2010 Desvia, Rioja, Spain

You’ll Like This Wine If You…
Enjoy the earthiness of a fine Pinot Noir and the food friendliness of a great Chianti
Seek out lighter reds for food pairings, particularly dishes that incorporate mushrooms

Rioja is known as the greatest wine region of Spain. Located just 40 miles north of Madrid, the area is known for its reds and is the only region in the country with the Denominacion de Origen Calificada, (DOC) “qualified” status, not just DO status.  This means that it must meet the highest standards in its winemaking and viticultural practices according to Spanish wine laws.

Rioja is typically made with Spain’s signature grape, Tempranillo, which has been likened to France’s illustrious Pinot Noir or Italy’s Sangiovese in terms of its elegant and subtle character.  Earthy and delicate, here it is crafted into a red blend along with two other native Spanish grapes, Garnacha (called Grenache by the French) and Mazuelo.

The wine’s label suggests a playful English translation of “Desvia” as “diverts attention” or “alters the course of action” implying that the wine will entice you. This vino joven (pronounced “HO-vehn”) meaning “young wine” is made in the newer style of Spanish reds and has seen much less oak than a typical Rioja.

Vino joven is not required to age in oak casks and typically exhibits a more fruitforward style.  The other three types of Rioja – Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva  – require a minimum aging of one year in oak and additional aging in bottle.  Many Spanish wines are aged for up to 10 years in American oak which imparts a more pronounced vanilla flavor.  In comparison, most French wines are aged 2-3 years  in French oak which imparts subtler oak aromas and flavors.

Winemaking
Stainless steel fermentation 10 days; Aged 3 months in American oak barrels.

Region
The grapes for this wine were grown in estate vineyards of Rioja, Spain’s top wine region for her top red, Tempranillo.  Rioja is often referred to as Spain’s Bordeaux, but in fact the wines resemble more those of Burgundy (Pinot Noir).

Taste
Rich red color, pleasant fragrance of strawberries, raspberries and black cherries with vanilla and hints of toasty spices.

Food Pairings
The perfect house red.  Offer this wine with bread and semi-hard to firm cheeses like Fontina or Pecorino and other tapas appetizers.  Serve it with roasted baby lamb and white asparagus, traditional dishes of northern Spain.  Any dish incorporating wild mushrooms will accentuate the wine’s earthiness.

More information and reviews available of the Desvia on the full wine page

2010 Caballeria de Luna, Vino de la Tierra Castilla, Spain

You’ll Like This Wine If You…
Like to experiment with different white wines from an array of regions
Are looking for a wine to pair with ethnic foods

Spain is a country with deep-rooted, rich cultural traditions.  From bullfighting to flamenco dancing, the arts play a huge role in life there as does wine. Though you may envision red wine when you think of Spain, wines like this blend of white varietals are becoming much more popular.

An engaging wine from outside the major regions, it is derived from thre varietals – Moscato (popularized in Moscato d’Asti) brings citrus mandarin orange, guava, lychee aromas and flavors. Viura offers aromas of butter, roasted nuts, honey and cinnamon.  Its mild fruit flavors of ripe melon, pineapple and vanilla explode in the mouth with a bright core of acidity.  Hints of pineapple and banana come from a small amount of Verdejo.

Since 1998, our Spanish winery partners have gained a strong reputation for producing a modern, fruity and elegant style of wines.  Our collaboration is referred to as a “Vino de la Tierra Castilla”, a designation just below the mainstream DO (denominations of origin) according to the regulatory classifcation  system of Spain. This fairly new geographic/quality designation is encompassed  in the region called Castile La Mancha, the area of central Spain memorialized in Cervantes’ depiction of Don Quixote, located just 40 miles south of Madrid.   Pour it at your next fiesta!

Winemaking
The wine underwent “sur lie” aging for two months meaning that it rested on the “lees”, yeast cells remaining after fermentation. This gives the wine additional complexity.

