Joe Canal's Staff Visits Sonoma & Napa - Part 1

All of our managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere throughout the world. Traveling is one of the many aspects of Joe Canal’s that sets us apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey this commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than having you just looking at a label and a score, we believe it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and the people who made it. We'll be sharing their trip reports with you here on the BottleBlog.

In October 2011, members of our staff including Shannon Spare from our internet department, had the privilege of traveling to California wine country! Here is the 1st installment of the trip, as told by Shannon.

Day 1
Coppola

After a rough trip across the country involving flight delays, rough landings, and GPS mishaps, our band of travelers woke on Tuesday morning in Sonoma, California, ready to start the day and enjoy good food, good company, beautiful weather and of course, some fantastic wine.

We began our trip by visiting Francis Ford Coppola winery. In the past couple years, they have made vast enhancements to their grounds, and it is informally known as the “Disneyland of Wineries.” Walking through the gates, you’re greeted by a fantastic swimming pool area, complete with cabines (not to be confused with cabinas) that you can rent for your private use for the day. There is a wonderful, huge wine bar where you can sit and enjoy some wine or a cold beer. Our tour guide, Neal Coats, informed us that even though they were unsure that the family environment was the best idea for a winery, pool passes sold out every single day of the summer season, and that the pool was always full of families having a great time.



We were brought up to a stainless steel bar where we enjoyed a tasting of Coppola wines. We began with a refreshing 2010 Sofia Blanc de Blanc sparkler, which was the perfect first wine to set the tone to our trip.

Other wines we tasted included: 2006 Archimedes, a selection of reds from the Reserve collection, including the 2008 Touriga Port, which was far less sweet and syrupy than ports that I’ve become accustomed to. We also tasted Director’s Merlot, both wines from the Votre Sante collection (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir), as well as a 2010 Moscato.



With our palates dancing, we toured the facility. We watched the bottling and packing of some Chardonnay cases, and were amazed by the automation of such a huge operation. We walked outside to see their fermentation tanks.


After our tour, we enjoyed a phenomenal lunch outside on the patio. We shared a bottle of red and a bottle of white, and toasted to a great start to the trip. After our lunch, we walked through the exhibits in the winery, which included Francis Ford Coppola’s Oscar statues and movie memorabilia including the desk from the Godfather.




We gathered the troops, loaded up the car, and headed on to our next destination!

Presenting Broadbent Malbec and Cht. Montlabert!

Broadbent Malbec
Mendoza, Argentina

The Broadbent name has been synonymous with fine wine for more than four decades, beginning with the renowned career of British wine critic,writer and auctioneer Michael Broadbent and continuing with his son, the importer Bartholomew Broadbent. Broadbent has partnered with family-owned wineries around the globe to produce wines rich with the essence of place and tradition. Broadbent wines represent authentic character and infinite pleasure. This Malbec is fresh with delicious fruit character, spicy plum notes and a silky and seductive finish. Produced and bottled in Mendoza, Argentina.

Joe Canal's is excited to announce the upcoming arrival of Broadbent Malbec on December 6th!

Regular Price: $11.99 - BottleClub Price $6.98

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Chateau Montlabert Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2009
Bordeaux, France

This 2009 has a deep, intense colour. The nose gives a true reflection of the Montlabert terroir, and shows natural elegance, with aromas of red fruits alongside notes of mahogany. On the palate, Château Montlabert the character of a Saint-Emilion: smooth, full bodied and elegant. The Cabernet Franc grapes shine through with their traditional elegance in this beautifully balanced cru.

Joe Canal's is excited to announce the arrival of Chateau Montlabert!

Regular Price: $19.99 - BottleClub Price $12.96

Tis the Season... for Eggnog!

Eggnog is a kind of drink that you either love, or hate, but it is undeniably the drink of the holiday season. For many, it's just not Christmas until you've had a big mug of 'nog to warm up.

There are many disputes as to the origins and history of eggnog, but it's commonly believed to have originated in the 17th century in Europe, as a variation on the cream and wine punches that were popularly served. Eggnog was known to have been consumed by only the wealthy, as milk and eggs were scarce commodities. When the drink was brought to America, rum was added to the mix. There are variations on the drink using different kinds of spirits, it's all a matter of personal taste.

If you want quick and easy, we have a selection of prepared eggnogs to choose from that will complement your holiday celebrations. However, here's a recipe for old-school eggnog if you want to try your hand at it!

-6 eggs, separated
-1/2 cup super fine sugar
-1/4 tsp salt
-2 tsp vanilla
-2 cups brandy, rum or whiskey
-1 cup milk
-nutmeg (use for garnish also)

Preparation:
1. Beat egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, nutmeg, salt and vanilla together until very thick and light yellow.
2. Slowly beat in brandy (rum and whiskey are also popular alternatives) and milk.
3. Cover and chill overnight.
4. Shortly before serving, beat the egg whites to soft peaks.
5. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, beat this mixture to soft peaks again, creating a meringue-like cream.
6. Then slowly pour this cream over the chilled brandy mixture, folding in gently.
7. Serve the eggnog in a mug or Irish coffee glass of your choice and grate nutmeg (or cinnamon) over the top for garnish.

If you try this recipe, please let us know how it turned out!

Fork and Gobble It: Pigging Out on Thanksgiving!

About four years ago, it was suggested by my old girlfriend/new wife, that I prepare a pork roast for Thanksgiving. She's Jewish. I'm of Italian descent. Most of her family doesn't eat pork. Most of mine worships it. Since we would all be at the table and there was an abundance of turkey, roast beef, and all manner of side dishes anyway, why not? So I set about preparing to create a tradition. I haven't missed making this dish once in the last four Thanksgivings.

My favorite way of preparing pork is a twist on a recipe I learned from the late Vincent Scotto, former Chef at Fresco by Scotto in Manhattan. It starts with a twenty-four hour brine in a brine solution flavored with molasses and brown sugar. The meat itself is the loin of the pig, on the bone. This is the same piece of meat that gives us Crown Roast, or loin pork chops, but here it becomes something otherworldly. For this crowd I purchased the whole loin. I had my butcher saw through the chine, or backbone, so that the bones could be portioned out after I carved the loin.

