Wine Club: The Club W Experience

I'm a member of a few wine clubs, 5 to be exact.  Most of them are winery based, but I have been members before of wine clubs that weren't.  Those clubs were great because of the variety of wine that was made available to you.

When I saw Club W I had to try. I got to select three wines that were shipped to me and arrived on my doorstep complete with a bone for Summer (compliments of the FedEx guy)

Once you decide to join  Club W you set up your palate profile by answering 6 questions about the flavors you like. Then they make recommendations that they think you will like.  Of course you are free to choose what ever selections that interest you.

What is nice about this wine club is that they have a a video that goes with each wine that includes tasting notes and a history of the wine on the bottle.  However, I am old fashioned when it comes to this.  I like a piece of paper that I can reference with my shipment.  Yes, I know it's the QR code age. I am a firm believer in QR codes, but when it comes to tasting notes and history of the wines that are included with my shipment, I like a piece of paper.  That's me, as you might be different (and then there are people like my husband who don't own a smart phone)

Here were my three selections:

2009 Love this Life - California White Table Wine. I couldn't find any information on what grape varieties were in this white, I am taking a guess that there is some Chardonnay.  The Love this Life brand is about living in the moment and enjoying life.

2011 Flaco Trempranillo - produced from organically grown and dry farmed vineyards in the DO of Madrid Spain. The vineyards are located in Arganda & Navalcarneros districts which are located south east and west of Madrid. The wine was aged in stainless steel and cement tanks.

2011 Mas de Bayle - from the Languedoc region of France.  It's a famile estate located in the heart of Herault. The vineyards are spread over 19 acres and is planted with Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Carignan, Mourvedre and Alicante.

Below is a video of my tasting.  One note...I stated that the price of the wine club was $13 per bottle and included shipping.  I was incorrect.  It's $13 per bottle and you get to choose three bottles - so $39 plus $6 shipping.

A special gift from me is $13 credit which is one free bottle.  Just enter 411hudson in the coupon code area.

Notes From the Captain Lawrence Tasting Room, Vol. 60 Hit the Links While Enjoying Your Drinks

The strange object appeared to have fallen from space, hurtling through the air before thrusting its staff into the earth like a Gold Rush speculator. It had chains and a basket and a silver pole, and someone had affixed a bunch of Captain Lawrence stickers to it.

Was it space junk? The flag of a conquering Viking splinter group? Soviet spy gear, perhaps?

“I don’t know what it is,” says Andrew Hansen from Bedford Hills, as he sipped the Grapefruit Pail, an American pale ale brewed with grapefruits and dry hopped with peels. “I feel like I should.”

His pal, Andrew Cascudo of West Hartford, Connecticut, is pretty confident he can identify the foreign contraption. “Is it for Frisbee golf?”

Indeed, it is.

Cemented into the beer patio’s lawn, the Frisbee golf target was given to the brewery by the team it sponsors—“Team Captain Lawrence” competes in Frisbee golf tournaments (instead of whacking a golf ball toward the hole, Frisbee golfers fling a disc at a target) up and down the coast from October through April.

“It’s a practice basket for putting,” says Bill Newman of Yorktown, the team manager and, in his words, “keg rustler.” “It’s a thank you gift to the brewery.”

Newman says he may provide “loaner discs”—Frisbees you can borrow at the bar—so people can practice their Frisbee golf stroke, and have a few laughs while doing so.  

The practice basket is the latest addition designed to make the Captain Lawrence tasting room, and adjacent

beer patio, the ultimate in adult recess. As if sampling the likes of the Imperial India Pale Ale, the Captain’s Kolsch and the Liquid Gold weren’t enough to command your attention, there is bocce, Frisbee golf and, at times, cornhole—there’s even a competition in the latter at the brewery May 30. (If you’re unfamiliar with cornhole, ask someone south of the Mason Dixon Line.)

Beer-friendly diversions aside, some prefer simply dropping a blanket on the lawn somewhere in the shade and hanging out, such as the growing crowd gathered to celebrate the birthday of Ali Pierce of Harrison. “I’ve got lots of friends and family coming,” says the birthday girl happily.

The group got together at the brewery for friend Henry Fanelli of Stamford’s birthday a few weeks ago, and had so much fun they decided to come again. “It’s nice weather, so we figured we’d sit and have a couple beers and a hot dog,” says Henry, who prefers the small batch selections, which these days include the malty Baltic Porter and a German dunkelweiss known as Rosa Pfefferkorn. “I try to sample those whenever I can—it’s nice to see what they can do with beer.”

