Ted the Wine Dog at Cork's Fine Wine

Get your gift baskets early!

2009-12-09T16:42:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. Well it looks like winter has finally arrived as I look out the window at the plows pushing all that yucky slush around. Let’s see what else is going on besides the Patriots floundering…Tigers newest bimbo…and the Sox lackluster hot stove season…at least the Bruins are doing decent and the Celtics once again look like a championship team. Sorry for the sports references so early but I haven’t had a chance to ramble about them in a few weeks, and actually had customer requests for them.

Enough of that, let’s talk about wine. There is a new reality series (on PBS of all places) that is all about winemaking. It pits 12 contestants in (6) 1 hour episodes, with the winner actually producing their very own wine. The show was obviously taped awhile back because we have 1 case of the winning wine here at Cork’s! There was very limited production and I believe the whole state of Mass. got only 20 cases to sell. The 1st episode starts this Thursday at 8 PM on WGBH in Boston, and other times throughout the week as well. It sounds pretty cool and I’m going to set my DVR to record it. One interesting side note…the winner of the contest is on the bottle…but the bottle says “remove label only after the finale”. We will put some info on the show up on our website. Oh and if the show bites we’ll peel off the label…see who the heck won...and crack open a bottle and try it out!

We have 1 of the Bud Boys here to sample you on (appropriately enough) winter beers this Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30. He will have the new winter brew from the crazy people of Magic Hat called Howl. Next up is the always popular Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, followed by Redhook Winter Ale. Last but not least, one of my favorite winter beers, Winter Bourbon Cask Ale. So even though we’re like 11 days early, put your mittens and snowshoes on and come try some delicious winter beers.

Friday night from 4 to 7, we welcome a newcomer from Commonwealth Wines. Although Sean is far from a rookie, this will be his 1st time pouring here at Cork’s. Unlike his predecessor (Kevin, the Giants fan) he won’t shout you down across the store and say “hey you…in the blue coat...do you want a drink?” But he is an experienced fine wine salesman and has great wines to share with you. He will start you with a brand new Prosecco called La Marca. Las Rocas Garnacha will be next and I will quote the famous wine critic Robert Parker on this one. He says, “This may be the greatest discovery of my 25 year career!”…very high praise indeed...and a steal at only $12.99. Dancing Bull Zinfandel will be next followed by Frei Bros. Chardonnay and Cabernet, the last 3 all being excellent wines to pair with your holiday meals and parties.

Just a few quick reminders for those holiday gifts that you still need to get. We have a ton of nip mugs and baskets for only 10 bucks. These make great office presents, or for that $10 grab/secret Santa gift. We also have a bunch of wine gift baskets starting at $25. Lastly… they are going quick…but we still have quite a few “Liquor Gift Sets”. They all come in decorative boxes for wrapping and have cool “free stuff” inside. I hope you all have a great weekend and we will see you all soon.

Robert

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-18T17:43:00.004-05:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. This will probably be our last newsletter before Thanksgiving. Since we’ll be closed next Thursday and Wednesday is a crazy busy day, I will not have a chance to type 1 out most likely. You can always check the website for current news at CorksFineWine.com. Or you can get up to the minute info and updates at Facebook.com or twitter.com. I think we still have myspace and Dig or Doug ….or whatever that is but who has time for all that tweeting…twerping…digging and all that nonsense.

So let’s highlight a few things and talk about the upcoming tastings to get you ready for your Turkey Day. We will be open a few extra hours on Wednesday (Thanksgiving Eve). We will open at 9 AM and close at 10 PM for your shopping convenience. We will be closed on Thursday Thanksgiving Day, and we will close 1 hour early at 9 PM on the Friday after turkey day. We have a bunch of gift baskets made up from $9.99 nip mugs… to $40 (3-bottle) wine gift baskets. We will be making more and have pictures of them on the website soon.

Let’s talk about tastings we have going on in the next couple weeks. We will have our friend Miguel here to sample you on the crazy brews from Flying Dog this Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30. Speaking of dogs…a quick apology to the 1 brave customer that brought a dog into Ted’s house for the Mutt Lynch tasting...sorry for Ted’s behavior and be sure to send me the vet bill! Anyway, back to Flying Dogs and beer. He will have Doggie Style Pale Ale…Double Dog Double Pale Ale…Old Scratch Amber Lager…In Heat Wheat Hefeweizen…and Snake Dog IPA. He might have a surprise Porter in the mix as well if they come in on time. So DON’T bring your pooch…but DO bring a friend and check out these yummy beers out of Colorado.

Friday night, we have Mark from Boston Wine here to taste you on his fine wines from 4 to 7 PM. He will start with a delicious sparkling wine from of all places New Mexico called Gruet Brut. Next up are Cartlidge & Brown Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, both excellent choices for Turkey Day. We go to Spain next for Monte Oton Garnacha. This great value wine (2 for $14) is 1 that I brought in during the “Summer of Sangria” as a cheap Spanish wine for Sangria recipes. Off to Italy for Vitiano Falesco which is a Cabenet/Melot/Sangiovese blend. He will end with the delicious Allegrini Palazzo Della Torre. This is a blend of Corvina and Rondinella and is a highly rated/award winning wine.

We have a bonus tasting on Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving from 3 to 6 PM. Our Friend Mark will be here with his very own Pinot Noir called….are you ready for this… “PINOT”. It is a Central Coast Pinot Noir and is the perfect red wine for the bird. He will also be pouring the Urban Riesling which also pairs perfectly for Turkey Day. At some point we will be getting our Beaujolais Nouveau in and I’m sure we’ll crack open a bottle of that too. I hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving Holiday and we’ll see you all soon.

Robert

Thanks for attending the 5th Annual Grand Fall Wine Tasting

2009-11-05T15:22:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. I’d like to thank all of you who attended our 5th Annual Grand Fall Wine Tasting. Once again it amazes me how many of you folks show up for these things. I think the selection of wines was just right and we did especially well with the 2 for’s and lower price point wines. I hope you all enjoyed the Frazolas from our friends at Pizza Time in Foxboro. I think it was a nice change of pace from the regular tastings pizza that we always have. I encourage you to stop by and visit Rene and Saki at Pizza Time, which is on Main St. in Foxboro in the Waxy O’Connor’s plaza. The next big tasting won’t be till after the holidays, the week before the Super Bowl. We’ll put Josh to work on the Super Brew V lineup and see if he can top the last tasting.

Speaking of beer tastings, we have another rookie making his debut tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 here at Cork’s. He’s so new we don’t even know his name. But what we do know is he represents the outstanding beers from out in western Mass called Berkshire Brewing Co. He will be sampling you on their entire lineup that we carry including Traditional Ale...Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale...Gold Spike Ale...River Ale...Lost Sailor IPA...Shabadoo Black & Tan...Drayman's Porter...Coffeehouse Porter...Oktoberfest Lager and Cabin Fever Ale...these beers are in the 22 oz large format and 64 oz growlers only. Unlike that watered down beer from the Rockies (you know… the one that's like making love on a canoe) with the blue label...these beers are brewed cold...shipped cold...and we only sell them cold. So stop by and help support the local guys and pick up some great beers at 10 % off tonight only.

We will take a week off from the wine tastings on Friday night. But we have a full lineup booked right though the end of the year for you. I know I’m going to regret this, but my dog Ted will be here to help “paw” the dog themed wines from Mutt Lynch next week. We encourage you to bring your pooch… try these great value wines…and help support the local animal rescue organizations. We have more info on this tasting on the website (corsfinewine.com) and will talk more about it next week.

Just a few other things going on here at Cork’s to wrap up.. We have a ton of Holiday Gift Sets arriving daily here at Cork’s. We will take some pictures of them and throw them on the website. Hopefully by the weekend we will build a big table up front with them as well. The good thing about these gift sets is that they usually all come in decorative boxes… and have free “stuff” attached to them… and they are the same price as the regular package...no up-charge! We will also be making some Holiday Gift Baskets and displaying them in the front and on the website as well.

How about those Celtics off to a 6-0 start…the Pat’s back home Sunday against the Dolphins…and the Bruins struggling around the .500 mark…let’s see did I leave any sport out?...nope I think I got them all…Have a great weekend.

Robert

5th Annual Grand Fall Wine Tasting

2009-10-28T19:42:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s 5th Annual Grand Fall Wine Tasting newsletter. The big event is just a day away, this Thursday October 29th from 5 to 7:30 PM. The list is put to bed and should be up on the website (corksfinewine.com) if you want to check it out. We topped out at 101 items for you to sample…94 wines and 7 liqueurs. A good chunk of the wines are new wines that I’ve sampled, and brought in for the show and holiday season. Most are value priced in the 10 to 15 dollar range, but we have value wines starting at $7 all the way up to $49 Champagnes!

I’m not going to go into to much detail on how the tastings work as most of you are regulars to these big events. For the newbies, we will post some tips on the website for you to review or at least chuckle over. I will again mention that like 2 years ago this event is a couple of days before Halloween, so costumes are strongly encouraged. I know I have my costume picked out and everyone who dresses up will receive a free gift! If that weren’t enough we will have a grand prize of a 1.5 L Peter Brum Riesling (perfect wine for Thanksgiving dinner) to who ever has the best costume. The judging will be totally arbitrary and up to me…so let’s be honest… guys…you’re out...sorry Kham - the fireman’s hat will not get it done this year!

We do have a new “Pizza Time” (Shops at Chestnut Green) supplying the munchies for us this year. We met Rene and Saki at the Oktoberfest, and they are very nice and their food is outstanding. We will have a mix of Frazolas (a stromboli/calzone kinda thingie) and pizza to snack on. As always the “Pizza Cam” will be on, so be sure to smile and wave as you push Tommy Bolini out of the way for a slice. We’re also hoping to have Edible Arrangements, who we met there as well be here with a table.

We don’t have a beer tasting this week as we bump Josh for the big wine event. But I think we have every Thursday, and even a few Saturdays lined up right through the end of the year. Be sure to check out the upcoming events portion of the website for the lineup. We will also be venturing into the gift basket biz for the holiday season. There will be some here at the store in the $10 range up to $50. You can choose the pre-made ones, or gives us a few days to customize one just for you.

OK…I need to get the store ready for the big party tomorrow, so just a couple more things. Woohoo...go Celtics...way to start off the run for banner #18 with a win at Lebron’s house! Oh yes and let’s not forget...GO PHILLIES!! I hope to see you all at the tasting tomorrow.

Robert

5th Annual Grand Fall Wine Tasting Next Thursday

2009-10-22T13:38:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. We are just about 1 week away from our 5th Annual Grand Fall Wine Tasting. The date is next Thursday, October 29th from 5 to 7:30 PM. I still have a couple of suppliers to finish off but it looks like we will top out at 15 tables and 100 items for you to taste!!...93 wines…and 7 liqueurs. Over half of these are new in the last few months and we have a price point for everybody - from 2 for $14 value wines to $40 Cabs and Champagnes. I will have a listing of all the items to be tasted on the website (corksfinewine.com) by the weekend.

I’m thinking next week’s newsletter will be a brief reminder on the tasting, so I will talk more about the event in this week’s newsletter. The tasting is just a couple days before Halloween so we encourage all of you to wear a costume. In fact, like we did a couple of years ago, we will offer a free gift to everybody who dresses up for the event. But don’t get to excited; it’s usually just a crappy bottle of wine off our closeout rack! One thing to get excited about is our new Pizza supplier. Ironically the new place is called Pizza Time (Foxboro) and the 1 we used to use is called Pizza Tyme (Norton)…OK, sorry Tommy Bolini, there really is no “irony” there, just a coincidence. Tommy is obsessed with the rampant incorrect usage of irony in the sports world...don’t even get him started on “chomping/champing at the bit” Anyway, we met these wonderful people at the Oktoberfest a few weeks ago and their food is outstanding. They have some calzone/stromboli like thingies called Frazola that are to die for. So we will give them a whirl at the tasting and see how many Mel can stuff in his piehole!

Let’s not forget about the beer side of things as we still have quite a bit of Oktoberfest and Autumn beers still hanging around. That means winter beers and holiday brews are right around the corner as well. We have a special guest appearance by our friend Bill Tredo to taste us on some delicious brews from England tonight from 4:30 to 7:30 PM. He has 3 beers from Wychwood…Scarecrow Golden Pale Ale, Fiddler’s Elbow, and Hobgoblin Dark English Ale. Next up is an Organic English Ale from Duchy Originals. And lastly we have Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale. I can’t remember how the beer tastes, but that is still one of my favorite movies of all time. Ironically…OK...coincidently, these beers will be perfect for the Patriots rout of the Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium in London this Sunday!
Robert

Guinness and Gary Vee

2009-10-14T18:36:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. How about those Celtics off to a blistering 3-1 pre-season start! I’m not sure how the Red Sox, Patriots, and Bruins are doing…I think they were all off last week! Anyway…there’s lots of stuff going on here at Cork’s as you may need a drink to wash away the last week's sporting news. Let’s start with a Guinness beer tasting on Thursday…and a let’s find a few new wines to taste, wine tasting on Friday…and let’s not forget our biggest wine tasting event of the year, is only a few weeks away. Thursday October 29th from 5 to 7:30 is our 5th Annual Grand fall Wine Tasting. We are just now getting the lineup together, but it should be close to 90 wines and 15 tables!! Be sure to check the website (corksfinewine.com) for details and updates.

Tomorrow night (Thursday) at the special time of 5:30 to 7:30 PM we will be tasting the yummy brews from Guinness. We will have the Guinness Draft, Stout, 250 Anniversary Stout, Harp, and Smithwick’s for you to sample. They will have tons of Guinness pint glasses to give away, and don’t forget to take your 10 % discount on any Guinness product the night of the tasting as well.

Hmmm…what to pick for Friday night's wine tasting. I will try not to duplicate things that we will be doing at our big fall show…but I haven’t got the lineup fully set yet…screw it…let me just wander the aisles and see what jumps at me. OK…nothing jumped off the shelf… but I promise you I’ll find 3 or 4 gems to pour Friday night between 4 and 7 PM.
What did jump out at me was an appearance by 1 of my favorite wine guys/critics Gary “Vee” Vaynerchuck on the Today Show. He has a great approach to wine, and I strongly recommend his wine library TV segments and any of his books. Check this segment out to see what a crazy dude he is……I met him at the wine expo in Boston and have been a big fan of his ever since.

I hope you all have a great weekend and we will see you soon.

Robert

End of summer news

2009-08-29T11:43:00.000-04:00

We have a just a couple things going on as we wrap up summer and get ready for the fall season here at Cork’s We will be making our annual pilgrimage down to Buzzard’s Bay Brewery on Thursday, August 27th. We’ve talked about this for a few weeks now and there are details on the website. The weather is supposed to be great and this is always a lot of fun...oh yea…did I mention they have “Cornhole”? The Cork’s crew is leaving around 4:30 if anybody is interested in tagging along.It seems like I haven’t done a Friday night wine tasting myself in forever, so I’m finding some hits of Summer 09” and putting them together for an end of season sampling.

We will start with a brand new Albarino from Montecillo. This Spanish varietal goes perfect with any shellfish (yes even Bridgette’s new hermit crabs). Next up are 2 delicious Rose Wines, Chateau Virgile from France and Prado Rey from Spain. I think these are both great “Summer Blush” wines and an excellent choice when it’s just to hot to pop open your favorite red. Probably the most requested wine of the summer was Sangria (I know…I was surprised as well) both the ready to drink kind, and tons of questions about what wine to use when making Sangria. So we will chill down, and twist open La Casita Sangria for you to try. Next is a gem I found on my visit to Long Island a few weeks ago. It’s Palmer 2004 Merlot from the North Fork of LI. As I’ve stated many times, I’m not really a fan of the varietal but this drinks like a $25 Cab or dare I say even a Bordeaux.

We will finish with a wine that only comes out once a year and is very limited. Bogle Phantom is a blend of Petite Sirah, Old Vine Zinfandel, and Old Vine Mourvedre. It is big… and dark… and spicy…and is the perfect wine for grilled steaks or BBQ ribs!We won’t do any tastings next week as we get ready for our 5th Annual Kick-Off Beer tasting. The date for that is Saturday, September 12th from 2:30 to 5 PM. Josh is putting the finishing touches on the lineup and I promise more info next week on this huge event. So as the Sox make a push for the playoffs…. the Pat’s wrap up their pre-season….the summer concert season wraps up…and we get ready for the Deutsche Bank Golf Tournament… be sure to stop in Cork’s for all your end of Summer beverage needs.

Have a great weekend!Robert

Dog days of August

2009-08-15T17:13:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. For a slow, dog days of summer August there sure is a lot of stuff going on here at Cork’s. From tonight’s launching of Mayflower Beer…our roadtrip to Buzzard’s Bay Brewery…the Newport Storm Luau on Saturday…the start of the Patriots pre-season tonight…Country Fest on Saturday at Gillette…and let’s not forget our huge 5th Annual Kick-Off Beer Tasting on Saturday September 12th that we’re starting to put together now.In our ongoing efforts to go green and support the local guys, we bring you Mayflower Brewing Co. out of Plymouth, MA…it doesn’t more local than that, unless we have Bill and the beer club come sample their stuff!

We have another rookie, Jeff from Mayflower Brewing Co will be here tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 to sample you on his Pale Ale, Golden Ale, IPA, and Porter. I have yet to try these beers myself, but Josh says that they are pretty good. We brought in a case of each a couple weeks ago and they almost sold through, so I am looking forward to tasting them with you. We’re trying to get a head count on those interested in attending the Lager Education Night/BBQ/brewery tour at Buzzards Bay Brewery next Thursday. It’s from 5 to 8 PM and about a 45 minute ride from Cork’s. We will probably leave here around 4:30 or so and we can carpool for those interested. If you prefer to drive yourself try to giver me a heads up and so I can let Bill Russell the owner (no...not the x-Celt legend… or for you diehards not the Dodgers shortstop of the 70’s either) have a rough idea of how many are coming. There is more info on our website (corksfinewine.com) or the BBB website at buzzardsbrew.com.

We’d like to give a big thank you to John and Sarah for doing an excellent job at the “Customer Wine Tasting” Friday night. They had some pretty expensive wines at the tasting and did quite well with them. They also had a couple of excellent Long Island wines, 1 of which I went to on Monday and toured. Palmer Vineyards not only makes delicious world class wines, they have an absolutely gorgeous winery/tasting room/deck overlooking the vineyards. For those longing to go to Napa/Sonoma or even Europe, but it’s just not in the budget the Long Island Wineries are a 1 ½ hour drive and a beautiful ferry ride away. If anybody is interested please let me know and I’ll make sure you get VIP treatment on your visit.

We’re going to take a couple of weeks off from wine tastings as we wind up the summer months and get ready for the fall wine season. We’re looking at dates now for our big Fall/Holiday wine tasting, and once we get through the Kick-Off Beer tasting we will set a date for that. And for those of you going to Country fest on Saturday we have plenty of Kenny Chesney’s favorites…Corona and Cruzan Rum for the festivities. We even have a life-size (I think Kenny is wearing lifts these days to be honest) to give away for the best cowboy/cowgirl outfit…who are we kidding…just cowgirl outfit!!... that comes in the store. So Giddyyyupp!! and swing by Cork’s before the show.

Robert

PS….shhhhhh...don’t tell anybody, but we have Shipyard Pumpkin Ale and a few other Autumn beers that have just arrived in limited quantities.

Thanks for attending our 3rd Customer Appreciation Day!

2009-07-30T13:07:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. I hope all of you had a good time at our 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation Day. The weather was picture perfect, and I think it went off pretty smoothly. Hopefully everybody got at least a pint glass, a few burgers, and got to try some great summer wines/beers and cocktails. As the Patriots start training camp today, let us remind you that the next BIG tasting will be our 5th Annual Kickoff Beer tasting. The date will be Saturday, September 12th from 2:30 to 5 PM. We will start bringing in new beers, and will have the 1st of the Autumn/Oktoberfest beers trickling in for this event in the next month or so. We will have updates as always on the website at corksfinewine.com.

We don’t have a beer tasting on the schedule for the next couple of weeks. I’ll get Josh on that, and at least do a couple before the big beer tasting on 9/12. We’re also thinking of taking a Thursday beer tasting on the road to visit our good friend Bill Russell at Buzzards Bay Brewing in Westport, MA. They have “Lager Education Night” every Thursday in the summer months from 5 to 8 PM. I’m thinking the 13th or 20th of August for this road trip/tasting. Anybody interested, or have a preference in either of those dates? Speaking of road trips, I strongly recommend the 11th Annual Newport Storm Luau benefiting the Fort Adams Trust down in Newport, RI on Saturday August 15th. I went to the 1st one, and a few others and these guys put on an awesome event…not to mention delicious pig on a spit! I will have my webmistress/sistah put some info on these events on the website as well.

We have yet another rookie making her Friday night debut this week at our 4 to 7 PM wine tasting. Ellen from the Connoisseur Division of United will be here to sample you on some great summer wines. She will start us off with Sofia Riesling from Francis Ford Coppola Winery. Next, we go to Australia for Down Under Chardonnay. This is a good, true to the varietal, Chardonnay at the ridiculously low price of $5.99. Next up is my yearly, albeit a bit late and smaller, Rose wine push. Domaine Massamier La Mignarde Cuvee des Oliviers Rose….geeez with a name like that no wonder people are scared of French Rose’s…Commanderie de la Bargemone Rose is the 2nd one we will taste. Again…these aren’t your grammas sweet White Zin, but a delicious expression of Syrah, Grenache, and Cinsault that make them perfect summer wines for these humid 90 degree days. She will finish with Acacia Pinot Noir. Acacia was 1 of the very 1st wineries I visited out in the Carneros region of Napa Valley. I’ve been a huge fan of theirs and pushing their great wines ever since…and for those wine mgs on our newsletter list…see what a nice VIP tour, a collared golf shirt, and a bottle of wine will get you? All kidding aside, if anybody is visiting any breweries or wineries, be they local or even overseas, please let us know and we’ll try to get you a lil something extra on your visit.

