Go Girl…It’s your birthday! Open wide, I know you’re thirsty…say ahhhh!

Sorry. That title was probably either confusing or if you recognize it, just annoying; it’s a song…it’s not a very good song. Trust me, I know. I have a 13-year-old sister. The hip hop these darn kids are listening to today is terrible. It’s nothing like the lyrical masterpieces I listened to when I was in high school…remember when Puff Daddy was making music? Sorry, I mean making CLASSICS!

…But I digress. Despite it’s terrible musical origin, the title fits well with the theme of today’s post. “Why” you might ask?  Oh I’ll feed you baby birds:

Today is DeVine Wines birthday! Six years ago today, they opened the doors. It’s hard to believe. Paula, Rich, Jim and Gerry all wanted to thank you for your support. It’s been tough, especially in the recent years (I’d say “economic climate”, but I get a facial twitch when people say “economic climate”), but the local support and word of mouth that you bring is what keeps DeVine Wines open today. So keep it up, because without this blog, I’d have to actually get back to work right now.

To read the thank you note from Paula (mom), check out the DeVine Wines Facebook page, I’ll post it there.

Game Night Tonight! Come down to the shop at 7PM and have a few drinks, some laughs, and lose to my team at Pictionary. I’m not trying to sound cocky, honestly. I’m only saying that because I’m amazing at every game ever, and there’s not even a word for how good I am at Pictionary. I would have to draw it for you and I don’t have time right now.

Try to make it on time because we’ve already got a pretty full guest list. Buy-In is a bottle of wine off our discount rack, and winner takes all (actually that’s a lie, I think we give second place a couple bottles too. Theoretically I could just go back and rewrite this paragraph, but that sounds like a lot of work and I’m on a roll).

This Week’s Tasting: This week, we’ll be tasting Cougar Crest Winery from Walla Walla. I’m told that Cougar Crest puts out a solid collection every year. We’ll taste their Viognier, which is Latin for “really good while wine”. This bottle won the white wine category for the DeVine Wine Club Member’s “March Madness” event, which I’m told didn’t involve Duke at all…so it’s got that goin’ for it.

We’ll also be checking out the Grenache Rosé (great for summer weather), Dedication Three Red (which donates all proceeds to Children’s Hospital in Portland, be sure to ask about that story, it’s really heartwarming), the Cabernet Franc and the Syrah. Come down Thursday from 5-8 or Saturday from 1-4.

Personally, I’ll be there Saturday because the Mill Creek Sidewalk Sale is going on, and that also means that the patio opens for the summer. Nothing I like more than sitting on the patio watching Hot Yoga let out across the street…sorry mom.

See you soon! As always, shoot me an email with any questions. Kevin@de-vinewines.com

Get on my level: Vino and Violins

You know what I do? I drink wine on islands in big classy white event tents with chandeliers while people play music and feed me various cheeses that I’ve never even heard of.

That’s right. Your boy is comin’ up in the world. I spent Saturday at the Bainbridge “Uncorked” event, rubbing elbows with only the highest-class debutant type…um…well okay as far as I can tell, mostly just a bunch of normal people who like wine and food. It was like finding out that the girl in high school who was too cool for you actually plays Madden and hates the Oklahoma City Thunder as much as you do. It was awesome.

I was expecting to have a lot of very serious wine buffs and get thoroughly bored and a little intimidated by guys in tweed jackets and ascots, but I didn’t. There were more t-shirts and flip flops than I expected, and hey, that’s just how the islanders do it I guess. I’m going to have to buy a place out there…wait, I’m going to have to make more money, THEN I’ll buy a place out there. That’s going to be awesome. Stay tuned for that…

Note to Self: Don’t say “Awesome” so much.

The turnout was huge, packing about 200 people in a tent roughly equipped for 75, but after talking to the staff, they just didn’t expect that many people to show up. Luckily, the sun was out and patrons were able to spill out onto the marina walkway, sippin’ their vino with sailboats in the background. It was a pretty great setting. I felt like I was at the Catalina Wine Mixer.

Contest: Become a fan on facebook and post the movie that features the Catalina Wine Mixer on our wall. First person to get it right wins an appetizer with their next purchase.

The benefit of such a large crowd is that no one had time to ask me what I thought of the pinot or what woodland flower’s aroma I could pick out of the merlot.

It meant I got to relax and actually enjoy the wine.

