Fear The Beer! Wine is getting some serious competition

For decades the choice between wine and beer has been pretty straight forward. Wine with dinner has always been the norm unless you were doing hotdogs and burgers on the grill. Beer was always about tailgating, football, picnics, etc. The idea of beer at a nice meal with a group that your were trying to impress was just unheard of. In recent years that traditional approach has been all but tossed out the window.

Brewers are honing their craft and challenging even the most ardent wine snobs to reconsider this traditional approach as they continue to make better and more interesting beer using better ingredients and new, forward thinking recipes that appeal to the same kind of palate focused beer geeks that the wine world produces. Last week I was ripped out of my safe little grapes world and thrown into a sea of hopheads at the Harbor Brewfest as 2300+ people decended on field at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport for our third annual gathering of craft beer fans. I got a chance to talk to and interact with many of the participants on both sides of the tasting tables and came away quite impressed.

Beer geeks are very much like us wine geeks but there are some very big differences too. Wine people are fun but often reserved and careful about the way that they approach their passion. We choose our wines carefully, we taste them and comment on them in terms that are focused and analytical. Beer fans are more open minded and exuberant when they share their passion. They body language is different and the experience is more communal, Craft beer fans want you in their club!

It reminded me of the difference in the wine world between Napa Valley and Sonoma... They are both very good wine growing regions but Napa is full of itself while Sonoma is connected to its land and its local products. They are farmers and salt of the earth people that aren't very interested in the pomp and circumstance of the wine world. They "hang out", in Napa they "entertain". Beer people hang out.

Having said this, the beer crowd is redefining Chic. Beer is very in vogue and it has found a place on the dinner table either along side or in place of wine. Mixing up a six pack of craft beer to sit down and share with some friends while enjoying a well cooked meal or a plate or artisinal cheeses and meats is becoming a very popular thing to do.

So, is beer on its way to replacing wine as producers continue to make better beers with better ingredients? Well the truth is that wine is probably going to fare just fine on into the future. Traditions are a good thing and there is alot of great wine out there for people to discover. There are a great many affordable and well made wines that will keep us wine geeks interested. However, Beer has taken its seat at the table and if I were a betting man, I would put my money on the next generation continuing its love affair with hops long into the future. Diversity is the spice of life so take the invitation that has been extended through this world and open your mind to seeing what it has to offer.

-Cheers

Beer Tasting 4 - 7pm Friday, Sep 12

Your host will be Chris from Weed Brewing.

IPA             $9.29/6pb

This is a deep golden, mild and malty Indian Pale Ale. This is a classic American IPA uniting the finest Simcoe and Centennial hops to reach 63 IBUs.  This 7% alcohol beer is smooth and mellow with a clean bitter finish. A generous dryhop emphasizes a green hop accent with an enjoyable aroma.

Amber        $9.29/tpb

This is a session brew dedicated to California State Senator Abner Weed, founder of Weed California, where Mount Shasta Brewing Company first crafted its delicious brews. The rich colored ale has a stable, tan head, and an aroma of mild hops with overtones of carmel and roasted malt. This dry-hopped ale starts lightly bitter and nutty and progresses into a sweet and Malty finish.

Good Bye to Summer and Rosé, Welcome to Fall foods and its wines

Last weekend and through this week we got our first look at the upcoming Fall season as we felt a chill start to move into the northeast. The cooler evenings and first falling leaves leave no doubt that the sun is setting on 2014's amazing summer.

On our annual visit to "The Block" to spend time with some good friends last weekend we did our part to bid Summer 2014 a fond farewell. There is always great food and wine to share with our friends and it is a few days of recharge as we prepare for the busy season that will rule our lives now and on through the holiday season.

Part of the deal on this weekend trip is that we are responsible for one meal of our choosing and of course we would be remiss if we didn't bring along wine to accompany the menu. As I thought about the menu and tried to figure out this years selection I ran through my mind some old favorites or things that we have seen and/or tried lately that might give me some inspiration but wasn't having much luck. Time was passing and our weekend kept getting closer but I just wasn't feeling any direction.

