Friday Night Wine School - Power & Place: Priorat Meets Montalcino with Nicole Andrus

Wine School: Drink Better, Know More - We connect the dots between grape, place, and winemaking in a way that’s clear and useful so you can trust your palate, choose with confidence, and get more out of every bottle. 

Two countries. Two powerhouse wine regions. And two very different ways of turning a sense of place into world-class wine.

For this Wine School, we're putting Spain's Priorat alongside Italy's Montalcino to explore what makes each region so distinctive. In Priorat, steep slopes, old vines and fractured llicorella create one of Spain's most dramatic wine landscapes. In Montalcino, elevation, exposure and a complex mix of soils shape Sangiovese into one of Italy's most celebrated wines. We'll look at the grapes, soils, climate, traditions and winemaking choices that have put both regions firmly on the world wine map.

Leading us through the tasting is Nicole Andrus, Managing Director of European Imports for Trinchero Family Wine & Spirits, and we're pretty excited to have her hosting FNWS! Nicole grew up in the wine business, has a master's degree in Molecular Plant Systematics, and has spent much of her career living and working in Europe. Her experience ranges from research and development at Torres and managing a winery in Priorat to years spent working directly with European producers and bringing their wines to the U.S.  Today, Nicole oversees Trinchero's European imports, including Vall Llach in Priorat and San Polo in Montalcino. That puts her in a pretty unique position for this tasting: she knows these wines not simply from the bottle, but through the people, vineyards and places behind them.

And that's exactly what Power & Place is about. Nicole will take us inside two very different powerhouse regions, comparing Priorat's rugged llicorella slopes and old-vine traditions with Montalcino's diverse elevations, exposures and soils and San Polo's very modern approach to Sangiovese, sustainability and terroir.

We hope you'll join us as we explore two regions with very different grapes, landscapes and histories — but equally serious reputations.


Drink Better. Know More🍷

-All ticket sales are final.
-We will hold our tastings outside on the patio from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM on Fridays weather permitting, if it rains we move inside to the back of the shop.
-Your $5 tasting fee is refunded when you purchase a bottle of wine from the tasting. Limit 1 refund per bottle per customer.
-Please arrive 5 minutes early for your time slot, as we may not be able to move you to another spot.
-No waiting in line for your taste of wine in a plastic cup and snippet of info. During your time slot, you will have the presenter's undivided attention as you learn about and taste the wines from Riedel glassware.
-When your tasting is over, you can browse and shop or enjoy a glass or bottle at our indoor and outdoor tables.