I am pleased to report that Wine-Sense is just as good as it was three years ago, and probably even better. Samanta, the store owner, is still as energetic and passionate as ever, bringing in a fascinating selection of more artisan wines, at all price points. She has not compromised in the type of wines she stocks and has grown a good following of regular customers. It remains a wine shop that any wine lover would enjoy, and they would likely find plenty to appeal to them.
It was cool to see there is now a local wine section, with wines from Still River Winery, Isaak's of Salem and Zoll Cellars. Samanta also now carries five Manotsuru brand sakes from the Obata Brewery in Niigata. I am actually not familiar with this brewery so I was very excited to find them. I ended up buying a case of wines, an assortment including a couple sakes. It was easy to fill up a case, and I probably could have filled another case or two with other wines that intrigued me. Wine-Sense thus continues to receive my strong recommendation.
The 2010 Tenuta dell Terre Nere Etna Rosso ($18.99) would also be an excellent choice for Thanksgiving, as well as everything from pizza to burgers. This Sicilian wine is made from the Nerello Mascalese grape, and is the introductory wine from this line. An elegant wine with delicious red fruit flavors, moderate tannins and hints of minerality. It has lots of character for the price and will bring to mind a fine Pinot Noir. I will be looking for the higher end wines in this line as this wine was so interesting.
The next three wines are all from the same Oregon winery, Anne Amie. The 2010 Anne Amie Pinot Gris ($18.99) is all estate grown fruit and was fermented only in stainless steel. It had a spicy taste, with crisp fruit flavors of orange, pineapple and lemon with a backbone of minerality. A compelling white wine, showing just how good the wines of Oregon can be.
I also enjoyed two dessert wines from this producer, Anne and Amie (package of two 375ml bottles for $55). Both are made from Late Harvest Muller-Thurgau, grown in their own vineyards, and they freeze the grapes at the winery. The Anne is fermented for seven months, intended to create a Vin Glace dessert wine. It was sweet, though not overly so, with delightful flavors of honey, apricot and ripe peach and sufficient acidity to balance the sweet. The Amie was maderized and fortified with Pinot Noir brandy to produce a Vin Doux Naturel dessert wine, though the additional alcohol was not noticeable. It had a sweeter taste, and presented some more nutty flavors, almost like a sweet sherry.
These were both delicious, and you certainly would never know from the taste that they were gluten free. My personal favorite was the Lime in the Coconut, as the lime was very restrained and the creamy coconut taste was prominent. Chocolate lovers would really enjoy the French Almond cookie. Both had a very homemade feel to them and they should prove popular. My only concern is the high price, $20 per dozen, though I note their chocolate chip cookies sell for only $12/dozen. So maybe these are more for a special occasion.
Check out Wine-Sense and I am sure you too will be enamored with their carefully chosen, diverse selection of wines.
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