Vine will be open Saturday, July 4th from 10am - 4pm.

Thats right, 10 o'clock in the morning the doors will be open. We'll be happy to help you pick out the perfect BBQ, picnic, or fireworks-watching wine. And don't worry, we are well stocked on boxes.

While growing up in NJ during the 80's, I was obsessed with a particular commercial that aired frequently. It was for a winter get-away rendezvous spot in the Poconos by the name of The Beautiful Mount Airy Lodge. Ring a bell...anyone? This romantic lodge was fully equipped with a red, heart shaped bed and a giant champagne flute bubble bath. It was as tacky as you could ever imagine. The theme song was literally stuck in my head for years. I thought it to be magical winter wonderland utopia. My sister and I begged our parents to take us there. They never did, which was probably a very good thing.

Recently, when a wine rep. showed up with a bottle of the Fruhwirth, Klocher Traminer for me to taste, I thought "oh dear god no, it's The Beautiful Mount Airy Lodge Wine". Regardless of having sampled many poorly labeled, but deliciously tasting wines in the past, I was incapable of holding back my judgement. The label was just hideous. The wine however, completely delicious. Like really astoundingly good. It's golden and unctuous in the glass and full of intense aromas of rose petals, ginger, and apple skin. It's semi dry with quite a full mouthfeel, without weighing down your palate. What really impressed me about the Klocher Traminer was the fact that it's a 2003, and has such outstanding acidity, which says to me that it will continue to be drinking well for years to come.

This gorgeous Austrian wine reminded me that sometimes the worst labels contain the best wine. And it also got The Beautiful Mount Airy Lodge theme song stuck in my head again.

March is tough. It tricks us into thinking that Spring is officially here with it's occasional 65 degree sunny days. Then out of nowhere comes the cold again with 40mph winds blowing away the fresh and lively pollen tickling our corneas. Or worse, it snows. Just when I'm feeling active again and ready to stop hibernating, March reels me back in to my netflix/tomato soup and grilled cheese lifestyle. It's an unstable and erratic time of year that generally makes my mood inconsistent.

Often during this purgatory we call March, you may ask yourself: what type of wine do I want to drink? Well I think the country of Chile might just be our March solution.

For those warm, sunny days, I want a crisp and medium bodied white after coming home from a long bike ride. The Cousino Macoul Sauvignon Gris ($14.95) from the Maipo Valley is exactly it. This wine has white peach, floral and tropical fruit aromas with slight gingery undertones. A lot of flavor in a crisp, silky body. Another wine I enjoy in Spring are Pinot Noirs because they tend to be light in body but totally layered with subtle nuances and complex flavors. The Vistamar Sepia Pinot Noir ($11.95) from Casablanca Valley is beautiful and light in the glass. It has lovely aromas of coffee, earth and strawberries. Perfect for a rainy spring day. And on the days when its blustery and cold, a bottle of Calcu ($14.95) from Colchagua Valley is in order. This one is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, and Cabernet Franc. It is rich and full of so many different flavors, from wild blueberries to baking spice, and cedar. It is the wine to drink with friends and good conversation and comfortable chairs. Maybe get a back up bottle. Maybe make some spinach and artichoke dip. And now since you're an expert in Chilean wines, you really should try a bottle of the Tres Palacios Carmenere($11.95). Carmenere is becoming the new Malbec. It is the grape varietal that Chile is really known for. Brought over from Bordeaux hundreds of years ago (also like Argentinian Malbec ) it does quite well in the hot Chilean sun. This wine is intensely concentrated and exudes aromas of freshly cracked black peppercorns, blackberries and smoke. This is a big, interesting, satisfying varietal that I predict we'll see a lot more of in the near future.

These wines should hold you over at least until mid April. By then hopefully we'll all being wearing light weight jackets and anticipating the arrival of Rose.

When I first became interested in wine, many years ago and long before I was legally able to drink, I heard myriad of "truths" about wine. "You must decant bottle x for at least two hours before drinking. Make sure that you always - and I mean always - store wine at the proper cellar temperature, cellar temperature is 50 degrees, no 52 degrees, no actually it is 56 degrees. I ask you what is a clueless teenager to do?

I read, I asked questions and received a variety of answers to many of my mythological wine queries. Nothing seemed really set in stone, except that if I were to move to France my lovely country estate would probably include a built in stone wine cave and I would have to worry no more.

After purchasing a wine refrigerator and marveling at what a great appliance it was I felt equipped to deal with all of my wine storage and drinking fears. Then came the energy crisis followed quickly by the recession and my wine fridge started looking more and more like a symbol of times gone by. How could I justify spending money and enlarging my carbon foot print in the name of a bottle of barolo I had been given in Italy that I planned to save for my daughter's sweet sixteen? Yesterday as I read the NY Times food section and stumbled across this article many of my burning questions were answered. Drinking, storing and even "fixing" wine can be less stressful and more fun than previously imagined. Read the part in the article where the process by which you can remove the musty corked flavor in a bottle of wine and you will rejoice like I did and finally you will stop fearing the unknown and start enjoying your wine.