The setting is perfect, but the two babies the group has brought—“future husband and wife”, notes a woman in their party—don’t seem to be playing along. “They’re both in bad moods,” says Henry.

Moods are not an issue for the Vlad Gogish party. Vlad, of White Plains, too is marking his birthday at the brewery—he’s 28, if you’re scoring at home, and celebrating with a lively batch of friends. He was under the impression that Captain Lawrence still was not charging for samples—the policy changed several weeks ago—but said he was fine paying a few bucks to sample his favorite beers, which include the Liquid Gold Belgian-style ale.

“Quality beer speaks for itself,” he says.

Meanwhile, the Andrews continue to eye the Frisbee golf target, as well as the bocce court.

“I’m used to playing bocce on a lawn or a gravel road,” says Andrew Cascudo as he sips the Rosa Pfefferkorn (that sounds like a girl Dwight Schrute would fall in love with, doesn’t it?). “I never played on a professional court before.”

The toughest decisions at the brewery used to be deciding which beer to drink. These days, it’s what game to play along with your beer, and we have Bill Newman and his Frisbee putting basket, in part, to blame for that.

“It’s another thing for people to do,” says Bill, “while having a beer sample.” 

Captain Lawrence Brewing, at 444 Saw Mill River Road in Elmsford, is open Wednesday through Friday (4-8 p.m.), Saturday (12-6 p.m.) and Sunday (12-5). The author is paid by Captain Lawrence, partially in Freshchester Pale Ale.

Memorial Day on the Outer Coastal Plain AVA

Can you believe it, we are coming up to Memorial Day weekend, the beginning of the summer.  Time goes by to fast these days!  What will you be doing this weekend?

I've been very fortunate to be able to go to Cape May for many years and now have my own home to go to there.  I've written before about the wineries of that region and have watched the region grow, but I plan to explore them in more detail now that I will be visiting the region more than once or twice a year, but making the region my second home.

The wineries of Cape May are part of the Outer Coastal Plain AVA. Yes there is actually a designated AVA.  The Outer Coastal Plain AVA wine appellation covers the counties of Cumberland, Cape May, Atlantic, Ocean, and portions of Salem, Gloucester, Camden, Burlington and Monmouth.  They have well drained sandy or sandy loam soils with moderate fertility and a long growing season. There are 27 wineries and growing in this region.

I will admit first things first when I head down to the region - it's the beach for me.  I am a sun worshiper at it's best  baking on the beach.  But there is always time on my way home to stop at a winery and I plan on taking part in some winery events along the way.

I will visit the new wineries and the established ones and am looking forward to seeing how they have grown.

Also on the agenda is New Jersey Craft Beer.  Yes there is a craft beer movement in New Jersey and the first brewery on my list to visit is the Cape May Brewery.  I even purchased a NJ Craft Beer membership. Any suggestions on must try NJ Craft beer?

Let the summer begin!

Turdo Vineyards

Turdo Vineyards

Natali Vineyards

Jessie Creek Winery

New York Gruner Veltliner by Fulkerson Winery

When you hear Gruner Veltliner you think of a Austria.  Well it's only natural because Gruner is the most dominant grape planted throughout the country. But where else can you find wine made with the same grape outside Austria. We don't have to look to far, just to the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Fulkerson Winery is one of a few wineries in the Finger Lakes region producing Gruner Veltliner.  Planting their Gruner in 2010, the 2012 vintage is their inaugural release.

The wine is all estate grown and was harvested at 20.8 brix.  The alcohol level clocked in at 12%.

The nose is crisp and clean, quite floral with hints of apple and peach.

The palate is full of tart green apple, peach, citrus and finishes with a soft spice.

The retail price for this wine is $12.99

Disclaimer:  I received this wine as a media sample from the winery.




                  

Summer of White Wine & Bubbly

I was recently looking in my wine cellar for a white wine to bring to a party and realized my choices were quite boring.  I had many California and New York Chardonnays and nothing out of the box.  You know what? I am getting bored!  I told my husband, no more California & NY Chards and we are going to explore different wines from different countries.

This summer join me as I explore the white wines of the world.  No more NY or CA Chardonnays.  Quite honestly, I really can't say there will be no Chardonnays, because Chardonnay produced in a different country like France, Argentina can taste very different than one produced in California.

There is so much to explore and so many countries to visit!

Join me beginning June as I search out the white wines of the world.  I will do this $15 and under a bottle because that is all my budget will allow and I want to make sure you can afford them too!  I will also add a little bubbly along the way.

