WINES OF CHILE Online Tasting Tonight by Philip S.Kampe

Do you want to have a great Wednesday evening? Drink wines form Chile tonight and listen to Master Educator/Sommelier and friend of mine, FRED DEXHEIMER, walk you through a dozen bottles of the glorious wines from Chile. All of the bottles are available at your local wine shop or at Puro Chile, 161 Grand Street in New York (www.puro-wine.com ).
Fred will be in Santiago Chile for the tasting and will have open lines for invited guests to log in and to discuss the wines. You can listen to the event by calling 888-757-2790 and using Passcode 138348# .
You can log in on your computer at: http//tiny.cc/TerroirMC 
Bloggers can use Twitter by logging into #BlogChile to comment.
Wine parties will be going on around the globe for this global event.
The wines that need to be purchased for the event are:
Vina Casablanca Nimbus Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2012 (Casablanca Valley) $12.99

San Pedro 1865 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (leyda Valley) $18.99
Casa Silva CoolCoast sauvignon Blanc 2011 (Colchague Valley) $24.99
Emillana Novas Pinot Noir 2010 (Casablanca Valley) $18.99
Cono Sur 20 Barrels Pinot Noir 2009 (Casablanca Valley) $31.99
Morande Gran Reserva Pinot Noir 2009 (Casablanca Valley)$17.99
Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Carmenere 2010 (Cachapoal Valley) $21.99
Carmen Gran Reserva Carmenere 2010 Apalta-Coichagie Valley $14.99
Koyle Royale Carmenere 2009 (Colchague Valley) $25.99
Ventisquero Grey Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (Malpo Valley) $28.99
Marquis Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (Colchagua Valley) $18.99
Los Vascos La Dix cabernet sauvignon 2009 (Colchagua Valley) $64.99




Fred suggests that you chill the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir and take them out 10 minutes before the 8pm EST tasting. Open the Carmenere one hour before the tasting, pour a little bit and place it in the fridge for 15 minutes during the Pinot Noir chat. Open the Cabernet Sauvignon one hour before the tasting, pour a little bit and place it in the fridge for 15 minutes during the Carmenere chat.



I did have a Wines of Chile party in the past and all of the guests had a great time.Log in and you will find tasting notes, winery information and recipes via a Pod that will appear on the screen.
I look forward to hearing about your 'Wines of Chile' party.

PHILIP S. .KAMPE
philip.kampe@thewinehub.com

VIC & ANTHONY'S and VIBRANT RIOJA Celebrate Wine, Tapas and Art in NYC on Thursday and Friday, October 11th and 12th by Philip S. Kampe

Ana Fabiano is the world's leading authority on the Wines from Rioja. Her new book, "Wine Region of Rioja" and first New York City book signing event will take place from 5-8pm on Thursday, October 11th at the world famous VIC & ANTHONY'S steakhouse, located at 233 Park Avenue South at 19th street,near Union Square.
Wines from Rioja will be served and paired with a tasting menu that includes oysters, clams, octopus, duck and smoked beef tongue. The wines that will be served include 2005 Beronia Gran Reserva; 2007 Muga Reserva; 2011 Muga Blanco; 2010 El Coto Blanco; 2008 Palacios Remondo Paltet Valeomelloso and 2005 Marques de Riscal Gran Reserva.
On Friday night, October 12th,from 5-8pm, VIC & ANTHONY'S and Vibrant Rioja will host contemporary Spanish artist Luis Burgos and his new exhibition, "The Mirror and the Soul". Wines from Spain paired with Smoked Mussels, Stuffed Calamari, Braised Goat Belly, Iberico Ham and Shrimp Stuffed Piquillo Peppers will be served. The free flowing wines will include: 2005 CVNE Imperial; 2005 Dinastia Vivanco Reserva;2001 Bodegas Riojanas Vina Albina Gran Reserva and 1998 Bodegas Riojanas Monte Real Gran Reserva.
Both nights will be memeorable and worth a cisit. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND these events to all that love Wine, Tapas and Art.
Tickets are $75 per night or $130 for both nights plus tax and gratuities.
Call ERIC at (212) 220-9200 or e-mailEric at:Eostrow@ldry.com

PHILIP S. KAMPE

Going 'UNDERCOVER' to Pays D'Oc IGP by Philip S. Kampe

Going Undercover to Visit the Pays d’Oc IGP Region in France by Philip S. Kampe

I am going ‘Undercover’ on an assignment to visit the Pays d’Oc region in southern France.  My goal is to find out why this region has a special wine certification called ‘Protected Geographical Indication’, generally known as IGP. Why is this IGP seal on most bottles from Pays d’ Oc? What makes the wines meet the criteria for its existence? Why is this area of France so unusual that its rating system is its own?

