Friday Grab Bag

From all reports, the snow storm won't start until pretty late today, Friday. We suggest stopping in to Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville or Woodbridge on your way home tonight. Consult our Twitter feeds for information on weather-related changes to our store hours.

In-Store Events

We're going ahead with our planned tasting for today. It's a wine tasting in Lawrenceville, 4-6pm. Click here for the tasting menu. In Woodbridge, we're sampling Hiro Sake, 4-7pm. Both stores have wine tastings scheduled for Saturday, but if we get the amount of snow that the forecasters are suggesting, well, you know the rest.

In February, look for tastings of Jim Beam Apple and Kentucky Fire at our Woodbridge store. UPDATE: We've just added tastings of Henry's Hard Soda on February 7 and 21.

As an aside, we're not joining the crowd who are naming these winter storms. There is a government agency that names tropical storms and hurricanes, and they started doing so in 1953. Winter storm names started in 2012, and are attributable to one of the commercial weather forecasting services, so until they break out a name like "Winter Storm Cabernet", we'll skip their naming system.

New Products

Poggio Anima Asmodeus Nero D'Avola. Of all of the varietals of Italy, Nero d’Avola is as lustful and pleasurable as it gets. Rich, peppery and opulent. It has many of the same characteristics of Syrah and is the most important grape of Sicily. Dark ruby-red. Blackberry and dark plum on the fresh nose, with complicating notes of anise, shoe polish and fresh herbs. Bright and juicy on entry, then firmer in the middle, offering dark cherry and plum flavors and a hint of cola. A musky herbal note comes up with air on the moderately long finish, with the cola note recurring.

New to the Lawrenceville store is the 1.5 liter size of this wine. That should get you through a weekend snowstorm. Only $28.96 in the Bottle Club®.

Poggio Anima Lilith Primitivo. Also in Lawrenceville only, in the 1.5 liter size, at $28.96 in the Bottle Club®.

Primitivo refuses to be submissive to the oenology that it is the same grape as its close relative Zinfandel. Many subscribe to this idea, though they are both mutations of Crljenak, a Croatian varietal. Primitivo always brings plenty of flesh and ripeness to the table with a solid spine of certainty and structure.

This is a subtly floral expression of this this mighty red grape from Southern Italy. Rich purple in color, inviting aromas of spiced cherries and black fruits complement undertones of tobacco and dried plums. It is a full-bodied wine, warm and soft on the palate with flavors that continue to evolve into the finish.

Both of these wines, in the 1.5 liter size, are available in very limited quantities.

Flying Dog Single Hop Series, HBC-291 Imperial IPA. Lemon/lime, pineapple and black pepper hop bite dominate so try this bad boy with lemon pepper chicken and Hawaiian pizza. 8.0% ABV, 75 IBU's. Very limited availability.

Bolero Snort Rotatabull 002. It's been on our Growler station already, and the bottles started rolling out LAST weekend. Bottles of this batch have WHITE caps (as opposed to 001’s green). 002 is super floral and fruity with background

notes of pine. The downside to putting a MASSIVE amount of Simcoe, Ahtanum and Palisade in this batch was slightly smaller yield/less bottles with the next batch not due out till early March. In Woodbridge only, with very limited availability. 22oz bottles.

                                                Ripped from the Headlines

More whiskey? Heaven Hill Brands is planning to undertake a $15.5 million expansion project at its Bernheim Distillery, reports the Louisville Business Journal. The expansion marks the third for Bernheim—where Heaven Hill distills Evan Williams, Elijah Craig and other brands—since 1999. Upgrades will include a 4,600-square-foot addition, three new fermenters and a new still, with work likely to begin in the next few months. (from Shanken News).

Have a great weekend, and be safe!