Special Guests this Holiday Weekend!

We've got special guests coming in to both of our locations this 4th of July weekend! In Woodbridge on Saturday, June 30th from 1:00pm - 3:00pm, we welcome our friends from Voli vodka and Philippe Nover, UFC fighter, into our store for a meet and greet and bottle signing! Click here for more information!

Our Lawrenceville locations has guests coming in on both Friday and Saturday! Friday afternoon from 4:00pm - 6:00pm, we're happy to welcome Jules Coulaud, French Brand Manager for E. Guigal wines. Click here for more information!

Phillies fans will not want to miss the event on Saturday afternoon from 2:00pm - 4:00pm! Phillies legend Darren "Dutch" Daulton will be at meeting and greeting his fans!

We wish all our customers a happy and safe 4th of July week! Remember Joe Canal's for all your wine, beer and spirit needs - Good times start here, for less!

Wine 101: Riesling

Every month or so, I get together for a childless night out with my Best Friend. We always go out for sushi and I always provide the wine. Tonight I think I'll go with an easy-drinking, semi-sweet Riesling. I love it with sushi! The more Riesling I drink, the more I become a fan of it in all its different styles.

Although Riesling is growing exponentially in popularity and is being made in other countries such as France, Australia, New Zealand, Austria and the US, for the purposes of this blog, I'm going to be focusing on German Rieslings.

Riesling is considered to be one of the world's great white wine grapes. It's a native of Germany, where it's believed to have been cultivated for 500, and possibly as long as 2,000, years. Three common characteristics of German Riesling are that they are rarely blended with other varieties, hardly ever exposed to commercial yeast and usually never exposed to oak flavor (although some wine regions have begun to experiment with oak aging).

Although many people have the misconception that Riesling is strictly a sweet wine, Rieslings are made in a variety of styles, ranging from dry to very sweet.

The driest style is called Kabinett. The grapes are picked when they are just fully ripe. They have a light and elegant character, and are generally semi-sweet by default but can also be dry or off-dry.

Spatlese style is made from grapes that have sat on the vine a little longer, and have gotten riper and have a higher amount of sugar. This results, naturally, in a sweeter wine, but still not one you'd break out to have with your chocolate cake.

Auslese is sweeter still, and is sometimes considered to be a dessert wine. Auslesen can be enjoyed as an aperitif, but are usually best accompanied with food, particularly those that exhibit the hearty characteristics of German cuisine.

Then we get to the actual dessert Rieslings: Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese. The grapes used to make these styles have been left on the vine for a much longer period of time, and generally infected with a certain type of fungus called Botrytis cinerea. This is known as noble rot. This produces a fine and intensely sweet, concentrated wine.

If you're looking for a great white wine, pick up a bottle of Riesling the next time you're in the store. It goes great with fish and pork, and can stand up to the bolder flavors of Thai or Chinese cuisine. The sharp acidity/sweetness in Rieslings can serve as a good balance to foods that have a high salt content. In Germany, cabbage is sometimes cooked with riesling to reduce the vegetable's smell. Serve Riesling as you would most other whites - chilled to about 50 degrees.

Joe Canal's Presents Three Olives S'mores!

Three Olives brings the iconic summertime taste of campside s'mores to your liquor cabinet! Introducing Three Olives S'mores! A mouth-watering blend of imported English vodka with the delicious flavors of chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker.

You can be the first to raise the heat with this exclusive, delicious S'mores cocktail recipe, "The Campfire Martini!" Rim a martini glass in chocolate syrup and dip in crushed graham crackers. Pour 3 oz. Three Olives S'mores Vodka into a shaker filled with ice. Stir and strain the vodka into martini glass. Garnish with three toasted marshmallows on a skewer.

Pick up a bottle of this fun new vodka today for only $22.99 in our Bottle Club!

4th of July Cocktails

This year, the 4th of July falls on a Wednesday, so you've got your choice of two weekends to celebrate! While you're grilling poolside, mix up a few of these fun cocktails for your guests to show your patriotic "spirits"!

Red, White and Blue-tini

-2 oz. Hpnotiq
-1 oz. citrus flavored vodka
-1 splash Lemon-Lime Soda
-Grenadine

Shake all ingredients, minus grenadine, with ice and strain into a martini glass. Very slowly, add some grenadine. Garnish with shaved coconut or fresh blueberries.