The piece of meat weighed somewhere around 12 pounds. That would feed at least fourteen people as the principle food item. If you try this, figure about 1 pound for each 2 persons. You will also need a deep tub to put the brine and pork into, and a space in a refrigerator big enough to keep it overnight.

I cut that monster in two halves, and then made small gashes in the top, or fat side, to stud it with slivers of garlic and fresh rosemary leaves.

Next, I prepared my brine. This was composed of four cups of Kosher salt (irony is duly noted), 1 pound of light brown sugar and a jar of unsulphured molasses. I put all of the above into a plastic dish or bus tub and added about a gallon of water, half at a time. It is easier to get the solid ingredients to dissolve in the water if you start with half the entire quantity. These ratios can be adjusted to make enough brine for whatever size roast you start with. There just has to be enough brine to cover the pork.

Cover that and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, but no more than 24.

The following morning it was ready to cook. I lit up the Weber kettle with hardwood charcoal and took about four cups of cherry wood chips and soaked them in warm water. Apple or Hickory would also work for this, Mesquite is a little too strong for pork, I think. I removed the two loin roasts from the brine and blotted them dry. Once the fire was ready I put the soaked wood chips on the coals and covered the grill to let the smoke start to build up. I then placed the two roasts on the fire and covered the grill.

I started cooking them on the fat side and allowed that to sear and then put them bone side down over an indirect fire, meaning the coals and smoking chips were on one side of the grill, and the meat was kept to the other side. The grill was kept covered for the most part, in order to retain the smoke and keep the temperature in the grill low. I'm guessing the temperature in the grill was somewhere around 275 degrees fahrenheit. I kept the pork loins on the grill for approximately 3 hours until they reached an internal temperature of 140 degrees.

At that point, the meat was brought inside and allowed to rest for about an hour. The loins had a beautiful bronze patina and smelled of smoke, molasses, and brown sugar.


At this point, the meat could be carved as chops but what I prefer to do is take the entire loin off the bones and slice it thin. I then separate the individual bones and serve them also. They are, I believe, the best part, all sticky and smokey with bits of meat stuck to them.

Wine choices for the evening were varied. While making up my mind I opened up nice bottle of Champagne! Chartogne-Taillet St. Anne Brut NV is a killer bottle of bubbles for a very nice price of $34.99. Apples, quince, toast, and chalky minerals combine for a lovely way to start the evening. It didn't surprise me that it came from the portfolio of Therry Thiese. He is brilliant at sourcing great grower champagnes. Now, since there would also be turkey and beef being served, I chose wines that would best suit all three. My first choice was Beaujolais. The old vines Julienas from Potel/Aviron is a great choice for turkey or pork. It combines a fresh, bright fruity taste with touches of earthiness and tobacco, and crisp acidity which is such an important component when choosing a wine to go with food. Dolcetto, which I have mentioned in weeks past was also another obvious choice because it is not too heavy and not too light, but just right in a Goldilocks and Three Bears kind of way. Bruno Giacosa Dolcetto d'Alba 2009 was another bullseye. Repeating the same themes, it had bright, medium weight fruit, a touch of herbaceousness in the form of fresh tobacco, and zingy acidity to cut through the richness of the meal. Red Zinfandel, that perfect American wine for the original American holiday was my final pick. Dashe Dry Creek Zinfandel 2008 is a well balanced, juicy, rich, wine that succeeds where so many Zins fail these days. The alcohol is kept in check and doesn't dominate the wine. It was a great meal, paired with just the right wines. Diversity was definitely the order of the day in the dishes served, the wines we drank, and the company at the table.

Hope you and yours enjoyed your holiday as well. Please direct any questions or comments to the website and thanks!

Great American Beer Fest - Zack's Travelogue

I have been looking forward to this trip for years! I knew that The GABF would introduce me to beers that I would normally never have a chance to try. What I didn’t know is that the city of Denver is fueled by craft beer. One may think that it may just be because the GABF was in town, however after visiting some of the local bars their opinion would have changed.

Our first day in Denver we did not have tickets for the festival. We decided to see what the bars were like in the city so we took a cab from our hotel to this place that Toni found on the internet. Let me just say that this bar did not disappoint. It was called The Falling Rock. It was your basic bar scene with all the fare that a normal bar would have i.e. burgers, wings, and sandwiches. The food was absolutely amazing! They had some of the best wings I have ever had. This bar, however, wasn’t just great food. The main attraction was the selection of beers. With its 75 taps and countless amounts of bottled beer to choose from, no beer lover would ever want to leave. It is here at this bar that I got to sample a beer that I have always wanted to try, Russian River’s Pliney the Elder. Pliney the Elder is a Double IPA with abv of 8%.It is defiantly a well balanced Double IPA with notes of citrus and pine that really resonated throughout the entire sip. It was a really good beer, but to be completely honest, it is not worth all of the hype that I have been hearing about all this time. In the end, I am glad I got to try this particular beer. After the long day of traveling we decided to leave this bar (dragging me kicking and screaming) and head back to the hotel to get a little rest. We knew that the next day would be filled with enough activities.


The second day turned out to be the most enjoyable and educational day of the trip. We woke up early to go on a bus tour that Tom set up hosted by the National Sales Executive from Brooklyn Brewery. On this tour we were going to have a tour of the Oskar Blues Brewery and then Brew Pub. From there we were to visit the Left Hand Brewery. I love taking brewery tours and when I found out we were going to be doing this I got very excited.

Oskar Blues is a brewery that I have been waiting to see for a long time. A big reason why I wanted to visit them is because we sell a lot of their products and it would be nice to see where it all comes from and how they make it. Another big reason why Oskar Blues always intrigued me is because they are the first craft beer that comes in a can. We learned all about their brewing process and their plans for further expansion. The culture of the people at Oskar Blues is something that I will never forget. For example, they have a place in the brewery that they call "The Imagination Room." This is a place where they employ members of the surrounding community who happen to be mentally disabled. They would do things like fix imperfections in the cans so that they may be able to go through the filling line without jamming up the machines. We also learned that Oskar Blues does a lot in the community as far as charity fundraisers and events. I noticed that everyone in the brewery had a smile on their face and it really felt like a huge family. In the tasting room at the actual brewery, we sampled Oskar Blues' entire lineup. I have to be completely honest when I say that I have already done this many times in the past, however I really enjoyed it at this moment. There is something about a beer that is fresh off of the bottling (or in this case canning) line that makes it that much more magical. After the 2 hours at the Brewery we headed to the Oskar Blues Restaurant or Brewpub where they were going to sponsor a lunch for us. At their brewpub we sampled Oskar Blues’ entire lineup again plus some of their Brewpub Exclusives like Dale’s Double Pale Ale and Cherry Tenfidy which is their amazing stout brewed with cherry lambic. Like most of the bars in the Denver area, Oskar Blues had at least 30 taps at their Brewpub. Unlike most Brewpubs, they had more on tap then just Oskar Blues. I was very impressed by that.


