Monthly Archives: October 2012

“Children of the night… what beautiful music they make!”
-Count Dracula

This weekend is the conclusion of our Halloween wine picks. It is only appropriate that we finish with one of the greatest supernatural creatures of all time: the vampire. In the wine world, Vampire is an inexpensive label that produces a Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir, a Merlot and of course the bloodiest of the bunch, a Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines come from California, predominately Napa, although at one time these wines were actually produced in Transylvania, Romania.

The fight against breast cancer has another weapon in its arsenal. William and Jason Merritt, owners of Merritt Winery released details of their latest campaign this morning.

Beginning this afternoon, Merritt will offer rebates to their customers on purchases of all Merritt products now through January 1st, 2013. Not only will Merritt offer customers the opportunity to donate the rebate to the American Cancer Society, but will match all rebate donations submitted to the company.

“We believe the fight against breast cancer extends beyond the month of October.” said William Merritt, owner of Merritt Winery. “Originally, we were going to focus the campaign on our XTC wines, since the label and logo feature the color pink.” (Pink is the nationally recognized color of the annual October Cancer Awareness Campaign) “But after further discussion, we decided to offer the program across our entire line of wines for the remainder of 2012.” said Merritt.

Today we are steering away from our usual 10.00 Halloween themed value wines to promote a special wine for very important cause. Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, it is only appropriate that we feature a wine that has earned over $200,000 for cancer research.

Cline Vineyards is offering Cashmere, a red blend that departs from many of the typical California blends that rely on Cabernets and Zinfandels. Cashmere is a Rhone style red made from Grenache, Mourvedre, and Syrah. Like a classic CDR, this wine is medium bodied and has notes of Cherry, Lavender, Raspberry, a hint of licorice and pepper. Pair this wine as you would any Cotes Du Rhone (Pork loin, Duck or a simple roast chicken with rosemary potatoes and acorn squash. For $14.99 this is a very good wine and it supports a great cause.

Speaking of great causes, Merritt Estate Wines from New York State will be offering rebates to all their customers until January 1st 2013. Merritt will also match the amount

Many customers have been fans of Woodbury winery since the 1970's. About 5 years ago, for various reasons we let our stock and attention to Woodbury lapse. Recently we've begun carrying the Woodbury line again, with good reason. The ownership at Woodbury decided it was time to make world class wine at Woodbury again.

The first step they took was to hire New York Superstar, Phil Hazlitt, as the wine maker. Phil had a lot of success in Finger Lake Wine Country with 2 different "Premier Favorite" Wineries, Heron Hill and Atwater. The quality of the wines immediately improved and with Phil's local vineyard contacts Woodbury was soon offering wine on par with the best in the State.

One my favorites is the new Semi Dry Riesling- great wine with bold fruit and snappy acidity. Priced at $18 a bottle, it shows great value for the quality wine inside. The wine is too new to be on the web as of posting, but here are a few of our Woodbury offerings:

http://www.winemadeeasy.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=woodbury

Some of our customers will remember this name from a few years back. The Novellum Chardonnay by Domaine LaFage has returned to Prestige Wines! This Eric Solomon imported wine just scored 90 Points by Robert Parker. The best part is it is only $9.99 with Premier Card (normally $12.99).

Speaking of the esteemed Mr. Solomon, he also imports unique wines under the Tikves label from Macedonia of all places. We have the Robert Parker 90 point-rated Vranec Special Select and the Bela Voda (Vranec/Plavec grape blend) wine that Parker mentioned on his Twitter feed. He scored that wine 94 points! Both wines were crafted by famed Rhone winemaker/consultant Philippe Cambie. A must try at $9.99 and $19.99 respectively.

“Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
stole many a man's soul and faith…”
- Sympathy for the Devil by Keith Richards and Mick Jagger

It’s Halloween month here at Prestige and today we are offering up a tasty red for your satanic ritual. The name of this Cabernet from Chile literally means “The Devil’s Cellar” and if you look closely at the small face below the bottle neck you note that it is indeed the big bad boy from way down south.

This cab is ruby red in color and has aromas of cherry, black currant and dark plum. The plum and cherry continue on the palate with toasted oak and a touch of vanilla. This is a simple but well balanced wine that pairs easily with a wide variety of food, particularly red meat dishes. I particularly enjoy this wine with stilton-gloucester cheese and rye toast.

Sometimes a short day trip can be the most fun. I took a wonderful trip down to Chautauqua Wine Country last Sunday. The leaves were just starting to turn and the view was wonderful. I made a stop at Merritt Estate winery and tried all the new releases; they were all delicious, including the new Pomegranate wine, XTC! We then stopped at a nice restaurant, called the Colony, for a German style Sausage dinner. It was a very nice way to spend the afternoon.

Chautauqua is home to many good local wineries as well as some great attractions. With all the great (and well deserved) press Niagara Escarpment and Finger Lake wines and attractions receive; it can be easy to over look our neighbors to the South. That would be a mistake. Next time you have a free Sunday afternoon, hop in the car and visit Lake Erie Wine Country. You will be glad you did

I'm sorry, he's not doing an appearance here. But his wines have arrived at Prestige Wines of Orchard Park! We just received a limited amount of red-blended wines by Tool/A Perfect Circle/Puscifer lead singer Maynard James Keenan!

One under the Caduceus label from Arizona (yes, the state), the 2010 Anubis (Cab, Petite Sirah, Syrah). The other two are marketed under the Merkin Vineyards label; the 2011 Shinola made from New Mexico grapes of Italian heritage (and again yes, from New Mexico the state). Also, the 2011 Chupacabra made from California grapes (Petite Sirah, Syrah, Cab and some Viognier).

I have to give the man props for sourcing and growing grapes from areas where most people are unaware that it is even possible! Check out the movie “Blood Into Wine” to see his wines being made from vine to barrel.

http://www.bloodintowine.com/

Did I mention that these were limited? (the 2010 Nagual

Welcome to the latest addition to the Prestige Wines website called “Just Arrived.” (Pretty catchy, eh?) I’ll be keeping you updated weekly (sometimes more frequently if needed) with all of the new and noteworthy releases in the world of wine and spirits. As of each post these items are currently IN STOCK. If you can’t locate them in our store please feel free to ask.

Tis’ the season for gift sets to start arriving. Supplies on some of these can be limited so shop early for the best selection.

• Beefeater Gin with pourer, and the box is shaped with a British phone booth!
• Jagermeister (with shot glasses or metal flask)
• Wild Turkey American Honey with shot tap
• Speyburn 10-year single malt scotch with flask
• Carolans Irish Cream with coffee mug
• Jim Beam regular and black with glasses
• Makers Mark with really cool wax-dipped glasses
• Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey with shot glasses

“If you hear him howlin’ around your kitchen door, you better not let him in. A Little old lady got mutilated late last night… werewolves of London again.” -Warren Zevon Werewolves of London

It’s October and that means Halloween is coming. To honor one of my favorite holidays, I will be discussing an appropriately themed value wine each weekend. This weekend I am offering up Werewolf Merlot.

I must be honest; this is not the best of my offerings, but it is so kitschy, I couldn’t resist. Werewolf Merlot is actually produced in Transylvania, Romania. That’s right, in the Carpathian Mountains where garlic and silver could be your best friends. On the nose Werewolf is full of dark fruit, including plums and has a whiff of green pepper. The full body, strong unsweetened cherry and faint pepper notes make this a wine to drink casually or with a hearty fall stew.

Actually, in keeping with the theme, this wine would