Below are the July, 2008 Featured Wines for the Wines by Jennifer Wine Club.

 

White Wine 2006 Monte Schiavo "Pallio di San Floriano" Verdicchio Classico Superiore Marche, Italy   Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi is the most famous and historically noted DOC wine of the Marches. The vines of the ancient Verdicchio variety (so called for its particularly thick green skin) cover the hills that flank the river Esino. At the center of that historic grape growing district stands the community that has given its name to the wine. The history of that town, Jesi, is intertwined with that of its Castelli (castles), of which there remain only the ruins: Castelbellino, Castelplanio, Maiolati, Monte Roberto and Cupramontana. The Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi can be labeled with the geographical qualification Classico when it is produced in the oldest sector of the zone indicated in the DOC discipline. This 100% Verdicchio comes from the “Fossato” vineyard in the Jesi commune of Poggio S. Marcello. It is straw-colored, with greenish-gold highlights. The bouquet is intense and long-lasting, with hints of ripe fruit and slightly over-ripe grapes. Fresh and lively in the mouth, the palate is delicate and reminiscent of sage and almonds, leaving a long-lasting, pleasant aftertaste.

Red Wine 2004 Sogrape "Callabriga" Dão, Portugal   Wines like Callabriga are causing critics everywhere to sit up and take notice. It should, since it’s made by Sogrape, one of Portugal’s Grupo dos 7 (or G7 as they call themselves), an association founded in 1992 by seven of Portugal’s leading wineries to promote fine Portuguese wine. Today, the company is run by the third generation of the founding family and owns about 800 hectares of vineyards in the main Portuguese wine-growing regions and in Argentina. Blended from the indigenous Portuguese grapes Tinto Rozis, Touriga Nacional, and Alfrocheiro Preto, the wine is made from specially selected grapes of premium quality set aside for extended oak maturation and bottle-aging. It has a firm, fruity aroma of red fruits and cherries, roasted nuts and spicy, oaky overtones. The dry, rich, mellow, well-balanced palate is full-bodied and finishes smooth and long. The Dão Demarcated Region, with an approximate area of 376,000 hectares, is located among very mountainous areas and valleys with soft hills and slopes. A cold and rainy climate in winter and dry in the summer provides unique conditions for wine production. Quinta dos Carvalhais, where Sogrape has focused on the production of the best Dão wines, has all the characteristics of the Region’s estates and is one of the main landmarks of Portuguese viticulture.

Wines by Jennifer is also proud to announce our new "Cellar Club", featuring a new wine each month suitable for long-term aging. Call the shop and ask for Jennifer for all the details on this exciting new Club, or visit our Featured Cellar Club Wine page for details on this month's selection.