There are few greater moments than taking the first sip of a refreshing cold beer. We’d argue it’s one of life’s most precious pleasures. But, one of life’s not-so-precious-moments is when you’re sitting around the fire with friends, drinking said beer, only for your next sip to be a lot warmer than you expected. Nobody likes struggling through a warm beer, and thankfully, there’s a way to make sure you never get close to crossing the point of no return. These Cooler Than Cool Pint Glasses are the simplest way to keep your favorite brew extra frosty, even while sitting by a scorching bonfire. The double-wall tumbler contains a proprietary gel that freezes extra cold and stays extra cold while drinking your NEIPA. For additional insulation, the silicone band on the pints keeps your hands from warming up your beer, while also making the glass comfortable to hold. Just a couple of hours in the freezer, and the pints are ready to go. You can store one or two in the freezer, so whenever the moment strikes, you have your gateway to a cold brew always on deck. Plus, these pints are made of BPA-free plastic, meaning they are perfect for lounging in the hot tub, having a socially-distant picnic in the park, or wherever else a glass vessel could be problematic. They also come in multiple shapes (and even glass variants if you prefer), meaning you’ll always be keeping things cool. Not entirely sold? Not only are they 30% off right now, but beer drinkers across the country swear by them. According to one reviewer, “The gel in these glasses lasts through 3 beers. And the band of rubber makes the glass enjoyable to hold and have to freeze your fingers off.” Trust us — your Pilsner will thank you. The article The Best Glasses for Cold Beer (And They’re On Sale Now) appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/picks/best-cold-beer-glass-black-friday-2020/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/the-best-glasses-for-cold-beer-and-theyre-on-sale-now
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At the end of a long day, there’s nothing like a glass of Lagavulin, Johnny Walker, or Blanton’s to finish things off on a high note. If you prefer a dram of fantastic whiskey, Scotch, or bourbon (same!), this is the gear that you should be buying for yourself and your fellow whiskey lovers, all marked down for our Black Friday sale.
The article 10 Great Black Friday Weekend Deals For Whiskey Lovers (2020) appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/picks/best-black-friday-deals-whiskey-2020/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/10-great-black-friday-weekend-deals-for-whiskey-lovers-2020 The Manhattan is easily the most famous of the cocktails named after New York’s five boroughs and by far the best. A carefully balanced mix of whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters, with a cocktail cherry garnish, it is a timeless masterpiece. As with many of the so-called “classics,” the Manhattan seems to inspire dogmatic debate among the cocktail cognoscenti — namely over whether rye or bourbon should be used. To them, we say: Use what you damn please. But if it’s historical accuracy you seek, reach for rye, no ifs, ands, or buts. The problem with this debate is the detraction from a more pertinent discussion: which vermouth to choose. It’s easy to overlook this component of the cocktail, as vermouth is cheaper than whiskey; the options at most liquor stores are generally fewer; and given the fortified wine’s lower ABV content, it’s easy to dismiss vermouth as a supporting actor at best. The latter may be true to some degree, but for as long as the Academy Awards continue to dole out golden statues for the role, we will continue to argue the importance of choosing the right vermouth for your Manhattan. In this case, the golden rule is that the bottle should be a sweet style of vermouth, made with red grapes, and infused with an array of spices. Beyond that, it’s a case of diving into the details. The myriad styles, profiles, and countries of origin of sweet vermouth actually make the whiskey selection seem simple by comparison. This is why we took on the task of tasting more than two dozen bottles to highlight the best of the best. Without further ado, here are the nine best sweet vermouths for your Manhattan, tasted and ranked. 9. Noilly Prat RougeTwenty-nine different herbs and spices sourced from around the world contribute expressive aromas to this French vermouth. When mixed in a Manhattan, the vermouth’s herbaceous character elevates the rye whiskey’s dill pickle aromas. This is a solid pick for mixing textbook versions of this timeless cocktail. Average price: $12. 8. Cinzano Vermouth RossoServing the classic vermouth profile of rich fruit, dried herbs, and complex bitterness, Cinzano Rosso is a budget-friendly option that over-delivers for its price tag. (So midweek Manhattans are covered.) Stirred with rye and bitters, the vermouth kicks in some fruity character and boosts the body of the drink. Overall, it allows the rye to shine. Average price: $8. 7. Contratto Vermouth RossoProduced in Piedmont, Italy, this is a vibrant sweet vermouth with noticeable fruity and floral character. Those flavors and aromas make it an ideal candidate for Highballs made with mineral water or tonic, but then you’d be depriving yourself of a lean, expressive Manhattan that’s perfect for warm- weather cocktail hour. Average price: $27. 6. Vermouth RoutinLike a decadent winter dessert bottled as aromatic fortified wine, Vermouth Routin exudes notes of fruit cake, brown sugar, and baking spices. Slightly fuller-bodied than other sweet vermouths, it lends the Manhattan a plush, velvety texture. Meanwhile, its confectionery character riffs wonderfully against the spiced Angostura bitters. Average price: $21. 5. Cocchi Storico Vermouth di TorinoBefore you pull out the jigger and ice, it’s clear this vermouth is going to make a killer Manhattan. Distinct vanilla aromas promise to complement those gained by the whiskey during maturation, while its bittersweet palate is sure to serve as the perfect match for Angostura. Those predictions are soon confirmed, though what is surprising is just how effective this vermouth is in allowing the rye whiskey to shine. When you’re pulling out that baller bottle and willing to mix it in cocktails, look no further than Cocchi. Average price: $20. 4. Antica Torino Vermouth di TorinoThis is another stellar example of an incredibly floral and aromatic sweet vermouth. The palate starts sweet, but is soon kept in check by a complex bitter finish. While its aromas suggest it may be a step too far for such a delicately balanced cocktail, this vermouth delivers a Manhattan that is more perfumed than you ever imagined possible. This is as close as you will get to a summer version of a spirit-forward, stirred whiskey drink. Average price: $29. 3. Carpano Antica FormulaCarpano Antica’s excellence is almost abstract: It serves the archetypal sweet vermouth profile, but with extra layers and nuance — like drinking a great bottle of red wine that’s spent some time in a decanter. Just as it does when mixed in a Negroni, Carpano Antica hits all the notes you’d expect from a classic Manhattan but dials them up a notch. The result is a cocktail that delivers all that you crave, and then some. Average price: $33. 2. Punt e MesThe name Punt e Mes translates to “point and a half,” and loosely refers to the vermouth’s composition: one part vermouth, half a part intensely bitter liqueur. The latter “part” really stands out. This vermouth is exceedingly bitter, with pronounced wormwood, herbs, and spice notes. Punt e Mes mixes a notably dark Manhattan that looks like an aged oloroso sherry. Despite this being a distinctly bitter vermouth, it integrates seamlessly with the Angostura bitters and the rye, providing an added layer of textural complexity in a cocktail that grabs your attention. If you want to tone things down, mix ½ ounce each of this and one of the other bottles on this list, in place of 1 full ounce of Punt e Mes. Average price: $23. 1. Vermut LustauMost producers promote their proprietary mix of herbs and spices when marketing their vermouths. However, this blend of nutty amontillado and luscious Pedro Ximénez sherries proves that a high-quality base wine is just as important. It seems a crime to mix it in a Manhattan until you taste the cocktail. Rich and decadent — even before the cherry enters the equation — the bite of rye is present, but it’s softened by the Lustau. In spite of the vermouth and Angostura, there’s no hint of bitterness here, nor does the cocktail stray too sweet. This combination is balance, exemplified. Average price: $21. The article The Nine Best Sweet Vermouths for Your Manhattan appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/buy-this-booze/9-best-vermouth-manhattan/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/the-nine-best-sweet-vermouths-for-your-manhattan Next Round: James OBrien Owner of Brooklyns Popina on Pivoting to Fast-Casual During Covid-1911/27/2020 Airing between regular episodes of the VinePair Podcast, “Next Round” explores the ideas and innovations that are helping drinks businesses adapt in a time of unprecedented change. As the coronavirus crisis continues and new challenges arise, VP Pro is in your corner, supporting the drinks community for all the rounds to come. If you have a story or perspective to share, email us at [email protected]. In this episode of “Next Round,” VinePair CEO and founder Adam Teeter sits down with James O’Brien, the owner-operator of Popina in Brooklyn. Like every “Next Round” guest before him, O’Brien has dealt with his share of difficulties as he restructured his restaurant to function during Covid-19. While expanding to outdoor dining meant placing tables over a former bocce ball court, it also meant switching to counter-service dining. In a restaurant that prioritizes hospitality, a stellar wine program, and relationships with its regulars, this wasn’t always easy. Moreover, the changing weather has brought its own hassles in terms of rethinking the menu and choosing the perfect, no-hassle rooftop. Throughout it all, O’Brien manages to stay positive as he describes these frustrations, and even opens up about his own experience in lockdown. After Popina closed for a month, he emerged and decided to be more