Wow 2015 was some year for  Golden Vines with a large increase in sales, an influx of new clients, plus new producers and wines imported in both France and Italy, then we even welcomed a new member to our team –  Kelan Golden born to Ben and Emilie this past year.  Yes, we were quite busy and I guess our posts or lack of, represents that activity.

In between that activity we did get a chance to get to Italy a couple of times to visit our producers at their estates so we can see first hand how the vintage was progressing as well as see how these passionate winemakers were doing their utmost to produce the best wine possible.

We sourced some new wines from France like Chateau des Gimarets that makes some awesome Cru Beaujalais, Domaine Maurice Charleux where we found some under the radar Burgundy from Maranges, old vine gamay rose’ from Domaine le Bout de Monde, Clairette de Die from Domaine les Trois Becs which is a sparkling, slightly sweet muscat, and from the Languedoc we found some outstanding value wines, Domaine du Vistre and Chateau du Cointes.

In Italy we went way up north to the smallest wine producing region, yet arguably the hottest wine zone in Italy, the Valle d”Aosta.  This is the region that borders France and Switzerland [think alpine wines] on its northern borders and Piemonte to its south.  The wines are very unusual with natural savory notes that blend well with the brambly fruit that these wines possess.  Le Clocher is the producer and we’ll start with their Cornalin and Fumin, two indigenous varietals.

We also added new wines from our stable of great winemakers that we’ve been working with- check out ‘Our Wines’ section for more info on our selections.

In 2016 we look to continue with what we started in late 2013 and always find delicious wines from artisanal producers.  We will continue to do tastings and wine dinners so continue to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the most up to date information on these events.  We are looking to expand our reach this year to other states like we did in 2015 where we entered the market in Long Island, Queens and New Jersey,.

Feel free to continue to reach out to us at info@golden-vines.com  We were able to direct a bunch of people looking for our wines to retailers and restaurants for their own enjoyment as well as for gifts for the holidays.  Purposely you won’t find our wines in every liquor store or corner restaurant yet one taste tells you the wine is delicious, unique and tells a story in every sip.

The future is bright and we are thankful for your support.

CHEERS!!!

To say we have been busy at Golden Vines would be an understatement.  It seems like for the second year in a row we went straight from hats and gloves to shorts and t-shirts.  In other words we went from Winter to Summer and pretty much forgot all about Spring.  What that means for us wine importers is that we transition from selling full-bodied reds one week to rosé the next.

This is our third summer in business but only our first one selling Rosé.  Our incredible Sancerre producer – Daniel Reverdy – makes a delicious Sancerre Rosé (100% Pinot Noir) and we have never sold out of a wine so quickly.  By the time the wine got off the boat and into the warehouse it was already sold out.  To our pleasant surprise, this record was quickly beaten by our delicious Italian Rosé: Cerasualo d’abruzzo.  This Italian gem is a pleasant departure from the overly simplistic, light, fruit-forward Provencal-style rose wines that dominate the American market.

Some thought we were crazy to bring in rosé so late in the season – you have to understand people start pre-selling rosé in January!  However, we proved that timing the market is not nearly as important as simply delivering on our promise to bring in small-production artisanal-wines at great prices.  In one day, the very first day we introduced that Italian Rosé to the market, we sold half our allocation.

Although summer tends to be the slowest time of the year – the Golden Vines team did not get that memo.  June was literally one of our busiest months since we started.  We had great tastings at:  The Wine Stop, Dylans Wine Cellar, Wine Gems, Vine and Co, Martin Broters, Shawn Wine and Spirits, International Wines, Leon and Son, Grapeshot, and Shop Rite to name a few.

For years we have been working hard to get the message out that we have great, unique, artisanal wines at affordable prices.   We thank everyone who has supported us via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and especially to those who have attended tastings in stores.  The wider wine world is starting to receive the message: if the back label has the Golden Vines label you know what’s in the bottle is great juice.  Our phones have been ringing off the hook and we are now proud to do work with small wine shops from Hudson, NY to Princeton, NJ and everywhere in between.

We are already looking towards the Fall and will have containers from France and Italy on the water in 2 weeks.  We are looking forward to bringing in more of our fan-favorite Domaine du Vistre Cabernet and our white-hot Pinot Grigio that we can’t seem to keep in stock (once people discover “real” Pinot Grigio they can’t get enough.)  We are especially excited to bring in our first Val D’aoste producer: Le Clocher.

