I know I said no more newsletters till the New Year, but I need to sneak 1 more in.
We ended up semi-postponing Saturdays Sparkling Wine tasting. The weather was crappy and business was incredibly slow early in the day, and it just didn’t make sense popping open 6 bottles of bubbly. We did end up opening a couple for the few of you who did come in. So we decided to schedule another Sparkling Tasting on Wednesday (December 31st) from 3 to 5 PM. I know they’re calling for snow, but we have Tommy Bolini here to pour so we will go forward with it either way.
I’ll quickly go over the lineup of the Sparklers we will sample. We have 2 excellent domestic sparklers to start off, Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Blancs and Chandon Blanc de Noirs. Next we go to Australia for the # 1 selling Aussie sparkler Yellowglen Pink. From there we go to the Burgundy region of France for Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Brut. Moet & Chandon Imperial will finish of the proceedings with a true French Champagne. This is the new package of what Moet once called White Star and is a great way to finish 2008 and toast ’09.
OK…I’ve got a question that has been bugging me for 8, soon to be 9 years. What are we calling this decade we are currently in? I’ve heard the Oh’s…Zips…Aughts…single digits…millennium…2000’s but none seem to flow like the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. If you have a better term for the decade please let me know so I can finally get some rest. All of us at Cork’s wish you a safe and Happy New Year!
Robert
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Happy New Year!
Happy Kwanza and Boxing Day to everyone!!
I hope you all had a great Christmas. It was off the wall busy here at Cork’s, and we thank you for your patronage. This is going to be just a quickie newsletter to talk about our Champagne/Sparkling Wine tasting scheduled for Saturday, December 27th from 2 to 5 PM. While most would agree that there is something unmistakable about a good Champagne from the Champagne region of France, but the price of these great sparkling wines is higher than ever mainly due to the Euro/Dollar exchange rate, and just higher production costs in general. We will do a true “Champagne” in the tasting lineup, but we have tried to find different “Sparklers” from all over the world at various price points for you to try as well.
We will start with a domestic Spumante from Cook’s. This is definitely on the sweeter side and great for the “White Zin” drinkers out there to toast with. Next we have the brand new Voga Sparkling Pinot Grigio. It comes in a funky looking bottle, and I’m not sure what to expect from a fizzy Pinot Grigio but let’s give it a whirl. Next up is Chandon Blanc de Noirs. This excellent California Sparkling Wine is made mainly Pinot Noir, with a bit of Pinot Meunier blended in. We are off to Spain next for Roger Goulart Brut Rose Cava. Although priced a bit higher than your typical Cava, it’s absolutely delicious and still under 20 bucks. We finally arrive in France for Louis Bouillot Cremante de Bourgogne Brut. I’d put this yummy blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay up against its pricier cousin from “Champagne” at only $16.99 a bottle. We will finish with Louis de Sacy Brut Grand Cru Champagne. This outstanding Champagne has received excellent reviews, and as far as Champagnes go is a bargain at $34.99.
Just a couple of quick reminders before we end 2008. We will be starting our “Customer’s Favorites” wine tastings in January. Depending on how they go, we will probably do 1 or 2 per month. I know quite a few of you have already expressed interest in doing these, and it sounds like lots of fun. Basically you and a friend/spouse/total stranger pick out 5 or 6 of your favorite wines. You come in from 4 to 7 PM on a Friday night. We’ll supply the wines, cheese, and crackers and you pour the wines and tell us about them. If anybody thinks they may be interested in this please shoot me an e-mail in the next few weeks and we’ll start planning a schedule.
Lastly, Super Brew IV is less than a month away. This is 1 of our huge beer tastings and will be on the bye week before the Super Bowl this year. It will be on Saturday, January 24th from 2:30 to 5 PM. Again due to space constraints we will be scaling it back a bit but there will still be tons of new beers (including growlers) for you to sample. Be sure to save the date, and check the website (corksfinewine.com) often for more details and updates as the event draws closer.
I hope you all have a healthy and Happy New Year!!
Robert
I hope you all had a great Christmas. It was off the wall busy here at Cork’s, and we thank you for your patronage. This is going to be just a quickie newsletter to talk about our Champagne/Sparkling Wine tasting scheduled for Saturday, December 27th from 2 to 5 PM. While most would agree that there is something unmistakable about a good Champagne from the Champagne region of France, but the price of these great sparkling wines is higher than ever mainly due to the Euro/Dollar exchange rate, and just higher production costs in general. We will do a true “Champagne” in the tasting lineup, but we have tried to find different “Sparklers” from all over the world at various price points for you to try as well.
We will start with a domestic Spumante from Cook’s. This is definitely on the sweeter side and great for the “White Zin” drinkers out there to toast with. Next we have the brand new Voga Sparkling Pinot Grigio. It comes in a funky looking bottle, and I’m not sure what to expect from a fizzy Pinot Grigio but let’s give it a whirl. Next up is Chandon Blanc de Noirs. This excellent California Sparkling Wine is made mainly Pinot Noir, with a bit of Pinot Meunier blended in. We are off to Spain next for Roger Goulart Brut Rose Cava. Although priced a bit higher than your typical Cava, it’s absolutely delicious and still under 20 bucks. We finally arrive in France for Louis Bouillot Cremante de Bourgogne Brut. I’d put this yummy blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay up against its pricier cousin from “Champagne” at only $16.99 a bottle. We will finish with Louis de Sacy Brut Grand Cru Champagne. This outstanding Champagne has received excellent reviews, and as far as Champagnes go is a bargain at $34.99.
Just a couple of quick reminders before we end 2008. We will be starting our “Customer’s Favorites” wine tastings in January. Depending on how they go, we will probably do 1 or 2 per month. I know quite a few of you have already expressed interest in doing these, and it sounds like lots of fun. Basically you and a friend/spouse/total stranger pick out 5 or 6 of your favorite wines. You come in from 4 to 7 PM on a Friday night. We’ll supply the wines, cheese, and crackers and you pour the wines and tell us about them. If anybody thinks they may be interested in this please shoot me an e-mail in the next few weeks and we’ll start planning a schedule.
Lastly, Super Brew IV is less than a month away. This is 1 of our huge beer tastings and will be on the bye week before the Super Bowl this year. It will be on Saturday, January 24th from 2:30 to 5 PM. Again due to space constraints we will be scaling it back a bit but there will still be tons of new beers (including growlers) for you to sample. Be sure to save the date, and check the website (corksfinewine.com) often for more details and updates as the event draws closer.
I hope you all have a healthy and Happy New Year!!
Robert
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Christmas Newsletter
Welcome to Cork’s Christmas newsletter! As I sit and write this I’m looking at a forecast for heavy snow tomorrow, with possible accumulations of up to a foot... Yikes… so we are going to postpone tomorrows Holiday Wine tasting with John from Trio Wines, and reschedule it for Saturday from 4 to 7 PM. Hopefully the snow won’t be too bad or me and Ted will be camping out in the backroom.
We will have a Christmas Beer tasting with Josh tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30. He will start with 3 Belgian Christmas beers. St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, Noel des Geants, and Winterkoninkske Winter King Ale. From there we go to France for Biere de Noel Holiday Ale. We end our Christmas journey back in Nantucket for Santa’s Beered! from Cisco Brewers. We will take 10 % off these or any Christmas beers/gift sets tonight only if you come to the tasting. We will also drawer the winner of the Mike’s Hard Lemonade Butterball Turkey contest at 6 PM.
So for our wine tasting with John from Trio wines, which is now Saturday from 4 to 7 PM we have an outstanding lineup put together. He will start with a Sparkling Shiraz from Shingleback called Black Bubbles. I’ve had a few Sparkling Shiraz in my day and have never been a fan, but this one is quite yummy. Next up is Bloom Gewurztraminer, which is a perfect turkey wine if you’re having a bird for X-Mas. Five H Riesling from Washington State will be our next wine, and I think John’s wife has an apple crisp recipe made from this wine that he will share with us. Culpeo Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot will give us a lil “green” for the Holiday as they are organic wines from Chile. Bianchi Pinot Noir and Bucaro Montepulciano D’Abruzzo finish up the reds for this big Holiday tasting. You would think that would be enough wines, but John also has a special Christmas treat, with a high end bomb from Shingleback called D- Block Shiraz. This will make a great gift, or pair perfectly with the Holiday Roast Beast!