mindful about creating a good work-life balance for himself and his team. This approach weighed into recent discussions about what to do when the winter sets in, as Popina is one of many “cozy” New York restaurants that has refused to seat guests indoors. All in all, O’Brien discusses his plans with a level of gratitude for the regulars who have helped keep Popina afloat. Listen OnlineOr Check out the conversation hereAdam: From Brooklyn, New York, I’m Adam Teeter. And this is a VinePair “Next Round” conversation. We’re bringing you these conversations between our regular podcast episodes to give you a clear picture of what’s going on in the industry during the Covid-19 crisis. Today, I’m talking with James O’Brien, partner of Popina restaurant in Brooklyn, New York. James thanks so much for joining me. James: Hey, thanks for having me. A: So, I obviously am familiar with the restaurant. I think for those who don’t know about you guys, you’ve really, I don’t want to say quietly anymore, but really become a spot in the city that’s just become known for really awesome takes on Italian food. You do some really cool — I don’t want to call it fusion cuisine, but interesting mashups. Your Milanese hot chicken is ridiculous, but then also a just incredible wine program. And a place that lots of people who are wine geeks and people in the industry seek out to drink at. And that was well before all of this happened, but you guys have built this incredible reputation for yourselves as just having this amazing place where people can go and drink really delicious stuff. So for those who do not know about Popina, you gotta go check it out after this interview. But can you just give us a little background on the restaurant, and your background, and how you guys started? J: Yeah, for sure. So we opened up Popina, myself and Chris McDade, who’s my business partner and the chef of Popina. He is originally from Georgia. So that helped create the food programming. He’s always cooked Italian food. I always worked in Italian restaurants, and he basically took up his upbringing, his nostalgia, and the ingredients of the South, but he applied them in an Italian context. So, we met at Maialino in Gramercy Park, one of Danny Meyer’s restaurants, and we just kinda hit it off. I mean Chris has an incredible work ethic, and that was one of the things that attracted me to continuing the conversation with him. And obviously he cooks delicious food. He’s a pasta guru. If he’s not actually cooking, he’s studying pasta, reading about it, learning new things. Whether it’s a traditional shape or technique. So he’s really into food in general, but obviously pasta is one of the strong suits of the restaurant. So we met, we worked over there. I worked all in a lot of Danny’s restaurants. I started at Tabla. When Tabla closed I went to Maialino and then I actually joined the team over at Marta for a little bit, before taking some time off and doing a year of travel. And when I got back, Chris at that point had moved back to Atlanta, then moved back to New York. And we linked up and we were just talking about what we wanted to do. And we overlapped on a lot of what that vision was. I mean, we started out with a ton of ideas, but at the heart of all of it was we wanted to create a neighborhood restaurant. It was important for us to create a space that could be a special occasion place, but was more a community gathering place where people could come and have a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine and not break the bank. And they can do it on a regular basis. So, that being said, we also wanted to make sure we were elevating it. More so than your neighborhood restaurant, in the food, the beverage, and also the hospitality. So, you come in, if you like ice in your water our staff would remember that. And, you would continue to create regulars, and create kind of “wow” experiences. But do it in a context that wasn’t forced and just kept people smiling. We started the restaurant with one goal and that was to like, make your day a little bit better. And if it could be a lot better, that’s even better. That’s even greater, but we live in New York City, and it is so tough, right? Everyone’s just trying to make a living and get by. And sometimes it’s hard and it chases people out. And I think that food is super powerful. And if people could come into our restaurant and kind of forget that they just worked a 12-hour day, or maybe they’re thinking about their rent bill, or thinking about a bad subway experience, or whatever it could be. If we could transport you and make you forget about the everyday worries of living in New York and just make your day a little bit better with a glass of wine or a bowl of pasta, then that’s our goal. And if we could build on that, even better. But it’s as simple and as complicated as that. A: That’s really, really cool. And so obviously, the restaurant has been around for a few years and has been really doing well. You guys have had a bunch of really cool winemaker dinners and things like that. Can you take me through what has gone through your head and how you guys have changed, or done different things since basically March 13th? So I think March 13th, everything across the country changed for a lot of people, for most people, and especially for restaurants and bars. So I’d love to get an idea of what you guys have done, and take us from that point to like where we are now, basically. J: Yeah. So in March, a lot of other restaurant owners had to let go of their staff. And it was a crazy year. It was our first January and February that we were busy. The last two winters were, if you came to Popina on a Wednesday, Thursday, pretty much any day but a Friday, Saturday in the winter, it was crickets, right? We excelled in the summer and on the weekends, but it was so difficult to get people in there on a Wednesday in January and February. And so we were feeling so good about that. And then basically, March was a busy time. Chris was cooking at the Food and Wine Festival down in Charleston. I was down there with him and then I came back to work at La Paulée with all the winemakers, which is crazy to think that that was in March. And that’s right before all this shutdown and just all those people together, sharing glasses, hugging. A: Totally crazy. J: Crazy. And then, fast forward, and we get to the 14th or somewhere around that date where we had a conversation with our staff, I want to say Thursday or Friday, that it was going to go to half capacity. And we said, we’re a small restaurant, guys. And we don’t think this is going in a positive direction. And we just want to be upfront with people. And we don’t think that half capacity works for us. Inside Popina, for those of you who have been, 36 people sat in there and seated. It was like sardines. Right? Hopefully it didn’t feel like that. Like, I feel like it felt more cozy than cramped. But yeah, we used to fit 36 people in there, but under these new Covid guidelines, it’s like even at half capacity it was just too close for comfort. We can’t really responsibly sit people in that space. And that kind of goes to our plan as of now, which is crazy that we’re talking about March and that was our mindset, and we’re still dealing with that same issue now that we can’t really use the outside space again, it’s a little colder. But we don’t feel like it would be responsible seating people inside under these circumstances. So we gave our team a big tip before we actually had to shut down. We gave our team the heads up and basically told them that they should start applying to unemployment and we gave them a little cash in hand, as like a little severance of sorts and just said, “Hey, hopefully this will float you just in case you have any issues with unemployment.” And also during the shutdown, we did I think two or three rounds of employee fund outreach. So basically, we had our guests donate. We didn’t do it through GoFundMe because I feel like they take a percentage of it, or at least that was my understanding of it. So we did it through our Instagram and our Venmo and stuff like that. So we raised some money for them, and everyone was so grateful. I mean, it wasn’t a ton of money, but just a little something. I think our staff was just pumped that we were continuing to look out for them, even though technically the likelihood of bringing them back was a long shot, at least in recent times. So then, we tried delivery for a week with a bare bones staff. Me, Mike, who is our executive sous chef, Chris, and Sean, who was the G.M. We were doing actually decent business because I think people just wanted to support us. Our delivery business, in general, is pretty terrible. We just don’t do a lot of it. Especially because we don’t do pasta to go. That’s one of Chris’s things that he just won’t bend on. At all. A: I understand. If he doesn’t think it travels well, then he doesn’t think it travels well. J: Yeah. That’s kinda what it boils down to. And we actually over time we’ve started doing some pasta kits and some other delivery alternatives. but as far as cooking pasta and putting it in a box, it’s just like not his thing. So we have to continue to think about creative ways to not do that, but still continue to try to make people’s day a little bit better. And when you can’t actually have people at the restaurant, we found that that’s incredibly challenging. So we do delivery for a week with the bare bones staff, things get worse, obviously everyone in New York kinda knew. If we think about late March, early April, New York was a scary place. And so we decided to call it. Then we cleaned out our fridge. We told our staff that if anyone wanted some things to take home, but when Chris orders he does an amazing job at basically ordering enough food for said service or two services or whatever. So there’s not a lot of extra food. Which from a business standpoint, I’m always like, “Man, you’re good.” Like this is awesome for business. But then when I’m rummaging around the fridge for an extra snack at the end of the night, that’s not always the best, but we had some leftover product. And any dried pasta we were using doesn’t really go bad, but like if people wanted the greens, we had some produce, we had some meat, and we reached out to our staff and we said, “Hey, if you want some food, come on by.” And I would