Thursdays the BottleBlog will feature an update on various exciting things going on at Joe Canal's: Reports of our travels, special event coverage, and more! Today we're sharing the great time we had at the Sun Center Rockin' Brewfest!
On September 18, the team packed up our growler bottles and took a ride to the Trenton Sun Center and spent the day enjoying good music and good beer! We began the day at about 11:00, when we gathered our bearings and set up our booth. We came stocked with our JC's Growlers 64 oz. growler jugs, as well as the awesome growler koozies that had just come in. We were excited to unveil the koozies for the first time! Also in our arsenal was a brand new 40" Samsung Flat-Screen TV for us to give away to one lucky new BottleClub member! (Well, ALL the new BottleClub members were lucky, if you think about the great savings they'll be enjoying by being members...)
We had a great spot, right in front of the entrance, so we were the first ones to greet everyone as they came in the door, and the last ones to bid them safe travels as they left for the evening. Everyone was so nice, and we all had a great time telling them about our awesome new growler stations in Lawrenceville and Woodbridge. The jugs and the koozies were selling like hotcakes! The koozies with straps were being touted as the must-have fashion accessory of the event.Representatives from over 20 breweries were in attendance, including our friends from Weyerbacher, Unibroue, Dogfish Head, Ithaca, Chimay, Magic Hat, and Allagash, and the beer was plentiful! Dave and Buster's had a presence as well, with a "Wheel of Fortune" that included giveaways of glassware, stuffed animals and other fun trinkets.
While sampling all the beer they could drink, patrons rocked out to some of Jersey's greatest local bands, including Maxim 77, Scarlet Carson and Almost There. Scarlet Carson and Almost There are winners of the 95.9’s Ratfest Opening Act and Airplay Band Search Competition and have opened for artists such as Creed, Saving Abel and Cobra Starship. All in all, it was a great day and lots of fun for us to have a chance to talk with so many beer lovers. We hope everyone that bought a growler has been enjoying your freshly poured, ice cold draft beers! For more information on JC's Growlers and to see what's on tap at your local store right now, visit the Growlers page on jcanals.com!
The first-time visitor to Joe Canal’s Discount Liquor Outlet can be forgiven for a slight sense of confusion when walking through the cavernous store in the Mercer Mall. It is supposed to be a warehouse for wine and spirits, meaning big and cheap and without any emphasis on ambiance. 
El Nido is the flagship wine of the Gil family and it is produced along with its sibling Clio, at the El Nido winery in Jumilla. Nearby is the winery that produces the workhouse wines of the family, Hijos de Juan Gil and Wrongo Dongo. The latter is a collaborative project between the Gils and their importer Jorge Ordonez. We first went to the El Nido winery and toured the facility and caves. Loren and Angel Gil told us the about the history of the winery and traced it back to it's beginnings.
Now, making good paella is an art in itself, and one of which the Spaniards are very proud. There are variations on the components. This one we were served contained rabbit and more snails. The Chef at the restaurant was the owner's wife and we stepped in to observe our main course cooking the traditional was over burning grapevines.
After lunch we loaded up into the van again to head due south to the coastal resort city of Malaga. This is where Jorge Ordonez has his own project making wines with the Muscat grape. All this business of in the van, out of the van, into a hotel room for one night, move on, had us feeling kind of like rock musicians on tour. Our next tasting and tour wasn't until tomorrow, so we had no plans for the evening, except to watch some soccer on TV at a local wine and tapas bar. One of our intrepid band went way out on a limb and selected a place I personally had never heard of...
In September, Debbie Miller Nelson, Wine Manager of the Iselin store and Steve Wernick, Wine Sales Associate of the Lawrenceville store, had the privilege to meet Laurent D'Harcourt from Pol Roger. Laurent was in town for a few days and invited us to a 6-course lunch at Elements in Princeton where we had the opportunity to taste through 7 Champagnes each perfectly paired with each course.