Lastly, you have to visit Courtney’s “Fresh” wine display in the front of the store. No, these are not new, fresh, fruity local wines but…ummm at the risk of offending the PC police let’s call them “interesting” wines. I’ll list a few and I’m sure you’ll get the gist. In the Buff…7 Deadly Zins…Bitch…Ménage-a-Trois…Pro-mis-cuous…Sin Zin…Fat Bastard…and a slew of other “interesting” and “fresh” names. This screams for bringing back the mystery discount if you asked me!! So just say something “fresh” or “interesting” to our now startled cashier and you will receive 15% off any of these fun wines. Speaking of discounts, you may want to load up a bit today or tomorrow, as unfortunately we have to start charging 6.25% tax on ALL liquor starting Saturday, August 1st. Last but not least we have our 3rd Customer Wine tasting with out friends John & Sarah scheduled for next Friday night, so be sure to mark your calendar for that as well. Have a great weekend.

Robert

Customer Appreciation Day!!

2009-07-23T13:00:00.002-04:00

Well its less than 2 days away! Cork’s 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation Day is this Saturday, July 25th from 1 to 4 PM. And after a long miserable stretch of weather, they are saying sunny and 80 degrees!! For those who have never been to one of these events, it’s our chance to give something back to you...our customers...for making Cork’s your liquor store of choice. I know you have lots of choices in the area, and we appreciate that you choose to patronize Cork’s. This may also be your last chance to say goodbye to Erin as she’s moving down south…Hmmm…does that mean we change the plaza name to Kat’s Centre?

OK…so let’s talk about the BBQ/Tasting/Raffle. We will have burgers and dogs on the grill. Sorry, we like you folks and all, but NO steaks and lobsters this year again. We will have chips and snacks...water and soda/juice…so by all means bring the kiddies! We’re even thinking of having a “Big Salad” for Elaine and the svelte Tommy Bolini. We’re still looking for volunteers for the grill as Don and Bill from last year are both away on vacation.

We have a great lineup of fun summer wines, beers and liquors for you to sample as well. Let’s start with beer…We have a new rep Keith from Magic Hat here pouring the magical elixirs from their summer 12-pk…Our pal Yanni will be here to sample you on Opa-Opa including their Watermelon growlers. OOHHPA!!.... Mike’s will be here to refresh your palates with 4 brand new flavors!! Our friends from Boston Beer Co. will be here with a mixture of Sam Adams and Twisted Teas. Dan from Quality will have new beers from Widmer and Redhook for you to try. Our new L. Knife rep, Miguel, will have a bunch of his “Summer Beers” that he has in his portfolio as well.

On the wine/liquor side we have Tommy Bolini and Zimmy the Greek!! Tommy will have the brand new Montinore Borealis Northern Whites, and a sweet/chillable red called Bully Hill Banty Red. He also has new UV RTD Cocktails in Lemonade, Blue Raspberry, and Cherry flavors. Zimmy is actually Jamie from MS Walker fresh back from Greece with lots of stories to tell. You might think he’d have Greek wines for you, but alas he has 2 new organic Chilean wines from Cono-Sur (Pinot Noir & Sauv. Blanc) and a bunch of delicious Spanish and Italian wines. Si Soave (you have to Si this crazy bottle), Santi Pinot Grigio, Con Class Rueda, Evodia Grenache, and Red Guitar Tempranillo. Mr. “Bud”erworth will be back with Rum Jumbies!! they come in Coconut, Mango, Pineapple, and Vanilla. He also has 2 wines…Dogajolo Tuscan Red and the brand new White. Our farming friends from Harvard, MA will also be here with their yummy Apfel Eis apple ice wine.

We can’t forget about our fabulous raffle!! We have a ton of stuff from T-shirts and pint glasses to bikes and a gaming chair…we have huge patio umbrellas...coolers…a Bud Light/Redsox canopy…a Sam Adams deck chair…and tons of other good stuff. We’re trying to tweak the raffle so it’s less confusing and chaotic (though that is what makes it fun!)…each customer will fill out an entry form and that will also be your # for the whole day. The raffle will be at 2:30 and you MUST be present to win. The problem we had in the past was that people would have their # called in the front of the store, and all the “stuff” was in the back of the store. Some people would be # 4 and not want to wade through the masses for their prize and would wait until the end…only to find all the good stuff gone and only wicker reindeer left!! I think we’re going to try to do the entire thing in the back to help solve that problem. After all this supposed to be a fun drama less day!

I think I covered everything…and conveniently have yet to mention the slumping Sox…yikes...those damn Yankees are ruining our Summahhh!! No worries we have plenty of time left, and if memory serves me 8 more with them and they’ve yet to beat us! Geeze I don’t think I’ve used this many exclamation points since I was 12 !!!! I promise I’ll stop.

From Megan, Robert, Don, Erin, Kat, Andrew, Ben, Robin, Marianne, Shannon, Josh, Courtney, Ursula, Valerie, Brian, Cody, and even Ted the wine dog (let us not forget the long line of “ X” Cork’s employees as well…yikes there sure has been some doozies)… we all want to THANK YOU !! for being loyal Cork’s customers. See you all Saturday!!...OK just a few more!!!

One week to Customer Appreciation Day

2009-07-16T20:54:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork's weekly newsletter. Finally…a nice stretch of summer weather to enjoy. We do have 1 tasting lined up this week to get you ready for our 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation day that is a little over a week away. We’ve been working on our lineups and there will be lots of fun stuff. Be sure to check out the website (corksfinewine.com) for a listing of what we be tasting and other news on the big event. The concert season swings back into action big time, with Billy Joel & Elton John at Gillette and Nas, Damien, Marley, and the Roots at Tweeter…hmmmm…tough choice…which one are you going too?

We have another rookie making his Friday night debut at Cork’s from 4 to 7 PM this week. Joe from Ruby Wines will be here with 6 new and interesting wines for you to sample. He will start with a yummy sparkling wine from France called Marquis de la Tour Brut. This is a delicious sparkler, and because it’s from the Loire Valley and not Champagne is a steal at $10.99. Next up are 2 interesting wines with crazy names and labels from Charles Smith out of Washington State. Kung Fu Girl Riesling and The Velvet Devil Merlot. Off to Argentina for Susana Balbo’s Crios Torrontes. Hands down, this is the best Torrontes I have ever had and makes a great alternative summer wine. Next up is Ben Marco Malbec…do I sense a trend here with all these Malbecs week after week?...only this one has a twist with 10 % Bonarda that makes this wine amazing. Last but not least is Hahn Estates Meritage. This is a true Bordeaux blend with all 5 of the Bordeaux varietals, unlike most of the wines from the Bordeaux region that tend to be just Cab and Merlot. This is truly an exceptional lineup so please stop by and welcome Joe to the Cork’s Friday night lineup.

Well the Sox are in 1st at the break…unfortunately the Militia lost on a last second kickoff return, in what was one of the best live sporting events I’ve ever been to. I guess we’ll have to look to the Pats to take us to the Super Bowl this year. There won’t be any beer or wine tastings next week as we prepare for the big day on Saturday. The event is from 1 to 4 and is always a blast, so be sure to save a couple hours to stop by.

Robert

This week's tastings...

2009-07-09T13:20:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. I hope everybody had a great 4th of July weekend. At least the sun popped out for a bit before returning to it’s doom and gloom pattern. Well, we have 2 tastings this week to lift your spirits. And don’t forget our 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation Day is just a little over 2 weeks away. We have details on the website so be sure to check it out at corksfinewine.com

Tonight’s (Thursday) beer tasting is with our neighbors from Narragansett from 4:30 to 7:30. They will feature the classic Narragansett Lager Beer, Light, and the owner of the company is trying to track down Bock Beer as well. The larger cans now come in a convenient 18 –pk, and we even have a few ties left over from Father’s Day that we have attached to them. The Gansett folks usually bring a bunch of stuff, from koozies to ping pong balls, so be sure to stop by and give this once… and hopefully soon to be local beer a try. Their new slogan is buy a case… and we’ll build a new brewery… back in RI where they belong!

We have one of our suppliers, Mark making a rare guest appearance for this weeks Friday night wine tasting. He has some nice and interesting summer wines for you to sample between 4 and 7 PM. 1st up is La Playa Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. This is a great party wine, and we have the whole La Playa line in the 1.5 L value size. We go to Germany next for the Urban Riesling from the Mosel region. This is another good value wine, and perfect if we ever see the warm summer sun. Back in the plane as the amazing race takes us to Tuscany, Italy for La Bastarda Bianco and Il Bastardo Rosso. These 2 for $20 wines have what looks to be Tommy Bolini with a suit 2 sizes too small on the red label, and in a tutu with his hair in a bun on the white. If that were not enough, he will finish the tasting with 1 of my favorite new wines called Llama Old Vine Malbec. …is it just me or does anybody else think Pao Gasol looks like a llama?... http://www.andres3000.com/2008/08/05/pau-gasol-is-no-llama-or-is-he/ … either way this is 1 of the best Malbecs in the store and a must try.

More good news on the wine end…the Bitch is back! This delicious Grenache is always a hit, and is only available a couple times a year. Also back from his 2 month vacation/shaving/diet camp is Ted the wine dog!...and he’s looking cuter than ever too. He’s here today, but will be making his usual guest appearances for all those who have been asking about him.

Robert

Torrential Rain, Will It Ever Stop Newsletter

2009-07-02T18:17:00.003-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s "Torrential rain… when will it ever stop?" newsletter. This is really getting a bit ridiculous here, but they say sun for Saturday and Sunday. I myself am quite skeptical at this point, but we can hope. This weather is almost as crazy as the last 2 Redsox games!! Well either way, we have a couple of tastings lined up this weekend to get you ready for the 4th. We’ve also been hitting up our vendors for lots of free stuff to give away at our 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation day, which is less than a month away as well. Be sure to check out the website for details on the event as it draws closer.

We don’t have a beer tasting lined up for this Thursday but we do have a Twisted Tea tasting on Friday night from 4:30 to 7:30. They will be featuring the flavors in their mix 12 pk including Original, Half & Half, Raspberry, Green Citrus, Midnight, Backyard Batch, and the brand new, "Will the Rain Ever Freakin Stop?" flavors! These are great summer refreshers and will be 10 % off the day of the tasting.

Peter, our friend from Greece, will be here Friday from 4 to 7 PM to sample you on his outstanding Greek wines. Up until Peter came to Cork’s about 6 months ago, I had a very low opinion and had yet to try any Greek wines I found palatable. Well he changed my perception and has some really delicious wines for you to sample. I’m going to attempt spelling the wines and will leave the descriptions up to Peter, but trust me, these are excellent wines, and reasonably priced. He will start with Cambas Mantinia a dry white wine. The next 3 are reds starting with Korinthia, moving on to Agiorgitiko, and ending with Aspa Argyros. He will finish the tasting with a sweet red dessert wine called Patras Mavrodaphne. The reds are great for the grill and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of these wines.

After much debate, we’ve decided to open from 10AM to 8 PM on Saturday, July 4th. Sunday (yeah, like there really is a sun), the 5th will be our normal hours of 12-6. Hopefully, the deluge will subside enough to throw a few burgers on the grill, and a see a little fireworks this weekend. I hope you have a great and safe 4th.

Robert

Welcome to Cork's Jimmy Buffet Newsletter

2009-06-24T16:57:00.003-04:00

It looks like the weather will finally clear in time for the shows on Thursday night and Saturday. We have a bunch of tastings lined up for both shows, and a wine tasting wedged in the middle for Friday. We’re loaded up on all the tequila, margarita mixes, and of course, plenty of Corona and Landshark beer! If that wasn’t enough, the 8-0 Boston Militia have their 1st playoff game at home at 6 PM on Saturday in Somerville, MA. I went to a game a couple of weeks ago and this is real tackle football and a lot of fun to watch. Check out their website at www.bostonmilitia.com to order tickets.

OK…so for day 1 of Jimmy Buffet, we have 2 liquor tastings lined up from 3 to 6 PM to help you pre-game for the show. Our pal Mr. “Bud”erworth will have the brand new Rum Jumbie for you to sample. This is a delicious new rum imported from St. Maarten and comes in coconut, mango, vanilla, and pineapple flavors. This is Kat's new favorite spirit and she says, "Mmmmmm mmmmm good!" We also have John from Cabin Fever here to mix up some summery concoctions of this fabulous maple liqueur. So put on your flowered shirts, leis, and parrothead outfits and stop by on your way to the show.

Our friend John from Trio Wines will be here Friday night from 4 to 7 PM to sample you on some of his new wines. He will start off with an excellent Chardonnay from New Zealand called Cable Bay. This normally is a $25 Chard, but we got a closeout price on it and it is a steal at $15.99. House Jam Chillen White and Smooth Red Wine will be next. These are great summer wines (you even chill the red!!) and at 2 for $16, great value wines as well. We end with 2 wines that are perfect for the grill. Bianchi Zinfandel is a nice spicy, jammy Zin and will pair perfectly with barbecue ribs. And for that big juicy steak, we have Doolittle Farms Napa Valley Cabernet to end this outstanding tasting.

For day 2 of Jimmy Buffet we have (hopefully) one of the Bud girls to sample you on Margaritaville RTD cocktails and Landshark beer. We’re even going to break out our official Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker and make some frozen drinks for you as well!! This event is from 2 to 5 PM or until we run out of tequila!! So be sure to stop by for 1 or all of these tastings this weekend and be sure to check out the website (corksfinewine.com) for upcoming events. We even have new wine & beer t-shirts, mugs, and other crazy stuff for you.

Robert

Stop the liquor tax - and Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-18T17:22:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s Father’s Day newsletter. There is a ton of stuff going on here at Cork’s in the next couple of weeks. We have a Widmer/Redhook Tasting tonight. A geyser Peak/Sushi Tasting on Friday night. There are 3 concerts at Great Woods this week, with Buffet in for 2 shows next week. We have multiple tastings wrapped around both of those shows as well. We’ve got the Sox on a roll in inter-league action…the US Open at Bethpage and don’t forget the great local charity event (cvscharityclassic.com) down in RI put on by Billy Andrade and Brad Faxon. This is a great event, with world class golfers, and tickets are basically free if you go to CVS and buy batteries or shampoo. But you got to be quiet at the event as I am a Marshal and I’ll have to shush you if you’re boisterous.

Tonight’s (Thursday) beer tasting is from 4:30 to 7:30 and features some new beers from Widmer Brothers and Redhook. Redhook Slim Chance is a brand new low calorie-low carb- light beer out of Portsmouth, NH. Widmer Drop Top Amber Ale and Drifter Pale Ale were just released in MA from this excellent brewery out in Portland, OR. I’m sure they’ll mix in a couple of the “older” stuff from these 2 as well.

We have a special wine tasting lined up with Geyer Peak Winery out of California for this Friday. They have scheduled 1 of their fabulous supermodels from 4 to 7 PM and she’s bringing some sushi to pair with the wines. Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc is 1 of my favorite SB’s from CA and is the perfect, refreshing summer wine. She will also have the Chardonnay for you to sample as well. We will have free chopsticks with any purchase of Geyser Peak, and all who come to the tasting can throw their name in a hat for a Proctor Silex rice cooker. Since we are sourcing this tasting out those are the only wines she is scheduled to pour….I know what all you red drinkers are saying right now…what the heck...no reds? So we will gently persuade her to pour the Francis Coppola Merlot as well. Who knows maybe we can talk her into trying something else too.

As we all know our state and country are facing tough economic times. As a rule I try to stay out of all political and religious discussions, especially in these newsletters. But I do want to share a little info about the proposed 6.25 % tax on alcohol that I have been forwarded to by many of our distributors.

The 6.25% Sales Tax on Beverage Alcohol
Governor Deval Patrick is trying to convince the legislature to not only increase the existing sales tax from 5% to 6.25% but to apply it to many new sales categories. One of those proposed categories is Beverage Alcohol which is already heavily taxed on the state and federal levels in the form of an excise tax that is approximately 39% of the wholesale cost on a bottle of vodka. This tax is paid for by the wholesaler and passed on to us the retailer along with the wholesaler's mark-up, which we then mark-up to reach our retail price level. A sales tax at the point of purchase would then tax you the consumer for an item that has already been taxed and marked-up. It is a tax on a tax that w e are all to familiar with these days. Please help us stop this unnecessary, redundant taxation, e-mail your state representative and senator and tell them you do not support this initiative.

The link to contact your local politician is: www.mass.gov/legis/city_town.htm

Case of Beer $23.99 - Total tax = $10.39
Bottle of Wine $9.99 - Total tax = $3.55
Bottle of Vodka $19.99 - Total tax = $7.10
Now The State Wants You To Pay 20% More By Passing Into Law A New 6.25% A lcohol Tax

Call your Legislators TODAY
Massachusetts State House - 617-722-2000

OK…that’s out of the way back to the fun stuff. We do have a ton of great gift ideas for Dad’s Father’s Day present. From single malt scotches...to fine wines…to his favorite beer. Let’s hope this dreary weather breaks and that you all have a great weekend.

Robert

Back from the Milwaukee brewery...

2009-06-11T17:24:00.001-04:00

Well I’m back from my Midwest trip and I brought lots of yummy, crazy cheeses for this Friday’s wine tasting! I hear things were pretty busy and wild last week with the Phish concert. The concert season is in full swing with 3 more shows coming up including Aerosmith and the Dropkick Murphy’s next Tuesday. Let’s see what else has been going on…The Sox beat the Yankees again…7-0 this season…wooohooo!!…the Lakers got beat...always a good thing…and the Militia look to cap off a perfect season and get ready for the playoffs.

We have our pal Bud from Atlantic Brewing here to sample you on the outstanding beers from Stone Brewing Co. tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30. He will have the IPA, Ruination IPA, Levitation, Arrogant Bastard, Smoked Porter, and Imperial Russian Stout for you to try. Speaking of Bud, and tastings, he set me up for a tour at Lakefront Brewery out in Milwaukee on Tuesday afternoon. Between wineries and breweries I’ve probably toured well over 50 of them, and this was the most fun I’ve ever had on a tour. It’s owned by two brothers...1 being the nerdy brewer and the other one…well...kind of a cross between a comedian and a drunk. For starters they give you a 12 oz. cup, and 4 tokens for what they say entitles you to a 6 0Z sample. Well they pretty much fill the glass all the way up, and ½ way through the tour he says beer break, this one is on me! He downed at least 3 bottles himself on the tour, and it was his 3rd tour of the day. 60 ounces of beer later …complete with him singing and mimicking the entire cast of Lavern and Shirley this was 1 fun tour. I strongly recommend checking them out if you’re ever in the area… (http://www.lakefrontbrewery.com/tour.html) This is a few video clips of Jim’s tour. We currently only carry their New Grist Gluten Free Beer, and the seasonal Pumpkin Ale but we will be bringing in more in the very near future.

Tommy Bolini will be taking his traveling show to Cork’s this Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. He will be featuring the delicious wines from Wild Horse out of Paso Robles. He will have the Chardonnay, the always highly rated Pinot Noir, and the Cabernet Sauvignon for you to taste. He will start the proceedings with Louis Bouillot Cremante de Bourgogne Grand Reserve. This is an excellent sparkling wine that I would put up against some of the better Champagnes out there, yet is only $16.99 per bottle. He will finish the tasting with a Strawberry Rhubarb Wine from Nashoba Valley Winery…hmmm I wonder if that pairs well with the funky Wisconsin cheeses I’m going to bring for the tasting. I guess you’ll have to come and find out!
Robert

It's Concert time!!

2009-06-03T20:26:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. Well the concert season at Great Woods is in full swing with a show tonight and Saturday night. We’re all wearing black and have our nails painted for the Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails concert tonight. And we’re saving our best tie-dye shirts for Saturday’s Phish show as well. So be sure to stop by and stock up for all your parking lot refreshments.

We have 2 beer tastings lined up for this week. On Thursday night from 4:30 to 7:30 PM we have our good friend Tim Coleman here to sample you on the great beers from Ipswich Ale Brewing Co. He will have the Ale, IPA, Oatmeal Stout, and the Summer beer for you to taste. Tim doesn’t know it yet, but we are going to twist his arm and have him taste the newest in the Southern Tier 22 oz lineup as well. It’s called Mokah and it’s a stout beer made with chocolate and coffee. This sounds soooo yummy, and if it’s anything like the Chokolat will fly out of here once you taste it.

It looks like my cousin Vinnie will be doing the Magic Hat beer tasting on Saturday from 1 to 4 PM. We had it booked with our buddy Josh (not our Josh) from Magic Hat but he skipped town on us. So Vinnie will pre-game you for the Phish concert with the usual crazy brews out of Burlington, VT. The lineup will be # 9, Lucky Kat, Odd Notion, and Wacko…sounds about right for the concert crowd. And you can also go to magichat.net and enter to win a trip for 2 to Amsterdam….hmmmm I wonder if Phish Heads would like Amsterdam?

We will not have a wine tasting this Friday night as I will be out in cow country for my daughters graduation. Plus I think we need a week off between Kevin “cone of silence” from last week, and the Tommy Bolini show scheduled for next Friday night. I hope everybody has a great weekend I’ll see you all soon.

Robert

Getting ready for summer and concerts with all you need from Cork's Fine Wine!

2009-05-28T20:15:00.001-04:00

I hope everybody had a great Memorial Day weekend. The weather cooperated for the most part as we unofficially kicked off the summer.

We keep things rolling with another beer and wine tasting this week. We’ve also added a bunch more right through the summer months, including our next “Customer Wine Tasting” with John and Sarah. Be sure to check the website (corksfinewine.com) for details on all the upcoming events.

This week’s beer tasting is with our good friend Kristin from L. Knife. She will be featuring the extremely hot beers from Troegs Brewing Co. out of Harrisburg, PA. They have been in the Mass market for a couple months and this Thursday (today) from 4:30 to 7:30 you get your chance to taste them. We have 3 styles for you to sample….Troegs Pale Ale, Sunshine Pils, and Troegenator Doublebock Beer. They come in 6-packs, and like all our tastings you will receive 10 % off any of the beers you try. Unfortunately this will probably be your last chance to see the lovely Kristin, as she is with child and will be taking the next 8 years off!!...so stop by...try some great beers and say your goodbyes.