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Fourth of July

-1 oz. watermelon schnapps
-1 big splash cranberry juice
-1 very thin slice jalapeno or serrano pepper
-1 slice lemon
-1 slice lime
-1 1/2 oz. tequila
-1/4 oz. blue curacao
-1/2 oz. simple syrup

Mix the schnapps and cranberry juice in a shaker; pour into an ice-filled glass.

Muddle the jalapeno pepper, lemon and lime slices, tequila, blue curacao and simple syrup (to make a batch, dissolve sugar in equal parts hot water and chill) in the shaker. Slowly strain into the glass over the red layer. Garnish with watermelon, if desired. via Food Network

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Red, White and Blue Shooter

-1/3 oz. blue curaçao
-1/3 oz. grenadine
-1/3 oz. peach schnapps

Pour the grenadine into a shot glass. Next, float the peach schnapps on top of the grenadine. Last, float the blue curaçao on top of the peach schnapps. The key to layered shooters like this is to slowly pour the ingredients over a bar spoon in a certain order according the density of the liquid. via about.com

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Blue Hawaiian

-2 oz pineapple juice
-3/4 oz rum
-3/4 oz blue curaçao
-3/4 oz creme de coconut
-maraschino cherry or strawberry slices, and pineapple wedges for garnish

Pour the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice cubes. Stir well. Strain into a collins glass filled with ice cubes. Garnish with the cherry/strawberries and pineapple.

Zardetto Portfolio Director Tasting / Meet & Greet this Weekend in Lawrenceville!

Wine Tasting featuring Zardetto
Portfolio Director Salvatore Galati!
Saturday, June 23rd
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Joe Canal's Lawrenceville

We invite you to join us on Saturday, June 23rd as we welcome Salvatore Galati to our Lawrenceville store! Come sample some delicious wines, and bring your wine questions for our expert!

Salvatore Galati was born in Mottola, a little hillside town in the region of Puglia in the South of Italy. Right after graduating he started working as a vineyard tender in the morning and a waiter in the evening. He says, “In my youth I have never encountered anyone that wasn’t involved in wine making or drinking in some kind of way”. During the next 5 years he developed deep knowledge of the relationship between food and wine and at the age of 22 he purchased his first restaurant in the City of Treviso, 15 miles outside Venice.

In 1995 he sold his interest in the restaurant and moved to the US where he started working in Princeton NJ as a Restaurant floor Manager. In 1997 he was asked to join the owners in their new venture in New Brunswick NJ. His new experience in the New World taught him about the importance of educating the public on the subject of wine and he decided to again sell his interests and to join Winebow as a Junior District Manager, representing wines from Italy. His main role was to conduct seminars, classes for consumers, restaurant staff and retail shops.

In 2003 he was promoted to State Manager covering the State of NJ. In 2005 he became an Area Manger covering NJ, PA and DC. In 2007 he was again promoted to the position of Regional Manager covering NJ, PA, DC, DE, MD, VA and WV. In 2009 the State of NY was added to his territory.

Currently he holds the position of Portfolio Director for Winebow Old World Wines, covering Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria and Hungary. Salvatore is a Certified Sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers.

A Very Special Guest is coming to Lawrenceville!

Hey Phillies fans! Have you heard who's coming to visit Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville?

Join us on Saturday, June 30th for your chance to meet Phillies legend Darren "Dutch" Daulton! He'll be at our Lawrenceville store for a meet and greet, signing memorabilia and saying hello to all the Phillies fans who can make it out. This special event is sponsored by Yuengling Lager and Yuengling Light Lager.

"Dutch" is best known for his outstanding years in Major League Baseball. As a catcher for the Phillies and the Marlins he made his mark with his work behind the plate and at bat. During his 14-year career he was chosen as an All-Star 3 times.

Mark your calendar for Saturday the 30th, and don't miss your chance to meet "Dutch!"

Temperature Matters

The temperature is soaring into the high 90s in New Jersey this week, and we're cranking up the A/C to make ourselves more comfortable.

What about those bottles that have been sitting on your counter? Well, temperature matters to those, too, and if you don't take care of your wines, you could be left with some not-so-fantastic tasting wine come October.