Don’t forget we still have a ton of liquor, wine, and beer gifts sets still available. We set up a big table in the front of the store with a sampling of most of them. We also have a large selection of “higher end” wines, and really cool holiday wine bags for that wine connoisseur on your shopping list. This could be the last newsletter of the year so let’s get our sports references out of the way and tie up all the loose ends. Go Celts and Bruins!!...both off to amazing starts. Let’s hope the Pats can sneak into the playoffs in this injury plagued season…and the Sox don’t sign Teixeira, but bring the captain back and keep Lowell in the mix.
Breaking news here at Cork’s!!...we will stay open an extra hour tonight (Thursday) until 10 PM for those of you running to Shaw’s for your milk and bread due to tomorrow’s imminent snowstorm. While we’re on the subject of store hours we will close at 6 PM on Christmas Eve, and are closed Christmas Day. We will be open 10 AM to 9 PM on the 26th for all your Kwanza and Boxing Day needs!...hmmm …exactly what does 1 dring to celebrate these Holidays? The following week we will close at 7 PM on New Years Eve, and will be closed New Years Day. Now that I think about it we will have a Champagne/Sparkling Wine Tasting on Saturday December 27th so I will throw a quick e-mail together next week to let you know what “Bubblies” we’ll be popping and a time for the tasting.
Here’s hoping you all have a Merry Christmas and a great Holiday Season from all of us here at Cork’s!!!
Robert
We will have a Christmas Beer tasting with Josh tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30. He will start with 3 Belgian Christmas beers. St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, Noel des Geants, and Winterkoninkske Winter King Ale. From there we go to France for Biere de Noel Holiday Ale. We end our Christmas journey back in Nantucket for Santa’s Beered! from Cisco Brewers. We will take 10 % off these or any Christmas beers/gift sets tonight only if you come to the tasting. We will also drawer the winner of the Mike’s Hard Lemonade Butterball Turkey contest at 6 PM.
So for our wine tasting with John from Trio wines, which is now Saturday from 4 to 7 PM we have an outstanding lineup put together. He will start with a Sparkling Shiraz from Shingleback called Black Bubbles. I’ve had a few Sparkling Shiraz in my day and have never been a fan, but this one is quite yummy. Next up is Bloom Gewurztraminer, which is a perfect turkey wine if you’re having a bird for X-Mas. Five H Riesling from Washington State will be our next wine, and I think John’s wife has an apple crisp recipe made from this wine that he will share with us. Culpeo Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot will give us a lil “green” for the Holiday as they are organic wines from Chile. Bianchi Pinot Noir and Bucaro Montepulciano D’Abruzzo finish up the reds for this big Holiday tasting. You would think that would be enough wines, but John also has a special Christmas treat, with a high end bomb from Shingleback called D- Block Shiraz. This will make a great gift, or pair perfectly with the Holiday Roast Beast!
Don’t forget we still have a ton of liquor, wine, and beer gifts sets still available. We set up a big table in the front of the store with a sampling of most of them. We also have a large selection of “higher end” wines, and really cool holiday wine bags for that wine connoisseur on your shopping list. This could be the last newsletter of the year so let’s get our sports references out of the way and tie up all the loose ends. Go Celts and Bruins!!...both off to amazing starts. Let’s hope the Pats can sneak into the playoffs in this injury plagued season…and the Sox don’t sign Teixeira, but bring the captain back and keep Lowell in the mix.
Breaking news here at Cork’s!!...we will stay open an extra hour tonight (Thursday) until 10 PM for those of you running to Shaw’s for your milk and bread due to tomorrow’s imminent snowstorm. While we’re on the subject of store hours we will close at 6 PM on Christmas Eve, and are closed Christmas Day. We will be open 10 AM to 9 PM on the 26th for all your Kwanza and Boxing Day needs!...hmmm …exactly what does 1 dring to celebrate these Holidays? The following week we will close at 7 PM on New Years Eve, and will be closed New Years Day. Now that I think about it we will have a Champagne/Sparkling Wine Tasting on Saturday December 27th so I will throw a quick e-mail together next week to let you know what “Bubblies” we’ll be popping and a time for the tasting.
Here’s hoping you all have a Merry Christmas and a great Holiday Season from all of us here at Cork’s!!!
Robert
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Lots of tastngs this week! And changing over our email...
Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. We have lots of stuff going on again this week with 2 wine tastings, 1 beer tasting, and a liquor tasting as well. The Celtics are off to their best start ever, the Pats are hanging around the playoff picture, the Bruins are playing excellent and Redsox tickets go on sale this Saturday! OK got my sports references out of the way early let’s get to the tastings.
Friday night from 4 to 7 PM we have Kevin from Commonwealth Wines here for a value Holiday wine tasting. He will start with Polka Dot Riesling from Germany. I’m sure most of you are familiar with, or have had Dancing Bull Zinfandel. This is their flagship wine and sells the best already, so we won’t be tasting that one. But we will sample the Dancing Bull Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet. These wines are newly packaged and a great value at $10.99. Speaking of values, for 1 night only we will feature the Redsox Wines (Sauvignyoooooouuuuuk Blanc, Vintage Papi, and Captain’s Cabernet) at only $9.99!!!...this is only pennies above cost… and besides making great Christmas gifts, this could be your last chance to get a Jason Varitek wine while he’s still in a Sox uniform. Also on Friday night from 4 to 7 we will have a Ty-Ku Asian Citrus Liqueur tasting. This tasty green liqueur comes in a funky bottle that actually lights up!
We have another wine tasting with Eric from Baystate Wines lined up for Saturday afternoon from 1 to 4 PM. He will feature 1 of our best selling Pinot Grigio’s called Prendo. Next we go to 1 of the newer additions to the Peirano estate wines called “The Other White”. This is a blend of Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc/Viognier and a nice alternative to the everyday Chards out there. From there we go to California’s Central Coast for 3 new wines from Lost Angel. Muscat Canelli, Mischief (a blend of Cabernet/Petite Sirah/Sangiovese), and petite Sirah make up this eclectic trio of wines. We will finish with Chateau De Beauregard-Ducourt Bordeaux from the outstanding 2005 vintage. This was recently written up in the Boston Globe’s Plonkapaluza article as 1 of the best value wines out there and is a steal at $12.99.
We also have a “Winter Beer” tasting on tap for Saturday from 3 to 5 PM. My cousin Vinnie has taken the mystery of whether or not we’ll have a supermodel or a dude do the tasting by scheduling our pal Dan for this event. His lineup includes Magic Hat Roxy Rolles, Redhook Winterhook Ale, Winter Bourbon Cask Ale, Michelob Porter, and Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. I don’t know about you but that sure sounds like a yummy tasting to me.
This next part is a message from our webmistress that I’m contractually obligated to add to my newsletter for a few weeks.
To guarantee that you will always get your Cork’s emails, we will be changing over the way we mail them (the internet is turning bulk mail into spam and we never want to spam you!). Since you signed up to be on our email list, we’re going to list you on our new email server called FeedBlitz. Sometime over the next few weeks, you will receive an email from FeedBlitz where they will ask you to click on a link to activate your account. Just click on the link and the emails will come to you as soon as we write them. That’s it! From that point on, you’ll be receiving our emails worry free from spam (what wine goes with spam???) Of course you can always get our newsletter by going to our blog: Corks Fine Wine Newsletter….
Oh, and we had a few suggestions as to what wine goes well with spam…from unoaked whites ..to Riesling…to Carlo Rossi Paisano…I’m sticking to any wine will compliment that perfect concoction of canned meat!! Be sure to check out the website (corksfinewine.com) for more info on upcoming tastings, and great gift ideas for the Holidays.
Robert
Friday night from 4 to 7 PM we have Kevin from Commonwealth Wines here for a value Holiday wine tasting. He will start with Polka Dot Riesling from Germany. I’m sure most of you are familiar with, or have had Dancing Bull Zinfandel. This is their flagship wine and sells the best already, so we won’t be tasting that one. But we will sample the Dancing Bull Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet. These wines are newly packaged and a great value at $10.99. Speaking of values, for 1 night only we will feature the Redsox Wines (Sauvignyoooooouuuuuk Blanc, Vintage Papi, and Captain’s Cabernet) at only $9.99!!!...this is only pennies above cost… and besides making great Christmas gifts, this could be your last chance to get a Jason Varitek wine while he’s still in a Sox uniform. Also on Friday night from 4 to 7 we will have a Ty-Ku Asian Citrus Liqueur tasting. This tasty green liqueur comes in a funky bottle that actually lights up!
