Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. I hope all of you had a good time at our 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation Day. The weather was picture perfect, and I think it went off pretty smoothly. Hopefully everybody got at least a pint glass, a few burgers, and got to try some great summer wines/beers and cocktails. As the Patriots start training camp today, let us remind you that the next BIG tasting will be our 5th Annual Kickoff Beer tasting. The date will be Saturday, September 12th from 2:30 to 5 PM. We will start bringing in new beers, and will have the 1st of the Autumn/Oktoberfest beers trickling in for this event in the next month or so. We will have updates as always on the website at corksfinewine.com.
We don’t have a beer tasting on the schedule for the next couple of weeks. I’ll get Josh on that, and at least do a couple before the big beer tasting on 9/12. We’re also thinking of taking a Thursday beer tasting on the road to visit our good friend Bill Russell at Buzzards Bay Brewing in Westport, MA. They have “Lager Education Night” every Thursday in the summer months from 5 to 8 PM. I’m thinking the 13th or 20th of August for this road trip/tasting. Anybody interested, or have a preference in either of those dates? Speaking of road trips, I strongly recommend the 11th Annual Newport Storm Luau benefiting the Fort Adams Trust down in Newport, RI on Saturday August 15th. I went to the 1st one, and a few others and these guys put on an awesome event…not to mention delicious pig on a spit! I will have my webmistress/sistah put some info on these events on the website as well.
We have yet another rookie making her Friday night debut this week at our 4 to 7 PM wine tasting. Ellen from the Connoisseur Division of United will be here to sample you on some great summer wines. She will start us off with Sofia Riesling from Francis Ford Coppola Winery. Next, we go to Australia for Down Under Chardonnay. This is a good, true to the varietal, Chardonnay at the ridiculously low price of $5.99. Next up is my yearly, albeit a bit late and smaller, Rose wine push. Domaine Massamier La Mignarde Cuvee des Oliviers Rose….geeez with a name like that no wonder people are scared of French Rose’s…Commanderie de la Bargemone Rose is the 2nd one we will taste. Again…these aren’t your grammas sweet White Zin, but a delicious expression of Syrah, Grenache, and Cinsault that make them perfect summer wines for these humid 90 degree days. She will finish with Acacia Pinot Noir. Acacia was 1 of the very 1st wineries I visited out in the Carneros region of Napa Valley. I’ve been a huge fan of theirs and pushing their great wines ever since…and for those wine mgs on our newsletter list…see what a nice VIP tour, a collared golf shirt, and a bottle of wine will get you? All kidding aside, if anybody is visiting any breweries or wineries, be they local or even overseas, please let us know and we’ll try to get you a lil something extra on your visit.
Lastly, you have to visit Courtney’s “Fresh” wine display in the front of the store. No, these are not new, fresh, fruity local wines but…ummm at the risk of offending the PC police let’s call them “interesting” wines. I’ll list a few and I’m sure you’ll get the gist. In the Buff…7 Deadly Zins…Bitch…Ménage-a-Trois…Pro-mis-cuous…Sin Zin…Fat Bastard…and a slew of other “interesting” and “fresh” names. This screams for bringing back the mystery discount if you asked me!! So just say something “fresh” or “interesting” to our now startled cashier and you will receive 15% off any of these fun wines. Speaking of discounts, you may want to load up a bit today or tomorrow, as unfortunately we have to start charging 6.25% tax on ALL liquor starting Saturday, August 1st. Last but not least we have our 3rd Customer Wine tasting with out friends John & Sarah scheduled for next Friday night, so be sure to mark your calendar for that as well. Have a great weekend.
Robert
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Customer Appreciation Day!!
Well it's less than 2 days away! Cork’s 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation Day is this Saturday, July 25th from 1 to 4 PM. And after a long miserable stretch of weather, they are saying sunny and 80 degrees!! For those who have never been to one of these events, it’s our chance to give something back to you, our customers, for making Cork’s your liquor store of choice. I know you have lots of choices in the area, and we appreciate that you choose to patronize Cork’s. This may also be your last chance to say goodbye to Erin as she’s moving down south…Hmmm…does that mean we change the plaza name to Kat’s Centre?
OK…so let’s talk about the BBQ/Tasting/Raffle. We will have burgers and dogs on the grill. Sorry, we like you folks and all but NO steaks and lobsters this year again. We will have chips and snacks...water and soda/juice…so by all means bring the kiddies! We’re even thinking of having a “Big Salad” for Elaine and the svelte Tommy Bolini. We’re still looking for volunteers for the grill as Don and Bill from last year are both away on vacation.