We go from 1 of our favorite sales reps to…well…Kevin from Commonwealth Wines for this Fridays wine tasting. He may be loud and pesky but he has some great stuff for you to try this Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. Maso Canali Pinot Grigio is a delicious PG, and will get the tasting started. Next up is another great summer white, Wente Riverbank Riesling. Lastly for wines we have Ghost Pines Merlot. I kinda usually have the “Sideways” take on Merlots myself, but this 1 is an ’05 vintage and is so big it’s throwing tons of sediment and has a deep purple cork. Part 2 of the tasting is TY-KU Asian Citrus Liqueur and Sake. These are the ones in the crazy pyramid type bottles (the green 1 even lights up!). The 750 ml. Sake comes in a “Sake Bomb Kit” that has 2 shot glasses and chopsticks that come free with the Sake. If that wasn’t enough Kevin has a complete Ty-Ku sushi kit that we will raffle off at the end of the tasting. This thing is really cool and I would say is worth least 50 bucks. Everyone who comes to the tasting can register once, and for every bottle of wine or Ty-Ku you purchase you can put 1 more name in the bucket!!

I think this crappy weather is finally going to break into a nice weekend. Just in time for the concert season to kick into gear shows this Saturday, and next Wednesday over at Great Woods. Don’t forget we now have full liquor and all the “Ready to Drink” cocktails chilled for you concert goers. We also have foam coolers, plenty of ice, and the must have “big red concert cups” for the parking lot. We have a ton of tastings lined up around the concerts including Phish, and the 2 Jimmy Buffet shows. We have a link for all the shows on the website and I’m sure we’ll tweet, chirp, blog, burp, and facebook about them as well. Have a great weekend.

Robert

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

2009-05-21T00:06:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s Memorial Day Newsletter. We legally have to close on this Monday holiday, so be sure to come in early to stock up. The weather is supposed to be great right through the weekend, perfect for the beach and barbecues. Fortunately the Bruins and Celtics had this in mind so we don’t have to be glued to our TV’s and can get out and enjoy the holiday weekend.

If you liked last week’s 3 tastings, we do 1 better with 4 lined up for this week. Mark from La Resistance will be here on Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30 to sample you on 4 new brews from High & Mighty Beer Co. 1st up is ‘Purity of Essence”… a nicely hopped, unfiltered lager. Next is “Beer of the Gods”…unfiltered, unpasteurized, and uncompromised (hey…I’m just taking it off the label!!). Next up is St. Hubbins Abbey…delightfully hoppy & unfiltered…and why not? Last but not least is the “Two-Headed Beast”…a luscious chocolate stout. Not part of this tasting but hot, and new to Cork’s are the Trinity Brewhouse IPA out of Providence, and a couple of Pretty Things. We will be tasting these sometime in the future but they are limited in supply and on fire right now. 1 last beer note…we have a bunch of Winter/Holiday beers left over and will be taking 20% off them. You can find them on a front rack by the register. These are mainly large format bottles and I’m sure are still drinking great.

We have our friend Jack from Grape Moments here on Friday night from 4 to 7 PM for an Iberian Peninsular wine tasting. I forget what 3 Portuguese wines he will be pouring. I do know that he will finish with the Jockey Club Porto in honor of that crazy lil guy who keeps switching horses and winning Triple Crown races. He will also have a delicious Spanish wine from the Ribera Del Duero called Valdunes. It is an “03 vintage, that sees 12 months in new oak and is the perfect wine to have with that grilled steak or ribs.

We also have 2 spirits tastings for the holiday weekend as well. Friday from 4 to 7pm, the owner, and creator of a high end Polish Vodka will be here to sample you on his premium vodka called V one. He is local, out of Hadley, MA and uses 100% organic spelt wheat. I’d put this up against the Grey Gooses of the vodka world for less money. Keeping with the local theme, we have Jim Bowman, a member of the ‘85 Patriot Super Bowl team here on Saturday from 1 to 3 PM to complete the tasting extravaganza with 2 new Ready-2-drink cocktails. Captain Morgan Long Island Iced Tea and Smirnoff Tuscan Lemonade are the newest in the RTD category and make great summer sippers. He will also autograph any vintage “Pat Patriot” jerseys, helmets or any Pats gear you throw in front of him. Sorry….it’s not Tom Brady or Wes Welker for Shannon, but not bad for a May Saturday in Mansfield. I hope you all have a great and safe holiday weekend and we’ll see you soon.

Robert

The Triple header

2009-05-13T15:34:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. Things are looking up for the locals as the Bruins and Celtics are still alive and kicking in the playoffs. Even the Sox are quietly off to an excellent start as they hit the west coast. Keeping with the local theme we have a triple header local tasting scheduled this Friday here at Cork’s. We have Berkshire Brewing Co. for beer…Berkshire Mountain Distillers for booze…and Greenvale Vineyards for local wine.

We have the owner of Greenvale Vineyards, Nancy Parker Wilson, here to taste you on her delicious local wines out of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. This is a gorgeous property and if you ever get to southern RI you must stop by for a visit. Here is their website if you want to check them out (www.greenvale.com). She will start with Skipping Stone White, which is a blend of Cayuga and Vidal Blanc. Next would be their 100 % Vidal Blanc. Last but not least, a fantastic local Cabernet Franc.

Our friend Mike from Berkshire Brewing will be making a return engagement to sample his awesome lineup of brews. Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale, Berkshire Ale, Drayman’s Porter, Lost Sailor IPA, Shabadoo Black & Tan Ale, River Ale, Coffeehouse Porter, Gold Spike Ale, and I think they even have some Raspberry Barleywine Style Ale left as well. These are all available cold in 22 oz bottles, and the 4 most popular are available in 64 oz. growlers too!! This is always the most popular table at our big beer tastings and you can now have the time and room to taste through these at a more leisurely pace.

As if Mike wasn’t busy enough pouring those 37 beers he has 3 new spirits for you to sample as well. They are all made locally at Berkshire Mountain Distillers in Sheffield, MA. There is Greylock Gin, Ice Glen Vodka, and Bagged Mountain Rum. These are all hand crafted in small batches and are really quite good.

The wine tasting is from 4 to 7 PM with the beer & spirits tasting from 4:30 to 7:30. Please stop by and help support the local guys. As a matter of fact walk or carpool to help lower your carbon footprint. This “Triple Header” tasting is kinda like the Sox/Bruins/and Celtics all playing on the same night. I don’t know about you, but thank goodness for remote controls and DVR’s or I’d never make it through all 3!!

Robert

Back to tastings!!

2009-05-07T14:52:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. Quite a bit has happened since the last newsletter…The Bruins and Celtics getting by the 1st round and struggling in the next series...the Sox getting spanked by the Rays (13-0 in the game I went to) but beating up on the Yankees…the Pats making a ton of draft day moves...even the Boston Militia off to a 3-0 start….wow!!...breaking sports news as I write this...Manny tests positive for steroids!!...50 game suspension!!...I’m guessin his defense will be that they were in his Flintstone chewables!!

After a couple weeks off, we will be back full swing into the wine and beer tastings. We have Jean-Mark here from Newport Storm out of RI here tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 PM to taste you on their excellent local beers. He will have their flagship Amber Ale, Blueberry, Summer Ale, and the Cyclone Series “Kim”. As with all our beer tastings, we will have 10 % off any beer you sample. Please try to come by and help support the local guys!

We have a special guest here for our wine tasting on Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. Mademoiselle Fanny Fouche will be here to taste you on the fabulous French wines of Laboure Roi. Yea, I know, Bum Runners has their “sit & spit” tasting the same night…and I’m sure Duds’s is sampling White Zin or something, but you need to stop by and taste these excellent French wines. She will have 3 of their value “Southern Varietal” wines for you to taste…Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Cabernet. These wines, along with the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are only $7.99 or 2 for $14. Next will be the delicious ’05 Poully Fuisse, a delightful expression of Chardonnay. Lastly we have a true French Burgundy (Pinot Noir) called Maximum for under $20!! So even if you’re going down the street to our competitors, please stop by and taste these exquisite Old World wines with Fanny.

We have picked out a date for our 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation Day. It will be Saturday, July 25th from 1 to 4 PM. This is our way of thanking you for being loyal Cork’s customers. We will have burgers and dogs on the grill… as well as a few wines…a few beers…a few liquors...and a ton of stuff to give away!! Be sure to check the website (corksfinewine.com) for all the upcoming events we have scheduled. Hopefully the sun comes out and we have a nice weekend. Oh yea…Happy Mother’s Day to all you Moms out there!!

Robert

Welcome to Cork's Earth Day Newsletter

2009-04-22T13:16:00.001-04:00

To help celebrate Earthday I think I’ll recycle the old mystery discount this week but take the mystery out of it. Just mention you saw the newsletter…wear an outfit made entirely out of hemp...or just wish the cashier a happy Earthday and receive 10% off any organic wine or beer (including the brand new Southern Tier 422) we have in the store. And if you buy 6-wines (they don’t have to be organic) and ask the cashier, we’ll give you a 6 bottle, earth friendly, green cloth bag for free!! We also have a very limited supply of the really cool black, 4 bottle Earth 2.0 bags left over from Erin’s tasting on Saturday. If you buy at least 2 of the delicious Earth 2.0 wines you can score 1 of them as well.

Our buddy Jacob Pacific (sounds like a made up pornstar name to me) from Sam Adams will be here on Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30 to taste the new Imperial Series beers from Sam. He will have the Imperial White, Imperial Stout, and the Double Bock all in 4 pks for you to sample. I think he said he would do the fairly new Blackberry Witbier also. He promises us he will hang our gigantic Sam Adams montage in the front vestibule area after the tasting too!! One other beer note, we have a limited supply of the Guinness 250 Anniversary Stout. Limit (2) 6-pks per customer, while they last.

We don’t have a wine tasting scheduled this Friday (where are all those people who said they wanted to do a “Customer Wine Tasting” ?!?). I will be off next week on my sorta annual trip to Ft. Myers Beach and off to see the Sox in Tampa Bay, so there won’t be a wine tasting next week either. But we have 7 of the next 8 weeks already booked, so be sure to check the website out (corksfinewine.com) for the lineup.

There won’t be a newsletter next week ( but have no fear, I’ll probably tweet...blog…dig…blurb...burp…or throw updates on the website) so I want to mention that Saranac will be here next Thursday, April 30th from 4:30 to 7:30 for a beer tasting. I’m not sure what the lineup is going to be yet, but we haven’t done them in a long time and they always have good stuff. Let’s hope the Sox keep up their winning ways…The B’s polish off the Canadiens...and the Celts can overtake the upstart Bulls, and keep their playoff run going. Looks like the warm weather will finally be making an appearance…enjoy it, and I’ll catch you all in a couple weeks.

Robert

Happy Easter from all of us at Cork's Fine Wine

2009-04-08T18:43:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s Easter newsletter. I would like to thank all of you who attended our 5th Annual Grand Spring Wine tasting last week. Although the turnout was a little lighter than normal, I thought it was very successful. Quite a few of you commented on how it was more manageable, and easier to talk with the reps. Unbeknownst to us we ran into Yankee Spirits spring tasting which kept the numbers here down a bit…heck we even had 2 extra pizzas!!! We are open to your comments and suggestions on how we can make the next tasting even better.

We will not have an official wine tasting this Friday night as its Good Friday and we’ll be kind of busy. But our friend John from Trio Wines said he’d stop by and sample you on a few of his wines, if you happen to be in the neighborhood. Next Saturday (April 18th) from 2-5 PM we will have Erin from J. Polep here with some organic wines, and earth friendly wine bags to help celebrate Earth Day.

I’d like to wish all our Jewish friends a happy Passover season. We have a rack in the front of the store with a few kosher wines and beers for your convenience. We will also have Melissa from Schmaltz Brewing Co. here to sample you on their crazy Coney Island Beers this Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30 PM. She will have the Coney Island Lager, Albino Python, Sword Swallower, and Human Blockhead, all in 22 oz. bottles for you to sample. As with all our Thursday night beer tastings you will receive a 10% discount on any beers we sample that evening.

We will be open until 10 PM this Friday & Saturday and every Fri/Sat night right through the Summer months. We will be closed Easter Sunday so we may enjoy the holiday with our families. I do have some bad news we need to pass along. Cork’s mascot has passed away…no not Ted the wine dog...but Floyd the fish. He had a short, yet uneventful 4 day life here at Cork’s. His smile and infectious personality will be sorely missed.

Our next big even will be our 3rd Annual Customer Appreciation Day, which will be sometime in late July or early August. Be sure to check the website (corksfinewine.com). myspace, twitter, facebook, dig, and any other crazy social network that we’re on for details and updates on all events happening here at Cork’s. I hope you all have a great Easter and we’ll see you soon.

Robert

2nd Customer Wine Tasting and Social Networking

2009-03-26T20:34:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. We have lots going on here as we get ready for our 5th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting and our 2nd Customer Wine Tasting as well. We are half way through with our lineup for the spring tasting and we have the lineup all set for this Friday night from 4 to 7 PM.

For our 2nd "Customer Wine Tasting" here at Cork's we have my friends Cara & Cindy to pour 6 of their favorite wines for you to try. They will start with the award winning Westport Brut Sparkling Wine. Simi Sauvignon Blanc will be next, followed by Cindy's favorite white wine of all time, Woodbridge Chardonnay. Cara's favorite varietal, Pinot Noir, is expressed eloquently in the delicious Firesteed Pinot Noir from Oregon. Dona Maria Vinho Tinto, a yummy Portuguese wine will be next. And lastly we wanted the limited release Bogle Phantom, but alas we only received 3 cases and it's long gone. So the girls had to settle for the next best thing, Bogle Old Vive Zinfandel. I hear they are getting some special cheeses and other goodies to pair with the wines. And who knows, maybe that random customer will bring baked stuffed lobster this time!!

Don’t forget we have our Thursday night beer tasting scheduled for tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 PM. We’ve done a few in a row now and they seem to be getting some momentum. Our good friend Yanni from Opa-Opa Brewing Co. will be tasting some of his delicious local growlers. He will have the Pale Ale...Red Rock Ale...IPA...Double IPA... and Brown Ale for you to sample. These are great local beers, and ultra fresh in the refillable 64 OZ. growlers. As with all our Thursday night beer tastings you will receive 10 % off any beer you taste that night. This will also include any Opa-Opa 6-pks or 12-pk Variety. Please come by and help support the local guys!!

For those internet savvy people out there, we are in the process of doing many of the online sites to get more exposure, and let you know what’s going on in a more timely fashion. We’re joining the ranks of social networks, so we’d love to have you be our friend on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. We’re also on MySpace and Digg so look for us there too. We will be adding more pictures and content as we grow into them, but be sure to check us out for up to the minute news. Here’s how you can find us…be our friend…and even follow us…(not too closely or we’ll have to get a restraining order) on all the popular sites. We’re even going to get some You Tube videos going as soon as we get a camera here as well.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Corks
Digg: http://digg.com/users/CorksFineWine
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Corks-Fine-Wine/1025161207
MySpace: http://myspace.com/corksfinewine

I hope you all have a great weekend and we’ll see you soon.Robert

Welcome to Cork's St. Joseph's Day newsletter

2009-03-19T13:56:00.001-04:00

Hey…I live up by Federal Hill in Providence and it’s bigger than St. Patrick’s Day up there. I hope you all had a Guinness or 2 and enjoyed your St. Patty’s Day. It’s always a fun time for us here at Cork’s but now we shift to March Madness. We have our Sam Adams hoop set up in the back of the store as always. Sorry Tommy Bolini and Wallace it’s not the carnival style hoop like last year. Speaking of Sam can you believe their Summer Ale is out already!! It’s not even Spring yet…oh well…but if you’re a Sam fan like me you can actually get Winter, Spring, and Summer beers all in 1 trip!...if only there was Oktoberfest still around.

Speaking of Spring our pal Vinnie will be here to sample you on some Spring beers tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30. I know we’ve been trying to get Torpedo (the new edition to the Sierra Nevada lineup) in for over a month now, hopefully it will come today in time for the tasting. We’ve had less than stellar turnouts for the beer tastings the last few times so please, if you can, try to come out and support them. We’re going to try to book every Thursday from now on so we will do our part to have some consistency. As always you get a 10 % discount on anything you taste that night, so this is a great time to try some new and interesting beers and save a little cash.

The Tommy Bolini show makes a return engagement here at Cork’s on Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. He has a new an interesting lineup to sample you on. 1st up are 2 wines called Pro-Mis-Q-ous. The white is a blend of Chardonnay/Chenin Blanc/Gewürztraminer, while the red is a mix of Zinfandel/Merlot/Cabernet/Petite Sirah. If you’ve ever had the Menage a Trois wines they are similar in style, but kicked up a notch in style and quality. For those not into Menage a Trois or Pro-Mis-Q-ous we have a single varietal Cabernet called Monogomy. Next we have a Lodi Zinfandel called Deep Purple. It has a retro-70’s label and rekindles memories of “Smoke on the Water”. He will finish this outstanding tasting with a 1999 Warre’s Late Bottle Vintage Porto.

I know I said the new “Weekly Specials” wouldn’t have a theme but I can’t pass up the Italian/St. Joes theme. So this week’s beer special will be Peroni Nasto Azzurrro 6-pks for $7.69. Wine will be Santa Christina Pinot Grigio or Chianti Superior reg. $15.99 for $12.99. And Disaronno Amaretto will be the liquor item for $25.99. So grab a zepola or 2 and enjoy your favorite Italian beverage with it.

Just a quick reminder that Cara & Cindy will be here next week for our 2nd “customer tasting”. And 2 weeks away we have our 5th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting on Thursday, April 2nd from 4:30 to 7 PM. We will have updates posted on our website (corksfinewine.com) as these events draws nearer. OK…gotta finish up as we’re off to the Bruins game….woohoo!!...thanks Kristen and Sam Adams.

Robert

Come join us for our St. Patty's Day Tasting!

2009-03-11T20:31:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. Well since nobody has mentioned or taken part in the mystery discount potion of the website, we are going to put that to bed for awhile and try something new. Such a shame too, as that was usually my best comedic material since I’ve usually “tasted” a few wines by the time I wrote that stuff. Anyway, with the economy in a slump we will be offering 3 specials on a weekly basis. 1 beer…1 wine...and 1item from the liquor department. These specials will run from Wednesday to Wednesday each week. You won’t have to say anything crazy, or sing to the cashier (unless you really want to because we do still like that) they will just ring up at the discounted price.

To kick off the new weekly specials I figured we’d go with a St. Patrick’s Day theme. We gotta have Guinness for our St. Patty’s beer item…right?...We have a limited supply of Guinness Gift Sets. They have 2 (14.9 OZ) cans of delicious beer and 2 Guinness pint glasses for $11.89. On the wine side we’re going with Bunratty Meade in a 750 ml bottle, on sale for $15.99. This is an Irish white wine with added honey and herbs, and is quite yummy. For the liquor item we have Boru Irish Vodka 1.75 L, reg price $25.99 on sale for $21.99. We won’t always have a theme behind these specials, but will have 1 from each category every week, so be sure to check the newsletter or the website (corksfinewine.com) each week to check them out.

Keeping with the Irish theme Josh will have a St. Patty’s day beer tasting this Thursday (March 12th) from 4:30 to 7:30 PM. He will be donning a skirt/kilt and pouring a bunch of interesting Irish brews for you to sample. He will start with Magner’s Irish Cider. Next are 2 new beers from McSorley’s, Pale Ale and Black Lager. Quinn’s Amber Ale from Wachusett will be next. He will end with Rogue Kells Lager in a 22 OZ bottle. This is always 1 of the better Thursday night beer tastings we do each year, so be sure to check it out.

In addition to the Irish brews Josh will be tasting, we have a huge Guinness display in the front of the store. We also have a complete selection of “everything Irish” on display by the main checkout area for your perusal. So stop by and visit “County Cork” for all your St. Patty’s needs.

We don’t have a wine tasting scheduled for this Friday night, but we have 3 biggies in a row lined up after that. Tommy Bolini will be here next week featuring his new Monogamy/Promis-Q-ous wines. The next week will be our 2nd “Customer Tasting” with Cara and Cindy. And the week after that will be our 5th Annual Grand Spring Wine tasting! Check the website or the blog for details and updates on all our upcoming events at Cork’s.

Robert

Getting ready for St. Patty's Day!

2009-03-05T16:16:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. Just when you thought winter was over we get another foot of snow. Let’s hope the next few days in the mid 50’s takes care of that and we can get ready for baseball and golf weather. We do have a bunch of beer and wine tastings lined up for March and April, so be sure to check out the website (corksfinewine.com) to see what we have scheduled for St. Patty’s Day and the Spring.

We have Erin from J. Polep Wines here for her 1st Friday (4 to 7) night tasting this week. She has some wines sure to please every palate and budget for you to sample. She’ll start with a real nice New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc value priced at 2 for $16. Next are 2 German wines from Peter Brum. Bacchus White Wine and Vino Noire, which is a sweet red wine, are nice alternatives to the white zins and sweet rieslings out there. We end the tasting in Chile for Ventisquero Reserva Pinot Noir and Valdivieso Cabernet Franc. These 2 are the types of wines that drink like $25 to $40 bottles, and are priced in the mid-teens. As with all our Friday night wine tastings you also get 10 % off anything you try that night.

Be sure to check out our huge St. Patrick’s Day displays in the front of the store. From Guinness, to Jameson, and everything Irish in between you can find it here at Cork’s. After all Megan’s roots are from County Cork. This will be our biggest St. Patty’s Day yet, as we now have liquor as well as every Irish beer you can possible think of. Josh will be sampling a bunch of Irish Beers next Thursday March 12th from 4:30 to 7:30. Hey Bill, do you think Josh can borrow your kilt and bagpipes? I’m thinking he has the legs to pull it off.