go to the restaurant regularly just to check in. And one of the things that was super sad, but helped out a lot was I liquidated my inventory. I had probably close to 60K of wine inventory, and then in like two weeks, I brought it down to $10,000. A: How did you do that? Did you sell to other restaurants? Did you sell it to customers? J: I reached out to a couple of my wine regulars that I knew drank really well, and I had offered them some pretty good discounts with what’s still making money. I mean, there was this one guy that probably bought $15K of wine by himself, and he bought it all at list price. And I told this guy, he will forever have a reservation for a table in the backyard. I might even name the table after him and his wife, seriously. He continues to buy wine and he’s a wine collector, but the best kind where he doesn’t always talk about it. He just loves wine, and he loves really great wine. And he continues to buy. So it’s been great, especially with the loosening of the S.L.A. guidelines. So when he comes in to dinner, he’ll come in and spend a couple hundred bucks on dinner, but then before he leaves, he’ll pick up a case of wine and that helps us, especially on the rainy days. It’s either feast or famine with us. It’s either the backyard is jammin’ from 12 to 8 on a Saturday, the sun is shining. It’s amazing. Kind of like last Saturday, especially with all the good energy. A: Oh, yeah. With the election. J: Yeah. But then yesterday, it was raining and I saw three people yesterday, and you know what I’m saying? Like, we didn’t do any business yesterday. So those guidelines, although they’re annoying with the whole, like “we have to sell food” and all this it at least allows us a little bit of a lifeline. So basically, I sold a bunch of inventory to some of my wine regulars, and then just basically was like, “Hey guys, New York is a sad place. It’s probably going to get sadder. If you want a case of wine, come on by.” I also gave industry people who got laid off wine at cost and the whole idea behind that was it’s like these people lost their job, but they still need good wine and stuff like that. So I put it out there to our channels on Instagram or whatever. And I said, If you’re in the industry, and you lost your job, wine at cost. Whether it’s the $15 bottle of wine or the $100 bottle of wine, I don’t really care. And that also helped us decrease inventory. When you still have to pay rent, and do all these other things, paying all the invoices, a bottle of wine is not going to really help you. So I liquidated a lot of that, which again it was sad because it was three years of me building up what I thought was an awesome list with back vintage this, and this rare wine from here. And it was sad to let it go. But I know they went to good homes. And I really like when I open that bottle for somebody and they drink it with the food at Popina and you see this reaction and you create this special food and wine experience. And when you sell it retail you just hope that they served it right. Or they enjoyed it as much as they would if they were at Popina. So basically after doing that, I just took a break. Like, I took a month, and it was kind of wild. I don’t think besides traveling throughout the last couple of years, if I took a big trip, or took that year off and just traveled, I haven’t stayed at home. And I was actually super scared, and I had to like buy a spice cabinet. I didn’t have salt. My fridge was Champagne, white wine, and hot sauce. I didn’t have anything else. So I’m building a spice cabinet. I’m taking the stickers off my pots and pans. I live by myself, and I was super scared of “what am I going to do with all this time?” I had to update all my Hulu or Netflix because I get home from work and I go to sleep. I won’t spend a lot of time at home, and I was kinda nervous about it. Chris was super pumped, ‘cause he has a 2-year-old, and he was just pumped to be at home with the kid and have some family time. ‘Cause in our industry, it’s a tough thing to come by. But for me I was just like, “Oh s***, I don’t really do well by myself,” or at least I didn’t think I would. But it was awesome because I was in New York. I got to read a book that wasn’t about wine, or I got to learn Spanish. I got to start doing yoga and do all these things that I’m always like, “I’m too busy for it.” I wake up and I’m back on this grind, unfortunately, where I don’t give a lot of me time, but I wake up and I’m like, “I got to go to work.” And then I work until my eyes are shutting and then I go to sleep, you know what I’m saying? So, the month was great, obviously a lot of s*****, I don’t really mean great, but it allowed me to have this time and really hopefully take advantage of it and put in a little self-care, which I think is hard in our industry. And I think if there was anything that came out of this is I think, I’m going to try to be more mindful about myself and my team, creating a good work-life balance and a healthy lifestyle where people don’t feel like they just need to grind it out all the time. But as a business owner, it’s hard, because every day I wake up and I’m like, “OK, no one’s going to hand this to me. I have to go out and get it.” And it makes you motivated. A: Well James, at any time during this period, were you freaking out about — I mean, I assume you guys felt pretty comfortable where you guys were as a business. ‘Cause at any time were you freaking out about, “Well, what about our landlord? Could we get evicted, or what’s going to happen?” I don’t know if at this point, PPP, everyone was talking about it, but I know none of us knew if we were going to get it. Was that all happening too, or, were you pretty confident that you could manage it to get to where you’d maybe be able to reopen? J: Well, our landlord was really great throughout this. He didn’t necessarily give us any rent concessions or a discount on rent, but he made us aware that he was there. And he actually got engaged at Popina, which was pretty awesome. And I think he just wants us to be around, especially because there are a couple of restaurants in his spaces that are shuttered. And I think he helped us. And one of the first things that I actually did is we had a driveway space next to us that used to belong to Pok-Pok when we took over the lease. But then we actually were like, “Oh, we don’t want this driveway.” And Pok-Pok was still on the corner. So they kept the driveway space. And, long story short is there was this empty driveway. And I asked him, I was like, “Hey, can we get that driveway?” ‘Cause this was in March, so I had no idea what it was going to look like. I think a lot of people were like, “Oh yeah, by summertime, we’re going to be good. Back to normal.” But I was just like, outside space is going to be the biggest, hottest commodity. So, I’m like, we need this outside space. So I called him, and I think he was already on the defensive because other businesses were calling him like, “Hey, Greg, can I get a discount on rent?” And I was like, “Greg, I’m not asking for a discount. I just want the driveway space next to it. It’s been vacant for a year. I know it’s not our space right now, but if we could attach that to our lease at a reasonable rate, hopefully, free rate, that would help us. That would make us so much more comfortable going into this uncertain period.” And he agreed to it. And so we took over the space, and basically that space has allowed us to spread out the tables this summer and we created a very different service model than we used to do at Popina. So Popina used to be full service, and now we’ve pivoted to a counter service. We didn’t want you to walk into Popina, go into the backyard, and have this QR code here, and have like a very “airport” kind of experience, right? Where you’re ordering through an iPad or your phone or whatever. Like as much as safety was our biggest concern, we wanted to have at least one “Hello,” you know? So the guests walk into Popina, “Hello, welcome.” And then they order their drinks and their food, and then we give them their drinks, and then they take a number. And they could sit anywhere they want in the backyard, which also allows different people to have different comfort levels. So if you want to be at this table, in the corner where no one will pass you or anything, that’s cool, grab that table. If you want to be closer to the door so you could reorder, cool, grab that table. So, we’ve done that, and we’ve set up the wine shop where people could come in and just grab their bottle. So we wanted to basically take less from the full-service model of giving more is actually giving less. So we wanted to have that “Hello” point, but then we want to say, “Hey, once you’re in the backyard, we’re just going to bring you food.” And it’s evolved. We used to bring people’s stuff in to-go containers. And then one day we were like, “Hey. Maybe we should put it on plates.” And then it was plates with wrapped-up silverware, and then we’re like, “Hey, maybe we should give people real silverware, because those knives don’t really seem like they’re cutting the chicken.” So it’s evolved a lot into what it is right now. And you know, we’re still asking ourselves, “How could we do this better, beyond the guest side of making it easy and comfortable?” So it’s continuing to evolve, for sure. But right, now we are in this sweet spot where I think a lot of people really like it, and there’s some people that don’t get it. And I think a lot of those people are the first timers who are probably reading old Infatuation reviews, but we have an amazing group of regulars who come every week and they love the system, and they know the system. So if you want to start with a cocktail, but you’re going to get a bottle of wine, get it all, you know, get it all. And we pop the bottle. We’ll give you your glasses, give you your cocktails. And then you literally don’t have to come back in. And then what we do is all the pricing includes a gratuity. We built it in because of this fast-casual service. And so if you don’t want to come back into the restaurant, we just close out. We close out your check, and everything’s good. It’s like if you went to a Superiority Burger or whatever. You pay up front, and then you’re good. You don’t have to come back in or anything. You could order your whole meal, and we still course things