of Vittoria than it does in other areas of Sicily, where it tends to earn
its keep as a wine of brawn and power. The Portellis are crafting Calabrese with elegance and refinement, country charm wrapped in suede. Their Frappato
while the most fruit forward wine they make, is no simple quaffer!

"Lampedusa" is serious business, some might say heavy.
Want a lighter version of Italy? The important? The do-able? THE FOOD!
"Valerie's Home Cooking" by Valerie Bertinelli

As the current star of her Food Network show, Valerie's Home Cooking,
and co-host of the network's Kids Baking Championship, as well as having spent
years acting on television, Valerie Bertinelli has made a name for herself in households across America. But to really know Valerie, is to spend time in her kitchen.


Inspired by her family's cooking legacy, Valerie specializes in showing how to make dishes for the heart and soul. Valerie says, there's a story behind every recipe.
Home cooks will find more than 100 recipes that are easy to make and innovative.

Last Call for Thanksgiving

*** Paging BILTMORE ***
I know what you are saying. I can hear you chortling. Yes, chortling.
We only recommend the wines that we have tasted and
have been tested by our Asheville Wine focus Group.
In a blind tasting, over 40 customers compared these Biltmore wines
to nationally know brands including Sonoma Cutrer and Josh.
Women Winemakers have taken over at Biltmore and are steering the process
in the right direction. And you may not think that vintages sell out at Biltmore
but they do! No worries. We planned ahead.
Have out of town guests? Surprise them!

Biltmore Estate 2015 Chateau Reserve Sparkling Blanc de Blanc
Let's start with sparkling. The Biltmore "Methode Champenoise" Brut
is an award winning classic. Its fine bubbles and rich golden color complement
the complex flavor. This premium sparkling exhibits a strong fruit aroma,
neat acid and slight taste of hazelnut. As a dinner wine or cocktail,
the clean tart finish pairs nicely with a variety of foods.



A few years back, we attended a blind tasting at Ruth's Chris Steak House
in Biltmore. This bottle was sandwiched in with 10 of the big names.
Almost unanimously chosen as the second choice, many picked it as the winner!
Put it on your table with confidence! $23 @MetroWines

Just a little interlude here. The predecessor to Ruth's Chris Steak House
was Chris Steaks on Broad Street in New Orleans. This is the original building
with the original sign and Ruth's name after she bought the place.
And the rest, as they say, is history. 




This North Carolina Chardonnay is in the French Style. The Focus Group
preferred the Chardonnay from California Grapes but staff liked this one.

$14.99


The grapes of the Vanderbilt Reserve Pinot Noir thrive in cool climate California, Russian River Valley in Sonoma County. The reward is a complex and expressive
wine with an almost delicate sensation. The strawberry, raspberry, vanilla,
and well-integrated oak aromas give way to supple fruit flavors. Oak aged.
Pair this luscious red with chicken, mushroom dishes, salmon, and turkey. 
$19.99. A quality Pinot Noir for under $20? Almost never!


A soft, easy-to-drink wine that presents dried herb aromas on the nose
along with rich blackberry flavors on palate. Finishes with smooth tannins.

$16.99

BIG RED of The WEEK
Big enough to make The Big Red List
but versatile enough to make The Thanksgiving Table.

Thanksgiving has become almost synonymous with Zinfandel so let's do it!
2017 Ridge Three Valley Zinfandel Blend
73% Zinfandel, 15% Petite Sirah, 10% Carignane and 2% Grenache


Winemaker says: Deep garnet color. Fresh raspberry and cherry fruits,
barrel spice, clay minerals, and fresh mint. Sweet red berry fruit entry, medium body, lively acid, and supple tannins. Long, elegant finish.

We say: this wine is often overlooked in comparison to its better known siblings.
that means you are getting a price to quality bargain.

$29.99 at wine.com

$27.99 at Total Wine

$25 @MetroWines

Shop LocalLY and save!

Contact for MetroWines: Gina Trippi

*** BIG RED of THE WEEK ***

2016 KLINKER BRICK BRICKMASON

A blend 80% Zinfandel, 10% Syrah, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petite Sirah, this wine has deep red fruit aromas lead into notes of toasty vanilla with firm tannins and bold structure.

$17.99 and, unlike online, Available!

News Release: Monday, November 18th, 2019

Thursday, December 19th
Blind Tasting League with Andy Hale



Reserve your seat by calling (828) 575-9525
online: https://metrowinesasheville.com/wine-blogs/blog/entry/
blind-tasting-league-december-19

From The MetroWines Book Review Department


From the Booker Prize-nominated author of Three Strong Women: 
an elegant, hypnotic new novel about a legendary French female
chef–the facts her life, the nearly ineffable qualities of her cooking,
and the obsessive, sometimes destructive desire for purity of taste
and experience that shaped her life.

