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Gomer's Midtown Weekly Newsletter
Copain Comes to KCMO!
When I got into wine and then the wine business, the Princeton, New
Jersey shop where I first worked was rightly famous for its stellar
French selection. What we should also have been famous for was
discovering up-and-coming boutique wines in California and Oregon.
While Robert Parker was touting Sine Qua Non as "mailing list only" and
"impossible to obtain" otherwise, I contemplated these wines with
strange names and artistic labels that we had just received. I was
selling 98 vintage Siduri.
One winery in particular caught my imagination at that time - it was
called Copain, and the fruit for most of the wines came from a part of
California that I had never heard of before - the Anderson Valley. I
searched for it on a map, saw it tucked in the far Northwest of the
state, and I wanted to try them, and someday, visit there.
It didn't hurt that Copain's owner and winemaker, Wells Guthrie, was
about my age. I liked the idea of this young guy helping discover new
vineyards in what was largely undiscovered country (the Anderson
Valley, a decade later, remains what I imagine Napa was like in the
early 70s).
And the wines were good! Mostly. Wells had spent time In France making
Syrah with Chave, and he showed a sure touch with this grape. His Pinot
Noirs were less consistent; sometimes stellar, sometimes quirky and
strange. Over the past few years, Wells found a clearer vision for his
Pinot Noir - at a time when the trend was leaning towards bigger wines
with more extraction, he sought to try to achieve ripeness in his
grapes without high alcohol and big, gushy fruit.
For years after I left New Jersey, I bought his wines direct for my
cellar. And, at last, I can offer them to you. These are pretty
limited, so let me know what you want ASAP.
Copain 2007 'Wentzel Vineyard' Anderson Valley Pinot Noir - $51.49/bt
I walked this vineyard in 2007 with my friend Dain (of Dain wines).
Beautiful grapes that have been turned into beautiful wine. Verging on
great now, but well worth cellaring.
Copain 2008 'Tous Ensemble' Anderson Valley Pinot Noir - $20.99/bt
You could spend $15 and get a mass-produced Pinot from "Monterey." Or
you could spend a little over $20 and get a silky wine from select
parcels of the Anderson Valley vineyards Wells works. I know which one
I would buy. Oh, wait, I already did buy...
Copain 2009 'Tous Ensemble' Mendocino County Vigonier - $20.99/bt
No other white grape has fallen so far from my favor. I was obsessed
with Viognier and the tiny area of Condrieu in France for many years. I
still like Condrieu, but I have decided that exotic, peachy, floral and
minerally Viognier is more difficult to find than I wanted to believe.
It is a hard grape to vinify without being too bland on the one hand or
too fat on the other. This walks the line. Great juice for the price
asked.
Copain 2007 Les Copain 'James Berry Vineyard' Paso Robles Red - $36.49/bt
'Les Copains' is usually translated from French as 'the friends,' and
in this case the friends are Grenache and Mourvedre. This is a great
alternative to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and many people I know consider
James Berry one of the best vineyards in the Central Coast area.
Upcoming Events!
October 9th - Zinfandel tasting! Join us Saturday afternoon between 1PM
and 3PM so try a selection of some of our favorite Zinfandels and field
blends We'll have Bedrock and Orin Swift Prisoner and more! This will
be a walkthrough tasting, RSVP if you can (so we can estimate how many
are coming), but feel free to just stop by.
November - Long Shadows in early November - this cool Washington
project pairs top winemakers from around the world with top vineyard
sources in Washington state. Details coming soon.
We're also in the midst of hammering out details over our Gramercy Cellars tasting,.
Jim Coley
Wine Director
Gomer's Midtown
Check the web site for more sales!
Don't forget to check http://www.gomersmidtown.com to check our weekly
ad, which features sale prices on many other wines, spirits and beer.
Some Fine Print.
Many of the wines you see featured in our email will be available in a
limited quantity only. Wine is not a commodity where they can crank out
more if we run out! So, if you see something that interests you, please
respond to the email or call us at 816-931-4170 to confirm price and
availability. Unless otherwise noted, case pricing will be available on
our offerings.
We will fill orders as we receive them. We cannot hold wine for more than two weeks without payment.
October 1 Newsletter
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July 23 Newsletter
July 16 Newsletter
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