Where's Our Springtime Grab Bag

It's a pretty big weather mess as this is being written, and it looks like the cover stays on our grill for another weekend. Mother's Day is a rain or shine event, so we'll do our shopping with everyone else this weekend. Our staff has some great recommendations for Mother's Day wine; click here for the details.

Events in Lawrenceville

We have our regular wine tasting today, 4-6pm. Click here for the tasting menu. We have a special tasting of Charles Smith wines on Saturday, 2-4pm. This tasting is called "Netflix and Chill," and we're raffling off a Netflix gift card as part of the event (no purchase necessary to enter the drawing). Sample some great wines and maybe win a Netflix gift card? That's a great way to spend part of your Saturday afternoon. Click here for details.

Remember that we're participating in a Harley-Davidson motorcycle raffle, in partnership with Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum. The

HD will be on display at our Woodbridge store for the month of June, but we'll be accepting raffle entries in Lawrenceville. The drawing will take place at the end of the summer.

In the next few weeks, in addition to an assortment of tastings, we have several different bottle engravings on our schedule. A personalized bottle of wine or scotch makes an outstanding gift for Father's Day or a college graduation. Click here for the full schedule of events in Lawrenceville.

Events in Woodbridge

We have another very busy tastings weekend in Woodbridge. In honor of Saturday's Kentucky Derby, we have two different Mint Julep tastings. Today's tasting will run from 4-7pm, featuring Maker's Mark. This is not your typical Mint Julep. It's Maker's Mark Bourbon and mint chocolate chip ice cream.

On Saturday, the Mint Julep tasting is more traditional, and will feature Woodford Reserve. We still have a few of the limited-edition Woodford Reserve Kentucky Derby bottles available, so get that collectible item while you can. This will run from 1-3pm, giving you plenty of time to get home for the race.

We're also offering a limited wine tasting on Saturday, from 1-3pm. Because of the Mint Julep tasting we can only have a couple of wine choices. Click here for more information.

Our Saturday events close with a Leinenkugel's sampling, from 4-6pm.

As we noted earlier, Joe Canal's in Woodbridge will be one of only four stores in New Jersey to display a Harley-Davidson motorcycle this summer. Stop in during the month of June to see what you might win. For the complete schedule of events in Woodbridge, please click here.

New Products

Planet Oregon Pinot Noir. Established in 2009, Planet Oregon was founded with a goal to make delicious, environmentally responsible wine at an accessible price. In short, a wine you can enjoy on a Tuesday and feel great about. For Planet Oregon, winemakers James Cahill and Tony Soter make Pinot Noir for the people with respect to the planet. They continually seek to produce and bottle delicious young Pinot Noir that is consistently fresh, silky and suggestive of Oregon summer cherries and berries. Pinot of this quality will never be cheap but the value should be as obvious as the exuberant aromas and flavors.

This scored 90 points from Wine Spectator. "Dark and spicy, sleek in texture, with clove and white pepper overtones to the focused blackberry and plum fruit, lingering against hints of tobacco and walnut. Drink now through 2019." Only $18.99 in the Bottle

Club®.

Mount Riley Sauvignon Blanc. Complex nose, with overt aromas of passionfruit, pink grapefruit, citrus and greener components of crushed herb, capsicum and gooseberries. Fantastic fruit weight and intensity of flavor is matched with mouth-watering acidity. Drinking well now, this wine can be enjoyed until late 2018. Great as an aperitif or match with seafood, light meats, pasta, salads or Asian cuisine. Only $10.49 in the Bottle Club®. And if you need a matching red, we're also stocking the Mount Riley Pinot Noir.

Southern Tier Hop Sun. Pour Hop Sun Summer Wheat Beer into a pint glass, give it a long whiff and you’ll realize that this isn’t your average wheat beer. Filtered to a golden clarity and dry-hopped to perfection, Hop Sun is a fantastic session ale in which flavors of

wheat, barley and hops co-mingle to a refreshing and zesty conclusion. Hints of lemon and sweet malts waft to the fore as a touch of bitterness contributes to Hop Sun’s bright finish. Enjoy Hop Sun all summer long as a perfect balance to your outdoor recreation. Summer never tasted so good. pairs with fresh mozzarella, berries, gazpacho, light picnic fare and BBQ. 5.1% ABV.

                                                      Ripped from the Headlines

Hipster beer lawsuit, from Shanken News. Pabst Brewing is suing MillerCoors, claiming the brewing giant has breached a long-term supply contract. Pabst says the alleged breach could cost it $400 million if unresolved, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. MillerCoors and Pabst Brewing began negotiating an extension to their 2007 supply agreement last year (MillerCoors has been producing Pabst products since 1999). In the midst of those talks, MillerCoors announced it would close its Eden, North Carolina brewery, which produces Pabst labels. MillerCoors still offered to extend the Pabst deal beyond 2020, the Journal-Sentinel said, but only if the current fee is tripled. Pabst, which says it was previously assured that MillerCoors would have sufficient capacity to contract brew its beers into the next decade, asserts that the proposed increase amounts to a poison pill meant to scuttle any extension.

Have a great weekend! And Happy Mother's Day!