Viva Diva in Lawrenceville

The Viva Diva, Christina Milian, will appear at our Lawrenceville store on Friday, September 12. The specifics of the event will be announced shortly.

Within the next couple of days, the Viva Diva Mango, Peach, Pineapple-Coconut and Strawberry Moscatos will be available in Lawrenceville. These wines all originate in Italy's Piedmont region. They start with a high quality sweet, slightly sparkly wine and infuse it with natural flavors.

Christina Milian, the multi-talented phenomenon whose resume includes film, television, theater and music, her Mother and manger, Carmen Milian and publicist, Robyn Santiago, share in ownership of the brand.  The brand has been recognized for taste, quality and price point.

Snow Grumble Grumble Snow

We don't remember moving to Siberia; that's our best explanation for this weather. Can we please trade this mess in for a warm summer day?

So if we're going to get you to come visit us, we'll make the trip worthwhile. In Lawrenceville, we have a free wine tasting today, from 4-6pm. The tasting menu is here. Also today, at 5pm, we're tapping Matilda, from Goose Island, our featured brewery in February, at the Growler station. You can find tasting notes and pricing information here. The scheduled events wrap up on Saturday, with another free wine tasting, from 2-4pm.

At our Woodbridge store, things are similar, but still different. Our free Friday wine tasting also runs from 4-6pm, and the tasting menu is here. At 6pm, while the wine team is cleaning up, our beer team steps up with a double tapping of Slumbrew, our Featured Brewery for February. We'll tap Trekker Tripel and Sittin' On Hop of the World. Tasting notes and pricing information can be found here.

The Saturday wine tasting in Woodbridge is a departure from our routine. The time is different (5-7pm), and the wines will be different than what we're tasting on Friday. We'll offer samples of four different wines from 90+ Cellars. 90+ Cellars offers Saturday night taste at a Tuesday night price. To see the full menu, with pricing information, please go here.

At Joe Canal's, we're committed to offering the best products at the best prices. And having the opportunity to sample products before you buy is one great way for you experience that. Because at Joe Canal's, the Good Times Start Here...For Less!

Raffle Prizes as an Antidote to Snow!

As we look out the office window mid-day today, we see it's finally gotten around to snowing. The weather report indicated that we'd get an inch or two of snow today, which shouldn't be enough to deter you from stopping in to Joe Canal's, New Jersey's wine & spirits Superstore.

In case you need an extra reason to visit Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville or Woodbridge, let me give you  five extra reasons instead.

Both Lawrenceville (2-4pm) and Woodbridge (1-3pm) will have their regular Saturday wine tastings. Click for the tasting menu at both stores. The menu at Woodbridge includes one of the Downton Abbey wines.

Today we're also continuing our pre-Big Game activities with 9:00pm raffle drawings at each store.

 

In Lawrenceville, the prize is this 32" TV. Sorry, but the beer is not included.








And in Woodbridge, the prize is this Sam Adams Fire Pit. That's pretty tempting, given the weather lately!








For our daily raffles, tickets are only collected on the day of the drawing, so the more days that you visit our stores, the more chances you have to win! No purchase is necessary to participate in the drawings. Follow the links for the complete prize list and Rules for Lawrenceville and Woodbridge.

Our fifth extra reason is today's specialty tapping in Lawrenceville. Our Big Game specialty tappings started a few days ago in Lawrenceville, and will begin on Monday, January 27 in Woodbridge. In Lawrenceville, today we're tapping Stone Double Bastard.

Tomorrow, each store will raffle off a Big Game catered party for 10. So there's a head start on your reasons to visit Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville and Woodbridge tomorrow!

What We Enjoy

Particularly from Thanksgiving through Christmas, the staff at Joe Canal's are asked for suggestions on the best wines, or other beverage alcohol items, to pair with meals, to serve as aperitifs, or as digestifs. And after we assist our customers, we have to make those same choices for ourselves. A few of our team members told us about their selections.

David Rudd, Floor Manager, Woodbridge: "We drank a no-frills, but delicious, Sangria made with a Carlo Rossi jug wine, fruit brandy, and as much sliced fruit as would fit in a five gallon bucket. We had a gorgeous red from Mercurey (Burgundy) with the turkey. After dinner we had some bottle-aged Dogfish Head 120, Fultons Harvest Apple Pie cream liqueur and a delicious absinthe concoction with lime, sugar and water that tasted like liquid fennel salad."

Mike Reardon, Receiving Manager, Lawrenceville: "We had the Dead Bolt red blend for Thanksgiving. We liked it so much that we'll probably have it again at Christmas. I also had some of the Innis and Gunn Holiday pack."

Lindsey Daly, Supervisor, Lawrenceville: "I'm drinking The Bruery Autumn Maple for Thanksgiving; its a delicious yam beer. For Christmas I'm going to drink mostly stouts; Left Hand Nitro milk stout, Terrapin Moo Hoo chocolate stout, and Founders Breakfast Stout. And we'll start Christmas morning with Bloody Mary's, made with Tito's vodka."

Yes, after we help you, we enjoy shopping where we work. Please ask us for suggestions. Our knowledgeable team members are happy to help.

Ladies Night Out in Lawrenceville - Recap

Ladies Night Out at Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville was an important part of Breast Cancer Awareness month. It was a chance to go out with friends to taste wine, enjoy some snacks, and check out vendors that offered bags, chocolate, relaxation therapy, and more wine. This was one of a limited number of after-hours events on the Joe Canal's calendar.

The first-class treatment started as people entered the store, with a sample of sparkling wine poured by Toni Carver, our Store Manager.

And the guests then moved throughout the store, where vendors were available in every aisle.

Some were service providers, and some were here to showcase popular wines.



 And we mentioned snacks, right?

About 150 people attended this special event. Ladies Night Out ran for two hours, giving guests plenty of time to visit all of the vendors, sample the legal limit of wine, and do a little shopping as well. A DJ was on hand to provide a little extra entertainment, and some guests decided a little dancing was called for:

Definitely not something we see every day at Joe Canal's.

The evening was filled with lots of positives. The guests had a good time. The vendors appreciated the attention they received. Plenty of wine was sold, which led, in turn, to help in the fight against breast cancer. We're posted more pictures from Ladies Night Out on the Events page of our web site (look for the button on that page), http://jcanals.com/events.php. Thanks to all who participated for a great evening.