August 2009 Extraordinary Wines from Off the Beaten Path
Another great month! This time, we journey to Spain, Portugal, Austria, and Germany for the red and white crowd, and to Spain, Portugal, Austria, South Africa, Argentina and France for the all red crowd. We see the last of the summery wines, and the beginning of wines that deserve to be drunk in the fall.
One note on the website: I seem to have exceeded the capacity of my databases, and it is acting a little funny. Therefore it is imperative that you follow the link in this email to access your notes. I hope to have the situation under control in the next few days, but until then, you can find all of the wines in the club under the following links:
For Extraordinary Wines from Off the Beaten Path, click here
For Extraordinary Wines from Off the Beaten Path All Red, click here
As always, drink your selections in good health.
Until next month,
Jake
Founded in 1919, 
Shine refers to Germany’s northern latitude, and the fact that grapes wouldn’t ripen without the reflected sunshine from the river itself (this is why hillsides along river banks are so valued in Germany).
Vinho Verde is a classic wine of Northern Portugal. The name refers to the unripe grapes from which it is made (Verde = Green). While both red and white Vinho Verde are made, the red is a seriously acquired taste, while the white is the one that most of us not accustomed to consuming the wines will love. Characteristics of Vinho Verde are: low alcohol, serious spritz, and a pleasant, herbal, tree and stone fruit flavor and aroma. Vinho Verde is usually non vintage, and meant to be consumed within a year of production.
My favorite Austrian red wines come from the Blauer Zweigelt grape, sometimes referred to as Zweigelt. The flavors are vibrant and fruity, and the texture is almost creamy. The resulting wines seem to be what you would get if you poured some really good Zinfandel into some really good Pinot Noir.
Nearly all the vineyards are still located in Gedersdorf. 11 hectares – which is about 25 acres – are planted with mainly two varieties, Gruener Veltliner and Riesling. A small portion is reserved for Chardonnay, Zweigelt and Merlot. The top sites are the vineyards named Moosburgerin, Pfarrweingarten, Tiefenthal, Gebling and Holzgasse, which combine more than 70 percent of the total acreage. Many of the vineyards were planted before the current craze for clonal selection had taken hold, and therefore have mixtures of different clones, and many obscure clones that add complexity to the final wines.
Ramon Castaño Santo began purchasing parcels of old vine Monastrell (a.k.a. Mourvedre or Estrangle Chien) in 1950, going against the popular notion that the vineyards weren’t worth owning. 
add complexity.
There’s more to 
