Armeno…Tea?

Armeno Coffee Roasters roasts coffee. It’s what we do. But many of you know that there is more. Some of you have visited during one of our wine tasting events and visited our wine cellar. But did you know that Armeno also offers tea? And I’m not talking tea, I’m talking TEA!

Why tea? Well, this is going to get confusing, but here goes. I’ve had a chance to talk to many Armeno fans at wine tasting events over the last two months. I ask them about Armeno Coffee, and I’ll get something like, “I’m not really a coffee drinker, but my husband is addicted to your Mocha Java Blend.” Or, “My wife is the coffee drinker. I’m just here for the wine. Do you guys sell tea?”

So, you see, we are committed to helping smooth over some of those rocky aspects of relationships where tastes diverge, but there is still a desire for a high quality beverage by all. But I have to say that when I stopped by Armeno this week to get photos and details about the tea offered, I was blown away at the diversity and variety of what is available. So if you love TEA, or have a loved one who does, here’s an abbreviated overview of what Armeno has to offer.

The Republic of Tea

Armeno offers a wide variety of teas from The Republic of Tea. Our selections include Black Teas, Green Teas, White Tees, and Red Teas (Rooibos), as well as a selection of decaffeinated and caffeine-free herbal teas.

A 'Tower of Tea' with selections from The Republic of Tea

In addition, The Republic of Tea has recently added a line of Be Well teas based on red rooibos tea, meticulously blended with herbs formulated for specific needs.

The Republic of Tea 'Be Well' Series

Upton Tea Imports

Armeno is pleased to offer a variety of tea from Upton Tea Imports, specially packaged for Armeno Coffee Roasters. If you appreciate fine, loose leaf teas, you will find the best available right here. Our selections include a variety of black , green, white and oolong teas, as well as decaffeinated selections.

Armeno Coffee Roasters offers fine loose leaf teas from Upton Tea Imports

Finally, if you are looking for tea brewing equipment, we can help you with that as well. From tea kettles to brew baskets, Armeno Coffee Roasters can help you brew that perfect cup of tea!

Enjoy!

 

The First Armeno Wine Tasting Event of 2010

After holding weekly wine tasting events throughout the holiday season and then none since the beginning of the year, I think we’re all feeling that Saturday afternoons just haven’t been the same.  That’s why we’re so excited about our upcoming January wine tasting.  Join us Saturday, January 30 – any time between 1 and 4pm, and try some of the featured wines from the Armeno Wine Cellar.

Here is a list of what we’ll be tasting:

Cellar #8 Chardonnay 2008

Oak is kept to a minimum to showcase tropical fruit flavors of pineapple and grapefruit. This winegrapes, aged only 30 percent in new French oak, won’t knock you over with colossal, buttery flavors but rather it refreshes the palate with bright tropical fruit aromas like sweet, white peaches that open up to a cool and creamy mouth feel.

Forefront Sauvignon Blanc 2008

A luscious nose of ruby grapefruit, nectarine and intense minerality leads perfectly into a palate bright with flavors of fresh lime, honeydew melon and tropical pineapple. The refreshing acidity keeps these extraordinary flavors juicy and light, with a finish that goes on forever.

Hahn SLH Pinot Gris 2007

The SLH Pinot Gris grapes are grown on the gentle slopes of the Lone Oak Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands. The east-facing slopes of this vineyard catch the morning sun, while ocean breezes caress the vines in the late afternoon. These conditions allow for the delicate and supple flavors of our Pinot Gris to develop in the long growing season of this appellation.  Racked clean to stainless steel and whole cluster pressed, this aromatic Pinot Gris opens with soft, fruit-derived aromas with hints of honeysuckle, pear blossom and citrus. As the wine opens with air, notes of tropical fruit, ripe pineapple, and light notes of hay and grass make this the perfect wine for a picnic or evening barbeque. Smooth and light with sweet, supple flavors on the mid-palate, this Pinot Gris is balanced through the finish.