My favorite? The Valvano blend from Fletcher Bay Winery. This wine is a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet grapes. Mostly I liked it because the woman who was pouring for Fletcher Bay introduced it to me by saying “You’re gonna like this, but not as much as you would if you had some spicy Italian sausage with it.”

Which is true…that’s always true. I’m sold. Once I’d tried it, instead of asking “what notes of spring fruit did you notice?” she said “yeah…it’s good huh?”

Fletcher Bay also has a really cool-looking guest house and bed and breakfast. I’d recommend going tasting there on pure impression. They were a lot of fun and made me feel right at home. I’m sure she could whip you up some Italian sausage to go with your bottle of Valvano.

My other favorite would have to be Eleven Winery. Eleven Winery is named for a bicycling term. Eleventh gear is what you set when you’re trying to go “all out”…Their wine goes all out. I had the Malbec, and if it’s any indicator, the rest is really good too. Eleven can be found anytime at DeVine Wines. One of the coolest things is that even though they were swamped, the owner took the time to explain to me what the toasting process in an oak barrel can for some wines. He answered quickly, and after noticing my blank stare, held my hand and walked me through it like a small child.

There were six other Bainbridge wineries there, and I’m not going to list them…Mostly because I’m lazy. They were all great though so head back to their big weekend-long festival in the fall to try them all yourself! (okay fine, you can email me if you have any questions too Kevin@de-vinewines.com).

At the shop, I’m told the tasting went great. Hope you were able to make it down. If not; don’t fret. It happens again this week (noticing a trend?). I’ll see you there! Tomorrow night is game night. Come down and have a few glasses, embarrass yourself in Pictionary, and kiss my ring when I reign supreme champion.

NFL Draft Day Special! No, I’m kidding, it’s about wine

Editor’s Note: Kevin sent in his first draft and it was entirely about the Seahawks and the offensive line and secondary pick-ups they should make in tonight’s draft…we immediately made him re-write it. Here’s the revised copy. But still, go Hawks!

I’m jealous of you guys. And clearly it’s not because you’re so good-looking and charming. Let’s be honest: Have you met me? It’s ridiculous.

No, I’m jealous because you get to go to this week’s tasting. I’ll have to miss it because I’ll be out at Bainbridge Uncorked, sampling the seven little wineries that are located on the tiny island. From what I hear, there are some great places out there, and I’m really excited to check them out. I’ll make sure to let you know if I find anything great while I’m there.

While this should be a good time, I’m jealous (did I mention that?). You get to smell graham crackers and rhubarb. And that’s awesome. I love graham crackers.

The tasting this week is from Lodmell Cellars, and no joke, their 2006 Chardonnay has aromas of graham crackers and lemon-honey. Apparently it’s also ” finished with restrained nuances of oak” but I’m not on a level where I can say things like that without quoting someone.

And their 2008 Saignée really does have flavors of rhubarb and strawberry…it’s like a delicious pie in a bottle. Okay, I’ve never tried it, but I’d recommend bringing a scoop of vanilla ice cream to put in your glass. Sounds great right? Just bring enough to share with Gerry and Jim. Don’t be greedy with the ice cream guys.

They’ll also be tasting the 2006 Sublime, 2006 Syrah and 2005 Merlot. The latter two both have hints (*hints is a really trendy word to use with wine…you can also say things like “it snacks of currant”) of black pepper and dark cherries or plums.

If you can’t make it to the tasting (Thursday from 5-8 or Saturday from 1-4), there are some great events coming up:

April 28^th Game Night: That’s right, it’s back. This month we’re doing “Pictionary” and in case you were wondering, a station wagon is the hardest thing EVER to get your team to guess…but I owe a lot of credit for that to my sub-par teammates (just kidding guys…mostly. Come on, I drew that wood paneling perfectly!). This time I’ll be coming correct so you’d better bring A games. Buy in is a bottle of wine, and winner takes the pot.

Hint: It helps to have your roommates on different teams, because then, even when one of them wins, the wine still winds up in your kitchen.

May 5^th, Evening with the Winemaker: with Rob Mellison of Mellisoni Vineyards in Lake Chelan. Please check our website or call the shop for details. This is a good time to come meet the wine maker, so when you wind up in Chelan this summer, you have a friend to visit when the beer cooler gets emptied.

Our de Vine U class will be on May 12^th (this is a schedule change) and will be a lesson on “Wine Tasting”. This begins at 7 pm. Cost is $20 per person and includes materials and tasting.