Next on the trip was Left Hand. We took a tour of the Brewery just like we did at Oskar Blues and we sampled some of Left Hand’s lineup. At this point we were all ready to leave because what was coming up next in the day was what we all were there for, The Great American Beeriest.

We were about an hour late going into the Beerfest for the first session because the bus from Oskar Blues/Left Hand was a little late getting back. It was totally ok; we needed a small break from sampling beer! When we actually arrived at the Beerfest we were ready to start again. My first order of business was to try as many different beers that I always wanted to try but aren’t available in New Jersey and to try specialty beers from brands that are available to us. Some of the Breweries that I was very excited to see there were: Alaskan, Cigar City, Clipper City, Goose Island, Lost Abbey, Pizza Port, Russian River, Odell’s, and many others! I do have to say that I was amazed by Cigar City. There beers were absolutely exceptional. They had an IPA called Jai Lai. This is one of the best and most well rounded IPAs I have ever had. There were amazing notes of citrus, grapefruit, lemon zest and sticky pine. Another beer that they had and I think it was made just for the Beer Festival was called Oatmeal Raison Cookie. Let me just say, this beer tasted exactly like an oatmeal raison cookie. I think the highlight of my beerfest experience however was tasting Sam Adams Utopia for the first time. As we all know, Utopia comes out only once every 2 years and is so limited we only get 6 bottles. Utopia is a beer with a hefty abv of 25.5%. It is almost supposed to be enjoyed like liquor and not as a beer at all. They were only serving a very limited amount so I had to be sure to get a sample of it. I must say, it was what I always imagined heaven to be like. It tasted nothing like a beer to me. It reminded me of a vintage port blended with an old sherry with notes of a fine cognac. There were strong notes of vanilla and dark fruit. It defiantly has a sweeter start with a slightly alcoholic finish. The perfect after dinner drink in my opinion.


Our third day we went back to the Beerfest to sample some of the beers that we may have missed. It was basically just a repeat of the day before, but we did get a chance to have some beers that we do carry in the store like the Firestone Walker Collection, Dogfish Head, Stone, and many others. We knew that we had to take an early flight back the next day so we didn’t stay at the festival for too long. We went to dinner at a place called The Buckhorn Exchange. The Buckhorn is the oldest restaurant in Denver that specializes in wild game. The food was absolutely amazing. We had such things like Fried Alligator Tail, Grilled Duck in a Zinfandel Sauce, Tri-Tip in a Brown Sauce featuring such meats like your basic beef, to elk, to buffalo. The grand finale of our appetizer was something that I have been waiting to try my whole life, Rocky Mountain Oysters. If you don’t know what that is, you may want to look it up for yourself! Let me just say, they were divine! For dinner, I had Buffalo Prime Rib. After having the Buffalo Prime Rib I am unsure if I will ever have a basic Prime Rib again. After dinner we went back to the hotel to get some rest for the early flight in the morning.

Denver, Colorado may be one of the greatest cities I have ever been to in my life. The people are friendly, the air is crisp, the city itself is clean and the views of the mountain scapes in the distance are breathtaking. I would go back in a heartbeat... and their passion for beer doesn’t hurt one bit!

Fork and Gobble It: Farm to Table

Ask someone where the food they're eating came from and if they respond at all, they're likely to give the name of a supermarket or restaurant. The idea of knowing the source of your foodstuffs these days seems cute or old fashioned to most people. Yet, if you are concerned with what it is you are putting in your mouth and body, that knowledge of provenance is at least a partial guarantee of the wholesomeness of your food.

I grew up in a small town that, before it morphed into any suburban town USA, was a farming community. Many of those farms remained in existence when I was young and through the summer months I knew the guy who grew my tomatoes, green beans, lettuces, and corn, amongst other things. There is a reciprocal trust there of consumer faith rewarding the producer with repeat business. It is something that is lacking with the giant corporate farming industry. It becomes especially alarming when there is a widespread outbreak of food borne illness. All too often it ends up being traced back to a breakdown in the integrity of the long chain from some far away farm field or meat processing plant to the end user. These types of calamities have given rise to a movement of consumers who as much as possible want know once again who is responsible for producing the food that they and their families eat.

This wave has also picked up chefs and their restaurants who believe that the season and market dictate what is on their menus, not whimsy and trends. To further this, the bond between food producers and chefs has given rise to the farmer as celebrity. Chino Farms in Santa Fe California, supplies produce to some of the finest restaurants in the Bay Area and has their name on menus to prove it. Laura Chenel did the same thing for goat cheese, and Niman Ranch for prime meats. Although we may not initially think of wine as an agricultural product, it is and it has not been left out of this movement. Last weekend Joe Canal's in Woodbridge hosted a Harvest Celebration and featured a tasting of wines from Women Of The Vine.


Women Of The Vine is a book by Deborah Brenner. Women Of The Vine is also a brand that she founded, a cooperative of women viticulturists and winemakers, producing different wines under one label with a common mission. That mission is to bring recognition to women in the wine industry who strive to produce a product that is in keeping with the spirit of farm to table. They are women viticulturists and winemakers who like my farmer guy up the street when I was a kid, make a wholesome product that you can snuggle up to and feel good about.

Our Harvest Celebration also featured the New Jersey restaurant A Toute Heure from Cranford, N.J.. The wife and husband team of Andrea and Jim Carbine run a small, intimate, and totally food savvy room at 232 Centennial Ave. in Cranford, N.J.. The restaurant is menu driven and the menu is all about the season. Andrea is a very earthbound chef who like many others before her, has no issue citing sources on her menu that name the producers of the raw products she uses.


Guests enjoyed the food and wine and hopefully took away something about the farm to table concept.