Geographically, the Pays d’Oc region is a unique area that stretches along the Mediterranean Sea from the Spanish border to the Rhone delta. The areas covered add up to roughly two-hundred thousand (200,000) plus acres and include the areas of Pyreness-Orientales, Aude, Herault Gard and six towns in Lozere.
This vast area in Languendoc-Roussillon offers a wide range of contrasting landscapes and weather conditions. The majority of the vines face the Mediterranean Sea. The varied terrain includes mountains, foothills and coastal plains. The area, according to the photographs and videos I have witnessed is absolutely beautiful.
Imagine vineyards on a hillside slope facing the Mediterranean Sea on a sunny day with blue skies and Atlantic breezes. From overhead photographs, the soil is a mosaic of colors, mostly light brown to orange. Pay d’Oc region is known for its soil covers that range from clay to chalky, limestone, schist and gravel on the lower hillsides.

The laws of Pays d’Oc allow the winemaker to make wines from a range of fifty-six (56) grape varieties. These fifty-six grape varieties combined with the winemakers creativity produce truly unique wines. The winemakers say that the IGP label represents ‘the relationship between the area and the aromatic quality of the grape varieties’.
The IGP label guarantees quality, traceability and geographical origin.The IGP and AOP labels (formally AOC) are the only official European quality labels.
The wines produced in the Pays d’Oc region include reds, whites and roses. The possibilities are endless, due to the fact that the winemaker can make a single variety, two varieties combined or a blend of wines. With fifty-six grape varieties allowed, the combinations are unique and creative.

The Pays d’Oc region celebrates the harvest with the release of a Primeur wine that is released on the third Thursday in October, a month before the other new wines are released.
The region has over two-thousand five-hundred (2,500) winemakers that use the IGP certification symbol to announce to the world that they are from this unique region. My goal is to find out why this Pays d’Oc IGP region is unique to the world. What makes the wines so special?

According to the IGP governing body, “ Pays d’Oc IGP is an umbrella brand and an official certification label. It is also a unifying label, signifying quality, authenticity and imagination. The certification label has been adopted by 2700 vineyards and businesses. It ensures origin and is earned by satisfying strict quality criteria throughout the supply chain from the vine to the bottle’”
Going ‘Undercover’ has its advantages. No one knows who is behind the sunglasses and why is this person (me) making the Pays d’Oc region of France his beat?

I am discovering that I am French by Philip S. Kampe

I am discovering that I am French by Philip S. Kampe

The time in Pays D’Oc IGP has come to an end. My five days of ‘Pays D’Oc IGP Nirvana’ is now a living and lifelong memory. My first wine ‘Undercover’ a la James Bond adventure has come to a close.
Naturally I timed my trip to coincide, to the day, with the release of 007’s first movie, Dr. No, fifty years ago. The news filled the front page of France’s ‘Le Figaro’ newspaper.
All of France is still in awe of James Bond, hardly taking note that I may be 007’s newest incarnation, a Pays D’Oc  IGP wine spy.

I was in France on assignment.
As you know from my recent articles, I went ‘Undercover’, sunglasses and all, to learn why the wines from the Pays D’Oc  IGP region of southern France are so special, so unique and so good.
My goal is to discover what makes the Quality and Diversity of  the Pays D’Oc IGP wines?
I used the guise as a wine journalist to infiltrate Pays D’Oc IGP. I traveled with three other overly competent American based wine journalists to Montpellier, where we were picked up and driven to our hotel, by two, young French women, who were employed by the Pay D’Oc IGP wine region’s governing body, Inter Oc.
The hotel we stayed in is named Massane in Balliargues. It is a golf focused hotel and a perfect cover for me, the ‘Undercover’ wine spy.
The three wine journalists who traveled with me reside in San Francisco and New York. They were veterans and I was a mere novice.
You never know what you can learn on a Press trip with knowledgeable wine journalists.
Thanks to Delphine Lorentz, Inter Oc represnative at Clos de Rignac in Lattes.
One of the things I learned was the correct pronunciation of the word ‘vineyard’.
Delphime led an orientation session for our group about the Pays D’Oc.IGP region. In her amazing, insightful power point presentation, Delphine pronounced the word vineyard as VINE, like wine, YARD. That pronunciation will always be with me, as for the next five days I said vine yard the correct way.

Isn’t is odd to travel across half of the world to learn how to pronounce a word that you use daily?
Life is strange.

Speaking of oddities, I learned that the French people, which I am one, do not enjoy visual luxuries the way we do. For example, if I ware successful in France and bought a flashy car with my wealth, it would be looked down upon. The French game plan is to fit in and don’t stand out. That rule does not apply, I was told, to families with old money, race horses and chateaus.
In America, society encourages us to show off our wealth.
I am a bit confused which path is correct.
As the days mounted and our vine yard visits reached double digits, a strange voice came from within me. The voice became stronger and stronger, whispering and reminding me, clearly, that my origin is French and it is time to bring my background to the forefront.

Everything French is in my blood. To show my newly-found loyalty, while touring the mediaeval walled-town of Carcassonne, I purchased a French flag to hang on my doorway in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
To top that off I have decided to change the pronunciation of my last name from Camp E to Camp Hay.

Have I gone mad?