ZOOM SOCIAL HOUR TODAY 3 PM
We are looking forward to socializing in distant virtual fashion this afternoon, tell us about your new favorite wine, tasting event or meal you've enjoyed recently and we'll catch up over a Sunday Glass!
Join Zoom Meeting (Log In with your email & password!)
Join Meeting ID: 390 568 138 Passcode: grapes
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WOMEN FOR WINESENSE
A national organization founded in Napa Valley in 1990 by friends in the business, Julie Johnson of Frog’s Leap Winery and Michaela Rodeno of St Supery Vineyard and Winery, who wanted to create a resource for wine drinkers across the country to build their knowledge and confidence with Wines! Thirty thirsty years later, Chapters across the country gather 6-12 times a year to meet, learn more about wine, and for members - (men & women both) - to share their insights, ideas and tastes with others in their own community.
The Grapevine chapter was founded in September 2018. "We look forward to sharing many events together in the years to come. If you haven’t attended one of our programs yet, we would certainly love for you to come to one of our events, get to know us, and learn about, taste and explore the diverse subject of wine. Our membership includes both women and men, but you do not have to be a member to attend our tasting events.
We also encourage people to let us know what they would like to learn about wine, so if there is something you would like to know a bit more about, just tell us!"
Visit the Grapevine Chapter's Facebook and message Sheila Malboeuf Rasmussen to learn more about their local, State and National events! This weekend Sheila invited members to taste the same wines, varietal, winemaker & vintage from bottle & can side by side.
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Holly has been working a little magic with Off The Vine's suppliers in order to gather up about 52 +/- Cases of wines for a very cool local project!
Wines from Grapevine Sister Cities in Mexico & Austria, wines from Texas and California, old world French, Italian & Spanish and newer from Chile, Australia and New Zealand too!
We almost have the Wall of Wine built! We are hoping for a single picture with all the wineries & wines involved. stay tuned for details on how you can be take part in this community project kicking off in October!
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TASTING OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD
We have been tasting wines almost every week since the shop opened and one of the small benefits of the current restrictions has been the number of winemakers, winery owners and winegrowers who are now accessible without the cost of travel and accommodation - not every winery is able to drive an RV across the country like David Long of David Arthur & his annual Meritaggio Tour used to do!!
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WEDNESDAY (9/23) WINERS - ZOOMING to NINE HATS in WA!
LongShadows winery is a unique project where the world's most acclaimed winemakers produce wines from Washington State grapes. Names like Randy Dunn, known for making Cabernet in Napa Valley and John Duval, who is a Shiraz expert in Australia are part of the team. The Nine Hats tier was originally declassified juice from Long Shadows but now it is it's own made by the Long Shadows winemaking team. We will taste through a delicious lineup guided by National Sales Manager Colin Cornett as he educates on one of the MOST unique wine projects ever!
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SATURDAY (9/26) WHISKEY SATURDAY - THE GLENLIVET
Zoom Whiskey Tasting, Another delicious line up from one of the top
two single malt scotches in America. The Glenlivet made its name in
America when it became the first Scottish Whisky offered in Pullman
Cars on the US Railways, and by 50's it accounted for 50% of all
Scotch malt whiskies sold in the US! The innovations continue today
Join us for a taste of six expressions Zoom 7PM Sat 26th Pick up 1-4P
Tasting's GIFT CARD$ ARE LISTED FOR SALE NOW!
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SUNDAY (9/27) SUNDAY SABERS - Limited Seating In Person Sparkling Tasting in the Cellar! - Masks required upon entry to The Cellar - 4 guests per party - 1 party per table (3 avail) & 1 party at the bar! We would prefer to take the party's reservation together to avoid, so guests are comfortable with their table partners. So this is your chance to check with your friends and see if they want to party date!
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WEDNESDAY (9/30) WINERS - Reddy..... Steady Go!
Reddy Vineyards from outside of Lubbock, about halfway between us and
Albuquerque, NM "100% estate grown wines are made in small
quantities by hand-selecting the best fruit from our top vineyard
blocks. We're thrilled to have COO Eric Sigmund back to let us in on several new releases since we saw him in February, including rosé, Italian varietal red blend and a French inspired red blend. Reddy Vineyards... Celebrating Texas wines & the Texans that make them!
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TRIVIA QUESTION!
The numbers of answers submitted for last week's Trivia Quiz were, well lets just say under-whelming! I figured we've been underchallenged during this Covid break and need to sharpen up the brain cells a little! Billi & Keli Ingle were the closest to the correct answer and have won last week's contest.
(Last Week's) How Many Corks Were Used Globally 2019?
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The Correct Number 1,200,000,000 + twelve hundred Million annually
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:
Which Varietal Pinot Gris or Zinfandel is grown more in the USA
PRIZE: - 1 Free Pick From Our Bagged Bottle Box
Returning For The Holidays, our brown bagged wines are the last of a vintage, bottle in a placement or a limited item which is taking up shelf space that deserves a good home! $25 per pick, what's inside the bag is your surprise, every bag's wine will have be priced at $25, or more!
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LAMBORN VINEYARDS
Howell Mountain Napa
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Although certainly not the only growers or winery that are facing challenges following the recent fires in California, Oregon & WA this 4th generation growers & estate winery has literally been smoked out of their entire crop and future 2020 vintage. |
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SMOKE TAINT is something that we will all learn more about in the months to come, it will be reason for whole district's harvest being a loss, a big reduction in availability in the the future and all a result of not the fire but the SMOKE that was absorbed by the fruit and vines. Guaiacol & MethylGuaiacol are the chemical markers that indicate taint in the fruit which will make it unsellable, and hopefully the vineyard owners will have the insurance to cover the loss of the production.
