deVine Thoughts

December 3, 2017

Annual Customer Appreciation Day Dec. 14

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 11:38 pm

cust_2017_smallAuthor: Dirk Chan

Mark your calendar for Thursday, December 14th!

Every year, deVine Wines will host our annual Customer Appreciation Day – Thursday, December 14th to say a special “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 station and one beer station set up for free sampling from 3-6pm. It’s a great opportunity to do all of your Christmas shopping in one day.

A plug also for other 104th Street businesses also having Customer Appreciation specials – they include Cavern, Evoolution, Eye Care Group, habitat etc and Unit B Coworking. Read about all the specials in this Word document here..

**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 14th.

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December 1, 2017

Wine Spectator Top 100 for 2017

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 2:31 pm

ws_top100smallAuthor: Dirk Chan

The popular American wine publication reviews over 15,000 wines every year, and in mid November, they issue their Top 100 Wines of the Year amids much hoopla. This has been an ongoing tradition since 1988.

The retailers follow closely and will bring in as many of the Top 100 as available. This year’s list is less American centric than other years, and we are fortunate to get the right wines with the right vintage for your consideration. Note many of these are limited so get yours early to avoid disappointment.

Also, remember to register for our Top Wines of the Year tasting that will feature four wines from this Wine Spectator list as well as four of deVine’s staff favourites for 2017.

Check out the available Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines..

Register for the Top Wines of the Year Tasting.

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November 27, 2017

deVine’s Twelve Beers of Xmas Festive Case

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 4:12 pm

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Author: Dirk Chan

Christmas is fast approaching, and back by popular demand is our seasonal Twelve Beers of Christmas Festive Case – $99.99. With the tremendous increase in Craft and Specialty beers, we’ve chosen some special brews for you this year. There are some beers that we’ve held back only for this sampler that are not available at retail so grab yours while supply lasts. Only 36 cases available and already selling fast!

You can read more detailed information on the specific beers that comprise this case and purchase the Twelve Beers of Christmas Festive Case online here..

Salute!

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November 16, 2017

New Christmas Beer Advent Calendars

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 11:12 am

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Author: Dirk Chan

Two more new beer Christmas Advent calendars have arrived at deVines this week. Always among the most trending and popular gift ideas for the fast approaching holiday season, these are wonderful gifts for those who like to be surprised.

For the agnostic or uninitiated, an advent calendar is a specially constructed calendar used to count or celebrate the days in December leading up to Christmas from the 1st to the 24th. The ‘advent’ part comes from Christian tradition, whose 24 day advent season generally starts between November 27 and December 3rd. Each physical advent calendar presents a rectangular “window” front with 24 doors in non-consecutive order to be opened, one each day until Christmas.

The origin of the Advent Calendar can be traced back to the 19th Century where Protestants made a chalk line for every day in December unil Christmas Eve and that has continued to this day.

We will have a few available in the store of all of the below but we are not stockpiling them. Secure yours sooner than later to avoid disappointment.

Also, a reminder the popular deVine’s 12 Beers of Christmas will be available very shortly.

Pictured left to right:

Phillips Snowcase Beer Advent Calendar (BC, Canada) – $99.99

Great White Wonder Adventure Pack (BC, Canada) – $99.99

Other Xmas beer gift packs currently available (while supply lasts) include the following:

Craft Beer Advent Calendar – $169.99

Whistler Brewing Holiday Gift Crate (BC, Canada) – $54.99

Abdij van Averbode Monastery Pack (Belgium) – $24.99

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Le Beaujolais Nouveau 2017 est arrivé!

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 9:13 am

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Author: Dirk Chan

Every year on the third Thursday of November- on the 16th 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 Thursday, November 16 after 3pm.

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 to avoid disappointment and have a lovely Beaujolais Nouveau party!

2017 Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau (Beaujolais, France) – $25.99

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November 6, 2017

The Wines of Ernie Els & Ken Forrester

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 12:38 am

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Author: Dirk Chan

deVine welcomes Tara Smith of Lanigan & Edwards Wine Merhcants as she presents the wines of two legendarySouth African wine producing giants – Ernie Els and Ken Forrester. You will sample the classic grapes of the Stellenbosch wine region – Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon and as well as a couple of blends.

South African wines are unique in the wine world in that the noses of the wines are very complex with old world terroir character yet on the palate there is plenty of new world fruit. For someone who wants to transition from New World to Old World, I know of no better path than through South African wines! This is a stand-up tasting, don’t miss it as it features some great value wines to boot.

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October 31, 2017

Ruinart Champagne Dinner

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 6:18 pm

ruinart_dinner_smallAuthor: Dirk Chan

Charton Hobbs, Café Linnea and deVine’s present A Maison Ruinart Dinner, A Tribute to Chardonnay, featuring a three-course dinner at the award winning (EnRoute magazines top 10 Canadian restaurants) Café Linnea with three matching Ruinart Champagnes – $125/person, scheduled for Wednesday, November 15.