We have another wine tasting with Eric from Baystate Wines lined up for Saturday afternoon from 1 to 4 PM. He will feature 1 of our best selling Pinot Grigio’s called Prendo. Next we go to 1 of the newer additions to the Peirano estate wines called “The Other White”. This is a blend of Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc/Viognier and a nice alternative to the everyday Chards out there. From there we go to California’s Central Coast for 3 new wines from Lost Angel. Muscat Canelli, Mischief (a blend of Cabernet/Petite Sirah/Sangiovese), and petite Sirah make up this eclectic trio of wines. We will finish with Chateau De Beauregard-Ducourt Bordeaux from the outstanding 2005 vintage. This was recently written up in the Boston Globe’s Plonkapaluza article as 1 of the best value wines out there and is a steal at $12.99.
We also have a “Winter Beer” tasting on tap for Saturday from 3 to 5 PM. My cousin Vinnie has taken the mystery of whether or not we’ll have a supermodel or a dude do the tasting by scheduling our pal Dan for this event. His lineup includes Magic Hat Roxy Rolles, Redhook Winterhook Ale, Winter Bourbon Cask Ale, Michelob Porter, and Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. I don’t know about you but that sure sounds like a yummy tasting to me.
This next part is a message from our webmistress that I’m contractually obligated to add to my newsletter for a few weeks.
To guarantee that you will always get your Cork’s emails, we will be changing over the way we mail them (the internet is turning bulk mail into spam and we never want to spam you!). Since you signed up to be on our email list, we’re going to list you on our new email server called FeedBlitz. Sometime over the next few weeks, you will receive an email from FeedBlitz where they will ask you to click on a link to activate your account. Just click on the link and the emails will come to you as soon as we write them. That’s it! From that point on, you’ll be receiving our emails worry free from spam (what wine goes with spam???) Of course you can always get our newsletter by going to our blog: Corks Fine Wine Newsletter….
Oh, and we had a few suggestions as to what wine goes well with spam…from unoaked whites ..to Riesling…to Carlo Rossi Paisano…I’m sticking to any wine will compliment that perfect concoction of canned meat!! Be sure to check out the website (corksfinewine.com) for more info on upcoming tastings, and great gift ideas for the Holidays.
Robert
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Holiday Gift Sets, Gift Ideas and Travel Tips
Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter.
I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving. We were extremely busy here, being our 1st big holiday with full liquor. It was good to see all of you and help you with your wine selections. We have lots going on here at Cork’s with tons of tastings betw
een now and Christmas. We also have a new Holiday section on the website with great gift ideas and even holiday getaways. Check out our special holiday gift sets perfect for your holiday gift giving. We’ve also tracked down some great holiday stories and shopping ideas to make your holiday special. Since some of you travel for the holidays, we’ve also created a page with holiday specials on travel. You can find them all on corksfinewine.com.
We have 2 liquor tastings scheduled for this week. We will sample Schwartzhog Krauter Liqueur on Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. Think Jagermeister and Robitussin, with Hog roots mixed in….mmmmm mmmmm good. This will be sure to warm you up as the weather gets colder. I know when the seasons change and the temperature drops below freezing, I think of Gin and Tonics! So we will have a New Amsterdam gin tasting on Saturday from 3 to 6 PM as well.
Our friend Jamie from MS Walker will be here for a special wine tasting on Saturday from 2 to 5 PM. Yes it’s our 1st ever “Stock up for X-Mas Rebate/Shebangle Wine Tasting! What is this you may ask? Well, the wines at this tasting are all excellent everyday wines and all of them have rebates ranging from $1 per bottle up to $36 per case. I know what you’re saying...rebates stink…pealing labels...mailing receipts, and all that nonsense. But with the economy the way it is, and these all being good value wines to begin with, perhaps the 36 bucks can go towards Aunt Margaret’s X-Mas gift this year.
The wines he will be tasting are Toasted Head Reserve Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. But the Toasted Head rebate also covers the Merlot, Cabernet, Viognier, and the 2 bottle gift set as well. These rebates go from $6 up to $30 for a case. Big Tattoo Red is a Cabernet- Syrah blend and has rebates up to $36. Next up is Blackstone Pinot Grigio and Cabernet. You can also mix and match Blackstone Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Syrah, Riesling, or Zinfandel to receive your $25 rebate. Next Jamie will have Alamos Chardonnay, Malbec, and Bonarda from Argentina to taste. Again, excellent value wines at $9.99 everyday and you save up to $36 on a case. Finally, Hogue Late Harvest Riesling, a delicious holiday wine with a rebate as well. Of course you will still receive the 10 % discount on any of these brands as well to make the savings even better. This will be 1 of the best tastings of the year and a can’t miss event.
Now when Jamie leaves at 5 he will tag our friend Jim, who will be doing his annual Belgium Beer tasting from 5 to 7 PM. He will feature Saison Dupont, Moinette Blonde, and Scaldis Noel all in the classic 750 ml cork finish bottles. Jim is 1 of the most knowledgeable beer reps we have at our tastings, and this tasting was a huge success last year. Sounds like we need to have a couch in back for naps and cabs at the ready if you’re going to do all 3 tastings, but either way this should be a fun day here at Cork’s.
To guarantee that you will always get your Cork’s emails, we will be changing over the way we mail them (the internet is turning bulk mail into spam and we never want to spam you!). Since you signed up to be on our email list, we’re going to list you on our new email server called FeedBlitz. Sometime over the next few weeks, you will receive an email from FeedBlitz where they will ask you to click on a link to activate your account. Just click on the link and the emails will come to you as soon as we write them. That’s it! From that point on, you’ll be receiving our emails worry free from spam (what wine goes with spam???) Of course you can always get our newsletter by going to our blog: Corks Fine Wine Newsletter
OK that last part was from our webmistess and my sister Marianne. I turn my back for 20 minutes and “sample” a dozen wines with a sales rep and she adds to my ever-growing newsletter. Oh well…of course we know ANY wine goes with that delicious canned treat known as spam. A few sports references and we’re done…Celts are off to an awesome start…wow the Bruins in 1st place…Sox ink Pedroia long term…and the Pats...well 3 outta 4 ain’t bad.
I hope you all have a great weekend and we’ll see you soon
Robert
een now and Christmas. We also have a new Holiday section on the website with great gift ideas and even holiday getaways. Check out our special holiday gift sets perfect for your holiday gift giving. We’ve also tracked down some great holiday stories and shopping ideas to make your holiday special. Since some of you travel for the holidays, we’ve also created a page with holiday specials on travel. You can find them all on corksfinewine.com.We have 2 liquor tastings scheduled for this week. We will sample Schwartzhog Krauter Liqueur on Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. Think Jagermeister and Robitussin, with Hog roots mixed in….mmmmm mmmmm good. This will be sure to warm you up as the weather gets colder. I know when the seasons change and the temperature drops below freezing, I think of Gin and Tonics! So we will have a New Amsterdam gin tasting on Saturday from 3 to 6 PM as well.
Our friend Jamie from MS Walker will be here for a special wine tasting on Saturday from 2 to 5 PM. Yes it’s our 1st ever “Stock up for X-Mas Rebate/Shebangle Wine Tasting! What is this you may ask? Well, the wines at this tasting are all excellent everyday wines and all of them have rebates ranging from $1 per bottle up to $36 per case. I know what you’re saying...rebates stink…pealing labels...mailing receipts, and all that nonsense. But with the economy the way it is, and these all being good value wines to begin with, perhaps the 36 bucks can go towards Aunt Margaret’s X-Mas gift this year.
The wines he will be tasting are Toasted Head Reserve Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. But the Toasted Head rebate also covers the Merlot, Cabernet, Viognier, and the 2 bottle gift set as well. These rebates go from $6 up to $30 for a case. Big Tattoo Red is a Cabernet- Syrah blend and has rebates up to $36. Next up is Blackstone Pinot Grigio and Cabernet. You can also mix and match Blackstone Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Syrah, Riesling, or Zinfandel to receive your $25 rebate. Next Jamie will have Alamos Chardonnay, Malbec, and Bonarda from Argentina to taste. Again, excellent value wines at $9.99 everyday and you save up to $36 on a case. Finally, Hogue Late Harvest Riesling, a delicious holiday wine with a rebate as well. Of course you will still receive the 10 % discount on any of these brands as well to make the savings even better. This will be 1 of the best tastings of the year and a can’t miss event.