The ideal storage temperature of wine is 50 to 55 degrees fahrenheit, but a range of 45 to 70 degrees is considered completely acceptable. What's important is that the storage temperature remain constant or, if it changes, that the change not be drastic. The warmer temperatures of the summer cause wine to age faster, so if you're the type that doesn't care much for AC unless it's unbearable, now might be the time to relocate those special bottles you're saving to your cooler basement for a while. If you're like me and don't have a basement, very wine refrigerators are available for under $100. They hold, generally, around 16 bottles of wine and are compact enough to keep on your kitchen counter.

When we're serving pink and white wines during these warm summer months, the ideal temperature to serve them at is somewhere between 40 and 55 degrees, depending on the complexity of the wine's flavor. More intricately flavored wines should be served on the warmer side of this range in order to fully reveal their full scope of aromas and flavors.

Chilling or cooling wine can be accomplished by placing the bottle in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 hours, depending on the desired final temperature. OR wine can be chilled in about 20 minutes by submerging the bottle in an ice (or wine) bucket filled with half cold water and half ice. If the bucket isn't tall enough for the ice and water to cover the bottle's neck, invert the bottle for the last 5 minutes, as long as there isn't a lot of sediment in the bottle. If you're serving the wine on your deck or patio for dinner, bring the ice bucket outside to keep the wine cold. Conversely, wines that are too cold can be quickly but gently warmed by placing the bottle in a bucket of warm water for about 5 minutes.

Joe Canal's Presents Absolut CherryKran!

We're proud to offer the newest Absolut flavor, ABSOLUT CHERRYKRAN!

ABSOLUT CHERRYKRAN is smooth and mellow with a long fruity and berry finish with notes of sun-ripe cherries, fresh white cranberry and sweet plum. Just as with all other of our products, ABSOLUT CHERRYKRAN is made exclusively from natural ingredients and unlike most other flavored vodkas, it doesn’t contain any added sugar or added preservatives.

The main ingredients in ABSOLUT CHERRYKRAN are ABSOLUT VODKA and sun-ripe cherries, fresh white cranberry and sweet plum. ABSOLUT VODKA is made from water and winter wheat. The water comes from a deep well in Ahus where it’s protected from impurities. The winter wheat is also grown in Ahus and differs from other crops: it’s sown one fall, and harvested the next one. Days in between it grows under the Swedish snow developing its hard grain. Also, the use of fertilizers is minimized. Of course, the sun-ripe cherries, fresh white cranberry and sweet plum are as natural as the rest of the ingredients. Its taste is so multi-dimensional, that you can make a sophisticated drink just by adding one ingredient. ABSOLUT CHERRYKRAN incredibly easy to mix.

Try ABSOLUT CHERRYKRAN today for only $25.49 for a 1L bottle!

Father's Day Weekend at Joe Canal's!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads!

This weekend, in addition to our Woodford Reserve bottle engraving from 12:00 - 3:00pm in Woodbridge and 5:00pm - 8:00pm in Lawrenceville, we've got specialty kegs being tapped, fantastic wines being poured, and more!

Tonight in LAWRENCEVILLE at 6:00pm, we're tapping a keg of Innis & Gunn Rum Cask. You can read more about this special beer by clicking here.

Our weekend wine tasting this week features selections for Dad, including Dom Perignon! Join us for your free samples, tonight from 4:00 - 6:00, and tomorrow 2:00 - 4:00! Click here to check out everything we'll be pouring for you!

Tonight in WOODBRIDGE at 6:00pm, we're tapping a keg of Green Flash San Diego Saison. You can read more about this brew by clicking here.

Our weekend wine tasting this week features selections for Dad, including Dom Perignon! Join us for your free samples, tonight from 4:00 - 6:00! Click here to check out everything we'll be pouring for you!

Also, tomorrow afternoon from 1:00pm - 3:00pm we have Ryan Caswell in our Liquid Learning Center with his Whiskey 101 Class! Deadline to register was yesterday but we still have a few spots available for a great last minute gift for Dad! The cost is only $10 per person, please click here for all the details!

Father's Day Bottle Engraving

Are you still searching for a great Father's Day gift? This Saturday in both of our stores, representatives from Woodford Reserve will be in both of our locations, personally engraving bottles for the bourbon-loving dad in your life.

Woodford Reserve isn't manufactured, it's hand crafted in small batches. This artisinal process allows us to craft it at all five sources of bourbon flavor giving it its distinct taste and crisp, clean finish.

This Saturday, June 16, our friends from Woodford Reserve will be in our Woodbridge location from 12:00 - 3:00 pm, and in our Lawrenceville location from 5:00 - 8:00pm. Surprise dad with a bottle engraved with a special message just for him!