Region
This wine carries the Vino de la Tierra Castilla designation.  Castile-La Mancha is an autonomous region created in 2000 to endorse native varieties.

Taste
Aromas reminiscent of citrus and tropical fruits along with floral blossoms begin your journey.  In the mouth, it boasts a palate of sweet tropical fruits dominated by lime with a pleasant acidity.

Food Pairings
Feel free to serve this wine on its own as a sipping wine, not a table wine.  However, it shines brighter with wide variety of light finger foods.  Its semi sweet character and delicate fruity nature will complement the unique flavors and moderate heat of ethnic foods like Asian, Mexican, Thai or traditional Spanish tapas.

More information and reviews of the Caballeria de Luna available on the full wine page

Bad wine is bad for business.

The Traveling Vineyard wouldn’t have more than 450 consultants operating their own home based business in 28 states today if we put forward cheap, poor quality wines for tasting events.

In fact, every month The Traveling Vineyard surveys everyone who hosted or attended one of our free home wine tasting events. Our guest satisfaction rate is consistently at 98 percent – and we want to keep it that way.

Our wines are exceptional – some are award winners – because we have a three-person team with hundreds of years of combined experience who are out and about searching for, sourcing, sniffing and tasting wines from around the world.

We work hard to find just the right components to produce, blend and bottle our own Traveling Vineyard exclusive brands. All the wines we present are reasonably priced and available for purchase from a licensed entity in the delivery state.

This is a home-tasting business. It would run into trouble pretty quickly is what folks tasted was poor quality.

Bottom line: No one buys Traveling Vineyard wines tongue unseen. Our guests and customers taste the product for themselves and decide.

Great wine is good for business, and our business is growing.

We all want to feel good about our wine (not just feel good with our wine.)  But how?  Making your wine consumption part of a healthy lifestyle is one way to start.  Choose wines made with a philosophy that says we should be kind to the land and kind to each other, too.  Here are a few ways to do right while spending your wine dollars on Cabernet Sauvignon with The Traveling Vineyard.

To Your Health. Tastes Great. Less Filling.

Whether you call yourself a “foodie” or a “wine geek”, you’ll definitely see the benefits of eating healthy with some of our “lighter” food pairing recipes that pair with our featured wines.

In case you’re counting calories and getting ready for bathing suit weather, here’s how the numbers work:

* for an average 13% alcohol wine

It’s not just about the food.  There can be health benefits to wine consumption too.  Choosing red wines that are high in resveratrol is also smart.  Resveratrol is a naturally occurring compound found in winegrape skins that is touted as responsible for slowing the progression of or inhibiting cancer, heart disease, degenerative nerve disease, viral infections, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Studies of this link between red wine and health began back in the early 90’s with a segment of 60 Minutes called the French paradox in which the French were found to have lower rates of heart attack because of a diet high in wine and cheese.  This theory has also been substantiated with recent studies.  We need no further proof to toast to your health!

Our 2006 Paseo Prestige, Cabernet Sauvignon, Unfiltered, Maule Valley, Chile is one such Chilean red naturally high in this antioxidant compound.  To craft this wine, we worked with the del Pedgregals, a prominent Chilean family now in their seventh generation of managing the Carta Vieja estate.  From this long heritage comes the kind of experience wine lovers can rely on for consistent performance.

Go Green.

Natural wines are not just hype. Green wineries that practice sustainable agriculture and are dedicated to the land can make wines with a real difference. This is because green wine is more likely to reflect the terroir than the winemakers desire to create a certain type of wine.One of our partners who sources from this type of “green” vineyard is Stonehedge Winery.  They may not be certified “organic”, but they’re choosy about who they pair up with.  (Restrictions make it difficult for many wineries to achieve the term “organic” on their labels; often the guidelines are so strict that only the big producers can achieve it.) They work with vineyards that employ natural farming practices across California.  (See map below.)  These quality sites from Mendocino in the north to Santa Barbara in the south have helped them build a stellar reputation as a quality small-medium sized producer and a regular winner in wine competitions.Our winemaking team of Francis Sanders along with Shahin Shahabi and Jon Alexander-Hills of Stonehedge recently completed the 2009 Chesterton, Cabernet Sauvignon, California at Stonehedge’s Napa facility.  They combined their 50+ years of experience in the business on this wine using choice lots of fruit from across the Golden State.  Order our newest wine today and experience the individuality of this 90% Cabernet Sauvignon/10% Tempranillo for yourself!