We do have our 2nd “Customer Wine Tasting” scheduled, as Cara and Cindy will be here tasting you on their favorites on Friday March 27th. Anybody else interested let me know, and we can schedule 1 a month going forward. Lastly, be sure to save Thursday, April 2nd on your calendars for our 5th Annual Grand Wine Tasting. We are just in the beginning stages of making the lineup, and we’ll keep you posted in future newsletters with details as the event draws closer. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Robert

Who Will Host Our Next Customer Wine Tasting?

2009-02-26T14:31:00.003-05:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. I’d like to thank Bill & Cherry for the outstanding job they did at our 1st “Customer Wine Tasting”. It was a huge success. Cherry whipped some great food to pair with the wines, and we even had 1 of our customers bring a tray of crab cakes to share as well! We had an excellent turnout, especially for a Saturday afternoon. OK...so who’s next?!?

Well as we wait for volunteers for our next “Customer Tasting”, our friend Carmen from Café Europa will be here Friday night from 4 to 7 PM to taste you on some really interesting wines. He will start off with 2 exceptional wines from New Zealand. Speaking of New Zealand, is anybody watching those crazy guys on HBO’s Flight of the Conchords?...they kill me…anyway, back to the wines. Sileni Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir will make Kiwi portion of the tasting. Staying in the southern hemisphere we travel to Uruguay for the next 3 wines. Yes I said Uruguayan wine. I honestly had never heard of any, or tasted any, up until a few months ago either so don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of them. Estival is the white wine from producer Vinedo de Los Vientos. It is a blend of Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, and Moscato Bianco. The red is 100 % Tannat, and is exquisite. Last but not least is a dessert wine made from Tannat called Alcyone which you simply must try.

We don’t have any beer tastings scheduled until March 12th, but I will have Josh ask around and see if we can get some rolling as we head into Spring. Speaking of Spring we do have a bunch of new Spring beers arriving weekly, so be sure to check them out as this is always a very short season. I know things are tough out in this economy. So we will be bringing in more “value wines” in our 2 for sections. We also have a ton of wines in the $10 to $15 range that drink like $20 to $30 bottles that I will be happy to show you. My sister who owns her own business and who does our website and cashiers on Saturdays has collected a few tips and strategies that I think will help as well, (http://www.horizon4success.com/survive&thrive.htm) so check it out if you get a chance. I hope you all have a great weekend and we’ll see you soon.

Robert

Join us for our first Customer Wine Tasting

2009-02-19T15:35:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter.

Ahhhhh…the Sox in Ft. Myers for spring training and Mercury no longer in retrograde…all is right in the world. And finally, almost a year from when Bill 1st mentioned it to me, we will have our inaugural “Customer Wine Tasting” on Saturday here at Cork’s.

Bill and Cherry have their favorite wines picked out, and will be here on Saturday, February 21st from 2:30 to 5 to share them with you. They will start us off with Quinta da Alorna Arintho, a delicious Portuguese white wine. Next up is Cono Sur Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. From there we travel to Italy for Carpineto Dogajolo Toscano, a yummy blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet. We go back to the USA for Cline Ancient Vine Zinfandel, always 1 of my favorites as well. The award winning Thorne-Clarke Shotfire Shiraz from Australia will finish off this unique tasting event. I can’t promise any dishes to pair with them, but Cherry is a gourmet chef, and if I had to guess she’s gonna whip up something good.

For those of you who have noticed, (I’m guessing nobody) we haven’t changed the mystery discount in over a month. It’s either the ultimate in recycling (and trying my best to be green) or a lack of interest/humor on my part. Either way let’s throw it in the newsletter and up the anti on it. So here it is… recycled 1 more time.

I think my fascination with Dane Cook and that other dude doing THERE’S ONLY 1 OKTOBER commercials clouded my judgment and we just bought too many of these yummy seasonal brews. Let’s blow them out for good this week and next before the Super Brew IV tasting. (boy you can tell how old it is from that reference)

Any remaining Oktoberfest/ Autumn beer can be yours for 5 bucks a 6-pack and $9 for any 12-pks still around. Just shout that magical phrase, or say you saw the mystery discount section of the website and snag the last of the vintage ’08 fall beers. We will also accept all reasonable offers on multiple and case purchases to help rid of us these seasonal brews.

We do have a bunch of new “Spring Beers” arriving daily, so be sure to check them out or ask Josh what’s new in the beer world. Don’t forget our 5th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting is scheduled for Thursday night April 2nd from 4:30 to 7:30. So be sure to save this night on your calendar and check the website (corksfinewine.com) for updates. I hope you all can make it to the tasting on Saturday and we’ll see you all there.

Robert

Wine and a View of Your Future!

2009-02-04T20:51:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. Well considering the Pats weren’t in it, and the commercials were mediocre at best, that sure was 1 entertaining Super Bowl. Now let’s hope for a full recovery by Brady next year, so we can snag 1 more trophy before this decade ends.

Don’t forget we have a special wine tasting with John from Trio Wines and his sister Regina this Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. In addition to John’s regular wine tasting, Regina will be doing Tarot Card readings, free of charge from 5 to 7 PM. John will have 3 new value wines from Washington Hills to start you with. He will taste you on the Gewurztraminer, Merlot, and Late Harvest Riesling that make up 3 of the 6 new wines from Washington State. These all mix at 2 for $16 and are great value wines. Next up is Valdifalco Morellino Di Scannsano. This is a delicious organic Italian blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet, and Syrah and comes with a funky glass cork. We will end with Shingleback Grenache and Shingleback Black Bubbles. This was a big hit at the last tasting, and is a perfect wine for Valentine’s Day. So be sure to stop by for this unique tasting… see what lies ahead for you in 2009… and sample some great wines.

We don’t have any beer tastings lined up for the next couple of weeks. But as the new “Spring” brews arrive we will line some up for Thursday nights and Saturdays soon. Be sure to check out the new look website (corksfinewine.com) for details on all upcoming events, interesting articles, and other good stuff going on here at Cork’s. Hope to see you all at Fridays tasting, and have a great weekend.

Robert

Welcome to Cork's Super Brew IV Newsletter

2009-01-21T14:10:00.001-05:00

This Saturday, January 24th from 2:30 to 5 PM will be our biggest beer tasting we do all year! The list is complete and we have 16 tables and over 80 beers for you to sample. There is a list of the breweries being featured on the website (corksfinewine.com) and we will post a complete starting lineup by the end of the week so you can strategize and make your game plan.

We will be running this event like we do our big wine tastings. You will be handed a sheet listing all the beers on it, and it will be numbered at the top. That is your # for the entire tasting. When you find a beer you like and wish to purchase just let the rep know and they will sticker the beer with your # on it. We will have runners grab the items and start a box for you at the front of the store. At the end of the tasting just tell the cashier up front what your # is and we will have your beers all ready for you. This is a lot easier than carrying a 6-pk around for the whole tasting, or trying to find the beer at the end of the day.

While we’re on it, how about a couple more tips and suggestions to make the tasting easier and more fun.

* Feel free to bring your favorite beer glass…but no…we will not fill your pint glass…you will get a normal 1 oz sample

* We will have lil tiny tasting cups for you to use…but don’t ditch the cup after every beer…that’s impractical and downright wasteful...there is no harm in going from 1 beer to the next in the same cup…just dump out the excess in the dump bucket or better yet your belly and move on to the next delicious brew.

* The good news is we will have our famous tasting pizza… and unlike the wine tastings you don’t run the risk of being trampled by Tommy Bolini as the pizza arrives…as for the rest of you pizza mongers (you know who you are)…relax…leave enough for everybody or better yet order Domino’s or Papa Gino’s and have them deliver a whole pie for you.

* I have on reliable sources that a Pro-Bowl bound member of the New England Patriots will be here at Cork’s tasting!!...so be sure to bring any Pats gear you have for him to sign.

* If you haven’t done so yet, introduce yourself to Josh (our new beer dude) as he’s done most of the work on this event, bringing in close to 50 new beers including a bunch of 64 OZ growlers.

* So have fun...drink responsibly…find some new favorite beers…and load up for the big (yawn) game…I think I’m gonna need more than beer to get through this Super Bowl.

OK…let’s talk about wine tastings for a bit. We won’t have 1 this Friday or next but we have a special tasting lined up for February 6th. Our friend John from Trio wines will be here to sample you on some of his new wines from 4 to 7 PM…what’s so special about that you may ask?...well John’s sister Regina is a tarot card reader and will be here from 5 to 7 PM giving free mini tarot card readings. She can see what 2009 and the Obama regime have in store for you. This should be different and a lot of fun. She will do the readings on a 1st come 1st served basis so be sure to get here early. We’ll have a list of the wines John will pour and more info on the website by next week.

We hope to see you all here for the Super Brew IV tasting and have a great week.

Robert

Super Brew IV and Customer Wine Tastings

2009-01-14T20:16:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. We’ve had to make a scheduling change for our inaugural “customer wine tasting” event. Bill and Cherry’s tasting is going to have to be pushed back to February 21st or 28th. We won’t be doing any beer tastings until our Super Brew IV event which is next Saturday, January 24th from 2:30 to 5 PM. As far as wine tastings go, I don’t have any scheduled as we try to get through the dog days of January. But as most of you know we usually have a bottle or 2 open on a Friday night to sample, or with minimal coercion I will pop one open for you.

Let’s talk a little about Super Brew IV. We have the lineup almost set and will have a bunch of new beers for you to taste. After years of me saying no to vendors, our new beer dude Josh has talked us into carrying growlers. We have Berkshire Brewing in house now, and will have Opa-Opa and possibly Ipswich growlers in for you to try. Here’s a quick glimpse of who we have lined up for the event. Sam Adams…Arcadia Ales…Coney Island…He’Brew…Berkshire Brewing…Smuttynose…Belgique…Opa-Opa…Shipyard…Longtrail…Otter Creek…Mike’s…Peak Organic…Twaites…Southern Tier…Ipswich…Newport Storm…You can check the website (corksfinewine.com) for more info, and we will post the complete lineup as soon as we have it finished.

Good to see Jim Rice finally make the hall, and the Sox sign Rocco from my hometown of Cumberland, RI. With the addition of Smoltz, Penny, Saito, an d Kotsay, I think they’re set to overtake the upstart Rays and the overspending Yankees next year. And no worries, the Celts will get out of their funk in time for another Championship run. And how about those big bad Bruins bringing hockey to the forefront of the local sports scene for the 1st time in years. If only Brady and the rest of the Pats could have stayed healthy for another Super Bowl run…Oh well…next year.

Robert

Happy New Year and Sparkling Wine Tasting!!

2008-12-30T19:53:00.001-05:00

I know I said no more newsletters till the New Year, but I need to sneak 1 more in.

We ended up semi-postponing Saturdays Sparkling Wine tasting. The weather was crappy and business was incredibly slow early in the day, and it just didn’t make sense popping open 6 bottles of bubbly. We did end up opening a couple for the few of you who did come in. So we decided to schedule another Sparkling Tasting on Wednesday (December 31st) from 3 to 5 PM. I know they’re calling for snow, but we have Tommy Bolini here to pour so we will go forward with it either way.

I’ll quickly go over the lineup of the Sparklers we will sample. We have 2 excellent domestic sparklers to start off, Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Blancs and Chandon Blanc de Noirs. Next we go to Australia for the # 1 selling Aussie sparkler Yellowglen Pink. From there we go to the Burgundy region of France for Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Brut. Moet & Chandon Imperial will finish of the proceedings with a true French Champagne. This is the new package of what Moet once called White Star and is a great way to finish 2008 and toast ’09.

OK…I’ve got a question that has been bugging me for 8, soon to be 9 years. What are we calling this decade we are currently in? I’ve heard the Oh’s…Zips…Aughts…single digits…millennium…2000’s but none seem to flow like the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. If you have a better term for the decade please let me know so I can finally get some rest. All of us at Cork’s wish you a safe and Happy New Year!

Robert

Happy New Year!

2008-12-26T16:17:00.001-05:00

Happy Kwanza and Boxing Day to everyone!! I hope you all had a great Christmas. It was off the wall busy here at Cork’s, and we thank you for your patronage.

This is going to be just a quickie newsletter to talk about our Champagne/Sparkling Wine tasting scheduled for Saturday, December 27th from 2 to 5 PM. While most would agree that there is something unmistakable about a good Champagne from the Champagne region of France, but the price of these great sparkling wines is higher than ever mainly due to the Euro/Dollar exchange rate, and just higher production costs in general. We will do a true “Champagne” in the tasting lineup, but we have tried to find different “Sparklers” from all over the world at various price points for you to try as well.We will start with a domestic Spumante from Cook’s. This is definitely on the sweeter side and great for the “White Zin” drinkers out there to toast with. Next we have the brand new Voga Sparkling Pinot Grigio. It comes in a funky looking bottle, and I’m not sure what to expect from a fizzy Pinot Grigio but let’s give it a whirl. Next up is Chandon Blanc de Noirs. This excellent California Sparkling Wine is made mainly Pinot Noir, with a bit of Pinot Meunier blended in. We are off to Spain next for Roger Goulart Brut Rose Cava. Although priced a bit higher than your typical Cava, it’s absolutely delicious and still under 20 bucks. We finally arrive in France for Louis Bouillot Cremante de Bourgogne Brut. I’d put this yummy blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay up against its pricier cousin from “Champagne” at only $16.99 a bottle. We will finish with Louis de Sacy Brut Grand Cru Champagne. This outstanding Champagne has received excellent reviews, and as far as Champagnes go is a bargain at $34.99.

Just a couple of quick reminders before we end 2008. We will be starting our “Customer’s Favorites” wine tastings in January. Depending on how they go, we will probably do 1 or 2 per month. I know quite a few of you have already expressed interest in doing these, and it sounds like lots of fun. Basically you and a friend/spouse/total stranger pick out 5 or 6 of your favorite wines. You come in from 4 to 7 PM on a Friday night. We’ll supply the wines, cheese, and crackers and you pour the wines and tell us about them. If anybody thinks they may be interested in this please shoot me an e-mail in the next few weeks and we’ll start planning a schedule.

Lastly, Super Brew IV is less than a month away. This is 1 of our huge beer tastings and will be on the bye week before the Super Bowl this year. It will be on Saturday, January 24th from 2:30 to 5 PM. Again due to space constraints we will be scaling it back a bit but there will still be tons of new beers (including growlers) for you to sample. Be sure to save the date, and check the website (corksfinewine.com) often for more details and updates as the event draws closer.

I hope you all have a healthy and Happy New Year!!

Robert

Lots of tastngs this week! And changing over our email...

2008-12-11T12:54:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. We have lots of stuff going on again this week with 2 wine tastings, 1 beer tasting, and a liquor tasting as well. The Celtics are off to their best start ever, the Pats are hanging around the playoff picture, the Bruins are playing excellent and Redsox tickets go on sale this Saturday! OK got my sports references out of the way early let’s get to the tastings.

Friday night from 4 to 7 PM we have Kevin from Commonwealth Wines here for a value Holiday wine tasting. He will start with Polka Dot Riesling from Germany. I’m sure most of you are familiar with, or have had Dancing Bull Zinfandel. This is their flagship wine and sells the best already, so we won’t be tasting that one. But we will sample the Dancing Bull Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet. These wines are newly packaged and a great value at $10.99. Speaking of values, for 1 night only we will feature the Redsox Wines (Sauvignyoooooouuuuuk Blanc, Vintage Papi, and Captain’s Cabernet) at only $9.99!!!...this is only pennies above cost… and besides making great Christmas gifts; this could be your last chance to get a Jason Varitek wine while he’s still in a Sox uniform. Also on Friday night from 4 to 7 we will have a Ty-Ku Asian Citrus Liqueur tasting. This tasty green liqueur comes in a funky bottle that actually lights up!

We have another wine tasting with Eric from Baystate Wines lined up for Saturday afternoon from 1 to 4 PM. He will feature 1 of our best selling Pinot Grigio’s called Prendo. Next we go to 1 of the newer additions to the Peirano estate wines called “The Other White”. This is a blend of Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc/Viognier and a nice alternative to the everyday Chards out there. From there we go to California’s Central Coast for 3 new wines from Lost Angel. Muscat Canelli, Mischief (a blend of Cabernet/Petite Sirah/Sangiovese), and petite Sirah make up this eclectic trio of wines. We will finish with Chateau De Beauregard-Ducourt Bordeaux from the outstanding 2005 vintage. This was recently written up in the Boston Globe’s Plonkapaluza article as 1 of the best value wines out there and is a steal at $12.99.

We also have a “Winter Beer” tasting on tap for Saturday from 3 to 5 PM. My cousin Vinnie has taken the mystery of whether or not we’ll have a supermodel or a dude do the tasting by scheduling our pal Dan for this event. His lineup includes Magic Hat Roxy Rolles, Redhook Winterhook Ale, Winter Bourbon Cask Ale, Michelob Porter, and Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. I don’t know about you but that sure sounds like a yummy tasting to me.

This next part is a message from our webmistress that I’m contractually obligated to add to my newsletter for a few weeks.

To guarantee that you will always get your Cork’s emails, we will be changing over the way we mail them (the internet is turning bulk mail into spam and we never want to spam you!). Since you signed up to be on our email list, we’re going to list you on our new email server called FeedBlitz. Sometime over the next few weeks, you will receive an email from FeedBlitz where they will ask you to click on a link to activate your account. Just click on the link and the emails will come to you as soon as we write them. That’s it! From that point on, you’ll be receiving our emails worry free from spam (what wine goes with spam???) Of course you can always get our newsletter by going to our blog: Corks Fine Wine Newsletter….

Oh, and we had a few suggestions as to what wine goes well with spam…from unoaked whites ..to Riesling…to Carlo Rossi Paisano…I’m sticking to any wine will compliment that perfect concoction of canned meat!! Be sure to check out the website (corksfinewine.com) for more info on upcoming tastings, and great gift ideas for the Holidays.

Robert

Holiday Gift Sets, Gift Ideas and Travel Tips

2008-12-04T15:59:00.003-05:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving. We were extremely busy here, being our 1st big holiday with full liquor. It was good to see all of you and help you with your wine selections. We have lots going on here at Cork’s with tons of tastings between now and Christmas. We also have a new Holiday section on the website with great gift ideas and even holiday getaways. Check out our special holiday gift sets perfect for your holiday gift giving. We’ve also tracked down some great holiday stories and shopping ideas to make your holiday special. Since some of you travel for the holidays, we’ve also created a page with holiday specials on travel. You can find them all on corksfinewine.com.

We have 2 liquor tastings scheduled for this week. We will sample Schwartzhog Krauter Liqueur on Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. Think Jagermeister and Robitussin, with Hog roots mixed in….mmmmm mmmmm good. This will be sure to warm you up as the weather gets colder. I know when the seasons change and the temperature drops below freezing, I think of Gin and Tonics! So we will have a New Amsterdam gin tasting on Saturday from 3 to 6 PM as well.

Our friend Jamie from MS Walker will be here for a special wine tasting on Saturday from 2 to 5 PM. Yes it’s our 1st ever “Stock up for X-Mas Rebate/Shebangle Wine Tasting! What is this you may ask? Well, the wines at this tasting are all excellent everyday wines and all of them have rebates ranging from $1 per bottle up to $36 per case. I know what you’re saying...rebates stink…pealing labels...mailing receipts, and all that nonsense. But with the economy the way it is, and these all being good value wines to begin with, perhaps the 36 bucks can go towards Aunt Margaret’s X-Mas gift this year.

The wines he will be tasting are Toasted Head Reserve Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. But the Toasted Head rebate also covers the Merlot, Cabernet, Viognier, and the 2 bottle gift set as well. These rebates go from $6 up to $30 for a case. Big Tattoo Red is a Cabernet- Syrah blend and has rebates up to $36. Next up is Blackstone Pinot Grigio and Cabernet. You can also mix and match Blackstone Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Syrah, Riesling, or Zinfandel to receive your $25 rebate. Next Jamie will have Alamos Chardonnay, Malbec, and Bonarda from Argentina to taste. Again, excellent value wines at $9.99 everyday and you save up to $36 on a case. Finally, Hogue Late Harvest Riesling, a delicious holiday wine with a rebate as well. Of course you will still receive the 10 % discount on any of these brands as well to make the savings even better. This will be 1 of the best tastings of the year and a can’t miss event.

Now when Jamie leaves at 5 he will tag our friend Jim, who will be doing his annual Belgium Beer tasting from 5 to 7 PM. He will feature Saison Dupont, Moinette Blonde, and Scaldis Noel all in the classic 750 ml cork finish bottles. Jim is 1 of the most knowledgeable beer reps we have at our tastings, and this tasting was a huge success last year. Sounds like we need to have a couch in back for naps and cabs at the ready if you’re going to do all 3 tastings, but either way this should be a fun day here at Cork’s.

To guarantee that you will always get your Cork’s emails, we will be changing over the way we mail them (the internet is turning bulk mail into spam and we never want to spam you!). Since you signed up to be on our email list, we’re going to list you on our new email server called FeedBlitz. Sometime over the next few weeks, you will receive an email from FeedBlitz where they will ask you to click on a link to activate your account. Just click on the link and the emails will come to you as soon as we write them. That’s it! From that point on, you’ll be receiving our emails worry free from spam (what wine goes with spam???) Of course you can always get our newsletter by going to our blog: Corks Fine Wine Newsletter

OK that last part was from our webmistess and my sister Marianne. I turn my back for 20 minutes and “sample” a dozen wines with a sales rep and she adds to my ever-growing newsletter. Oh well…of course we know ANY wine goes with that delicious canned treat known as spam. A few sports references and we’re done…Celts are off to an awesome start…wow the Bruins in 1st place…Sox ink Pedroia long term…and the Pats...well 3 outta 4 ain’t bad.

I hope you all have a great weekend and we’ll see you soon

Robert

Beaujolais Nouveau is here!

2008-11-29T15:30:00.002-05:00

Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive! For those unfamiliar with this yearly tradition this is the 1st wine of the 2008 vintage, and comes out the third Thursday of November. It is made with the Gamay grape, and is a very light and fruity red wine making it an excellent pairing with turkey. This wine is not overly complex, the grapes having literally been on the vine just a couple of months ago. We carry the George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau and as always it comes in a funky flowery designed bottle. We will be sampling this wine with other great Thanksgiving wines Friday night from 4 to 7 PM.

