3CUPS Blog

Attention 3BOTTLES participants. Your monthly ration of our favorite new wines will be available to collect (or purchase, if you are not a member but would like to try out this club) on Monday, July 6th. First Monday of the Month, as per usual. But here's the twist: in July we are offering you an all-red or all-white option. Ok, the red set contains one pink wine. Both sets are the same price, $50, so if you're a member, simply tell us red or white, and we'll hand over the goods. Of course we'll sell you both if July is the sort of month where six new wines in the pantry might come in handy.

The themes are more irreverent than usual, Jay's favorite whites for seafood, or Jay's favorite reds (and a pink) for pizza. Recipes included, no extra charge, caveat emptor, Jay is not a professional chef, we make no claims as to his culinary competence, etc. We've been thinking about doing all-red / all-white options for ages, and sheer laziness on Jay's part has kept this plan from being realized. Until now. 3BOTTLES offers you a chance to try 3 different wines each month, which comes with 4-6 pages of text we put together so you can learn a little bit as you sip and savor.

Sainte Marie des Pins

Sauvigon Blanc

NV

$7.99

$7.19 (10% off this weekend)

Headed to the beach? Considering hosting an amalgam of your thirsty companions for a sweltering weekend get-together? This wine is a perfect in-lieu-of-lemonade July 4th companion. Buy a case and your party beverage worries are over. To our memory, this is the least expensive wine we've sold, it tastes great AND its organic. How does this work? This is a Direct Trade wine and Jay met the family in January. The magic is that the Languedoc region has historically made affordable wines, and even as the quality improves, the prices stay low. This is a great time to check out wines from the Languedoc while the best of them remain good values.

The Wine... The wine from this domaine tastes really clean, fresh, juicy. This Sauvignon is fermented and aged in tank, using no oak. All the Sainte Marie des Pins wines are certified organic. They are truly the product of mixed-use agriculture. Sixteen of Sainte Marie des Pins' 56 hectares are planted to vines. Organic is great, but avoiding monocultures and preserving green space are equally important.

July 1 to July 7, 2009

Bordeaux, $8 for 3

 1. Ch. la Grolet Cotes de Bourg, $5/gls, $11.99/btl

2. Ch. Grand Maison Cotes de Bourg, $7/gls, $17.99/btl

3. Ch. Moulin Canon Fronsac, $8/gls, $22.99/btl

What is Minerality?, $8 for 3

1. Francois Chidaine Vouvray, $8/gls, $23.99/btl

2. Dom. Oudin Chablis, $7/gls, $18.99/btl

3. Leitz Eins Zwei Dry Riesling, $6/gls, $14.99/btl

Summer Seasonal Farm

Finca Nueva Armenia

Guatemala

Huehuetenango

$15.99/lb.

This week we introduce our Summer Seasonal Coffee, Finca Nueuva Armenia from Guatemala. For years, we've been selling this coffee and each year it gets better. FNA was one of the first certified organic coffee farms in Guatemala and through the skills of brothers Jorge and Javier, the flavors in the cup keep improving. Join us through the summer as we enjoy this clean summer coffee.

The Coffee... This coffee is perhaps the classic Huehuetenango coffee. The warm days and cool nights of Finca Nueva Armenia create a coffee that is sweet sweet sweet, full of apple, citrus, and melon flavors. The Recinos family manages their washing immaculately, and the coffee is about as clean as can be, which is a classic characteristic of Huehuetenango’s coffees.

3CUPS Wine Series with Sheri Sauter-Morano, MW

Class #7: Northern Italy

Thursday, July 9, 7PM - 8:30PM

$20 in advance / $25 at the door

We could probably split Italy into 20 classes at least. But in the interests of speeding up the educational process, we'll limit ourselves to a couple of overview classes that will highlight the diversity and real quality of Italian wines currently available. There's an emerging group of growers making wines in Italy that focus on indigenous, traditional flavor and natural farming. Great stuff.

3CUPS Wine Series with Sheri Sauter-Morano, MW

Class #8: Southern Italy

Thursday, July 16, 7PM - 8:30PM

$20 in advance / $25 at the door

Away from the industrial north, farming in Italy can sometimes appear a little 19th century. We love that. The ugly opposite is also unhappily sometimes true, as large-scale agribusiness plays a role in the landscape of Italy's southern regions. We won't taste those wines. From Aglianico to Frappato and Falanghina, the native lavors of the south will make this an amazing event.

Coffee Brewing Workshop with Iced Coffee
Saturday May 16, Noon-1pm, Free

A coffee brewing workshop fits the title, one coffee with many ways to brew it. Learn the difference between a press pot and a vacuum pot and how they brew the same coffee to taste different. We'll show you the procedures for each brewing method and discuss how the details affect the flavors. For the summer months, we've added a fifth method... Iced Coffee!

I am excited about the Direct Trade wines that we are receiving these days at 3CUPS… the result of Jay’s trip to France earlier this year. I watched him proudly build a display of a 2005 Cabernet from France’s Cotes du Bourg and decided I would write this week’s e-mail and tell you why I am excited enough about these wines to personally buy a case or three.

By Direct Trade (DT) I mean wines that we have a direct relationship with the producer. In this case, Jay went to France in January, met with the folks from Chateau La Grolet, worked with the importer, Bruno Arricastres, to have these wines delivered to 3CUPS. Now they are here and you can stop by the store to try them for yourselves at our free tastings on Friday (3 to 6PM) and Saturday (1 to 4PM).

The reason I will be buying lots of these wines is that I trust Jay's palate to select great tasting wines, the Direct Trade model offers me really good value, and I know I am voting for sustainable agriculture and natural wines by purchasing wine from the farmers Jay met in France.

Lex Alexander

Jay's DT Wines to Taste on Friday and Saturday...

2008 Jas d'Esclans Rose, $14.99/btl

NV Dom. Sainte-Marie des Pins Sauvignon Blanc, $7.99/btl

And this week's Weekend Wine...