That is until I was working out in the yard and saw how wonderfully the Sage was growing this year. "I wonder if Andrew over at Tutto Pasta has any Mushroom Ravioli today" I thought to myself... Some brown butter and Sage with the 2010 Produttori Barbaresco and we are getting somewhere! A quick phone call put that to rest but opened the door at the same time. "No Mushroom Ravioli" he told me. "I will get into that in a couple of weeks but right now I have Pumpkin and Butternut Squash Ravioli with Marscapone cheese" he said. "You could do them with a brown butter and sage sauce". This guy is reading my mind...

That is when it clicked!

Everything I would need to make this delicious meal was right under my nose. I've got the wines here at the store and as I look through the glass in to Fairfield Cheese Company I realized that my starter dish was just a challenge to Laura away from reality so I wandered over and told her that I was going to be having Broglia Gavi and needed a couple of cheeses to pair with it. "Goat" she said "and I've got another idea or two". So I left her to work her magic

Next was the main course so I hopped into the car and drove down the street to The Pantry. Fresh local Pears, Some beautiful Heritage Pork chops, great looking Fennel bulb, and Arugula caught my eye. Now we are cooking! I knew Tony would have Potatoes in the pantry and the other things I needed so I was set thanks to my neighbors.

As in life, my menu was altered a bit as life dictated it should but it was wonderful and everything was delicious as we bid farewell to summer and welcomed the Fall season.

Here is how we did it...

Tony and I got to work on the prep for the meal so we popped open a bottle of Ferrages Rosé (Gone for the year just like summer) and broke out the cheeses. Laura put Bloomsdale Goat, Ubriaco Rosso, and Olli Wild Boar Sausage in the bag (she also added a Blue but we'll get to that in a minute). I grabbed some Potters Crackers while I was there and our meal was started. After our prep was done and the cheeses had come up just a bit in temperature we all sat down and chatted over some delicious meat and cheeses. (nicely done Laura, Thank you!)

Next, everyone moved over to the table and while the water in the pot boiled for course number three, I plated the Salad course. Arugula (dressed with fresh squeezed Lemon and Olive oil) topped with sliced local Pears, Crumbled Bayley Hazen Blue and caramelized Walnuts. Perfect with the Broglia Gavi. "Save a bit of wine for the next course" I said.

Tony also opened the Barbaresco to taste with the Ravioli, I took some fresh Sage leaves that I had picked from the garden and dropped them into the butter I had browning on the stove. The Ravioli went into the water and in just a minute or two we had our pasta course. Simple and delicious. The smell of Sage filling the house told us that fall was here. If there was any doubt left these delicious little pasta squares filled with Fall goodness certainly flipped the switch in our minds. Good with the Barbaresco but perfect with the Gavi.

Meanwhile, Locally grown Potatoes, Fennel, Onion and Garlic that were tossed in Olive oil were roasting in the oven and the grill was heating up. Unfortunately just like summer, the grill ran out of gas and we went to plan B. Instead of Grilled, our Heritage Pork chops were broiled but they were moist and delicious and the Barbaresco worked perfectly with the course.

With our bellies full and our glasses empty we continued our conversation and shared time together on a beautiful cool evening on Block Island.All is right in the world...

Wine Tasting - Saturday 1-4PM, Sep 13

Your host is Elena Shulman of New England Wine and Spirits.

Michael David Freakshow 2012  $19.99 

This wine is FREAKing amazing! Over each vintage, the intensity has been kicked up exponentially. This 4th incarnation has more of everything…more depth, more ripe fruit, more pizazz! Nicely balanced with fruit (pomegranate) and oak (showing some smoke). Warning—it’s gulpable!

Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay 2012   $13.99 
This has aromas and flavors of green apple and tropical fruits, balanced by subtle oak, cinnamon and vanilla from barrel aging. With a mouth-filling body and balanced acidity, this wine delivers a medium-long, refreshing finish.

Michael David 7 deadly Zins                            $16.99 
Fuller and richer with more texture and deeper fruit, it reveals hints of tapenade, new saddle leather, black cherries and black currants. It off ers a lot of fl avor for its price.

