Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The run for the roses, Blossoming trees, Cervesa and lets not forget Mom

There is a lot to do this week with the Kentucky Derby and Dogwood Festival coming up over the weekend. Next week Cinco de Mayo and Mother's Day will be taking center stage so plan ahead and get your supplies. We are here to help with quantities and recommendations to make your celebrations fun and easy to plan!


Saturday, April 25, 2015

Wine Tasting - Saturday 1-4, April 25

Your Host: 
Michael Petrillo
Village Wines



Baronnie de Coussergues 

Rosé 2014 . . . $7.99
An unbelievable value. Light-bodied, crisp; tangy and fresh with a clean finish. Sophisticated yet charming, easy.

Coeur Esterelle Cotes de Provence Rosé 2014 . . . $13.99
A lush classic style Provence rosé with intense aromas of strawberry red plum and melon balance by just the right amount of zippy acidity

Vrac Macon 2013 . . . $10.99
Blended from a variety of producers, this Macon is a crisp, clean and refreshing. Beautiful flavors of Chardonnay fruit such as apple, pear, lime.

Theulot Juillot Mercurey 2012 . . . $26.99
This Mercurey is a discovery. Medium-bodied, juicy wine, with berry-fruit and cassis notes and a lovely floral voilet element. Very aromatic and stunningly complex. A delicous lush, yet light Burgundy. 100% Pinot Noir

Friday, April 24, 2015

Beer Tasting 4 - 7pm Friday, April 24

Your Host:
KRIS

Foolproof Brewing Company


Backyahd IPA . . . $9.49/6pcan
 
Style: Indian Pale Ale  
The ultimate suburban brew, Backyahd is an aggressively hopped American IPA with a tantalizing hop aroma. The beer’s bitterness pairs perfectly with spicy foods coming straight off the grill.
Barstool . . . $9.49/6pcan
Style: American Pale Ale 
Our flagship beer is handcrafted with the freshest ingredients, including two-row barley and specialty malts. A blend of English and Czech hops top off this delicious golden ale, which can be enjoyed for hours on end.

Raincloud . . .
$9.49/6pcan
 
Style: Robust Porter 
Dark, smooth, mysterious—this rich and flavorful porter is brewed with chocolate and crystal malts and a subtle blend of European hops.

La Ferme Urbaine . . . $9.49/4pcan 
Style: Farmhouse Ale
La Ferme Urbaine (LFU) is our unique take on a farmhouse ale. Influenced by the Belgian saison style, LFU features a complex blend of German hops, pilsener and pale malts, wheat, rye, oats, and spelt. The beer pours a hazy straw color and delivers a spicy, dry finish.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Wine Tasting - Saturday 1-4, April 18

Your Host: 
Christopher Lawther
Hartley & Parker Select Brands


Bargemone Provence Rosé 2014
. . . $15.99

Pale cherry color, the rosé wine of Bargemone offers aromas of flowers and red berries, which makes it harmonious and balanced. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah 

Cantele Salice Salentino 2010 . . . $12.99
The Cantele Salice Salentino Riserva displays ruby red color with garnet streaks that coat the glass. Notes of candied fruits and spices on the nose that transition to ­underbrush, tea and amber hints. Tannins and acidity find a pleasant balance.

Chateau Thebot Red Bordeaux 2010 . . . $14.99
This Chateau Thebot shows just how special the 2010 vintage for Red Bordeaux is. Fuller bodied with plenty black fruits that have wonderful length and richness. The acidity is well balanced with just a bit of drying tannin on the finish. 

Pecchenino Barolo Le Coste 2010 . . . $69.99
Cherry, floral, tar, iron and mineral aromas and flavors mark this red, which is savory and fruity in equal measure. The sweet fruit is balanced by serious tannins, and the aftertaste reveals medicinal herb, tar, sweet spice and underbrush notes. Best from 2018 through 2032.Wine Spectator, 94pts

Friday, April 17, 2015

Beer Tasting 4 - 7pm Friday, April 17

Your Host:
Earl Whitford

from
Grey Sail Brewing Company


Hazy Day Wit . . . $9.29/6pcan

This Belgian Wit summer offering is representative of the white beers made in the Wallonia region of Belgium. The pronounced yeast characteristic and subdued spicing of our Belgian Wit offer a refreshing, unfiltered beer.

Flagship . . .
$9.29/6pcan
Our golden-colored cream ale, brewed in a similar manner to the crisp lagers of continental Europe, offers great balance between malty sweetness and noble hop bitterness. This gold-medal winning cream ale is the perfect session beer for any occasion.