Life of a Wine - My Journey with 12 Bottles of Syrah

A few weeks ago I was a guest blogger for The Wine Key.  It's a post I have been waiting to write, because how many times do we open a bottle of wine we have been aging and it's on one side or the other of that bell shaped curve. Not the side we were expecting.  Does it change again?

Join me on my journey with 12 bottles of Syrah.
http://www.the-wine-key.com/blog/2013/4/16/the-life-of-a-wine-the-journey-of-12-bottles-of-syrah.html

Notes From the Captain Lawrence Tasting Room, Vol. 59 Re-imagining the Grapefruit Diet

They came from far away, on bicycles, and they came from so close they could walk. They sipped a new beer that makes clever use of a fat, round, semi-sweet fruit, and they sampled some tried and true brews as well. While Captain Lawrence’s digs will never be as pedestrian-friendly as the old Pleasantville spot, a foursome from Elmsford did, in fact, hoof it to the brewery on a gorgeous Sunday.

“It’s such a nice day, and we figured we’d bring the dog along,” says Alyssa Jacobs of Elmsford, nodding at the sweet-dispositioned Chihuahua-Shi Tzu mix huddled under the picnic table.

Her husband Irv is digging the new pilot brew known as Grapefruit Pail--Ryan Kipp’s American pale ale brewed with grapefruits and dry hopped with whole leaf cascade hops and grapefruit peels. “A little bit of citrus, a little bit of bitterness,” he says with a smile.

Their pals Eleanor and Bob Liggio, also of Elmsford, are contemplating what to fill their growler with. The Liggios are partial to pale ales—Eleanor says they fell in love with Anchor Steam while honeymooning in San Francisco, so much so that they returned to the Bay Area years later to quaff more of it.

When it comes to beer, Bob is a bit picky; he says the Captain Lawrence selections—and American beer in general—is too cold, and wants more hops in his Sun Block wheat beer. But he’s happy to be spending his afternoon sipping a locally crafted brew in the sun. “It’s great to have a microbrewery around,” he says.

Pulling up to the patio on a convoy of bicycles is a Meetup.com group that set out from Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx not quite two hours before. Most of the six did not know each other earlier in the day. Gina Friedlander of Forest Hills, Jose Herrero of Manhattan and Donnelly Shah of Brooklyn, among the others, are unwinding with some well earned beverages. A few sips into her Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA, Gina asks what the “9 ABV” on the menu next to the beer means. When she finds out, her eyes go wide as, well, grapefruits. “We’re not carrying you back,” warns Michael Wasserman.

The group of new friends laughs as they wait for their Village Dog hot dogs. “It’s a great way to meet new people and do things you probably wouldn’t do on your own,” says Donnelly.

A 20-mile bike ride may be a bit ambitious for Elizabeth Vera and her friends. See, Elizabeth was married the day before at Lyndhurst—Jay Gould’s spectacular old mansion in Tarrytown--and is unwinding with her sorority sisters from NC State. “I’m runnin’ on fumes,” she admits from behind a pair of dark shades.

The wedding was, by all accounts, a smash. Talk about moves like Jagger--Elizabeth’s dad jumped on stage with the band to belt out “Satisfaction”, and her uncle took over the piano. “We had a Partridge Family thing going on,” she says.

And this was all before dinner. “Best wedding ever,” says Ali Marshall of Sarasota.

Elizabeth is from Wisconsin, so working a brewery visit into her wedding weekend was a given.  The Kolsch seems to have perked her up slightly; she eyes the menu for her next selection. “I’m real interested in the Grapefruit Pail,” she says.

Speaking of old college pals, Justin Pucila of Pound Ridge and Matt Brody of Manhattan are friends from their SUNY Purchase days. They were camping at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation the night before with more Purchase pals—drinking PBRs because that’s what they drank in college.

Justin’s still waiting for his taste buds to wake up as he sips the Grapefruit Pail. “All the beers here are great, but I’m not getting grapefruit out of this one,” he says. “My taste buds are still full of campfire smoke.”

Staring at the skyline of hulking silver fermenters in the back of the brewery, Justin and Matt were discussing how many beers are in a keg, and how many kegs are in a fermenter. “We gave up,” says Matt.

Back on the patio, the biker gang is resting their legs, the wedding party is resting their vocal chords, and the Jacobs-Liggio foursome is planning their journey home. “It’s a nice walk,” says Alyssa. “The hard part is the walk back.”

Captain Lawrence Brewing, at 444 Saw Mill River Road in Elmsford, is open Wednesday through Friday (4-8 p.m.), Saturday (12-6 p.m.) and Sunday (12-5). The author is paid by Captain Lawrence, partially in Freshchester Pale Ale.