Get your gift baskets early!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!!

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

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...

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

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

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!

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...

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!!

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!

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!

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

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!!

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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?

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

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!

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

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

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