Ken Forrester Petite Chenin Blanc 2008

This Stellenbosch of light gold with bouquet of vanilla and cream sickle (faint orange sherbet) in a sweet pronounced nose that is really very nice.
Palate–good acid, lemon rind with sour orange, light pink grapefruit, off dry and good example of a Chenin.

Cellar #8 Pinot Noir 2008

A stylish Pinot Noir with jammy and earthy notes and hints of spice on the nose. These fruit-driven flavors carry over onto the palate and are balanced by structured tannins. The palate offers juicy strawberry jam flavors with a dash of nutmeg spice. Lush and complex on the palate, this Pinot Noir has guts yet a silky finish.

Joseph Carr Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

This wine displays a deep purple hue, and has great clarity for wine that is traditionally unfiltered. The bouquet offers scents of ripe black currant, smoke and saddle. Flavors include dark cherry and ripe plum flavors with a hint of vanilla and cocoa dust. Firm but approachable tannin structure accents a balanced and long finish.

Turnbull Old Bull Red 2007

Aromas of plums, berries, and dried cherries and a touch of mocha, in the glass the dense dark flavors of blackberry and coco dominate.  A true blend of estate lots.

Piazzo Barbera 2007

An intense, ruby red with a notes of roses, jam, and blackberries, a touch of oak.  The wine is well rounded and dark jammy cinnamon notes with firm tannin.  Awesome and affordable!

Chateau Trignon Cotes du Rhone 2007

3 grape varieties: -Grenache – Syrah – Mourvèdre,
Intense ruby colour, strawberries, redcurrants, bilberries. Smooth and well- balanced on the palate. A soft , fruity wine

Enjoy!

 

Featured Armeno Roast of the Week: Ethiopian Harrar

Ethiopia is often referred to as the “birthplace of coffee.”  According to the definitive tome, All About Coffee, written by William H. Ukers, MA, in 1922, an Abyssinian goatherder named Kaldi discovered coffee. Ukers’ account of the French version of this tale follows:

A young goatherd named Kaldi noticed one day that his goats, whose deportment up to that time had been irreproachable, were abandoning themselves to the most extravagant prancings. The venerable buck, ordinarily so dignified and solemn, bounded about like a young kid. Kaldi attributed this foolish gaiety to certain fruits of which the goats had been eating with delight.

The story goes that the poor fellow had a heavy heart; and  in the hope of cheering himself up a little, he thought we would pick and eat of the fruit. The experiment succeeded marvelously. He forgot his troubles and become the happiest herder in happy Arabia. When the goats danced, he gaily made himself one of the party, and entered into their fun with admirable spirit.

One day, a monk chanced to pass by and stopped in surprise to find a ball going on. A score of goats were executing lively pirouettes like a ladies’ chain, while the buck solemnly balance-ed and the herder went through the figures of an eccentric pastoral dance.

The astonished monk inquired the cause of this saltatorial madness; and Kaldi told him of his precious discovery.

Now, this poor monk had a great sorrow; he always went to sleep in the middle of his prayers; and he reasoned that Mohammed without doubt was revealing this marvelous fruit to him to overcome his sleepiness.

Piety does not exclude gastronomic instincts. Those of our good monk were more than ordinary; because he thought of drying and boiling the fruit of the herder. This ingenious concoction gave us coffee. Immediately all the monks of the realm made use of the drink, because it encouraged them to pray and, perhaps, also because it was not disagreeable.

Ethiopian Harrar is said to have been this coffee. It is the finest “mocha type” coffee and is grown on plantations at an altitude of 5,000 to 6,000 feet near the old capital of Harar, on the mountain plateaus of Ethiopia. This dry processed coffee is strongly flavored and is often described as wild or primitive.

I asked Armeno’s coffee roaster, John Parks, what differentiates this “mocha type” coffee from, for example, the Yemen Mocha Mattari that Armeno uses in its Mocha-Java Blend.  He said,”I don’t consider the Harrar to be nearly as chocolaty as the Mattari.  It has more of a fruity and sometimes a blueberry like finish.  The Yemen to me finishes a little smoother and richer.  The fruity acidity tends to override the chocolate in the finish of the Harrar.”