MARIE NDIAYE, born in Pithiviers, France, in 1967; spent her childhood
with her French mother (her father was Senegalese); and studied linguistics
at the Sorbonne. She was only eighteen when her first work was published.
Awarded the prestigious Prix Femina for her novel Rosie Carpein 2001; 
in 2009, the Prix Goncourt for Three Strong Women; and in 2015,
Gold Medal in Arts from Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts. 

Book Available at Malaprops here: 
https://www.malaprops.com/search/site/cheffe

Your Read it With Wine @MetroWines
Since the book is based in Bordeaux, let's do Bordeaux.
But, Red Bordeaux is really for food so let's go White!
2018 Clarendelle, $22


Clarendelle is vinified to drink young. The wine can be decanted for 20-30 minutes
or up to 1 hour. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume.
Older vintages need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

A blend of 42%Smillon, 30%Sauvignon Blanc and 28% Muscadelle, is a beautiful golden yellow color with a green glow, the wines are marked by roundness
and a beautiful aromatic power. There are aromas of apricot, white peach,
but also grapefruit. The wines are of great minerality, with powerful and fresh fruit flavors in all its brilliance, density and structure of a great white wine.

Wine Cellars are Out of The Basement and Beautiful
https://www.wsj.com/articles/wine-cellars-come-out-of-the-basement-11571241532
BUT, they still need to be stocked !!


!! And Stocking a Cellar is another NOT DYI Project !!
*** Call John Kerr ***
of The Asheville School of Wine @Metrowines

(828) 575-9525
Live life large. I probably don't need to remind you:
you're not getting any younger. Just sayin'.....

*** BIG RED of THE WEEK ***

Iron & Sand, Paso Robles
$28 and IN Stock! Holidays are Coming. Live it UP!




Wine Enthusiast, 92 Points

"The black fruit aroma is reserved on the nose of this bottling, allowing violet,
stone, loam and a hint of herbs to come to the forefront. The dry palate is cohesive
in flavors of black cherry, purple flowers and soil, with a hint of black olive.
The subtleties will benefit from cellaring. Drink 2021–2032."

John Kerr of The Asheville School of Wine says:
"This is a high quality wine that offers Big Bang for the buck competing with and beating Napa Cabs at $50 or more. Done in Classic California Cabernet style,
the wine is deep and rich with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon,
Petit Verdot and Petite Sirah."

Tuesday, December 17th

Sparkling Class with Andy Hale
5:30 to 6:30 @MetroWines $25


Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, Methode Champenoise?
Not all bubbles are the same nor should they be. Know your bubbles!
https://metrowinesasheville.com/wine-blogs/
blog/entry/wine-class-sparkling

Saturday, December 14th
1-4pm @MetroWines

"Size UP The Holidays"
Hosted by Gwen Cooper on the house
of Epiphany and Mutual Distribution 

Taste and Shop at Event Prices!

https://metrowinesasheville.com/wine-blogs/blog/entry/size-up-the-holidays

Sparkling in All Different Sized bottles
from a four pack of individual sparkling with a cork!

to Magnums

This Event was featured in Market Watch and Wine Spectator!

Saturday, November 23rd

* Beaujolais Nouveau Release Party *
and Nouveau Noir Book Signing

from 2 to 5pm @MetroWines @MetroWines



https://metrowinesasheville.com/wine-blogs/blog/
entry/booksigning-and-beaujolais-nouveau-tasting

http://marketwatchmag.com/retailers-prepare-for-beaujolais-nouveau-day/

*** THIS is BIG ***

Thursday, November 21st
Red Blend Class and Tasting
Hosted by Juniper Cooper of Mutual Distribution

Red Blends are NOT a DYI Project. To prove the point that blending
takes knowledge and experience, one of our distributors brought us carafes
of various varietal wines and said "blend it!"
It really did not go very well.
Let me say it another way, leave this to the professionals!

To make a blend that is pleasing to the palate, the winemaker must know
why and why not every varietal can or cannot work with every other varietal.
How you get there involves chemistry and climate and probably Punnett Squares!
Holy Catfish. This could get seriously exponential.

Find out What it's All About the FUN WAY with Juniper!



$20 for Tasting with Small Bites and Presentation
https://metrowinesasheville.com/wine-blogs/blog/entry/red-blend-tasting