out for you. But, yeah, it’s definitely new to us, but we will likely change it going into the next spring or fall or spring or summer, but right now it works and people seem to dig it. And we don’t worry about turning tables, because we don’t take reservations. It’s first come, first serve. And yeah, it’s how we’re doing it right now. A: So it’s really funny because you mentioned Atlanta earlier, and I lived in Atlanta for a little while, and there’s a restaurant I used to like when I was in my early 20s called FIGO Pasta, which was like this model. And it’s always been interesting to me that you never really found that in New York, so it’s cool that you guys have adapted it and moved to that now. Because to me, it seems like it does make a lot of sense and you have such a nice backyard, and kudos to you for being willing to do that, and figuring out what could work for your customers. I think that shows what everyone is having to do, which is try to change their models to make it work. What are you thinking about now? It’s November 12th, and we’re talking. We had a gorgeous weekend, as you mentioned last weekend, but it’s gonna start to get colder. The city has just passed the ordinance that you can’t stay open until past 10, as opposed to 11, which I don’t understand why Covid spreads further past 10 than past 11. And as you mentioned earlier, the space inside is small. In the winter, it actually feels super cozy, and that’s what makes it special. But obviously, no one wants to feel super cozy in a pandemic. Right? They don’t want to be right next to people. Are you guys buying heaters? Have you thought about that kind of stuff? Have you thought about trying to cover parts of your backyard? What’s going through your mind? J: Yeah. Pretty much all those things. So, we’ve had like a million plans. And we always come in and we’re like, “OK, well maybe how about this? Or how about that?” And we always decide on something and then things change. I mean, the fact that it was 70 degrees last weekend, it was kind of crazy. So the plan right now is we ordered heaters two months ago. They just got here last weekend. It’s, a pain in the a**. And now we’re faced with, OK, we want to start using the heaters, but now we’re trying to jump over all the hurdles and obstacles related to getting them going with the fire department. One thing that Chris and I always agree on is we always want to do things the right way, and sometimes that’s either expensive or time-consuming. And right now, it’s like doing everything properly with the FDNY and the registration of the heaters and the placement of the propane cage and getting a fitness test related to using the propane heaters. So we’re doing all that stuff, but it’s very time-consuming and expensive. And, part of us sometimes are like, cool, we’re over in Red Hook. Let’s just take a chance, and are they going to really come to get us? And then, and then we think maybe if we owned the restaurant and didn’t have any investors, but then we’re like, cool. Our pool of investors are a little bit more prudent. And we just want to make sure we’re making the right decision for them. And so the heaters are to be determined. Hopefully, we could get all that stuff squared away, but the one thing that we didn’t notice, the weekend of Halloween, it was super cold. And even if we had heaters, the food gets cold. And then when you’re doing pasta, it’s like sure, people might come out and dress warm — throwing their long johns on or whatever — but what’s the deal with the food? And we want the food to be good and delicious and hot, you know? And so that’s the latest conversation I’m having with Chris, is “How do we create a menu without getting far from what we do?” ‘Cause if we don’t do pasta, then pasta is one of the things that people come for, and if we don’t do pasta, then our menu changes, and then are people coming to Popina for that stuff? And that’s the challenging part. Figuring out the food. So, yesterday I actually had somebody come by and quote me on a retractable roof, which I think I will have to sell way more wine or maybe even like a body part to afford. But it’s long-term, and we’re trying to link up with our landlord to see if he has any interest in either splitting the cost with us or doing something that will allow us to afford to do it, because Popina is not covered in the backyard. So basically anytime it rains, you’re kind of screwed. We work with a tent company when people have events. But it’s like $1,700 every time you want to put up a tent. That’s a lot of money, especially because when we’re selling events, we’re not charging people that much to have our look, have the space, and the food, and the drink. So it’s like that tent could double the price of your event real quick. So we’re considering that, and looking into other alternatives. Unfortunately, everything is either kind of shoddy and cheap, or very expensive. And if there’s anyone out there that has any good recommendations on outdoor coverings — and that’s the tough part too, our backyard. We don’t want there to be a tent around it all the time, because part of being outside is you want to see the sky and the tree and all that. So we’re trying to figure out how to cover it, and I’m also not trying to put up a big-a** tent every time I think it’s going to rain. A: That’d be the worst. You’re running out into the backyard. You’re getting all the stakes. You’re like trying to build the tent as fast as you can. Yeah, that would be the worst. J: Yeah, no, I got enough stuff to do. And so we’re trying to figure that out. We actually are considering closing for January and February and just going on a little sabbatical of sorts. A: Yeah, I’ve heard a lot of restaurants were considering that. J: Yeah. And I was fighting against it, it was actually Chris’s idea, and I was like, “Chris, we need to be there for our people and our community that have supported us.” And I was super against it. ‘Cause I’m just like, we got to figure out a way to keep the lights on, and if that means reducing salary or whatever I have to do to make that happen, I’ll do it. But then I thought about it, I played it out in my mind and it’s like Chris boxing up to-go food, me trying to sell some wine — if the S.L.A. keeps restrictions loose. And I didn’t see us coming out of this, maybe better financially than closing, but not in the best spirits. A lot of people that stayed open for delivery since March, they were like, “Cool. I was the most expensive to-go boxer in all of New York.” And I don’t want us to grow to resent doing the delivery or just the restaurant in general. I want us to be excited about it and go back to that time in April when we took off. I also want to be able to think about things outside the everyday running of the restaurant. Sometimes I’m like “s***, I don’t think about the long-term plan, because there’s not enough hours in the day, because I’m putting in orders or making sure we’re staffed or whatever it is.” There’s not enough hours in the day. So if we close down, that would allow us to think about the long-term business or “how do we revamp the backyard?” Since summer’s our strongest season, right? How do we basically make it into the most efficient, profitable, situation that we could? And right now, if we’re just going to be doing the grind of the everyday, it’s hard to think about that kind of stuff. So, we’re considering closing for those couple months. And obviously it sucks, because rent is still due and all those things, but I think it will give us a different way to look at business, and hopefully just get re-inspired and dive into those creative thoughts of what the future looks like. There’s a restaurant, I think they’re called The Willows Inn, that I think they do that every year. In the winter, they just close up shop and then they go travel and do this and do that. And they work so hard during the rest of the year, that they’re like, “Cool, we’re going to take a couple of months off.” And again, we’re way different. We’re a neighborhood restaurant, but I think we’re still trying to think about how to make people’s day a little bit better and how to revamp the food program and the wine program or think about creative partnerships. You know, maybe we’ll have a Popina wine or a beer on tap. These are things that I always wanted to pursue, but there’s just not enough time, because I am checking in a delivery or ordering our dry goods or whatever it is. And so, I think we’re leading towards that, but if we could get our S.B.A. loan and we could get this retractable roof that we could actually use year-round, and stay open January, February, that’s also not a bad alternative, too. So, the plan is right now to close for a couple of months, but who knows? We’ve made changes before. And one of the good things about being a little shop is we can make these decisions day to day. We don’t have to make an announcement. It takes less to steer the ship, you know? A: Yeah. Well, James, it’s amazing how much you guys have adapted and how well you have adapted. And this has been just like a really interesting conversation to hear what’s happening with you, but also hopefully gives other people listening some perspective on what’s happening for neighborhood restaurants and how neighborhood restaurants are figuring out how to make it work. So I really appreciate you taking the time today, obviously also understanding that you’ve basically given me almost an hour to talk about this when there’s probably a lot that you need to do as you, as you mentioned throughout the podcast. So thank you so much. This has been really awesome. A: You’re welcome. We wouldn’t be able to do without people like you, so I really appreciate you coming on. And I can’t wait to see you at Popina again soon, definitely a few times before you guys close for January and February, but I support the decision. J: All right, my man. A: Thank you, James. J: Have a good one. Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair Podcast. If you enjoy listening to us every week, please leave us a review or rating on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever it is that you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show. Now, for the credits. VinePair is produced and hosted by Zach Geballe and me, Adam Teeter. Our engineer is Nick Patri and Keith Beavers. I’d also like to give a special shout-out to my VinePair co-founder Josh Malin and the rest of the VinePair team for their support. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again right here next week. Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity The article Next Round: James O’Brien, Owner of Brooklyn’s Popina, on Pivoting to Fast-Casual During Covid-19 appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/next-round-james-obrien-popina/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/next-round-james-obrien-owner-of-brooklyns-popina-on-pivoting-to-fast-casual-during-covid-19 Born in Rutherford, Napa Valley, The Prisoner began as a little-known red blend, created by winemaker Dave Phinney in 2000, but the brand quickly garnered a huge fan base, becoming famous for its untraditional label and style. Following the sale of the brand to Constellation, what used to be The Prisoner — the aforementioned red blend — has become The Prisoner Wine Company, a winery brand that now offers its flagship label, plus 13 other varieties. Want to know more about the unconventional wine brand? Read on for 10 things you should know about The Prisoner Wine Company. It was inspired by a sketch from the 1800s.The Prisoner Wine Company based its entire brand mission on a single sketch from the 1800s drawn by Spanish artist Francisco de Goya. The sketch, which was given to Phinney as a gift from his parents at age 12, served as a “visual protest against the injustice and brutality of the Spanish War of Independence.” The Prisoner Wine Company continues to be inspired by the drawing, using it as a constant reminder to never be complacent or restricted by rules and traditions. The brand is all about blends.The Prisoner Wine Company is best known for its unique blends. The brand’s flagship wine, a red blend made with Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Charbono, was a major hit, and since then the brand has released two additional blends: a red blend called Dérangé, and a white blend called Blindfold. It went viral, before going viral was a thing.When The Prisoner was first released in 2000, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram had not yet been invented. Yet the Zinfandel-heavy red blend, with its creepy yet Instagrammable label, became wildly popular in Napa and beyond. Back then, dark labels like The Prisoner’s weren’t done, and most winemakers focused on single-grape varietals, making a red blend like The Prisoner unconventional for multiple reasons. Within 10 years, the brand was sold to Huneeus Vintners. In 2016, it was again sold to Constellation Brands, a major beverage conglomerate. It went from indie to mainstream.When The Prisoner was first created, it was a small label — Phinney released only 385 cases of the wine in 2000. However, these days, Dave Phinney is no longer involved in the brand. The Prisoner is now one of more than 100 brands owned by Constellation, and in 2017, the company produced about 165,000 cases of The Prisoner — a dramatic increase from its initial production. It was a trendsetter.Since The Prisoner’s rise to popularity, red blends have come into fashion. Brands like Apothic have adopted Prisoner-style labels, while others even attempt to imitate the font on The Prisoner’s bottles. The brand works with over 100 growers throughout California.The brand doesn’t have a single vineyard where it grows its grapes. Instead, to source grapes for its blends, the brand turns to a variety of small-scale producers in California who grow unique varietals. The brand is constantly fostering new relationships with vintners across the state, meaning its network of 100 growers will likely continue to grow. Its tasting room is creepy.The brand’s unconventional tasting room follows suit with its dark and eerie labels. The 40,000-square-foot facility, located in St. Helena, Calif., is complete with skeletons made of graphite, neon signs mirroring the scratch marks on its Dérangé bottles, and matte-black pottery adorned with metal spikes and more. You can visit The Prisoner from your couch.Those who can’t make the trip to The Prisoner’s Napa Valley estate can still “visit” the winery through virtual wine tastings. These tastings are run by winemakers and wine educators, and can be enjoyed solo or with a group. The Prisoner was recently joined by two new inmates.The brand recently released two new Napa Valley wines under its “The Prisoner” label: The Prisoner Carneros Chardonnay and The Prisoner Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Both offerings don labels similar to the original The Prisoner, showing images of chained-up detainees in dark, morose colorways. Lady Gaga loves The Prisoner.Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” can’t hide her love for The Prisoner. In fact, the singer’s Las Vegas residency’s backstage is stocked with The Prisoner’s wines. The article 10 Things You Should Know About The Prisoner Wine Company appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/prisoner-wine-guide/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/10-things-you-should-know-about-the-prisoner-wine-company Looking for the perfect gift for your favorite wine-lover? (it’s okay if you are your favorite wine lover!) Here are some of the best, most useful, and most popular wine gifts, glasses, and gadgets that are at the lowest prices you’ll see all year (up to 40 percent off!). Cheers to wine and to finding the perfect wine gift!
Whatever the reason, leftover bottles of half-full bubbly do happen. We can’t say we often have any leftover wine, but when we do, we don’t sweat it. The heavyweight Champagne stopper, with its stainless-steel construction and inner silicone seal, keeps your bubbly fresh until you’re ready to dip back in. It fits any standard bubbly bottle and is restaurant-grade. Don’t bother with any other Champagne stopper—this is the one that you’ll come back to whenever you’re in need.
But, 90% of the time, we’re drinking from these Universal Wine Glasses. After extensive testing, we’ve found them to be perfect for red, white, bubbly, rosé, skin contact, or whatever else you’ve got. Plus, they’re elegant but durable, made with lead-free crystal, and dishwasher-safe. It’s hard to beat these glasses, and we know you’ll love them!
But, sometimes we don’t have time for hours of decanting. In those cases, the Wine Breather Decanter is an absolute life-saver. It decants your bottle of wine in under two minutes, taming acidity and bitterness, and bringing out the subtler flavors and aromas. Serve directly from the lead-free crystal bottle if you’d like, or pour it back into the original bottle. Honestly, this is the only decanter we use these days! An essential piece for the modern wine lover.
Meet the Filter Wine Pour Spout. Just insert this into the bottle and enjoy your wine as it was meant to be drunk. It’s drip-free, leak-proof, and made of durable stainless steel. Just throw it in the dishwasher when you’re done! It truly could not be easier.
The article 10 Great Black Friday Weekend Deals For Wine Lovers (2020) appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/picks/best-black-friday-deals-wine-2020/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/10-great-black-friday-weekend-deals-for-wine-lovers-2020 While bourbon enjoys the status of America’s native spirit, brandy is the nation’s O.G. in terms of pure distilling history. As early as the mid-18th century, European settlers on both coasts were cranking out fruit distillates for commercial consumption, with grapes leading the way on the West Coast and orchard fruits taking center stage in the East. Like much of American drinking culture, the nation’s brandy industry eventually suffered huge setbacks during Prohibition. After repeal in 1933, brandy failed to bounce back. Whiskey was the more natural choice for distillers returning to the business, because it was quicker and cheaper to produce than brandy, and had slaked the thirst of American drinkers in the (not-so) surreptitious speakeasies during the “dry” years. In recent decades, big-name brands like E&J, Paul Masson, Christian Brothers, and Korbel have ensured American brandy is not entirely forgotten. But these brands’ focus on lower-priced bottles left American brandy out in the cold during the rebirth of cocktail culture, and has kept it all but unmentioned in recent conversations of premiumization. Only now, the needle is shifting. Nationwide, craft producers are putting out super-premium brandies using a range of fruit bases, inspired as much by other brown spirits as they are by traditional production techniques. Hospitality professionals are joining the party with cocktail-friendly bottlings aimed at on-premise channels. At the same time, the nation’s major conglomerates have built on their lower-value propositions with luxury proprietary brands, and by scooping up craft producers. The growing momentum has seen media outlets celebrate “surging sales” and even declare a “brandy renaissance.” But just how ripe is the market for another brown spirits revival? The State of American BrandyAt first glance, the numbers don’t look good for the so-called renaissance. American brandy volumes declined 1.1 percent in 2019, and value dropped 0.9 percent, according to research firm IWSR. Yet, these numbers alone don’t paint the full picture. Amid last year’s overall decline, the super-premium segment grew 31 percent, per IWSR data, suggesting that something is indeed stirring within America’s oldest spirits category. Such growth could signal increased interest in pricey domestic brandy. Then again, it could also be a byproduct of more distillers entering the mix. Either way, those involved in the industry are very much aware of the hurdles standing in the way of American brandy reclaiming its former glory. But that’s not stopping them from trying. How Can American Brandy Break Out?No conversation on American brandy is complete without mention of E. & J. Gallo. The world’s largest privately owned wine producer introduced its market-leading E&J Brandy in 1975. Gallo later took significant steps into the super-premium segment in 2017, launching the Argonaut label and acquiring Germain-Robin, a craft brand launched in the early 1980s by Cognac native Hubert Germain-Robin and American Ansley Coale. This month, Gallo opened the California Brandy House, a downtown