Photos by Sue Teplansky

Like most “wild” or “primitive” coffees, the bean tends to be smaller and more varied in size than the more cultivated varieties. John roasts the Armeno Ethiopian Harrar to a medium full city. John suggests using a French Press to bring out the body, acidity and excellent aroma of the Ethiopian Harrar.

What do you think? I’m adding the Ethiopian Harrar to my pantry this week and will brew the coffee using my brand new French press. I will report back on my experience. We would love to hear about yours!

Enjoy!

 

Armeno Coffee Roasters New Home Page

In this week’s blog, we will take a little departure from our series of featured roasts of the week to bring you some news. Our blog is later this week because we have been working very hard to launch a redesigned web template and home page designed to communicate more effectively with our friends and coffee lovers, and to make it easier to place your orders online.

A lot of work has gone into this new design and we hope you like it. The url (our web address) is still the same: http://www.armeno.com.

Let me offer you a little tour….

Armeno web site navigation menu stays the same.

The first thing you will notice is that the dark background has been placed by a lighter design. We retained the column on the left side of the site that contains the navigation menu. This portion of the site will be updated in later revisions, but for now you can continue to rely on the old navigation while exploring the many new ways to navigate the site.

You will also probably notice that the column on the right side of the page is gone and the main content area now extends all the way to the right side of the page. This allowed us to put more graphical content within the page itself, replacing the previous content that was text-based. Don’t worry, the video of our coffee roaster in action will resurface in a whole new venue in the coming weeks.

Also, the links at the top-right for logging in, managing your shopping cart, or conducting a search of the site also remain as they were.

Now, for what’s new!

There are many more graphics, including a new picture of the Armeno Grist Mill building that we took earlier in the Fall.  Expect the pictures and graphics to change on a more regular basis in the future. There is also a picture of the Armeno Wine Cellar sign that hangs outside the door to our wine cellar.

Armeno Grist Mill Building

One of the most exciting changes is the addition of a new “Shop Online” panel, where you have quick access to our most popular products without having to navigate using the navigation menu.  We will use this panel to highlight our recent Featured Roasts of the Week as well as our best selling coffees. Links will take you directly to our coffee descriptions on this blog, or directly to the page where you can place your order. We know that in that past, it has been almost impossible for iPhone(TM) or Blackberry(TM) users to place an order online, but now – using these new links – you can place your order using a browser on your phone.

New Shop Online panel on the Armeno web site.

The other major change you will see on our home page is a collection of easy links connecting you with our growing online community of Armeno fans and coffee lovers, including links to our Twitter page, Facebook page, this blog, or to sign up for our e-mail list. If you love Facebook, but haven’t become a fan or our Armeno Facebook page, click on through and show your support!

The new, lighter design template carries through to all of the pages of the web site, and we will continue to upgrade various pages and areas of the web site in the coming weeks and months. Your feedback is encouraged and always welcome as we continue to look for ways to serve you better.

Enjoy!

Armeno Coffee Roasters

 

Featured Armeno Roast of the Week: Bali Blue Krishna

Today, Armeno Coffee Roasters will start our 2010 Featured Roast of the Week blog series with a coffee that has been hard to find in recent years, but was previously a favorite of our customers – Bali Blue Krishna.  Bali Blue Krishna is one of our certified organic selections, and as rare as it has been in the U.S., you may not want to wait to try some.

Bali is a small island in Indonesia, located between the island of Java to the west and Lombok to the east. Bali is a unique province in Indonesia, and is home to most of Indonesia’s small Hindu minority.

NASA Generated Image

As you can see from this topographic image of Bali, the island is dominated by several volcanic mountains, the most active of which is Gunung Agung which erupted as recently as 1963. Gunung Agung is the lightly colored feature farthest to the right in this image.

