Our Blog

Windham Wines has several wine gift ideas for the wine lover on your list. In addition to gift certificates, this year we have put together several gift basket options.  Among the choices are baskets for red wine lovers, white wine lovers, wine novices, wine collectors, and Vermont wines. Each basket includes two bottles of wine and one or two Riedel wine glasses. Prices vary depending on the basket. Please call for details and to reserve your basket. Last day to reserve a basket for Christmas is December 22nd.

For holiday entertaining, we have two new 90+ cases of wine to offer. The cases include bottles rated 90 or above from either Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate or Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar. Tasting notes are included. One case is all red wines and includes 2 bottles each of 6 different Spanish reds; it retails for $190.69, plus tax. The other case includes 2 each of 3 red wines and 3 white wines. It retails for $221.89.  Call the shop at (802) 246-6400 to reserve a case. 

We have also collected a new $99 case that works well for large holiday parties. This case offers 2 each of six different wines. We have considerable demand for these cases, so please call to reserve as many as you would like so that we may have them ready for you when you come.

As of October, 2009 the Wine Gallery will no longer be open for regular business hours.  We have decided to focus exclusively on private parties, special events, and tastings. Stay tuned for more information and check out the event calendar for our upcoming schedule.

To learn more about reserving the Wine Gallery for your next event call us: 802-246-6400.

We look forward to seeing you!

Saturday, September 25th, 5:00
Spain: Beyond Rioja and Ribera del Duero
Spain continues to offer interesting varietals at great prices.
Marty shares some of her favorites.
Tasting fee: $15, plus tax

Saturday, October 3rd, 7:00
Deirdre Heekin and Caleb Barber chef/owners of Osteria Pane E Salute, Woodstock authors of In Late Winter, We Ate Pears: A Year of Hunger and Love
For the Brattleboro Literary Festival weekend, we are hosting Deirdre and Caleb, authors of In Late Winter, We Ate Pears. More than a cookbook, In Late Winter shares their love of the culture and way of life they experienced during their year in Italy. Caleb and Deirdre offer glimpses of a vibrant Italy: of rolling out pizza dough in an ancient hilltown at midnight while
wild dogs bay in abandoned streets; of the fogged car windows of an
ancient lovers’ lane amid the olive groves outside Prato. The recipes included In Late Winter are every bit as delicious as the memories. Come taste wine as Deirdre shares memories and Caleb prepares small bites to accompany those tastes.
Call for more information: 802-246-6400

O’Reilly’s Pinot Noir is widely regarded, particularly in the Northwest, as the best value Pinot Noir on the market year after year. In the three years that we’ve offered it, we receive our allocation in late September upon the new vintage release and run out before the end of the calendar year. This year, we received the following announcement from our distributor, the bottom line of which is “order now and save.” Below is the email we received:

O’Reilly is the “good value” label of David O’Reilly, winemaker and co-owner of Owen Roe Winery.  “Good Value” O’Reilly’s wines are made from juice that does not quite fit the recipe for the spectacular Owen Roe wines, and are very reasonably priced. One of the most “blogged” about Oregon Pinots, there are rave reviews for O’Reilly’s Pinot Noir all over the internet.

As you may have heard, 2008 was an excellent vintage in Oregon, and the wines are very exciting. The 2008 O’Reilly’s is a good preview for the vintage– it is a deeply colored wine, and it glows in the glass. It smells great, and on the palate it is loaded with fresh, juicy, intense fruit balanced with great acidity. The mid-palate is detailed, and the finish is long. This is the best O’Reilly’s to date! It is well worth the price tag– in fact, at that price, you should buy cases of this wine. This is a full-scale bargain-alert– don’t miss out. O’Reilly’s Pinot Noir is the most popular Oregon Pinot Noir we sell. Every year, the wine’s drinkability and price offer the highest quality and value (and sells out the quickest).

Like it’s big brother, Owen Roe Sharecroppers Pinot Noir 2008, the O’Reilly’s Pinot Noir 2008 is as forward as the 2006, as food friendly as the 2007, but with even better balance and texture.

For O’Reilly’s fans, go directly to the order button for it is MORE LIMITED THAN USUAL, and for many of you, this will probably be a one-shot deal. An astonishing value year after year, with some of the characteristic Owen Roe intensity and vibrance. GREAT value, and great “house wine” for your house. For quality juice, the creed is get-it-while-you-can!”

This is surely one of the best-value wines in the shop. Frank and I visited this property when we first when to Gigondas ten years ago. Gigondas is one of those “most-picturesque” villages in France. Domaine Les Florets has a small hotel surrounded by vineyards nestled in the shadow of the Dentelles de Montmirial in Provence. It is absolutely stunning and most decidedly still very traditional, very Frend. Like its estate, Domaine Les Florets Gigondas is a traditional wine, evoking a clear sense of place. This is the same estate, by the way, that produces the Domaine La Garrigue Cotes du Rhone, to my mind the best Cotes du Rhone for the price year after year.

The following review appeared in Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, awarding it a 93 score. “Dark red. Extremely seductive nose offers a kaleidoscopic bouquet of fresh red berries, flowers, Asian spices and minerals; smells like a topnotch Chambolle-Musigny! Sweet and impressively energetic, with precise strawberry and raspberry flavors, medium body and fine, silky tannins. An utterly effortless, graceful example of Gigondas.”

