Newsletter Archive
August, 2008
Posted 08 15 2008 by miquel 0 Comments
NEW SAMPLERS and SUMMER SPECIALS!!
Summer is coming to an end and we are gearing up for the big holiday season. To make sure that you will have your favorite wines we have been working hard in preparing our fall line-up. A major part of that is to have the new vintages ready for you. Two big containers arrived recently, one from Austria and the other from Croatia. The warehouse is shock full and we need to make even more room for additional arrivals scheduled for September. That's why, for the very first time we are offering our SUMMER SPECIALS! These may be single bottles from opened cases, a few bottles with labels showing minor damage, end-of-vintage wines, end-of-bin, etc. Check out our new Specials feature in the Wine Shop and take a look. We are sure you will find something very nice at very big savings. Don't wait, these wines are in short supply and will not last at these rock-bottom prices.
Among the many interesting wines we just received are the absolutely beautiful wines from the Bio-winery Geyerhof in Kremstal, Austria. This ancient estate is owned and managed by Ilse Maier, widely recognized and highly respected as a pioneer in organic wine production. For more than two decades she has not used any toxic chemicals, fungicides, or artificial fertilizers. Over these many years the plant material in her vineyards has become very robust and healthy. They now produce stunning wines, rich and flavorful, yet extremely focused like a bundle of laser beams. A pure pleasure to drink! To introduce you to these fine wines produced in only limited amounts we have created our third SAMPLER, the Bio-Organic Duo. It consists of 3 bottles each of Geyerhof Gruener Veltliner Rosensteig and the Riesling Sprinzenberg. Both are single vineyard wines from the 2007 vintage. This vintage was hailed in Austria as exhibiting the best balance between ripeness and acidity, yield and value for years. Save big time, instead of $140.80 pay only $100 for all six bottles!
We hope you remember the first two Samplers of Croatian Plavac wines, the Top-Three and the Value Six-Pack. They are only available until September 1st, so time to order is running out.
Summer is coming to an end and we are gearing up for the big holiday season. To make sure that you will have your favorite wines we have been working hard in preparing our fall line-up. A major part of that is to have the new vintages ready for you. Two big containers arrived recently, one from Austria and the other from Croatia. The warehouse is shock full and we need to make even more room for additional arrivals scheduled for September. That's why, for the very first time we are offering our SUMMER SPECIALS! These may be single bottles from opened cases, a few bottles with labels showing minor damage, end-of-vintage wines, end-of-bin, etc. Check out our new Specials feature in the Wine Shop and take a look. We are sure you will find something very nice at very big savings. Don't wait, these wines are in short supply and will not last at these rock-bottom prices.
Among the many interesting wines we just received are the absolutely beautiful wines from the Bio-winery Geyerhof in Kremstal, Austria. This ancient estate is owned and managed by Ilse Maier, widely recognized and highly respected as a pioneer in organic wine production. For more than two decades she has not used any toxic chemicals, fungicides, or artificial fertilizers. Over these many years the plant material in her vineyards has become very robust and healthy. They now produce stunning wines, rich and flavorful, yet extremely focused like a bundle of laser beams. A pure pleasure to drink! To introduce you to these fine wines produced in only limited amounts we have created our third SAMPLER, the Bio-Organic Duo. It consists of 3 bottles each of Geyerhof Gruener Veltliner Rosensteig and the Riesling Sprinzenberg. Both are single vineyard wines from the 2007 vintage. This vintage was hailed in Austria as exhibiting the best balance between ripeness and acidity, yield and value for years. Save big time, instead of $140.80 pay only $100 for all six bottles!
We hope you remember the first two Samplers of Croatian Plavac wines, the Top-Three and the Value Six-Pack. They are only available until September 1st, so time to order is running out.
Tags: newsletter
July, 2008
Posted 07 15 2008 by miquel 0 Comments
Check out our first Samplers and Save BIG!
The biggest news as of late around Blue Danube Wine is that we are now offering Samplers of some of your favorite wines. As a start, we have put together two different Plavac Mali samplers.
For everyone who already knows what a great grape the "little blue" from Croatia is, we created the Top Three Sampler. It bundles our three best Plavac Malis together at a great price. For only $100 you get two premium Dingač and one bottle of the famous Zlatan Plavac Barrique. That's less than what you pay for these great wines in Croatia!
If you are still curious about Plavac or looking to stock up on everyday house wines, we have the Value Six Pack. It consists of two bottles each of three different Plavac Mali, a total of six bottles: The dry Plavac and the fruity Pelješac from the Dingac Winery and a full 1 Liter (!) of the yummy Plavac Hvar; all six bottles for only $10 each.