On Saturday, May 1^st, the Mill Creek Garage Sale will be in full swing, and the Mill Creek Town Center is having a huge Sidewalk Sale. Come on down and check out the bargains, including the deals here at de Vine Wines! We also open our patio for the summer on May 1^st, so you will be able to sit and watch the shoppers while you sip on a great glass of wine!

I’ve always said, if there’s one thing a garage sale needs to make it more interesting, it’s wine. Now you will have an excuse for the Moose head and pool table that are in your garage, forcing your wife to park in the driveway in the rainiest city in the Continental US…it was the Merlot’s fault.

See you soon, and as always, any questions or things you’d like to read about or see in the shop, email me at Kevin@de-vinewines.com

Taxes are done, how did you celebrate? PS: Cristal is SO 2009

I’m a little late with the post this week, which is ironic since I FINALLY made it to the tasting on time. Sorry about the delay; my boss kept asking me to do things yesterday. It was so annoying.

Last week I went to the “tax relief tasting” which was designed to offer different wines that would go hand-in-hand with the type of return you walked away with. Categories ranged from “Yahoo, the IRS owes me a ton of money and I’m going to splurge” to the “Oh my God, I just gave the IRS my first born”.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have an “I claimed my new speed boat as a write off and my Starbucks barista as a dependent so now I’m praying that the IRS doesn’t actually look as they’re signing my check” category…so I had to make do with the other bottles, but I let it slide because they were pretty good.

We started off with a prosecco as a celebration, but I wrote plenty about prosecco for the Easter tasting so I won’t spend a lot of time on that, but I will let you know that after much debate, Jim and I decided that a mimosa is still technically a mimosa when using prosecco, and in fact, most do already. I don’t think I’ll ever be a huge fan of champagne or prosecco, but luckily you really only drink it at celebrations…well, and weddings.

….Are all the women making a disgusted face yet? Don’t worry; I’ll say something charming later to make up for it.

After the prosecco, we moved onto the Stillwater Creek Chardonnay from Saviah Cellars. I’m not too good at pulling out the flavors of a white wine yet, but Jim tells me this was an oaked Chardonnay. At some point I’ll have to side-by-side oaked and unoaked to figure out what the taste differences are. There was also a buttery aftertaste in this one, which reminded me of popcorn or butterscotch. It wasn’t too overpowering though and I ended up appreciating it more than I’ve ever appreciated a white wine.

I’d strongly recommend this wine if you’re like me: trying to get into wine-tasting and develop your palate (yup, I’m learning wine terms like “palate” and…okay that’s all I’ve got). It’s got a lot of strong flavors to pull from and you’ll finish the bottle feeling like you understood it better than most…okay if you finish the bottle, you really won’t feel a lot, so maybe you should share with someone.

Unfortunately, it was the “Yahoo, the IRS owes me a small nation” wine so it wasn’t in my price range…or was it!?!?!? Okay, overdid it on the punctuation, but for the “let’s splurge” bottle, it was a nice surprise to find out that it was only $26.

Next we moved onto the 2005 Saint Laurent Syrah, which was good. This wine had a lot of different fruity flavors to it, and I noticed cherry and apricot, which the Saint Laurent website confirmed. In all honesty, I was semi-bored by this wine. It had a drier finish and left me with an “alright what’s next” feeling, which doesn’t seem like the mentality they’re going for.

For a $20 bottle, it was good, but wouldn’t be my first choice. On a side note, I hear their 2005 Syrah Reserve is amazing.

Up next was a French Cotes Du Rhone from Perrin & Fils. I don’t feel like looking it up, but I’m pretty sure that “Cotes Du Rhone” roughly translates to “Some grapes and stuff” and Perrin & Fils are two types of French sandwiches that the owner really likes.

…okay apparently I’m not allowed to do that. “Cotes Du Rhone” is directly translated to “Banks of the Rhone” which is in reference to the Rhone River valley. This region is known for it’s blends involving red and rose Grenache, and this was a blend of Grenache and Syrah grapes. “Perrin & Fils” just means Perrin & Sons…which is a lot less cool than what I was thinking. Luckily the actual wine was awesome. This was one of my favorites. I can’t believe I’m about to use a cliché like this, but it was a deep, full-bodied wine that would be great with red meat. I’m pretty sure I’ll always like any wine that you can describe as “good with red meat”.

