deVine Thoughts

Author: Dirk Chan

Christmas is coming up fast! Here is a great gift idea – our limited and popular Santa’s Surprise 6-Sack of beer for 2019 is now available at the store. Beautifully wrapped, small footprint to fit under the Christmas tree and Canadian themed – we won’t reveal what six beers are in the Sack, but will say that one of the beers is the exclusive Analog special brew just for deVines, the Analog Brewing Obligatory Holiday Mint Stout which is also available individually (only 240 cans made in total) – maximum 4 cans per customer. Get these while supply lasts.

Seasons Greetings Everyone!!

2019 Santa’s Surprise 6-Sack (Alberta, Canada) – $29.99
Analog Brewing Obligatory Holiday Mint Stout (Alberta, Canada) – 475mL Can – $6.49

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Author: Dirk Chan

We are introducing a new tasting series for 2020 – it is called Grape Expectations. There will be a Red Series as well as a White Series. The whites will be in the spring to fall timeframe, while the reds are spread out throughout the year.

The Grape Expectations – Red Series includes six tastings focusing on six red single varietals as follows:

Grape Expectations Red Series – Cabernet Sauvignon – January 25
Grape Expectations Red Series – Merlot – February 22
Grape Expectations Red Series – Pinot Noir – April 4
Grape Expectations Red Series – Zinfandel – June 27
Grape Expectations Red Series – Cabernet Franc – September 12
Grape Expectations Red Series – Gamay – Thursday, November 19

Individually, these stand-up tastings are $30 each as standalone tastings, but if you can purchase a package of any four of the six for $100, a $20 savings. Please indicate which four you’d like to attend in the “Comments box” on checkout. Moving to different tastings are allowed if there are spots available. If you choose to attend all six tastings, we will also only charge you $25 for the other two. All tastings are on Saturdays (except the Gamay which is on Beaujolais Nouveau Thursday in the 3rd week of November) and all tastings start at 7pm and are stand-up format.

Look out for the White Package shortly…

You can buy the package or register for individual events here…

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Author: Dirk Chan

Mark your calendar for Thursday, December 12th!

Every year, deVine Wines has a Customer Appreciation Day and this year it is on Thursday, December 12th. Its our way of saying “Thank You!” for your ongoing support and patronage.

deVine Wines will be offering our customers a 10% discount ** on all in-stock regular priced wines and spirits plus additional select items up to 30% off. The sale will run all day, starting at 10:00 AM until we close at 8:00 PM. There will be a wine pour from 12-3 and another from 4-7 plus a beer station from 4:30-7:30pm. It’s a great opportunity to do all of your Christmas shopping in one day.

**The sale excludes beers and ciders as well as wines stored in our vintage keeper or vintage room. Cannot be combined with other sale items and no rain checks.

See you on Thursday, December 12th. Online purchasing is also accepted on this day so you can shop in the comfort of your own home.

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Author: Denise Brisson, Cellar Stock Importers

For 25 years, the Christ Church Community Dinner Program has provided a monthly dinner and a time of fellowship to those in need. This is an important part of our community outreach. We serve approximately 1300 to 1400 guests from September to June (about 140 per dinner). Many guests are hungry and have second helpings so the number is closer to 1800 plates. As the economy becomes more challenging that number continues to increase every month. This outreach is done in conjunction with 3 other downtown churches to ensure a hot meal is provided every Saturday. During the summer Christ Church prepares a BBQ of hot dogs & hamburgers every Friday.

Join deVine Wines and Cellar Stock Importers on Saturday, December 7th from 2 till 5pm for a free drop-in tasting where you get to try some wines that will match your upcoming Christmas dinners and parties. For every bottle sold, 10% will be donated to Christ Church Community Dinner Fund.

We hope to see all of you on Saturday, December 7th.

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Author: Dirk Chan

Every year on the third Thursday of November- on the 21st this year, the famous Beaujolais Nouveau is released with great fanfare to the world. Freshly made, the tradition and hype lead to much merry-making with fireworks and numerous parties where the wine is the star.

As usual, we are offering the Georges DuBeouf Beaujolais- Villages in the painted bottle – $25.99, a wine we feel offers the best quality with the requisite beautiful bottle packaging. This will be available for sale in-store Thursday, November 21st at 10am

What is Beaujolais Nouveau? It’s a light, fruity red made from the Gamay grape. Strawberry, raspberry, cotton candy and banana on the nose with a light fruity palate and literally no tannins. Serve this slightly chilled. How is Beaujolais Nouveau made – well the grapes are harvested by hand but do not go thru the typical fermentation process. Rather, they go through a carbonic maceration – instead of crushing the grapes and allowing the juice to ferment, carbonic maceration allows the whole grapes to ferment. The grapes are put into a vessel and the weight of the grapes will crush some of the bottom grapes which begin to ferment. The remainder of the juice still inside the uncrushed grapes will also ferment. The wine is pasteurized to prevent secondary malolactic fermentation. The whole process can be accomplished in about six weeks. This type of fermentation can produce a drinkable wine more quickly.

Beaujolais Nouveau is meant for current drinking, capturing its freshness and fruitiness, it is not meant for aging at all. Quite limited in quantity so come in early or book online now to get your stash. Have a lovely Beaujolais Nouveau party!

2019 Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau (Beaujolais, France) – $25.99