The coffees of Bali are wet-processed and the Bali Blue Krishna offers a bright, clean cup while maintaining an earthy Indonesian island character. In recent years, most of this coffee has been traded to Japan, making it extremely hard to find in the U.S., and we are excited to be able to offer it again.  Armeno Coffee roaster John Parks roasts this coffee to early second crack to bring out some of the more chocolaty characteristics and complimenting the coffee’s syrupy body and nutty finish. John says this coffee is great both for drip coffee makers and for espresso.

Photo by Sue Teplansky

When we took the pictures from today’s roasting session, I had the opportunity to sample the freshly roasted coffee, and I was impressed with how the fruity and nutty characteristics were so well balanced. In this photo series, you can see the green coffee beans, John Parks pouring the coffee beans into the roaster, and the roasted beans cooling after emerging from the roaster.

If you have tried Armeno Bali Blue Krishna in the past, post your thoughts and join the conversation using any or our social media tools: comment on this blog entry, post a comment on our Facebook Page, or reply to us on Twitter using @ArmenoCoffee.

Enjoy!

 

Help Armeno Coffee Roasters Serve You Better in 2010

I received a Tweet from one of our fans this week asking if Armeno Coffee Roasters plans to roast more Fair Trade/Organic coffees. It’s a ‘fair’ question. So here’s my answer…

Armeno made an investment in communication at the end of this year, creating opportunities through social media tools like this blog, our new Twitter account, our Facebook fan page, plus new features that will come online early in 2010. Our idea all along was to provide an opportunity to generate a conversation with all of you friends of Armeno, and we appreciate the question posed by @seanewing. Armeno offers several Fair Trade options right now that include the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe that we featured in a recent post on this blog, a House Blend Fair Trade, a Mexican Fair Trade, and five different roasts of a Sumatra Takengon Fair Trade coffee, as well as a Fair Trade Sampler Pack. The Ethiopian Yirgacheffe is one of our best sellers.

If you were to request something new from Armeno Coffee Roasters in 2010, what would it be? Is there a particular coffee that is dear to your coffee loving heart that Armeno doesn’t offer? Do we offer a coffee that you love, but you would like to have it roasted differently? Do you have suggestions for customer service or the web site that would make your Armeno Coffee Roasters experience more enjoyable? What do you want to read more about on this blog? What would make you the most excited about being a fan of Armeno Coffee Roasters?

We want to make Armeno Coffee Roasters the best it can be, so let us know – by responding to this blog, through Twitter, our Facebook Page, or e-mail me directly. Happy New Year!

Enjoy!

 

Armeno Holiday Wine Tasting Event 12/19/2009

This Saturday, December 19, 2009, Armeno Coffee Roasters will hold its last wine tasting event of the decade. (Gasp!)

Yes, the end of the decade is racing towards us, as are many Christmas and New Years Celebrations. To help make the holidays a little more merry, we’ve selected  some perfect wines to compliment your festivities. As always, the wine tasting event is free, and all wines are 15% off this Saturday only.

(Also, if you follow us on Twitter @armenocoffee or Facebook, you may have seen that I have been posting live as I taste some of the wines at each event. Use the hash tag #armenowine if you choose to join in.)

Here is a summary of the featured wines this Saturday:

Nicholas Feuillatte NV Brut

Blended from 20% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir and 40% Pinot Meunier. This is a light fresh and crisp Champagne that  Robert Parker consistently refers to as one of the Best Values from Champagne.

2008 La Craie Vouvray

From the largest AOC of France’s Loire Valley this 100% Chenin Blanc is named for the soil from which it is grown. “La Craie” or chalk is a primary component of the soil in Vouvray, and imparts a clean, fresh and mineral character to the wine.

Antinori  Bianco Toscano

A fruity white, with fresh lemon and melon character. Medium-bodied, with a tight, fruity finish.