Napa tasting room dedicated to luxury California brandy. Britt West, Gallo’s vice president and general manager of sales, is quietly confident about the prospect of an American brandy revival, but he’s also quick to recognize the challenges ahead. “Building spirits categories takes a long time in this country,” he says. “The ‘overnight success’ of luxury rum was really a 20-year journey. And that’s still very much how I think about brandy.” Along its journey, West says American brandy will need to build a critical mass of quality-focused producers and escape its reputation as a post-dinner digestif that should be sipped from a snifter. Only then can brandy stake a claim among the “pantheon of luxury brown spirits,” he says, and reclaim classic drinks that were usurped by bourbon and rye post-Prohibition — cocktails like the Sazerac and even the Old Fashioned (to some degree). Indeed, the rise in craft cocktail culture is often cited as a factor in the current popularity of bourbon and rye, so it makes sense that luxury brandy producers would look for success using a similar approach. Gallo is not unique in realizing this. Founded in 2014, Kentucky-based Copper & Kings American Brandy Company was this year acquired by Constellation Brands. The brand’s website devotes an entire database to cocktail recipes. Likewise, its social media channels showcase attractive “portrait mode” cocktail shots, alongside professionally produced recipe videos. Nowhere is there a suggestion of velvet robes or cigars. The same is true on the website of California brandy, Bertoux. Launched in 2018, the spirit was crafted with cocktails in mind. Leading NYC drinks professionals Jeff Bell (PDT) and Thomas Pastuszak (The NoMad) dialed into their respective bartending and sommelier experience to formulate the brandy’s final blend. Even the brand’s name — French for “Sidecar” — leans into the spirit’s historical use as a cocktail ingredient. Yet, Bell does not think sharing recipes and dialing into history are enough to cement the reputation of Bertoux, or any other brandy, as a quality cocktail ingredient. “If you have a good product, education is important,” he says. It’s one thing telling drinkers that American brandy makes a wonderful Old Fashioned, but there’s so much more value in telling them why that’s so. After the launch, Bell and Pastuszak prioritized getting their bottles into the hands of the right people — in this case, New York’s leading bartenders and sommeliers. Though a slow-paced form of education, having experienced drinks professionals communicate the brand’s message allows them to shape the narrative, Bell says. Ultimately, this helps define the category — and what it can become. (Re-)Defining American BrandyShaping the narrative is perhaps the most important task for American brandy producers right now. Before selling consumers on its virtues, brands must first clearly define what American brandy is and why it’s unique. “We’re not even in a renaissance of American brandy, it’s almost like there’s a completely new book being written,” Pastuszak says, citing the myriad styles that currently make up the category. While some producers are emulating the Cognac or Armagnac model, others are essentially making spirits that taste like whiskey, but are labeled as brandy, he adds. Across the board, however, there is some agreement on the thread that binds the category beyond geographical ties: the ability to experiment. “To quote one of our founders, Hubert Germain-Robin, ‘This is freedom brandy,’” explains David Warter, lead blender and distiller for Germain-Robin. “Unlike the constraints you have with Cognac, American distillers have more freedom in brandy-making when it comes to choosing the grape varieties to create original and distinctive styles and taste profiles.” While Cognac producers are bound to Ugni Blanc, a high-yielding white variety that offers little character, Germain-Robin turns to Pinot Noir, Colombard, and Semillon to enhance the flavor and textural qualities of its spirits. Germain-Robin isn’t alone: California’s Charbay and Osocalis distilleries provide further compelling evidence that “non-traditional” varieties like Pinot Noir and Semillon are just as suited for distillation as they are high-quality wine making. The scope isn’t limited to grapes, either — though per Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau guidelines, when an American brandy is made with any other ingredient, the fruit must be listed on its label. Across the nation, fruit brandies run the gamut from Laird’s Apple Brandy, produced by a family-owned New Jersey distiller for over two centuries, to the unaged pear and raspberry brandies of California’s St. George Spirits. Jon Kreigler, co-founder of Minnesota’s Tattersall Distilling, describes such diversity as another feather in American brandy’s cap. “A brandy producer in Minnesota is going to make a very different product than [one based] in Georgia,” he says. Much like wine, he adds, this speaks to the notion of terroir, and is something that will likely entice engaged spirits drinkers. Among its portfolio of spirits, Tattersall makes apple brandy using organic fruit sourced from local orchards. For now, the brandy remains a “smaller part of the business” compared to its vodka and gin, Kreigler says. Like all of the producers contacted for this piece, he’s quick to remind us that, despite its storied history, the modern American brandy category is still in its infancy. Significant growth of the category is simply going to take time, he explains, and for those who got in on the ground floor (and can afford to wait), this isn’t such a bad thing. “The nice thing about our brandy,” Kreigler says, “is that if it isn’t selling quite like we think, we just keep it in barrel for longer and it’s only going to get better.” The article Is America Ready For a Brandy ‘Renaissance’? appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/american-brandy-renaissance/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/is-america-ready-for-a-brandy-renaissance This easy-drinking Italian red has more than decent complexity, and is simply a delicious wine for all kinds of foods and occasions. It’s another winner from Castello Banfi, the American-owned winery in Tuscany that, among other distinctions, has a knack for producing inexpensive, relatively large-production wines that over-deliver. At around $11 or so, you would be hard-pressed to find an Italian red that’s as satisfying for everyday drinking with pastas, pizzas, burgers, or just about any quick dinner that calls for red wine. Perhaps it’s the blend that makes it so versatile — Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sangiovese, listed in that order on the label, although the lion’s share is Sangiovese, Tuscan’s signature variety. Such blends, of course, are the basis of so-called super-Tuscan wines, which are often among a winery’s most prestigious offerings and can sell for super-high prices. Neither is the case with Banfi’s Centine, but in the down-to-earth category, it excels. This is a medium-bodied wine with alcohol listed at 13.5 percent. Aromas and tastes of red and dark berries and plum are accented by touches of milk chocolate and graphite. The wine, which is aged for a brief period in French oak barrels, is gently tannic. It’s relatively soft but not mushy, fruity but not cloying. Beyond the food pairings I mentioned above, Banfi’s Centine will tame the heat and spice of Indian food, especially with a light chill; and I could also see it with grilled salmon as an alternative to Pinot Noir. Before dinner, try Banfi’s refreshing 2019 “San Angelo” Pinot Grigio Toscano, a delightful Tuscan take on the popular variety that I reviewed here not long ago. Centine, by the way, is named after an old farmhouse on the Banfi estate and is pronounced CHEN-tee-nay. Buy This WineThe article Castello Banfi ‘Centine’ Toscana 2018, Tuscany, Italy appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/good-wine-reviews/castello-banfi-centine-toscana/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/castello-banfi-centine-toscana-2018-tuscany-italy Inspired by one of VinePair’s most popular site sections, the Wine 101 Podcast takes an educational, easy-to-digest look into the world of wine. This episode of Wine 101 is sponsored by Columbia Winery. As Washington’s original premium winery, Columbia Winery proudly carries a long legacy of discovering and celebrating exceptional Washington wine. Our rich history, as well as the distinct terroir of the great Columbia Valley, allows us to craft wines that embody Washington’s unique spirit and curious nature. Columbia Winery offers a collection of rich and deliciously enjoyable wines inspired by the diversity of Washington’s best growing regions. Created through visionary wine-making, and unrelenting curiosity: Columbia Winery. In this episode of Wine 101, VinePair Tastings Director Keith Beavers steps outside of California to talk about what winemaking looks like around the country. He traces back to early vine planting, and the factors that led Americans to eventually move away from European grapes to their own hybrids and native species. One such factor was a pesky louse called phylloxera, which wiped out 85 percent of European species, but was eventually resolved by a team of French and American scientists. Unfortunately, shortly after finding a way to deter the louse, Prohibition came into effect. It was difficult for Americans to regain momentum after the ban was lifted, but winemakers and wine lovers alike reemerged with a new palette for sweet, high-alcohol wines. This shaped winemaking for decades to come, until The 1976 Judgement of Paris crowned a California wine and reinstalled American fine wine values. This excited American vintners around the country, and after the creation of American Viticultural Areas in the 1980s, U.S. winemaking began to look different. Today, the country’s producers are celebrated for the attention they pay to climate, soil, and a diversity of niche and native grapes. Consequently, there are new and exciting wines popping up everywhere from Long Island to Texas. Listen OnlineListen on Apple Podcasts Or Check Out the Conversation HereMy name is Keith Beavers. And just thinking like, wow, Disney bought Star Wars. And I get to watch Star Wars… What’s going on wine lovers? Welcome