This week we are featuring Decoy Pinot Noir & Cabernet Sauvignon. Both wines are brought to you by the Duckhorn Family of Wine. Decoy wine holds a unique position within the Duckhorn Wine Company. They started the brand in 1985 and quickly realized that it would play a huge supporting role in preserving the integrity of the Duckhorn Vineyards brand. The Decoy brand is not a second label. They do not source marginal or lower-cost fruit to produce a wine of high volume. All grapes sourced are from their own Vineyard. Their goal is to offer Decoy Napa Valley Fine Wines at affordable prices.

Decoy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon offers a rich and appealing expression of Cabernet crafted to be ready upon release. Aromas of blackberry, boysenberry, cigar box, toffee and mint lead to fresh dark berry and red currant flavors and hints of dried herbs. The palate is soft and inviting, and the finish offers lingering notes of dark fruit, caramel and almond.

Zinfandels are made in a variety of styles in California’s several wine regions, those coming from Dry Creek Valley have earned a reputation for being the standard against which others are measured. It is therefore appropriate that one winery from this appellation has decided to produce a wine that is a tribute to Alexander Hamilton: The Federalist Dry Creek Valley Visionary Zinfandel. This decidedly elegant wine has lively dark fruit and spice aromas that lead to beautifully orchestrated raspberry, currant, and black cherry flavors complicated by hints of allspice and cocoa, with a deft touch of vanilla-oak emerging on its polished, lingering finish. It is hard to imagine a dinner wine that would better complement a wide range of fare, from the humble (burgers or barbecue) to the sophisticated (beef tenderloin or lamb), but in any event, the pleasures of any meal would be considerably amplified by a glass of this classic Zinfandel.

In a sense, The Federalist Visionary Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel fully rewards Alexander Hamilton’s faith in the American spirit, since its crafting combines both viticulture (agriculture) and viniculture (manufacturing). Were Hamilton alive today, I think that he would be pleased by the tribute; I’m certain that he would love the wine.

Welcome back beer lovers. This week we going to help celebrate a birthday in the southern brewing community. A BIG Happy 15th to Sweetwater Brewing! For the past decade and a half, Sweetwater has been delivering top notch beers that go against the current and give you something that is far from mainstream. Offering their year-round fan favorites like 420, IPA, and Blue, they also offer some of the craziest, boundary-pushing Dank Tank series beers. This series has become almost legendary: Fresh Sticky Nugs, Ghoulash (one of the craziest beers ever), most recently, 420 IPA, and for the first time ever, an anniversary beer that was 15 years in the making, 15 Years of Heady Beers. Going back to their roots with the earliest recipe, 15 is an imperial ESB that offers 10% abv and, true to their style, a very healthy dose of hops. Not to be outdone though, the hops are balanced out by a big maltiness, including a custom roasted malt. This beer, as with all of their brews, will not disappoint. So whether you are fishing this weekend, or looking for a reason to drink an amazing beer, help Sweetwater celebrate with one of the 15 Years of Heady Beers. To another 15! Cheers

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The Dreaming Tree” is the name of a Dave Matthews Band song, and now it’s a wine brand as well, crafted by Sonoma County winemaking legend Steve Reeder, whose resumé includes stints with Chateau St. Jean, Simi and Kendall-Jackson. In joining forces, Matthews and Reeder sought to make high-quality wine available to the masses.

Don’t drink the water – drink the wine. Is it time for a re-write of the lyrics that made Dave Matthews famous? The Cabernet Sauvignon provides classic aromas of blackberry, cherry and dry herb notes wrapped by toasted vanilla and soft, mouth-filling tannins which are both elegant and effortless. The  Chardonnay jumps out of the glass with aromas reminiscent of roasted pear, complimented by robust fruit and citrus flavors unique to the Central Coast. For the Crush – a proprietary Zinfandel and Merlot blend which shares its name with the popular Dave Matthews Band song, “Crush,” – Reeder and Matthews succeeded in creating a multi-dimensional wine with smoky notes and a pop of raspberry.

Welcome back to the weekly beer blog. This week’s beer needs a quick set-up to fully understand this beer. Think back to when you were 10 and sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch. Every day the food was something you probably did not want to eat, but did anyways because you were hungry. The only thing that was ever consistent with school lunch, the chocolate milk. This week’s beer is as close as you can get to remembering school’s chocolate milk, but it has alcohol, and its beer, and it comes in a bottle and not a cardboard container. It is Terrapin’s Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout, and it is amazing. It pours so dark that light cannot pass through it and has a head that is the exact color of, well, chocolate milk. The smell, chocolate milk. Ok, for the sake of your reading pleasure, this beer is chocolate milk’s evil twin brother, but with a slight roastiness to it. It really is that amazing. I cannot give Terrapin any greater praise than to say this is my new favorite stout, hands down. So pick up a pack of, try a few, and let me know what you think on our facebook page. Drink it until the cows come home. Cheers!