At only $15 a bottle, this Cotes Du Rhone is a great choice.

Finally, we got to the “IRS took everything” bottle. I was a little surprised that we went in reverse order, thinking that the cheaper bottles should go first because the “good” ones would dwarf them. This wasn’t at all the case. The Cotes Du Rhone and this final bottle were my favorites. This was a Cabernet Sauvignon from Argentina that only sells for $10 a bottle. It was great. Smooth and rich as the guy in the Dos Equis commercials, it tasted like it should be the expensive bottle of the bunch. I was a huge fan. All in all, I’d say it was a very sophisticated wine. Just kidding, calling a wine sophisticated still sounds stupid to me.

Next week I’ll be at “Bainbridge Uncorked”, checking out what the seven wineries on the little island have to offer. I hear good things. Let’s hope the weather holds up or my notes might be a little muddled.

Tax Relief Tasting! And an Alliteration comeback that will BLOW YOUR MIND!

Your taxes are due tomorrow. That means one of two things:

1. You’ll have something to celebrate.
2. You’ll have something to mourn.

Either way, it sounds like a great time to come have a glass of wine.

Okay can I be honest for a second? I feel bad…Please excuse the lazy lead-in: I know it’s about as original as a Nick Cannon movie, but cut me some slack, I have a meeting that starts in 15 minutes.

I’m told that there are some great wines this week. The focus of the Tax Relief Tasting will be “some wines that will not hurt your budget and stuff and some that will just be awesome to celebrate with” …or something more cleverly worded…

I’m really sorry; I’m preoccupied and my phrasing is lacking any creativity and alliteration. Maybe I’ll just wait to finish this until after my meeting…

…Okay I’m back.  The Tax Relief Tasting: “Wines that will wow and wines that won’t weaken your wallet” will focus on great wines to fit in any post-tax season budget.

Did you read that new description? Nailed it! I’m SO on my game right now!

Here’s the line up:

• For starters, we have some bubbly Prosecco to celebrate the fact that it’s done. Prosecco is one of two tastings that I’ve done so far, so I’ll be there with a smug look on my face…maybe a tweed jacket and trendy reading glasses.

After the Prosecco, there will be several other wines in different price categories to sample (don’t worry, the tasting will include them all, so even if the IRS left you penniless, you can live it up one more time):

• The “Yahoo! the IRS owes me a ton of money and I’m going to splurge” category will feature a taste of Saviah Cellars Stillwater Creek Chardonnay at $26.
• The “I did my taxes early because I get a refund this year” wine will be the excellent 2005 Saint Laurent Syrah at $20.
• The “OK I had to pay and I’m on a tight budget but I still want good wine” category will be graced by a great little French Cotes du Rhone (Grenache & Syrah) for $15.
• Finally, but most importantly to those of you in this predicament, the “Oh my God, I just gave the IRS everything I have” category, where we have a beautiful $10 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Argentina. This is smooth and rich and drinks like a $20 bottle. I’m assured It will put our other, highly sought-after $10 Cabernet (to remain nameless) to shame!

I’ll be there Thursday night (tasting runs from 5-8PM). Come down and have a glass with me! Most likely, I’ll finish my night by taking home a bottle of the “Oh my God, I just gave the IRS everything I have”…but I’ll see how my taxes go around midnight tonight.

Note: I wasn’t aware of this, and I ended up being a couple hours late last week, but on Saturday, the tastings runs from 1-4PM. The bar is open until 9, but the tasting ends at 4PM…4 o’clock…pacific standard time…Just to re-cap, the tasting ends at FOUR O’CLOCK PM.  This is important to remember, because if you show up late, your mom will mercilessly taunt you all night. Okay, she probably won’t, but mine might.

Hook & Ladder Tasting Notes…okay fine I missed the tasting

I learned a lot of things during Saturday’s tasting. Mainly, that with any glass of wine, you can sound smart by saying the following things:

• It has a very strong currant aftertaste (no one ACTUALLY knows what currants taste like).
• Wow! What a diverse palate! (if anyone argues, just roll your eyes and scoff like they’re missing some blatant aromas).

In all honesty, I missed the actual “tasting” on Saturday because I was playing basketball. It was a nice weekend, give me a break. I felt it was important to include a disclaimer here because when I showed up late, I was informed that I would be chastised by several readers who actually came. Still, I wandered in with a buddy about two hours after the tasting ended, and luckily they still had each variety.