to Episode 27 Of VinePair’s Wine 101 Podcast. My name is Keith Beavers. I am the tastings director of VinePair. Hello, how are you? I’m fine. I mean, we’re not going to talk about all of the wine stuff happening in all the places outside of California, but there’s some places you have to understand that are really cool you probably already know about. But also let’s have a discussion about what’s going on in the future of American wine. Why not? This title is a little insane, right? Outside of California, what do you need to know about wine in the United States? And we still haven’t talked about all of California, but this is going to lead into a very interesting conversation I want to have with you wine lovers out there. We’ve talked about Sonoma. We’ve talked about Napa. We’ve talked about the Central Coast. We did not talk about the Southern part of California. We did not talk about the Northern part of California. There are other wine growing and producing regions in California that are stunning. Stunning wine like the North coast, Mendocino, Clarksburg. And in the South, there’s Temecula, which is an emerging wine growing region. But in this episode I think we should talk about what’s going on outside of California because the United States is a wine drinking, wine growing, wine producing, vine growing, viticultural, vinicultural country. The thing that Thomas Jefferson aspired to back in the day with a bunch of hit or miss, because of the lack of knowledge with plant morphology and science and botany and all the stuff that we have now that we didn’t have then. I mean, really it all began because we had people coming from Europe to this country, and it was just part of their lifestyle to have wine. It was part of their food, was part of their dinner, it was part of their meals. So planting vines and making wine from those grapes was a natural thing to do. And the fact was that in the colonies and the Eastern Coast, there were a lot of problems with climate and pests and all this stuff. It didn’t really work that well, but while that was happening, we were still forcing it to happen, if you will. Before the Civil War, we had vines growing in the Ohio Valley. We had vines growing in Erie, on Lake Erie, which we still do now today. We had vines growing in Missouri, we had vines growing in Texas. We absolutely had vines growing in Southern California. That’s where California wine kind of began with the missions of the Franciscan monks over there in the West Coast. And what we were doing on the East Coast, back in the day, we had no idea what the West Coast was doing. It was just kind of all over the place. I mean, I’m sure people knew what other people were doing, but there wasn’t email. It was hard to get information from one coast to the next coast and from one part of the country. From the Midwest even to the East Coast. And it was a rough go for a while there. I mean, we were Europeans planting European vines in this new soil and this new land with tons of climatic and natural challenges, and it didn’t really work that well. But then we found, “Hey, there’s actually these native grapes here in the United States or the colonies or whatever. Let’s plant these.” And the result was wine, but not the kind of wine that we were used to in Europe. So we were like, nah, let’s try and make this vitis vinifera thing works. So we keep on trying to make that work and in doing so, it just so happens that every once in a while, a natural crossing of a European variety and an American variety would come about. It’s called a hybrid. And this hybrid would have some aspects of the European variety, but it would have the hardiness and ability to survive in the climates in this new land. The only problem was: Wines made from American vitis labrusca or whatever they’re called now, and these hybrids, would often have this really odd distinct, musky, animal smell to them that they called “Foxy”. I mean, we knew now that it’s a compound called methyl anthranilate, and it’s very unique to these American varieties and hybrids. And we also know now the best way to get rid of these is to pick early, harvest early, or age for a long time in cask, or just rack the hell out of it until it’s gone. And there were a lot of them that had this sort of unfortunate aroma to them, but there were also some that didn’t, there were some successes. And to this day they’re still being used. Hybrids with names like Catawba, Delaware, Isabella, and the really most famous one was Norton. There’s also ones called Seyval, Seyval Blanc, Vidal all these different names. A lot of them are white. Not all of them are red. Norton is one of the most successful red ones. We have another one called Baco Noir. And if we weren’t forcing Merlot and Cab and Chardonnay into these soils, we were just using these hybrids and we were trying to develop our wine culture through these hybrids. That’s why California is so important. Because in California, these European varieties tended to do well. The mission grape, which is the grape that kind of started the wine thing in California, was brought to California by Franciscan monks. That grape is actually a native Spanish grape, and it traveled all the way around the world, and it finally made it to California. They call it the mission grape because it was planted in the missions going all the way up from San Diego to Sonoma. So that’s a vitis vinifera variety, and it did just fine. So when Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cab Franc all these varieties start doing well, then we start focusing on them. Of course, the mission grape is always around, but it’s a vitis vinifera, so this is how it starts working in California. It’s why all eyes were on California, but of course so was the Gold Rush. The Gold Rush happened in California. So there’s all this attention on this state. And it just so happens it was a great place to grow certain vines. But while all that was happening, wine was being grown in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, the Ohio Valley, Lake Erie, Missouri. Even though it wasn’t really working that well, we were doing it. We had these hybrids. And then what happened is this louse called phylloxera starts attacking all the vines in Europe and in the United States, kills 85 percent of European vines. It goes crazy in the United States as well, starts depleting our vines all over the place. It took us a while, I think it was four or five years to figure it out. We figured out through a collaboration between the Americans and the French. We figured it out. We never killed phylloxera. It’s still around, but we figured out how to combat it by using American rootstock, because phylloxera is an American louse, and putting American rootstock on European vines. Therefore, the phylloxera is like, “Oh I don’t know what that is, I don’t want to. I guess I’m not hungry. I thought I was hungry, but I’m not hungry.” And this whole thing led to us actually making hybrid vines proactively, instead of like, “Oh look, a new grape popped up because of nature.” No, we actually started making them, thousands and thousands of different hybrids to put out there. Not all of them made good wine or made wine at all, or could make anything that was remotely like wine. But a lot of them did. Hundreds of them did. We made thousands of them, and hundreds of them could make wine. And a lot of places in the United States held onto this for a while, because it was the one way the wine could be made. And we got out of this whole phylloxera thing. California had the eyes of the world on it after the Gold Rush. Things were happening, which we’ve talked about in previous episodes. And then in 1919, we decided to make it illegal to drink alcohol. And that basically ruined all the progress we had made up until that point. And then in 1933, it decimated pretty much the entire alcohol industry. We emerged out of that, but we emerged out of that with a sweet tooth. The wine we were drinking in Prohibition wasn’t dry red wine or complex white wine. It was really sweet, high-alcohol hooch. That’s what it was. And that’s what we were used to. So coming out of Prohibition, it was very hard for us to figure out what fine wine or what good, fine dry red or white wine was. And it wasn’t until the 1960s that we kind of figured it out. People like Robert Mondavi were inspired by the winemakers that kept the thing going in Napa after Prohibition. And it was in California that we started seeing really nice, fine red wines and that kind of inspired other wine makers. And there’s a lot of activity going on in California. Then in 1976, The Judgment of Paris showed that the wine from California was winning awards that would beat out French wine. And that was our watershed moment. And we became the winemaking country that Thomas Jefferson had always wanted. But before that, things were even happening North of California in Oregon in the 1960s. There were winemakers up there that had left California to go make wine there because they wanted to make Pinot Noir. They wanted to plant it and vitis vinifera wines in the Hills of the Dundee Hills, around Portland. And people were like, “Nah, that’s not going to work.” So they went and did it because someone told them they couldn’t do it. And in doing so, created what is now the Willamette Valley and one of the most sought after places for Pinot Noir in the country, and in the world. And that was all happening before we had these things called AVAs and North of Oregon, you have Washington state, which just even a little bit later than that started saying, you know what? We can do wine as well, and that’s where the Columbia Valley started coming into play. While all that was happening, wine was still being made in New York. Actually the Finger Lakes had a huge industry of wine being made. It was still kind of hybrid-y, and there was a Concord grape, and they were trying Riesling at this point, and all the different kinds of cold, like winter-hardy vines. And then in 1976, The Farmer’s Winery Act was passed in New York. And then you have these winemakers out in Long Island buying up potato fields and turning them into wineries. And then from 1978 to 1980, we created what’s called the American Viticultural Area, which is our way of having an Appalachian system in the United States. It is nothing like the Old World in Europe. It is