Layer Cake is handmade in some of the world’s most renown wine regions. The wine-making team works with small family growers and rigorously selects the very best fruit used to produce its wine varieties, which include the following: an Australian Shiraz from the Barossa Valley, an Argentinian Malbec from Mendoza, an old vine Primitivo (a.k.a. Zinfandel) from Puglia, Italy, and also an American Cabernet Sauvignon from California’s Central Coast.
The name Layer Cake symbolizes the care and passion put into the product, just like the “cake” Grandmother used to make from scratch. The “layers” of soils under the vineyards produce levels of rich and distinctive flavors, aromatics, and textures associated with the wine, such as chocolate, mocha, berry fruit, and spices. The  name is reminiscent of something comforting, sumptuous and delectable, and brings back those memories of special occasions where the family is gathered around the dinner table. Layer Cake is the perfect pairing for friends, food, and…last but not least…a slice of cake.

It’s a simple fact of life, Not all fruit-forward wines are created equally. Having said that, I would like to talk about a little grape that goes by the name of Riesling. Lately I’ve noticed that the quality of these over marketed, mass produced Rieslings have gone to hell in a handbag. Don’t even get me started on that blue bottle with the pretty label, you know the one… As I pointed out in last week’s blog, this is clearly another case of “all marketing” and no love. Nowadays it would appear that for some companies, integrity is just a word with little or no meaning!
Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I would like to tell you about a Wine and Winery that I personally feel has achieved a standard of excellence.
Dr. Loosen Winery from Mosel Valley Germany has been family owned for over 200 years. They grow only one grape here, and that Riesling. Using only organic fertilizers, it’s easy to see that a lot of love goes into every bottle of Dr. L. Riesling. It’s inviting bouquet reminds me of a summer day, luscious pear, peach and apple aromas retain the crisp sweet-tart quality of ripening fruit just before harvest. On the palate, the medium-bodied wine is refreshing and juicy.  This is a Riesling that can easily stand alone and be enjoyed as a nice summer sipper, or can be paired quite nicely with spicy foods like Thai, Chinese, or Indian.
It’s no wonder that Dr. L. Riesling is easily my pick of the week. You can sample this wine for yourself at our Friday Night Wine Down from 5.00-7.00 pm. Hope to see you there!

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Dr. L Riesling
Elegant and racy style of Riesling, refreshingly crisp taste that cools the palate, making it an excellent wine for spicy foods.

Novellum Chardonnay

Fresh, crisp and lively, with great apple, pear, peach and fig notes, with a long and clean finish

Beso De Vino
85% Syrah, 15% Garnacha: Black cherry and blueberry aromas lead to a dense, plush, savory wine which finishes with no hard edges.

Almira Los Dos Red Blend
Black cherry and blueberry aromas lead to a dense, plush, savory wine which finishes smooth and lush.

Chilenisi Reserva Carmenere
Expressive aromas of red berry and cherry preserves, cracked pepper and licorice. Spice-accented strawberry and bitter cherry flavors

Wine Blog By Bradley Chauvin…AKA Wine Geek

Join us for our complementary Friday Night Wine Tasting, please come by and check-out some wonderful wines from 5 -7pm for yourself.

In this week’s beer blog, we will be looking at Great Divide’s Smoked Baltic Porter. This beer has to be one of the quintessential beers to be had while smoking or barbequing a big hunk of meat this weekend. It’s smooth, medium mouth-feel and hint of smoked malt will remind you immediately of beef jerky and campfires. This might be weird to some, but it is not an overpowering taste at all. It is just enough to make you want more while you savor the smells of grilling. It’s 7.5% alcohol does not add any alcohol bite to the beer and it’s 22oz size is perfect to make it from start to finish of grilling a steak and enjoying its taste complimenting the char-grilled flavor that the grill provides. So whether it is grilling this weekend or you choose to stockpile it for Labor Day, enjoy the smoky goodness that Great Divide offers you. Great Minds Drink Alike.

Beer Blog by Luke Girman, aka… Beer Geek

For every good wine, there’s bound to be 5 or more bad ones.
I am truly sick of big corporate companies and marketing teams constantly trying to convince you that their bad wine is good wine. They market it to you all dressed up in pretty bottles, not really caring one bit about the actual quality of what’s inside. They are relying on you to buy it simply because it “looks good”. It’s an equation I like to call 80% Marketing, 20% Juice and 0% love.
Let’s take Chardonnay for instance; even though I personally feel this varietal has gone downhill in the last few years, I want to take this opportunity to redeem this wonderful grape.
The wine I want to talk about today is Saddle Rock Chardonnay, brought to you by the Malibu Family Winery.This Chardonnay is a far cry way from the over-oaked, over-buttered Chardonnays that some of you may be accustomed to drinking. Saddle Rock is definitely a fruit forward Chardonnay with powerful flavors of green apple, pear and orange blossoms. Light gold in color, it offers a crisp, clean light style with a smooth finish… Perfect for these hot summer days.
Remember not all Chardonnays are created equal; try this one out and see for yourself.