We have a great lineup of fun summer wines, beers and liquors for you to sample as well. Let’s start with beer…We have a new rep, Keith, from Magic Hat here to pouring the magical elixirs from their summer 12-pk…Our pal Yanni will be here to sample you on Opa-Opa including their Watermelon growlers. OOHHPA!!.... Mike’s will be here to refresh your palates with 4 brand new flavors!! Our friends from Boston Beer Co. will be here with a mixture of Sam Adams and Twisted Teas. Dan from Quality will have new beers from Widmer and Redhook for you to try. Our new L. Knife rep. Miguel will have a bunch of his “Summer Beers” that he has in his portfolio as well.
On the wine/liquor side we have Tommy Bolini and Zimmy the Greek!! Tommy will have the brand new Montinore Borealis Northern Whites, and a sweet/chillable red called Bully Hill Banty Red. He also has new UV RTD Cocktails in Lemonade, Blue Raspberry, and Cherry flavors. Zimmy is actually Jamie from MS Walker fresh back from Greece with lots of stories to tell. You might think he’d have Greek wines for you, but alas he has 2 new organic Chilean wines from Cono-Sur (Pinot Noir & Sauv. Blanc) and a bunch of delicious Spanish and Italian wines. Si Soave (you have to Si this crazy bottle), Santi Pinot Grigio, Con Class Rueda, Evodia Grenache, and Red Guitar Tempranillo. Mr. “Bud”erworth will be back with Rum Jumbies!! They come in Coconut, Mango, Pineapple, and Vanilla. He also has 2 wines…Dogajolo Tuscan Red and the brand new White. Our farming friends from Harvard, MA will also be here with their yummy Apfel Eis apple ice wine.
We can’t forget about our fabulous raffle!! We have a ton of stuff from T-shirts and pint glasses to bikes and a gaming chair…we have huge patio umbrellas...coolers…a Bud Light/Redsox canopy…a Sam Adams deck chair…and tons of other good stuff. We’re trying to tweak the raffle so it’s less confusing and chaotic (though that is what makes it fun!) Each customer will fill out an entry form and that will also be your # for the whole day. The raffle will be at 2:30 and you MUST be present to win. The problem we had in the past was that people would have their # called in the front of the store, and all the “stuff” was in the back of the store. Some people would be # 4 and not want to wade through the masses for their prize and would wait until the end…only to find all the good stuff gone and only wicker reindeer left!! I think we’re going to try to do the entire thing in the back to help solve that problem. After all this supposed to be a fun drama-less day!
I think I covered everything…and conveniently have yet to mention the slumping Sox…yikes...those damn Yankees are ruining our Summahhh!! No worries we have plenty of time left, and if memory serves me 8 more with them and they’ve yet to beat us! Geeze I don’t think I’ve used this many exclamation points since I was 12 !!!! I promise I’ll stop.
From Megan, Robert, Don, Erin, Kat, Andrew, Ben, Robin, Marianne, Shannon, Josh, Courtney, Ursula, Valerie, Brian, Cody, and even Ted the wine dog (let us not forget the long line of “ X” Cork’s employees as well…yikes there sure has been some doozies)… we all want to THANK YOU !! for being loyal Cork’s customers. See you all Saturday!!...OK just a few more!!!
OK…so let’s talk about the BBQ/Tasting/Raffle. We will have burgers and dogs on the grill. Sorry, we like you folks and all but NO steaks and lobsters this year again. We will have chips and snacks...water and soda/juice…so by all means bring the kiddies! We’re even thinking of having a “Big Salad” for Elaine and the svelte Tommy Bolini. We’re still looking for volunteers for the grill as Don and Bill from last year are both away on vacation.
We have a great lineup of fun summer wines, beers and liquors for you to sample as well. Let’s start with beer…We have a new rep, Keith, from Magic Hat here to pouring the magical elixirs from their summer 12-pk…Our pal Yanni will be here to sample you on Opa-Opa including their Watermelon growlers. OOHHPA!!.... Mike’s will be here to refresh your palates with 4 brand new flavors!! Our friends from Boston Beer Co. will be here with a mixture of Sam Adams and Twisted Teas. Dan from Quality will have new beers from Widmer and Redhook for you to try. Our new L. Knife rep. Miguel will have a bunch of his “Summer Beers” that he has in his portfolio as well.
