March « 2016 « deVine Thoughts

March 31, 2016

Cider House Rules

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 4:24 pm

cider5 Author: Dirk Chan

On Saturday, April 16th, at 7pm deVine Wines will be hosting our first ever Cider House Rules tasting. Craft cider, both Old World and North American, is in the midst of an incredible renaissance. Craft ciders are swiftly transforming into a trendy drink choice du jour, bringing together wine lovers, beer geeks, bubbles fans, and gluten free drinkers alike with products equally flavourful, complex & refreshing.

Made in a similar way to wine and served in the same sort of fashion as beer, cider has something for everyone. So it’s not a big surprise that this fast rising apple-based beverage, in particularly craft cider, is becoming In Thing locally. We’re starting to recommend a lot of ciders as starters in lieu of Bubbles – it has the aromatic complexity similar to wine and a clean cut refreshing taste that works wonders as an aperitif or matching with appetizers. I’d bet its going to be big in the summertime. The next time you want something different to begin an evening, keep cider in the back of your mind.

Join us for this $30 stand-up tasting to find out why cider is the fastest growing category of alcoholic beverage in North America. We will taste through some of our favourite cideries available on the market today employing traditional methods and materials. Producers such as Finnriver, Reverend Nat’s, Cidres Le Brun, Manior du Kinkiz, & J.K.’s offer sophisticated and unique products with crisp flavours, wonderful tartness and complex sugars. Let your palate come of age during the deVine Cider House Rules tasting!

In the meantime, here are a couple of recommendations to get you started down the Cider Path…

Domaine de la Minotiere Organic Cider Fermier Brut (Loire Valley, France) – 750mL – $12.99

Cascadia Ciderworkers United Dry Hard Apple Cider (Oregon, United States) – 4 Cans – $20.99

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March 28, 2016

Coravin Arrives at deVine’s

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 6:24 pm

coravin8 Author: Dirk Chan

For centuries, the cork in a wine bottle had to be removed in order to enjoy a glass of wine. Well that is now history. The Coravin Model 8 Wine System is the first invention in the world to let you access, pour, and enjoy wine from a bottle – without having to pull the cork. The Coravin proprietary technology protects the wine from oxidation with argon gas yet leaving the cork in place while the wine flows. Now enjoy your favorite and ﬁnest wines by the glass whenever you desire, and feel conﬁdent that your wine will be protected until the next glass is poured. Share and enjoy the same bottle, or bottles, on multiple occasions, over weeks, months, or even longer – without wasting a drop.

How does it work? A clamp holds the bottle in place while a thin hollow needle pokes through the cork and accesses the wine without damaging the cork. Tilt the bottle as you would to pour normally, pressing and releasing a trigger to pour wine out . At the base of the unit is a Coravin capsule that contains pure argon gas which is released into the bottle to protect the remaining wine from oxidation (we’re told wine will keep this way for up to 30 days taking out 5 ounces at a time). When done, extract the needle and the cork will reseal itself naturally and no oxygen gets into te bottle thus no oxidation. Each capsule is good for 15 five ounce pours.

This is great for those who usually don’t consume an entire bottle in a single seating. Also, its a great way to check progress of developing wines in your cellar. Also an invaluable tool if you’re bringing a bottle to a restaurant or friend’s place to check that it is not corked (no need to bring backup bottles anymore).

This marvelously ingenious invention has taking the wine world by storm and its available at deVines now! Join the masses of the converted.

Coravin Model 8 Wine Preservation System (United States) – $449.99

Coravin Dual Capsules (United States) – $40.99

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Introducing Our New Website & e-Newsletter

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 6:22 pm

intro Author: Dirk Chan

After 11 years, we’ve revamped our website to bring it up to current with scrolling blog articles, better graphics, mobile-device friendly as well as a brand new search engine. Behind the scenes there is much tighter security, better encryption as we now go directly to your credit card company for immediate authorization (or rejection). We do not keep any of your credit card information in our system and the entire website now runs using SSL encryption to give your online shopping experience a more interactive and secure feel. We’ve invested many hours over the years maintaining tasting notes, photos and critics scores for our products and will continue to do so. Our entire inventory continues to be online for your shopping needs any time of the day.

Big thanks to the folks at Yellow Pencil and developer extraordinaire Chris Huisman of CTRL Space Applications Inc. for their hard work over the past several months.

Our popular e-newsletter has gotten a parallel upgrade as well. We noticed more than half of you read our newsletter using hand held devices, thus this new version will be much easier to read and navigate. Our e-newsletter will be once every three weeks going forward and you can subscribe here. Our thanks to Ashley Bain of Mailout.com for her efforts.

Also, check us out at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

We’re still fine-tuning the website with some adjustments and a few more modifications still to come. Your feedback is more than welcome – please feel free to drop us a line at ‘info@devinewines.ca’

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March 21, 2016

Easter Dinner Wine Recommendations

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 11:24 am

turkey Author: Dirk Chan

Easter is this weekend, and you’ll want some celebratory wines to accompany turkey & ham dinner or that special meal you’ll be preparing.

We receive many requests for food and wine pairings for this festive weekendso please contact us sooner than later for the best available selection and recommendations. If you have special needs, please let us know and we’ll be glad to help. Enjoy the long weekend everyone.

Our store hours this weekend are:

Good Friday: 12 -6pm
Saturday: 10-7pm
Easter Sunday: Closed
Monday: 10-6pm

In the meantime, those looking for the classic pairings with turkey, ham and all the regular fixings, please see below some of our favourites:

Starters:

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