Steve’s Savvy Selections: Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV
Deb’s Spotlight: Pol Roger Cuvee Winston Churchhill 1998
At Joe Canal's, all managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere in the world. By meeting the actual winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see firsthand the passion that goes into each bottle.
After sorting, I was given full access to the cellar where wines were quietly aging. I was able to make a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, a single vineyard Syrah and two different single-vineyard Malbecs. I called the wine Vina de Sol, and while I didn't win the competition to create the best blended wine, I was thrilled to take part in this process. I brought home a shirt that is still stained with grape juice.
In the lower right of this photo can be seen the immature grapes that remained unharmed. This is a tempranillo vine of about thirty years of age. The scattered frosts that hit the country killed portions of the vines that were exposed. The result would be a smaller crop come harvest. Many of the producers we spoke to practice “green cutting,” which is selectively dropping fruit from the plant before it is mature to direct the vine's energy into the remaining grapes. Although the frost would reduce the overall crop, it was a random process as opposed to a controlled one. After an inspection of the vineyards that supply Victor's wines for Bodegas Volver, we headed off to lunch at Restaurant Las Rejas for one of the more visual meals of the trip.
We sat down to lunch and began to taste through the flight of wines. As I said, this was the most visual meal of the trip. The Chef, Manuel de la Osa prepared exquisite food presented with a serious sense of whimsy. There were about eleven courses in this meal, it wasn't hard to lose count unless I wanted to dedicate more time to taking notes than eating. This dish in particular, Spring Vegetable in a Truffle Fog, exemplifies the Chef's unique perspective.
It was quite the sight to see all these jamon hanging there at the bar. Jamon Iberico de Bellota, the highest quality Iberico ham, only recently became available in the U.S. and usually sells for upwards of $100.00 per pound. I was easily looking at several thousand dollars worth of pig. I mentioned previously the stark contrast in the styles of presentation that I observed in the restaurants we ate in. Tonight's dinner was the polar opposite of what we had seen up to now. Large plates of absolutely delicious food passed around the table family style. This was down time and we relaxed as we ate and talked freely. Tomorrow we would drive the short distance south to the Jumilla region and further explore the wines of the Gil family.
We finally arrived at Roriz and I noticed that this wasn't going to be an easy trek. No walking here, it was back into the rear of the trucks again. These trucks were similar to the ones that we rode in the other day except the roads here were much worse and the ride was much longer.
It’s agreed that Port will always be king but the DOC wines are in their infancy and will make a major impact in the future. Port sales are continually declining but the table wine sales are increasing. Soon Portugal is going to have to make some serious decisions about the future.
A beautiful house sits above the winery overlooking the Douro River and the little bit of traffic that may pass by. The weather was perfect and we sat on the lawn eating olives, almonds, cured meats and drinking Graham's White Port and Tonic (with a squeeze of lemon). The day was perfect and so was this trip despite the fact it was ending shortly. We had a relaxing break on the front lawn then proceeded to the dining room for lunch. We helped ourselves to huge portions of fish and vegetables and just enjoyed the experience. After lunch we took a leisurely stroll around the vineyards and sat by the pool.
Tonight we ate inside for the first time and it was a welcome change of pace. We ate plate after plate of delicious home cooking and then drank several of the wines that we tasted that day, Chryseia 2004 this time and plenty of Post Scriptum.
"One of my new favorites! This modern-styled wine will compete with the high end offerings from California. Ripe currant, plum and cocoa on the nose. The palate mirrors these flavors with additional notes of spice and tobacco. Well-structured yet elegant and silky. A nice surprise from the Douro!!" -Brandon Bartfalvi, Wine Manager, Lawrenceville 
"The second label of Chryseia and a nice alternative to California red blends. This ripe, modern-styled wine is an amazing value! Ripe, dark fruits and spiced oak on the palate. An elegant style highlighting the dark fruit notes. An approachable style with lush tannins and a persistent finish. Grab a case!" -Brandon Bartfalvi, Wine Manager, Lawrenceville
We would have lunch that day with the owner from Caves El Cep, Maite Esteve, and Kasia Romanska from Oro wines who represents El Cep. We met at a restaurant in Madrid called Santceloni and the seven of us were seated in private dinning room at a single table. Food started coming out and it was as much a feast for the eyes as the stomach. This was a seared filet of Scorpionfish over braised leeks.