Winemakers are now trying to work out how to build their plans for the vintage on which growers, which vineyards and what varietals may be unexpectedly lost in CA, OR & WA.
Lamborn Vineyards on Howell Mountain announced this past week that their entire crop is a loss due to smoke taint. The Lamborn family operate all aspects of business themselves, from the organic farming to harvesting, from customer service to logistics, they are one of the true and only family-run wineries in Napa Valley from top to bottom; with the exception of winemaking. (When Bob retired in 1996, Lamborn hired “celebrity” winemaker Heidi Barrett of Screaming Eagle fame. Heidi has been making Lamborn wine continuously for the past 23 years.) Due to their limited production of 1800 cases not much of it shows up in the retail market, we do have access to some bottlings and others would be available direct from their website https://www.lamborn.com/Wines Perhaps if you are planning to give a gift of wine this season, you might consider Lamborn, share their story and help the family to recover and hopefully, rebuild in the year to come.
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WHISKEY TASTING SATURDAY, SEPT 26th, 7:00PM
THE GLENLIVET! A Full line up of one of Scotland's leading Single Malt producers.
The Glenlivet from the Scottish Highlands is well known and highly considered in the Scotch Whisky markets, now selling over a million cases a year. The distillery's style has been unique since it began in the 1860's producing a spirit that is fermented & distilled slowly, fruity in nature with very limited smoke or wood impact in the younger expressions, and whose own notes include hints of Pineapple on occasion. With their almost continuous operation, innovative style and global appeal, their malt-master has almost unlimited resources for developing new expressions and introducing new tastes to their scotch drinkers.
TASTING LINE UP: -
• Double Cask 12 year Old, 14 Year Old Cognac cask, 15 year old French Oak,
* Nadurra Peated Cask, CODE - (Special Canadian Rye Cask finished) and the 18 Year Old (Taste Packs have limited availability due to the scarcity of special editions included in this line up)
Understanding that each of these expressions is produced with the same spirit, and that it is its paced maturation over years and years in selected barrels, this tasting will reinforce the importance of the wood, the barrel and the maturation in creating tastes and flavors in whisky.
Taste Pack Pick Up
Will Be Available To Pick Up Saturday 26th 1 - 4PM per Gift Card Purchase. CHOOSE @ Trinity Hall Irish Pub in Dallas or @ OTV Grapevine
Zoom Starts at 7:00PM Credentials for Meeting Room will be in your Taste Pack!
Reservations Close Thursday at 5PM
..... unless we sell out before!
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Each tasting pack will include the six drams+ bonus, flight card with your zoom credentials on the reverse, tasting notes and a snack pack to nibble away on during the event. Tasting packs can be purchased for $ 55 per tasting via Giftcard link
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GRACE in Grapevine is our local non-profit relief agency supported by business, church, community groups & local government. The largest fundraiser each year is the annual Gala which will be online & virtual this year in a change from past 16 years. Please visit their website to learn more about GRACE's efforts & how you might become involved or assist!
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Barton Street is considerably brighter since our new neighbors opened up last week - same time as the Hotel Vin!
Claudia, Colleen & the Shine Team have produced a fantastic program for helping others find their SHINE!
Welcome to the neighborhood!
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TALK ABOUT LEARNING SOMETHING NEW....!
One thing that we believe separates Off The Vine from many of the much bigger box stores is taste! And we pursue this each and every week by tasting with almost all of our suppliers, researching and establishing connections with new sources, and doing all we can in our selection process to help bring our guests an approachable selection that fairly represents the tastes and styles of the current offerings available.
Every so often we hear about, see a reference to or are presented with something that just makes you go WOW! There really is more happening in the wine world everyday than any of us give it credit for. There are individuals & large companies all over the world constantly creating, innovating and imagining ways to feed our capacity for new tastes and styles. .... One example was learning about WHITE CABERNET FRANC! Turns out that the reported first commercial bottling of White Cabernet Franc was Leah Jorgensen's 90 case, 2012 Blanc De Cabernet Franc from Applegate Valley AVA in Oregon!
Unfortunately we don't have have a bottle of Leah's release, but we do have Basel Cellars Blanc de Cabernet Franc from Walla Walla Washington! Tasting notes that describe "dried peach, herbs, pear, orange blossom and expressive minerality that pair beautifully with seared scallops or grilled oysters. Only 130 cases produced.
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How lucky we are!
It really appears that someone threw a switch the day after Labor Day and gave everyone permission to start planning again for real life to return. The pedestrians on our newly paved Main Street, the bustle by the Train Station and Hotel Vin, the phone calls about birthday parties and beginning of plans for small holiday gatherings, we have sensed a renewed optimism this past two weeks, and hope that you are feeling it too in your homes & lives.
It may not all be settled yet, and we need to keep doing what we have been, but we couldn't ask for a better group of customers, friends and business associates to have around us for the wild ride that 2020 has been.
This weekend each year has historically been the highpoint for Grapevine's local marketing, thirty plus years of the world coming to visit over a single weekend, hundreds of thousands stopping by, renewing their memories and celebrating wine and bringing business to our community. While we did not have our celebration this year, we are lucky to be in a place like Grapevine, with our history of continuous improvement, coupled with conscious protection of our town's heritage, living & working in a growing, active community that is built on a strong foundation. We are optimistic, even in the absence of our most important event in our hometown's annual calendar, that our best is still ahead of us, and we are very thankful for having the neighbors we do and for these past twenty five years and more!
Have a great Sunday, a fun week ahead with temps running in the 70's, and we'll look forward to seeing you soon on Main Street in Grapevine!
Cheers,
Holly
Proprietor & Wine Lover
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OFF THE VINE
Wine Shop & Cellar,
324 S. Main Street,
Grapevine, TX 76051
817.421.1091
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