Rosé of the day - Thursday July 18, 2013

La Manarine Cotes du Rhone Rosé 2012 $14.99

Tasting notes: The Rosé from Manarine carries a light tint and is vinified completely dry.  Bright and light, with racy acidity aqnd a good balance of fruitiness and minerality.

Region: Cotes du Rhone, France

Wednesday's answer:

Over the past few weeks Steve has become more and more regular to the game and continues his mastery of our game and town. Something tells me that he may have been on a fairway or two in town and this might be a good week for him to be involved, Just a guess. First in of two yesterday as he posted "Oh that's the Par 3 course at South Pine Creek with what looks to be a wonderful Rosé" and you were right on both account Steve. This happens to be one of my favorites of the year (the Rosé that is).

Second yesterday was Mark (The travelin' man) Beyerly who, not surpisingly, found a few minutes as he was traveling back home to be with his family, to put up his answer... "Carl Dickman Par 3 course" and true to form he got it right... again. Ol' reliable was probably sitting and waiting on a bench somewhere in middle America and checking in to homebase.

Fun fact:

We have been speaking with The Fairfield Minuteman over the past couple of weeks and the other day they called to say that they were interested in coming by to talk about our "Rosé of the Day" promotion around town. Today they will come by and sit with us for a few minutes to talk about what it is all about. We'll let you know how it goes.

-Cheers

Rosé of the day - Wednesday July 17, 2013

Chateau Grande Cassagne Rosé 2012 $9.99

Tasting notes: This Rose comes from tiny berries of forty-plus year old vines. Fermented a short time on its skins, it retains an electric pink color, soaring aromatics, and fully dry palate. Serve well chilled!

Varietals: 60% Syrah, 35% Grenache, 5% Mourvedre

Region: Costières de Nimes, France

Wednesday's answer:
 As we started the day on Tuesday I was worried that our themed week was going to alienate some of our players by its less mainstream subject. I was particulary nervous that some of the ladies that frequently get involved were not going to relate easily. Well, once again I was wrong (seems to be sort of a regular occurance).

Susan Komisar Hausman was the first person to respond and while she didn't put up a guess for the location that the picture was taken, She was able to related to the wine that we put up as she said "Not sure, but that wine is calling my name...". Ah yes, the Rosé itself! Each day we have found a new place around town to shoot the picture but we also show you a new Rosé that we have in our inventory. Susan may not have had a guess on on our location but the wine had her attention, and she wasn't the only one!


Melanie Blum Verrengia was our next responder and she was straight to the location and made it very staright forward "Country Club of FFld" was her answer and it was right. Nicely done Melanie.

Soon after Maryhelen Melnick was equally succinct as she answered almost identically with "country club of Fairfield" which was equally well done. Thanks Melanie!

Mark (The Historian) Beyerly was back to his initials (He is a very busy man) and put up "CC of F indeed." but he didn't stop there, he also gave a brief lesson on the location and let us know these facts... "Also once known as "Mosquito Hill" and covered with onion fields sloping to the tidal marsh.Certainly much nicer nowadays." He then finished off by agreeing with our initial answer by Susan and said. "Great picture and an even better wine" Guess it was calling his name too.

Finally, Steve Melnick (any relationship to Maryhelen?) put up what I think was a veiled answer, you'll have to confirm my suspicion Steve. He wrote "This one is going to drive me crazy" Get it? Golf course, Drive... I'm not completely sure but that is my guess and if Melanie... oh forget it. Let us know if you have a minute.


Chef? Hello, are you still around? Has anyone seen the Chef?

Ok, on to today. I suspect that by today the theme is obvioust to some if not all of our followers. Take a minute and post your answers to Facebook about today's location but lets see if some of you can include our theme.

Rosé of the day - Tuesday July 16, 2013

Raimbault Sancerre Apud Sariacum Rose 2012 $22.99

Tasting notes: A gorgeous pale salmon color. Amber red fruit and strawberry notes wrap around the rocky mineral core. Fresh and vibrant. Enjoy with grilled fish and of course, sunshine.

Varietals: Pinot Noir

 

Region: loire Valley, France

Tuesday's answer:
Ian Merriss was in within a couple of minutes of the posting of yesterday's clue and correctly answered  "Fairchild Wheeler" Ian's answer was quick and to the point. I thought we were in for a energized day of all of our local Golf enthusiasts confirming his answer or jumping in with other ideas. Sad to say, it felt like a Monday at work and there wasn't much more action after that. Chef was out in the world somewhere but didn't stop by and many of our usual players remained quiet. Was it the heat?