Happy New Year. Decided what your resolution is going to be this year? Yeah, me neither. In fact, I personally am not one for the whole New Year's Resolution idea. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge proponent of goals. I just don't like to set myself up for disappointment or failure. I mean, really who can lose weight in the dead of winter? So as far as resolutions go, I have a few rules for myself. First off, if you're going to have a resolution, don't tell people. That way, you won't have to worry about them checking in and asking you how much weight you've lost after you just ate 2 strawberry frosted donuts with rainbow sprinkles from that place around the corner. Secondly, keep it vague and positive. A few years ago, I vowed to continue learning new things. That was my resolution. And maybe the best resolution ever, still til this day. That year, I bought the Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson. This book is a fantastic reference which I learned a lot from. I'm still constantly learning about wine, if through reading blogs, consulting books, referring to hand made flash cards, or tasting brand new bottles. It's on on-going process, on on-going resolution.

This year, I bought myself a keyboard and will start taking piano lessons as soon as I find a teacher. I've already considered the possibility that I might not be very good, and might even hate it at first. And with this thought, I am reminded of my last rule to making New Years Resolutions, don't be so hard on yourself.

Undoubtedly the best of part of cold weather months are the indulgent and lengthy meals enjoyed among friends. I cook heartier, richer foods, and pop more bottles of wine than I usually do. I also drink more dessert wine. One of my all time favorite types is Sauternes, a French dessert wine from the Sauternais region of the Graves section in Bordeaux. Sometimes at the end of a delicious meal, I want something sweet, but not a slice of chocolate cake or another piece of pie with ice cream. A glass of richly textured, honey-citrus scented Sauternes, such as the Cru d'Arche Pugneau, $32.95, is perfect.

Although considered a dessert wine, Sauternes shouldn't necessarily be paired with an already sweet dessert like a piece of cake. If the food is sweeter than the wine, then the beautiful Sauternes will just taste sort of unremarkably sweet and you'll miss out on all of the incredible nuances of the wine. What your looking for is a balance of flavors that play off of each other well.

That is precisely why I pair a pungent cheese with Sauternes. Classically, Roquefort has always been a popular match. You could certainly go that way, and I'm sure wouldn't be disappointed. However, my favorite right now is a raw cow's milk cheese called the Hooligan. From the Cato Corner Farm in Connecticut, this ripe washed-rind cheese is unabashedly stinky. The texture is soft and creamy, and tastes salty, grassy, earthy, and quite musty. The d'Arche Pugneau Sauternes is full of honey and stewed quince aromas, with subtle floral notes. This Sauternes is golden and vicious in the glass, with tons of palate cleansing acidity making it pleasurable to sip on between bites of a stinky, rich cheese. The compelling "farmy" stink of the the Hooligan is tamed by the floral aromatics of the Sauternes. The difference in flavors of the wine and cheese enhance one another beautifully.

If you're hesitant to indulge in a bottle of Sauternes, you could also try the affordably priced Saint-Croix-De Mont, $17.95. It comes from a region just bordering Sauternes and is a remarkably delicious wine. It contains many of the beautiful sweet, honey-quince flavors found in a Sauternes. Or if you're a already Sauternes lover, trying to introduce a friend to the joys of dessert wine, you could go for a Muscat, like the Saint Jean de Minervois, $11.95. It's a fantastic little orange marmalade and honeysuckle scented wine. All would pair well with your favorite pungent cheese on a chilly evening.

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, and while I imagine that you are all so distracted by the redesign of the website and the glorious new logo, we still must focus on the holiday at hand. To do so I recommend a few things;
1. read the Thanksgiving wines article from the NY Times
2. stop by Vine before Thanksgiving, pick out your case of wine and have us deliver it the weekend before
3. write down the all important "I waited until the last possible minute to go shopping" hours
Wednesday November 26th 10am - 11pm
Thanksgiving Day 10am - 4pm

Did you get that? If not this might help sear it into your brain;

Wednesday November 26th 10am - 11pm
Thanksgiving Day 10am - 4pm

My final piece of advice is to read Gourmet Magazine for some fantastic turkey tips, oh and do yourself a favor and buy a "real" turkey here or here.

Relax and enjoy this fantastic food and wine holiday.

CLICK HERE to read the November 2008 Vine Wine Newsletter for details(.pdf)

*Vine Wine now delivers!

*Recipe: Hungarian Gewurztraminer and French Lentils with Puff Pastry

*Varietal of the Month: Gamay

*Thanksgiving Wines

*November Tastings

Everyday we all vote in some small way. Where we buy our coffee, where we eat lunch, whether we match our shoes to our belt (this may not be the most important way to use our "vote" but still). We all in some way make choices that we believe in. See, it is easy to vote. So now is the time to really think about voting, and while I would love to tell you that the only ballot issue is whether wine in a box can be as delicious as wine that comes out of a glass bottle, the issues at hand are more important. Obviously.

Without belaboring the point and being yet another noisy voice about voting, and your rights, and your responsibilities etc.. etc... I would like to arm you with a tool that may help you to vote, a website where you can check to see if you are registered. So go there, make sure you are registered, and then remember that we will be doing an all day tasting at Vine on Election day. So after you do vote, stop by and taste some wine and we can talk about civic duty, or better yet the age old debate between French and Italian wine.