Give back.

Lift your glass for a cause with the 2005 Uva Negra Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva Mendoza, Argentina .  As one of our most popular Cabernets, its label dons the image of red wine spattered across a white table cloth, (something that all red wine lovers can unfortunately relate to!) Also notice the multi-colored ribbon icon on the bottle Supporting Autism Research.  Thanks to a collaborative effort with winemaker Bruce Hopkins, a percentage of the proceeds from the Traveling Vineyards bulk purchase of this wine goes towww.nationalautismassociation.org.  So, with this big, brooding selection, you’re not only getting a fabulous Cab, but you’re supporting autism research in the process!

A few weeks ago we announced our first Annual Harvest (as the new Traveling Vineyard) to be held at the Boston Marriott Peabody August 9-12, 2012.

Harvest 2012 gives our Traveling Vineyard Consultants the chance to network with other consultants, learn, taste great Traveling Vineyard wine and make new friends. Over the years our Independent Consultants have told us that this event is one of the pinnacle highlights of the year. We talk about the Five F’s in our great home based business – Fun, Friendships, Flexibility, Fulfillment and Financial Reward. The Annual Harvest ties all of those benefits together in one great, not to be missed weekend.

The tagline, “Let’s Grow Together”, encompasses the purpose of the event: to provide resources to consultants and to help them expand their business and “improve their yield”. Harvest 2012 will include talks by Belinda Ellsworth, direct sales industry expert, and Francis Sanders, Traveling Vineyard’s Wine Director. Attendees will also learn from TTV staff and other Consultants how to set and attain goals, improve booking rates, recruit team members, market their business, and much more.

The Traveling Vineyard, is a direct selling party-plan company that brings quality wines to customers through free home wine tasting events. We are proud to have added over 360 new Consultants from 24 different states in 2011, equaling one full-time, medium-time, or part-time job for each day last year.

As a pending member of the Direct Selling Association (DSA), our home based business model is attractive to anyone who wants the flexibility to work from home with an exciting product.

A new Consultant needs no wine knowledge to begin a career.  Our home-based business model provides a flexible earning opportunity with a low start-up cost ($99 for the consultant starter kit) making it accessible to men and women at any adult life stage or in any financial situation. We provide comprehensive support and training, and many of our wine enthusiasts find it easy to earn income on their events since data shows that 30% of the guests that attend a free home wine tasting party choose to host their own wine tasting event.

As the self-proclaimed Chief Grape Stomper and Head Cheerleader, I know that in today’s difficult economic environment, it is very satisfying to create meaningful, fulfilling and flexible opportunities for people to earn extra income. A full-time or part-time career as a self-employed Traveling Vineyard Wine Consultant, where you can work from home on your own schedule, is a great way to contribute financially to your household.

“In an economy where many are still wary of what the future will bring, direct sales offers an opportunity to create a supplemental or primary source of income,” says Joseph Mariano, President of the Direct Selling Association. “Employment statistics don’t account for the millions of Americans who work either fulltime or part-time in direct selling, but the numbers are significant. For many, adding just $200 to their monthly income can be the reason they are able to stay afloat.”

The Traveling Vineyard follows ethical guidelines set out by the DSA, allowing new Consultants to cancel within the first 90 days and receive a 100% refund of their $99 starter kit investment and 90% of the money for up to one year after joining. New Consultants can also earn a rebate on the $99 success kit cost by holding three qualifying events in their first 60 days.

I hope another 365 people will consider a part time, medium time, or full time career with us in 2012!