Hook & Ladder Winery is located in Santa Rosa, California and was started by a firefighter and his wife. Why is this important? Because it’s awesome, that’s why. I’m not married, but I’ve seen a lot of sitcoms in my day, and almost none of the wives in those sitcoms would respond well if their husbands said “I’m gonna retire…let’s spend our savings and make some wine.” Claire Huxtable would be PISSED.

We started the tasting with the Chardonnay, which was good. I don’t know anything about white wines, but I liked it. We were able to pull out some of the flavors, one of which was actually listed in the tasting notes (I felt like I should win some kind of prize for guessing right). Butterscotch. It took me a few seconds to think logically, but then I asked “how can a wine have flavors of butterscotch? That’s not something you grow.” My secular knowledge of wine would suggest that the grape ONLY pulls its flavor from the earth around the vine. As usual, I was wrong.

Apparently, the wine-maker has a huge say in what the barrel-maker gives him/her to store his wine in. The level of toast on the oak barrel can greatly impact the flavor of a wine. In recent years, Chardonnay-makers had started to move away from oak barrels, but there’s resurgence among purists now.

“Why try to change it?” My mom rhetorically asked. “If you don’t want to oak flavors, don’t drink chardonnay. There are plenty of other wines that don’t use oak.”

Their grapes are all grown just north of Santa Rosa in the Russian River Valley, which gives them a really diverse assortment. One end of the valley is on the coast, which gives a wetter, cooler, foggy climate, and the other is a dryer, desert-like climate. The coastal grapes have a longer growing season and are allowed to fully ripen and develop deep, rich flavors (great for Pinot Noir…apparently).

I’ll buy this explanation, because even with my limited wine knowledge, I really liked and appreciated the Pinot. Most of the Pinots I’ve have before have a little bite to it; almost an acidic value. But the Hook & Ladder didn’t. It was deep and rich. It also left a taste of cherry with you. Which is good to know for cooking: If you get a really strong flavor like that, you’re usually safe to cook using that ingredient. This wine would go great with a cherry-glazed salmon or something along those lines.

Their blend, the “Tillerman’s Red”, was just as complex and very good as well. They combined Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Sangiovese grapes with Cabernet Sauvignon. When reading the notes, this wine had flavors of raspberry and “cherry-tobacco” which sounded unappealing to me. When I tasted it, I could easily pull out the cherry-tobacco flavor, but surprisingly, it was great! It wasn’t overpowering, but led to a really rich finish, and I would compare it closer to the smell of cherry-pipe tobacco before it is lit.

Finally we tasted their “Station 10 Zinfandel”, which had some blackberry, boysenberry and plum flavors. This wine apparently goes great with a barbecue, which I can see after tasting it, but it left me with a bitter taste…not the wine, that was really good., Just the fact that they’d recommend zinfandel instead of a beer for a barbecue. What have we come to America?

All the Hook & Ladder wines are sold for under $21, and of the ones I tasted, are all well-worth the price. Stay tuned to find out what this week’s tasting will be.

Tastings, Events and some really clever puns

Since my vino vocabulary is limited to what I learned in the movie “French Kiss” (don’t laugh, Kevin Klein was delightful), DeVine Wines has a lot of other events to help you keep your wine knowledge ripe (see what I did there? That was a pun…you’re welcome; feel free to use it with your friends).

Each week I’ll give you some quick details about what’s going on at the shop, and don’t forget to become a fan on Facebook because I’ll let you know if anything’s happening that night. Shameless plug: they have happy hour every night.

• This week’s tasting is from Hook & Ladder winery in Santa Rosa, California. We’ll be trying out their Chardonnay, Zinfendel and Tillerman’s Red. This label was started by a former San Francisco Firefighter and his wife, and everything we’ll be tasting sells for under $21. I’ll be there Thursday night, so come down and get some. Do it. The tasting will also be going on Saturday afternoon as well.

• Tomorrow is the first Wednesday of each month, and I’m told that means “DeVine U” is here. This is a class that they offer once a month, and focus on a different aspect of wine tasting or buying. This month’s class is called “Understanding Wine Labels” and it will help you avoid looking as clueless as me when you’re picking out a bottle of wine. They’ll focus on things like identifying what grapes are in a blend, where the wine is from, and some other stuff that I don’t have any clue how to tease because I don’t even know about. I’m going to try to be there, but you should either way. It’s only $20 a person for the class, and comes with a complimentary tasting.