Riondo Pink Prosecco N.V.                      $9.99 
Frothy bubbles, delicate red berries and fresh herbs on the nose; crisp, prickly and fresh on the palate. There may be a distant hint of fresh-fruit sweetness, but with the tart acidity and a pleasant, very slight bitter note in the finish, it comes across as dry.

Beer Tasting 4 - 7pm Friday, Sep 12

Your hosts are from GW Brewing.

GW Pale Ale $9.99/6pk btl

Crafted lighter and smoother gw Beer bridges heritage and contemporary taste. Micro brewed for the mainstream, gw Beer is a golden amber American Pale Ale, lightly malty, with a smooth balance of toasted caramel and American hop flavor and aroma, creating a beer with high drinkability.

GW IPA $9.99/6pk btl

Crafted with a bold character that embodies the new American Revolution in brewing, gw-IPA is a rich, malty, aromatic brew with crisp bitterness offering citrus, apricot, and fl oral notes from four hop varieties.gw-IPA is double-double dry hopped, creating this complex, exceptionally smooth, and highly drinkable American IPA.

WINE DINNER: Ponzi Wine Dinner with Owner Maria Ponzi

Maria Ponzi rarely misses a visit to Harry's on her east coast trips. For a good many years we have had the opportunity to visit with her and taste her wines at our store as she rushes from place to place to meet all of her obligations up and down the eastern seaboard. Each time she stops in we enjoy her visit and I think she feels similarly. There is always lots of conversation and stories from the road as we are reminded of what an engaging personality she is. 

Through the years we have tried to find a time that suits us both to do an event together. We have talked in the past about the idea of a guest speaker appearance at our very popular wine school and/or a wine dinner but have never been able to fit it into that very busy schedule of hers. The last time we visited together we stopped talking about it and penciled it in on the calendar. Finally we have it set!

We are very big appreciators of wine makers that have the type of passion for what they do that Maria does. She loves what she does and it shows in her winemaking, Her wines are well balanced and conssitant which is hard to do when you use organic practices is vineyard. Mother nature is unforgiving some years and puts her own stamp on the winemakers best attempts Maria seems to have a friend in Mother nature and a keen feel for what the seasons are telling her. Finding the right moment in time to pick and working her magic when it comes to blending different blocks of grapes into the final product that she releases to market is both and art and a science that she seems to have been born to do. 

On Thursday September 18th Maria will join us at Bin 100 in Milford to present her most current wines and talk about her vineyard. Seats are selling quickly but there is stil time to get your reservation in and meet this wonderfully engaging woman and winemaker. Menu below, hope to see you there.

Harry’s Wine & Liquor Market, Wine Lovers of CT,

Bin 100, and Ponzi Vineyards Present:

Wine Dinner with Owner/Winemaker Maria Ponzi

Thursday, September 18 – 7PM

$75 all inclusive

Passed Hors D’ouevres

Pinot Gris 2013

Sea Scallops

Pan seared with house made lemon pepper fettuccine

Reserve Chardonnay 2012

Wild Salmon Filet

Chanterelle mushroom sauce

Tavola Pinot Noir 2012

Roasted Rack of Lamb

Cranberry red wine reduction, rosemary Yukon gold potatoes

Willamette Pinot Noir 2011

Grilled Peach

Sweet fresh ricotta, toasted hazelnuts

Vino Gelato 2012

For reservations please contact: Wine Lovers of Ct 1211 Quinnipiac Ave, New Haven RSVP203-469-4218 Email:wineluvint@aol.com

For wine info please contact: Harry’s Wine & Liquor Market 2094 Post Road, Fairfield Phone:(203) 259-4692 harrys@snet.net www.harryswine.com

Harry's Wine School - Classes October, 2014

Harry’s Wine Classes

October, 2014

Registration: 203-259-4692  or  harrys@sent.net

All classes are 7pm to 9pm

Wine 101:  Intro to Wine Tasting                            Wednesdays               Oct 1 and Oct 8