a very loose, very lenient system. It’s basically used to demarcate an area if you can prove it has a certain kind of unique soil type and unique climate, but it can also be political — it’s America. It’s just what we do. But when we created that, the first one was awarded to Augusta, Missouri, which is old school, they’re still making wine there. Even after Prohibition and through all this time with The Judgment of Paris, Missouri was still making wine, and they were the first ones to apply, they got an AVA. Then after that, the second one was Napa Valley. And then from the 1980s, until literally last week, we have been adding AVAs to our land. A lot of the AVAs we had rushed in between the eighties and the nineties. But I was told by one of the hosts of the VinePair Podcast last week that there was an AVA that was being awarded to Hawaii. I was talking to a winemaker in Washington state that said about two weeks ago, since the recording of this podcast, there’s two new AVAs in Washington state. And I guess you could say for a long time, we didn’t think about any of this stuff, right? I mean so what? It’s California! That’s what’s important. It’s New York. It’s Washington. It’s Oregon. Those are important places because of the track record. But there’s other places that work in the United States that make great wine. The thing is, we’re a big country. And it’s not going to work in every place, but if we’re smart — we’re getting smarter and smarter, the people making wine in this country, the things that they’re coming up with is incredible. They’re thinking about the soil, not the vine, they’re thinking about the climate, not the vine. And then once they get the climate and they get the soil, then they find the vine that works in that soil. We’re finally at a place in our history in America where we’re willing to try whatever does well in whatever soil. There’s an Austrian grape called Grüner Veltliner. It is awesome from Long Island. It is delicious, but the thing is no one knows what Grüner Veltliner is, so it doesn’t do as well, but in the future, it could. ‘Cause once it catches on, people will know that variety as well there. And maybe Long Island Grüner Veltliner will be a thing. And it could be. We’re only 240 something years old. We had 10 years of Prohibition, and we had to come back as a country from that. Our drinking culture is still kind of young. We actually had a stunted growth, if you will. So the thing is, what you should know is that yeah, Oregon makes amazing Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley and all of its sub regions, but Oregon also makes amazing Cab Franc, amazing Pinot Gris, amazing Riesling, amazing Müller-Thurgau. And there are other wine regions in Oregon in the South like Rogue Valley that are doing great things. You should know that in Washington state, they were once really well-known for the Riesling, but now they’re really more known for their Merlot. And now they’re also really known for their Cab, but they really should be known for their Syrah, but not enough people are making Syrah in Washington state because it seems like it’s just Cab and Merlot and Riesling are more popular, but if you’ve ever had a Syrah from Washington state — Columbia Valley, Rattlesnake Hills — they’re beautiful. They’re peppery and dark and wonderful. You should know that in New York state, they make absolutely stunning, amazing Riesling, and now they’re known for it. But there’s also a great Cab Franc coming out of the Finger Lakes. There’s also a great Merlot coming out of Long Island. The Grüner Veltliners coming out of Long Island. There’s a lot happening. In that area now it’s getting more and more popular and more people are understanding the soils. You should also know that Virginia is making absolutely stunning wines right now that sets it apart from every other wine region in the country. They’re making amazing wine from a grape called Petit Manseng, which is a blending variety from Bordeaux. They’re making amazing Viognier, Pinot Noir, Cab Franc, Merlot, Chardonnay. And the beauty of Virginia is all these wines are elegant. There’s more acidity in the wines in Virginia than anywhere else in any other region in the country. You should also know that there’s wine being made in Arizona. Actually I had some great red wine in Arizona. I had one of my favorite white wines ever. A white wine from the grape Malvasia from Arizona that was absolutely delicious. You should also know that there is wine being made in New Mexico. Some of the best sparkling wine in America is being made in New Mexico. You should also know that Texas is doing something really special. The thing about Texas, fun fact is that’s the home of T.V. Munson. That’s the guy who worked with the French to figure out that American rootstock on European vines helped stem the tide of phylloxera. So that’s pretty cool. So he was also a hybrid guy, so he created hundreds and hundreds of hybrids. So Texas has always been kind of a hybrid winemaking place. And the few AVAs that are emerging out of Texas, like the Texas High Plains up in the Northwestern part of the state or the Texas Hill Country, which is right smack dab in the middle of the state. There are things happening here, where vitis vinifera vines are being grown and they’re successfully being grown. Like Merlot, Tempranillo, Syrah, and some of them are being blended with hybrid grapes. And the success rate is stupendous. I recently had a Texas red: It was Merlot, Tempranillo, and a hybrid called Ruby Cabernet. The wine was awesome. And for me, it was like, this is an American wine. It is absolutely an American wine because of the blend. And they’re still making wine in Augusta, Missouri. It’s the first AVA in America. I recently had a red wine from the Norton variety from Missouri, and it was awesome. It was meaty, juicy, and soft, and great. But when it comes to vitis vinifera, the thing is, we are still working on it in the United States. We still have a long way to go. And the best way that we can help this along, is we have to understand that we’re not always going to be a place that makes a lot of wine to get all over the place. We also have really weird laws. Post-Prohibition laws gave every state its own, “Go ahead and create your own law.” So every state is its own country of wine and liquor laws. But the way we can do this is we have to visit these places. We have to go to Virginia, go to Texas, go to New Mexico, go to Arizona. Go to New York, go to Oregon, go to Washington. Of course, go to California. I mean, the places that you can get wine all over the place is one thing. But go to places that don’t do the production to get across the country. And it’s not because they don’t make good wine, it’s because they’re making good wine, but in smaller amounts, because they’re concentrating on quality not quantity. And that’s where America’s going. And I think that’s what’s exciting about American wine. I want to thank Sean Hails, winemaker at Columbia winery in Washington for some great info on this episode. If you’re digging what I’m doing, picking up what I’m putting down, go ahead and give me a rating on iTunes or tell your friends to subscribe. You can subscribe. If you like to type, go ahead and send a review or something like that, but let’s get this wine podcast out so that everybody can learn about wine. Check me out on Instagram. It’s @vinepairkeith. I do all my stuff in stories. And also, you got to follow VinePair on Instagram, which is @vinepair. And don’t forget to listen to the VinePair Podcast, which is hosted by Adam and Zach. It’s a great deep dive into drinks culture every week. Now, for some credits. How about that? Wine 101 is recorded and produced by yours truly, Keith Beavers, at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big shout-out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin. I also want to thank Danielle Grinberg for making the most legit Wine 101 logo. And I got to thank Darby Cicci for making this amazing song: Listen to this epic stuff. And finally, I want to thank the VinePair staff for helping me learn more every day. Thanks for listening. I’ll see you next week. Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity. The article Wine 101: The U.S. Regions Outside of California You Need To Know appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/articles/wine-101-regions-outside-california/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/wine-101-the-us-regions-outside-of-california-you-need-to-know You’ve gone down to the wine cellar and picked the perfect bottle for the evening. It’s finally time to pour a glass of wine for everyone. You go to retrieve the corkscrew, but it’s not in its usual place. Searching a little more intently, you find an old one that you maybe got in college. Fumbling around a bit, you screw it in, but struggle to take it out. The cork tears a bit, then breaks entirely. You go back in, but it breaks yet again. Now you get to figure out how to open it fully and how to filter those little cork bits out of your wine. The hardest part about tonight’s wine should be choosing what to drink, and you should certainly not have to struggle to open it. To ensure smooth sailing, wine-wise, we recommend a Lever Corkscrew. What is a Lever Corkscrew? Great question. It’s a modernized corkscrew, designed to make the wine-opening process a breeze. All you have to do is remove the foil, place the corkscrew on top of the bottle, then push the handles together to stabilize it. Push the handle down to insert the spiral into the cork, then back up to remove it. The whole process is quick, foolproof, and takes little strength or finesse to achieve. This is a great and, for us, an indispensable tool to keep around. It also makes a great gift for fellow wine-lovers! The hardest part of tonight’s wine adventures should be finding the perfect bottle. The article What Is A Lever Corkscrew? appeared first on VinePair. Via https://vinepair.com/picks/what-is-a-lever-corkscrew/ Via https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/what-is-a-lever-corkscrew |
John BoothHi I am John Booth,36 years old from California,CA,USA,working in Whole Seller market,we supply different types of Beverages to the market.Here I am sharing some special tips about it. Archives
August 2021
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