When we started this company our “book” or portfolio was one page.  Our current portfolio is 4 pages full of interesting, artisanal small production farmer wines.  We are honored to work with some of the most interesting and unique wine stores and restaurants in New York and New Jersey.

Thanks for all the support!

We are excited to welcome for the first time to NY Lucio Mosole of Tenuta Mosole in the Veneto.  For his maiden visit he’ll do two events one in Manhattan at our new partner Back Label Wine Merchants on Friday May 1st. Then the next day we’ll travel to Peekskill to one of our original supporters, Dylan’s Wine Cellar where we’ll help celebrate their anniversary with Lucio’s visit as well as an art exhibit.

Should be a great weekend.

http://backlabelwine.com/events/the-wines-of-venice/

Wow, were we surprised that David can still beat up on Goliath, even with all of the money and technology there is to offer to the ‘big guys’!  We received a wonderful email from Paolo and Imelda Ceschin the proprietors’ of Sanfeletto and the accompanying article.  They were justly proud to be recognized for their exceptional prosecco but like us also a little surprised as well.

When you have a moment please read the article because it is educational as well as being smart enough to know great wine when it’s tasted.  Also don’t forget to ask your local wine shop for ‘the Sanfeletto Prosecco please’.

In case you want to cut to the chase, here’s what Tom Stevenson had to say:

SANFELETTO

NV Brut (Conegliano)
11.5% ABV, 8g/l
Very fresh, luscious, sherbety-fresh fruit nose and palate. Exceptional intensity, but still elegant, focused and not in the slightest bit weighty. The best Gold in the tasting. Potentially a trophy winning wine.

To read the entire article:

http://www.champagnesparklingwwc.co.uk/viva-il-rive/

Though it was freezing cold for the month of February our sales have continued to stay hot.

We had a bunch of tastings throughout February and even a couple of special events as well.  We were asked to give a wine tasting for the law firm of Morrison Foerster and had a blast meeting all the people at that wonderful firm.  We also did a wine dinner with the Anselmi brothers of Montemercurio in Tuscany at the new restaurant Iron Vine in Peekskill, in conjunction with our friend Steven Zwick at the ever popular Dylan’s Wine Cellar.

Don’t forget the bevy of in store tastings that we did with some great partners like the new Corks on Columbus, The Wine Stop, Wine Gems, Gownaus Wine Merchants, Nolita Wine Merchants, Martin Brothers, International Wines and a few others I surely forgot.

March marches oin with a few more tastings lined up and please follow us on social media [Facebook, Twitter, Instagram] for regular updates.  Expect to see us this month at Grapeshot Wines, Dandelion Wines, Vine and Co and many more being scheduled as I type.

We are working on a new container of wines from France that will contain new vintages of some favorites as well as some exciting new selections from new producers as well as new wines from our regulars.  La Braulterie for one will double their wines with us as we grab some rose’ and a Bordeaux white.  To name a few others but I think this requires its own post we’ll add wines from Reverdy, Giullo, Cointes, Vistre, Rousset…and more.  Rose’ will be in for Spring!!!

Stay tuned and stay warm – drink wine!!

New year, new wines, new tasting opportunities for you to taste our wares.

Though we already poured at Wine Gems on January 3rd there are still other opportunities to taste our wines this month.  Saturday January 24th we’ll pour wine at an in store tasting at Vine and Co in Bedford Hills and we’ll do the same at Nolita Wine Merchants in Manhattan on January 29th.  Lastly we have been invited to do a wine dinner at Sorrel Wine Bar in New Rochelle on Wednesday January 28th but the details still need to be worked out.  It’s always best to call the store ahead to confirm the time.

Thanks for following us in our first 18 months, we look forward to doing bigger and better things in 2015.

Come one, come all!!  We are celebrating the holidays all month long with a bunch of in store tastings in December.

As always it is best to contact the store prior to attending to confirm the times.  If you have any questions for us it’s always best to email us at:  Info@golden-vines.com

If you are looking for a gift, a party wine, or just looking for a bottle to treat yourself, our artisanal and rare collection is sure to please.

