Vineyards Elite

Sam Adams Utopias 2011

2011-06-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

Craft beer pioneer Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams beer, invites drinkers to explore the most extreme beer with the unveiling of the 2011 batch of Samuel Adams Utopias, available this May. Meant to be savored like vintage fortified wine or fine cognac, this strong, rich, uncarbonated dark beer is best served as a two-ounce pour at room temperature in a snifter glass.

Samuel Adams Utopias is brewed in small batches, blended, and aged in the Barrel Room at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery. Following its first release in 2002, Utopias received the coveted title of world's 'strongest beer commercially available' in the Guinness Book of World Records. The 2011 offering of Samuel Adams Utopias weighs in at 27 percent alcohol by volume. The average beer is around 5 percent.

The 2011 batch of Samuel Adams Utopias is a blend of liquids which have been aged in a variety of wood casks for up to 18 years. This complex aging process enhances the beer's distinct vanilla, maple and cocoa notes, and it offers an aroma of ginger and cinnamon. Sherry casks from Spain and Portugal add nutty oak, toffee and honey notes, while Madeira and port casks offer a slightly more elegant, dark fruit aroma, imparting earthy flavors inherent to fine European spirits. The complex flavors intensify individually over time, making Samuel Adams Utopias a very special brew that becomes even better with age.

Samuel Adams Utopias is brewed with both ale yeast and a variety typically reserved for champagne. A unique blend of several malts gives the beer its rich ruby color and three varieties of Noble hops - Spalt Spalter, Hallertau Mittelfrueh, and Tettnang Tettnanger - give the beer its floral character and spicy note.

New Wine Arrival - Crios Torrontes 2010

2011-06-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

90 Points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, 2010

"Pale, bright straw-yellow. Pure, floral aromas of citrus blossom, licorice and mint. Juicy, intensely flavored and fresh, with flavors similar to the aromas. Offers unusual intensity for torrontes, with harmonious acidity giving it a firm shape. Finishes with very good length and verve. Always an excellent torrontes."

Yellow + Blue = Green

2010-06-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

GREAT TASTING BOXED WINE :
Yellow + Blue
So. What’s with the box? First let’s cover what the box is and isn’t. It’s not a gimmick to get you to buy our wine. It is different from a bottle, and it preserves wine every bit as well as a bottle. But - it isn’t exactly a box. It’s called a Tetra Pak. You know them from organic milk products, juice boxes or chicken broth. Stuff that has to stay fresh will stay fresh in a Tetra Pak. And that includes wine.
The Tetra Pak wine cartons are not a new concept. All across Europe, Canada, and South America - even in wine-passionate places like Italy and Argentina - Tetra Paks have been embraced for their environmental friendliness, their portability, and their practicality.
Because when it comes down to it, there is no difference between packaging wine in a Tetra Pak and putting wine in a bottle. It’s true. No magic potion or formula that makes bottled wine better. No secret rituals in the vineyard or winery. No difference at all.
Consider: A case of wine in glass weighs 40 pounds and holds 9 liters of wine - close to 50% wine and 50% packaging. A case of Yellow+Blue weighs 26 pounds and holds 12 liters of certified organic wine. That’s 93% wine and 7% packaging.
Bottom line? More fabulous wine for less. Not bad.

YELLOW+BLUE REALLY IS GREEN WINE
Yellow+Blue organic wines are shipped responsibly and packaged smarter — we’re talking 93% wine and 7% packaging — for a low impact on the environment and high impact on the palate.

Come taste the Y + B Organic Torrontes this saturday.
AROMA
Expansive and fresh aromas of peach, cantaloupe and pineapple, with a hint of lime.
TASTING NOTES
Fresh and lively, with medium weight, nice acidity, and a long fruit and mineral laden finish.
FOOD PAIRINGS
Complements smoked meats, mild to medium-strong cheeses, seafood and spicy foods.

Cheers
Krishna

Bottled Sunshine : Vintage Vinho Verde the Green Wine..

2010-06-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

One day a very charming old lady walked into my store looking for a green wine. I asked her several questions to figure out what she was really looking for? My first thoughts were organic wines. She was persistent, its green in color and not organic she said in her lovely accent. I put my wine cap on trying to dig in my mind what was she looking for, and the bulb went on, i asked her is she looking for a Verde the white wine of Portugal. She smiled and said yes the green wine from Portugal: Vinho Verde. Apparently this wine is pale yellow but it comes in a green bottle.

Estate bottled by Quinta das Arcas Sociedade Agricola, a small, family-owned winery run by Esteves Monteiroeit, the Arca Nova is made from three local grapes — Loureiro, Trajadura and Pedernão. Unlike most examples of Vinho Verde this one is vintage vinho verde.

I tried this wine a few weeks ago and fell in love for its freshness in taste and the slight effervescence, which is typical of Vinho Verde. It is refreshingly clean and crisp with the palate of apple, pear, lemon and hints of lime. I have tried several of these verde's but this one set itself apart by being the best one on all three points, the nose, the palate and the finish. It my little discovery, and i would call it "BOTTLEED SUNSHINE". It tastes great on its own and will go very well with simply prepared fish, shellfish and chicken.

Come and try this BOTTLED SUNSHINE this saturday between 4-7pm at the tasting.

Cheers
Krish

Character comes from roots.. .

2010-06-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

"Exceptional wine rooted in sustainable viticulture" : Root 1

I Love the simple lable which has a little story to tell right on the bottle on who they are, where they come from and what they do.

While most vineyards around the world are planted on grafted rootstock, Root 1 are grown on original, ungrafted roots, producing outstanding quality wine with pure fruit flavours and aromas.

Root: 1 wines use the tenets of sustainable viticulture in their farming and winemaking practices to nurture the unique attributes of their vineyards, environment and community.

“We can maintain the quality of our wines only if we stay true to our goal of being responsible stewarols of our environment, our community anol each other.”
— Felipe Tosso, Root: 1 Winemaker

For more info http://www.root1wine.com/

Cheers
VE ( Vineyards Elite)"

Easter Tasting with Legends Vineyard.

2010-04-01T11:48:00.001-07:00

Ashby and Carrie Everhart are a husband wife team owning and operating Legends Vineyards. They are also a part of the "Piedmond wine trail" in Maryland. About eight different wineries thrive by this trail including the Boordy and Fiore.
Legends have some award winning wines and we will have the opputunity to talk to the wine maker and ask any questions about their wines. We will be tasting some sweet wines this saturday as they make perfect Easter wines.

Passover 2010

2010-03-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

Passover is not like other Holidays in which we commemorate a particular event or miracle. Rather, the obligations is upon us to feel as though we have just been physically and emotionally been redeemed from the slavery in Egypt. We must demonstrate our freedom by playing the part of a free person and actively celebrating that freedom.

Passover is, in essence, the Birthday of the people of Israel. The defining event that brought them together for the first time as a nation and set the stage for arrival in the land of Israel after hundreds of years in exile.

Passover through the Seder(Seder means order), is active demonstration of freedom; the food we eat, the prayers we say and the stories we tell bring this experience to life. Seder starts with a young child going out the house and knock. Who's there? ask those inside. An Israelite responds the child. Where are you coming from they ask? From Egypt says the child. Where are you going they ask? To the land of Israel he exclaims. The child then re-enters and the seder begins with Kadesh (Sanctifying the day over a cup of wine).

The first of the seder nights is drinking 4 cups of wine, in tribute to the almighty for the four promises made and fulfilled concerning the redemption. In honor of Elijah, an additional globlet of wine is placed on the table, this wine is not drank. Elijah is a symbol of peace and freedom that will one day reign throughout the world.