Formaggio & Friends

Nov 5

✈️🍷 Take Flight Tuesday: Grenache Across the Spectrum 🍷✈️ When: Thursday, November 5th Time: 6-8pm Cost: FREE for Wine Society friends; otherwise, $25 per person Tasting Type: General For our next Take Flight Tuesday, we’re exploring Grenache across the spectrum with our friends from Breakthru Beverages, traveling through some of the world’s most fascinating wine regions to discover how this versatile grape transforms with its climate, terroir, winemaking traditions, and style. Grenache is a true globetrotter. Known as Garnacha in Spain and Cannonau in Sardinia, it can be fresh and fruit-forward, elegant and savory, structured and complex, or beautifully rich and sweet. From white wines to expressive reds and luscious fortified dessert wines, this tasting will challenge expectations and show just how much this grape can do. We’ll journey from Paso Robles, California, to the Pyrenees of Australia, the Rhône Valley of France, the rugged landscapes of Sardinia, the vineyards of Navarra, Spain, and the sun-soaked Roussillon region of southern France. Along the way, we’ll explore how place, tradition, and technique influence what ends up in your glass. 🍷 The Lineup: Our curated selection includes six distinct expressions of Grenache and its close relatives: 🍇 Robert Hall Grenache Blanc, Cavern Select — Paso Robles, California, USA 🍇 Domaine Tournon, Grenache, Landsborough Vineyard — Pyrenees, Victoria, Australia 🍇 Domaine Gramenon, Poignée de Raisins — Côtes du Rhône, France; selected by Kermit Lynch 🍇 Giovanni Montisci, “Barrasu” Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva — Sardinia, Italy 🍇 Viña Zorzal Garnacha — Navarra, Spain 🍇 M. Chapoutier Banyuls Vin Doux Naturel — Roussillon, France 🍷 A General Tasting Experience This is a general tasting, offering a chance to sample and enjoy a diverse selection of wines without a formal classroom-style lesson. Come discover new favorites, compare styles, and explore the many expressions of Grenache at your own pace. Whether you’re a longtime wine lover or simply curious about what’s in your glass, there’s something here for every palate.

Nov 12

✈️🍷 Take Flight Tuesday: Adventures with Alberto 🍷✈️ When: Thursday, November 12th Time: 6-8PM Cost: FREE for Wine Society friends; otherwise $25 per person Tasting Type: Classroom Pack your bags, wine lovers! Our next Take Flight Tuesday is taking us to Lombardy, Italy, for an evening of discovery with Alberto Scarani, wine representative for the family-owned winery Cà Montebello. This is your chance to go beyond the bottle and explore a portfolio shaped by family, tradition, and the distinctive character of northern Italy—with someone who knows these wines and the people behind them. 🍇 Meet the Scarani Family Nestled among the rolling vineyards of the Pavia hills in Lombardy, Cà Montebello is a true family affair. The Scarani family has cultivated a long-standing relationship with the land, building a winery that blends generations of experience with a commitment to quality and thoughtful winemaking. The family’s roles reflect that shared passion: Luigi Scarani leads the winery, Alberto manages global commercial relationships, Alberto’s wife, Ines, is part of the family’s work in the business, and their daughter Cristina serves as the oenologist—the winemaker responsible for the art and science behind the wines. Their vineyards grow in limestone-clay soils on hillsides with both eastern and western exposure. These conditions, paired with careful vineyard management and a balance of traditional craftsmanship and modern techniques, help give Cà Montebello’s wines their distinctive regional character. 🏔️ Discover Lombardy & Oltrepò Pavese Located in northern Italy, Lombardy is home to a remarkable range of wine styles. Our focus will be the Oltrepò Pavese, a historic wine-producing area south of Pavia, where rolling hills meet the foothills of the Apennines. The region has a particularly strong connection to Pinot Nero, including traditional-method sparkling wines, alongside expressive reds made from varieties such as Barbera, Croatina, and Uva Rara. It’s a place where sparkling wines, still whites, structured reds, and playful frizzante wines all have a place at the table. And that’s what makes this tasting so exciting: there’s much more to Lombardy than you might expect! 🍷 The Tasting Lineup: Alberto will guide us through a selection from Cà Montebello’s portfolio, showcasing the diversity of the winery and its home region: 🍇 Pinot Nero Metodo Classico Brut NV — traditional-method sparkling wine 🍇 Riesling Frizzante 2023 — lively, gently sparkling white 🍇 Pinot Grigio 2023 — a fresh expression of a familiar favorite 🍇 Barbera 2022 — a classic northern Italian red 🍇“Custiò” Red Blend — a regional blend with character 🍇“Buttafuoco” Riserva Red Blend 2018 — a deeper, more structured expression 🍇“Sangue di Giuda” Frizzante — a distinctive, gently sparkling red with a touch of sweetness 📚 Taste, Learn & Connect This is a classroom-style guided tasting, designed for curious wine lovers who want to explore beyond the tasting notes. We’ll discuss the region, the grape varieties, the winemaking traditions, and the differences between the styles in our glasses. Best of all, Alberto will be there to share his knowledge, answer your questions, and tell the stories behind the wines. It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with the person behind the portfolio and discover what makes these bottles special.

Nov 19

✈️🍷 Take Flight Tuesday: Beaujolais & Cheese 🧀🍇 When: Thursday, November 19th Time: 6-8PM Cost: $35 per person Tasting Type: Experiential There’s something special about this time of year: the harvest is in, the days are getting cooler, and it’s the perfect excuse to pour a glass of red wine and gather around the table with good friends, delicious cheese, and a little French flair. For our next Take Flight Tuesday, we’re traveling to Beaujolais, France, to celebrate the annual harvest and the grape at the heart of the region’s wines: Gamay! Known for its bright red-fruit flavors, lively acidity, and soft tannins, Gamay is wonderfully versatile. Depending on where it’s grown and how it’s made, it can be fresh and playful, elegant and layered, or beautifully expressive. And when you add cheese to the equation? That’s when things get really fun. 🍇 A Special Toast to Beaujolais Nouveau One of the highlights of this tasting is Beaujolais Nouveau, the celebrated first wine released from each year’s harvest. Made from Gamay and bottled just weeks after the grapes are picked, it offers a fresh, fruit-forward first taste of the new vintage. But what makes Beaujolais Nouveau truly unique is its release tradition. Every year, the wine makes its official debut on the third Thursday of November (yea, the DAY OF THE TASTING!), sparking celebrations in France and around the world. It’s more than a bottle release—it’s a shared moment marking the end of the growing season, honoring the work of the winemakers, and welcoming a brand-new vintage. 🍷🎉 We’ll include Beaujolais Nouveau in our tasting so you can experience this lively, youthful style alongside other expressions of Gamay. It’s a chance to explore what makes Nouveau distinctive and compare its fresh, exuberant character with the depth and variety Beaujolais has to offer. 🧀 Five Wines. Five Cheeses. One Delicious Journey. We’ll taste five wines paired with five cheeses, exploring how each pairing brings out different flavors, textures, and surprises in the glass and on the plate. Our friends from Touton Distribution will facilitate the tasting, guiding us through the wines and sharing their knowledge along the way. Whether you’re already a Gamay fan or just curious to discover something new, this is a delicious opportunity to celebrate the harvest, explore a beloved French wine region, and find a few new favorites.