Cheers!

DECEMBER:

11th – Dandelion Wines and Gramercy Cellars

12th – Wine Gems

13th – Vine and Co and Martin Brothers

18th – AOC Wines and Gowanus Wine Merchants

19th – Vinifera

20th – The Wine Stop and Dylan’s Wine Cellar

Just a quick little note, to let everyone know where you can find us this October.  Our wines are now available at more and more restaurants and retailers, here are some upcoming tastings where you can sample our wines:

Oct 8^th -Come join us in Brooklyn at FERMENTED GRAPES from 5-8 – 651 Vanderbilt Avenue

October 11^th We will be pouring wine at LARCHMONT WINE  from 2-6pm —  1945 Palmer Avenue, Larchmont, NY Oct 18 – Tarry Wines

Oct 18^th - You can try our wine at TARRY WINES in Portchester, NY — 175 N. Main Street 

Come  and bring your friends; spread the word and enjoy some very unique wines!

We are VERY excited to share that we have been asked to participate in the Southern Westchester Food and Wine Festival [SOWE] on Saturday, September 20th. Our partners at Westchester Wine Warehouse asked if we could pour Nicholas Rousset’s ‘Vin De Soif’ Macon Rouge 2012, L’eveil de Sens Haut Cote de Beaune Chardonnay 2012, and Il Fitto Syrah 2010.  All of these wines are exceptional and we are excited to share them with the hordes that are expected to attend.  The event will be held in Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck. We look forward to seeing you.

Saturday, Sept 20, 2014, 11am-5pm: Grand Culinary Village, including BBQ/Grilling Plaza, Mrs. Green’s Healthy Eating Pavilion, Food Trucks, Kids Zone and Live Music

We taste all the wines we buy ‘blind.’  And what we mean by that is we do not chase a producer, or winery that got a stellar review by an influential  wine critic, or was given a high score by a wine magazine.  We hope, of course, that the wines we pick will be well-recieved by the public, and the wine community  - but when we taste wines we literally do so with a brown paper bag over the label to make sure we are not being influenced by anything but the quality of the juice in the bottle.

Now, with that said we would like to share just a tiny bit of the accolades that have been pouring in for our wines and the restaurants that carry them.

We work with two wineries in Piedmont.  One of them, L’armangia, cleaned up at SLOW WINE winning top awards for the winery itself and two of its wines.  The second one, Bricco Maiolica, won the highest honor,  ‘Tre Bicchieri‘ from the prestigious Gambero Rosso.  That was not the only  ‘Tre Bicchieri‘ winner; our winery in  Campania, Contrada, also won the prestigious  ‘Tre Bicchieri‘ award.  

In France, we represent two wineries: Christian Bellang and L’eveil des Sens that earned ‘triple stars’ from the influential French wine review “Le Guiede Hachette des Vins.”  In addition, our producer in Sancerre, Reverdy took home gold at the Loire Valley international wine competition, and another Burgundy producer Le Grappin, was revealed as one of the top ten under the radar producers in Burgundy by Wine Searcher.

These great wines have not gone unnoticed by the restaurant community.  The New York Times recently wrote about the “delicious selection” of food available at La Compagnie des Vis Surnaturels and another piece about Grindhaus ended with a two star review describing the food as “terrific stuff” and yet another restaurant Le Philosophe was a New York Times Critics’ Pick.  Our wines are poured at New York City’s favorite Italian restaurants Like Frankies Spuntino, Otto, Esca and Barboncino: Restaurants that have had so many positive reviews in so many magazines, they don’t need even the press anymore – as people show their support with their feet as it’s packed most night.  Critically acclaimed French Restaurants from Nice Matin to Benoit; from La Mangeoire to Cocotte have all discovered our high-quality wines.

We are honored and flattered that we were able to connect these great small-production wineries in France and Italy with great New York restaurants the care deeply about the quality of every item on the menu.

Please look at our website for our ever-growing list of restaurants where you can find our wines.

If you want to taste some of the wines we have, Anthony will be pouring wines in Brooklyn in August.  First, on the 7th he will be at Shawn’s in Park Slope Brooklyn from 5-8pm and then in the afternoon of the 22nd at Heritage Wines on Dekalb Avenue.  Please come by and see what all the buzz is about!