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DECEMBER 2009 NEWSLETTER Hard to believe, but here we are ready to close out another decade. It seems to me that year 2000 was last year, not a decade ago. Everybody remember Y2K? Stocking up on flashlights, candles and canned goods?Remember the song lyrics about how everybody was going to party like it was 1999? And even further back, remember when George Orwell's book 1984 was talking about a bleak and forbidding but still distant future? Trying to look on the bright side of how rapidly time goes by, I suppose I could lay down a bottle of wine for ten years and it would feel like having left milk in the fridge for a week. All I can say for sure is that I wish I had laid down a lot more good wine ten years ago. But since time seems to move in only one direction, I'll resolve to lay down some more now. And it will be darn good when I pick it back up ten years from now. And maybe we can then party like it's 2020, which, of course, it will be! So, since this is such a busy time of year, I'll quit sounding like an old codger and get down to business. Here's what's up for Calicaro: Calicaro's Holiday Wine Specials Check out the website for some great deals. Free shipping on 3+ bottles, plus 10% off all full case purchases and a gift package of fine wine and handmade chocolates. Where to Find Calicaro Online Since we have lots of new sign ups, a quick reminder as to where we are in the virtual world: and our Calicaro fan page on Facebook Wine can be ordered directly here. Just set up an account and make your selection. R & M Fine Wine Now Carries Calicaro We are now in R & M Fine Wine at 802 S. Batesville Road, Greenville, near Thornblade, a new and very nice retail wine shop run by great folks. Stop in, say hi and buy some wine. Tiny Bottle Sampler Packs of Calicaro Wine We have firmed up plans to offer sampler packs of tiny tasting bottles of our different wines. This is a completely new concept and will allow folks to try several different Calicaro wines at very reasonable prices. It recreates the tasting room experience of a top California winery (without the expense of a plane ticket to the west coast). While we are giving you a heads-up now, I think it will be next fall before we have these available for purchase online. You can then buy 4-6 different wines in tasting amounts and try each before deciding whether you want to buy a full bottle. And for people who like just a little of this or that wine, these sampler sets will be the perfect fit. Like a box of chocolates but with wine instead. The bottles will be much like airline mini bottles. The tiny bottle sampler packs will also make perfect gifts next year. We are excited about this concept, and think it will bring online sales of wine to a whole new level by allowing sampling before taking the plunge. 2008 "Poinsett" Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills We just bottled our 2008 "Poinsett," and it is now ready to ship. For those buying, PLEASE let it rest and recover for a few months from the double whammy of bottling and shipping. By next March or April it will be delightful, and then only get better for many years thereafter. Although we sourced from a different vineyard for our Poinsett in 2008 due to forest fires in Anderson Valley, we made the wine in a similar style to our 2007 Poinsett. It is crazy good. The fruit was perfect, the wine geek chemistry numbers were perfect, and everything just flowed in the winemaking and aging. For those liking a more traditional style Pinot Noir with a nod to the Old World, this is your wine. Certified organic vineyard from day one, super low yields (about 2T/acre), excellent acidity due to the very cool location at the western edge of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, light use of newer French oak. This wine is all about elegance, earth and wild berries. Those who love the 2007 Poinsett Pinot Noir - and there are many of you - are going to love this wine too. And for lovers of this style - here is an easy clue to keeping all of this straight: the Poinsett will always be our most traditional, restrained and Old World-in-style Pinot Noir regardless of where we may have sourced the fruit in any given year in order to make the Poinsett. Wishing you all the best for the holidays, Dave Chief Bottle Washer, Calicaro Wines
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