Finally, later in the day Mark (The Putter) Beyerly was able to break away from the rigors of his day and add a second answer when he said " Fore! Looks like a nice spot along the practice green." Let's hope he isn't out on the Putting Green hollering "Fore" and smacking the ball around. I don'tr think many would find it alot of fun.

Ok, lets see if yesterday was just one of those hot and quiet days or if it was the subject matter. Today we have a similar type of photo up. How many will get involved today?

Rosé of the day - Monday July 15, 2013

 Henri Bourgeois "Petit Bourgeois" Rosé 2012 $10.99

Tasting notes: The wine has lovely light red cherries and roses on the nose, followed by red berries and dill on the palate. It's dry with nice acidity, perfect for summer sipping.

Varietals: Pinot Noir

Region: Loire Valley, France

Friday's answer: 

We had some fun and interesting answers to our game on Friday and it started with Tony Sanders who answered "Tower of London". This was Tony's first try and it is possible that he doesn't quite know haw the game works yet so lets just say sorry Tony not this time. Better luck today.

Second in was Chefmichaelatyourservice and he guessed "Southport Congregational Church on Pequot Av." which is a fair enough guess but once again it was a swing and a miss. Lets see what you come up with today Chef.

Finally, Mark (when you assume...) Beyerly put up his play on words answer "Let's not make the "assumption" that the first two answers are correct. They're not. Perhaps one of "our lady" friends might have a better answer??". Which promted his lovely wife Sandy (I got the short straw) Beyerly to get involved and for those that missed it, she wrote "Nice one, Mark Beyerly. Our Lady of the Assumption Church on Stratfield Road. Ouch - must you be so condescending, "Snarky, Marky"?

"Snarky Marky", has sort of a ring to it don't you think? It certainly brought a smile to my face! I do believe that it was the best answer of the week. It may not have anything to do with the picture or the game pre se but it was a gem. I like that Sandy, she's funny.

Ok, we picked a theme this week which will probably be obvious to many by tomorrow, no prizes on this one, we just wanted to have a little fun.

Happy Bastille Day! Perfect day for a St. Germain Cocktail, Recipe here...

Today is the prototypical day to be enjoying a St. Germain Cocktail and we have your ingredients ready to go. Over the past few years this has become a staple summer cocktail because of its light and refreshing style, not to mention how delicious they are. 

The St-Germain Cocktail:
2 parts Brut Champagne or Dry Sparkling Wine
1½ parts St-Germain
2 parts Sparkling Water or Club Soda

Method:
Stir ingredients in a tall ice-filled Collins glass, mixing completely. Think of Paris circa 1947. Garnish with a lemon twist.Variation: Think of Sartre circa 1947. Be the lemon twist.
Gift pack including free decanter with fill lines and recipe book, in stock. $35.99

Wine Tasting - Saturday 1-4PM, Jul 13

Your Host is Donna Pace of Gathering Harvests.

 Ca Furlan Prosecco N.V.         $12.99 
Boasting a beautiful nose reminiscent of marzipan and white flowers, the wine leads into peach notes and brioche on the palate. 

Cesani Vernaccia 2012                                 $13.99 
Classy aromas of white flowers and basil spice with stunning balance on the palate, as the bold fruit holds out beautifully. Showing signs of minerality and finishing juicy and fresh.

Di Giovanna Nerello Mascalese Rosé 2012 $14.99 
This has an intense floral nose which leads to bright notes of cherry, raspberry and red currant on the palate. It is light, refreshing and crisp,

Cesani Chianti Colli Senesi 2011                   $14.99 
Dry, medium to full bodied with a medium level of firm tannins and mouth-watering acidity. The flavors are slight hints of sour cherry and red fruit.  Clean and long finish.

Beer Tasting 4 - 7pm Friday, July 12

Your host will be Alex of Harry's staff and he will be sampling Hartford Better Beer Co.