On the wine/liquor side we have Tommy Bolini and Zimmy the Greek!! Tommy will have the brand new Montinore Borealis Northern Whites, and a sweet/chillable red called Bully Hill Banty Red. He also has new UV RTD Cocktails in Lemonade, Blue Raspberry, and Cherry flavors. Zimmy is actually Jamie from MS Walker fresh back from Greece with lots of stories to tell. You might think he’d have Greek wines for you, but alas he has 2 new organic Chilean wines from Cono-Sur (Pinot Noir & Sauv. Blanc) and a bunch of delicious Spanish and Italian wines. Si Soave (you have to Si this crazy bottle), Santi Pinot Grigio, Con Class Rueda, Evodia Grenache, and Red Guitar Tempranillo. Mr. “Bud”erworth will be back with Rum Jumbies!! They come in Coconut, Mango, Pineapple, and Vanilla. He also has 2 wines…Dogajolo Tuscan Red and the brand new White. Our farming friends from Harvard, MA will also be here with their yummy Apfel Eis apple ice wine.
We can’t forget about our fabulous raffle!! We have a ton of stuff from T-shirts and pint glasses to bikes and a gaming chair…we have huge patio umbrellas...coolers…a Bud Light/Redsox canopy…a Sam Adams deck chair…and tons of other good stuff. We’re trying to tweak the raffle so it’s less confusing and chaotic (though that is what makes it fun!) Each customer will fill out an entry form and that will also be your # for the whole day. The raffle will be at 2:30 and you MUST be present to win. The problem we had in the past was that people would have their # called in the front of the store, and all the “stuff” was in the back of the store. Some people would be # 4 and not want to wade through the masses for their prize and would wait until the end…only to find all the good stuff gone and only wicker reindeer left!! I think we’re going to try to do the entire thing in the back to help solve that problem. After all this supposed to be a fun drama-less day!
I think I covered everything…and conveniently have yet to mention the slumping Sox…yikes...those damn Yankees are ruining our Summahhh!! No worries we have plenty of time left, and if memory serves me 8 more with them and they’ve yet to beat us! Geeze I don’t think I’ve used this many exclamation points since I was 12 !!!! I promise I’ll stop.
From Megan, Robert, Don, Erin, Kat, Andrew, Ben, Robin, Marianne, Shannon, Josh, Courtney, Ursula, Valerie, Brian, Cody, and even Ted the wine dog (let us not forget the long line of “ X” Cork’s employees as well…yikes there sure has been some doozies)… we all want to THANK YOU !! for being loyal Cork’s customers. See you all Saturday!!...OK just a few more!!!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
One week to Customer Appreciation Day
Welcome to Cork's weekly newsletter. Finally…a nice stretch of summer weather to enjoy. We do have 1 tasting lined up this week to get you ready for our 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation day that is a little over a week away. We’ve been working on our lineups and there will be lots of fun stuff. Be sure to check out the website (corksfinewine.com) for a listing of what we be tasting and other news on the big event. The concert season swings back into action big time, with Billy Joel & Elton John at Gillette and Nas, Damien, Marley, and the Roots at Tweeter…hmmmm…tough choice…which one are you going to?
We have another rookie making his Friday night debut at Cork’s from 4 to 7 PM this week. Joe from Ruby Wines will be here with 6 new and interesting wines for you to sample. He will start with a yummy sparkling wine from France called Marquis de la Tour Brut. This is a delicious sparkler, and because it’s from the Loire Valley and not Champagne, it is a steal at $10.99. Next up are 2 interesting wines with crazy names and labels from Charles Smith out of Washington State. Kung Fu Girl Riesling and The Velvet Devil Merlot. Off to Argentina for Susana Balbo’s Crios Torrontes. Hands down, this is the best Torrontes I have ever had and makes a great alternative summer wine. Next up is Ben Marco Malbec…do I sense a trend here with all these Malbecs week after week?...only this one has a twist with 10 % Bonarda that makes this wine amazing. Last but not least is Hahn Estates Meritage. This is a true Bordeaux blend with all 5 of the Bordeaux varietals, unlike most of the wines from the Bordeaux region that tend to be just Cab and Merlot. This is truly an exceptional lineup so please stop by and welcome Joe to the Cork’s Friday night lineup.
Well the Sox are in 1st at the break…unfortunately the Militia lost on a last second kickoff return, in what was one of the best live sporting events I’ve ever been to. I guess we’ll have to look to the Pats to take us to the Super Bowl this year. There won’t be any beer or wine tastings next week as we prepare for the big day on Saturday. The event is from 1 to 4 and is always a blast, so be sure to save a couple hours to stop by.