Great American Beer Fest - Tom's Travelogue

Following last year’s tradition after landing in Denver, we went straight from the plane to the airport bar and sipped on some Fat Tire. Thursday night, we headed to Falling Rock Taphouse to grab a bite to eat and some drinks. They boast a huge 75 tap draft selection, including some rare Russian River and Deschutes stuff. I couldn’t resist an Avery Maharaja, one of my favorite DIPA’s, which we unfortunately don’t see much of in New Jersey. Note: the wings and fries are out of this world.

Last minute Friday morning we managed to get hooked up with a couple guys from Brooklyn Brewery who had a bus headed to Oskar Blues and Left Hand. We started off at the Oskar Blues brewery and took a quick tour, which was really cool because of the intimacy. We were right in the thick of things with forklifts driving past us, face to face with the canning line, and face to face with a couple of foosball tables. We headed to their brewpub next where we partook in a private buffet upstairs. For me, this was the highlight of the trip. The food, atmosphere, bartenders, and waitresses were all top notch. The beer selection was unreal – they were offering too many limited brews to count. A highlight for me was the Sour Cherry Ten FIDY – their Ten FIDY aged in oak with tart pie cherries. Then we headed to Left Hand which was equally as impressive. We had the opportunity to sample this year’s as-yet-unreleased Fade to Black which was really tasty. Our tour guide fed us beer throughout the tour… so we couldn’t really go wrong.

The restaurants in Denver are in a class of their own. And yet again following last year’s tradition, we made sure to head over to the Cheeky Monk – a Belgian-themed craft beer bar. They had a lot more limited craft offerings than I had remembered, including a lot of Firestone Walker and Avery’s UberSwine, the latter which I’ve never even heard of. I had the moules-frites with spicy tomato sauce, olives, spinach, red wine and parmesan cheese paired with a sweet and sour Duchesse de Bourgogne.

Mick and Zack enjoying a pint
The highlight restaurant-wise was without a doubt the Buckhorn Exchange, where we feasted on delicacies like alligator tail, Rocky Mountain oysters (actually delicious), and buffalo tips. I had an elk and ostrich combo for an entrée and the ostrich was probably the best cut of meat I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. The hundreds of taxidermied animals, super friendly waiter, and old-Western setting made for a great atmosphere as well. If you’re in Denver you need to check this place out.

At the BeerFest itself, there was simply not enough time and too many great beers to try. First, I made an effort to hit all of the breweries not available in New Jersey – Bell’s, Cigar City, Russian River, The Lost Abbey, Short’s, AleSmith, Pizza Port, etc. – just to see what I was missing out on at home. Variety is the spice of life. There were hundreds of world-class beers and countless limited offerings. Too many to name, but here are some of my highlights:

The Bruery Black Tuesday
The Bruery Oude Tart
Firestone Walker Abacus
Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout
FatHead’s Lucifer’s Lunacy
Brooklyn Black Ops
Weyerbacher Rapture
Allagash Coolship Resurgam



The best beer being sampled at the festival, in my opinion, was Cigar City’s Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout. Released once a year in March and aged on vanilla beans, cacao nibs, cinnamon and chilies – this is one absolutely delicious beer. The unique combination of vanilla, cacao, and chili play off each other perfectly. Cigar City makes a spectacle of Hunahpu’s release by throwing a huge, well-deserved party at the brewery. The longest line at the Fest was surprisingly a cheese and beer pairing station, which we made sure we participated in before the end of the Fest. It was fun and interesting to see the gourmet cheeses and jams from the American Cheese Society paired with craft beers like Ballast Point’s chocolate cherry stout or a Flanders Red from The Lost Abbey. Some of the pairings were better than any wine and cheese combo I’ve ever tried.

Joe Canal's Presents Highland Stag!

This new 80 proof whisky is distilled, matured, blended and bottled in Scotland. The long marriage of the casks results in a remarkable flavor and smoothness.

The color of this whisky is deep gold with yellow highlights. The nose has a deep bouquet with vanilla, oak, honey & dried fruit. The palate has rich flavors of honey, sherry and malt. The finish is long and exceptionally smooth and lingering.

Joe Canal's is excited to announce the arrival of Highland Stag, coming soon!

750 ML: Regular Price: $17.99 - BottleClub Price $13.96
1.75L: Regular Price: $30.99 - BottleClub Price $27.96

Great American Beer Fest - Mick's Travelogue

September 29th - October 1st, 2011. Three days, 465 Breweries and over 2,400 beers. This is the Superbowl of Beer Festivals. I cannot remember how long I’ve wanted to go to this Festival. As luck (in the name of Mike Brenner) would have it, 2011 would be my year to attend.

Our first day out was Thursday, having tickets to Friday & Saturday’s events, this gave us the opportunity to investigate some of the bars in Denver. Toni, in her blessed investigative prowess, found a place on the internet called The Falling Rock Tap House. First things first, if you are ever in Denver, The Falling Rock Tap House must be on your list of places to visit. Consisting of two floors, bars and booths on both levels, pool tables, dart boards in the lower level and an large outside patio area prior to the entrance. Talk about sensory overload, with over 75 taps (yeah seven-five) and an impressive selection of bottled beers, this place has to be close to Beer Nirvana. Food was standard bar fare (wings, burgers, fries) but the quality was excellent. I recommend the garlic wings and you must order a basket of their fries, they are truly addicting. A standout for me was the Odell Myrcenary, a Double IPA from Fort Collins, Colorado with a 9.30% abv. Named for Myrcene, which is a component of essential oils in the hop flower, the Myrcenary Double is brewed with a blend of hops containing the highest levels of Myrcene, this double IPA is full bodied, boasting copious tropical fruit-like flavors, a strong floral nose, and a clean finish. We finally succumbed to our long travel day and decided to head back to the hotel knowing we had a full day ahead of us. I found The Falling Rock Tap House a true beer afficiandoes destination spot.



Our second day in Colorado was a pleasant surprise. Tom arranged us access to a chartered bus tour of the Oskar Blues Brewery, lunch at the Oskar Blues Brew Pub, then a tour of the Left Hand Brewery, all hosted by John Boegel, the National Chain Manager for Brooklyn Brewery. Like I said, I was pleasantly surprised as I’m a big fan of the Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pilsner, so I was pretty stoked that I was going tour the Brewery and experience their production process.