Now when Jamie leaves at 5 he will tag our friend Jim, who will be doing his annual Belgium Beer tasting from 5 to 7 PM. He will feature Saison Dupont, Moinette Blonde, and Scaldis Noel all in the classic 750 ml cork finish bottles. Jim is 1 of the most knowledgeable beer reps we have at our tastings, and this tasting was a huge success last year. Sounds like we need to have a couch in back for naps and cabs at the ready if you’re going to do all 3 tastings, but either way this should be a fun day here at Cork’s.
To guarantee that you will always get your Cork’s emails, we will be changing over the way we mail them (the internet is turning bulk mail into spam and we never want to spam you!). Since you signed up to be on our email list, we’re going to list you on our new email server called FeedBlitz. Sometime over the next few weeks, you will receive an email from FeedBlitz where they will ask you to click on a link to activate your account. Just click on the link and the emails will come to you as soon as we write them. That’s it! From that point on, you’ll be receiving our emails worry free from spam (what wine goes with spam???) Of course you can always get our newsletter by going to our blog: Corks Fine Wine Newsletter
OK that last part was from our webmistess and my sister Marianne. I turn my back for 20 minutes and “sample” a dozen wines with a sales rep and she adds to my ever-growing newsletter. Oh well…of course we know ANY wine goes with that delicious canned treat known as spam. A few sports references and we’re done…Celts are off to an awesome start…wow the Bruins in 1st place…Sox ink Pedroia long term…and the Pats...well 3 outta 4 ain’t bad.
I hope you all have a great weekend and we’ll see you soon
Robert
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Beaujolais Nouveau is here!
Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive! For those unfamiliar with this yearly tradition this is the 1st wine of the 2008 vintage, and comes out the third Thursday of November. It is made with the Gamay grape, and is a very light and fruity red wine making it an excellent pairing with turkey. This wine is not overly complex, the grapes having literally been on the vine just a couple of months ago. We carry the George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau and as always it comes in a funky flowery designed bottle. We will be sampling this wine with other great Thanksgiving wines Friday night from 4 to 7 PM.
Speaking of Turkey Day we will be closed on Thursday. We will open up an hour early, at 9 AM on Wednesday 11/26 and close an hour later at 10 PM for your shopping convenience. We will also close 1 hour early on Friday (9 PM) the day after Thanksgiving as most of you are fully stocked up booze and turkey, and probably in a tryptophanic coma anyway. Don’t forget we have full liquor now for all your holiday needs. So there is no need to fight for a parking spot at our competitors when we have a huge parking lot here at Cork’s.
We do have a beer tasting scheduled for tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30. I’ve given up trying to figure out if it’s my cousin Vinnie, a supermodel, or some random dude…so let’s just say it will be a rep from Quality Beverage. They will sample you on their selection of European beers tonight. He/she will taste you on Leffe Blonde Belgian Ale, Stella Artois, and St. Pauli girl from Germany. While we’re on the subject of beer I’d like to clean up any Oktoberfest/Pumpkin/Autumn beers that are hanging around. So in lieu of a mystery discount for the next couple of weeks all Fall Beers will be 10 % off. They will not be programmed into the register so you may need to remind the cashier….and if you wanna shout 1 last time there is only 1 OKTOBER!!…you know I’ll enjoy that.
Friday night will be our Annual Thanksgiving wine tasting from 4 to 7 PM. We fill feature what I think are the best pairings for turkey and all the rest of the fixings. We will start St. Urbans-Hof Riesling from the Mosel region of Germany. Next we go to Columbia Valley in Washington for Chateau Ste Michelle Gewurztraminer. Gewurtz is always my favorite Thanksgiving white as it not only compliments the bird, but the cinnamon and nutmeg spices are the perfect compliment to many of the side dishes. From there we go a few hundred miles south to Oregon for Firesteed Pinot Noir. Burgundian in style, this light bodied red is perfect for turkey. A Thanksgiving tasting would not be complete without the aforementioned Beaujolais Nouveau, so that takes care of the red portion of the tasting. Off to Jersey next for Tomasello Cranberry Wine. This a delicious, slightly sweet and tart wine made from 100% cranberries. We finish with a brand new dessert wine from Harvard, MA. Apfel Eis from Still River Winery is an ice wine made from 100% local apples. We just tried it yesterday and it is absolutely delish !!...this will be a perfect wine to serve with pumpkin or apple pie, or it can be dessert all on its own.
There will be no newsletter next week as it’s going to be crazy busy here and we are closed Thursday. There will also be no tastings next week as we concentrate on keeping the shelves filled and helping you with your Thanksgiving selections. I hope you all have a great weekend, and a nice Thanksgiving holiday.
Robert
PS…wow it was just brought to my attention after sending ½ of the e-mails out that I don’t have 1 sports reference!!...I just can’t go 2 weeks without 1, so congrats to “El Caballito” for an amazing season and capturing the AL MVP Award.
Speaking of Turkey Day we will be closed on Thursday. We will open up an hour early, at 9 AM on Wednesday 11/26 and close an hour later at 10 PM for your shopping convenience. We will also close 1 hour early on Friday (9 PM) the day after Thanksgiving as most of you are fully stocked up booze and turkey, and probably in a tryptophanic coma anyway. Don’t forget we have full liquor now for all your holiday needs. So there is no need to fight for a parking spot at our competitors when we have a huge parking lot here at Cork’s.
We do have a beer tasting scheduled for tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30. I’ve given up trying to figure out if it’s my cousin Vinnie, a supermodel, or some random dude…so let’s just say it will be a rep from Quality Beverage. They will sample you on their selection of European beers tonight. He/she will taste you on Leffe Blonde Belgian Ale, Stella Artois, and St. Pauli girl from Germany. While we’re on the subject of beer I’d like to clean up any Oktoberfest/Pumpkin/Autumn beers that are hanging around. So in lieu of a mystery discount for the next couple of weeks all Fall Beers will be 10 % off. They will not be programmed into the register so you may need to remind the cashier….and if you wanna shout 1 last time there is only 1 OKTOBER!!…you know I’ll enjoy that.
Friday night will be our Annual Thanksgiving wine tasting from 4 to 7 PM. We fill feature what I think are the best pairings for turkey and all the rest of the fixings. We will start St. Urbans-Hof Riesling from the Mosel region of Germany. Next we go to Columbia Valley in Washington for Chateau Ste Michelle Gewurztraminer. Gewurtz is always my favorite Thanksgiving white as it not only compliments the bird, but the cinnamon and nutmeg spices are the perfect compliment to many of the side dishes. From there we go a few hundred miles south to Oregon for Firesteed Pinot Noir. Burgundian in style, this light bodied red is perfect for turkey. A Thanksgiving tasting would not be complete without the aforementioned Beaujolais Nouveau, so that takes care of the red portion of the tasting. Off to Jersey next for Tomasello Cranberry Wine. This a delicious, slightly sweet and tart wine made from 100% cranberries. We finish with a brand new dessert wine from Harvard, MA. Apfel Eis from Still River Winery is an ice wine made from 100% local apples. We just tried it yesterday and it is absolutely delish !!...this will be a perfect wine to serve with pumpkin or apple pie, or it can be dessert all on its own.
There will be no newsletter next week as it’s going to be crazy busy here and we are closed Thursday. There will also be no tastings next week as we concentrate on keeping the shelves filled and helping you with your Thanksgiving selections. I hope you all have a great weekend, and a nice Thanksgiving holiday.
Robert
PS…wow it was just brought to my attention after sending ½ of the e-mails out that I don’t have 1 sports reference!!...I just can’t go 2 weeks without 1, so congrats to “El Caballito” for an amazing season and capturing the AL MVP Award.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Thanks for attending the 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting!
Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter.
I want to thank all those who attended our 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting and made it a huge success. I think it we’ve finally got it down to where we have plenty of wine/beers at the se big events, and still have enough room to maneuver around and talk to the sales reps. The mix of wines, and even liquors seemed to work for you as well. We did have a minor delay with traffic and getting the 2nd batch of pizza, but overall I think the tasting went smoothly. Please feel free to send us comments, good or bad so that we can fine-tune even more for the next big tasting.
Speaking of the next big tasting, that would be our 4th??...5th?? Annual Superbrew Beer Tasting (I’m starting to lose track of the m to be honest). This year the event will be on the bye week between the AFC/NFC Championship games and the Super Bowl. Last years Superbrew was the day before the big game, and was just a bit out of control with the Patriots in the game and all. So this years big beer tasting will be on Saturday, January 24th from 2:30 to 5 PM. Hopefully the Pats can spank the Jets tonight and make a run at it despite the incredible amount of injuries they’ve suffered this year.