Robert
We have another rookie making his Friday night debut at Cork’s from 4 to 7 PM this week. Joe from Ruby Wines will be here with 6 new and interesting wines for you to sample. He will start with a yummy sparkling wine from France called Marquis de la Tour Brut. This is a delicious sparkler, and because it’s from the Loire Valley and not Champagne, it is a steal at $10.99. Next up are 2 interesting wines with crazy names and labels from Charles Smith out of Washington State. Kung Fu Girl Riesling and The Velvet Devil Merlot. Off to Argentina for Susana Balbo’s Crios Torrontes. Hands down, this is the best Torrontes I have ever had and makes a great alternative summer wine. Next up is Ben Marco Malbec…do I sense a trend here with all these Malbecs week after week?...only this one has a twist with 10 % Bonarda that makes this wine amazing. Last but not least is Hahn Estates Meritage. This is a true Bordeaux blend with all 5 of the Bordeaux varietals, unlike most of the wines from the Bordeaux region that tend to be just Cab and Merlot. This is truly an exceptional lineup so please stop by and welcome Joe to the Cork’s Friday night lineup.
Well the Sox are in 1st at the break…unfortunately the Militia lost on a last second kickoff return, in what was one of the best live sporting events I’ve ever been to. I guess we’ll have to look to the Pats to take us to the Super Bowl this year. There won’t be any beer or wine tastings next week as we prepare for the big day on Saturday. The event is from 1 to 4 and is always a blast, so be sure to save a couple hours to stop by.
Robert
Thursday, July 9, 2009
This week's tastings...
Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. I hope everybody had a great 4th of July weekend. At least the sun popped out for a bit before returning to it’s doom and gloom pattern. Well, we have 2 tastings this week to lift your spirits. And don’t forget our 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation Day is just a little over 2 weeks away. We have details on the website so be sure to check it out at corksfinewine.com
Tonight’s (Thursday) beer tasting is with our neighbors from Narragansett from 4:30 to 7:30. They will feature the classic Narragansett Lager Beer, Light, and the owner of the company is trying to track down Bock Beer as well. The larger cans now come in a convenient 18 –pk, and we even have a few ties left over from Father’s Day that we have attached to them. The Gansett folks usually bring a bunch of stuff, from koozies to ping pong balls, so be sure to stop by and give this once… and hopefully soon to be local beer a try. Their new slogan is buy a case… and we’ll build a new brewery… back in RI where they belong!
We have one of our suppliers, Mark making a rare guest appearance for this weeks Friday night wine tasting. He has some nice and interesting summer wines for you to sample between 4 and 7 PM. 1st up is La Playa Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. This is a great party wine, and we have the whole La Playa line in the 1.5 L value size. We go to Germany next for the Urban Riesling from the Mosel region. This is another good value wine, and perfect if we ever see the warm summer sun. Back in the plane as the amazing race takes us to Tuscany, Italy for La Bastarda Bianco and Il Bastardo Rosso. These 2 for $20 wines have what looks to be Tommy Bolini with a suit 2 sizes too small on the red label, and in a tutu with his hair in a bun on the white. If that were not enough, he will finish the tasting with 1 of my favorite new wines called Llama Old Vine Malbec. …is it just me or does anybody else think Pao Gasol looks like a llama?... http://www.andres3000.com/2008/08/05/pau-gasol-is-no-llama-or-is-he/ … either way this is 1 of the best Malbecs in the store and a must try.
More good news on the wine end…the Bitch is back! This delicious Grenache is always a hit, and is only available a couple times a year. Also back from his 2 month vacation/shaving/diet camp is Ted the wine dog!...and he’s looking cuter than ever too. He’s here today, but will be making his usual guest appearances for all those who have been asking about him.
Robert
Tonight’s (Thursday) beer tasting is with our neighbors from Narragansett from 4:30 to 7:30. They will feature the classic Narragansett Lager Beer, Light, and the owner of the company is trying to track down Bock Beer as well. The larger cans now come in a convenient 18 –pk, and we even have a few ties left over from Father’s Day that we have attached to them. The Gansett folks usually bring a bunch of stuff, from koozies to ping pong balls, so be sure to stop by and give this once… and hopefully soon to be local beer a try. Their new slogan is buy a case… and we’ll build a new brewery… back in RI where they belong!
