The Second Glass

The wine and sake event held at Pho Republique, in Boston’s South End, was held on Monday, May 12. The event was a blast with over 150 people showing up for the free wine and sake tasting along with the $2 dim sum at the bar. Pho Republique is one of our favorite restaurants serving great Thai and Vietnamese food along with creative cocktails (Lychee Martini’s), a great rotating wine list, numerous sakes available by the glass or bottle and Scorpion Bowls.

We put together this event with Pho Republique in order to highlight their great beverage and food menu. Attendees were initially skeptical of the sake, due to the over abundance of poor quality sake served at most sushi restaurants, but after sampling the rice wines available there were many converts. The wines were all produced by wineries that farm organically or biodynamically, not only making the wines more environmentally friendly, but creating a wine more representative of the place it came from.

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Sakes from the Tasting

	KaoriThis is a Junmai Ginjo sake from the Yamagata Honten brewery. The sake is medium dry and very fragrant with aromas of melon and banana.
	Murai Family Nigori GenshuHailing from the Aomori Prefecture, this is a Nigori or unfiltered sake. It’s milk white with bold, creamy flavors and a strong acidity.
	Ozeki One Cup SakeThis is our kind of sake as it comes in a cup ready to open and drink. While packaged in individual servings, this is still a quality sake with a nicely balanced flavor.
	Poochi PoochiSound of Bubbles PoppingA semi-sweet sparkling sake from the Fukushima Prefecture. Sparkling sake isn’t being taken seriously by sake purists, however, we find it incredibly fun and enjoyable.
	Hou Hou Shu HanaProbably the main crowd pleaser of the evening, this sake is light, fun and very approachable. Made in the Okayama Prefecture by the same people who bring you the Chikurin Hou Hou Shu Sparkling Sake that was a Wine of the Weekend July 2007. This is a bright and tangy sake perfect for afternoon sipping or with food.

Organic, Biodynamic and Sustainably Farmed Wines from the Tasting

1)		2007 Château Haut la Vigne Côtes du Duras, France - $15We are proud to present wine from Nadia Lusseau, among the new generation of young women winemakers working organically (in “re-conversion,” she will soon be certified officially). Vineyard: 8.80 hectares, made up of 3.7 hectares of white & 4.8 hectares of red (Merlot, Cabernet franc and Sauvignon, Cot). 10 km from Duras, Mostly 20 year old vines on a diverse terroir.Hand-picked grapes, indigenous yeast, slow press, aged on lies for a few weeks. 50% Semillon, 50% Sauvignon fermented separately. Powerful nose, complex, round & full of fruit.
2)		2006 Domaine Serge Laporte Sancerre, Loire Valley, France - $28Laporte vineyards are located on several different sites in Chavignol. They are beautifully exposed properties on the hillsides. Terroir is important in Sancerre. Laporte’s vines are planted in parcels of caillottes, which is a stony limestone with little soil, and also in parcels of argile-calcaire, which is clayey limestone. Each soil type contributes to the wine: caillottes produce wines that are forwardly fruity with finesse; argile- calcaire creates wines that are structured and long-lived. It is just about the best combination you can have in a Sancerre. Serge picks the grapes by hand and vinifies them parcel by parcel to assure that the individual flavors and aromas are accentuated.
3)		2006 Montanet-Thoden Burgundy, France - $24Catherine Montanet and Tom Thoden’s 10 year old vines are cultivated organically since the very beginning. This Pinot Noir is 10 year vines planted on clay and limestone slopes like the white from Montanet-Thoden. Forest and bright red fruits.Certified Organic
4)		2005 Rimbert ‘Mas au schiste’ (The Masochiste), St Chinian Languedoc, France - $16Jean-Marie Rimbert is a passionate winemaker who works around 40 acres of old vines. Small plots on steep hills on the edge of a National Park in the heart of the Languedoc. One of the most talented winemakers of Saint-Chinian. Hand-picked grapes, low yields. Bottled using gravity (no pumps). Almost black in the glass with a slight suggestion of purple ink when held up to the light. Intense nose dominated by red fruit, cherry liqueur, blueberry jam & loads of crushed stone with tones of black olive & spiced hummus. The palate is a generous, round & elegant expression of ripe & forward red & black fruit flavors steeped in dynamic mineral-infused cocoa tones. Enjoy with herb encrusted roast chicken, grilled steak or leg of lamb.Sustainable
5)		2006 Shannon Ridge ‘Wrangler red’ Lake County, CA - $15In 1861 Lake County was created from parts of Napa and Mendocino counties and has since been well known as a farming community. In the 1870s vineyards were planted and by the early 1900s the area was already earning its reputation for producing “World’s greatest wines”. Prohibition forced an end to the Lake County wine production in 1920; most of the vineyards were removed and replaced with walnut and pear orchards. The comeback of the wine industry began in the 1960s when a few growers rediscovered the area’s grape growing potential and once again began planting vineyards. Lake County now has more than 8,800 acres of planted vineyards, which is a significant increase from less than100 acres they had planted in 1965. This area has also seen the recent establishment of several American Viticultural areas such as High Valley and Red Hills-Lake County.Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Syrah, TempranilloSustainable
6)		2004 Escoda’Coll del Sabater’ Conca de Barbera, Spain - $32The vineyard is in the Conca de Barbera appellation in Catalogna (near Tarragona, south of Barcelona). North-west exposure, at an altitude of 450 meters. The soil is clay and limestone (red). 9 year old vines.100% Merlot Certified Organic
7)		2005 Les Tonnilières Pic St Loup, Languedoc, France - $20Syrah and Grenache vines on clay & limestone soil, with North/East exposure, and began making wine only a few years back. She ages her wine 10 months in cement. Red fruits and licorice with lots of spices and structure. Great with cold cuts and anything with herbs.Certified organic
8)		2004 Deux Ânes ‘Enclos’ Corbières, Languedoc, France - $23Magali (in the cellar) and Dominique (in the vines) Terrier started their vineyard in 2000 after coming down south from the Macon region. 20 hectares of vines (Carignan, Black and Gray Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah), surrounded by 40 hectares of protective vegetation, on slopes overlooking the Mediterranean sea. Great with meats and stews.Certified Organic and Biodynamic
9)		2004 Loup Blanc Les toirs p’tit (Three Little Pigs) Minervois, France - $24Vignoble du Loup Blanc is in a small town in Bize-Minervois. The youngest vines were planted in the 90s, the older ones in the 60s, and the Carignan in 1897! The vineyard is home to 10 variatals: Alicante, Chenanson, Cinsault, Grenache noir, Syrah, Tempranillo, Carignan, Terret blanc, small grape Muscat and Grenache gris. Tempranillo 20%, Carignan 35%, Grenache 40%, Alicante 5%Certified Organic
10)		2005 Escoda ‘Les Paradetes’ Conca de Barbera, Spain - $38North-West exposure at an altitude of 450 meters. The soil is clay and limestone (red). 80 year old Sumoll, 6 year old GRENACHE, 6 year old SAMSOT.Certified Organic

* Notes came from the wine’s importer. For more info about the wines, email us and we’ll get you in touch with the distributor.