Joe Canal's Presents Angostura Rums!

Angostura 1824: Angostura® 1824 is a blend of the finest mature rums, hand-picked by the Master Blender from selected casks.

These rums are aged in charred American oak bourbon barrels for a minimum of twelve years and then skillfully hand blended and re-casked. Upon the rum’s optimum maturity it is hand-drawn, filtered and bottled. It is thenoffered in very limited supply for your enjoyment.

Sip and enjoy this extraordinary and sensually crafted blend neat, on the rocks or with your favorite cigar.

Try it today for only $51.99!



Angostura 1919: Angostura® 1919 is a specially blended multiple award winning rum, which celebrates a very particular date in the development of the rum industry in Trinidad & Tobago, as well as the Caribbean.

After a fire in 1932, which destroyed the Government Rum Bond, the master blender of Fernandes Distillers, J.B. Fernandes, bought the charred casks, only to discover they had been filled in the year 1919.

The prized rum was skillfully blended and called "1919 Aged Rum."

Try it today for only $31.99!

Father's Day Gift Idea - Whiskey 101

Whiskey 101 Class
Featuring Ryan Caswell
Saturday, June 16th
1:00pm - 3:00pm
$10 per person
Joe Canal's Woodbridge
Joe Canal's Discount Liquor Outlet in Woodbridge is happy to welcome Ryan Caswell to our store to lead a Whiskey 101 class! Ryan is a true whiskey enthusiast, excited to bring his passion for the history, art and science of distilling to you. His love of whiskey began as a hobby searching and sharing new bottles while performing tastings for friends and family in his home. Previously in the life science & biotech industries, Ryan has a degree in Electronic Engineering and spent nearly 5 years in the US Navy traveling the globe. Along with his passion for whiskey he brings a strong experience in business development and promoting products in the market place. Ryan resides in Toms River, NJ along the Jersey Shore with his wife Lorraine and 1 year old son Sean.

Ryan's informative class will teach you the basics of whiskey, and will include sampling of five fantastic spirits:

Deanston 12
Bunnahabhain 12
Ledaig 10
Willet Pot Still
Rowan's Creek

There's still time to register! The cost of the class is $10 per person, and space is limited so be sure to reserve your spot today! Reservations can be made by phone or in person at Joe Canal's Discount Liquor Outlet:

489 US Route 1 South Iselin, NJ 08830 732-726-0077

Cancellations Accepted Up To 24 Hours Before Event.

Marc Mondavi Visits Joe Canal's Lawrenceville

We've had a very exciting week at Joe Canal's Discount Liquor Outlets of Woodbridge and Lawrenceville! Earlier we reported on Apothic Winemaker Boyd Morrison's visit to Woodbridge. A very special guest also stopped by Lawrenceville this week, Marc Mondavi!

Marc signed bottles and spoke with customers and staff about his new Divining Rod wines. As a teenager Marc discovered he possessed an unexpected, mysterious talent - the ability to locate underground water using divining rods. The gift earned him the title "Water Witch" and enabled him to plant great vineyards throughout California.

Marc brought his divining rods with him in the store and even allowed a few lucky staff members to try them out!

Water Divination, or dowsing, traces its roots back to Europe in the 1500s. Dowsing has been used to find a variety of things - from precious metals to life sustaining water. It is the latter that has been employed successfully by farmers for hundreds of years and enabled countless generations to irrigate myriad crops crucial to our very existence.

It was enlightening and interesting to speak with Marc, and we thank him for taking the time out of his busy schedule to come and see us and our customers! Watch the video below to see Marc speak about being a "Water Witch," and the Divining Rod wines.

Winemaker Boyd Morrison Visits Joe Canal's Iselin

Winemaker Boyd Morrison stopped in at our Iselin location on Tuesday, June 5th to sign bottles of Apothic Red and White and talk to our customers while they tasted them. When we asked Boyd what the grape blend in his wines were, he responded with "Delicious." Boyd was laid back, easy to talk to and educated everyone on his wines. The red is a blend of Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, Merlot and Cabernet. The white is a blend of Chardonnay, Riesling and Moscato. Both are easy drinking and only $9.99 in the bottle club.

Boyd does have a little secret, though. The wines are never the same from year to year mixing up the blends and grapes after each harvest. Have fun exploring each new vintage as they only get better and better.