2008 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

Fragrant and complex, with a refreshing burst of lime, guava, grapefruit and grass flavors. Wet stone, passion fruit and oyster shell accents add interest, with bright acidity highlighting the vivid finish. 91 points “a Top 100 Wine”

2006 Murphy Goode “Island Block” Chardonnay

A rich and broad yet balanced wine achieved through oak aging and malolactic fermentation. This wine spent ten months in 100% French oak barrels to add complexity and aromas of spice. Seventy percent also underwent malolactic fermentation which contributes notes of butter and gives it the creamy texture Island Block is known for.  Gold Medal – 2008 Sonoma County Harvest Fair

Cono Sur Pinot Noir

Fresh, elegant and aromatically intense, this wine is everything a good Pinot Noir should be. Dressed in a beautiful, bright ruby red colour, it comes from the Colchagua Valley. Fruit notes of cherry, ripe strawberry and raspberry combine with hints of chocolate and coffee. In mouth it’s silky, full, structured, and persistent, with fruity notes and soft tannins.

2007 Qupe “Central Coast” Syrah

This wine is 98% Syrah and 2% Grenache from both Santa Barbara County (67%) and San Luis Obispo County (33%).The wine is essentially a blend of cool-climate Santa Barbara grapes and warm-climate Paso Robles grapes. The cool-climate fruit gives spice, acidity and balanced alcohol while the warm-climate fruit give softness, roundness, ripeness and more up-front fruit flavors and aromas. Food and Wine Magazine rated this the Best Syrah under $20 for the 4^th consecutive year.

2007 Melini “Issasi” Chianti Classico

Bright ruby-red. The bouquet is fragrant with violets and iris scents and hints of vanilla. The taste is dry, fine and full, pleasantly fruity with an elegant aftertaste of raspberries and almonds. Parker 87 pts.

2006 Vietti  “Perbacco” Nebbiolo

“In a word: Awesome!!  Vietti’s Perbacco is made from Barolo-designated parcels that don’t meet the qualitative standard for the estate’s multi-cru Barolo Castiglione. Perbacco is for all practical purposes a Barolo, but because it its bottled two months earlier than regulations permit, the wine is sold as Langhe Nebbiolo.”  Parker Rated 90 pts

2006 Stags Leap Wine Cellars “Artemis” Cabernet Sauvignon

Focused and complex, the wine opens with aromas and flavors of black fruit—blackberry, currant, and plum—that slowly give way to layers of nutmeg, rosemary, grilled game, and warm pie crust. This firmly structured and full-bodied wine gains depth and richness through the finish. The wine is aged for 18 months in oak, and has a touch of Merlot blended in for smoothness.

See you there!

Armeno Coffee Roasters

 

Featured Armeno Roast of the Week: Mocha Java Blend

Mocha-Java is the world’s oldest recorded coffee blend, primarily because Mocha coffees from Yemen and Java from Indonesia were the world’s first commercially available coffees. It is said that the favorite coffee of Thomas Jefferson, who is quoted as calling coffee, “the favorite drink of the civilized world,”was the Mocha-Java blend. Armeno Coffee Roasters blends Yemen Mocha Mattari and Indonesian Java Jampit Estate in a 40:60 ratio to make our version of this popular blend.

Mocha

Originally, coffee from Yemen was shipped through the Red Sea port of Mocha from which the coffee derived its name. Armeno Coffee Roasters uses a Mocha from the Bany Mattar region of Yemen, the Yemen Mocha Mattari (also available from Armeno Coffee Roasters on its own), which is grown on mountain terraces. The cherries are hand-picked and dried with the fruit still attached to the bean. The beans are then dry processed. We roast the Yemen Mocha Mattari to a medium full city roast. Mattari has a unique flavor that is heavy in body with good acidity and a wonderful chocolate finish.

Freshly Roasted Java Jampit Estate from Armeno Coffee Roasters

Java

The Mocha is artfully balanced with our Java Jampit Estate coffee (also available separately from Armeno Coffee Roasters). Java Jampit Estate is grown on the Indonesian island of Java just west of Bali where the Dutch cultivated arabica trees early in coffee’s history. We also roast the Java to a medium full city roast to produce a sweet, aromatic and full bodied cup of coffee.

