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