It was great to see the canning line in action and hearing the details of their planned extensive expansion, I’m confident that Oskar Blues will effectively enhance their production without compromise to the quality of their product. The tour ended at their on premise pub, The Tasty Weasel Tap Room. Here we tasted the whole line up of Oskar Blues, my fav (of course) is the Mama’s Little Yella Pilsner, 5.3 abv, Mama’s is crafted with 100% pale malt, German specialty malts, and Bavarian hops. She pours golden yellow with a thin white head. Notes of grain and honey on the nose, with refreshing grainy and citrus crispness with a decent amount of toasted malts underneath, overall, crisp, clean, and refreshing.



Before we knew it we were back on the bus for a quick 5 minute to what Rolling Stone called ‘the hottest place to be on a Saturday night in Colorado...” The Oskar Blues Grill and Brew where they had an awesome lunch laid out for us and we were able to sample exclusives like the Cherry Tenfiddy and the Dales Double Pale Ale.

After lunch we were wisked off to tour the Left Hand Brewery. After the tour we stopped off in their on site pub and as luck would have it, we got to sample they’re just released (that day!) “Milk Stout Nitro”. Holy smokes, it’s thick, creamy, and slightly sweet with roasted malts shining through on the back end. I am now a milk stout fan. At this point we were all looking to leave as it was getting late and we still had the bus ride back to the hotel where we met the bus that morning, then a cab ride back to our hotel to freshen up, grab our tickets and hop a cab to the GABF.

We entered the Great American Beer Festival about an hour late, our initial mission, sample as many Breweries that they’re products aren’t available in New Jersey. I fell in love with Alaskan Amber! Alaskan Amber is based on a recipe from a turn-of-the-century brewery in the Juneau area. I can see why it was voted "Best Beer in the Nation" in the 1988 Great American Beer Festival Consumer Poll. Its rich and malty and long on the palate, and dare I say perfectly balanced with a clean, crisp finish. By far the best Amber I’ve ever experienced.

At the Cigar City table, the Oatmeal Raison Cookie was exactly that, like biting into an oatmeal raison cookie!

Our third day, we got into Denver a little early to do some window shopping around the convention center, then hit the Festival when it opened to try other beers that we missed the night before like Dogfish Head, Firestone Walker Collection and a host of others.

That evening we had dinner at Denver’s oldest eating and drinking establishments, The Buckhorn Exchange. Founded in 1893 and has Liquor License Number One in the State of Colorado! A National Historic Landmark and Western Museum, its walls are adorned with a rare 575-piece collection of taxidermy, including deer and moose, giant buffalo, mountain goat and big horn sheep; dozens of indigenous fowl; although I didn’t get to see the famed two-headed calf and a legendary jackalope. Display cases of old weapons, Colts and Winchesters...yeah, I was in heaven.

While waiting for our table, we went upstairs to the bar to where the keen eye of Toni, recognized a rare Colorado born whiskey she was familiar with called Stranahan’s. A round of shots we immediately ordered. The whiskey is made from a unique four-barley fermented wash that consists of carbon filtered Rocky Mountain water and western barley that is grown in the Northern Rockies, each bottle is filled by hand and each label is hand written identifying the distiller, batch number, the youngest barrel in the batch and a unique comment.. did I say it was rare? With a vanilla nose, it boasts sweetish toffee and dried dark fruits, full barely notes surrounded by leather vested apricots, and a hint of slight citrus and vanilla oak notes.

Wow. THANK YOU Toni for that experience! Since I’ve been back I’ve tried... unsuccessfully to find/purchase it online (surprise, surprise).
This began what was an amazing meal, sampling fried alligator tail, elk, buffalo, grilled duck in a zinfandel sauce and yes, even Rocky Mountain Oysters. All were truly amazing and a dinner I will not forget for quite some time.

What is there not to love about Colorado? Denver, one of the cleanest cities I’ve even been to. The friendly people? They’re true love for beer? The clean, crisp, invigorating air? We left Colorado, yet a part of me will always be there.

Fork and Gobble It: Looking for Truffles

Wine geeks have certain weaknesses. One of my favorite ones is the inability to pass by a wine shop that has a certain interesting look about it, and no matter how busy I am, I must enter and peruse the shelves. I'm always looking for the surprise find, the good wine that has been lost or hidden on the shelf for years, waiting for the consumer who would recognize its value and bring it on home.

I had an appointment to meet some friends for lunch one afternoon. We were going out for Thai food, or some variation of it. I needed to pick up a bottle or two to go with lunch and my time was short. I was on my way back from the doggy exercise excursion, and I knew I would pass an older liquor and wine shop I'd been in before. It clearly had been owned at one point by someone who knew wine. There were bottles there that had not sold in years, but were clearly of good quality and now had some bottle age on them. For our Thai luncheon I was on the lookout for German Rieslings. Allow me to fill you in on some knowledge about these wines that will give insight to the rest of the story.

There are two important classifications pertaining to Rieslings that anyone who drinks these wines should know. First is the QbA classification or Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete. QbAs are wines of good, but ordinary, quality that come from any one of Germany's thirteen official winegrowing regions. They are generally off dry, with moderate acidity and fit the profile most people think of as "Riesling."

Above this are the QmP wines or Qualitatswien mit Pradikat or wine with higher attributes. I actually like to think of it as wine with a pedigree. These wines explain on their label where they are from, which vineyard they come from, and how sweet they are based on how late the grapes were harvested.

For my purposes I was looking for two wines. I wanted one to be a dry, but complex Riesling and the other a sweet Riesling with good complexity also. If I could find wines that had some bottle age on them also it would be a bonus. As my luck would turn out I found both. Looking over the shelves in (let's call it Fred's Wine Emporium) I found an Alsatian Riesling from Albert Mann that would fit my dry wine need. Tucked away on a lower shelf was a German wine from the Rheinfalz region from a producer I knew. Kurt Darting makes very good wines, and I am very fond of his sweeter QmPs. I saw a 2003 Auslese from Durkheimer Nonnengarten which seemed to be a real find. I purchased both of them crossing my fingers that they would be good when I opened them.