Flying Jenny Pale Ale . . . $9.29/6pcan
An unfiltered extra pale ale crafted with five different malts and complimented by northwestern hops make this brew one to enjoy year-round. Generous amounts of hops in the kettle and fermenter give our EPA a citrusy and flora

Joining the celebration of a bygone era this Saturday April 18th

Join us all day Saturday April 18th as we help to celebrate "National Record Store Day"!

While it's true that we are not a record store, we have been around long enough to remember the days when they were in almost every town. Some of our staff can even remember the days when we would save our allowance or leaf raking money and go down on Saturday afternoon to flip through the display bins and pick up a new 45 or the latest album from our favorite artist.

Sadly those days are mostly only read about in the history books as mom and pop record stores were pushed out by the big box giants and then more recently iTunes and digital music downloaded via the web has become the way that we get our music.

In an ironic twist some of our kids have uncovered our old turn table and the corresponding stacks of records long ago stored in the cellar or attic. This generation seems to rediscovered and even better yet, they have fallen in with love the music that we and even their grandparents used to listen to on that dusty old memory.

As the saying goes... "What's old is new again"

In a nostalgic look back, Dogfish head brewing has produced a very limited number of these wonderfully cool portable record players and we will be spinning vinyl all day Saturday April 18th in respectful remembrance of the days gone by. Come by and celebrate the flecky, crackling and sometimes scratchy sound that only an old school record player can produce and hear some great music from its generation.

Hopefully it will inspire you to go into your boxes of long forgotten teenage memories and find your own turntable so you can plan a "family night" and share some music from your childhood with your kids. If you've let your records go at the yard sale there are a few actual "Record Stores" still in business here in Connecticut and we are sure that they would love to see you and give you the personal service that also seems to all too often also be a thing of the past.

-Cheers!

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Wine Tasting - Saturday 1-4, April 11

Your Host: 
Ian Ribowsky
General Manager USA
Jean-Luc Colombo
 

Rosé Cape Bleue 2014. . .  $11.99 
Soft, delicate pink. Subtle hints of peach, rose petal and pepper on the nose. Dry and complex, with intriguing notes of raspberries, fresh cherry, black olive and fennel.67% Syrah, 33% Mourvedre 

La Redonne Cotes du Rhone Blanc 2013 . . . $19.99
Light straw gold in color.Viognier brings finesse and aromatic richness of flowers and the Roussane brings strength and round aromas of yellow fruit.On the palate, exotic flavors of mangos and apricots are perfectly balanced by a nice acidity. Full notes of honey and peach develop in the glass, ending with a creamy finish.70% Viognier; 30% Roussanne 

Les Collines de Laure Syrah 2012 . . . $19.99 
Elegant and alluring, with lovely floral aromas of lilac and iris, and bursting with flavors such as black currant and licorice. The wines have structure, complexity, and delicacy at the same time, with a surprising minerality. 100% Syrah

Cornas Les Terres Brulees 2012 . . . $55.99
Its intense dark color offers some purple highlights. The aroma reveals notes of ripe fruit , cassis , cocoa and spices. Hints of raspberry, licorice, coffee On the palate this wine is rich and powerful with spicy but very elegant tannins on the finish. 100% Syrah


Friday, April 10, 2015

Beer Tasting 4 - 7pm Friday, April 10

Your Host:
Marcus #trunkstash

from
Captain Lawrence


Seeking Alpha . . . $12.99/4pbtl
Triple IPA, Hop flavor, hop aroma & hop bite! Brewed for hop heads, by hop heads.

Sun Block . . . $9.29/6pbtl
Brewed with pale & wheat malts this is a dry refreshing American Wheat Ale. Unfiltered and dry hopped with sarachi ace for a bright finish. IPA . . . $9.99/6pbtl
Robust hop aromas from dry hopping with centennial, citra, and bravo. This beer delivers on its promise to provide a full sensory assault on your taste buds.

Liquid Gold . . . $9.29/6pbtl

Aromas of orange, spice, and green grass. Clean malt-dominated flavor, with subdued bitterness playing in the background of the aromas of this beer.

Does a wine bottles shape matter?

We've heard it a thousand times...

Customer: "I was at a friends house and they were serving a wine that everyone really liked but I can't remember what the name was, can you help me?"

Me: "I can certainly try"

Customer: "I know they shop here so I thought if I walked around I might recognize the label. But you guys have alot of stuff and so much of it looks alike."

It is the start of many conversations throughout the course of a typical day, or week on the wine floor here at Harry's.

I have certainly been in the situation as I am trying to remember a wine I have had and you have probably been there too.

The good news is that we have exercised this muscle many times so we each have developed a group of questions that help us to help the customer in need....