4 Pack

$5.97

Sale runs from Thursday January 26th – Sunday January 29th

This week we are proud to showcase Raymond Lot #7 Field Blend. This wonderful wine is blended using Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel. This wine starts out a touch on the jammy side but finishes nicely with spicy notes that linger on for ages.  With a medium-to-full bodied weight, good fruit and nice acidity, this is a wine that drinks well solo or easily would hold it’s on with grilled meats and veggies.

750 btl

$8.97

Sale Runs Thursday January  26th – Sunday January 29th

Optical illusion – an optical phenomenon that results in a false or deceptive visual impression

Hoptical illusion- an optical phenomenon that results from drinking highly hopped beers such as IPAs

This week, as if the definition didn’t give it away, we will be enjoying Blue Point’s Hoptical Illusion IPA. Blue Point comes to us from Long Island, New York and with it comes quite a few beer medals. 2007- Silver- Australian International Beer Award. 2006- Bronze RAP New York Festival “Best Beer”. 2005- Bronze- Great American Beer Festival. 2005- Best IPA- US Beer Tasting Championship. No small feat for a small scale brewery, but this beer deserves every medal it earned. This beer pours golden-blonde with a nice citrusy and piney hop aroma as we have come to expect from well-made IPAs with a malty nose as well. All of these aromas transfer over into the taste with a pleasing, sweet yet dry, finish. Keeping in mind that this is an east coast brewery, Hopitcal Illusion is not a “hop bomb” like many of the west coast IPAs. This is an excellent way to introduce yourself to IPAs if you find yourself drinking a lot of pale ales and need a change of pace. So, what are you waiting for? Stop in to any of our locations and grab yourself a six-pack or two. You never know what you might see when you are done drinking Hoptical Illusion…

Luke Girman

I am so happy we are showcasing these two wonderful wines this week. As some you know I featured both Cercius wines a few weeks ago in Panama City Beach for our Friday Night Wine Down. They were such a hit, clearly the stars of the show. Now we are offering them at such a crazy low price!!! If you are someone who is a little intimidated about French wine or just getting started… this is the wine for you. Nothing fussy here, just great wine.

The Cercius Red, a Visan Cotes du Rhone-Villages, is composed of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah. It represents a naked expression of Cotes du Rhone as it is aged completely in concrete prior to bottling. This medium to full-bodied wine possesses a deep ruby/purple color in addition to copious black currant and black cherry fruit interwoven with graphite, crushed rocks, and spice, excellent fruit intensity, a full-bodied mouthfeel, good acidity, and light tannins. Cercius Blanc, a blend of 70% Grenache Blanc and 30% Sauvignon Blanc, all aged in concrete prior to bottling. Light straw-colored with a greenish hue, it exhibits attractive freshness along with plenty of melon fruit with honeyed citrus, and flowers. Medium-bodied, with some underlying minerality.

Bradley Chauvin… Wine Geek

Welcome back and Happy New Year to all the beer lovers out there. We all hope you had an enjoyable holiday and have started out 2012 on a thirsty note. With Valentine’s Day being less than 5 weeks away, we are proud to bring in a very limited edition beer that will be a fantastic substitute for wine or champagne if that special someone prefers craft beer (and if they do, keep them!). Ommegang Seduction is great way of showing your affection because it blends the chocolate from Chocolatier Callebut, a world renowned Belgian chocolatier, with Liefmans cherries. The end result will make you fall in love all over again. The aroma is pronounced with chocolate and malts, with small hints of the cherries, while the taste nothing short of the smell. Big dark chocolate notes, the sweetness of Belgian beers, and underlying cherries. Definitely one of the best chocolate porters on the market today, but at $12.97 for the 750mL bottle, it may not be on the shelves for very long. So come in to any of our locations and get them while you can, and enjoy it now, or save it for Valentine’s Day. Life is too short to not drink amazing beers with those you love. Cheers!

I was hoping I may be able to talk a little about some of my favorite Winter Reds, but I have been missing one major factor… and that would be WINTER WEATHER!!! Seems like Old’ Mother Nature must be vacationing in the Florida Panhandle. But alas the cool breeze came this morning offering light rain and the promise of a cold front. My “Winter Wine Pick” is Rodney Strong, Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasting as many different wines as I do, I often find myself disappointed, many of the over-hyped wines just don’t live up to certain expectations. I was a little concerned this Cabernet wouldn’t live up to the acclaim. Turns out I had nothing to worry about. It begins with nice strong aromas of plum, vanilla, cedar, and black cherry. The wine has a rich taste and a full texture. Its dark fruit flavors are balanced well with spice, vanilla, and oak. The dry finish features prominent but soft tannins and the dark fruit flavors linger enticing another drink. Just a really solid Cabernet Sauvignon that I would be quite happy to drink on a regular basis… and plan on it at this $10.97 price!!!