This special offer expires on Labor Day, September 1st. We'll be introducing more Samplers from other regions and varietals in the future, so keep checking back on our web site.
Speaking of wine regions, our latest shipment of Austrian wines just arrived. The 2007 vintage of Gruener Veltliner and Riesling is excellent. The red wines from 2006 which have been released recently are equally good. We'll keep you posted once we cleared customs and the wines are safely in our ware house, so please stay tuned.
July is traveling and vacation time. Our web designers and roaming travel writers, Michael and Elia have been at it again and are now documenting their vino adventures through the Czech Republic and Hungary. You can read all about it on our blog. Note, that you can go back in time here and read short reports from their visits to 50+ wineries in Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Slovenia last summer.
This will assist you in preparing your travel there or at least will water your mouth for a nice glass of wine from these ancient wine regions.
The biggest news as of late around Blue Danube Wine is that we are now offering Samplers of some of your favorite wines. As a start, we have put together two different Plavac Mali samplers.
For everyone who already knows what a great grape the "little blue" from Croatia is, we created the Top Three Sampler. It bundles our three best Plavac Malis together at a great price. For only $100 you get two premium Dingač and one bottle of the famous Zlatan Plavac Barrique. That's less than what you pay for these great wines in Croatia!
If you are still curious about Plavac or looking to stock up on everyday house wines, we have the Value Six Pack. It consists of two bottles each of three different Plavac Mali, a total of six bottles: The dry Plavac and the fruity Pelješac from the Dingac Winery and a full 1 Liter (!) of the yummy Plavac Hvar; all six bottles for only $10 each.
This special offer expires on Labor Day, September 1st. We'll be introducing more Samplers from other regions and varietals in the future, so keep checking back on our web site.
Speaking of wine regions, our latest shipment of Austrian wines just arrived. The 2007 vintage of Gruener Veltliner and Riesling is excellent. The red wines from 2006 which have been released recently are equally good. We'll keep you posted once we cleared customs and the wines are safely in our ware house, so please stay tuned.
July is traveling and vacation time. Our web designers and roaming travel writers, Michael and Elia have been at it again and are now documenting their vino adventures through the Czech Republic and Hungary. You can read all about it on our blog. Note, that you can go back in time here and read short reports from their visits to 50+ wineries in Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Slovenia last summer.
This will assist you in preparing your travel there or at least will water your mouth for a nice glass of wine from these ancient wine regions.
Tags: newsletter
June, 2008
Posted 06 15 2008 by miquel 0 Comments
June is a very active month for us: We were invited by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board to attend VieVinum, the largest and most prestigious wine show in Austria. This show is particularly interesting since it takes place in the former Imperial Palace right in the center of Vienna. The surroundings are nothing short of spectacular. Most of the Austrian wines that we tasted there lived up to this royal setting.
We used this opportunity to visit all of our Austrian partners on their estates which is always a treat as we get to taste wines which are very rare in addition to barrel samples of wines still waiting to be released. The fun part of the hospitality of our wine makers is that many are also excellent Top-Chefs. Just to name a few dishes we really enjoyed: a delightfully light Spargel (white asparagus) soup made by Melanie Rieder of Weinrieder; a delicious crispy and flavorful Zander filet (pike) cooked by Herta Stiegelmar of JURIS, and a pan-fried beef schnitzel rubbed in Kren (Austrian horseradish) served by our host Monika Schmelz with a grand view of their terraced hillside vineyards along the Danube river in the Wachau.
Good to know, the 2007 vintages of our Austrian wines are currently on their way and should be here shortly. We'll keep you posted and promise this much: they are very, very nice.
We left Vienna just before the start of the EURO soccer Cup which we keep watching at home. Our importer and distributor colleague, Daniel Pedisich, traveled with us in Europe. From the photograph it is easy to tell that he is a fan of the Croatian team. He is shown watching the games in Astoria, New York. On the other side of the continent we jumped right back into action and presented our collection of Croatian wines at the Annual Croatian Extravaganza in Sacramento, California. Hundreds of people tasted more than a dozen different wines and purchased them by the case. We decided to extend the special promotional offer from the Extravaganza to you, the readers of our Newsletter. Only you can find the special pricelist when you click here (this offer has now expired).
Tags: newsletter
May, 2008
Posted 05 15 2008 by miquel 0 Comments
Our new Croatian wines have arrived!
We're happy to report the arrival of some of our most popular Croatian wines. Welcome back: Postup, Pelješac, Plavac, and Dingač; we have been waiting for you! In this shipment we also received the first vintages from a couple of new wineries on the Dalmatian Coast, the Island of Hvar, and from the Kalnik Region (photograph below courtesy of Nikola Žulj).
