The Buzz

2008 BOUTIQUE OF THE MONTH CALENDAR

Every month Urban Wineworks selects a flight of 3 or 4 special wines, which are available all month long, for a nominal tasting fee. Each month’s theme is intended to be educational and two of the monthly selections tie in with our Build Your Own Cellar and Beyond the Cork (Wine 101) Classes as featured wine selections. Come on in and enjoy!

January	New Year's Disillusions Hey. Not all of us are saints. And some vices are too good to give up. Not only do we understand, we reward your wayward ways with wines so tempting, so satisfying, and so downright hedonistic, we doubt the Dali Lama could resist. What better means to a trend?
February	Zinful Delights Tempt the palate and your fate.  Taste luscious Zins and delectable treats.  Find the perfect match for milk, semi-sweet and dark chocolates among a bouquet of fruit forward, and voluptuous, zinfandel companions.  Who knew falling in love could be this easy?
March	Women Winemakers Femme fatale?  No, no, mon dieux, no.  Femme ferment!  Who says wine, women and song have to be three separate things?  Our wines this month are made by women winemakers who know how to make their grapes sing.  We invite you in to sing, and sip, along.
April	No End in Sight Sometimes wine is so good it transcends its origins and becomes something inexplicable.  Some might compare it to music or poetry.  For this month’s “High End” flight, we scoured the earth, leaving no pudding stone unturned, to find the finest wines, the crème de la crème.  These wines go beyond the senses, capture the imagination and create an experience so memorable it will change the way you look at a glass of wine, forever.
May	Indie Wine Month Guerillas, garagistes, or gung ho indies?  Whether a winemaker has a pet project on the side, has put together his cuvee in the basement or garage, or follows his passion on a tiny budget, what marks independent winemakers is their small production and their passion to produce the best possible wine.  We picked four of our favorite struggling wine artists for this month’s flight.
June	South African Safari Pack your land rover and join us as we hunt down some South African trophy wines.  Take a swing through our juice jungle in search of Pinotage, Steen and other wild, wine beasts you won’t find elsewhere on the planet.  No surfers allowed on this safari!
July	What's up? Just grillin'. Summer demands a good barbecue, and whether it is sweet, salty, or spicy can make or break the wine you select to go along with your grilled treasure.  From a local Pinot noir to a shiraz from down under, let us treat you to a sampling of full bodied reds that can stand up to a sauce and make sure your backyard fare is an over the top success.
August	The "other" white wine Riesling is the Madonna of white wine grapes.  No matter whether it gets bad press, or is overproduced, it continues to re-introduce itself as a variety that simultaneously delivers characteristics of the place it is grown without losing its own characteristic style.  From its homeland in Germany to our own backyard, this month we follow the grape’s remarkable and slightly scandalous career.
September	Iberian Indulgences When in Rome , do as the Romans do…but, no, these aren’t Italian wines, these are wines from the Iberian Peninsula ( Spain and Portugal ), which were once the most popular wines imported to the seat of the great Roman Empire .  This is no plebeian wine tasting – discover why ancient Spanish and Portuguese varieties have endured.  Make your own inquisition of what Iberia offers today!
October	Superman? Super Tuscan! Not content with the constraints of an antiquated wine labeling system that discouraged creativity, several mild mannered Italian wine producers went to their phone booths, or was it their wine cellar, and unclothed wines that blended the best indigenous grape varieties with the best from other parts of the world.  Join us this month to find out why a flight of these wines are so super.  But please, check your cape at the door.
November	CEL...ebrate good times, come on! This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, but this IS the time of year when many people entertain.  But holiday foods can be challenging to pair with wine.  Besides you’ve got no time for that.  Our delicious wine selections this month, from bubbly aperitifs to dessert digestives, will ensure your gathering is graced with the perfect guest beverage.
December	Pioneer Pinots The patriarchs of the Oregon wine industry moved here in search of perfect growing conditions for Pinot noir.  For only in such conditions does the pinot grape produce wines with delicacy, complexity and mystery found in few others.  This month we invite you to experience wine made from the grape that has defined a lifestyle for many Oregonians and represents a phenomenon that is leading Burgundy to redefine itself.