We have one of our suppliers, Mark making a rare guest appearance for this weeks Friday night wine tasting. He has some nice and interesting summer wines for you to sample between 4 and 7 PM. 1st up is La Playa Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. This is a great party wine, and we have the whole La Playa line in the 1.5 L value size. We go to Germany next for the Urban Riesling from the Mosel region. This is another good value wine, and perfect if we ever see the warm summer sun. Back in the plane as the amazing race takes us to Tuscany, Italy for La Bastarda Bianco and Il Bastardo Rosso. These 2 for $20 wines have what looks to be Tommy Bolini with a suit 2 sizes too small on the red label, and in a tutu with his hair in a bun on the white. If that were not enough, he will finish the tasting with 1 of my favorite new wines called Llama Old Vine Malbec. …is it just me or does anybody else think Pao Gasol looks like a llama?... http://www.andres3000.com/2008/08/05/pau-gasol-is-no-llama-or-is-he/ … either way this is 1 of the best Malbecs in the store and a must try.
More good news on the wine end…the Bitch is back! This delicious Grenache is always a hit, and is only available a couple times a year. Also back from his 2 month vacation/shaving/diet camp is Ted the wine dog!...and he’s looking cuter than ever too. He’s here today, but will be making his usual guest appearances for all those who have been asking about him.
Robert
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Torrential Rain, Will It Ever Stop Newsletter
Welcome to Cork’s "Torrential rain, when will it ever stop?" newsletter. This is really getting a bit ridiculous here, but they say sun for Saturday and Sunday. I myself am quite skeptical at this point, but we can hope. This weather is almost as crazy as the last 2 Redsox games!!
Well either way we have a couple of tastings lined up this weekend to get you ready for the 4th. We’ve also been hitting up our vendors for lots of free stuff to give away at our 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation day, which is less than a month away as well. Be sure to check out the website for details on the event as it draws closer.
We don’t have a beer tasting lined up for this Thursday but we do have a Twisted Tea tasting on Friday night from 4:30 to 7:30. They will be featuring the flavors in their mix 12 pk including Original, Half & Half, Raspberry, Green Citrus, Midnight, Backyard Batch, and the brand new, 'Will the Rain Ever Freakin Stop?' flavors! These are great summer refreshers and will be 10 % off the day of the tasting.
Peter, our friend from Greece, will be here Friday from 4 to 7 PM to sample you on his outstanding Greek wines. Up until Peter came to Cork’s about 6 months ago, I had a very low opinion and had yet to try any Greek wines I found palatable. Well, he changed my perception and has some really delicious wines for you to sample. I’m going to attempt spelling the wines and will leave the descriptions up to Peter, but trust me, these are excellent wines, and reasonably priced.
He will start with Cambas Mantinia, a dry white wine. The next 3 are reds, starting with Korinthia, moving on to Agiorgitiko, and ending with Aspa Argyros. He will finish the tasting with a sweet red dessert wine called Patras Mavrodaphne. The reds are great for the grill and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of these wines.
After much debate we’ve decided to open from 10AM to 8 PM on Saturday, July 4th. Sunday (yeah, like there really is a sun), the 5th will be our normal hours of 12-6. Hopefully the deluge will subside enough to throw a few burgers on the grill, and a see a little fireworks this weekend. I hope you have a great and safe 4th.
Robert
Well either way we have a couple of tastings lined up this weekend to get you ready for the 4th. We’ve also been hitting up our vendors for lots of free stuff to give away at our 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation day, which is less than a month away as well. Be sure to check out the website for details on the event as it draws closer.
We don’t have a beer tasting lined up for this Thursday but we do have a Twisted Tea tasting on Friday night from 4:30 to 7:30. They will be featuring the flavors in their mix 12 pk including Original, Half & Half, Raspberry, Green Citrus, Midnight, Backyard Batch, and the brand new, 'Will the Rain Ever Freakin Stop?' flavors! These are great summer refreshers and will be 10 % off the day of the tasting.
Peter, our friend from Greece, will be here Friday from 4 to 7 PM to sample you on his outstanding Greek wines. Up until Peter came to Cork’s about 6 months ago, I had a very low opinion and had yet to try any Greek wines I found palatable. Well, he changed my perception and has some really delicious wines for you to sample. I’m going to attempt spelling the wines and will leave the descriptions up to Peter, but trust me, these are excellent wines, and reasonably priced.
He will start with Cambas Mantinia, a dry white wine. The next 3 are reds, starting with Korinthia, moving on to Agiorgitiko, and ending with Aspa Argyros. He will finish the tasting with a sweet red dessert wine called Patras Mavrodaphne. The reds are great for the grill and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of these wines.
After much debate we’ve decided to open from 10AM to 8 PM on Saturday, July 4th. Sunday (yeah, like there really is a sun), the 5th will be our normal hours of 12-6. Hopefully the deluge will subside enough to throw a few burgers on the grill, and a see a little fireworks this weekend. I hope you have a great and safe 4th.
Robert
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