Križevci Graševina
This is a new Graševina for us from the Continental wine region of Croatia. It sports a light body (it's the same grape as Welschriesling, Olasz Rizling, and Laški Rizling) and with only 11% alcohol, it is a wonderfully refreshing wine. It comes just in time for warm weather dishes like salads and fresh seafood.
Putnikovici - Lirica
An interesting new Plavac Mali from the Pelješac Peninsula. Light fruit aromas and spicy flavors make it an excellent accompaniment for red meats and grilled fish.
Svirče Plavac Hvar
Fans call this everyday drinking wine the Party Plavac. It's produced by the highly respected Svirče Co-Op on the Island of Hvar which is also known for its famous Ivan Dolac. The Plavac Hvar comes in a 1 Liter bottle and represents a great value. It will make a tasty accompaniment to your meals. Our tip: Drink it chilled on hot summer days.
These and other fine wines are all available now from our online shop and ready to be shipped to you.
Check our News & Events section. We hope to see some of you in New York for a night in Slovenia or in Vienna at VieVinum, Austria's largest Wine Show. If you are in California you can meet us in Sacramento at the Annual Croatian Extravaganza.
Križevci Graševina
This is a new Graševina for us from the Continental wine region of Croatia. It sports a light body (it's the same grape as Welschriesling, Olasz Rizling, and Laški Rizling) and with only 11% alcohol, it is a wonderfully refreshing wine. It comes just in time for warm weather dishes like salads and fresh seafood.
Putnikovici - Lirica
An interesting new Plavac Mali from the Pelješac Peninsula. Light fruit aromas and spicy flavors make it an excellent accompaniment for red meats and grilled fish.
Svirče Plavac Hvar
Fans call this everyday drinking wine the Party Plavac. It's produced by the highly respected Svirče Co-Op on the Island of Hvar which is also known for its famous Ivan Dolac. The Plavac Hvar comes in a 1 Liter bottle and represents a great value. It will make a tasty accompaniment to your meals. Our tip: Drink it chilled on hot summer days.
These and other fine wines are all available now from our online shop and ready to be shipped to you.
Check our News & Events section. We hope to see some of you in New York for a night in Slovenia or in Vienna at VieVinum, Austria's largest Wine Show. If you are in California you can meet us in Sacramento at the Annual Croatian Extravaganza.
Tags: newsletter
April, 2008
Posted 04 13 2008 by miquel 0 Comments
Join us in welcoming Spring with a Rosé, and for some special wine tastings.
Rosé Spring Special!
Greet Spring with a glass of a refreshing Rosé. Our selections from Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary offer a great array of flavors and tastes for any Rosé lover out there, and for Rosé newcomers to discover new flavors.
We are now giving wine lovers the chance to try the whole line we carry through two limited-time offers: Buy any two Rosé and get a 33% discount. Or buy six or more bottles of Rosé and get them at a half price. Yes, that's a whopping 50% off. Take advantage of this very special offer while it lasts!
We'd also love to share some wines with you at our upcoming events:
1 Hungarian Dinner Weekend
Little Prague, a well-known Bohemian Restaurant in downtown Davis, CA, is dedicating an entire weekend to authentic Hungarian cuisine and wines.
April 11, 12, and 13
2 Copia Spring Tasting
This is COPIA's Annual Tasting Event with more than 50 domestic and international wineries participating. Blue Danube Wine has been invited to showcase several wines from our Central-Eastern European portfolio.
Saturday, April 12
3 Masters of Wine Austrian Tasting
We are participating with a delicious dozen of our Austrian wine selection in this comprehensive tasting hosted by the prestigious Institute of Masters of Wine.
Monday, April 21
4 New arrivals from Slovenia and Croatia
We'll be pouring tastes of our new Croatian and Slovenian wines at The Wine Mine in Oakland.
Thursday, May 8
For full details on these events and others, please visit our News and Events page.
Rosé Spring Special!
Greet Spring with a glass of a refreshing Rosé. Our selections from Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary offer a great array of flavors and tastes for any Rosé lover out there, and for Rosé newcomers to discover new flavors.
We are now giving wine lovers the chance to try the whole line we carry through two limited-time offers: Buy any two Rosé and get a 33% discount. Or buy six or more bottles of Rosé and get them at a half price. Yes, that's a whopping 50% off. Take advantage of this very special offer while it lasts!
We'd also love to share some wines with you at our upcoming events:
1 Hungarian Dinner Weekend
Little Prague, a well-known Bohemian Restaurant in downtown Davis, CA, is dedicating an entire weekend to authentic Hungarian cuisine and wines.