This is the most popular class at Harry’s Wine School. We offer it several times per year, always to a packed house!  We will cover everything you need to know about the basics of wine but didn’t know what to ask. You will learn the 5 S’s of wine tasting, the 4 taste zones of the tongue, the basic grape varieties, and much more. A selection of wines from around the world will be tasted.  This class is the foundation of all the other classes in our curriculum, and we recommend that even long-time tasters will benefit from it. The concepts and techniques that you learn here will apply to any and all future wine tastings that you will ever attend.  $50 for both weeks

The Bichot Wines of Burgundy                                   Wednesday                        Oct 15

Presented by Guillaume Suss, East Coast Sales Manager

Albert Bichot owns four estates set at the heart of four great viticultural regions that make up Burgundy: Chablis, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, and Côte Chalonnaise. Each estate consists of vineyards cultivated with sustainable practices, as well as facilities and teams devoted to the making and ageing of the region’s wines.  Each year this estate has consistently produced burgundy wines of very high quality, and our event this evening will be your opportunity to sample a selection.  Guillaume Suss will provide an entertaining and informative portrait of a true burgundian producer as he tastes us through these wines.  $35 one session

Food and Wine of Germany and Austria               Wednesday                Oct 22

It is time once again for Chef Chris of the Fairfield Cheese Company to work his magic with a meal of several different courses each to be paired with the perfectly matched wine.  Germany and Austria produce a variety of great food wines.  The Rieslings of Germany have been wonderful for centuries on the dinner table, and within the last decade or so the Gruner Veltliner grape of Austria has become the dinner darling of many of today’s top sommeliers.  These two wines and several others will be on the menu this evening.  We’ve done these dinners with Chris before, and we know one thing for sure  – You Snooze, You Lose!                $40 one session

Wines of Spain                                                          Wednesday                Oct 29

Spain is firmly in place as one of the premier wine producing countries.  Both top quality and value wines are being produced from border to border, and this class will introduce you to many of them.  We will travel far and wide to sample a variety of wines and grapes with different flavors and styles.  After tasting these wines you will be able to determine your favorites as well as become quite knowledgeable about them in general.  $35 one session

Wine Tasting - Saturday 1-4PM, Sep 13

Your host is Emily Welch of 55 Degrees Distribution.

Ranga Ranga 
Sauvignon Blanc  2013      $13.99

Estate grown and 'Old School'. The crisp acidity carries a solid core of lemon grass, lime zest, the tang of cut lawn plus a hint of dried herbs and a touch of Awatere minerality. And it packs a fresh, zingy punch on the finish that makes it stand out from the crowd.

Louis Chevallier 
Pinot Noir 2012             $15.99

Hand harvested and aged in French oak barrels for six months, this Bourgogne Rouge has aromas of sweet plum, cinnamon and berries. It shows exceptional smoothness, a muted woody fragrance and a silky mouth feel with flavors of red fruit and spice.

Jeff Rundquist 1448  2012                       $16.99

Has deep thick color that one would expect form a wine that is predominately Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot .  The aromas feature smoky currants and concentrated black fruits .  Mocha, caramel , and milk chocolate provide a sweet inviting bouquet.  The flavors are big, rich and creamy. Dense ripe black fruits

flow across a deeply toasted oak  background . The time in small barrels contributes to the rich body and luscious mouth -feel.

Gonnet Chignin Savoie 2013                    $17.99

Very pure, showing a melon rind edge to the green almond and light pear notes, with a refreshing finish of the Jaquere grape.

Beer Tasting 4 - 7pm Friday, Sep 5

Your host is Jeff Robert of Shebeen Brewing Company.

Black IPA            $10.49/6pc

Our blackest beer made with special blackened grains. This Cascadian Style IPA is balanced with sweetness, hop bitterness and aroma.

Canoli Beer                   $8.49/32oz

The ultimate dessert beer made with vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and special grains from France. Best served with powdered sugar and shaved chocolate. Heaven in a glass.

Pumpkin              $5.99/22oz

This beer is a true Scottish Export with 8 English malts balanced against just enough pumpkin to impart that "Fall" flavor with a delicate kiss of East Kent Goldings hop in the finish.

