We are now carrying Infinite Monkey Theorem Wines at Cin-Cin–we are the first location in California to carry IMT Wines!
How I Found Infinite Monkey Theorem Wines
Back in December, I went to Denver, Colorado with a colleague of mine. It was 20 degrees in Colorado and felt like 20 below to our California skin. My best friend from high school, Janelle, also a restaurant owner, wanted to take us to a winery in downtown Denver. The thought of Denver producing wine of any significance was hard for me to grasp, but we had some time to kill, so what the heck. Off we went to check out the Infinite Monkey Theorem experience in a converted warehouse in Denver.
Behind the Name
The Infinite Monkey Theorem states that a monkey striking the keys of a typewriter at random for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type the complete works of Shakespeare. When you think about it, it?s a lot like great winemaking. There are so many variables, so many choices to make, and so many outcomes that are possible.
When winemaker Ben Parsons started the winery, he decided to focus on the variables that really mattered: using the best grapes, harvesting them at their peak, nurturing each batch of juice as it became wine, and getting to know the people who drink it. He also decided to get rid of the variables that don?t matter: the vineyard location, the rolling hills, and the tasting room covered in granite and marble. That?s why in 2008, Ben opened an urban winery in a converted Quonset hut in a back alley in Denver, CO.
We are featuring four Infinite Monkey Theorem Wines at Cin-Cin:
100th Monkey (Red Blend) 100% Colorado fruit, (40% Petit Verdot, 20% Petite Sirah, 20% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Franc). 22 months in 1yr old French Oak. Unrefined, unfiltered.
Tasting Note: A toasty, polished style, with ripe, fleshy blueberry, blackberry and cassis notes. Mocha and vanilla hang on the finish, while staying integrated enough. A crowd-pleaser. Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Petite Sirah.
The Blindwatchmaker (Red Blend) Non-Vintage. 60 % Syrah (CA), 24% Cabernet Sauvignon (CO), 16% Petit Verdot (CO). 14mths in 1,2,3&4 yr old French & American Oak. Sterile Filtered.
Tasting Note: Offers loads of crushed berry, on the nose with undertones of wet earth, tobacco and green tea. Full-bodied, with big, round tannins and plenty of fruit. Balanced and luscious.
Verdelho The grapes for this wine come from Bokisch Ranch, Lodi, CA.
Tasting Note: Rich and ripe, yet focused with notes of pineapple, mango, papaya and orange peel. The finish is long, bold and complex.
Sparkling Black Muscat *Launched at the now infamous Wine At The Mine Party (voted best party at 2011 Aspen Food & Wine).
Tasting Note: Lightly carbonated and served in a can with lilac, rose petals and lychee fruit on the nose.
This is the wine that made me skeptical when I saw it in the can. I immediately thought of the pink cans with sweet sparkling wine called Sofia (named after Sofia Coppola) that the Francis Ford Coppola winery made. Wasn?t a fan. But, I decided to try the canned Sparkling Black Muscat for the experience. I?m glad I did!
Come in to Cin-Cin and sample the Infinite Monkey Theorem wines. Not only is their packaging and marketing fun, but they back it up with delicious wines.
Cin-Cin!
Lisa
Are you a victim of wine racism? Are you guilty of walking
into a wine shop, restaurant or wine tasting saying the following?
?The only good wine is red wine.? ?I don?t drink Spanish
wines.? ?I only drink Pinot Noir.? ?All Riesling is too sweet.? ?I only
_________ (fill in the blank).? ?I don?t
drink ________________(fill in the blank).?
If any of these statements sound like something you?d say,
let me ask you something?
Do you only talk to blonde-haired, blue-eyed people? Do you
only associate with people from a particular country? If you met someone once
that had brown hair and green eyes, but you didn?t care for their personality,
would you avoid ALL people with brown hair and green eyes? I would think not!
So why would you exclude learning about a new wine that you may not be familiar
with? When you say ?no? to a wine, you are saying ?no? to the producer?s style
of wine, the cultural aspects of where the wine was produced, etc.
Try this instead ?I haven?t had enough experience with that
type of wine.? This signals to your brain that you are open to exploring the
subject to find a wine you?ll want to have more experience with.
At Cin-Cin, our wine list represents wines from all over the
world, some of which you may not have experience with. However, if you are a
person who likes full-bodied wines, or wines with oak, we have a Spanish or
Paso Robles wine we can talk to you about. Like only Burgundian-style wines?
There are some cool climate wines from Oregon and Austria that express the
complexity and silkiness you?d find in Burgundy. Like only Chardonnay? If it?s
the tropical fruit notes and full-body of Chardonnay you crave, there are Pinot
Blancs and Grenache Blancs that you?d probably enjoy. Think Rose is White
Zinfandel and you don?t like sweetness? We can show you Roses with an essence
of fruit and crisp acidity making them great food wines.
How to Avoid Wine
Racism
-Learn How to Describe
the Style of Wine You Like. Analyze what it is you enjoy in your favorite
wine. Is it full-bodied or light-bodied? Is there a big presence of fruit or is
it subtle? Is the wine dry or slightly sweet? Is this a wine that makes you
think and analyze its complexity or is it straight forward and easy drinking?
