With everything going on in the month of December, I went to my local wine shop The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan to pick up our monthly wine club selections and I was going also for another wine tasting conducted by Korbin Ming of Korbin Kameron.  It was a bonus day for me, but there is always something interesting to try and to learn once you cross the threshold of this fine shop.  All for the price of zero, one can join their wine club, (of course you do have to give them permission to invoice you once a month on the charge card of your choice) and they will send you an announcement when to come and pick up the monthly selections.  Every wine in the shop has been curated by the owner and you know that you will find wines that are not carried by every gas station, pharmacy, party store, grocer and big-box wine shop.  They fill a niche, and they do it very well.  The other nice thing is that you automatically get case-discount pricing, even if you just stop and pick up a bottle or two, a beautiful perk that I truly enjoy.  The other great thing is that they are now having tastings conducted by winemakers and wine distributors, as well as their usual personalized tastings, if you are not sure, what you want to pick up. 

The first selection representing the Old World is Domaine de Fontenelles Aude-Coteaux de Miramont IGP 2018.  The Domaine has been family owned for five generations and is forty hectares of Syrah, Grenache Noir, Carignan and Mourvedre in the Corbieres AOC and the Aude-Coteaux de Miramont IGP; and they are committed to the new techniques espoused by ISO-26000.  Aude IGP is considered one of the most productive regions in the country, and is located in the South of France and parts of the region are considered Mediterranean and the other part is considered Maritime.  Coteaux de Miramont is a sub-region of Aude, east of Carcassonne on the banks of the Aude, within the larger Corbieres AOC and generally produces reds and rosés.  Le Poete is a blend of thirty percent Syrah, thirty-five percent Merlot, twenty-five percent Syrah and ten percent Carignan.  Part of the Carignan and part of the Syrah was done in Carbonic Maceration, and part of the Syrah was done with cold pre-fermentation; and the others were done in traditional fermentation methods.  This is wine to be enjoyed in its youth, so maybe four to five years cellaring at the max.  The wine is said to have a nose offering red fruit, spices and the garrigue (the scrublands), with a balance palate of fruit and soft tannins.  The wine is touted to work especially well with Asian dishes and other spicier cuisines.

The wine representing the New World is from Michigan.  Mari Vineyards Simplicissimus Sparkling Riesling Old Mission Peninsula AVA 2017.  We have been to Mari Vineyards in our travels, but alas this wine was not among the wines we tasted, nor is part of the wines that they are offering on their website.  There was a cute story on the back label: “The adventurous Simplicissimus 2017 Sparkling Riesling Old Mission Peninsula.  That is: The singular life story a heedless sparkling wine.  How it was first fermented by a most peculiar yeast/named Torulaspora Delbruckeii.  How the young wine was waylaid early in its journey by a sudden drop in temperature/and left to slumber on a bed of lees/its sweetness still intact.  Who was revived the following spring by two neighboring lads/Who bottled the wine and sequestered it in a cave.  Where it emerged a year later fully effervescent /dry/mature, ready to be riddled and disgorged/ with no want of dosage.  Simply put/a story of Brut Nature.” Even more curious the bottle is sealed with a classic beer cap closure, so instead of a corkscrew or a saber, one only needs a church key.  I think that this will be a fun wine to try in the near future with something different for dinner.  And as an added extra bonus while I was there to pick up the Club Selections, Tom Celani of Celani Family Vineyards walked in as well.