OK...interesting sidebar...as I’m writing about the Patriots in the newsletter a rather large gentlemen inquired about and bought an Opus One, 2 Larry Bird Legend Meritage, a few high end Bordeaux, and a few bottles of expensive liquor. Now being the sports geek I am (in my Ty Warren jersey for tonight’s game) I asked Erin to check out the name on the card. Turns out it's Jarvis Green of our New England Patriots!! Funny thing is I’m going to a charity wine tasting this Saturday at Johnson & Wales Inn in Seekonk this Saturday sponsored by the Jarvis Green foundation. There were over 20 Patriot players there last year, and lots of cool stuff auctioned off with proceeds going to help hurricane Katrina victims. Tickets are a bit steep at $100, but there will be tons of high end wines and great foods to sample. Check out our website (corksfinewine.com) for more info if you’re interested in attending.
We do not have any beer or wine tastings lined up for this week as we recover from last week’s big event. We do have a ton of tastings scheduled between now and Christmas, and we will set up a list/calendar of them on the website by this weekend. We do have a tasting this Saturday on Schwartzhog liqueur from 1 to 4 PM. This is a less expensive, knock off of Jagermeister and actually contains hog root. Unfortunately Kevin from Commonwealth will not be available to taste you on his fine product, so we’ve had to hire a supermodel.
Be sure to check out all the new and interesting holiday beers and gift sets that we recently brought in. We have a couple of racks set up in front, and most of these items are in very limited quantities so stop in early for the best selection. I hope you all have a great weekend and we’ll see you soon.
Robert
I want to thank all those who attended our 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting and made it a huge success. I think it we’ve finally got it down to where we have plenty of wine/beers at the se big events, and still have enough room to maneuver around and talk to the sales reps. The mix of wines, and even liquors seemed to work for you as well. We did have a minor delay with traffic and getting the 2nd batch of pizza, but overall I think the tasting went smoothly. Please feel free to send us comments, good or bad so that we can fine-tune even more for the next big tasting.
Speaking of the next big tasting, that would be our 4th??...5th?? Annual Superbrew Beer Tasting (I’m starting to lose track of the m to be honest). This year the event will be on the bye week between the AFC/NFC Championship games and the Super Bowl. Last years Superbrew was the day before the big game, and was just a bit out of control with the Patriots in the game and all. So this years big beer tasting will be on Saturday, January 24th from 2:30 to 5 PM. Hopefully the Pats can spank the Jets tonight and make a run at it despite the incredible amount of injuries they’ve suffered this year.
OK...interesting sidebar...as I’m writing about the Patriots in the newsletter a rather large gentlemen inquired about and bought an Opus One, 2 Larry Bird Legend Meritage, a few high end Bordeaux, and a few bottles of expensive liquor. Now being the sports geek I am (in my Ty Warren jersey for tonight’s game) I asked Erin to check out the name on the card. Turns out it's Jarvis Green of our New England Patriots!! Funny thing is I’m going to a charity wine tasting this Saturday at Johnson & Wales Inn in Seekonk this Saturday sponsored by the Jarvis Green foundation. There were over 20 Patriot players there last year, and lots of cool stuff auctioned off with proceeds going to help hurricane Katrina victims. Tickets are a bit steep at $100, but there will be tons of high end wines and great foods to sample. Check out our website (corksfinewine.com) for more info if you’re interested in attending.
We do not have any beer or wine tastings lined up for this week as we recover from last week’s big event. We do have a ton of tastings scheduled between now and Christmas, and we will set up a list/calendar of them on the website by this weekend. We do have a tasting this Saturday on Schwartzhog liqueur from 1 to 4 PM. This is a less expensive, knock off of Jagermeister and actually contains hog root. Unfortunately Kevin from Commonwealth will not be available to taste you on his fine product, so we’ve had to hire a supermodel.
Be sure to check out all the new and interesting holiday beers and gift sets that we recently brought in. We have a couple of racks set up in front, and most of these items are in very limited quantities so stop in early for the best selection. I hope you all have a great weekend and we’ll see you soon.
Robert
Thursday, November 6, 2008
One day to 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting
Well we’re just 1 day away from our 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting. It is tomorrow (Friday) night from 4:30 to 7 PM. I tried my best to scale it back and make it more accessible, and yet we still have just over 100 wines and 10 liquors to taste. I’ve actually had to cut back and turn down vendors for this years show. But the good news is we’ll line them up during the holiday season and do wine tastings on most Saturdays as well as Friday nights.
Here are a few tips I recycled from past years events to help those new to our big tastings:
1) Please bring your favorite glass. We will have semi-real wine glasses for you to use, and from what I hear they are even bigger than what we’ve had in the past. But to truly enjoy the wine, you should be able to swirl it and sniff it. Now… it is still a tasting and you will get a 1 oz pour, so don’t be asking to have your glass topped off.
2) For those new to the tastings, as you enter the store you will receive a sheet listing all the tables and wines. You will be assigned a number and that is your number for the night. When you find a wine you like simply tell the sales person your number and they will put a sticker on the bottle and write your number on the top. We will have runners scoop them up and put them in a box for you at the front of the store. When you're ready to leave, just tell the cashiers your number and your purchases will be ready for you.
3) You will receive a 10 % discount on 6 bottles and 15 % on a case of wine. Sale items and “2 for” wines do not discount further but do count towards the total. You may also mix other wines not included in the tasting to your case to receive the discounts.
4) I feel the need to mention my biggest pet peeve once again… enough already with the incessant rinsing!!! The only time you should rinse your glass is when you go from reds to whites and even then you should rinse with a wine and not water. The water only coats your glass and dilutes the next wine.
5) Please stay clear of the path to the pizza when they arrive so you won’t be trampled by Tom (he ain’t heavy he’s my brother) and other pizza mongers. We don’t want needless injuries and there will be plenty for everybody.
6) Please drink responsibly. This is a tasting after all, not a party. Have fun… enjoy the wines… mix in some food. There is no shame in dumping or spitting. In fact it is the only way you can possibly get through a tasting of this size. Plus we mix me all together at the end of the night and have chugging contests!
Let us not forget about beer here at Cork’s as there is a lot going on in that category as well. In fact we have a new beer guy who just joined our staff. His name is Josh and has over 6 years experience in the beer business. So be sure to stop by and say hello, and ask him about all the new things he has planned for the beer section. We will talk more about these changes, and take your suggestions as we move forward.
Speaking of beer we have our friend Tim Coleman here tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 to taste you on his excellent beers. He’s scheduled to sample Tuckerman Pale Ale and Headwall Alt. He doesn’t know it yet but we’re gonna twist his arm to crack open the newest arrival from the Southern Tier Cuvee Series called Oak Aged Ale also. We will do 10 % off any Tuckerman or Southern Tier products tonight only. We also have a bunch of new winter and Christmas beers arriving so be sure to check them out as well.
Wow I made it through a whole newsletter without 1 sports reference…Go Celts!...sorry, had to do it. I hope to see you all at the big wine tasting and have a great weekend.
Robert
Here are a few tips I recycled from past years events to help those new to our big tastings:
1) Please bring your favorite glass. We will have semi-real wine glasses for you to use, and from what I hear they are even bigger than what we’ve had in the past. But to truly enjoy the wine, you should be able to swirl it and sniff it. Now… it is still a tasting and you will get a 1 oz pour, so don’t be asking to have your glass topped off.
2) For those new to the tastings, as you enter the store you will receive a sheet listing all the tables and wines. You will be assigned a number and that is your number for the night. When you find a wine you like simply tell the sales person your number and they will put a sticker on the bottle and write your number on the top. We will have runners scoop them up and put them in a box for you at the front of the store. When you're ready to leave, just tell the cashiers your number and your purchases will be ready for you.
3) You will receive a 10 % discount on 6 bottles and 15 % on a case of wine. Sale items and “2 for” wines do not discount further but do count towards the total. You may also mix other wines not included in the tasting to your case to receive the discounts.
4) I feel the need to mention my biggest pet peeve once again… enough already with the incessant rinsing!!! The only time you should rinse your glass is when you go from reds to whites and even then you should rinse with a wine and not water. The water only coats your glass and dilutes the next wine.
5) Please stay clear of the path to the pizza when they arrive so you won’t be trampled by Tom (he ain’t heavy he’s my brother) and other pizza mongers. We don’t want needless injuries and there will be plenty for everybody.