Speaking of Turkey Day we will be closed on Thursday. We will open up an hour early, at 9 AM on Wednesday 11/26 and close an hour later at 10 PM for your shopping convenience. We will also close 1 hour early on Friday (9 PM) the day after Thanksgiving as most of you are fully stocked up booze and turkey, and probably in a tryptophanic coma anyway. Don’t forget we have full liquor now for all your holiday needs. So there is no need to fight for a parking spot at our competitors when we have a huge parking lot here at Cork’s.

We do have a beer tasting scheduled for tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30. I’ve given up trying to figure out if it’s my cousin Vinnie, a supermodel, or some random dude…so let’s just say it will be a rep from Quality Beverage. They will sample you on their selection of European beers tonight. He/she will taste you on Leffe Blonde Belgian Ale, Stella Artois, and St. Pauli girl from Germany. While we’re on the subject of beer I’d like to clean up any Oktoberfest/Pumpkin/Autumn beers that are hanging around. So in lieu of a mystery discount for the next couple of weeks all Fall Beers will be 10 % off. They will not be programmed into the register so you may need to remind the cashier….and if you wanna shout 1 last time there is only 1 OKTOBER!!…you know I’ll enjoy that.

Friday night will be our Annual Thanksgiving wine tasting from 4 to 7 PM. We fill feature what I think are the best pairings for turkey and all the rest of the fixings. We will start St. Urbans-Hof Riesling from the Mosel region of Germany. Next we go to Columbia Valley in Washington for Chateau Ste Michelle Gewurztraminer. Gewurtz is always my favorite Thanksgiving white as it not only compliments the bird, but the cinnamon and nutmeg spices are the perfect compliment to many of the side dishes. From there we go a few hundred miles south to Oregon for Firesteed Pinot Noir. Burgundian in style, this light bodied red is perfect for turkey. A Thanksgiving tasting would not be complete without the aforementioned Beaujolais Nouveau, so that takes care of the red portion of the tasting. Off to Jersey next for Tomasello Cranberry Wine. This a delicious, slightly sweet and tart wine made from 100% cranberries. We finish with a brand new dessert wine from Harvard, MA. Apfel Eis from Still River Winery is an ice wine made from 100% local apples. We just tried it yesterday and it is absolutely delish !!...this will be a perfect wine to serve with pumpkin or apple pie, or it can be dessert all on its own.

There will be no newsletter next week as it’s going to be crazy busy here and we are closed Thursday. There will also be no tastings next week as we concentrate on keeping the shelves filled and helping you with your Thanksgiving selections. I hope you all have a great weekend, and a nice Thanksgiving holiday.

Robert

PS…wow it was just brought to my attention after sending ½ of the e-mails out that I don’t have 1 sports reference!!...I just can’t go 2 weeks without 1, so congrats to “El Caballito” for an amazing season and capturing the AL MVP Award.

Thanks for attending the 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting!

2008-11-14T10:38:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter.

I want to thank all those who attended our 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting and made it a huge success. I think it we’ve finally got it down to where we have plenty of wine/beers at the se big events, and still have enough room to maneuver around and talk to the sales reps. The mix of wines, and even liquors seemed to work for you as well. We did have a minor delay with traffic and getting the 2nd batch of pizza, but overall I think the tasting went smoothly. Please feel free to send us comments, good or bad so that we can fine-tune even more for the next big tasting.

Speaking of the next big tasting, that would be our 4th??...5th?? Annual Superbrew Beer Tasting (I’m starting to lose track of the m to be honest). This year the event will be on the bye week between the AFC/NFC Championship games and the Super Bowl. Last years Superbrew was the day before the big game, and was just a bit out of control with the Patriots in the game and all. So this years big beer tasting will be on Saturday, January 24th from 2:30 to 5 PM. Hopefully the Pats can spank the Jets tonight and make a run at it despite the incredible amount of injuries they’ve suffered this year.

OK...interesting sidebar...as I’m writing about the Patriots in the newsletter a rather large gentlemen inquired about and bought an Opus One, 2 Larry Bird Legend Meritage, a few high end Bordeaux, and a few bottles of expensive liquor. Now being the sports geek I am (in my Ty Warren jersey for tonight’s game) I asked Erin to check out the name on the card. Turns out it's Jarvis Green of our New England Patriots!! Funny thing is I’m going to a charity wine tasting this Saturday at Johnson & Wales Inn in Seekonk this Saturday sponsored by the Jarvis Green foundation. There were over 20 Patriot players there last year, and lots of cool stuff auctioned off with proceeds going to help hurricane Katrina victims. Tickets are a bit steep at $100, but there will be tons of high end wines and great foods to sample. Check out our website (corksfinewine.com) for more info if you’re interested in attending.

We do not have any beer or wine tastings lined up for this week as we recover from last week’s big event. We do have a ton of tastings scheduled between now and Christmas, and we will set up a list/calendar of them on the website by this weekend. We do have a tasting this Saturday on Schwartzhog liqueur from 1 to 4 PM. This is a less expensive, knock off of Jagermeister and actually contains hog root. Unfortunately Kevin from Commonwealth will not be available to taste you on his fine product, so we’ve had to hire a supermodel.

Be sure to check out all the new and interesting holiday beers and gift sets that we recently brought in. We have a couple of racks set up in front, and most of these items are in very limited quantities so stop in early for the best selection. I hope you all have a great weekend and we’ll see you soon.

Robert

I day before 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting!

2008-11-06T12:58:00.001-05:00

Well we’re just 1 day away from our 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting. It is tomorrow (Friday) night from 4:30 to 7 PM. I tried my best to scale it back and make it more accessible, and yet we still have just over 100 wines and 10 liquors to taste. I’ve actually had to cut back and turn down vendors for this year's show. But the good news is we’ll line them up during the holiday season and do wine tastings on most Saturdays as well as Friday nights.

Here are a few tips I recycled from past years events to help those new to our big tastings:

1) Please bring your favorite glass. We will have semi-real wine glasses for you to use, and from what I hear they are even bigger than what we’ve had in the past. But to truly enjoy the wine, you should be able to swirl it and sniff it. Now… it is still a tasting and you will get a 1 oz pour, so don’t be asking to have your glass topped off.

2) For those new to the tastings, as you enter the store you will receive a sheet listing all the tables and wines. You will be assigned a number and that is your number for the night. When you find a wine you like simply tell the sales person your number and they will put a sticker on the bottle and write your number on the top. We will have runners scoop them up and put them in a box for you at the front of the store. When you're ready to leave, just tell the cashiers your number and your purchases will be ready for you.

3) You will receive a 10 % discount on 6 bottles and 15 % on a case of wine. Sale items and “2 for” wines do not discount further but do count towards the total. You may also mix other wines not included in the tasting to your case to receive the discounts.

4) I feel the need to mention my biggest pet peeve once again… enough already with the incessant rinsing!!! The only time you should rinse your glass is when you go from reds to whites and even then you should rinse with a wine and not water. The water only coats your glass and dilutes the next wine.

5) Please stay clear of the path to the pizza when they arrive so you won’t be trampled by Tom (he ain’t heavy he’s my brother) and other pizza mongers. We don’t want needless injuries and there will be plenty for everybody.

6) Please drink responsibly. This is a tasting after all, not a party. Have fun… enjoy the wines… mix in some food. There is no shame in dumping or spitting. In fact it is the only way you can possibly get through a tasting of this size. Plus we mix me all together at the end of the night and have chugging contests!

Let us not forget about beer here at Cork’s as there is a lot going on in that category as well. In fact we have a new beer guy who just joined our staff. His name is Josh and has over 6 years experience in the beer business. So be sure to stop by and say hello, and ask him about all the new things he has planned for the beer section. We will talk more about these changes, and take your suggestions as we move forward.

Speaking of beer, we have our friend Tim Coleman here tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 to taste you on his excellent beers. He’s scheduled to sample Tuckerman Pale Ale and Headwall Alt. He doesn’t know it yet but we’re gonna twist his arm to crack open the newest arrival from the Southern Tier Cuvee Series called Oak Aged Ale also. We will do 10 % off any Tuckerman or Southern Tier products tonight only. We also have a bunch of new winter and Christmas beers arriving so be sure to check them out as well.

Wow I made it through a whole newsletter without 1 sports reference…Go Celts!...sorry, had to do it. I hope to see you all at the big wine tasting and have a great weekend.

Robert

Happy Halloween from Cork's

2008-10-31T18:57:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. So much for those young upstart Rays. Congrats to the Phillies…but I still think the Sox could have taken them. The Celtics raised banner 17, and got the new season off on the right track with an opening night win over Lebron and the Cavs. And who would have thought the Bradyless, and injury riddled Pats would be 5-2 at this point? OK…with my obligatory sports references out of the way let’s talk about tastings and new stuff here at Cork’s.

Our friend Yannie from Opa-Opa Brewery in Southampton, MA will be here tonight (Thursday) from 4:30-7:30. He will sample you on their IPA, Light, and Red Rock Ale. We will have special pricing tonight only for the tasting. All 6-packs will be $6.99 and 12-packs only $12.99. With beer prices going up all the time this is a great chance to buy a delicious microbrew and help support the local guys. On a side note Yannie has threatened to dress up as that god awful singer Yanni and sing during tastings if you don’t support his beers so I’m begging you to at least pick up a 6 pack and save us from that horror.

I’ve scoured the store looking for interesting wines to try for our Halloween wine tasting this Friday night from 4-7 PM. Kind of slim pickings, so you’ll have to use your imagination on a couple of them. We will start with the newly packaged Mionetto Brut Prosecco. It is now in a classic Champagne style bottle with a bright orange label (think Clicquot). Next we have Smoking Loon Chardonnay…again an orange label of a duck smoking a cigar…hey I said some were a stretch so stay with me they get better. Temptation Zinfandel is next from Alexander Valley Vineyards. Same orange label but at least this 1 has a skeleton and a princess on it! Next up is Jester Cabernet from Australia. Last but not least is a dark, brooding blend of Bonarda and Malbec from Argentina called Alma Negra. It comes in a black…very thick, heavy bottle…with a slight glimpse of a phantom mask on it. This wine alone is worth the trip but to make it more fun anybody in a Halloween costume for the tasting will receive a free gift!

We won’t have a chance to update the website until the weekend as my web mistress is out in Chicago visiting Oprah. So we will recycle last weeks mystery discount and put it in the newsletter as well… Since there really is “only 1 October” and we’re rapidly running out of the month and most of our fall beers as well, let’s clean them out and make it our mystery discount this week. Just ask the cashier where the heck is Dane Cook this year???... or shout “THERE’S ONLY 1 OKTOBER!!” to receive 10% off any fall beer left in the building. As an added bonus take an additional 5 % off, for a total of 15% off if you can name Dane’s lame replacement on those fall classic commercials.

Just a quick reminder for those who need to drink on, or after Election Day. We still have a few 12 packs of Magic Hat Participation left in the house. Maker’s Mark also has a cool red, white, and blue “Rock the Vote” package of their famous Kentucky whiskey. Oh yea…1 last thing. Don’t forget our 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting which is next Friday night from 4:30 to 7:30. We have the lineup almost set and we’re looking at about 15 tables and 90 or so wines. We will even have a few liquors in the mix for the 1st time as well. So save the date and we will get more info on the website (corksfinewine.com) soon. I hope you all have a great Halloween weekend.

Robert

Two beer tastings this week...

2008-10-23T13:58:00.000-04:00

Well the Sox sure made it interesting; hopefully most of you stayed awake for that memorable game 5 comeback. But alas the Rays were just a little younger, healthier, and I hate to admit it…better. It was nice to see the Pats smoke Denver Monday night to help us turn the page. And with the Celts raising banner # 17 and opening up next week that should help as well. As promised we will be having an end of season sale on the Redsox wines. We will close them out at $10.99 or 3 for $30. These make great gifts for the holidays so hurry in before they are all gone.

We have a new rep from Newport Storm out of RI making his tasting debut tonight. He’s so new I don’t even know his name yet, but I am a longtime fan of this excellent local brewery. We will sample their flagship Hurricane Amber Ale, RI Blueberry Ale, and Cyclone Series “Isabel”. We also have the last of their outstanding Regenschauer Oktoberfest and a sneak peek at their Winter Ale to taste as well. So come join us tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 and help support our local breweries!

I’m thinking no wine tasting this week as I don’t have anybody lined up, and we’ll take a break and get the store ready for the big tasting on November 7th. I am leaning towards doing a Halloween themed tasting next week building up to our 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting. I’m just now piecing the lineup together but it will be scaled back a bit like the last big beer tasting. We will still have plenty of new and interesting wines as well as some of your favorites to try. I will be updating the website (corksfinewine.com) with details as the event draws closer.

We will have a bonus Halloween beer tasting this Saturday from 4 to 6 PM. Vinny promises me a “Bud Girl” this time…hmmmm…Vinny in drag for a Halloween party? Either way he/she will have Redhook Harvest Ale, Magic Hat Jinx, Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale, and Beck’s Oktoberfest for you to sample. We will also have a special prize for anybody who comes in a costume for the tasting. We are rapidly running out of our huge selection of Oktoberfest/Pumpkin/Autumn beers, so this weekend would be a great time to stock up before the winter brews arrive.
Oh yea, Ted wanted me to remind you of the closeout specials we have on wine. As we try to bring in new and different wines for the holiday tasting we have to make room and closeout some of the slower selling wines. If you’re not familiar with our closeouts they are on a round rack up front, and 1 side of our big 4-way display up front. They have colored stickers on the top of the bottles. These closeouts specials are so good Ted won’t even let me disclose them in the e-mail. But just ask me, Ted, or any of the cashiers and you will be pleasantly surprised at the incredible clearance prices on these wines.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Robert

Hook and Ladder and Sake!!

2008-10-16T17:50:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. Hmmmm...the Sox are down 3 to 1…sounds familiar…I can recall writing a similar e-mail almost 1 year ago to the day. We get a win with Dice-K tonight…hope for the Beckett of old to emerge in game 6...and I’ll take my chances with Lester in game 7. If not, hey we’ve had a nice run and we tip our hats to the upstart Rays, and have a closeout sale on our Redsox wines!

This weeks beer tasting is with Vinnie (not really my cousin) or 1 of his dudes (since we haven’t seen any of his harem of Bud girls in ages) here tonight from 4:30 to 7:30. He will sample you on 2 beers from Hook & Ladder Brewing Co. Golden Ale and Backdraft Brown are both very good beers and a portion of all Hook & Ladder sales go towards our local firefighter’s burn foundation. To wet your appetite even more, I will twist Vinnie or the dudes arm to taste the Sierra Nevada 12th Release Harvest Wet Hop Ale that just came through the door. We have very limited supplies of this and I would suggest stopping in tonight to secure your 24 oz. bottle of this yummy brew.

Friday night we have a special Sake tasting with Marcus from Classic Wine Imports from 4 to 7 PM. He will start you off with Kuromatsu Hakushika Sake from Japan. Next we will try the Silver, Ruby, and Pearl Sake from Momokawa. Although these sound Japanese, these Sakes are actually produced in Oregon. He will finish with Choya Umeshu Plum Wine. Yea, that’s that funky looking bottle with the lil olive like plums floating around in it. Of course A Sake tasting wouldn’t be complete without some Sushi, so we’ll send Kat out to grab a sampling of Sushi to pair with our Sake lineup. Personally I’m not a Sake or Sushi fan, but I’m game to try it if you are!

We have a bunch of tastings lined up between now and the end of the year, including our 4th Annual Grand Holiday Wine Tasting on Friday November 7th. So be sure to check out our website (corksfinewine.com) to see what we have coming up. I hope you all have a great weekend, and we will see you soon.

Robert

Post Oktoberfest Newsletter

2008-10-09T19:09:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. I saw quite a few of you at the Oktoberfest at Mansfield Crossing on Tuesday. For those who did not attend I would strongly recommend this event next year. There was tons of great food, lot’s of Oktoberfest beers, and it all went to a great cause.

We will not have a beer tasting this week but have 4 scheduled for the rest of the month. Hook & Ladder, Newport Storm, Oktoberfest Beers, and Opa-Opa are all lined up for this month so be sure to check the website (corksfinewine.com) for times and dates.

As promised we have Tommy Bolini from Carolina Wines here Friday night from 4 to 7 PM to sample you on some great local wines. He will start with Nashoba Valley Baldwin Dry Apple Wine. This wine is made from 100 % local apples right here in Bolton, MA. From there we travel south to RI for 2 new wines from Sakonnet Vineyards. Cock of the Walk White and Red are blends of local grapes, and as the front label says “wine with attitude”. The White is a blend of Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris. While the Red is a mix of Lemberger, Cabernet Franc, and Chancellor. I’ve heard great things about these wines from a few customers who have been to the winery and at the risk of offending the PC police; the back label says the Cock of the Walk is a delicious mouth filling wine. Yikes I can only imagine what Tommy Bolini will have to say about these wines. Staying somewhat local (and tossing Tommy another comedy softball) we head to upstate NY for Love My Goat Red Wine from Bully Hill Vineyards. Next we head to the North Fork of Long Island for Bedell Cellars Merlot. We end this Northeast tour back at Noshoba for their After Dinner Peach Wine. This should be 1 of the best Friday night tastings of the year and I recommend doing your best to attend the Tommy Bolini Show!

As we approach our 1st holiday season with liquor I want to mention we are starting to get our “Holiday Gift Packs” in. These are the same price as the normal bottles of liquor and just come with free stuff. We have Jameson, Frangelico, Carolan’s, and Faretti Biscotti Liqueur with lots more to come. And to help make the Presidential debates more tolerable we have the new “Rock the Vote” package from Maker’s Mark Whiskey. It comes in a cool bottle with red, white, and blue wax dripped over the top. As Tina Fay said on SNL, every time you here the word “maverick” you do a shot of Maker’s Mark, not only will the debates be more enjoyable it will also take your mind off of thousands of dollars you’re losing in your 401K everyday.

We have a bunch of oddball beers left over from the last beer tasting and the recent Oktoberfest, so we’ve gathered them on the back table and they can be yours for a buck a bottle. Wow…I made it this far and no sports references yet…amazing. Well let’s hope the Pats can make it 2-0 on their west coast swing, and don’t we all want a Redsox against Manny and the Dodgers World Series? The Celtics pre-season is officially under way, and the Bruins kick-off their season this week as well. If you throw in the Revolution that’s 5 major sports all going on at the same time! I hope you all have a great weekend, and we’ll see you soon.

Robert

Wake up Red Sox Fans!!

2008-10-02T13:40:00.000-04:00

Wake up Redsox fans! Hopefully most of you got to stay up and watch the Sox take the 1st step in their latest World Series quest. Don’t expect too much out of this newsletter as I’m working on short rest here, but let’s get to the basics and see where it goes from there.
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My cousin Vinnie or 1 of his harem of Bud girls will be in tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 for the official launch of the brand new Budweiser American Ale. We did sample this at the last big beer tasting but were not allowed to sell it at that time. If you didn’t get a chance to taste it, it’s surprisingly really good. It kind of taste like a Bass Ale but at 2 bucks less per 6-pack, and is actually 1 of the few Budweiser products I like and get behind and recommend.

We will take this week off from the wine tastings but we will be back next Friday night with Tom (he ain’t heavy he’s my brother) from Carolina Wines. Don’t forget the Oktoberfest at Mansfield Crossing next Tuesday, October 7th from 5 to 7 PM. There will be 20 great local restaurants there and we will be pouring our best Oktoberfest, Pumpkin, and Autumn beers. Tickets are going fast and you can go to our website (corksfinewine.com) to find out how to get tix and more info on the event.

The weather looks like it’s going to be a perfect fall weekend, so be sure to stop by and load up for the Sox playoff games (hopefully at a decent hour) and the Pats 1st game of their west coast road trip. Have a great weekend.

Robert

Check out our mystery discount!

2008-09-25T14:31:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. Well the Sox are in the World Series hunt for the 5th time in 6 years…the Bruins are already playing exhibition games…the NBA Champion Celtics start training camp in Newport this weekend…and the Pats have a bye week to get over that embarrassment last week. Mix in some cool nights and Oktoberfest beers an d you can see why this is my favorite time of year.

Speaking of Oktoberfests we are proud to be the only retailer to take part in the Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce Oktoberfest on Tuesday night October 7th from 5 to 7 PM at Mansfield Crossing. There are going to be 20 local restaurants there including Davio’s…Stoneforge…Trattoria Della Nona…Bertuccis…Qdoba …Fridays to name just a few. We will feature and taste our large selection of Oktoberfest/Pumpkin/Autumn beers to help wash down all the great food. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door with proceeds going to the food pantries of Mansfield, Norton, and Foxboro. Check our website (corksfinewine.com) for a complete list of restaurants and where to purchase tickets.

We don’t have a beer tasting scheduled for this week but we will be sampling the brand new Budweiser American Ale next Thursday. We do have a rookie to our weekly wine tastings this Friday night from 4 to 7, as E ric from Baystate Wines will be here to sample some of his excellent wines. He will start you off with a delicious Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand called Alan Scott. The next 3 are all new wines from 1 of my go to favorite producers, Peirano Estate. “The Other White” is a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier. Next up are 2 new reds for Peirano, Malbec and Petite Sirah. Last but not least is another favorite Stephen Vincent Crimson.

For those regulars of our website I’m sure you’re familiar with our “weekly mystery discount”. I usually make you say something stupid or embarrassing to the cashier to get a 10 to 20 % discount on whatever items we’re featuring that week. From time to time I will put them in the newsletter just to let you know we’re still doing them and so more of you can take advantage of them and embarrass yourself and our cashiers a bit more often. So this week to celebrate the Redsox latest world series run we will take 20 % off Sauvignyooooouuuuuk Blanc, Captai n’s Cabernet, or Vintage Papi. Just be wearing some form of Redsox gear or mention the fact that the Sox are in the hunt in October and the Yankees are not!!! To receive this week’s mystery discount. These wines make great Christmas gifts and we sold a ton around the Holidays last year so be sure to grab a few bottles while they are still around.

