Your Thoughts on Washington Cabs…

I want to know what everyone thinks about Washington State Cabs.  If you have recently asked me to recommend a Cab, you more than likely heard me mention how I think WA Cabs outshine CA cabs and how they will some day get more attention than their CA counterparts.  I still believe it to be true, but before I go forward in my plans to expand our WA cabs and cut back on our CA cabs, I want to know what everyone else thinks.

Please feel free to argue and fight for either side.  There are great points for both sides and, believe me, I have heard them all, but I never hear it from our customers.  I know of a few customers that support me and want to see more WA cabs in our store. I also know that there are a few that would love nothing more than to see more CA cabs in our store, especially rare ones.  But unfortunately we do not have ever growing floor space that allows for expansion of all sections, so we have to make decisions about where our store is going and how we are going to get there.  Who better to tell us than our customers!  You know what you like and what wines you would like to see in our store, so please let us know what you think and what our next step should be.

Nic C

Kilchoman – hosted by John MacLellan

John MacLellan – a native of the island of Islay, one of the premier areas of production of Scotch Whisky, will be hosting a special showing of Kilchoman Scotch.  John has been with Kilchoman Distillery for 2 years, following 21 years at Bunnahabhain Distillery.

We are very pleased to have him showing a top shelf scotch at Colonial Spirits.  Please join us for a sampling and unique learning opportunity.

2012: The End of the World

The Mayans predict that the world will come to an end in 2012. At Colonial Spirits, we thought this would be a great time to discuss what drink we’d want to go out with. In this video, Nicolay, Nic, and Tim tell us what they’d be sipping on that final day. Nicolay would enjoy a Champagne. Nic opts for a Riesling. And Tim chooses an India Pale Ale.

Please let us know what would be your last drink, too!

 

Big publicity, little liquidity…

I love drinking beer.  I also love being a purveyor of beer.  There are so many enthusiasts out there who I have been pleased to meet and talk beer with.  Finding great beer and getting it to these people is a lot of fun.

A recent trend in the beer market is one that marketing professionals have been studying for years – developing demand for a product that is so intense that everything produced is immediately consumed yet consumers regard the product as highly as ever and demand remains at its peak.  It is a delicate supply line to walk.  Just how many consumers should be lucky enough to get this golden nugget before so many have had it that its glitter begins to fade?

In the beer world, the answer seems to be, very few. Continue reading Big publicity, little liquidity…

A little German

Most of you know me as an advocate for the wines of Alsace when it comes to riesling, but even I have to admit that Germany produces some stunning rieslings.  Germany has recently been blessed with a string of good vintages, it seems that year after year German vintners are having great success in making consistently good wines worthy of aging.  Rieslings can range from dry to gently sweet to really sweet, from the Mosel, the Rheinhessen, and the Pfalz, all of good to great quality and affordable.  In fact, the Germans themselves drink mostly dry wines.  Rieslings can also age extremely well (white Burgundy aren’t the only ones that have that ability) and can pair well with a number of different dishes (not just the usual pork, seafood, poultry, etc…).

Many consumers find it difficult though to understand what style of riesling they’ll find when they pick up a bottle of German riesling.  With this in mind, I thought I’d take the opportunity to run through some basics on German wines, particularly what’s on the labels.

To help you with some German, here’s a basic sweetness/richness guide for German wines… Continue reading A little German