All Spanish meals begin with tapas: small dishes that come even before the appetizer in more formal meals, meant to whet the appetite. At this meal we were served several different interpretations of traditional Spanish foods. The wines began with a white from the Valdeorras D.O. or Denominacion de Origen, called Godello (the name of the grape as well as the wine) from a producer named Avanthia. Crisp, dry, and minerally, with a light citrus note, the wine worked very well with this spin on the traditional sandwich of fried squid with a lemon mayonnaise.
An interpretation of a traditional braised garlic dish that would be served with tart cherries came out as a spoon garlic "foam" with tiny cherry caviar droplets. The meal continued through six more courses include such delicacies as Sea Cucumber, and wild Pigeon with wines to match.
We took the train north up the Douro to the winery. The scenery was amazing: steep hillsides, several different Port producers, even a luxury hotel in the middle of nowhere (apparently it’s around $1800 US dollars a night). We trekked farther north and saw one of the dams built on the Douro making the once fast-rushing river into a more serene, peaceful body of water. After about forty five minutes we reached the winery, sort of. The winery and vineyards lay several hundreds of meters above us on steep hillsides so we took the provided transportation to the sites.
Now it was time to eat and we were all thirsty and hungry. We had more home cooked meals and today’s was like a tuna casserole but made with an indigenous fish from the river. I went back for thirds and could have gone back for more but the day was young and there was a lot of wine to drink. With lunch, Rupert offered several different wines and Ports to sample. We had Quinta de Vesuvio Vintage Port 1994 and 2007 (which was incredible) and we also had the 2007 Pombal de Vesuvio Douro Tinto (which is one of my favorite red wines right now) and 2007 Vesuvio Douro Tinto, the big brother of the wines.
We took a few minutes after our tasting and took some pictures of the surroundings. Notice the chapel that is in the picture: this is the chapel dedicated to the Lady of the River (literally Senhora da Ribeira). 
We left our hotel (Hotel de Bolsa in Oporto) and took three cars to the Graham’s Lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia across the Douro River from our hotel. This was a short trip and the day was simply beautiful. When we arrived at the Lodge we were met at the door by our tour guide and the tour started immediately. We wandered through the barrel rooms and various other chambers throughout the Grahams Lodge. We were joined by another guide who also showed us around the facilities and showed us a brief film and provided us with a description of the various Ports that Graham’s produces. After some photo opportunities we ventured into the cellars to see all of the back vintages that were still stored below the building.
As a side note, all the bottles were kept under lock and key (and I couldn’t talk them into giving me a copy). It was amazing to see all of the older vintages that they still had on hand. Some of the wines will be re- released into the market a little at a time while others are for their family functions.
Rupert had pre-selected several bottles of Port that would provide us with the range of wines that the company is producing. 
We started with basics, Ruby and Tawny, then progressed to Reserves, LBV’s, Vintage and single Quinta Ports. This was the only way to really understand Port: By tasting each style side-by-side to see the differences and similarities. Rupert explained each wine to us and the significance of each. The best surprise was at the end: Somebody saw that there was a Warre’s Vintage Port 1882 (yes, 1882!) open at the end of the table and happened to mention it to Rupert. Well. Short story even shorter, we got to smell and taste the wonderful elixir!!! All I can say is, AMAZING!
After a brief stroll through the facilities, we made our way into the cellars with Rupert and viewed several old vintages of Dow’s Port.
When we arrived at in Pinhao, we drank a few wines and then it was time for dinner. I won’t get into details but every meal was like the best home-cooked meal that you ever had. 
Every night was better than the previous.