Nebbiolo is one of the world’s great grape varietals. It is the varietal of Barolo and Barbaeresco, two majestic wines of great longevity. More affordably, Nebbiolo d’Alba and Langhe afford the opportunity to taste this varietal without the commensurate price tag of Barolo. These are also wines that you can enjoy much sooner, with warmer, longer summer days and warmer evenings in the Po Valley leading to riper grapes with softer tannins.

This is a wine to savor, slowly letting the flavors open and shift from rose to brambly fruit to fennel. Enjoy this when the sun has set and a little coolness has set in, ideally with a plate of aged Italian cheese like a good Parmigiano-Reggiano. If you eat meat, include some prosciutto or fennel salami on the plate as well.

The following review was written by Antonio Galloni, Italian wine critic for the Wine Advocate. “Readers who want to get an early idea of the 2006 vintage in Piedmont will want to check out Produttori del Barbaresco’s terrific 2006 Nebbiolo delle Langhe. The wine shows the super-ripe qualities of the vintage in its sweet dark fruit, licorice, tar and spices. To be honest, I haven’t always been a fan of this bottling as too often it can come across as green and under-ripe, but none of those qualities are present in this 2006, which bodes well for the estate’s top wines. In the meantime, this is a sexy, perfumed Nebbiolo to enjoy over the next few years. As is the case with the more important wines here, the Nebbiolo was aged in cask, six months in this case. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2011.”

We were first introduced to the Falesco “Vitiano” when we opened the wine shop two and a half years ago. Then, as now, it was a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet, Merlot. Then, unlike now, it was $9.99 and frequently went on sale for $8.99. It was a steal then, and it is still a great value despite last year’s descent of the dollar that resulted in nearly across-the-board price increases for Italian wines. This remains a go-to wine; for everyday drinking, put this in your repertoire, along with Kermit Lynch’s Chateau Saint Martin de la Garrigue, “Tradition,” the Berger Gruner-Veltliner (out of stock at our distributor).

Ridiculously dark black-ruby color. Pretty aromas of cassis, black plum and earth, with a pronounced vanilla presence that does not overpower the fruit. Rich and densely packed, with distinctly ripe flavors of black fruits, raisin and chocolate lifted by an intriguing balsamic vinegar note. This finishes lighter than it starts, with welcome acidity nicely delineating the borderline-overripe fruit. Finishes creamy and long. This is a lot of wine for the money, and the best Vitiano in years, far removed from some astringent versions of recent memory.

This is a great introduction to Malbec– rich flavors of black berry fruit, mulberry and black cherry along with a bit of licorice and spice. The new vintage was just released, and to promote it, the distributor offered a deal. The wine usually sells for $2 more per bottle, so now is the time to buy this one by the case. Save the $2 from the distributor, plus another 10% for the case and 6% on tax. That makes this wine just $9.89 a bottle. You will be hard-pressed to find a tastier Malbec for less than $12.99.

Malbec is the perfect match for red meats off the grill. Argentina is, after all, the land of abundant grass-fed cattle.

This super-value has been a crowd pleaser since we first introduced it over a year ago. An unoaked Tempranillo from La Mancha, it is the perfect weight for those who only drink red and need something less ponderous for summer evenings. It can be enjoyed as a glass on its own, but also pairs nicely with grilled pizza, roasted vegetables including eggplant and fennel, and burgers.

International Wine Cellar submitted the following review for the 2007 Campos Reales. “Bright purple. Primary dark berry aromas are complemented by licorice and dark chocolate. Straightforward and a bit youthfully grapey, with sweet blackberry and cassis flavors, supple texture and a late candied floral quality. This became firmer with air but is in no way hard. Very easy to drink and a ridiculous value.”

This is our harbinger of summer; when the Peyrassol arrives, we know that summer is not far behind. A blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, we buy this wine by the case and serve it at early evening gatherings when the sun is still out and parched throats yearn for something refreshing. When we first started going to France, the country of so much good wine, we were surprised to see so many natives drinking pink. We finally tried it in the south of France with a pissaladiere for lunch and have been strong proponents since.

Cotes du Provence, the appellation de controllée (AOC) in which the Peyrassol estate is located, is known for dry, minerally, floral rosés. We try lots of rosés when visiting France and when we travel domestically. The Peyrassol captures the essence of Provencal rosés: pale pink, with aromas of nectarine, pink grapefruit, carnation and just a hint of garrigue– a rosemary, thyme, lavender mix. In the mouth, wild strawberries, nectarine, and wet stones and that clean, bright finish with lingering minerality. If you’ve been to the Cote d’Azur, a glass of this will transport you back. Enjoy it on its own in the evening on your deck or pair it with anything Provencial, from aioli tossed with green beans and potatoes to pissaladiere or Caprese salads.

The following review appeared in the International Wine Cellar, a well-respected industry review of wines edited by Wesleyan graduate, Stephen Tanzer who, it turns out, gave the Peyrassol a 90. “Pale orange. Spicy aromas of wild strawberry, pear, orange, honeysuckle and white pepper. Fleshy, palate-coating red berry flavors display very good depth and are firmed by juicy acidity. Finishes on a sappy note, with strong mineral snap and floral persistence.”