SAMPLE: January 08 Fringe Drinking Club:


…We were somewhere around Sancerre along the Loire when that weird heirloom amphora wine began to take hold. I remember telling Matt something like, "I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive . . ." And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and from the earth erupted a gauntlet of what looked like withered old vines, all gnarly and claw-like and closing in on the car, which was going about 100 miles an hour with the top down on the way to Monaco. And a disembodied voice was screaming: "Holy Jesus! How on earth am I going to write these tasting notes?"

2005 Belleviere “Rouge Gorge” Coteaux du Loir, France - 100% Pineau d’Aunis is a treat for those of us who love fringe drinking. How often do you get to write tasting notes that include sour cherries, singed tree bark, brazil nuts and smoked meat, various frantic utterances of euphoric profanity and still give it a score of 9 out of 10 or two checks (++), or three snaps in a circle? I say, "Not enough!" You were wondering what wine to serve with spit roasted, palm leaf wrapped Antechinus with Brazil nut crust? Or perhaps roast guinea fowl with pears poached in spiced wine or West Indian black pudding? Your search is over. (Matt) Regular Price $26.00, Club Price $23.40

2005 Grosjean Fumin “Vigne Merletta”, Valle d’Aosta, Italy - The Valle d’Aosta sits in the northwest corner of Italy, home to Europe’s most famous peaks, Montblanc and the Matterhorn. In this alpine environment, vineyards ripen grapes at the very limits of feasibility. The result is delicate, lacy, ethereal wines with tons of interesting flavors and mind-expanding food-pairing potential. Oddball and unknown, local variety Fumin tells a novel tale – it’s a fruity, smoky, balsamic wine, fresh and lively and at home with a variety of honest Italian fare from fondue of Fontina to mushroom ravioli. (Jason) Regular Price: $36.00, Club Price: $32.40