November 4th Tannat Festival Tasting

The Fifth Annual Rome Fine Wine Festival has become a delicious fall ritual for fans of the grape and of the Rome Symphony Orchestra. The sipping soiree was a benefit for the local symphony, the South’s oldest, now celebrating its 88th year in this charming small city in northwest Georgia.

We had a great tiime and a great showing for TanTerra and our Tannat wines. The patrons were, largely, unfamiliar with the Tannat varietal and were eager to experience all of our offerings. Virtually all were fervent in their appreciation for our Tannat and sparkled in their approval and admiration of our Tannat-Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat-Syrah blends. It was thrilling to see the joy and delight on the faces of so many patrons as they discovered tannat wines. We really enjoyed being there.

We met the wonderful folks from Wolffer Estates in New York. Ken was at our table sampling TanTerra and introduced himself...nice fellow I thought. When he returned with a glass and offered a sample of one of their wines, their 2005 Wolffer Estate Cabernet Franc, very nice fellow, I thought!

I have sampled a small number of New York wines. I have never encountered a wine crafted in New York that delivered the profile of the varietal so marvelously. It had a big fruity nose with the signature Cab Franc vegetal component, dark red fruits in the mouth and a rich finish with a bit of minerality to it. Excellent wine for $20 to $25 a bottle. You can see their (awesome) website here: http://www.wolffervineyards.com.

Our thanks to the Chariman of the festival, Mr. David Dohrrman, and to Ray Jarvis and Barbara and Beverly and all of the volunteers that organize and operate the annual gala. They're doing a wonderful work for the community of Rome, Georgia and her acclaimed symphony. We look forward to being with them again next year.

Thanksgiving is coming soon, followed by the mania of Christmas and the passing of another year. We're all getting ready to spend the holidays with family and friends, sharing the love and warmth that is the greatest aspect of the holiday season each year.

We'll share some good food and drink as well. We hope that you do too.

Warmest regards for the holidays to you!

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TanTerra’s Tannat Scores in San Francisco

TanTerra’s Tannat Scores in San Francisco
TanTerra’s 2008 Tannat scored another medal recently, this time at the prestigious San Francisco International Wine Competition.
Over 4,000 wines participated in this annual who’s who in international wines competition recently. Entries were submitted by 1200 wineries from 29 countries and 20 states.
The San Francisco International Wine Competition, touted as the largest, most influential international wine competition in America, is judged by a prestigious panel of nationally recognized wine experts. J udging is based on a blind, consensual procedure, ensuring competitive integrity as it remains the nation's most respected wine competition.
TanTerra’s 2008 Tannat was voted one of the best by a large list judges that includes some of the most respected and storied wine experts including
Mark Bowery • Wine & Spirits Consultant, Mark Bowery Consulting, Mendocino
Ronald Brown • Editor & Publisher, The Japan Wine Challenge Magazine, Tokyo
Scott Greenberg • Wine Columnist, Radio Reporter, The Vine Guy, Washington, D.C.
Jim Harré • Wine Consultant & International Wine Judge, New Zealand
George Skorka • Wine Consultant, Skorka Wine Consulting, Los Angeles
Kevin M. Vogt, MS • Wine & Spirits Director, Emeril's, Las Vegas
We've created these award winning wines under the TanTerra label and humbly encourage you to experience something new and exciting in wine.
Ask the Sommelier, restaurant manager or your favorite retailer about TanTerra and broaden your wine horizons!
From our vineyard to your glass…..a wonderful journey awaits you!
Creative Loafing with Tannat Wines

El Nuevo Mundo (The New World):
Uruguay and Peru are the new Argentina and Chile of the wine world
March 4, 2010 at 11:33 am by Cecelia Messina
The fame of wines from South America grows like a wild fire.　 Argentina and Chile have made such incredible headway into the wine world that it’s now uncommon to find someone who doesn’t know about Argentine malbec or Chilean carmenére.　 Even as recently as three years ago that would have been the reverse, eyes glassing over at the mention of wine from either of these countries.
Now the same holds true for Uruguay and Peru.　 There’s a look of shock as those who are otherwise astute wine drinkers try to reach into the crevasses of their brains to figure out where exactly these two countries lie in relation to their now more famous neighbors.
Uruguay is almost triangular in shape, with Argentina bordering its west and northwest sides and Brazil to its northeast and east.　 The base of Uruguay’s triangle is the Atlantic Ocean.　 After many conflicts between Portugal, Brazil, Spain, Britain and Argentina, Uruguay gained independence in 1828.　 The influx of European immigrants brought with it the planting of vines, and one of the most important varietals was the tannat grape.
Tannat originates in Southwest France and is best known in the Madiran AOC.　 As the name would imply, the grape is tannic, inky and earthy.　 The varietal has done well in Uruguay and is now considered the "national" grape.　 Tannat was and still is well received there because it pairs perfectly with beef, and Uruguay has one of the largest numbers of cattle ranches and beef consumption per capita in the world.　 Due to the high tannins and astringency of the grape, tannat wines do extremely well in oak, where some of the bitey flavors are softened.
This article is excerpted from the article at this link: http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2010/03/04/el-nuevo-mundo-the-new-world-uruguay-and-peru-are-the-new-argentina-and-chile-of-the-wine-world/
Tannat Wines and Health Research

It seems we cannot move these days for news stories telling us how wine is either bad for you or good for you. Does it lower cholesterol or raise cholesterol? Maybe it lowers good cholesterol and raises bad cholesterol; maybe it doesn't affect cholesterol at all? From The Wall Street Journal - Europe
2009 TanTerra Harvest Report (Tannat Wines)

"Each vintage is preceded by a series of works from the beginning of June, of the past year, and they are made following only one objective: the excellence of this vintage.
Tannat Wines of the Madiran

In the article below, the writer has been to visit the old home of the Tannat varietal in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains in southwest France, along the Spanish border. He notes the diverse nature of Tannat wines and the premium value of terroir,

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