Half Price Wine Bottles at Clyde's
February 23, 2009The recent Monday holiday gave me a day to check out some local wine bars and restaurants. I went with my friend Lucas to Clyde's Restaurant at Tower Oaks. We sat down in the bar area and were quicky informed that bottles of wine were half price all day long. Yes, ALL DAY LONG. Clyde's has a carefully chosen wine list with whites and reds that are arranged by body style, starting with light body and moving toward fuller body wines. Additionally, they have very reasonable prices with the average bottle price ranging between $30 and $40. So divide that in half and you have extremely affordable prices.
Our waitress was great and the decor of the restaurant is styled as a lodge in the Adirondack Mountains. It is very cozy and inviting. The food was good and they have inexpensive happy hour food options in the early evening.
There are a few expensive wines on the wine list that are exempted from the half price special, but the waitress made that clear up front and these wines are separated on the menu. If you have an opportunity, check out Clyde's at Tower Oaks on a Monday. We had a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon and evening without spending much money at all.
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Thirsty Thursday - Doukenie 2006 Cabernet Franc
February 19, 2009I recently had the opportunity to share in a bottle of the Doukenie Winery 2006 Cabernet Franc with a friend I had not seen in a while. While the evening with the friend was undoubtedly better than the wine, this is a decent local red wine.
The Cabernent Franc was a medium ruby color and had a clean appearance. On the nose it smelled of red fruit. On the palate it was the same. Clean, pleasant red fruit, not much by way of complexity. It is 13.5% alcohol by volume. While it has a pleasant taste, it is a bit thin. It would make for a good Wednesday night pizza wine. But for $21 a bottle I was hoping for a bit more.
I know a couple of people that are "Heritage Club" members at Doukenie and really enjoy the wine. I think the growing reputation of this winery is worth the trip out to the Leesburg area to check out the property and the rest of their wines.
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Thirsty Thursday - Solomons Island Blackraspberry Merlot
February 12, 2009Solomons Island Winery, located in southern Calvert County Maryland makes two lines of wine. The first set of wines are designated as premium wines. The second set falls under the category of Solomons Island Mist. These are semi-sweet wines designed to be light and fruity. The Blackraspberry Merlot falls into this Mist category.
Let me begin by saying that this wine is not the style of wine generally considered to be a quality wine. It is a combination of Merlot and blackraspberry flavoring with 6.5% alcohol by volume. It has a light ruby appearance and not much aroma. It tastes like juice. The flavors are primarily raspberry and cranberry. This beverage in no way resembles wine as I generally know it.
That being said, my experience pouring wine at both a winery and at wine festivals has shown me that there is a huge market for this type of product. Countless people, especially those that patronize local Maryland wineries, look for and enjoy sweeter wines and do not like dry wines. This beverage is right up their alley. It is light, fruity, and sweet. While I do not like these types of wines and find that they are really more juice than wine, there are plenty of people that do like this style and who am I to tell them that they cannot drink what they like? Solomons Island Winery makes 6 different Mist series wines. Many would argue that this style of wine is part of the reason that the local wine industry is not taken seriously by wine connoisseurs. However, wineries are in the business of making money and wine like this is purchased widely across the state. I am interested in trying one of the Premium wines from Solomons Island, but I am discouraged by the Blackberry Merlot.
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Support Maryland Direct Wine Shipping Legislation!
February 8, 2009Below is a reproduction of an email that I received as a subscriber to "Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws." Please contact your representatives and demand that Maryland laws change to allow for direct wine shipping. Another reference site is www.freethegrapes.org where you can register to have your State representatives contacted on this important issue.