Armeno Mocha Java Blend

Armeno’s Mocha Java Blend

The principal behind the Armeno Coffee Roasters Mocha Java Blend is to combine coffees – whose flavors are very different – to produce the perfect cup of coffee. The fruity acidity of the Mocha energizes the sweetness of the Java, while the more full-bodied Java helps balance the unique flavor of the Mocha. The result is a wonderful full bodied blend with a natural chocolaty flavor and a smooth creamy finish.  It is a favorite of our coffee roaster, John Parks, and is usually what he brews at home.

Armeno’s Mocha Java Blend is great in any brew method and makes a particularly wonderful mild espresso. How do you brew your Mocha Java Blend? Let us know. Better yet, post a fan photo of you and your friends or family enjoying Armeno Mocha Java blend on our Facebook Page.

Enjoy!

Armeno Coffee Roasters

 

Featured Armeno Roast of the Week: Guatemala Antigua

Guatemala Antigua is Guatemala’s finest coffee, grown in the central highlands west of the old capital, Antigua, from which it takes its name. According to the Guatemalan National Coffee Association, the coffee region of Antigua is an enclosed valley formed by three volcanoes: Agua, Acatenango and Fuego. Its terrain is flat and gently sloping, unlike the other volcanic coffee regions, which are more rugged. Most of the coffee trees are planted on the valley floor, already at 5,000 feet; and, some farmers also cultivate the slopes of the volcanoes up to 5,600 feet. The high pumice content in Antigua’s soil (from the active Fuego volcano) keeps the relative humidity steady at 65 percent year round, unlike the other coffee regions, where humidity varies significantly between dry and rainy seasons.

Like all of Guatemala’s specialty coffee, Antigua Coffee is cultivated under shade. In Antigua, shade is especially dense to protect the coffee trees from the region’s occasional frost during the chilly nights from December to February. The dense shade, combined with the region’s shallow water table, produces a distinct microclimate within the coffee fields.

Armeno's Guatemala Antigua Coffee

At Armeno Coffee Roasters, we roast Guatemala Antigua coffee to a full city to bring out its sweet fruit notes and round balance. I spent some time this morning with Armeno Coffee Roaster, John Parks, as he roasted a batch of Guatemala Antigua. The pictures show the progression. The beans, green at first, and mostly uniform in size and shape were loaded into the roaster. We watched as they slowly roasted to a yellow, darkened to brown, reached first crack, and finished at a full city roast.

Stages of the roasting process for Armeno's Guatemala Antigua

Guatemala Antigua is a perfect breakfast cup in a drip maker.  If you prefer a fuller bodied coffee, the French press brings out more depth in this particular coffee.

Tell us your story.  How do you enjoy Armeno’s Guatemala Antigua Coffee?  Become a fan and upload photos of you and your friends or family enjoying Armeno Coffee to our Facebook page.

Enjoy!

Armeno Coffee Roasters

 

Armeno Holiday Wine Tasting Event 12/12/2009

Armeno Coffee Roasters‘ Holiday Wine Tasting Event series continues this Saturday, December 12, from 1 – 4pm. Each wine tasting features a completely different selection of wines. There is no charge to attend the wine tasting, and all Armeno wines are 15% off this Saturday. This is a great opportunity to stock up for your holiday events, or to purchase gifts for friends and family.

As I’ve discussed wines with the various hosts at each of the wine tasting events this holiday season, one theme that has come across loud and clear is the value available in the market today as vineyards compete for your attention and prices drop. The additional Armeno Coffee Roasters discount available this Saturday makes it an event you can’t afford to miss!

A quick review of this Saturday’s featured wines reveals and intriguing list of holiday selections from around the world….

2007 Quinta de la Rosa Douro Tinto – Alto Douro, Portugal

Elegant and subtle aromas and flavors that show great complexity with every component of the blend well integrated and well defined. The La Rosa 05 is a wine with strong character and excellent structure. Its equilibrium is a dominant factor which will allow the wine to age well and give enormous pleasure. La Rosa Douro Tinto is ready for drinking but can also be aged. Serve at cellar temperature with any meat dish or cheese.