When I got to the restaurant I opened both bottles right away. I needed to find out if I had purchased gems or duds. My nose and my eyes were both really pleased. The two wines side by side looked like this:


The Darting Riesling was on the left in this photo. It's deep golden color comes from it age. The perfume coming from the glass suggested honey, lychee, petrol, and ripe stone fruits like apricot. The Albert Mann Riesling was also deep but the flavors were drier and had much more mineral content.


I paired these wines with a dish from Laos. A ground meat and salad dish called Larbe was wonderfully spicy and complex with vegetables, herbs and duck.


The pairing was fantastic. The fact that I'd found two older wines that really delivered was a double bonus. The experience really affirmed my belief that if you want to find goodies or truffles, you have to dig. What "truffles" will you find on the shelves of Joe Canal's on your next visit?

Great American Beer Fest - Toni's Travelogue

All of our managers and wine staff travel at least once a year. Traveling is one of the many aspects of Joe Canal’s that sets us apart from other wine shops. We know that by tasting beer, meeting winemakers, walking vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into the products we sell. We can then convey this commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than having you just looking at a label and a score, we believe it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and the people who made it. We'll be sharing their trip reports with you here on the BottleBlog.

In September 2011, Toni Carver, Mick Zack, Tom Broderick and Zack Goldberg traveled to Colorado for the Great American Beer Festival. Here is Toni's report of her experience on the trip.

Day 1
I met up with the guys at the Newark airport. They were finishing breakfast and we made our way to the gate. While waiting impatiently Zack and I strolled thru the duty free shop and I immediately realized we were going to have a fun weekend since we were both scotch fans, then quickly found out the whole group was!! We boarded for a slightly bumpy ride to Minnesota and made our way to the bar during our lay over. We toasted our trip with a shot of Grand Marnier and a beer and immediately found another patron in the bar heading to the GABF. The next leg of the trip was barely remembered by the guys, since they were all asleep.

Upon landing in Denver we found the Smokers Lounge and toasted the owners for sending us on our excursion with an infamous Fat Tire, an amber ale with balance hop and light malt.

We made our way to the Lowes Hotel, the Rocky Mountains and surrounding scenery were beautiful on the drive into town. The city was clean and we began to relax and enjoy the trip.

We agreed to go to the Falling Rock Tap House for dinner, a local bar and restaurant that I researched before we left. The food, while simple, was delicious, best fries any of us had ever had. The beer selection and atmosphere, which was geared towards all the GABF visitors, was fantastic. Their selection of over 75 beers on draught made it difficult to decide on what to drink. We tried Bull & Bush Big Ben Brown Ale, Odell 90 Schilling, (recommended highly by Tom) Russian River Pliney the Elder & Damnation, all of which are not distributed in New Jersey so they were a real treat.

Day 2
Friday morning we met up with Brooklyn brewery reps that were sponsoring a trip to a few local breweries. We started at Oskar Blues, a unique craft brewery that dispenses their beer in cans only. The less than traditional brewery tour taught us about the brewing process as well as their beer styles. The tour continued with lunch and beer at their brew pub just around the corner. The bar had a great beer lineup that included other selections then Oskar Blues. Tom and I started with New Belgian Clutch Dark Sour which had a very intense but pleasing taste of burnt coffee, cocoa, dried cherries, fig, and was a full bodied beer. Zack and Mick sampled the Farmhouse Peche Noir Saison by TRiNiTY, a local Colorado brewery. We then ventured to the infamous Ten Fidy imperial stout which is named for the alcohol content of 10.5. The rich malt and chocolate of the Ten Fidy paired perfectly with our burgers and the homemade salsa and chips were complimented by the hoppiness and crisp taste of the Gubna Imperial IPA by Oskar Blues which was our finishing draught.

The tour bus then moved a few minutes down the road to Left Hand Brewery. This location was much smaller then Oskar Blues since the brewery and brew pub were together. This gave it a local bar atmosphere being casual and friendly and slightly crowded. Our brief tour began with my favorite Left Hand beer, Fade to Black Volume 2. This deep, black, full bodied beer is a smoked Baltic porter with intense tastes of malt. We also sampled the new Milk Stout Nitro which had beautiful thick head and a palate of vanilla, chocolate milk, and coffee. This was dessert for a great day thus far and we are hoping it comes to NJ soon.

The tours were complete and we headed back to Denver so we could attend our first round of the Great American Beer Fest. The volunteers processed us quickly and, with glass in hand, we ventured to our first table. The lines moved swiftly but many of the stations were pour and go, pour and go. There was not much of a chance to converse with the brewery reps about the different beers. We tried many beers but these were some of the most memorable from the sessions we attended:

Bell’s: Kalamazoo Stout
Carver Brewing: Belgian IPA, Celebrated Raspberry Wheat
Hoppin Frog: Hoppin to Heaven IPA, Boris the Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout
New Holland: Charkoota Rye
Dogfish Head: My favorite brewery and brew pub! Hell Hound, Bitches Brew, World Wide Stout, Tweason Ale – gluten free
Shorts: Keylime was gone but we had Captain Fantasy, Spruce Pilsner, Bourbon Wizard, Joyous Almondo
Thirsty Dog: 12 dogs of Christmas, Bourbon Barrel aged
Fat Head: This was a surprisingly great selection -Lucifer lunacy, Head Hunter IPA, Voodoo Monkey
Ommegang: Three Philosophers, Aphrodite
Blue Point: ESB
Capital City: Prohibition Porter
Fegleys: Devious Imperial Pumpkin, Hop’solutely
Flying Dog: Raging Bitch Belgian IPA, Dogtoberfest
Flying Fish: Exit 4 & 16
Victory: Golden Monkey, headwaters pale ale
Pizza Port: Poor Mans IPA , When the wifes away IPA, Way Heavy
Weyerbacher: We personally all know Natalie, our rep, who was there working the table. It was great hearing from her that they won the Gold Medal for the 16th Anniversary their Dark Braggot Ale
Allagash: Curieux, white, fluxus 2011
Smuttynose: Big A IPA, Robust Porter
Trinity: Decadence Imperial IPA, Redrum Imperial IPA
21st Amendment: Brew Free or Die IPA - Distributed in cans, Old Glory, Hell or high Watermelon Wheat (I didn’t like this one at all)
Bear Republic: Racer 5, Double Aught
The Bruery: Black Tuesday, Oude Tart
Firestone Walker: Abacus, Double Jack, Parabola
Lost Abbey: Angels Share
Russian River: Well known to be my 2nd favorite brewery. (not available in NJ) It started my love of craft beer. Pliney the Elder, Redemption, Supplication
Sierra Nevada: Tumbler Autumn Fest
Lagunitas: Hop Stoopid, A Little Sumpin, Sumpin
Deschutes: Inversion IPA,Abyss, Hop in the Dark
Rogue: Single Mlt Ale, Old Crustacean
Boulder: Hazed & Infused, MoJo IPA
Breckenridge: Barrel Aged Vanilla Porter, Oatmeal Stout, 471 IPA
Bull & Bush: Man Beer, The legend of the Liquid Brain Imperial Stout
Great Divide: Yeti Imperial Stout, Old Ruffian Barley wine, Claymore scotch Ale
Left Hand: 400 Pound Monkey
Odell: 90 Shilling, Bourbon Barrel Stout
Cigar City: White Oak IPA, Humidor IPA, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
Duck-Rabbit: Porter, Milk Stout, Rabid Duck Russian Imperial Stout
Sam Adams: Highly allocated Utopia, we were lucky to get the last few pours of this. Zach and Mick never had a chance to try it before so it was great that we got there in time, Long shot 1-5, 13th hour stout