So brace yourself for a little Nor’easter and Patriots bye week and try to have a good weekend.
Robert

Who wants to watch me this weekend?

2008-09-18T13:20:00.003-04:00

I'd like to thank all of you who attended last weeks 4th Annual Kick-off Beer tasting. I thought it went real well and was the perfect size for a big tasting. Going forward we plan to keep the same scaled back format for the wine tastings as well. Just more room to maneuver and actually have a chance to talk to the reps. The weather turned out perfect...the Pats destroyed the Jets on Sunday…and hopefully you got a chance to try some new and interesting beers.

We will not have a beer tasting this week as we take a couple weeks off after the big event. We will get some scheduled soon as we go into the fall and holiday seasons. This weeks wine tasting will feature wines from Pannotia Vineyards. We will start with a delicious Riesling from the Rheinhessen region of Germany. From there the next 3 varietals are all from Mendoza, Argentina. Torrontes is a nice alternative white to the everyday Chardonnays and Pinot Grigios out there. Malbec is next and to me is the hottest varietal out there today. We will finish the lineup with Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines are a great value at $10.99 and you will also get 10 % off the night of the tasting. If that wasn’t enough there are rebates available for $2.00 on 1 bottle, all the way up to $25.00 on just 6 bottles!!

I’d like to thank all of you who attended last weeks 4th Annual Kick-off Beer tasting. I thought it went real well and was the perfect size for a big tasting. Going forward we plan to keep the same scaled back format for the wine tastings as well. Just more room to maneuver and actually have a chance to talk to the reps. The weather turned out perfect...the Pats destroyed the Jets on Sunday…and hopefully you got a chance to try some new and interesting beers.

We will not have a beer tasting this week as we take a couple weeks off after the big event. We will get some scheduled soon as we go into the fall and holiday seasons. This weeks wine tasting will feature wines from Pannotia Vineyards. We will start with a delicious Riesling from the Rheinhessen region of Germany. From there the next 3 varietals are all from Mendoza, Argentina. Torrontes is a nice alternative white to the everyday Chardonnays and Pinot Grigios out there. Malbec is next and to me is the hottest varietal out there today. We will finish the lineup with Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines are a great value at $10.99 and you will also get 10 % off the night of the tasting. If that wasn’t enough there are rebates available for $2.00 on 1 bottle, all the way up to $25.00 on just 6 bottles!!

OK for those of you who are regulars here at Cork’s you all know Ted the wine dog. He seems to have his own lil cult following and everybody is always offering to watch him. Well as it turns out I’m heading to Maine for a few days this weekend and my usual dog sitters are not available. So if anybody is interested in taking the furry guy off my hands for a couple days please let me know. You can see his sad lil face hugging a bottle of his favorite wine on the front page of the website (corksfinewine.com) if that helps any. Heck I’ll even throw in a bottle of your favorite wine for your troubles. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Robert

4th Annual Kick-Off Beer Tasting

2008-09-11T20:29:00.001-04:00

Well this should be an interesting newsletter as its 12:30, I have yet to eat and I’ve already seen 3 suppliers and tried about 20 wines…wooohoooo!!! Tough gig I have here, I know. OK, let’s focus as we have our 4th Annual Kick-Off Beer Tasting to talk about. I know things appear to be a little bleak with Brady going down for the year and the Sox dropping 2 of 3 to the Rays but I think it just adds a more mystique and interest to the seasons.

So 1 week late we have our 1st big beer tasting of the football season. It is this Saturday from 2:30 to 5 PM. We are scaling the event down just a bit as our last big beer tasting was a tad out of control. We will have about 75 beers (still tweaking and adding to the list) and about 15 tables. This will give those interested in tasting and learning more about the beers an opportunity to talk to the reps and not have it turn into a drunk fest. We will also not have a raffle at this event. As fun as this has been in the past we will keep the raffle for smaller weekly tastings and the big customer appreciation day. Of course, our famous tasting pizza and snacks will still be available as well as the t-shirts, pint glasses, bottle openers, hats and all that stuff.

We will not have a wine tasting this Friday night as we set up the store for the big beer tasting on Saturday. But feel free to come in and help set up the tables and I’ll crack a bottle of wine open to make the night fun. As the seasons change and we get more into wine weather we will be having wine tastings most every Friday from 4 to 7, and don’t forget our big holiday wine tasting will be Friday, November 7th from 4:30 to 7 so be sure to save that night on your calendar.

Wow this newsletter is pretty lame considering I’ve tasted 20 wines...oh well…perhaps it’s for the best. Here is a glimpse of the beers we have for Saturday’s big tasting…
Sam Adams...Plank...Wachusett...Cisco...Clipper City...Southern Tier...Harpoon...Black Sheep Ale...Lion Stout...Opa Opa...Jacks Pumpkin Spice...Magic Hat... Staropramen…Redbridge (organic)…Beck’s…Shipyard...Michelob…Woodchuck...Hobgoblin...Buzzard’s Bay…Fiddlers Elbow...and we will also have the brand new and much hyped Budweiser Ale!!

I’m still negotiating to get Tom and Giselle here for the tasting since he’s not doing anything. If not,I think we can snag a couple of linemen/women from the Boston Militia or a Patriot cheerleader or 2 (hey a guy can dream) but either way this is always a fun event. So be sure to don your Pats gear and stop by to try some great new beers, Oktoberfests, and even some of your old favorites and help kick-off the football season. Hope to see you all there!

Robert

Crazy here at Cork's!!

2008-09-04T13:58:00.001-04:00

Wow this is the latest I’ve started a newsletter in awhile but it’s been crazy here at Cork’s. The Parrotheads were already congregating in the parking lot this AM for tonight’s Jimmy Buffet concert and my not so subtle pleas to lure Wallace back from the bushes have been fruitless so far, so I’ve been schlepping cases all morning. Anyways this will be brief but I wanted to get 1 out because we have 2 tastings this week to talk about.

We welcome back Sarah from Merchant du Vin for tonight’s (Thursday) beer tasting. She is one of the more knowledgeable beer reps out there and always has interesting beers for you to sample. Since October is national organic month (she told me I had no clue) we are going to do some organic beers tonight from 4:30 to 7:30. She will start you with Sam Smith Organic Ale and the new Sam Smith Organic Cider. Next is Pinkus Organic Pils and she will finish up with Ayinger Oktoberfest. So venture into the shark infested waters to try these excellent beers and receive 10% off any that you taste tonight.

John from Trio wines will be making a return appearance on Friday night from 4 to 7 PM to try you on some of his newer selections that we’ve brought in to Cork’s. He will start with an off dry Riesling from Washington State called Five H. Next is Bianchi Chardonnay which is a big rich buttery Chard and if you like that style, this is a must try. Shingleback Grenache is a highly rated, (91 points) delicious wine from Australia. Trace Merlot is next and is a big Merlot in a funky package. We will end with Bianchi Cabernet; this wine is mix of berry and coffee flavors and drinks like a $30 Cab for 10 bucks less than that.

Well the Pats kickoff their season this week but due to the Buffet concert on Saturday, our 4th Annual Kick-off Beer tasting will be next Sat. September 13th from 2:30 to 5 PM. I’m still putting the lineup together but we will be definitely be toning it down a bit from last years Superbrew event. I will be updating the website (corksfinewine.com) with details and will rant more about it in next week’s newsletter. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Robert

Labor Weekend brings lots of tastings!

2008-08-28T12:32:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s Labor Day newsletter.

Where the heck did the summer go to? Wow…there is so much stuff going on I don’t know where to begin. We have 4 tastings in the next 3 days…the Sox are looking to put the nail in the Yankees coffin this afternoon in their last ever visit to Yankee Stadium…the start of the Deutsche Bank PGA Tournament in Norton… the Pats finishing up their preseason with the Giants tonight (didn’t we just play them a few months ago…I can’t remember)…and Jimmy Buffet next week with his annual wrap up the summer concerts.

OK…so let’s start with the tastings. Tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 we have Vinny or 1 of his harem of Bud Girls with a preview for the Jimmy Buffet concert with a sampling of Landshark Lager and Margaritaville Tequila. You can taste the RTD margarita flavors featuring Classic Lime, Passion Fruit, and Last Mango as well as the Gold Tequila. So get your crazy Hawaiian shirts, Parrotheads and shark fins out early and come stock up and save 10% on these pre-concert necessities.

Friday night from 4 to 7 we have a wine tasting sponsored by 1 of our suppliers. They will have 1 of their “wine specialists” (supermodel) here to sample you on 2 new wines here at Cork’s. 337 Cabernet is a delicious reasonably priced Cab that comes in a cool package. Next is Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel. This is a yummy rich Zinfandel and a great value at $10.99. Of course as with all our tasting you will receive a 10% discount on all wines tasted that night. This is a supplier sponsored tasting so we are just supposed to do those 2 wines but I’m thinking we try to sneak in a good white wine as well…shhhhh…but we won’t tell the supermodel.

Saturday from 1 to 3 we have a Redhook Beer tasting and putting challenge to win a Redhook Adirondack Chair. We will taste Longhammer IPA, Blonde Ale, ESB, and Widmer Hefeweizen. As part of the PGA weekend we will have a putting challenge for you to participate in. If you sink the putt you will be registered for the cool Redhook chair. We will drawer 1 name from all the entries at the end of the tasting and you do not have to be present to win.

Staying with the golf theme we will have a Bonterra Wine tasting on Saturday from 3:30 to 6:30. We will have Bonterra Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Syrah, and Zinfandel to sample. Bonterra wines are made from 100 % organically grown grapes and they are official sponsors of the PGA tour. If you buy 2 bottles of any Bonterra wine you will receive an earth friendly 6-bottle cloth wine bag. These bags are really cool and like the ones you see at Shaw’s and Stop & Shop are the way to go and 1 more thing you can do for the environment and hopefully make Wallace happy enough to come back to Cork’s and help put up all these freaking cases we got in today!

The weather forecast sounds like it’s going to be fantastic so stop by, sample some wine and beer and stock up for the last official weekend of the Summer.

Robert

Beer tasting road trip! Yippee!

2008-08-21T12:36:00.001-04:00

OK… I know this is incredibly short notice but we are taking tonight’s (Thursday) beer tasting on the road to Buzzards Bay Brewing in Westport. Owner Bill Russell and his gang have “Lager Education Night” every Thursday from 5 to 7 PM. They have 2 grills to cook on (bring your own grillables)…picnic tables…cornhole…farmboy golf…and you get 2 pints of either their 10th Anniversary Ale or Gold Medal Lager as well as the pint glass for 5 bucks! They also give a brief tour of the brewery. Megan and I went earlier this summer and its lots of fun. I know a few of you expressed interest a few weeks back and I had hoped to give you more notice but we’re rapidly running outta Summer and tonight’s weather should be perfect so I hope a few of you can join us. There is more info as well as directions on their website at (buzzardsbrew.com).

Staying on the topic of beers we have a boatload of Oktoberfests/Pumpkin/Autumn beers that have just arrived. I don’t know about you but my favorite season as a whole, and definitely my favorite beer season is the fall. The nights getting cooler…the leaves changing colors …and yummy fall beers to drink. We have a huge display in the front of the store, and as you know, some are in and out quickly. So be sure to get here early before your favorite is all gone. Here is a sampling of what we have in so far.

Dogfish Head Punkin… Wachusett Octoberfest …Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale…Saranac Octoberfest and Pumkin…Poast Poad Pumpkin…Erdinger Oktoberfest…Jacks Pumkin Spice…Paulener Oktoberfest…Smuttynose Pumpkin…Brooklyn Oktoberfest…Blue Moon Harvest Ale… Southampton Pumpkin, and Southern Tier Pumpking which come in the 22 oz size.

We do have a wine tasting this Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. Our friend Jeff from…who is he with this week?...oh yea Sun Wholesale will be here with a very impressive lineup of wines. We will start with Hunter’s Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Typical Marlborough style (which is my favorite) bursting with citrus and this 1almost has a pink grapefruit finish. From there we head to the Willamette Valley in Oregon for the outstanding wines from Belle Vallee Cellars. Next is a great alternative to those watered down Pinot Grigios out there called Belle Vallee Pinot Gris. Same grape… just more color, body and most of all… flavor! Next we have 2 different style Pinot Noirs, Whole Cluster Pinot Noir and their award winning and highly rated Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Last but not least a red blend called Southern Oregon Red.

The Patriots play their only preseason game that matters and that Brady will play in Friday night so stop by before the game…try some wine… pick up a 6-pack of your favorite fall beer and get that DVR set to tape the Olympics and the Pats (sorry Redsox we’ll get back to you when the Olympics are over) and get ready to enjoy 1 of the last weekends of the Summer. Just a quick reminder we have 2 wine tastings and 1 beer tasting next week (corksfinewine.com for more info) as we gear up for Labor Day and the big golf tournament. The big Kick-off beer tasting is September 13th and we’re leaning towards November 7th for the Holiday Wine tasting. Yikes summer isn’t even over and I have us getting ready for Christmas…see what fall beers do to me?

Robert

Thanks for attending the 2nd Annual Customer Appreciation Day

2008-08-14T17:20:00.001-04:00

Thanks to all of you who came and helped celebrate our 2nd Annual Customer Appreciation Day last Saturday. It was a huge success. The weather turned out perfect and I think there was a nice mix of beer, wine, and spirits for everybody’s tastes. I hope everybody enjoyed themselves and were able to get outside and have a dog or burger. Speaking of burgers did anybody else see the guy with the 1 green tooth who sat outside and scoffed down a dozen burgers? Not only is he not a regular customer of Cork’s (nobody had ever seen him before)...he didn’t speak English…gave you the look of death if you glanced his way… and he never actually made it in the store to try any of the samples. Hmmmm…could it have been a secret plot by Duds’s or Bum Runners to eat all of our burgers!?! But we were still glad he came for entertainment purposes.

I think the hit of the show was a brand new item called Cabin Fever. It’s a whiskey/bourbon based liqueur that smells like butterscotch/maple syrup and was just delicious. The owner of the company is based right out of Norton and after selling through what we had in stock, had a bunch more brought in from his home which he promptly sold out of. We are back in stock and you can find Cabin Fever on the liquor wall just above the Southern Comfort.

We will not have a beer tasting this week as we recover from last weekend and ride out the dog days of August. We do have a smattering of Autumn/Oktoberfests beers that have been trickling in so be sure to seek them out as they are always outstanding. We also have a new upscale lineup of beers from Allagash that just arrived. Victoria Ale, Hugh Malone Ale, Victor, Fluxus, and Curieux make up this interesting 750 ml cork finished collection. These will be sampled at our 4th Annual Kick-off beer tasting which is right around the corner on Saturday, September 13th from 2:30 to 5 PM. We will talk more about that in upcoming newsletters and you can always check out the website (corksfinewine.com) for more details. As I write this newsletter we just received the new 08-08-08 Vertical Epic Ale from Stone. We have very limited quantities so we’ll have to limit you to 2 per person.

I’m still debating whether or not there will be a wine tasting on Friday night. I have a rep penciled in from awhile ago but I’m not sure if he remembers and I haven’t been able to get a hold of him. I’m leaning against it as we have a couple scheduled for Labor Day weekend. So let’s say no wine tasting this week unless you really want to twist my arm and have me open something for you. We are in the process of picking a date for our next big wine tasting. It will be in late October or early November and I welcome your suggestions on a date or times for the event.

Thanks,
Robert

Customer Appreciation Day

2008-08-07T14:04:00.000-04:00

Well I’m back from vacation and getting right into the preparation for our 2nd Annual Customer Appreciation Day. It is this Saturday from noon to 3 PM so let’s hope there is no rain. The event will go on rain or shine we’ll just have to get Don an umbrella and bring the rest of the event inside. We’re still putting the finishing touches on the list of items to sample but as it stands now we have 6 beer tables and about 25 beers to taste. 3 wine tables in the back with 15 wines. And 3 liquor tables as well.

There are more details in last week’s newsletter and on the website (corksfinewine.com) and I will update a complete list of all the items being sampled by tomorrow. I’m going to keep this brief as I need to get stuff done so we’re ready for the event. I apologize for the lack of sports references…OK just 1…see ya Manny we’re a better team without you, and for the lack of comedy as my kids sucked all the humor out of me during my vacation.

Once again there will be no tastings on Thursday or Friday as we prepare the store for our annual BBQ. Let’s cross our fingers for a nice day and I hope you all can stop by and give us a chance to thank you for being loyal Cork’s customers.

Robert

Early newsletter!

2008-07-30T16:38:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter 1 day early.

I’ll be taking a little vacation time so I thought I would get the newsletter out before I go. There won’t be any tastings until next Saturday, August 9th when we have our 2nd Annual Customer Appreciation Day. I’ve got most of the lineup set for the event as we try to get you a smorgasbord of wine, beer, and yes even liquor to go with those steaks and lobsters…ummm OK burgers and dogs.

We have Tom (he ain’t heavy he’s my brother) from Carolina donning his Speedo once again and sampling you on a new line of wines called Festival 34. He will also have UV Blue Raspberry and Pink Lemonade Vodka. Jaime from MS Walker will be tasting you on the Hogue wines from Washington State and Four Vines Zinfandel and Naked Chardonnay. He says he wants to go naked behind the back tasting area since Tom was in a Speedo but we had to put the kibosh on that idea. And for the guys we have a supermodel in a bikini who will be pouring the new wines from Pannotia Vineyards.

On the beer side we have Vinny and the Bud girls sampling Redhook, Shock Top Wheat Beer, and Wild Blue Lager. They will also have the ready to drink Margaritaville flavors and Margaritaville Tequilla. Kristen from L. Knife will have the crazy microbrew cans from Oscar Blues featuring the the new Gordon Beer and Ten Fidy. We also have the 4 flavors of Leinenkugel representing which are great for the summer. The BBQ wouldn’t be complete without inviting our neighbors from Narragansett Brewing Co. to round out the beer portion of the event.

In addition to the UV and Margaritaville we will also have the outstanding flavored vodkas from Triple 8 out of Nantucket. You have to try the vanilla bean it is the best vodka I’ve ever tasted. They also have a Hurricane Rum and Gayle Force Gin to close things out.

We’re still working on raffle items but so far we have a Coors Light Grill, a Coors double beach chair with a cooler in the middle, a Bud Light lounge chair, Sam Adams Patio Umbrella and lots more. We will have tons of t-shirts…hats...pint glasses…key chains and other crap to give away as well. Be sure to check the website (corksfinewine.com) for more info as we get more info on the event. Don’t forget that Don is a wizard on the grill and is always looking for special orders to challenge his grilling skills. This was a blast last year and gives us a chance to thank you for being loyal Cork’s customers.

Robert

Lots going on this week!

2008-07-24T13:19:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. We have a lot of stuff going on here at Cork’s this week. We have not 1 but 2 beer tastings this week and a wine tasting for Friday night as well. We also have the return of Big Papi to the Sox just in time to slap down the resurgent Yankees. The Pats training camp starts today as they look to repeat as Super Bowl Champions…wait…ummm…they didn’t win 19 straight last year?...sorry... my bad... I’ve blocked most of that out…but we’ll get them this year.

Tonight’s (Thursday) beer tasting is a chance to meet Kenny Chesney look-alike Vinny as he samples you on Corona Extra, Light, Pacifico Clara, and Negra Modello. It is from 4:30 to 7:30 and features Corona who sponsors the Kenny and the Country Fest which is Saturday at Gillette. Our Saturday bonus tasting is with our new friend Yanni from Opa-Opa. He will be here from 11-3 to taste you on Opa-Opa Light, IPA, and Red Rock Ale. This is the perfect beer for the Country Fest crowd as it features a lasso wielding cowboy on the package. Oh yea, and they are local...and make really good beers as well...giddy up!!

Continuing our streak of rookie wine presenters we have Jay from Signature Imports based right here out of Mansfield here Friday night from 4 to 7 to taste you on wines from the Iberian Peninsula. He will start with Casa de Vila Verde Vinho Verde a delicious light Portuguese wine. Next up in my Rose crusade is Darien Rosado from Rioja. This is 100 % Tempranillo and a great summer wine. Darien Crianza is next and makes a perfect barbecue wine. We go back to Portugal for Vinzelo a blended red wine of 4 native varietals. Last but not least Casa de Santar Vinho Tinto from the Dao region is a delicious way to finish the night.

Don’t forget our 2nd Annual Customer Appreciation Day is right around the corner on Saturday, August 9th from noon to 3. And the Kick-Off Beer tasting is Saturday, September 13th so be sure to mark your calendars and check the website (corksfinewine.com) for details and updates. As I write this we are getting our daily monsoon so let’s hope the weather clears for the weekend.

Robert

Dog days of summer

2008-07-17T14:52:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter.

Not too much new going on as we hit the dog days of summer. As the temperature reaches the 90’s and we have the bleakest 2 days in sports with no Redsox or any sport (sorry soccer fans) going on right now. I will be going to see Big Papi in his rehab stint in Pawtucket tonight and the Lowell Spinners in the near future and I strongly recommend a trip up to Portland Maine to see the Seadogs. I’ve also heard good things about the Cape Summer League and need to check that out as well.

While we’re on the topic of local attractions we have incredible local breweries and wineries right in our backyard. We carry a bunch of them in the store as you know but these places make great summer day trips and most offer free tours and tastings. In fact our friend and owner of Buzzards Bay and Westport Rivers Winery in Westport Bill Russell takes it a step further. Thursday nights are “Lager Appreciation Nights” and you can get 2 pints of his yummy local lagers and a free glass for 5 bucks. But beyond that they have 2 grills set up so bring your favorite grillables and have a little picnic on the lawn. There are games of “cornhole” and “farmboy golf” to entertain and even a mini brewery tour as well. We went a few weeks ago and I’m thinking of taking 1 of our Thursday Beer Tastings and making it a roadie to Westport. Anybody interested?

