June Tasting – Rieslings Reviewed!                                   

Monthly Tasting @ Stella Blues – Sunday, June 29th, 3-5 pm

Tasting Etiquette:  Please allow us to serve you.

We appreciate your Kokua so that everyone may share in the same experience.

Mahalo, from your dedicated cheese, wine & beer team! Note of appreciation:  Perfumes

and other fragrances are discouraged at all tastings. 

#1.  Dr. Loosen 2006 Blue Slate Riesling – Mosel –Saar-Ruwer, Germany $19.99

This racy estate-bottled wine captures the elegant, mineral-infused style of the Mosel valley’s steep, slate-soil
vineyards. It’s a crisp, juicy Riesling that pairs well with seafood or with any spicy cuisine.

4 Cheese-Bleu Cheese Dip$15.99/lb

This signature Who Cut The Cheese dip features Maytag Bleu, Blue Cashel, Fourme D’Ambert, Teleme,
sour cream and green onions. A superb blend that pulls your senses into a creamy cloud nine as all four
cheeses perfectly meld together.

#2.  Bonny Doon Pacific Rim Dry Riesling – Santa Cruz, CA$14.99

This wine bears no formal vintage or appellation because it's made from an offbeat blend of grapes (harvested
in 2004) from Washington State and Germany's Middle Mosel. It's a very light straw-color wine with a greenish
glint of brass. Typical Riesling aromas mingle apple and piney notes with just a whiff of minerally "petrol."
Mouth-filling, dry and acidic, flavors follow the nose in a rather full-bodied expression of the grape.

Pyramid Chevre Seasoned with Local Lavender Seasoning            $34/lb

Distinctive Valencay-type fresh goat with a delicate and mild flavor along with a smooth texture. The Lavender
Seasoning is a superior dry marinade of lavender, Hawaiian salts and kukui nut; when added to the Pyramid
Chevre provides a savory flavor to your senses.

#3.  2005 Art Series Riesing, Leeuwin Estate – Margaret River, Australia $27.99

This is a wine of brilliant clarity. The color is a very pale straw with lime green tinges. The nose shows lifted aromas
of citrus blossom, honeysuckle, lime and quince mixed with a mineral edge, which are indicators of an excellent
wine Displaying classic Riesling flavors of lime and grapefruit, the palate enjoys great intensity and depth of flavor.
The exceptional length finishes with clean crisp succulent acidity.

Raclette Mini Melts $19/lb

Raclette is a raw, pressed, semi-firm, pungent cow’s milk cheese that melts easily without liquefying. It tastes
similar to Morbier and is made in Switzerland and France. Cooking or melting this cheese transforms it into
something quite magical and unique. When Raclette melts, it does so uniformly, holding together without splitting
or turning entirely liquid. The raw cheese has a wonderfully subtle, slightly nutty taste, which transforms into a
smoother, more intense flavor once melted.

#4.  2004 Donnhoff Riesling – Nierstein, Germany $26.99

The 2004 Riesling offers a gorgeous aroma of honeysuckle, lime, cherry, and sweet florality, followed by a billowing,
wafting array of similar silk on a palate of utmost depth and polish. A finish featuring distilled cherry essence, flowers,
smoky pungency and savory saltiness and shrimp shell minerality lays on the layers of flavor and clings like crazy.
This extraordinary wine should be able to stand its ground in the company of the estates best at any time over the next
two decades.

Proscuitto Apricot Roll with Fontina D’Aosta                              $31.95/lb $25/lb

With the distinct procuitto flavor wrapped around the juicy refreshing apricot you can be sure that it’s a perfect
marriage, giving it a nice sweet and salty mix. Adding Fontina cheese gives it a smokey tangy finish.

#5.  P.J. Valckenberg 2006 Estate Riesling Kabinett – Rheinhessen, Germany $25.99

This delicate and very elegant estate-bottled Riesling Kabinett shows a combination of a ripe, lush apricot flavor,
fine peach fruit and exotic fruit aromas such as guava. There are fine mineral notes on the finish and a refreshing, crisp
acidity. It pairs nicely with fresh seafood, delicate salads, Asian and spicy southwestern foods.

Blue Shropshire with Mango and Mango Chutney $30/lb

This is a full flavored blue with its firm cow cheese and crumbly yet creamy texture and sharp flavor that is similar
to Stilton. The Mango is a perfect summer fruit especially matched with the Mango Chutney and Shropshire. This
combination gives you a rich mouth feel of prunes, apricots, dates and a hint of onion which ads some spice
to the mango with a great tropical aftertaste.