May have been others I forgot.

Day 3
We started our day shopping and browsing the downtown area. We went to a cigar shop Tom had been to the previous year and bought some hopped cigars and various souvenirs and I may have drooled over a bottle of highly allocated 9th release 30 year old Port Ellen scotch. We headed to the beer fest to find the line to get in was literally over a mile long but thankfully moved very quickly. The costumes were out in full force this time, lots of Waldo’s, beer wenches, kilts, and even kegs worn as clothes.

After our Saturday session we went to another local bar Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Café. A great old world atmosphere that had taps right at some tables. Does it get any better than that? We introduced Zack to some fired pita bread and spinach artichoke dip. The rest of the food we had from there was great and a must visit for anyone going to the GABF.
We decided to take a few hours rest and meet up for dinner. We agreed to go to the Buckhorn Exchange due to its reputation. While waiting for our table we sat at the bar and I introduced the guys to Strannahans Colorado Whiskey. Let’s say that was a hit!! Unfortunately we don’t have a distributor for it in NJ.

At this point, as much as we love our beer, we had some wine with dinner, Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel and an awesome dinner including: Quail, Duck, Steak, Cornish Game Hen, and Rocky Mountain Oysters. It was the perfect way to end our trip!!

A Winter (Beer) Wonderland

Are you ready for winter beer? If you're like me, the answer is a resounding no. I mean, it’s still fall, right? But breweries tend to force our hands by releasing pumpkin ales in July and winter ales in October and we have to make with what’s due, unfortunately. But hey, it’s still craft beer and as soon as you crack open one of these hearty ales... there will be no more complaints.

While winter beer is usually known to be malty, sweeter, and on the heavy side, there still is a lot of variety and different takes on the winter styles. On one side of the spectrum, Troeg’s Mad Elf, personifies lighter bodied, flavorful winter ales – the honey, cherry and Belgian yeast really add a huge complexity to it. Despite its lighter, spritzy mouth feel it will be sure to warm you up on a cold night. The other side of the spectrum you’ll find Anderson Valley’s Winter Solstice Ale, which showcases a massive malty sweet backbone with a body full of winter spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. Taking it a step further, Sierra Nevada offers up their Celebration Ale – which is easily one of the better IPAs on the market. There’s nothing “winter” about it – no spices, no excessive sweet maltiness – just a straight-up deliciously hoppy IPA. But you’ll find yourself looking for Celebration every year come November/December.

The amazing thing about winter beers is that they can be one of so many different beer styles – old ales, winter warmers, Belgian strong ales, Baltic porters, Dubbels, and even American IPAs in Sierra Nevada’s case. I personally find that great to see, where fall seasonals for example are almost always confined to Marzens, pumpkin ales, or amber ales. Variety is the spice of life and winter beers bring the variety. And regardless of what styles of winter beer you’re looking for, you’ll have plenty to choose from over the next month or so. Here are some of my top choices: but remember to act fast, they sell out very quickly.

Avery’s Old Jubilation
Avery just never fails to impress with any of their offerings. Their 8.3% ABV winter warmer offers flavors and aromas of nutmeg, mocha, ginger bread – and here’s the kicker – with no additional spices. Everything you taste and smell in this beer is from a blend of 5 different malts. Pairs perfectly with holiday dinner fare like roast duck or chicken - this is truly a work of art.

Brooklyn’s Winter Ale
Following the same technique as Avery – Garret Oliver perfected this brew using no extra spices. Considered to be a Scottish Ale, cool(er) fermentation really brings the malt bill to the forefront and shelves some of the fruitiness you’ll find in tradition Scottish Ales. At 6% ABV, this is a winter beer you can feel at home with drinking a few with family at the dinner table. The toasty caramel and bready malts pair perfectly with that hearty stew or soup you’ll find yourself with at times over these cold months.

Great Divide’s Hibernation Ale
This multiple award winning Old Ale is one of my favorite beers in general – not just winter beer. Great Divide is forced to cellar this monster for 3 months after bottling just to tame the flavors a bit. Patience is rewarded in this case, as the sweet malt and huge hop bill blend perfectly together in boozy harmony to create a beer that absolutely craves to be paired with artisan cheeses or dessert. This beer is the epitome of a massively complex but extremely easy-drinking – drink it too fast and you’ll find yourself riding some of Santa’s reindeer.

Joe Canal's Presents Hennessy V.S. KAWS!

Born Brian Donnelly, KAWS is now one of the world's premier graffiti artists whose works sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. From an artist on the streets to full-fledged gallery showings and toys, New York-based artist KAWS's latest project involves the storied cognac producer, Hennessy. This artist collaboration features a meeting of Hennessy's tradition with the progressive and iconic aesthetics of KAWS on a limited edition bottle of V.S. Cognac. 420,000 bottles will be produced, each carrying its very own number. A release will begin in September of 2011 through select channels.

"Hennessy is a brand that not only prides itself on presenting the world with a quality variant, but also on creating out-of-the-box partnerships that heighten our consumer's experience," said Rodney Williams, SVP of Business for Hennessy. "We look forward to the feedback from not only from Hennessy loyalists but also KAWS eclectic fan base about this exciting partnership."