We don’t have a beer tasting this week but we do have another 1st timer here Friday from 4 to 7 PM for out weekly wine tasting. Anthony from Arborway Imports will be sampling you on a few wines from his excellent portfolio. For those who missed the organic tasting we did last month he will have 3 new organic wines from Argentina. Domaine Jean Bousquet Chardonnay, Merlot, and Malbec will get us started. Next we head to Italy. In my ongoing campaign to get people to drink Rose wines we have Zaccagnini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Rose. This is a “dry” Rose and delicious on these hot summer days. Our last wine is a 2002 Russian River Pinot Noir called Mueller Emily’s Cuvee. I must admit this was bought by my predecessor and has been sitting in the back collecting dust. I’ve heard really good things about this gem so we will dust them off and close them out Friday night.

Don’t forget our next big event is less than a month away. Our 2nd Annual Customer Appreciation Day is Saturday August 9th from noon to 3. I’m in the process of lining up the beer, wine and booze vendors and this should be a lot of fun. We will be updating the website (corksfinewine.com) with details of this and all events so be sure to check it out as it draws closer. I hope you all enjoy the weekend and we’ll see you soon.

Robert

News from Cork's Fine Wines

2008-07-12T18:17:00.000-04:00

I hope everybody had a great 4th of July weekend. The weather was a little dicey but decent enough to get the BBQ’s and fireworks in. The Sox appear to be back on a roll with that blowout yesterday as we head into the All-Star break. We’re going to continue that momentum with 2 tastings this week.

The beer tasting will be on Saturday this week so let’s start with the wine tasting. Our friend Carmen from Café Europa will be making a guest appearance Friday night (4 to 7 PM) to sample you on some of his delicious new wines. Dancing Coyote Albarino and Verdelho will get things started. These Spanish varietals are grown in Clarksburg, CA and make a great summer white alternative. Next up is Vina Echeverria Unwooded Chardonnay from Chile which I’ve yet to try and am looking forward to. From there we go to Oregon to 1 of the wineries I visited this past winter. Anne Amie Cuvee A Pinot Noir is there entry level Pinot but is anything but ordinary. Finally an absolute bomb to end the tasting with called Bravante Vineyards Merlot. This is a big, bold Merlot and is the best Merlot I’ve tried in some time.

This week’s beer tasting is on Saturday from 2 to 5 PM and features the outstanding beers of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co out of Chico, Ca. My cousin Vinny or 1 of his harem of Bud Girls will sample you on Pale Ale, Unfiltered Wheat Beer and Summerfest Lager. As an added treat I was able to get just a few more bottles of the 1st Release Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale. I have 6 in the barn and we’re going to use 2 for the tasting. So the other 4 will go to the 1st 4 people who come to the tasting and wish to purchase them.

Speaking of new crazy limited beers I just got 2 more in as I write the newsletter. Avery Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale and Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout. These are in limited amounts also and you may want to hurry in while they last. We also have added a new ready-to- drink cooler for your convenience. It’s in the back right corner near the chilled wine doors. We have it stocked with all the Margaritas, Kahlua Combos, Smirnoff Cosmos, Mojitos, and Martinis as well as Jager, Sambuca and a few other chilled liqueurs. So be sure to stop in and check it out.

Robert

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-03T14:28:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s 4th of July newsletter.

This will be quick and brief as we have no tastings this week…the Sox are not worth mentioning…and we’re going to be real busy and I need to get out on the sales floor. A quick reminder of our holiday hours though.

We will be open from 9 AM to 6 PM on Friday the 4th of July. Saturday the 5th will be normal hours from 10 AM to 10 PM and Sunday the 6th will be noon to 6 PM. I hope you all have a safe and happy 4th of July holiday.

Robert

Busy early summer here at Cork's

2008-06-26T12:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter.

It’s been a crazy last few weeks with all the concerts at Great Woods, the wacky weather, the Sox wine tasting last week and all their late inning rallies, and of course the basking in the afterglow of the Celtics 1st NBA Title in 22 years. All this and summer just started with the 4th of July weekend right around the corner.

We’re going to ramp it up here at Cork’s with 2 tastings this week as well. Tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 my cousin Vinny will be sampling you on Hoegaarden White Beer and Landshark Lager. Hoegaarden is a delicious Belgian wheat beer and Landshark is Jimmy Buffet’s venture into the beer biz. These are both great summer beers and were just released in 12 packs for your convenience and multiple summer consumption!

New to our Friday night wine tasting lineup is Mark from Horizon Beverage. He was just released on parole and will be featuring the new “Big House” wines Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. The Birdman Pinot Grigio, The Lineup GSM, The Slammer Syrah, and The Prodigal Son Petite Sirah make up this eclectic collection. I’m looking forward to trying these for the 1st time with you as well, but have always been a big fan of these unique wines from Santa Cruz. They all have crazy labels and stories behind them and I’m thinking those big reds will make perfect barbecue wines.

I think we finally got our e-mail problems under control. But as a reminder if it’s Thursday after 2 PM and you haven’t received the newsletter yet you can always go to the website at Corksfinewine.com or the blog at corksfinewine.blogspot.com and find it there. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Robert

Mystery Discount

2008-06-21T17:35:00.000-04:00

OK...if you read my weekly ramblings you know I had to have the Celtics in this week’s mystery discount…right? So let me help you celebrate banner # 17 with you.

No mentioning the mystery discount this week…I’m not letting you off that easy. You have to scream like KG does during introductions or you must quote his rambling emotionally packed gibberish he spouted to Michelle Trafoia immediately after the game!!!

Fine - just wear some Celtics gear or mention that “We are the Champions” or better yet sing the Queen classic to receive 17 % off any Champagne, Cava, Prosecco or Sparkling wine we have here at Cork’s.

(valid until 6/26/08)

Woohoo!! NBA World Champions!! Banner #17

2008-06-19T13:50:00.001-04:00

I knew they would do it. Sorry the newsletter is a little late as I watch the rolling rally go through the streets of Boston. Now if only the Patriots had sealed the deal we would have had 3 Championships this year. Good thing we still have the Bruins to keep us humble.

Well as we celebrate the Celtics NBA title, we will toast them at our Redsox Wine Tasting this Friday night. In addition to Sauvignoouuk Blanc, Vintage Papi (Cabernet/Merlot blend), and Captain’s Cabernet, I’m sure we can twist Kevin’s arm to pop open a nice sparkler to honor the NBA Champs from across town. And don’t forget he also has the Schwartzhog Liqueur for you to sample as well. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get Redsox Tickets this year but we do have Pawsox tix and lots of other Redsox stuff to raffle off as well. The tasting is from 4 to 7 on Friday June 20th and the raffle will be at 7 but you need not be present to win.

We don’t have a beer tasting scheduled for this week but we will have 1 next Thursday night. We will be featuring the new 12 packs from Landshark and Hoegarten with our cousin Vinny from 4:30 to 7:30. We have a bunch more beer tastings on the agenda and will be posting them on the website. (corksfinewine.com)

The date of our 2nd Annual Customer Appreciation Day is going to be changed. We made a point of checking the Great Woods schedule so as not to conflict with any concerts that day. We unfortunately didn’t realize that July 26th is “Countryfest” and all day concert at Gillette in Foxboro. It was a very busy day here last year and it would just be too crazy (plus we didn’t want them outta town hillbillies eatin all our burgers and dogs!) The new date is Saturday August 9th from noon to 3 PM. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

So I hope you all have a great weekend and stop by to celebrate Banner # 17, taste the 08’ Sox Wines, and help out some great charities. Oh yea 1 more thing - the Redsox wines on Friday night will be sale priced at $10.99!!...they are normally $12.99. We will not be getting more of these wines like last year so once they are gone there is no re-ordering. I know we sold a bunch around the holidays so I would suggest getting them now and stashing them away for Christmas.

Robert

Hot weather...Celtics...Red Sox Wines and lost emails

2008-06-13T08:17:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter.

Warm enough for ya? Good to see the summer heat finally here but the last few days were a bit much. The next few days and the weekend look to be pretty nice though. Let’s hope the Celtics sneak out a win tonight or on Sunday and come back to the Garden to wrap up their 17th NBA title.

There won’t be any tastings this week as we don’t have a beer vendor lined up and I will be at the REM concert Friday at the Tweeter Center…errr Comcast Center…the heck with that I’m calling it Great Woods from now on. This is a big weekend at Great Woods as Tom Petty and Rush play on Saturday and Sunday as well. So if you’re heading to any of the shows be sure to stop by and stock up on beers, ice, coolers, and don’t forget them red cups.

Next Friday night, June 20th will be our 2nd Annual Redsox Wine Tasting from 4 to 7 PM. We will taste the 2008 charity wines from Longball Vineyards. This years wines are Sauvignoouuk Blanc, Vintage Papi (Cabernet/Merlot blend), and Captain’s Cabernet. We will have tons of Redsox stuff to raffle off and for those who came last year you know how much fun it was. We are trying to get Redsox Tickets to give away this year but as of yet have had no luck. If we can’t get Redsox tix we will get Pawsox tickets and other cool Sox stuff. We have plenty of the wines this year so you won’t have to be on a waiting list. We will also have a special price on the wines the night of the tasting only as well. If that wasn’t enough our friend Kevin from Commonwealth who is doing the tasting insists on having a bottle of Schwartzhog there as well. This is a brand new liqueur and is aiming for the “Jager” crowd. So be sure to stop by try some Redsox wines…help out some charities…and you can even shoot the Hog!!

I will be lining up beer tastings for the summer either on Thursday nights or Saturday afternoons so be sure to check the website (corksfinewine.com) for dates and times. We also have Mark from Horizon doing his 1st tasting at Cork’s on Friday June 27th from 4 to 7 featuring the new crazy “Big House” wines we just got in. And don’t forget our Customer Appreciation Day on Saturday July 26th from noon to 3. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Robert

P.S. We’ve had a couple of issues with our e-mails of late. Some of you have said you’re not getting the e-mail until Sat.or Sun well after the tastings each week. We are checking with Verizon as to why that is happening. The 2nd issue is a goof on our end, some of you who have been on the list for awhile our 2nd and 3rd lists were accidentally deleted. We are trying to retrieve these lists as well. If you happen to be reading this on the website and not via your e-mail alert me and I will add you to a new list. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Red Sox Wine Tasting Friday June 20th from 4 to 7pm

2008-06-11T11:44:00.001-04:00

We will be having our annual Redsox Wine Tasting on Friday June 20th from 4 to 7 PM. We will taste the 2008 charity wines from Longball Vineyards.

This years wines are Sauvignoouuk Blanc, Vintage Papi (Cabernet/Merlot blend), and Captain’s Cabernet. We will have tons of Redsox stuff to raffle off and for those who came last year you know how much fun it was. We are trying to get Redsox Tickets to give away this year but as of yet have had no luck. If we can’t get Redsox tix we will get Pawsox tickets and other cool Sox stuff.

We have plenty of the wines this year so you won’t have to be on a waiting list. We will also have a special price on the wines the night of the tasting only as well. If that wasn’t enough our friend Kevin from Commonwealth who is doing the tasting insists on having a bottle of Schwartzhog there as well. This is a brand new liqueur and is aiming for the “Jager” crowd.

So be sure to stop by try some Redsox wines…help out some charities…and you can even shoot the Hog!!

Go Green...Beat LA!

2008-06-05T23:35:00.002-04:00

Beat L.A…..beat L.A !!...wow that sure brings back memories of Celtic glory days back in the “Bird Era”. Redsox fans were even chanting it at Fenway last night. Let’s hope the Celts can open up with a win tonight at the Garden as they look to capture their 17th NBA title.

We will help you get ready for the 1st game of the Finals with a Long Trail beer tasting tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30. Our friend Scott will be here to sample you on the beers from the “Survival Pack”. Long Trail Ale, Blackberry Wheat, Hefeweizen, and Belgian White make up this delicious Vermont 12 pack. We a re having a summer special on all Long Trail beers going on here at Cork’s. All 6-packs are $6.99 and any 12-pk is just $12.99. With rising fuel costs and the hop shortage you won’t find a quality micro-brew at these prices so stop by taste some beers and stock up!

This weeks wine tasting is an idea that Megan came up with last week and is long overdue for us at Cork’s. We will taste all “Organic Wines” on Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. We have featured many of our organic wi nes in the past but never really done a totally organic tasting. We will start with Pierre Frick Pinot Blanc from Alsace. Next is a delicious Rhone style white blend from Paso Robles called Edmunds St. John Shell and Bone. Our Daily Red is by far our most popular organic wine and is sulfite free for those who get “red wine headaches”. Cono Sur Cabernet/Carmenere from Chile will be next. An organic tasting would not be complete without the crazy wines from Coturri. These inimitable wines are big and bold and not for the faint of heart. They are what sustainable and organic farming is all about. We will sample the 05’ Carignane which I think is the perfect ending to our “green” tasting.

Let’s see...I already got my obligatory sports reference out of the way….covered our 2 tastings…oh yea my weekly weather reference... it’s supposed to be a scorcher this weekend so be sure to stop in for your margarita mixers and the coldest beer in town. I hope you all have a great weekend and we’ll see you soon.

Robert

Red Sox wines are in!

2008-05-29T13:20:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone!

The Redsox wines are in! This year's charity wines from Longball Vineyards have finally arrived. Vintage Papi (Cab/Merlot blend), Captain’s Cabernet, and Sauvignyoouuk Blanc make up the trio of 2008 Sox wines. These wines are California appellations this time, have great packaging, and a portion of the proceeds goes to each players designated charity. We will have a huge Redsox Wine Tasting like we did last year, unfortunately our pal Kevin from Commonwealth is booked until Friday June 27th but that will give us plenty of time to load up on Sox give-a-ways and try to get some tickets to raffle off like last year. These wines will make great Father’s Day gifts and we do have plenty in stock this year so we won’t have to limit them.

We will be launching a new beer for us, Opa-Opa tonight (Thursday) with a tasting from 4:30 to 7:30. This is a local brewery from Southampton, MA and I’ve heard good things about them. We will sample you on Opa-Opa Light, Red Rock Amber Ale, and Opa-Opa IPA. We have 6-packs of each and they all come in a mixed 12 pk. as well.

I will be doing a wine tasting this Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. I just have no idea what we will taste yet. Having done close to 100 wines a couple weeks ago with about ½ of them new wines it seems like we’ve tried them all recently. I’m thinking with the price of gas about to break $4 we need to find some good value wines. So I will search for a few of them, mix in a closeout perhaps, maybe sneak in 1 Redsox Wine (sorry I can’t wait a month), and find at least 1 heavy hitter to make it worth a visit. I’m also open to any suggestions on wines you may have been looking at but wanted to try before purchasing. And no…I’m afraid that doesn’t mean Opus One and the high end lay downs in the back cases.

Well it was a seat squirmer but the Celtics won last night and are just 1 victory away from their 1st NBA final in over 20 years. I don’t know what to think of the Redsox as they streak through the first few months of the season. And don’t forget the Boston Militia as they play this Saturday night at home as they make a run towards the IWFL playoffs. Let’s hope this weekend is as nice weather-wise as the holiday weekend was.

Robert

Memorial Day weekend news...

2008-05-22T15:28:00.002-04:00

Thank you all for attending our 4th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting. I hope you all had fun…got to try some good wines…learned a little something and were able to stock up a bit. We always enjoy these big events and the 2nd Annual Customer Appreciation Day is the next one. It will be on Saturday July 26th from noon to 3. We will have lobster…steaks…ribs…chicken…OK not really… but we will have cheeseburgers…hotdogs…snacks and other goodies...along with a combination beer/wine/liquor tasting all in 1 event! There will be games and contests and we will bring back our famous raffle. We will also have tons of hats, t-shirts, key chains, and other crap for you to take home. This was a blast last year and gives us a chance to thank you for being loyal Cork’s Customers.

We will have 2 beer tastings this holiday weekend but we’ll pass on a wine tasting this Friday night as I think we tasted all the new wines we have in the store. Tonight’s beer tasting (Thursday) is from 4:30 to 7:30 and will feature the new flavors of Michelob Ultra,Lime Cactus, Tuscan Orange Grapefruit, and Pomegranate Raspberry make up this flavorful low-carb trio. These are nice alternatives to the malternative beverages out there and will help get us into those summer swimsuits. But I beg you guys…please no speedos!

Saturday’s bonus beer tasting features 2 new ventures into the microbrew waters from Anheuser Busch. Shock Top Belgian White Beer and Wild Blueberry Lager will be sampled on Saturday from 2 to 4 PM. I’ve yet to try these myself but have heard good things about them. We will have a 10 % discount on all the new beers we try so be sure to stop by and check them out.

Well it looks like it’s going to be a great holiday weekend weather-wise. The Sox are on a roll complete with the incredible John Lester no-hitter. The Celtics look to go up 2-0 on the Pistons in their pursuit of banner # 17, even the Militia won on the road again to improve to 3-2 and enjoy a bye week. Speaking of the Sox I think the new wines from Longball Vineyards will be in next week and we will schedule a huge Redsox tasting in the very near future.

We will be closed on Monday for Memorial day so be sure to pop in this weekend to load up on your wine, beer, and now full liquor needs for the long holiday weekend. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Robert

Thanks for attending the 4th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting!

2008-05-17T13:34:00.000-04:00

Thank you all for attending our 4th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting. I hope you all had fun…got to try some good wines…learn a little something and were able to stock up a bit. We always enjoy these big events and the 2nd Annual Customer Appreciation Day is the next one. It will be on Saturday July 26th from noon to 3. We will have lobster…steaks…ribs…chicken…OK not really… but we will have cheeseburgers…hotdogs…snacks and other goodies. Along with a combination beer/wine/liquor tasting all in 1 event!

There will be games and contest and bring back our famous raffle. We will also have tons of hats, t-shirts, key chains, and other crap for you to take home. This was a blast last year and gives us a chance to thank you for being loyal Cork’s Customers.

4th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting this week!

2008-05-15T12:29:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter.

It’s going to be crazy the next couple of days here at Cork’s. We have the opening of the Tweeter Center season tonight with Kanye West and on Friday it’s our 4th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting.

To help launch the concert season our friend Josh from Magic Hat Brewery will be here for a beer tasting from 4 to 7 PM tonight (Thursday). He will sample you on #9, Circus Boy, H.I.P.A., Odd Notion, and the new Lucky Kat. These are great beers from Vermont and as with all our beer tastings you will receive 10 % off any of the beers that we taste.

Now for the once postponed but not forgotten big Spring Wine Tasting. It will be this Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. We have 14 tables and 92 wines as we go to print on the list. We have a bunch of new wines…summer whites…roses…barbecue wines…and lots of your favorites to revisit. This is a great time to stock up for the summer season and get 10 % off 6 bottles and 15 % off a mixed case. There will be a few “2 for” wines mixed in that will not discount further but will count towards the quantity. For those new to our big tastings here are a few tips to make it more enjoyable.

1) Bring your favorite wine glass. We will have small wine glasses for you to use but to get the complete experience its best in a bigger glass where you can swirl and sniff to fully appreciate the wines.

2) Enough with the rinsing with water between every wine! This dilutes the next wine that goes in the glass and is totally unnecessary. We will have water for you to consume but there is no need to rinse after every wine.

3) Spitting and dumping is encouraged. I know it sounds gross and wasteful but to try 92 wines, even a 1 oz. pour is impossible and we prefer not to pick people off the floor and be calling cabs. And don’t worry we mix all the buckets for a tasty blend at the end so they don’t go to waste.

4) We will have plenty of Pizza Tyme Pizza and snacks but let’s not be animals (Tommy Bolini) so that everybody can have a chance at it.

5) You will be given a list of the wines with a # in the right hand corner. That is your # for the night. If you try a wine you like just tell the vendor and he/she will put your # on the bottle and we will have runners pick it up and start a box for you at the front of the store. At the end of the tasting just go up front and tell the cashier your # and we will have the wines all ready for you.

6) We have scaled back and spread out the tables to make the wines more accessible. This is a great opportunity to talk to the vendors learn more about these wines and wine in general from some of the best wine salesmen (and bull@*%$’ers) in the business.

For those who haven’t been here in awhile we now have our liquor license and a complete selection of distilled spirits on the right hand wall as you enter the store. We are fully stocked and ready for the concert and summer seasons. We have new signs out front as well and hope you make us your 1 stop liquor store of choice. I thank you all in advance and we hope to see you all at the show!

Robert

Big wine tasting coming up

2008-05-08T13:32:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter.

This will be a very brief edition as I am starting the final move to expand liquor down the entire right hand side of the store. For those of you looking for bag-in-the-box or jug wines… I a sk why?!?... Oh and they are also now in the back of the store behind the Champagne and dessert wines. This move will complete the transition and pretty much have us up and running on all popular liquors that are out there. We can always add more and special order your favorites if they are not in the mix, just ask us.

We will not have a beer or wine tasting this week as we get the store ready for our 4th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting and the 1st Tweeter Center show of the season. I’m up to about 90 wines and 15 vendors for the big spring show. We are scaling it back just a bit so that w e don’t turn into the Boston Wine Expo and you still have a chance to talk and learn about the wines from the vendors. I’m still adding wines and updating the lineups and we will post the updates on the website (corksfinewine.com)

Our friend Josh from Magic Hat will be here next Thursday (May 15th) from 4 to 7 PM to help kick off the Tweeter Center season with their usual great Vermont brews including Lucky Kat and Pandora’s Box mix 12 pack. Kanye West starts up what promises to be the best lineup the Tweeter Center has seen in years including the return of Jimmy Buffet. So rustle up some gold chains tilt your hat to the side and come join us for 1 of the best Thursday night beer tastings of the year.

OK I need to get back to the reset so I’ll skip the sports ramblings this week. I hope you all have a great weekend and we’ll see you next week at the big tasting.

Robert

4th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting coming soon

2008-05-01T14:05:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter.

We are only 2 weeks from our 4th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting. The date is Friday May 16th from 4 to 7 PM. We are going to scale it down just a bit but we will still have around 20 different vendors and 100 wines. Of course, we'll have our usual famous tasting pizza and lots of snacks to munch on as well. Be sure to check out the website (corksfinewine.com) as theevent draws closer for more details.