6) Please drink responsibly. This is a tasting after all, not a party. Have fun… enjoy the wines… mix in some food. There is no shame in dumping or spitting. In fact it is the only way you can possibly get through a tasting of this size. Plus we mix me all together at the end of the night and have chugging contests!
Let us not forget about beer here at Cork’s as there is a lot going on in that category as well. In fact we have a new beer guy who just joined our staff. His name is Josh and has over 6 years experience in the beer business. So be sure to stop by and say hello, and ask him about all the new things he has planned for the beer section. We will talk more about these changes, and take your suggestions as we move forward.
Speaking of beer we have our friend Tim Coleman here tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 to taste you on his excellent beers. He’s scheduled to sample Tuckerman Pale Ale and Headwall Alt. He doesn’t know it yet but we’re gonna twist his arm to crack open the newest arrival from the Southern Tier Cuvee Series called Oak Aged Ale also. We will do 10 % off any Tuckerman or Southern Tier products tonight only. We also have a bunch of new winter and Christmas beers arriving so be sure to check them out as well.
Wow I made it through a whole newsletter without 1 sports reference…Go Celts!...sorry, had to do it. I hope to see you all at the big wine tasting and have a great weekend.
Robert
Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween from Cork's
Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. So much for those young upstart Rays. Congrats to the Phillies…but I still think the Sox could have taken them. The Celtics raised banner 17, and got the new season off on the right track with an opening night win over Lebron and the Cavs. And who would have thought the Bradyless, and injury riddled Pats would be 5-2 at this point? OK…with my obligatory sports references out of the way let’s talk about tastings and new stuff here at Cork’s.
Our friend Yannie from Opa-Opa Brewery in Southampton, MA will be here tonight (Thursday) from 4:30-7:30. He will sample you on their IPA, Light, and Red Rock Ale. We will have special pricing tonight only for the tasting. All 6-packs will be $6.99 and 12-packs only $12.99. With beer prices going up all the time this is a great chance to buy a delicious microbrew and help support the local guys. On a side note Yannie has threatened to dress up as that god awful singer Yanni and sing during tastings if you don’t support his beers so I’m begging you to at least pick up a 6 pack and save us from that horror.
I’ve scoured the store looking for interesting wines to try for our Halloween wine tasting this Friday night from 4-7 PM. Kind of slim pickings, so you’ll have to use your imagination on a couple of them. We will start with the newly packaged Mionetto Brut Prosecco. It is now in a classic Champagne style bottle with a bright orange label (think Clicquot). Next we have Smoking Loon Chardonnay…again an orange label of a duck smoking a cigar…hey I said some were a stretch so stay with me they get better. Temptation Zinfandel is next from Alexander Valley Vineyards. Same orange label but at least this 1 has a skeleton and a princess on it! Next up is Jester Cabernet from Australia. Last but not least is a dark, brooding blend of Bonarda and Malbec from Argentina called Alma Negra. It comes in a black…very thick, heavy bottle…with a slight glimpse of a phantom mask on it. This wine alone is worth the trip but to make it more fun anybody in a Halloween costume for the tasting will receive a free gift!
We won’t have a chance to update the website until the weekend as my web mistress is out in Chicago visiting Oprah. So we will recycle last weeks mystery discount and put it in the newsletter as well… Since there really is “only 1 October” and we’re rapidly running out of the month and most of our fall beers as well, let’s clean them out and make it our mystery discount this week. Just ask the cashier where the heck is Dane Cook this year???... or shout “THERE’S ONLY 1 OKTOBER!!” to receive 10% off any fall beer left in the building. As an added bonus take an additional 5 % off, for a total of 15% off if you can name Dane’s lame replacement on those fall classic commercials.
Just a quick reminder for those who need to drink on, or after Election Day. We still have a few 12 packs of Magic Hat Participation left in the house. Maker’s Mark also has a cool red, white, and blue “Rock the Vote” package of their famous Kentucky whiskey. Oh yea…1 last thing. Don’t forget our 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting which is next Friday night from 4:30 to 7:30. We have the lineup almost set and we’re looking at about 15 tables and 90 or so wines. We will even have a few liquors in the mix for the 1st time as well. So save the date and we will get more info on the website (corksfinewine.com) soon. I hope you all have a great Halloween weekend.
Robert
Our friend Yannie from Opa-Opa Brewery in Southampton, MA will be here tonight (Thursday) from 4:30-7:30. He will sample you on their IPA, Light, and Red Rock Ale. We will have special pricing tonight only for the tasting. All 6-packs will be $6.99 and 12-packs only $12.99. With beer prices going up all the time this is a great chance to buy a delicious microbrew and help support the local guys. On a side note Yannie has threatened to dress up as that god awful singer Yanni and sing during tastings if you don’t support his beers so I’m begging you to at least pick up a 6 pack and save us from that horror.
I’ve scoured the store looking for interesting wines to try for our Halloween wine tasting this Friday night from 4-7 PM. Kind of slim pickings, so you’ll have to use your imagination on a couple of them. We will start with the newly packaged Mionetto Brut Prosecco. It is now in a classic Champagne style bottle with a bright orange label (think Clicquot). Next we have Smoking Loon Chardonnay…again an orange label of a duck smoking a cigar…hey I said some were a stretch so stay with me they get better. Temptation Zinfandel is next from Alexander Valley Vineyards. Same orange label but at least this 1 has a skeleton and a princess on it! Next up is Jester Cabernet from Australia. Last but not least is a dark, brooding blend of Bonarda and Malbec from Argentina called Alma Negra. It comes in a black…very thick, heavy bottle…with a slight glimpse of a phantom mask on it. This wine alone is worth the trip but to make it more fun anybody in a Halloween costume for the tasting will receive a free gift!
We won’t have a chance to update the website until the weekend as my web mistress is out in Chicago visiting Oprah. So we will recycle last weeks mystery discount and put it in the newsletter as well… Since there really is “only 1 October” and we’re rapidly running out of the month and most of our fall beers as well, let’s clean them out and make it our mystery discount this week. Just ask the cashier where the heck is Dane Cook this year???... or shout “THERE’S ONLY 1 OKTOBER!!” to receive 10% off any fall beer left in the building. As an added bonus take an additional 5 % off, for a total of 15% off if you can name Dane’s lame replacement on those fall classic commercials.
Just a quick reminder for those who need to drink on, or after Election Day. We still have a few 12 packs of Magic Hat Participation left in the house. Maker’s Mark also has a cool red, white, and blue “Rock the Vote” package of their famous Kentucky whiskey. Oh yea…1 last thing. Don’t forget our 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting which is next Friday night from 4:30 to 7:30. We have the lineup almost set and we’re looking at about 15 tables and 90 or so wines. We will even have a few liquors in the mix for the 1st time as well. So save the date and we will get more info on the website (corksfinewine.com) soon. I hope you all have a great Halloween weekend.
Robert
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Two beer tastings this week...
Well the Sox sure made it interesting; hopefully most of you stayed awake for that memorable game 5 comeback. But alas the Rays were just a little younger, healthier, and I hate to admit it…better. It was nice to see the Pats smoke Denver Monday night to help us turn the page. And with the Celts raising banner # 17 and opening up next week that should help as well. As promised we will be having an end of season sale on the Redsox wines. We will close them out at $10.99 or 3 for $30. These make great gifts for the holidays so hurry in before they are all gone.
We have a new rep from Newport Storm out of RI making his tasting debut tonight. He’s so new I don’t even know his name yet, but I am a longtime fan of this excellent local brewery. We will sample their flagship Hurricane Amber Ale, RI Blueberry Ale, and Cyclone Series “Isabel”. We also have the last of their outstanding Regenschauer Oktoberfest and a sneak peek at their Winter Ale to taste as well. So come join us tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 and help support our local breweries!
I’m thinking no wine tasting this week as I don’t have anybody lined up, and we’ll take a break and get the store ready for the big tasting on November 7th. I am leaning towards doing a Halloween themed tasting next week building up to our 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting. I’m just now piecing the lineup together but it will be scaled back a bit like the last big beer tasting. We will still have plenty of new and interesting wines as well as some of your favorites to try. I will be updating the website (corksfinewine.com) with details as the event draws closer.
