Pol Roger Brut, “Cuvee de Reserve” NV (Champagne, France)
Price: $44.99 Special Price: $39.99 Case Price: $33.99
Pol Roger is a Grande Marque Champagne, and one of only a few Grande Marque Champagne houses still completely family owned and operated, Pol Roger was established in Epernay in 1849 by Pol Roger. A pale gold colour with a very fine bead and a flowery, delicately toasty aroma with fruit and complexity. Rich and creamy, beautifully balanced with a dry, harmonious finish.
Food Pairings: Asian Cuisine, Sushi
“THE Champagne deal of the season--and the lowest price in the state by over 10%”
2006 Sauvignon Blanc Two Wives Winery (Napa Valley, California)
Price: $18.99 Special Price: $17.09 Case Price: $16.14
It isn’t made by a vintner with two brides, but rather by two wives of vintners. Christine Madrigal and Elizabeth Naylor have made a wonderfully lively, refreshing wine with lovely floral notes and bright lively acidity. With its lingering grapefruit, lemon and orange peal fruit characteristics. The inspiration for the Two Wives Wine Company came from the many women whose resilience, sense of humor, love, and support affect our everyday lives. A portion of the profits from the vineyard go to support the fight against Breast Cancer.
Food Pairings: Seafood, Goat Cheese
2005 Pouilly-Fuisse “Vieilles Vignes” Gilles Noblet (Burgundy, France)
Price: $23.99 Special Price: $21.59 Case Price: $19.99
Domaine Gilles Noblet is a small family owned and run domaine of approximately 22 acres. Gilles, the present proprietor, is the fourth generation member of his family to make wine at this prized property, and just for the record, Gilles’ wife is the sister of Jacky Janodet, the present dean of Grand Cru Beaujolais, so wine runs deep in the heart and soul of this estate. Although not certified organic, Domaine Gilles Noblet practices sustainable agriculture and uses non-interventionist methods almost exclusively. No artificial fertilizers or insecticides are employed, and only natural yeast is used in fermentation. Ripe, round, and seductive, this lovely Pouilly-Fuissé offers up scents of spring flowers, beeswax, and fresh baked bread. Creamy and downright seductive in its center, this wine is very, very easy to drink.
Food Pairings: Roast Chicken, Sword Fish
2004 Cabernet Franc, Carrefour Vineyards (Napa Valley, California)
Price: $34.99 Special Price: $31.49 Case Price: $29.74
Carrefour Vineyards was founded when Greg and Marilyn Nitz ended their careers as an airline pilot and dentist to realize their dream of making world class wines. With help from their good friend John Truchard, they were able to make that dream come true in 2002 with their first Pinot Noir from several different clonal vineyards in Carneros. The 2005 Cabernet Franc exhibits a sensational inky ruby red color with ripe cassis, plum and berry flavors. The palate is full and round complemented by the integrated oak, cedar and a hint of dark chocolate. The wine finishes with fine but firm tannins.
Food Pairings: Grilled Meat, Stews
2005 Petite Sirah, Jeff Runquist (Clarksberg, CA)
Price: $28.99 Special Price: $26.09 Case Price: $24.64
All of Jeff's wines share a similar theme of fresh fruit reflective of the varietals flavor inherent in the grapes. Jeff believes that like pitching is to baseball grape growing is to winemaking; the team will go only as far as the grapes will take them. The color of this Petite Sirah is intensely purple with aromas of dense jamy blackberry and blueberry that are complimented by a smoky, spicy oak bouquet with hints of tar, chocolate and mocha. One might expect a wine with this color and density to be astringent and tannic, but the flavors are of bright zesty sweet red fruits. The wines body is rich and full of well-rounded and softened oak tannins with a finish that is surprisingly succulent and lingers minutes after swallowing the wine.
Food Pairings: Game, Grilled Meats
2004 Zinfandel “Black Glass Vineyard” Benessere Vineyards (Napa Valley, CA)
Price: $44.99 Special Price: $40.49 Case Price: $38.24
In 1994, John Benish and his wife Ellen purchased a 42 acre parcel of land in the Napa Valley which included a winery and vineyards with the idea of making a little bit of Italian-inspired wine. Black Glass Zinfandel is known for its distinctive spicy cherry and raspberry jam characteristics apparent in the nose. In addition, the 2005 has considerable depth and layers of black fruit, cinnamon and clove in the nose as well as the palate. The vineyard is called “Black Glass” for the obsidian arrowheads, spearheads and chippings left by the Native American-Wappo Indian Tribe who hunted and lived on the land from BC to the 1800’s.
Food Pairings: Grilled Steak, Lamb
Beer Tastings
The seemingly never-ending recognition for Great Divide’s world-renowned beers is no accident – but rather the payoff for the brewery’s unwavering commitment to brewing imminently-balanced and challenging ales. Grounded in entrepreneurial passion, a vision of brewing the most exciting beers in the world, and a commitment to their community, over the past eleven years Great Divide has become one of the preeminent craft brewers in the Rocky Mountain Region, if not the country.
Denver Pale Ale $8.99 6-pack
Historically Great Divide’s flagship beer, Denver Pale Ale’s record speaks for itself. By continually garnering national and international recognition, DPA has risen to become one of the most award-winning English-style pale ales in the world. Sporting a brilliant copper hue and an assertive floral hop aroma, DPA is known for its smooth, malty middle, which is expertly complemented with hearty and complex hop flavor. DPA’s extraordinary hop finish is marked by crisp yet moderate hop bitterness.
Gold Medal Winner – “Great American Beer Fest” & “World Beer Cup”
St. Bridget’s Porter $8.99 6-pack
St. Bridget, a legendary Irish saint, created a sensation by turning her bathwater into beer. What better way to celebrate her worthy miracle than with this zymurgistic tribute to her feat. St. Bridget’s is a smooth and elegant brown porter. Brimming with coffee and chocolate characteristics from dark barley malts, St. Bridget’s is carefully hopped to provide the perfect complement to its malty robustness. This beer is a “must have” beer for all porter lovers.
Gold Medal Winner – “World Beer Cup”
Wild Raspberry Ale $10.99 6-pack
What better way to surprise a beer lover than with a fruit beer that tastes like beer? Working under the pretext that real fruit makes real beer, they ferment Wild Raspberry Ale with hundreds of pounds of real red and black raspberries, steadfastly refusing to fall prey to extracts and cheap syrups. So commitment are the brewers at Great divide to using real fruit, no matter what the time, expense, or late season frosts throw at them, that one year, due to a severe late cold snap, they had to pre-order 85% of the harvestable U.S. black raspberry crop, just to meet the demand for Wild Raspberry Ale. Their efforts do not go unrewarded – Wild Raspberry Ale is a truly effervescent, ruby red ale that achieves the almost impossible balance between malted barley and tart raspberry fruitiness.
Gold Medal Winner – “Great American Beer Fest”