We will not have a wine tasting this week or next as we gear up for the big tasting. But we will have 2 beer tastings for you! Tonight (Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30) our local friends from Buzzard’s Bay will be here to sample you on their excellent brews. Bob will have the Pale Ale, Lager, and the Black Lager for you to try. For those looking for a fun road trip, a visit to Buzzard’s Bay and Westport Rivers is a great little getaway. The scenery, the beers, and the friendly people make this a great time and its right in our neck of the woods.

The 2nd tasting is a bonus 'Cinco de Mayo' beer tasting. It will be on Saturday from 2:30 to 4:30 PM. We will taste the Dos Equis Lager and Amber as well as Sol Beer. These come in a 12 pack called Mexico’s Finest Variety Pack and you will get a free Cinco de Mayo t-shirt for every 12 pk purchase. We also have plenty of Corona’s and limes for all your Cinco celebrations.

OK time for my weekly sports roundup. The Sox finished the month strong considering the Japan trip and all the travel. Don’t forget the Redsox wines from Longball Vineyards will be in by mid May and we will have a big Redsox tasting when they arrive. The Celtics looked good last night and can hopefully put the pesky Hawks away this weekend. And for those diehard Boston Militia fans, unfortunately they were spanked in Pittsburghand will look to rebound on the road againstthe Vipers this week.

Have a great week!
Robert

PS...Marianne, our web designer and part time cashier who's hiding out in Florida these days says you can also find our weekly newsletter on our blog. Check it out and be sure to vote in our weekly survey at:http://www.corksfinewine.blogspot.com

Leinenkugel, cereal beers and discount wines

2008-04-24T13:57:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter.

After a very successful launch of the Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat last year they have finally introduced some new flavors. We will have a Leinenkugel Beer Tasting on Saturday April 26th from 5 to 7 PM. to launch their 3 new beers. Many who have tried the Sunset Wheat thought that the beer was very good and that it had a strong resemblance to the milk at the bottom of the bowl of Fruity Pebbles or Fruit Loops. I know that sounds weird but it really does… but in a good way. So along those same lines we will sample you on Honey Weiss (Honey Comb), Berry Weiss (Boo Berry or Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries), and Summer Shandy a blend of Weiss beer and lemonade (sorry can’t think of a cereal reference for that concoction). All kidding aside these are really good beers and will be great for the warm summer months.

We will have a wine tasting this Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. With the price of gas over $3.50 a gallon and food prices (not to mention beer & wine as well) on the rise I think it’s a good time to feature some bargain wines this week. I’ve got a couple of new and a couple of old (thanks Matt) 2 for wines that are great values. 1st up is Osborne Solaz Blanco from Spain. Next is Barefoot Moscato, a new addition to their popular lineup. Principato Pinot Noir is fairly new as well and all 3 of these wines are only $6.99 each or 2 for $12. While most Chianti’s have risen into the $12 to $15 price point we will try Melini Chianti at $8.99 (2 for $16) next. Similar to the Solaz and the Melini that were brought in by my predecessor the next wine I did not bring into the store either. It’s Curious Beagle Cabernet and it was brought in by Ted “the wine dog”. Hopefully it’s good and will not end up on Ted’s bottom shelf special section of the website. (corksfinewine.com/askted.htm)

Well the weather has been outstanding lately. The Redsox are off to an excellent start. The Celtics are toying with the lowly Hawks. If only the Bruins could have pulled out game 7 (sorry Wallace). Don’t forget our 4th annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting which will be on Friday May 16th from 4 to 7 PM. We will also kick-off the Tweeter Center season the day before with a Magic Hat Beer tasting on Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30. This looks to be the best Tweeter center lineup in many years and with our full and expanding liquor section we want to be your 1 stop package store for the upcoming concert season.

Robert

We just celebrated our third birthday!

2008-04-19T09:46:00.003-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. We have just celebrated our 3rd birthday here at Cork’s and are less than a month away from our 4th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting. For those new to the store and our tastings this is 1 of 2 big wine events we have each year. There will be around 20 different vendors and close to 100 wines, so be sure to save Friday night May 16th from 4 to 7 PM on your calendar.

Due to popular demand Mr. Wallace will do a beer tasting tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 7:30 PM. He will feature White Sail Belgian Style White Ale, Copper Ale, and Stovepipe Porter from Otter Creek. He will also taste you on the Organic beers from Wolaver’s. Pale Ale, IPA, and Brown Ale make up this Organic Sampler 12-pk. We have a bunch of 12 packs of each and will blow them out at just about cost. The Otter Creek will be $11.99 for a 12-pk. (where can you find a good microbrew at a buck a bottle now-a-days?). The Wolaver’s 12-pk will be $12.99 while they last.

I’d like to thank all those who attended last Friday nights wine tasting. I don’t know if it was the Tommy Bellini show, or the wines he had but it was the busiest regular Friday night tasting since I’ve been here at Cork’s. I actually wasn’t planning on a tasting for this Friday night but I don’t want to lose momentum so I’ll find something for us to taste if you want to stop by.

We have another big sports week locally as the Bruins try to stave off elimination and the Celtics get ready for the playoffs. The Sox and Yanks continue their marathon 4 hour games, and we have the Boston Marathon on Monday as well. I’m not sure any of you used the free tickets we handed out but the Boston Militia won their season opener against last years champion in what I hear was a very entertaining game. They have a bye this week and a couple of road games after that but we will have ticket deals for their next home game. You can check out pics of their game and all kinds of interesting stuff on our website at corksfinewine.com.

Robert

Monsta Beer and Tommy Bolini

2008-04-10T12:38:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cork’s weekly newsletter. There are a few new things going on here at Cork’s. We are slowly expanding our liquor section and have brought in several new items. We have brought in the complete f lavor lineup of Stirrings Mixers and Rimmers for those special martinis and margaritas. We also have a whole bunch of new liquor sundries products from glassware to new single and double wine travel totes. These come in cool colors and are great when you’re bringing a bottle or 2 to a friend’s house.

Tom (he ain’t heavy he’s my brother) from Carolina Wines will be here for one of his usual boisterous tastings this Friday night from 4 to 7 PM. He will start you off with Riff Pinot Grigio. This is the introductory PG from Alois Legeder which I think is the best in the store. This one is value priced at $10.99 and is delicious. Next up is the start of my annual Rose kick with Marq ues de Caceres Rose from Spain. Paul Newman has salad dressing, coffee, organic cookies, so you knew it was only a matter of time before he had his own wines. Look no further we will launch Newman’s Own Chardonnay and Cabernet tonight. And if that wasn’t enough he has a bomb Napa Valley Cabernet from St. Supery to finish off the tasting. So wear your flood pants and old shoes and don’t forget your earplugs for the Tommy Bolini show.

The Redsox and Yankee’s may be under .500 and fighting for the cellar but you know that isn’t going to last. The 1st clash of the titans will be this weekend and we will kick it off with a Wachusett Brewing Co. beer tasting featuring the brand new Green Monsta Ale. We tried to get Wally but apparently he was already booked so TJ from Wachusett will be here to samp le you on the Monsta Ale, Bleberry Ale, Summer Seasonal, and probably a couple of others from this great local brewery. The time for this special beer tasting on Saturday is from 1 to 3:30 and gives you plenty of time to catch the 4 PM first pitch on FOX.

Well it finally looks like spring is here as we may hit 70 today. There sure is a ton of stuff going on this weekend. The Bruins look to end Montréal’s hex as the NHL playoffs get under way tonight, the Celtics are resting up for their Championship run, the prestigious Masters takes place this weekend, and the Boston Militia kick off their inaugural season this Saturday as well. We do have a limited amount of free tickets to this event and we will have tickets available here at Cork’s for upcoming games as well. And don’t forget to mark your calendar for our 4th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting which is Friday, May 16th from 4 to 7 PM. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Robert

We've finally picked a date for our big wine tasting

2008-04-03T13:21:00.001-04:00

Well we’ve finally picked a date for our 4th Annual Grand Spring Wine Tasting. It will be Friday night May 16th from 4 to 7 PM. After much debate and quite a few e-mails asking for different days of the week, Friday seems to work best for most of you. We are pushing the start time up 1 hour to make it easier for those getting out of work to swing by before heading home for the weekend.

We are also going to scale it back just a bit. For those of you at the Superbrew beer tasting you can attest to the fact that it was just too crowded. You couldn’t even navigate the aisles and get at the beers. No worries though, It will still be fun and we’ll have the pizza and all that. Just a little bit smaller so that you can talk to the supplier and not have to elbow your way in and just stick your glass out. We will be updating the website (corksfinewine.com) I’ll fill you in via the newsletters and in our blog (wwww.corksfinewine.blogspot.com) as the event draws closer.

We won’t have any beer or wine tastings this week. I was a little disappointed in the turnout at the Asian beer tasting last Thursday night. We had only 10 people sample the beers and sold 1 six-pk. I think we will cut the beer tastings down to a couple per month and I may do some on Saturday.

The Bitch is back!! No,not your mother-in-law or the Elton John classic. It’s the delicious Grenache from South Australia. It’s released just once a year in very limited quantities. I know some of you have been asking for it (Jenn). We have only 3 cases and its first come first served.

Another new interesting wine is Vintage Ink from Indelible Wines. It is a deep, dark blend of Cabernet and Merlot and is quite yummy. It’s also the un-official wine of the NBA and all the tattooed stars in the league. Hey I’m as big a fan as the next guy for some tasteful, discrete body art. But have you seen the arms of some of these guys? I swear 1 kid in the NCAA tournament has the Declaration of Independence on his arm. These 2 wines along with the closeout "Goatfather" and Diva’s Chardonnay are in a small eclectic display in the front of the store as you walk in.

Good to see the Celtics win their 60th game of the year after last year's debacle of a season. The Sox completed their Japan journey at 3 and 1, and even looks like the Bruins will squeak in the playoffs. We also have FREE! tickets to the season opener of the Boston Militia of the IWFL. We will be one of the official sponsors of the team and the only place in the area to get tickets for upcoming games. Be sure to check out their website for team info and schedule (massmutinity.com).

I hope you all have a great weekend. Robert

We've finally picked a date for our big wine tasting

2008-04-03T13:21:00.000-04:00

Sox in Japan means far east wine tasting

2008-03-29T10:53:00.000-04:00

I hope everybody had a great Easter. It was good to see a lot of you here at Cork’s loading up for the holiday. I’m sure a few of you diehards like me got up at 6 AM to see the Sox split the season openin g series in Japan. Round 2 of March Madness kicks off tonight, and the Celtics have to be the favorites to win their 17th title.

Speaking of the Sox we mentioned the Redsox wines in the last newsletter, arriving next week from Wachusett Brewing Co. is Green Monsta Pale Ale. We will taste that and a few of the other excellent Wachusett brews on a special tasting during the 1st Sox vs. Yankees series on Saturday April 12th from 1 to 3:30. Game is at 4 so you have plenty of time to bring your Monsta 6-pk home and watch the Sox spank the evil empire.

While we’re on the Sox and Japan let’s taste some beers from the far east tonight (Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30). Our Asian expert Mr. Wallace will sample you on Sapporo from Japan, Singha from Thailand, Tsingtao from China, and Tiger from Asia. Did you know that around Tokyo they actually have beer vending machines all over the place? I somehow can’t see that happening in the Boston area.

Hmmmm…I want to keep the wine tastings going as well but I don’t have any vendors or ideas so hang on as I browse the section for inspiration. OK, I’m back with a hodgepodge of interesting wines for different reasons. 1st up is Yellow Tail Sparkling Wine. I’ve yet to try it and I’m not expecting a heck of a lot but we sell boatloads of Yellowtail so let’s keep an open mind and give it a try. Next up is Montinore Semi-dry Riesling. I visited them in Oregon, super people, excellent wines that I will continue to support. Tres Picos Garnacha from Spain will be next. We had a Garnacha last week and I want to compare this 1 that has received excellent press to it. Forchini Beausierra is a Bordeux style wine from Sonoma and will be next. Last but not least will be Fourplay Rosso which I brought in for a customer and just have to try. It is from Sicily and the label says it’s a blend of 4 native white grapes. Huh?...and it’s called a Rosso? Hmmmm… So be sure to stop by Friday night from 4 to 7 PM and sample this eclectic mix of wines.

Robert

No tastings this week but liquor will be in by the weekend

2008-03-13T16:04:00.000-04:00

Hello everybody, once again this will be a very brief newsletter as I’m right in the middle of setting the wall for the large sizes of distilled spirits. We do have most of the brands in as we speak and will be adding more as we go along. So the set and pricing should be up and running by tomorrow and we will officially be in the booze biz by the weekend. Thank you all for your patience during this transition.

Once again we will not have a beer or wine tasting tonight or tomorrow. It’s still too hectic and we need to concentrate our efforts on the liquor section. We will definitely get back to having tastings next week. This Friday was supposed to be the 1st of the “customer’s favorites” tastings with Bill & Cherry Tredo but unfortunately we will have to re-schedule for sometime after Easter in April.

One last thing before I go back to my liquor wall. We are looking for a couple of part-time cashiers. You must be able to work nights and a fewweekend shifts. You can either go to the website (corksfinewine.com) and download an application or come to the store and fill one out.

Thanks,
Robert

Under construction!

2008-03-08T11:40:00.001-05:00

Greetings from the construction site at Cork’s.

This will be a very brief newsletter as we are smack-dab in the middle of our re-construction to make room for distilled spirits. We do have a full selection of nips (50 ML), ½ pints (200 ML), and pints (375 ML) behind the front counter. We will have the 750 ML and 1.75 L in by the end of next week just in time for Easter.

There will be no tastings this week and probably next week as well as the store is sort of in a shambles as we make the transition. Please pardon our appearance during this construction phase.

OK short and sweet this week as I need to get back to my varietal wall re-set.

Back from wine country

2008-02-29T18:38:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone,
Well I made it back from the west coast a little jet-lagged but in one piece. It is just incredibly gorgeous out there. I strongly recommend those of you that travel wine country to visit the Willamette Valley in Oregon. (We're going to have a page on our web site soon with information on traveling to wine country.) The mountains and the water views are simply breathtaking. The people, the vineyards and the wines are world class. Plus the Celtics split the games we went to, and Napa/Sonoma were outstanding as always.News from Cork’s upon my return is that we now have the full liquor license in our possession and are just waiting on some new shelving to start the transition of the store to make room for spirits. We’re hoping they arrive by early next week so we can get things up and running before Easter. So please bear with us during this renovation.

We are going to have a beer tasting tonight (Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30) with Vinnie from Quality Beverage. He will taste you on the new beers from Hook & Ladder Brewing Co. This is a really cool project as part of the proceeds goes to a foundation to help firefighter burn victims. We will sample the Golden Ale and the Backdraft Brown Ale. And Vinnie doesn’t know it yet but I’m going to have him crack open the Widmer Hefeweizen from Portland Oregon as part of the vacation tour tasting.

We will continue that theme for our Friday night tasting as well. We will sample wines from Napa, Sonoma, and the Willamette Valley from 4 to 7 PM. I will start you off with Anne Amie Cuvee A which is a delicious blended white wine from Oregon. Next up will be Montinore Pinot Gris. I strongly encourage all you Pinot Grigio fans to try this wine and see its color, viscosity, and rich flavors. We will head south to Sonoma to sample Alexander Valley Vineyards Merlot and Sebastiani Cabernet and make very good wines. We will finish with Napa Cellars Zinfandel which is an excellentproperty owned by the Trinchero’s in Napa Valley.As I’m making the lineup I noticed that I don’t have any of the Burgundian style Pinot Noirs from the Willamette Valley. Unfortunate the 2 that I wanted to bring in are currently out of stock a them at another time.

So to wrap things up, another couple of weeks and we will have liquor. The Sox start their spring training schedule today. The memory of the Super Bowl has almost faded. I have memories and stories of my Oregon adventure. All is good.Robert

Valentine's Newsletter

2008-02-18T11:24:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Cork’s Valentine’s newsletter.

Due to our impending liquor license, my vacation to Oregon next week and the fact that Easter is quickly sneaking up on us we are going to postpone our 4th Annual Spring Wine Tasting that was scheduled for March 12th. There is just too much that will be going on as we shift over half the store in preparation for the liquor, not to mention the time it will take for the liquor to come and get the section presentable. We will re-schedule the tasting after Easter sometime later in the spring when we can have the liquor and the entire store ready for our usual “Grand Tastings”.

We will be having a “Valentine” themed beer tasting today (Thursday 2/14) from 4:30 to 7:30. Mr. Wallace will start you with Redbach Kissed by Cherries from Belgium. Staying in Belgium, next up is Horny Devil Ale from Alesmith. And for the men out there who forget roses, chocolates or at least a card we have Dead Guy Ale from Rogue. Last but not least as I planned my Oregon adventure to wineries I will also be visiting Rogue Brewery. In my correspondence with them I was asked what my favorite Rogue brew was. When I answered the Chocolate Stout I got an e-mail back from Seb who told me all about their outstanding beers and told me she was the face on the Chocolate Stout bottle so we have to try that as well.

Since Valentine’s Day is on a Thursday I’m sure many of you will not celebrate until the weekend so let’s keep the ball rolling with a Valentine wine tasting Friday from 4 to 7 PM. Let’s kick it off with “Pink” Australian Sparkling Wine from Yellowglen. Next up is a blend of Shiraz/Grenache/Sangiovese called First Love. For all the single guys out there how about spending the weekend with Norma Jeane a Young Marilyn Merlot? I’m not usually a Merlot fan myself but Red Rock Merlot is one of the better Merlots I’ve had in awhile and will be next. We will finish with D’esiree which is a chocolate infused desert wine that you simply must try.

There will be no e-mail or tastings next week as I will be checking the Celtics out on their west coast swing. A quick liquor update, we have been approved by the ABCC and should have the license sometime next week. We will be moving wines and making room for liquor so please pardon our appearance the next few weeks. We will be closing out quite a few wines so be sure to check out our clearance racks and displays for some great wine bargains. A few random thoughts before I go…Woohoo…Redsox pitchers and catchers report today! And what a prison softball team they’re going to have with Roger “misremembered” Clemens and Barry “big head” Bonds!!

Robert

Holiday Shopping

2007-11-18T17:53:00.000-05:00

We apologize if you didn't get this week's newsletter. Our internet provider will not let us send any emails for 24 hours!

Of course, you can always find the weekly newsletter right here on the website by clicking the link at the left.

Here's this week's!
Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive! For those unfamiliar with this yearly tradition this is the 1st wine of the 2007 vintage and comes out the third Thursday of November. It is made with the Gamay grape and is a very light and fruity red wine making it an excellent pairing with turkey. This wine is not overly complex, the grapes having literally been on the vine less than 2 months ago. We carry the George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau and as always it comes in a funky flowery designed bottle. This years version is a little pricier than in the past as it is flown over from France and we must deal with rising fuel costs and the Euro but is still a must try even for wine snobs.

Tonight’s beer tasting from 4:30 to 7:30 is with our local friends from Wachusett Brewing Co. We will taste their entire lineup which includes IPA, Country Ale, Blueberry, Nut Brown Ale, Black Shack Porter, and their Winter Ale. He will also have some pint glass Christmas Gift items as well. As with all our Thursday night beer tastings you will receive a 10 % discount on any Wachusett Beer tonight.

Friday night’s wine tasting will be with Kevin from Commonwealth Wines. He will have a couple of Thanksgiving wines to taste as well some new outstanding Australian wines from McWilliams. We will start with Mirasou Riesling and MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir both excellent choices to serve with your holiday bird. The next 3 are new to Cork’s as we had the owner and winemaker from McWilliams here to taste us on their mid to high end wines. I was blown away at their quality. Their Coonwarra Shiraz and 2001 Cabernet are absolutely delicious and sell for less than 20 bucks. We also have a limited supply of 1999 Cabernet/Shiraz blend called “1877” (think poor mans Penfolds Grange) that were signed by Scott Williamson on his visit here to Cork’s. He also signed a few bottles of the “regular” McWilliams varietals that would make great gifts as well.

We’re also hoping to have to have the 2 newest additions of the Charity Wines for you to sample as well. Former Boston Bruins great Ray Borque presents “Bourque Merlot” and Cam Neely has “Cambernet”. Like the Redsox wines a portion of the proceeds from each bottle goes to their respective charities. This should be one of the best tastings of the holiday season and one you should not miss.

We probably won’t have a newsletter next week as it’s just too crazy here and we won’t have any tastings next week as well. Just a reminder we will open up an hour early on Wednesday Nov. 21st ( 9 AM to 9 PM ). We will be closed Thursday Thanksgiving Day. Friday’s hours will be 10 AM to 9 PM. We will be updating the website with Thanksgiving wine and food pairings and be sure to look for new and exciting gift ideas for the Holidays and beyond. I hope to see you all and help you with your Turkey Day wine and beer purchases but if I don’t I hope you all have a Great Thanksgiving.

Robert

Wine Tasting for Easter

2007-04-03T16:05:00.000-04:00

Take a few minutes out of your schedule to find just the right wine to compliment your holiday dinner.

This week we will be tasting wines to pair with what most people serve for Easter dinner.

We'll have Reislings and Gewurztraminer which are best paired with hams. For those of you serving lamb - we will be sampling a couple of Bordeaux.

Come join us this Friday April 6 from 4:00 to 7:00pm

3rd Annual Spring Wine Tasting

2007-03-19T11:00:00.000-04:00

This Friday we will be holding our third annual spring wine tasting. We are now up to 113 wines from all over the world. Time is from 5:00 to 8:00pm.

There will be snacks available including our famous tasting pizza. Make sure you stick around for our 7 pm raffle. See you there!

Welcome to our blog

2007-03-15T15:03:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone!

Cork's Fine Wine and Liquors, LLC is going high tech! We just premiered our new web site CorksFineWine.com and today we're starting our blog! A blog is a great way for us at Cork's to let you know about all the wonderful wines and great beers we have in stock. It's also another way to let you know about the special events we have coming up where you learn about our products up close and personal!

Add this blog to your list of items to check regularly so you don't miss a single event! Also, subscribe to our free weekly email newsletter to help you expand your beer and wine knowledge. Sign up at: corksfinewine.com.

...May your wine be fine, your beer cold and your friends plenty!