Charton Hobbs is bringing in Brent Sutcliffe, Ruinart Brand Ambassador to speak to the Champagnes. Cocktail reception starts at 7:00pm, followed by a 3-course dinner with Ruinart Champagne pairings at 7:30pm. Order sheets will be available for you to purchase the Champagnes tasted at this event through deVines.

Ruinart is the oldest established Champagne house, operating since 1792. Present day, it is owned by LVMHMoet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA. Ruinart is often called the “chardonnay house” for its reliance on Champagne’s white variety. Former cellar master Jean-François Barot decided to focus on the grape when he redefined the Ruinart style in the early 1990s. Chardonnay-dominant Champagne tends to be fine and linear, thus the house style is finesse driven. The Ruinart bottle is inspired by the first champagne bottles of the 18th century.

Advanced registration is required – you can purchase tickets to the dinner event here... To view the promotional postcard, click here..

Two more new Ruinarts coming to deVines next week – in the meantime, you can purchase the very popular:

NV Ruinart R de Ruinart Brut (Champagne, France) – $84.99

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October 24, 2017

Advent Calendars Are Here!

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 9:19 pm

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Author: Dirk Chan

Hard to believe but the ever-popular Chrismtas Advent calendars are upon us already. Always among the most trending and popular gift ideas for the fast approaching holiday season, these are wonderful gifts for those who like to be surprised.

For the agnostic or uninitiated, an advent calendar is a specially constructed calendar used to count or celebrate the days in December leading up to Christmas from the 1st to the 24th. The ‘advent’ part comes from Christian tradition, whose 24 day advent season generally starts between November 27 and December 3rd. Each physical advent calendar presents a rectangular “window” front with 24 doors in non-consecutive order to be opened, one each day until Christmas.

The origin of the Advent Calendar can be traced back to the 19th Century where Protestants made a chalk line for every day in December unil Christmas Eve and that has continued to this day. The traditional advent calendars filled with various chocolates dates to 1958.

Well, this year for the first time deVines is offering a Port Advent Calendar from Porto Quevedo – $109.99, consisting of 24x50mL mini-bottles – there are eight different offerings repeated thrice in a random fashion. Quevedo is located in the small town of San João da Pesqueira, right in the heart of the beautiful Douro Valley. Having sold their grapes for decades to Taylor-Fladgate, they decided to venture on their own in 1991. Love the small footprint of the packaging.

For the beer lover, the ever popular and first on market Craft Beer Advent Calendar is already here, this year’s theme featuring an All Star Edition, all we know is there’s great breweries providing beers from all over – countries represented are from Italy, Austria, Norway, Estonia, France, Spain, New Zealand, Germany, Netherlands, UK, US and of course Canada.

We will have a few available in the store but we are not stockpiling them. We are asking you to pre-order these two advent calendars online – purchase by noon monday and we will have it in the store on wednesday. Secure yours sooner than later to avoid disappointment.

2017 Porto Quevedo Port Advent Calendar – $109.99

2017 Craft Beer Advent Calendar – $169.99

Stay tuned, I am sure there will be other Advents showing up very shortly…

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October 10, 2017

Empress 1908 Indigo Gin

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 12:02 pm

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Author: Dirk Chan

The new Victoria Spirits Empress 1908 Original Indigo Gin is 100% authentic and all-natural. It’s infused with the vibrantly tinted butterfly pea blossom, adding a singularly distinct expression – an impossibly lush and vivid indigo blue, with a stunning secret to reveal – with the addition of citrus or tonic, Empress 1908 is transformed from its breathtaking indigo to a soft pink in your glass.

Handcrafted from the same eight organic botanicals (juniper, rose, coriander seed, grapefruit peel, ginger root, cinnamon bark) used in making the famous Empress Hotel (which opened in ‘1908’) tea is used to make this gin. Done in small batch copper-pot stills, this is also gluten-free with phenomenal depth and boldness of spirit. With forward juniper and grapefruit notes, this is gently refined, nuanced and enduring, Empress 1908 is the essence of Victoria.

This color-changing gin is catching on. Fabulous with cocktails.

Victoria Spirits Empress 1908 Indigo Gin (BC – Victoria, Canada) – $54.99

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October 9, 2017

Meritage Reds Tasting

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 3:14 pm

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Author: Dirk Chan

Discover Bordeaux style red wines from around the world in this Meritage wine tasting. Meritage wines are provocative red crafted solely from specific “noble” Bordeaux grape varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Carmenere) and are considered to be the very best wines of the vintage.

Meritage, pronounced like heritage, first appeared in the late 1980s after a group of American vintners joined forces to create a name for New World wines blended in the tradition of Bordeaux. Over the years, many other countries have started to use the meritage descriptor to thir wines as well. In this sit-down tasting event, we’ll sample seven wines from around the globe (Italy, Canada, Australia, United States, South Africa, Chile) made in the Bordeaux tradition. We’ll have a Bordeaux as well. Only 34 spots available.

Book your spot to Meritage Reds tasting here..

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