If you can become comfortable using at least 3 adjectives to describe the type
of wine you like, you can walk into any wine buying situation with confidence.
-Communicate Effectively
with Your Server/Wine Professional on the Style of Wines You Prefer. Start
describing what you know. ?I like full-bodied Cabernets that don?t have a lot
of tannins.? Tannis refer to that dry
feeling you have in your mouth (almost as if you sipped tea that steeped too
long). Understand if you like this feeling or less of it when you describe
red wines. Your server is interested in knowing the traits you enjoy in your
favorite types of wine. Knowing that, servers can suggest something outside
your comfort zone that still delivers the traits you enjoy in your old
favorites, but from a new region.
The server or wine professional can then suggest full-bodied
reds from other areas beyond Napa like Paso Robles, Spain, Italy or Australia.
-Be Open to Learning
About Wine Outside of Your Comfort Zone. Go in with an open mind and come
out of a wine buying situation with a pleasant surprise. The better you are at
describing the type of wines you like, the easier it is for an experienced
server/wine professional to recommend wines to you. That?s what life is all
about: learning new things and evolving.
-Food and Wine
Pairings Are a Harmonious Thing. Some wines become better when paired with
food. This is very true of Italian wines. One Italian producer told us: ?We
experience a glass of wine in one hand and a bread stick in the other.? The
sediment here is that wine is meant to compliment food. Another European once
told me ?Wines from America are a meal in themselves because they are high in
fruit and alcohol, wines from Europe pair better with food.? Don?t discount a
wine until you?ve tasted it with food, it should create a harmonious experience
when paired with the right dish.
Cin-Cin?s staff is
educated on the wines on our list. Our staff is passionate about the food, wine
and cocktail experience. We taste our staff on many wines by the bottle
each month. So, they are ready to help you navigate the wine list to find
something you enjoy.
Take a risk on trying a new wine ? come on Mondays where we
offer 50% off all our wines by the bottle. It?s a minimum risk, high return
opportunity. ~Lisa
On any given day, a customer will walk into Cin-Cin and observe me trying a variety of wines with a distributor or winemaker. I?ll be at a table with about 7-10 bottles of wines, sipping, spitting and writing notes. A customer will eventually say to me ?I wish I had your job, it?s so glamorous and fun.? This leads me to explain what a wine buyer really does.
Top 6 Things A Wine Buyer Does
1. Look at current wine inventory: where are the holes? What?s moving? What?s not? How do you promote what?s not moving? Are wines at the right price point?
2. Determine what industry wine tasting events to attend and determine which wine rep appointments you are going to make. Wine industry tastings are walk-around tastings where distributors pour wine in the hope that wine buyers will purchase their wines for their restaurant or wine shop. Many of these events take place in San Francisco which is an hour drive each way from Los Gatos. Usually there are upwards of 40-175 wines at any given tasting. As a wine buyer, you have to be strategic about how many wine events you go to in a given month and how many wines you taste at a given tasting. Some wine buyers (I won?t mention names) don?t spit, which leads me to question how they are able to analyze the wines much less drive home. There are no taste buds in your throat ? they are all on your tongue. As a wine buyer, you also have tons of wine distributors and sales reps emailing, calling and walking into your place of business wanting you to try their wine. It?s a wine buyer?s job to sift through all the distributors to target ones that have the best wine for their wine list.
3. Analyze Each Wine You Taste. Tasting wine for purchase consideration goes something like this?when you taste the wine, you ask yourself: is the wine a correct reflection of the varietal and the sense of place? Does the wine have good texture, flavor and finish? Is the wine at a good price point? Do I consider the wine to have a good quality to value ratio? Do I have customers that will buy this wine? Will my staff get behind the wine?
4. Ensure Your Senses Don?t Get Overwhelmed. Analyzing the wine starts first with the brain, then the nose and then the mouth, then back to the brain. Tasting too many wines can ruin your thought process, not to mention overwhelm you. Even though you are spitting, if you sample too many wines, your system can just shut down.
5. Teach Staff and Test Them on The Wines. Once I purchase wine for Cin-Cin?s wine list or for one of our monthly wine tasting events, I must then teach our staff about the wine. Every month I select wines for our staff wine tastings. I believe that our servers should know about the products we sell. I cannot be at every table selling wines, so I educate our staff to do that. I am always amazed at restaurants that don?t allow their staff to taste and learn the wines on their own wine lists!
6. Beware of Purple Teeth. It is the reality of a wine buyer that when you taste a few red wines over time, your teeth get stained. We are constantly brushing our teeth and using any type of anti-stain tooth pastes or mouthwashes to counteract wine stain.
In general, the process of selecting wines for our customers is a job. We?re not kicking back with our friends drinking and enjoying the moment. When done right, we are constantly analyzing the wine for its integrity and comparing it to the price point offered. The end result is a quality selection of wines on our wine list priced reasonably and enjoyed by many. Many of us love wine and find it one of the most intellectual beverages out there. Wine has a long history of bringing friends and family together and that?s a compelling reason to enjoy it. ~Lisa