April 11, 12, and 13
2 Copia Spring Tasting
This is COPIA's Annual Tasting Event with more than 50 domestic and international wineries participating. Blue Danube Wine has been invited to showcase several wines from our Central-Eastern European portfolio.
Saturday, April 12
3 Masters of Wine Austrian Tasting
We are participating with a delicious dozen of our Austrian wine selection in this comprehensive tasting hosted by the prestigious Institute of Masters of Wine.
Monday, April 21
4 New arrivals from Slovenia and Croatia
We'll be pouring tastes of our new Croatian and Slovenian wines at The Wine Mine in Oakland.
Thursday, May 8
For full details on these events and others, please visit our News and Events page.
Tags: newsletter
March, 2008
Posted 03 15 2008 by miquel 0 Comments
What's Been Said about Blue Danube Wines
- The April edition of Wine & Spirits Magazine just popped up in our mail box. It contains a 9-page special on the year's Best Austrian wines. Quite a few of our wines were featured, including the stunning 2006 series of Gruner Veltiner and Rieslings from Schmelz in the Wachau. Several Blaufrankisch and a Zweigelt from J. Heinrich in Austria's esteemed red wine region Burgenland were listed at Best Buys.
- In February, the Wall Street Journal published an article saying that Austrian reds reward wine drinkers with a sense of adventure. Under the heading Mapping New Territories it introduces the three native Austrian red grape varietals, Blaufrankisch, Zweigelt, and Sankt Laurent. Axel and Herta Stieglmar of Juris are prominently featured with their outstanding St. Laurent Selection 2004.
- In January, the San Francisco Chronicle tasted more than 50 Top Austrian Rieslings, which included several of our wines. The best review was for the Weinrieder Eiswein Schneiderberg 2002. This extraordinary wine received three and a half stars (out of four). The editors describe it as "Rich, golden nectar that is amazing in every way, from its nose of honeycomb, almond, ripe tropical fruit, blood orange and faint petrol to the unctuous, honied palate." We could not have said it nicer; please give this Eiswein a try. We are certain you will agree with us.
- It wasn't Austrian wines alone that received all the media attention. Slovenian wines got their share of good press as well. A full page article in the L.A. Times titled, From Slovenia? Wild, wild wines described Slovenia as a region that is getting hotter by the minute. Read the detailed tasting notes and then head over to our selection of Slovenian wines to purchase any of them.
- We are proud to report that highly respected Croatian winemaker, Zlatan Plenkovic, the producer of of our best-selling Plavac, received the golden medal as Winemaker of the Year 2007 from the leading Croatian wine magazine, Svijet u Casi.
That's all the news for now. We'll be back with more in our next newsletter in April.
Cheers,
Frank and Zsusza
- The April edition of Wine & Spirits Magazine just popped up in our mail box. It contains a 9-page special on the year's Best Austrian wines. Quite a few of our wines were featured, including the stunning 2006 series of Gruner Veltiner and Rieslings from Schmelz in the Wachau. Several Blaufrankisch and a Zweigelt from J. Heinrich in Austria's esteemed red wine region Burgenland were listed at Best Buys.
- In February, the Wall Street Journal published an article saying that Austrian reds reward wine drinkers with a sense of adventure. Under the heading Mapping New Territories it introduces the three native Austrian red grape varietals, Blaufrankisch, Zweigelt, and Sankt Laurent. Axel and Herta Stieglmar of Juris are prominently featured with their outstanding St. Laurent Selection 2004.
- In January, the San Francisco Chronicle tasted more than 50 Top Austrian Rieslings, which included several of our wines. The best review was for the Weinrieder Eiswein Schneiderberg 2002. This extraordinary wine received three and a half stars (out of four). The editors describe it as "Rich, golden nectar that is amazing in every way, from its nose of honeycomb, almond, ripe tropical fruit, blood orange and faint petrol to the unctuous, honied palate." We could not have said it nicer; please give this Eiswein a try. We are certain you will agree with us.
- It wasn't Austrian wines alone that received all the media attention. Slovenian wines got their share of good press as well. A full page article in the L.A. Times titled, From Slovenia? Wild, wild wines described Slovenia as a region that is getting hotter by the minute. Read the detailed tasting notes and then head over to our selection of Slovenian wines to purchase any of them.
- We are proud to report that highly respected Croatian winemaker, Zlatan Plenkovic, the producer of of our best-selling Plavac, received the golden medal as Winemaker of the Year 2007 from the leading Croatian wine magazine, Svijet u Casi.
That's all the news for now. We'll be back with more in our next newsletter in April.
Cheers,
Frank and Zsusza
Tags: newsletter
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