We will have a bonus Halloween beer tasting this Saturday from 4 to 6 PM. Vinny promises me a “Bud Girl” this time…hmmmm…Vinny in drag for a Halloween party? Either way he/she will have Redhook Harvest Ale, Magic Hat Jinx, Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale, and Beck’s Oktoberfest for you to sample. We will also have a special prize for anybody who comes in a costume for the tasting. We are rapidly running out of our huge selection of Oktoberfest/Pumpkin/Autumn beers, so this weekend would be a great time to stock up before the winter brews arrive.
Oh yea, Ted wanted me to remind you of the closeout specials we have on wine. As we try to bring in new and different wines for the holiday tasting we have to make room and closeout some of the slower selling wines. If you’re not familiar with our closeouts they are on a round rack up front, and 1 side of our big 4-way display up front. They have colored stickers on the top of the bottles. These closeouts specials are so good Ted won’t even let me disclose them in the e-mail. But just ask me, Ted, or any of the cashiers and you will be pleasantly surprised at the incredible clearance prices on these wines.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Robert
We have a new rep from Newport Storm out of RI making his tasting debut tonight. He’s so new I don’t even know his name yet, but I am a longtime fan of this excellent local brewery. We will sample their flagship Hurricane Amber Ale, RI Blueberry Ale, and Cyclone Series “Isabel”. We also have the last of their outstanding Regenschauer Oktoberfest and a sneak peek at their Winter Ale to taste as well. So come join us tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 and help support our local breweries!
I’m thinking no wine tasting this week as I don’t have anybody lined up, and we’ll take a break and get the store ready for the big tasting on November 7th. I am leaning towards doing a Halloween themed tasting next week building up to our 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting. I’m just now piecing the lineup together but it will be scaled back a bit like the last big beer tasting. We will still have plenty of new and interesting wines as well as some of your favorites to try. I will be updating the website (corksfinewine.com) with details as the event draws closer.
We will have a bonus Halloween beer tasting this Saturday from 4 to 6 PM. Vinny promises me a “Bud Girl” this time…hmmmm…Vinny in drag for a Halloween party? Either way he/she will have Redhook Harvest Ale, Magic Hat Jinx, Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale, and Beck’s Oktoberfest for you to sample. We will also have a special prize for anybody who comes in a costume for the tasting. We are rapidly running out of our huge selection of Oktoberfest/Pumpkin/Autumn beers, so this weekend would be a great time to stock up before the winter brews arrive.
Oh yea, Ted wanted me to remind you of the closeout specials we have on wine. As we try to bring in new and different wines for the holiday tasting we have to make room and closeout some of the slower selling wines. If you’re not familiar with our closeouts they are on a round rack up front, and 1 side of our big 4-way display up front. They have colored stickers on the top of the bottles. These closeouts specials are so good Ted won’t even let me disclose them in the e-mail. But just ask me, Ted, or any of the cashiers and you will be pleasantly surprised at the incredible clearance prices on these wines.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Robert
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Hook and Ladder and Sake!!
Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter.
Hmmmm...the Sox are down 3 to 1…sounds familiar…I can recall writing a similar e-mail almost 1 year ago to the day. We get a win with Dice-K tonight…hope for the Beckett of old to emerge in game 6...and I’ll take my chances with Lester in game 7. If not, hey we’ve had a nice run and we tip our hats to the upstart Rays, and have a closeout sale on our Redsox wines!
This weeks beer tasting is with Vinnie (not really my cousin) or 1 of his dudes (since we haven’t seen any of his harem of Bud girls in ages) here tonight from 4:30 to 7:30. He will sample you on 2 beers from Hook & Ladder Brewing Co. Golden Ale and Backdraft Brown are both very good beers and a portion of all Hook & Ladder sales go towards our local firefighter’s burn foundation. To wet your appetite even more, I will twist Vinnie or the dudes arm to taste the Sierra Nevada 12th Release Harvest Wet Hop Ale that just came through the door. We have very limited supplies of this and I would suggest stopping in tonight to secure your 24 oz. bottle of this yummy brew.
Friday night we have a special Sake tasting with Marcus from Classic Wine Imports from 4 to 7 PM. He will start you off with Kuromatsu Hakushika Sake from Japan. Next we will try the Silver, Ruby, and Pearl Sake from Momokawa. Although these sound Japanese, these Sakes are actually produced in Oregon. He will finish with Choya Umeshu Plum Wine. Yea, that’s that funky looking bottle with the lil olive like plums floating around in it. Of course A Sake tasting wouldn’t be complete without some Sushi, so we’ll send Kat out to grab a sampling of Sushi to pair with our Sake lineup. Personally I’m not a Sake or Sushi fan, but I’m game to try it if you are!
We have a bunch of tastings lined up between now and the end of the year, including our 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting on Friday November 7th. So be sure to check out our website (corksfinewine.com) to see what we have coming up. I hope you all have a great weekend, and we will see you soon.
Robert
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Post Oktoberfest Newsletter
Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. I saw quite a few of you at the Oktoberfest at Mansfield Crossing on Tuesday. For those who did not attend I would strongly recommend this event next year. There was tons of great food, lot’s of Oktoberfest beers, and it all went to a great cause.
We will not have a beer tasting this week but have 4 scheduled for the rest of the month. Hook & Ladder, Newport Storm, Oktoberfest Beers, and Opa-Opa are all lined up for this month so be sure to check the website (corksfinewine.com) for times and dates.
As promised we have Tommy Bolini from Carolina Wines here Friday night from 4 to 7 PM to sample you on some great local wines. He will start with Nashoba Valley Baldwin Dry Apple Wine. This wine is made from 100 % local apples right here in Bolton, MA. From there we travel south to RI for 2 new wines from Sakonnet Vineyards. Cock of the Walk White and Red are blends of local grapes, and as the front label says “wine with attitude”. The White is a blend of Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris while the Red is a mix of Lemberger, Cabernet Franc, and Chancellor. I’ve heard great things about these wines from a few customers who have been to the winery and at the risk of offending the PC police; the back label says the Cock of the Walk is a delicious mouth filling wine. Yikes I can only imagine what Tommy Bolini will have to say about these wines.
Staying somewhat local (and tossing Tommy another comedy softball) we head to upstate NY for Love My Goat Red Wine from Bully Hill Vineyards. Next we head to the North Fork of Long Island for Bedell Cellars Merlot. We end this Northeast tour back at Noshoba for their After Dinner Peach Wine. This should be 1 of the best Friday night tastings of the year and I recommend doing your best to attend the Tommy Bolini Show!
As we approach our 1st holiday season with liquor I want to mention we are starting to get our “Holiday Gift Packs” in. These are the same price as the normal bottles of liquor and just come with free stuff. We have Jameson, Frangelico, Carolan’s, and Faretti Biscotti Liqueur with lots more to come. And to help make the Presidential debates more tolerable we have the new “Rock the Vote” package from Maker’s Mark Whiskey. It comes in a cool bottle with red, white, and blue wax dripped over the top. As Tina Fay said on SNL, every time you hear the word “maverick” you do a shot of Maker’s Mark; not only will the debates be more enjoyable, it will also take your mind off of thousands of dollars you’re losing in your 401K everyday.
We have a bunch of oddball beers left over from the last beer tasting and the recent Oktoberfest, so we’ve gathered them on the back table and they can be yours for a buck a bottle. Wow…I made it this far and no sports references yet…amazing. Well let’s hope the Pats can make it 2-0 on their west coast swing, and don’t we all want a Redsox against Manny and the Dodgers World Series? The Celtics pre-season is officially under way, and the Bruins kick-off their season this week as well. If you throw in the Revolution that’s 5 major sports all going on at the same time!
I hope you all have a great weekend, and we’ll see you soon.
Robert
We will not have a beer tasting this week but have 4 scheduled for the rest of the month. Hook & Ladder, Newport Storm, Oktoberfest Beers, and Opa-Opa are all lined up for this month so be sure to check the website (corksfinewine.com) for times and dates.
As promised we have Tommy Bolini from Carolina Wines here Friday night from 4 to 7 PM to sample you on some great local wines. He will start with Nashoba Valley Baldwin Dry Apple Wine. This wine is made from 100 % local apples right here in Bolton, MA. From there we travel south to RI for 2 new wines from Sakonnet Vineyards. Cock of the Walk White and Red are blends of local grapes, and as the front label says “wine with attitude”. The White is a blend of Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris while the Red is a mix of Lemberger, Cabernet Franc, and Chancellor. I’ve heard great things about these wines from a few customers who have been to the winery and at the risk of offending the PC police; the back label says the Cock of the Walk is a delicious mouth filling wine. Yikes I can only imagine what Tommy Bolini will have to say about these wines.