2006 Fitch Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon – Alexander Valley, California

Mike and Nicole Duffy of Optima (Fitch Mountain is their second label) are responsible for this gem. This is loaded with tons of black currant and black cherry fruit flavors blending into a fine veil of rich yet soft tannins. A little green pepper upfront but comes around in the midpalate with solid blackberry and currant. It finishes long, spicy and memorable. A great value/price! Drink now or set aside for 3-5 years.

2003 Cave de Cairanne Cuvee Antique – Rhone Valley, France

50% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre – Color purple with black tints typical of an intense concentration. The nose, spicy at first evolves to blackberries and prunes with notes of pepper. The palate is complex and elegant, first with liquorice and blackberries evolving to a long peppery finish. Serving temperature  17° – 18° C.

2006 Chono Carmenere – Maipo, Chile

Wild flowers and violets at the nose, boysenberry the dominant fruit, gaining complexity with layers of spice and licorice on the palate. The fruity sensations evolve lush and ripe on the palate and are packed in sweet tannins that speak of the extraordinary sun on the foothills of the Andes.

88 POINTS – Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar Mar/Apr 09: Deep red. Youthfully backward aromas of cherry and dark berry skin, with a slow-building tobacco quality. Juicy cherry-vanilla and blueberry flavors are braced by zesty acidity and betray no rough edges. Finishes with seductive sweetness and a repeating vanilla note. This would be great with a strongly seasoned, grilled hunk of red meat.

2005 Marina Cvetic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – Abruzzo, Italy

The style of the wine is distinctly Italian, but with great roundness and generous fruit appeal. Bold fruit is coupled with subtle nuance and the natural fragrances of San Martino—wildflowers, wild herbs, the dusty soil laden with old sea bottom and granitic glacial scree, saffron, truffle, the myriad of trees and bushes that surround all of Masciarelli’s finest vineyards. Genuine Italian vinous art pure and true.

Tre Bicchieri – Gambero Rosso 2009

BEST RED WINE – 2009 Lithuanian Wine Championship

89 POINTS – Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 09: Full, dark ruby. Wonderfully floral nose shows rare purity and precision to the aromas of pomegranate, watermelon and red cherry. Light and nicely balanced on entry, with a seamless quality to the high-acid red fruit flavors. Finishes subtly smoky and long, but misses out on an outstanding rating due to building tannins that are a bit strong for the amount of underlying fruit.

88 POINTS – Wine Spectator 6/15/09: Shows clean, ripe forest fruits, with hints of flowers and vanilla. Full-bodied, with firm tannins and a fruity finish. There’s good fruit, but this is a little hollow midpalate. Drink now.

2008 Marco Scolaris Pinot Grigio

It has a straw-yellow color with a slight ash-grey hue. The bouquet is elegant and persistent. Very fine notes of fresh, maybe exotic fruits and acacia flowers can be distinguished together with a particular bread crust scent. To the palate, it has a solid, particular and personal structure, with a dainty taste and an excellent persistence.

2005 Meeker Lobster Cove Chardonnay

98% Chardonnay, 1% Muscat, 1% Gewurztraminer – “Refreshing,” “crisp,” and “fruity” are the perfect words for this non-typical California Chardonnay. Loads of tropical fruit aromas and flavors. No oak. Only 14% malolactic. Did we mention no oak? Great with seafood or any light summer dish, or for sipping beside your own island lagoon . . . that is, of course, presuming that you have your own island lagoon, in which case we’ll bring the wine. “SEAFOOD’S FAVORITE CHARDONNAY!”

NV Monmousseau Brut Etoile

Light golden color. Small long-lasting bubbles. A full and frothy initial expression, with almond, fig and pear flavors, a soft refreshing finish. Serve between 6 and 8°C (42-44°F). Ideal as an aperitif wine, it suits perfectly to make a Kir Royal or Mimosa as well.

Enjoy!

Armeno Coffee Roasters