IPA                 $8.99/6pb

Clear cherry-mahogany red appearance, dense and lacy head lasts all the way down. Bold citrus aroma, (hint of tangerine), almond and pine. Mild but detectable malt- nose, and cream up front in the flavor. With first big sip, the thirst-quenching hop flavors race from the front of the palate to the molars, and back. A hint of complex malt flows through in a second wave, without sweetness. The best of the big West Coast hop-monster craft brews meets the more delicate, traditional British Isles IPAs. Smooth drinkable body, on the lighter side. The aftertaste has a crisp and fleeting reiteration of the hop aroma, refreshingly fancy, draft-like, and balanced.
IBUs: 60  Alc by vol.: 6.0%

Amber                        $8.99/6pb

Bright brass color with a cream tint to its long-lingering lacy head. Clean fresh aroma, biscuit, citrus, cherry & toffee.  Complex flavor starts with a mild caramel malt tone, followed by cutting crisp & complex hop flavors. German Lager meets British Ale. Thirst quenching with a beery balanced almond-cedar influence, a smooth & perfect body. Exquisite aftertaste features sublime fruit, as the intense hop bite fades quickly into a pleasant dry mineral hard water finish that invites another. Made with 5 malts, 5 hops, hard water. ABV 4.9%

The 2010 Vintage in Tuscany is a winner!

  Tuscany 2010, a winner

On the wine floor here at Harry's we have been touting the 2010 vintage from Tuscany since Jan and I went to my favorite tasting of the year in New York, if you follow our blog you will remember our excitement upon returning from the show that promted that post. Since that time we have finally seen the scores that the critics have bestowed on the vintage and it shakes out like this...

Tuscany:
Bolgheri 94pts, Parker
Brunello di Montalcino NT, Parker
Chianti Classico 96pts, Parker

Even though Parker is still undecided about Brunello or has not had time to make his assesment I will go out on a limb and say that based on the 2010 Rosso di Montacino selection that we have tasted through, it is going to warrant scores similar to those of Chianti Classico and Bolgheri, perhaps better. I went to Wine Spectator to see what they thought of the vintage and although their scores weren't quite as high for the vintage overall, they still scored in the 90's. My suspicision is that over time they might reconsider their intial scores for the vintage but time will tell.

When we are able to taste the amount of wines that we have from a particular vintage and one after the next our staff is impressed with the wines at all price points (Bordeaux 2009 & 2010 for example). It gets easy to start making blanket statements and in this case that statement is, Buy them! Tuscany 2010 has been in the market without these overall scores for the vintage Parker for quite awhile and now we are finally able to use them as a backup to our own opinions. unfortunately, the vintage is beginning to run out in some instances.

One of our Favorite Rosso di Montalcino's, Ciacci Piccolomini showed up last week with the 2011 vintage on the label. As I said, Time is going to run out soon on many of these and as more and more people discover the vintage what has been true through all time and will continue to be true on into the future is the saying, "When they are gone, they are gone". Sad to say that unlike Beer or spirits you can't just recreate wines, only mother nature can decide where and when the next great vintage will occur. The good news is that our racks still have a decent supply of this wonderful vintage looking back at our customers but be warned... Nothing lasts forever and if you sit back and wait, this vintage will pass you by.

- Cheers, Patrick

Rosé of the day - Friday July 12, 2013

 

 Mas Carlot Rosé 2012 $10.99

Tasting notes: This is a gorgeous Rosé, loaded with wonderfully intermingled flavors of strawberries and graced by hints of spring flowers and spice. It's lush on the palate, with a long, harmonious finish.

Varietals: 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah

Region: Costieres de Nimes, france

Thursday's answer: As usual, I predicted that there would be no answer and the correct answer did come. Not only was it answered correctly but it happened early in the day. Alexander Dacey jumped in first and I could smell blood in the water when he put up "Poster's Hardware?". Alexander has become a pretty solid player over the past few weeks and has had a number of correct answers but this one was a swing and a miss. We did Posters a couple of weeks back and I felt like it was going to be a long day for anyone playing along. That feeling lasted about an hour until Todd Goodfellow simply wrote "Fairfield electric" and spoiled my fun. Leave it to a tradesman to put it so simply and undo what was supposed to be a very difficult clue. Nicely done Mr. Goodfellow.

Chefmichaelatyourservice chimed in next and said "Have to put on my "thinking" cap for this one..." and then he faded into the day. Is it me Chef? Did I miss a veiled clue? I see the 'thinking' in quotations but I can't seem to figure it out. What gives? Speaking of clues, Mark (riddle me another) Beyerly put  one up that had me thinking too... "shocking" - this is a tough one! was his answer and although many times when he answers it is either very precise or has enough in the riddle that I know he has it. This time I was a little unsure as to how sure he was. Ok you two, What gives?