Staying somewhat local (and tossing Tommy another comedy softball) we head to upstate NY for Love My Goat Red Wine from Bully Hill Vineyards. Next we head to the North Fork of Long Island for Bedell Cellars Merlot. We end this Northeast tour back at Noshoba for their After Dinner Peach Wine. This should be 1 of the best Friday night tastings of the year and I recommend doing your best to attend the Tommy Bolini Show!
As we approach our 1st holiday season with liquor I want to mention we are starting to get our “Holiday Gift Packs” in. These are the same price as the normal bottles of liquor and just come with free stuff. We have Jameson, Frangelico, Carolan’s, and Faretti Biscotti Liqueur with lots more to come. And to help make the Presidential debates more tolerable we have the new “Rock the Vote” package from Maker’s Mark Whiskey. It comes in a cool bottle with red, white, and blue wax dripped over the top. As Tina Fay said on SNL, every time you hear the word “maverick” you do a shot of Maker’s Mark; not only will the debates be more enjoyable, it will also take your mind off of thousands of dollars you’re losing in your 401K everyday.
We have a bunch of oddball beers left over from the last beer tasting and the recent Oktoberfest, so we’ve gathered them on the back table and they can be yours for a buck a bottle. Wow…I made it this far and no sports references yet…amazing. Well let’s hope the Pats can make it 2-0 on their west coast swing, and don’t we all want a Redsox against Manny and the Dodgers World Series? The Celtics pre-season is officially under way, and the Bruins kick-off their season this week as well. If you throw in the Revolution that’s 5 major sports all going on at the same time!
I hope you all have a great weekend, and we’ll see you soon.
Robert
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wake up Red Sox Fans!!
Wake up Redsox fans! Hopefully most of you got to stay up and watch the Sox take the 1st step in their latest World Series quest. Don’t expect too much out of this newsletter as I’m working on short rest here, but let’s get to the basics and see where it goes from there.
My cousin Vinnie or 1 of his harem of Bud girls will be in tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 for the official launch of the brand new Budweiser American Ale. We did sample this at the last big beer tasting but were not allowed to sell it at that time. If you didn’t get a chance to taste it, it’s surprisingly really good. It kind of taste like a Bass Ale but at 2 bucks less per 6-pack, and is actually 1 of the few Budweiser products I like and get behind and recommend.
We will take this week off from the wine tastings but we will be back next Friday night with Tom (he ain’t heavy he’s my brother) from Carolina Wines. Don’t forget the Oktoberfest at Mansfield Crossing next Tuesday, October 7th from 5 to 7 PM. There will be 20 great local restaurants there and we will be pouring our best Oktoberfest, Pumpkin, and Autumn beers. Tickets are going fast and you can go to our website (corksfinewine.com) to find out how to get tix and more info on the event.
The weather looks like it’s going to be a perfect fall weekend, so be sure to stop by and load up for the Sox playoff games (hopefully at a decent hour) and the Pats 1st game of their west coast road trip. Have a great weekend.
Robert
My cousin Vinnie or 1 of his harem of Bud girls will be in tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 for the official launch of the brand new Budweiser American Ale. We did sample this at the last big beer tasting but were not allowed to sell it at that time. If you didn’t get a chance to taste it, it’s surprisingly really good. It kind of taste like a Bass Ale but at 2 bucks less per 6-pack, and is actually 1 of the few Budweiser products I like and get behind and recommend.
We will take this week off from the wine tastings but we will be back next Friday night with Tom (he ain’t heavy he’s my brother) from Carolina Wines. Don’t forget the Oktoberfest at Mansfield Crossing next Tuesday, October 7th from 5 to 7 PM. There will be 20 great local restaurants there and we will be pouring our best Oktoberfest, Pumpkin, and Autumn beers. Tickets are going fast and you can go to our website (corksfinewine.com) to find out how to get tix and more info on the event.
The weather looks like it’s going to be a perfect fall weekend, so be sure to stop by and load up for the Sox playoff games (hopefully at a decent hour) and the Pats 1st game of their west coast road trip. Have a great weekend.
Robert
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Welcome to Cork's Weekly Newsletter!
Well the Sox are in the World Series hunt for the 5th time in 6 years…the Bruins are already playing exhibition games…the NBA Champion Celtics start training camp in Newport this weekend…and the Pats have a bye week to get over that embarrassment last week. Mix in some cool nights and Oktoberfest beers an d you can see why this is my favorite time of year.
Speaking of Oktoberfests we are proud to be the only retailer to take part in the Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce Oktoberfest on Tuesday night October 7th from 5 to 7 PM at Mansfield Crossing. There are going to be 20 local restaurants there including Davio’s…Stoneforge…Trattoria Della Nona…Bertuccis…Qdoba …Fridays to name just a few. We will feature and taste our large selection of Oktoberfest/Pumpkin/Autumn beers to help wash down all the great food. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door with proceeds going to the food pantries of Mansfield, Norton, and Foxboro. Check our website (corksfinewine.com) for a complete list of restaurants and where to purchase tickets.
We don’t have a beer tasting scheduled for this week but we will be sampling the brand new Budweiser American Ale next Thursday. We do have a rookie to our weekly wine tastings this Friday night from 4 to 7, as E ric from Baystate Wines will be here to sample some of his excellent wines. He will start you off with a delicious Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand called Alan Scott. The next 3 are all new wines from 1 of my go to favorite producers, Peirano Estate. “The Other White” is a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier. Next up are 2 new reds for Peirano, Malbec and Petite Sirah. Last but not least is another favorite Stephen Vincent Crimson.
For those regulars of our website I’m sure you’re familiar with our “weekly mystery discount”. I usually make you say something stupid or embarrassing to the cashier to get a 10 to 20 % discount on whatever items we’re featuring that week. From time to time I will put them in the newsletter just to let you know we’re still doing them and so more of you can take advantage of them and embarrass yourself and our cashiers a bit more often. So this week to celebrate the Redsox latest world series run we will take 20 % off Sauvignyooooouuuuuk Blanc, Captai n’s Cabernet, or Vintage Papi. Just be wearing some form of Redsox gear or mention the fact that the Sox are in the hunt in October and the Yankees are not!!! To receive this week’s mystery discount. These wines make great Christmas gifts and we sold a ton around the Holidays last year so be sure to grab a few bottles while they are still around.
So brace yourself for a little Nor’easter and Patriots bye week and try to have a good weekend.
Speaking of Oktoberfests we are proud to be the only retailer to take part in the Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce Oktoberfest on Tuesday night October 7th from 5 to 7 PM at Mansfield Crossing. There are going to be 20 local restaurants there including Davio’s…Stoneforge…Trattoria Della Nona…Bertuccis…Qdoba …Fridays to name just a few. We will feature and taste our large selection of Oktoberfest/Pumpkin/Autumn beers to help wash down all the great food. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door with proceeds going to the food pantries of Mansfield, Norton, and Foxboro. Check our website (corksfinewine.com) for a complete list of restaurants and where to purchase tickets.
We don’t have a beer tasting scheduled for this week but we will be sampling the brand new Budweiser American Ale next Thursday. We do have a rookie to our weekly wine tastings this Friday night from 4 to 7, as E ric from Baystate Wines will be here to sample some of his excellent wines. He will start you off with a delicious Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand called Alan Scott. The next 3 are all new wines from 1 of my go to favorite producers, Peirano Estate. “The Other White” is a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier. Next up are 2 new reds for Peirano, Malbec and Petite Sirah. Last but not least is another favorite Stephen Vincent Crimson.
For those regulars of our website I’m sure you’re familiar with our “weekly mystery discount”. I usually make you say something stupid or embarrassing to the cashier to get a 10 to 20 % discount on whatever items we’re featuring that week. From time to time I will put them in the newsletter just to let you know we’re still doing them and so more of you can take advantage of them and embarrass yourself and our cashiers a bit more often. So this week to celebrate the Redsox latest world series run we will take 20 % off Sauvignyooooouuuuuk Blanc, Captai n’s Cabernet, or Vintage Papi. Just be wearing some form of Redsox gear or mention the fact that the Sox are in the hunt in October and the Yankees are not!!! To receive this week’s mystery discount. These wines make great Christmas gifts and we sold a ton around the Holidays last year so be sure to grab a few bottles while they are still around.
So brace yourself for a little Nor’easter and Patriots bye week and try to have a good weekend.
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