1814                     $5.49/22oz

Developed using ingredients that would have been around in 1814, this beer was made to celebrate the end of the War of 1812.  Its dark with a little sweetness and fruity esters.

Our Top 3 Picks From The Pumpkin Patch

Weeks before Labor Day Weekend creeps up on us, our cooler doors take on an orange glow and easy-drinking summer ales begin to trade places with their spicier, warmer counterparts. Pumpkin brews begin to fill our pumpkin patch at the front of the store.

I’ve never been partial to many pumpkin beers, snubbing them for being too cloyingly sweet and imbalanced. Yet with so many pumpkin beers saturating the market and over fifteen different pumpkin brews in the store to challenge that opinion, perhaps I dismiss them as a whole too readily. We’ve tasted a selection of some of the more anticipated brews to help you navigate our ripening pumpkin patch. Some of the beers in our tasting reinforced my original opinion while others directly counterbalanced a broad and misinformed generalization. We selected our top three favorites to ease the transition into fall.  As we bid farewell to the unofficial last weekend of summer, we’re giving you a little bit of something to look forward to – even if pumpkins in August are as heinous as Christmas in July. Here’s to sweater weather, football, foliage and pumpkin beer.

The Line up

Two Roads Brewing Co. Roadsmary’s Baby

Riverhorse Hipp-o-lantern Imperial Pumpkin

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Sam Adam’s Fat Jack Double Pumpkin

Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin

Southern Tier Pumking

Southern Tier Warlock Imperial Pumpkin Stout

Timmerman’s Pumpkin Lambicus

1.      Roadsmary’s Baby Pumpkin ale aged in rum barrels     $12.29/ 6pk btl

Two Roads Brewing Co., Stratford, CT        6.8% abv   

Many pumpkin beers are brewed with pumpkin pie spices – think cinnamon, nutmeg, clove – producing a flavor more akin to a sweet pumpkin pie filling. Others, such as Roadsmary’s Baby from Stratford’s Two Road’s Brewing Co., are brewed with actual pumpkin for a slightly more savory flavor. This is a spicy one, with hints of cinnamon and vanilla, but it’s not overly sweet due to the Caribbean rum barrels that this beer is aged in. The essence of the barrel is surprisingly straight forward and lends another dimension of flavor which sets this one apart from many of the other pumpkin brews.

2.      Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin Pugsley’s Signature Series        $7.99/22 oz. btl

Shipyard Brewing Co., Portland, ME         9.0% abv  

Smashed pumpkin is a sweet and spicy, full-bodied brew. The nose is full of sugary warm spices, rich with nutmeg, cinnamon, and all-spice. What’s especially remarkable about this brew is how well-balanced it tastes. The spiciness doesn’t outweigh the body of the beer. The flavor has an all around nice complexity; full of pumpkin, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, honey and some pale malt sweetness and with a 9% abv, the alcohol is masked really well. This one conjures warm feelings of pumpkin pie, baking, and being in the kitchen. It would be the ideal option to cook with in both savory stews and with rich meats.

3.      Timmerman’s Pumpkin Lambicus    $11.99/750 ml btl

Timmermans Brewery 4% abv                       

Timmerman’s was the unanimous favorite of the line-up. It was also a welcome reminder of how much I love this brewery. I’ve had lambics before, mainly krieks and framboises, but never a pumpkin lambic. The pumpkin lambicus is a slightly sour beer brewed with a Belgian wild yeast. It offers some slightly herbal and spicy hints of pumpkin pie on the nose, but isn’t particularly strong. At 4% abv, the natural carbonation keeps it light and effervescent. Unlike many of the other pumpkin brews that I can only enjoy in small doses, I could easily enjoy a couple glasses of this. The pumpkin spice is clearly discernible through a mild tartness. It would be a perfect introductory sour to this particular beer genre. It’s also the ideal brew to transition from summer into fall with a dry, refreshing mouthfeel to balance some of the warmer, more rich spices.

-Amy Ettinger