• Last night was this month’s “Evening With The Winemaker” and featured wine from Sparkman Cellars in Woodinville. My mom (you probably know her as Paula) paired their Chardonnay with a roasted corn and chicken crepe with a smokey Gouda sauce. She used me and my brother as guinea pigs for this on Easter, and it was awesome. On an unrelated note, I spelled “Gouda” wrong about 14 times before I Googled it.

• The biggest hit of the night was the King Pin Cabernet, which she served with cabernet-brazed short ribs and gorgonzola polenta. There is only one case of this King Pin Cab left ANYWHERE and right now, it’s at DeVine Wines. It’s selling for $55 a bottle, so give the shop a call if you’d like to reserve a bottle.

Personal Note: this wine is called “King Pin Cab” so it’s probably the most baller thing you can have on your wine rack…if you’re over 35, replace the word “baller” in that sentence with either “boss” or “righteous” and it will make sense.

• Since I’m telling you about how great the food and wine was last night…which you missed out on…I suppose I should let you know that the next one is on May 5^th. It’s with a wine maker from Chelan who’s actually been a member of the DeVine Wines wine club since the shop first opened. Spaces fill up quickly for these events, so if that’s something you’re interested in, get a hold of Paula, Jim or Gerry.

Prosecco: TOTALLY not Champagne…I guess?

I had my first tasting this weekend, and it probably took longer to understand what I was drinking than it did to learn anything else about it…but I survived.

Being Easter weekend, we decided on a “champagne toast”, but we didn’t even drink champagne…apparently. Do you sense the skepticism? That’s because I think they were playing a trick on me. Not that I complained; my glass was full one way or another.

Instead of champagne, we drank something completely different called Prosecco, which, roughly translated, is Italian for “exactly the same thing as champagne.”

I believe the conversation as I was handed my first glass went something along these lines:

Kevin: Champagne?

Paula: No, this is Prosecco.

Kevin: What’s that?

Rich: Basically champagne.

Kevin: Why don’t they just call it that?

Paula: Because that’s not what it is.

Kevin: Huh?

Sound like an Abbot and Costello bit? A little…Am I too young to be making Abbot and Costello references? Maybe.

The Prosecco we had was Fantinel Prosecco, which I can safely say is the best (read: only) Prosecco I’ve ever had.  You can find it in stock at DeVine Wines for under $15.

Prosecco is an Italian version of sparkling white wine that is very similar to champagne, and has only recently become popular in the states as a substitute. According to my folks, Prosecco used to be a much sweeter sparkling wine, and was more closely related to Asti Spumanti than champagne, but the Prosecco wine-makers have really stepped up their production techniques in the last 20-years.

Prosecco, which is considered an inexpensive alternative to nicer bottles of champagne, is popular in Italy as a daily option. They even sell the cheaper brands in tall boy cans. It’s the Italian version of Miller High Life, which we all know is the champagne of beers.

Here in the states, we don’t exactly sell it on tap at a ball game, but Prosecco is just as easy to find as champagne. One thing I can say about it is that it was very dry, which I liked. It also seemed a little lighter than the champagne I’d had before, and I didn’t feel a sugar-style buzz like you can with champagne…although I’m not exactly comparing it to top shelf champagne either.

Which leads to the next thing I learned: Most of what you know as champagne isn’t actually champagne either. Apparently any sparkling white wine was allowed to slap a “champagne” label on it until recently, when the law was changed to only allow sparking white wines from the Champagne Region of France to be called this. However, there are a few select producers of champagne that AREN’T in the Champagne Region who are grandfathered in because a.) They use the three grapes that true champagne consists of (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier), and b.) They make some wicked awesome bottles of champagne (sorry guys, Cooke’s and Cold Duck…not on that list).

All in all: I liked it. Prosecco made a great breakfast drink…which is only okay because it was Easter, don’t make a habit out of that. Stick with your triple venti non-fat caramel macchiato.

I’ll be at De-Vine Wines Thursday night, trying out some wine maker’s creation, although I have no clue who it will be yet. I’ll post the details when it gets closer to Thursday.

Shoot me an email if you have any questions, or if there’s a specific tasting you’d like to suggest they offer at DeVine Wines: kevin@de-vinewines.com