Joe Canal's is excited to announce the arrival of Hennessy V.S. KAWS!

Regular Price: $32.99 - BottleClub Price $28.99

Classic Cocktails: Old-Fashioned

Colonel James E. Pepper, a Kentucky-based distiller of bourbon, and the bartender of the Pendennis Club, Louisville, were jointly responsible for the creation of this cocktail around 1900, and it soon became a fixture from New York to Waikiki. Once referred to as a "palate-paralyzer," the Old Fashioned is a cocktail with a song in its honor, "Make it Another Old-Fashioned, Please" by Cole Porter.

Often heavily garnished, you may think that you fruit was a more recent addition, however it is found in the ealiest recipes. Only the cherry was added later, when technology made possible the mass production of maraschino cherries in the 1920s.

Old-Fashioned

-1 sugar cube
-2 dashes Angostura bitters
-Club soda
-1 1/2 oz. bourcon (rye or blended whiskey may be used instead)
-1 slice orange peel
-1 slice lemon peel
-1 slice pineapple
-1 cherry

Place sugar cube in an old-fashioned glass and soak with bitters. Add just enough club soda to cover the sugar, then muddle until the cube is completely dissolved. Add cracked ice, bourbon, orange and lemon peels, pineapple and cherry. Finish with a splash of club soda and serve with a swizzle stick.

Some variations of this drink include a dash or two of curacao.

Fork and Gobble It: Falafel Throwdown

I think I've posted enough about all things meat from shanks to livers, legs, etc., to obliterate any notion that I could ever be a vegetarian. Yet there is one food that I crave as much as any burger, chicken wing, steak, or pate... Falafel. Those wonderful little spiced patties of ground chickpeas fried to a delicate crisp texture are as tasty to me as any fish, fowl, or other critter. I love them served as a traditional sandwich in pita bread with diced cucumber, tomato, sauced with tahini, and spiked with a hot sauce. I can scarf up 2 and 3 of them at a time guiltlessly, knowing that it is practically a health food.

My dilemma was this; where do I find a purveyor of this fabulous foodstuff? It is an ethnic food of Middle Eastern origin. It is shared by many cultures including Israelis, and Lebanese. Still living in central Jersey as I do, I was unable to find a restaurant within reasonable distance that made them, never mind the quality. The last really good falafel that I had eaten came from a Middle Eastern BBQ and Pizza joint called Fatoosh in Brooklyn Heights. Great stuff but I'm not about to schlep for an hour each way for falafel. Then came the light in the darkness. Talking to a friend at the dog park in Highland Park (a town with a very large Jewish population), I asked the question "Is there a decent place for falafel around here?" He said "Sure," and told me about the kosher pizzeria in town called Jerusalem Pizza. He assured me that they served a very good falafel. He also said that there was a brand new Middle Eastern eatery in town called Shwarma, but it was as yet untested. My search was over. One Saturday afternoon on my way back home from a dog romp in the park I decided to check out Jerusalem Pizza. I pulled up in front and went to the door. What the Heck?!! It was locked and the lights were out. They were closed on a Saturday? I was a victim of my own ignorance. I finally put two and two together and realized my error. It was Jewish Sabbath. Of course they were closed. Sad and hungry I got back in my car and continued down the street when I spotted Shwarma the new eatery my friend had mentioned. I parked immediately and walked in. I ordered up three falafel sandwiches to go. I watched as the cook behind the counter used a special scoop to form the patties and dropped them into a fryer. This was going to be good. I got home and ripped into one of the sandwiches. It was delicious. There was just one question in my mind; what about Jerusalem Pizza? There would have to be a falafel throwdown.

Yesterday I made it happen. I entered Jerusalem Pizza and ordered a falafel sandwich. As I waited I looked around. The freshly made pizzas and other foods looked very good and very promising. But what was this? I watched as a cook picked up several pre-fried falafel patties from a bowl on the counter and placed them in a micro-wave. Okay, I thought. I had micro-waved pre-made falafel before and they were alright. He then packed the cucumbers, tomatoes, and some lettuce into a pita and ladled in some thin looking tahini sauce. He wrapped it up for me and I paid and left. I then went up the street to Shwarma. This time I watched as again the patties were scooped and fried to order; the pita was warmed over a grill, and the sandwich was built complete with a squirt of much thicker looking tahini and some house made hot sauce. I took my sandwiches home eager to see who made the best falafel in Highland Park. I opened each package and placed them side by side on a plate.


They looked fairly equal so I took a bite of each. (Shwarma on the left, Jerusalem Pizza on the right.) That was all it took. The pre-made patties from JP were bland by comparison. Their texture was slightly soggy and although good, they just didn't sing and dance on the palate.


The sandwich from Shwarma on the other hand was consistent with the first one I'd had. The falafel was still crunchy although it had cooled. The flavor was much more complex with notes of cumin and herbs. The tahini wasn't wet and it complimented the chickpea patty and vegetables well. It was evident that pre-made just didn't cut it in this comparison.


My only comment was that the hot sauce just wasn't hot enough. I goosed each sandwich with one of my favorite hot sauces, Mazi Piri-Piri. This delightful condiment is made right here in Asbury Park, New Jersey by Peter Mantas, a former manager for Jon Bon Jovi. It is the perfect blend of heat and flavor and it was just what I was looking for.


The results were in, the votes counted, and the clear winner was Shwarma. That being said, I would definitely go back to JP to check out their pizzas. They did look very good and were obviously being made fresh.

Washing all this veggie goodness back was a red wine perfect for the task, Chinon. The Domaine Gouron Chinon 2008 is as all Chinon must be, 100% Cabernet Franc from the village of Chinon in the Loire Valley. Only Champagne is further north in France, making it one of the coolest (temperature) French wine producing regions. The Loire produces wines with great acidity, minerality, and herbal qualities. This wine showed nice red fruit, with notes of green bell pepper, spice, and soft tannins. I would recommend it highly with vegetarian fare and it also works very nicely with the bistro classic Steak Frites.

Now safe and secure with my need for falafel in pita satisfied, I need to start a burger quest. Like Mr. Miyagi said in the Karate Kid, we must have balance.