Wine Blog By Bradley Chauvin…AKA Wine Geek

As bourbon ages, a portion of the liquid is lost from the barrel due to evaporation—that’s the “Angel’s Share.” After aging, when the bourbon is dumped out of the barrel, a certain amount of whiskey is left trapped within the wood of every barrel.
We call that the “devil’s cut.”

To create Jim Beam® Devil’s Cut™, an extraordinary new bourbon experience, we developed a proprietary process that actually pulls the rich whiskey trapped inside the barrels’ wood after they’re emptied. We hold this barrel-treated extract until it develops the proper balance of bourbon notes, then blend it with 6 year old bourbon and bottle at 90 proof. The result: a robust, premium bourbon with deep color, aroma and character.

The Essence

A distinctly bold bourbon with rich flavor unleashed from deep inside the barrel wood.

The Taste

Full bodied with intense oak and vanilla notes.

The Finish

Long, smooth, with a hint of sweetness.

As you may know a few years ago a movie came out by the name of SIDEWAYS, and it really gave a beating to California Merlots, I pretty much had the same opinion also. The lack of quality was apparent in many merlots just a few years ago. But times they are a changing, I am so happy that Merlots are really having a huge come-back.
I would like to take this time and tell you about one of my recent finds. The wine is called Saddle Rock Merlot and it’s brought to you by Malibu Family Wines that’s located in Malibu, that’s right I said Malibu… who knew? What an amazing wine, nothing wimpy here. The wine is cloned form Merlot vines from France, the old-world style really comes through. Fruit forward on the nose with intense flavors of strawberry and cherry on the palette.  A nice spice rounds out the body and leads to a strong and sustaining finish.

Perfect Pairings: Fried Chicken, Grilled Meats and your Favorite Cheese

So readers, do any of you have any Merlots in mind worth trying?

Just when I thought I was over you…

I have been less than impressed over the new Zinfandels I’ve been tasting lately… and my heart is breaking. What’s up with Zinfandels today? When I want a Zinfandel I want a big bold wine… the kind that punches you in the face and doesn’t apologize for it. But lately all I get is boring, weak and washed-out versions of a wine I have loved so much.
So I asked some of my wine reps. to taste me on a few Zinfandels that I may like, and let’s just say… I was not happy. That was until I tasted TERRA D’ORO Zinfandel Amador County 2007. It was everything I was looking for in a Zinfandel, rustic in style and carries a powerful punch. Ripe and zesty, with wild berry and sage aromas that lead to jammy but balanced black cherry flavors. I am extremely happy to find such a great wine, but still wondering… why is it so hard to find a great Zinfandel???
So readers, do any of you have any Zinfandels in mind worth trying???

Wines of South America are on the rise, with good reason. You can find great wines from the area at  prices I like to call “Big Bang for Your Buck”. You will find some of the same varietals you are use to seeing everyday like, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay.
So if you are just getting into wines of South America and you want to play it safe your choices are pretty much endless. Now let’s talk about some varietals you may not be that familiar with. Malbec is to South America what Merlot is to California. This medium bodied wine offers wonderful aromas of deep dark fruit with a nice spicy finish.
Try it with anything from BBQ to Pizza, it’s sure to be a hit the next time you grill. Carmenere is another red grape from the area you should get to know. Carmenere is one of my favorite wines to use for entertaining, from its soft mellow tannins to its ability and versatility to go well with almost anything… defiantly a crowd pleaser.

As the cool air moves out and warm weather moves in I am reminded… Summertime is here. And what is the one wine that optimizes this time of year? Well that would be Rosé. That wonderful Pink wine that always seems to cool me down on the hot summer days.

Let me explain a little on what are “Rosé Wines”. Well think about it this way, you take a Red Grape and treat it like a white. You see, the wine maker ferments the red grape with the skin on just long enough to extract that perfect shade of pink. Then the skins are removed, and left to finish fermentation..

Don’t let the color fool you, this is not a blush or that other sweet pink wine we know so well, no sir it’s a dry wine that pretty much goes well with anything. Some of my favorite pairings are sushi, any seafood, anything spicy and great summer salads. Another cool factor is most Rosé wines are very adorable, I have found some great ones for well under $10.00… That’s a “Big bang For Your Buck”. This summer think pink, and always “Drink Outside the Box”.

So readers, what are you drinking this summer to stay cool ?