We still have signed bottles at our Iselin location, so pick them up while supplies last. In case you missed him, you can watch Wine Manager Wilson Arizmendi chat with Boyd about his wines in the video below.

A Perfect Father's Day Gift

Looking for the perfect Father's Day gift for the Scotch loving dad in your life? Pick up this Glenlivet gift set, due in stores later this week!

The set includes a 750ML bottle of Glenlivet, as well as 50ML bottles of Glenlivet 15 and 18.

About Glenlivet: Two centuries ago, the illicit whisky from the remote and wild region of Glenlivet was sought after for its smooth and characterful qualities. The defining fruity ‘pineapple’ note from the sma’ stills lives on to this day in George Smith’s definitive legacy of The Glenlivet. The Single Malt That Started It All.

This gift set will be available in our Bottle Club for only $37.99!

Whiskey 101

Scotch Whisky is the spirit of Scotland. Malt Scotches are made from barley malt, which is dried over a peat fire. The smoke from the peat fire is where much of the taste of the final product comes from. Once dried, the malt is mixed with yeast and water and allowed to distill. Single malt scotches are the product of a single distillery, while blended scotches are a mixture of several different whiskies, plus grain whiskey. There is also Grain Scotch Whisky, which is made by mashing wheat or corn with water. An enzyme is added to break the starch down into sugar, and then yeast is added to begin fermentation. Grain Whisky stays in a still throughout its distillation process and is then added to wooden casks to age.

Rye Whiskey follows the same basic procedures as Scotch, but is made from a fermented mash containing at least 51% rye. It must be produced at no more than 160 proof and aged in new, charred oak barrels for at least 2 years to be classified as "straight."

Canadian Whisky is a type of whisky produced in Canada. Most Canadian whiskies are blended multi-grain liquors containing a large percentage of corn spirits, and are typically lighter and smoother than other whisky styles. Because rye was once a standard ingredient in Canadian whisky, the terms "rye" and "Canadian whisky" are often used interchangeably, and erroneously, in Canada.

Irish Whiskey is usually a blend of several whiskies of different ages. Malted barly, unmalted barley and other grains (rye, corn) are used.

Bourbon is made in the United States. By law, it must contain at least 51% corn, but cannot contain more than 80% alcohol. The remainder is made up of various other grains such as rye or wheat. All Bourbons use what is called the sour mash process. This is a process in which a sample from the last batch is added to each consecutive batch to control the bacteria growth in the mixture. Bourbon is aged in new, charred barrels for a minimum of two years (but usually much longer). Bourbon is considered a "fuller bodied" whiskey than Scotch or Irish and some say it does have a bit more "sweet" taste on the palate.

Want to learn more about Whiskey? Join us for a Father's Day Weekend Whiskey 101 Class and tasting, featuring Ryan Caswell! The cost is only $10 per person. Click here for more info!

Food Pairings: Rose

A natural choice for a late spring afternoon sipper is a cool, refreshing rose. What foods would pair well with your favorite pink wine?

A bit about the wine: Rose wines are are made from red grapes and begin their transformation into wine like any other red wine would, with the skin intact and on the pulp of the grapes. They ferment with the skins for only a few days, just long enough to get a little color and retain some of the skin characteristics. The skins are then removed and fermentation is completed as if it were a white wine, most often in stainless steel. What you're left with is a delicate pink wine that can range from very dry, to very sweet, depending on the winemaker, region or amount of time the grapes were allowed to remain in contact with the skin.

Some cheeses that would work well with Rose include:

Feta: Tangy, salty Feta is a nice match with the zippy acidity in rosé. Serve the feta alone or paired with olives and hummus.

Goat Cheese: Goat cheese has a tangy flavor that pairs well with wines that are bright and pleasantly acidic.

As far as other foods, rose wines pair well with an amazing variety of foods, from spicy foods to poultry. Try a rose with any type of egg dish. Rose is ideal for afternoon parties since it pairs well with quiche, frittata and omelets. You may also give it a try the next time you order in Thai or Indian; Normally, most people drink beer with Indian or Thai curries because they don't match well with red or white wines. If you're not a beer drinker, give rose a try with these dishes. Pair light, fruity rose with a grilled or roasted poultry dish, just as you would a white wine. Light rose wines go especially well with fruit-flavored poultry dishes such as chicken teriyaki or lemon chicken. You can also pair a light rose with barbecued chicken.

How do you pair your rose?