Mine go like this:

Red or White?
Do you know which varietal it was?
Do you know its counrty of origin? (Spanish, French, American, etc...)
Was the bottle shaped like this?
or this?

A few questions that help to narrow the search quite a bit in just a minute or so. 

That last question which may seem innocuous enough but it actually tells quite a story. In the world of wine there are two primary bottle shapes and really only four in total. (not 100% true but for argument sake it is close enough). Some of these bottle shapes, in some regions, are mandated by law and do not offer any flexibility. For example, if you are a french wine maker and you are in the Bordeaux region, there is one option. and the same holds true of any french wine growing region.
Here are the four basic bottle types:


In the United States the rules are not law but we do tend to follow the lead for the most part. A Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay are packaged in a Burgundy shaped bottle almost 100% of the time. While a Cabernet or Merlot almost always come in a Bordeaux bottle. When you begin to look around any wine shop you will notice that the rest of the world stays pretty much in line with that thinking. in fact it is easier to point out the countries that don't necessarily "follow the rules" than those that do.

 Some people reading this will know that the Burgundy region of France produces two wines, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Notice the bottle shape?


Now look at our American sections for those varietals.

Bordeaux uses Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Malbec (along with a couple others) for reds and Sauvignon Blanc (Semillion too but lets keep it simple here). Notice the bottle shape.
And the Amercan counterparts...
Argentinian Malbec...
The Kiwi's aren't as regimented when it comes to varietal and bottle shape. In fact, our shelves show that the Burgundy shaped bottle (Chardonnay) is the most popular right now for their Sauvignon Blancs (although a few of them are using the "correct" Bordeaux shape)
In Italy it is more of a north/south thing with the northern part of the county using primarily (not exclusively) the Burgundy shape and Tuscany and areas further south using the Bordeaux bottle for the most part.
Rosé seems to break all of the rules as you can see in this picture so we are going to leave them out of this discussion right now and just go with the idea that if a customer is looking for a Rosé, we can narrow it down to about 100 bottles in one section of our store and start there.


As I indicated earlier, it is not a perfect science and there are exceptions to every rule but it is a very strong starting point and eliminates about half of the bottles in the store each time the question gets answered.

-Cheers!

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Wine Tasting - Saturday 1-4, April 4

Your Host: 
Cindy Richardson, New England Vice President Empson USA


Pieropan Soave Classico  $15.99
 
Sleek and smoky, this light-bodied, silky white is packed with flavor. A smoky hint of minerality underscores the range of ripe apricot, blood orange, pickled ginger, Thai basil and verbena notes. Lovely, with a lasting streak of salinity on the aromatic finish. Drink now through 2020. Wine Spectator, 90pts 

Vigneti del Vulture Pipoli Greco-Fiano 2013 . . . $15.99
Pale lemon in color, with perfumes of citrus and a touch of stone fruit. Rich yet fresh with a lime zest character, which comes from the Greco fruit, balancing the richness. 50% Greco – 50% Fiano. Winemaker’s Notes 
 
Luigi Einaudi Dolcetto di Dogliani 2013 . . . $19.99

Ruby red in color with purple reflections, fruity aromas, good body, intense, fresh berry and underbrush flavors with an almond nuance on the finish. Winemaker’s Notes

Hauner Hiera Terre Siciliane 2013 . . . $20.99
The blend is 60% Alicante, 30% Nocera and 10% Nero d’Avola, and the quality of fruit is immediately apparent and bright. Hiera opens to a deep dark color with ripe notes of raspberry jam and cassis. Indeed, that ripeness of fruit is very well-managed; there’s a fullness and generosity on hand that never feels sticky or heavy. Bright veins of acidity are woven within the thick texture of the wine. Wine Advocate, 90pts

Friday, April 3, 2015

WINE CLASS: "Green" Wine Class

 "Green" Wine Class
Wednesday, April 22
7:00-9:00pm
$35 one session

With the rise in popularity of “green” wine, understanding the methods that fall under this umbrella term can be quite confusing. Organic, organic grape, bio-dynamic, sustainably farmed, what do these terms really describe about the wine you are drinking. This class is aimed at clarifying each distinct method by taken you through the varietals, terroir and the rigorous process/guidelines each method follows in order to produce its categorized wine.

Our Instructor for this class is Zev Rovine, a natural wine enthusiast who imports and distributors some of the most unforced, lovely and expression filled wines of France. He is a champion for the true meaning of terroir which you are sure to catch the zeal of by the end of his class. Zev has wandered through the rural backwaters of Europe, to bring us the beautifully wines you will be tasting from extraordinary winemakers.