 

And finally...Eric Gunnar Sundman joined in for the first time and answered "Coopers". If Chef and Mark didn't confuse me enough, this one put me over the top. Be prepared to explain Mr. Sundman the next time I see you in the store I will be asking you to help me with this one.

 

So my lesson learned for the day is to keep my mouth shut and wait to see what you guys can do because everytime I make a prediction I am wrong anyway and now the tables have gotten so turned that I don't know which way is up. Nice job by all of you :)

Rosé of the day - Thursday July 11, 2013

Churchill's Rosé 2012 $13.99

Tasting notes: This wine has a lively pink color and fresh raspberry and tropical aromas that show a distinct Touriga Nacional character. On the palate, the wine’s vibrant natural acidity lends this wine balance and a long, elegant finish.

Varietals: Touriga Nacional

Region: Duoro Region, Portugal

Wednesday's answer: Our followers gave us quite a bit of feedabck yesterday which will now turn into an amazing blog post about hotdogs and the businesses that are or where in our area. First lets get into yesterday's answer which was guessed correctly by Alexander Dacey, Mark (The finisher) Beyerly, and Chef, more on that in a bit.

There is a craze out there right now that is centered around the way that these guys started, food trucks are a big trend because unlike the past, there are gourmet foods being served and these guys were one of the originals. You could always get a hotdog at a carnival or down at the beach but they were in many cases suspect and I don't know about everyone else but as much as I loved the idea of being able to buy lunch while at the beach, I sort of felt like I was rolling the dice when it came to the quality of what I was eating. All that has changed and these guys where one of the original "Gourmet trucks". Sure the still served fast food but it was/is different, with fresh cut fries, organic beef for their burgers and all of the other things they do like hand breading, housemade sauces etc... they began to change how a "hot dog truck" was measured. Since 2000 they have occupied their current space and are still a fast food joint but they are really anything but. If you haven't had lunch here, it is worth discovering.

That is were we started yesterday, you changed the conversation fairly quickly to a couple of other places. The first mention was Kuhn's which was a mainstay in town for many years and their Chili was or should I say is legendary. There are still blogs and stories dedicated to that recipe and there are other places that claim and perhaps do have the original recipe. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and to have others claiming they have your recipe decades later is a testament to how memorable this place was. I am sad to say that I was not one of its customers and I feel a little cheated but a quick Google or a read of yesterday's Facebook post tells me very quickly that it was important to this town.

The other place mentioned was one of our original "Rosé of the day" locations and had a big reponse when we did it. That place is of course Rawley's and I have been a customer there for many years. They are a classic Hotdog stand with there small building and single window where you wait in line in a narrow service area that has a few stools for sitting at the counter and they serve up classic americana. They also have a dining area off to the side but I have always taken mine back to the car or back to Harry's to eat.

We talk about all that this town has to offer and these three businesses may give you a sense of the classic american feel that I love so much about this town. There is a genuine Norman Rockwell feel to Fairfield and places like this solidify how much this town recognizes its importance. As forward thinking and wonderfully in touch Fairfield is, we have never lost site of its roots. Even as things continue to develope and bigger houses pop up all around us, there are lots of daily reminders of our past and they remain important to the residents of this town old and new.

Mike Tetreau stopped in last night and we got in to a conversation about some of this and he got to talking about our frieworks display last week. The number of people that came to our town and sat on the beach to watch was amazing. i-95 was backed up with folks trying to get off the highway so they could join in and there were throngs of people that parked in the lots along the Post rd. and wandered down to the beach to watch. The thing that got me thinking was when he told me that there were virtually no incidents with all of those people attending. I think that speaks volumes about the way our town handles itself and as I walked back up South Benson after the show I have to admit that I noticed how classically, small town America it felt with all of the families strolling back home.

All of this from a picture of a hotdog stand... I love this town!

Ok, back to the game, Yesterday's answer was "Super Duper Weenie" and was answered correctly by Alexander Dacey, Mark Beyerly, and Chefmichaelatyourservice. Others that chimed in were Susan L. Melcher, and Cindy Carley Barker who guessed Rawley's. Sorry ladies, not this time and of course all that mentioned Kuhn's which prompted much of this post.

I feel strongly that today will have very little in the way of opportunity for as much discussion and I am suspect about the chances that someone will be able to get it right but the visual clues are there if you know how to look for them. Those are not speakers hanging from the ceiling, that is your first clue. Lets see how you do today!

- Cheers