Beer & Wine Weekly Update: October 13, 2014

My venture into the beer and wine world started in a little place called Troy, NY.  For most people that have not lived in Troy, there are some fairly negative stigmas that create a less than savory perception of the town.  But those who have lived there, or live there now, know better.  The community in Troy is as strong as it is here in Burlington, and the city has plenty to offer when it comes to art, music, and of course, beer and wine.  Now I know what you may be thinking, why all of this talk about Troy, NY in a City Market Beer & Wine blog?  The answer is simple: sticking to your roots is important.  I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t picked up that first bartending gig at José Malone’s, an eclectic Mexican Irish Pub and Tequilaria.  So, to pay a little homage to where it all started for this Beer & Wine Manager, we have introduced Brown’s Brewing Co. to our set.  Located on River St. in Troy, Brown’s has been making great craft beer since 1993.  We are happy to make their Oatmeal Stout and Cream Ale available to City Market’s customers.

Changes in the Department

In addition to bringing in Brown’s Brewing Co., there are some other new introductions to the department.  The biggest is the introduction of 500 ml wine tetra packs to our set.  The Sake set transformation is finally complete, which made a lot of room for the tetra packs, as well as a few new boxed wines.  As for the tetra packs, we have four varietals from Bota and four varietals from Bandit.  These containers are made from 100% recyclable material, contain about 3 glasses worth of wine, are incredibly convenient, and are a great value.  Perfect to bring along for a fall hike. 

I’m really excited about the two new boxed wines we brought in as well.  Both are wines we’ve carried in bottles before and were very popular.  First off is Esporao Alandra Tinto: a relaxed, fruit forward wine that is incredibly smooth and pairs well with a multitude of foods.  The second new box is Vina Borgia Garnacha: a rich, ripe red with notes of raspberry, mulberry and raisin.  Both of these three liter boxes are a great value at $19.99.  As always, if you need help locating these new products, or anything else, feel free to ask our knowledgeable staff!

Local Wine of the Week

The past two weeks I’ve reviewed local beers, so I figured it was time to switch gears and put some local wine in the spotlight.  A beautiful Vermont vineyard to visit, especially in the fall, is Boyden Valley Winery.  Located in Cambridge, VT just off of Route 104, Boyden has been producing fantastic Vermont wines, ciders, and even cream liqueurs for four generations.  This week I decided to drink a bottle of wine I hadn’t had since my wife’s first visit to Vermont (about three years ago), Rose’ La Juju.  I figured it had been so long that it was time for a good refresher. 

The wine pours translucent crimson red in color with pink hues.  Don’t let the dark color fool you, this is not a sugar bomb.  The nose is subtle, with sweet red berry and citrus notes.  The wine itself had a pleasant and smooth mouth feel, with light acidity and a subtle tartness.  Notes of tart raspberry and strawberry lead to a relatively dry finish.  Overall, the wine had a great balance, was refreshing, and made for a great nightcap alongside the season premiere of Homeland.  This would pair very well with salad, poultry, and light pasta dishes.

Weekly Winners

This week we are featuring a two Argentinian wines, as well as a few varieties of beer from Smuttynose, a fantastic New England brewery.

When you think wines from Argentina, you think of two things: Malbec and Torrontes.  Valle de la Puerta, established in 1994 works over 350 acres of grapevine.  The vineyard sits in Famatina Valley, Argentina, a special microclimate (hot and dry summer days with cool nights), that provides perfect ripening conditions for grapes.  This climate is due to the valley’s location, right between the Famatina and Velasco mountain ranges.  Both the Malbec and Torrontes from La Puerta are exceptional values.  They are perfect examples of what Argentina has to offer, at a great price.

The beers we are featuring this week all come from Smuttynose Brewing Company, a great brewery out of New Hampshire.  Smuttynose is a brewery that is dedicated to making great beer while being as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible.  They grow a lot of the ingredients used in their beers on site at Towle Farm in Hampton, NH, are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified, and won the first annual Aquarion Environmental Champion Award.  This week we are featuring their Old Brown Dog, Robust Porter, and IPA!

Beer and Wine News

As a lot of you may have noticed, Citizen Cider cans have been hard to find as of late.  I just wanted to let everyone know that we are still carrying them, but that they are just not as readily available right now as they used to be.  Citizen will be pushing out more cans soon, and as soon as we can get them, they will be available in the department.  In the meantime, we have bRosé in cans, as well as everything Citizen has to offer in bottle form.  Citizen continues to make an amazing product, and City Market will continue to support them to the fullest extent we can.

You also may have noticed the influx in availability of Fiddlehead Mastermind Double IPA cans.  It looks like we will be receiving an order of them every other week on Tuesdays.  This is not set in stone, but for now it’s the current schedule.  The Mastermind is a phenomenal Double IPA, and we are very excited to see it on a more regular basis. This week is an off week for the delivery, so expect more Mastermind next Tuesday!

Thanks for reading!  If you have any questions, concerns, or topics you’d like me to cover feel free to shoot me an email at jdowns@citymarket.coop, or give me a call at 802-861-9730.  Hope everyone has a great week, Prost!