The Maryland State Senate will be holding a committee hearing on Wednesday, February 18th to consider legislation that would allow Maryland consumers to receive wine shipped directly to them from wineries or retailers. If this issue is of concern to you, please contact your General Assembly representatives to let them know you want their support. You can read the full text of the bill at the following URL: http://mlis.state.md.us/2009rs/bills/sb/sb0338f.pdf. Below is a sample email that you can send to your senators and a list of them with their email addresses. The hearing details are as follows:
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
1PM
MD Senate Education Health and Environmental Affairs Committee
2 West, Miller Senate Building
11 Bladen St
Annapolis, MD 21401
Sample Email
Subject: Support SB338 Direct Wine Shipment Legislation
Dear Senator _____:
I am a Maryland consumer and interested in seeing passage of direct wine shipment legislation (SB338) in our state. I am shocked that we are not able to receive wine delivered directly to our door in an era when everything else can be. Given the size of the state budget deficit, I am sure you and your fellow senators are looking for additional revenue as hard as you can. So many other states are already collecting millions of dollars of additional permit fee income and tax revenue due to direct shipment in their states, and Maryland should have its fair share of that money. Passage of SB338 benefits consumers, retailers, Maryland wineries, and it will provide more tax revenue for our state. Please let me know that we can count on your support.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your Address
Senators
Astle, John C. (D), District 30 john.astle@senate.state.md.us
Brinkley, David R. (R), District 4 david.brinkley@senate.state.md.us
Brochin, James (D), District 42 jim.brochin@senate.state.md.us
Colburn, Richard F. (R), District 37 richard.colburn@senate.state.md.us
Conway, Joan Carter (D), District 43 joan.carter.conway@senate.state.md.us
Currie, Ulysses (D), District 25 ulysses.currie@senate.state.md.us
DeGrange, James E., Sr. (D) District 32 james.degrange@senate.state.md.us
Della, George W., Jr. (D), District 46 george.della@senate.state.md.us
Dyson, Roy P. (D), District 29 roy.dyson@senate.state.md.us
Edwards, George C. (R), District 1 george.edwards@senate.state.md.us
Exum, Nathaniel (D), District 24 nathaniel.exum@senate.state.md.us
Forehand, Jennie M. (D), District 17 jennie.forehand@senate.state.md.us
Frosh, Brian E. (D), District 16 brian.frosh@senate.state.md.us
Garagiola, Robert J. (D), District 15 rob.garagiola@senate.state.md.us
Gladden, Lisa A. (D), District 41 lisa.gladden@senate.state.md.us
Glassman, Barry (R), District 35 barry.glassman@senate.state.md.us
Greenip, Janet (R), District 33 janet.greenip@senate.state.md.us
Haines, Larry E. (R), District 5 larry.haines@senate.state.md.us
Harrington, David C. (D), District 47 david.harrington@senate.state.md.us
Harris, Andrew P. (R), District 7 andrew.harris@senate.state.md.us
Jacobs, Nancy (R), District 34 nancy.jacobs@senate.state.md.us
Jones, Verna L. (D), District 44 verna.jones@senate.state.md.us
Kasemeyer, Edward J. (D), District 12 edward.kasemeyer@senate.state.md.us
Kelley, Delores G. (D), District 10 delores.kelley@senate.state.md.us
King, Nancy J. (D), District 39 nancy.king@senate.state.md.us
Kittleman, Allan H. (R), District 7 allan.kittleman@senate.state.md.us
Klausmeier, Katherine A. (D), District 8 katherine.klausmeier@senate.state.md.us
Kramer, Rona E. (D), District 14 rona.kramer@senate.state.md.us
Lennett, Michael G. (D), District 19 mike.lenett@senate.state.md.us
Madaleno, Richard Stuart, Jr. (D), District 18 richard.madaleno@senate.state.md.us
McFadden, Nathaniel J. (D), District 45 nathaniel.mcfadden@senate.state.md.us
Middleton, Thomas M. (D), District 28 thomas.mclain.middleton@senate.state.md.us
Miller, Thomas V. Mike, Jr. (D), District 27 thomas.v.mike.miller@senate.state.md.us
Mooney, Alex X. (R), District 3 alex.mooney@senate.state.md.us
Munson, Donald F. (R), District 2 donald.munson@senate.state.md.us
Muse, C. Anthony (D), District 26 anthony.muse@senate.state.md.us
Peters, Douglas J.J. (D), District 23 douglas.peters@senate.state.md.us
Pinsky, Paul G. (D), District 22 paul.pinsky@senate.state.md.us
Pipkin, E.J. (R), District 36 ej.pipkin@senate.state.md.us
Pugh, Catherine (D), District 40 catherine.pugh@senate.state.md.us
Raskin, Jamin B. (D), District 20 jamie.raskin@senate.state.md.us
Robey, James N. (D), District 13 james.robey@senate.state.md.us
Rosapepe, James C. (D), District 21 jim.rosapepe@senate.state.md.us
Simonaire, Bryan W. (R), District 31 bryan.simonaire@senate.state.md.us
Stoltzfus, J. Lowell (R), District 31 lowell.stoltzfus@senate.state.md.us
Stone, Norman R., Jr. (D), District 6 norman.stone@senate.state.md.us
Zirkin, Robert A. (D), District 11 bobby.zirkin@senate.state.md.us
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Ries Photography at the Virginia Wine Showcase this weekend
February 6, 2009Heading out to the Dulles Expo Center this weekend for the 2nd Annual Virginia Wine Showcase? Please stop by and visit Ries Photography, an exhibitor at the Showcase. In addition to being a great photographer, Mary Ries is my cousin and a big supporter of Grape Leaves Online. So grab a taste of your favorite wine and take a look at some of the fantastic photography! For more details on the Virginia Wine Showcase, please visit http://www.vawineshowcase.org/ See you there!
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Thirsty Thursday - St. Michaels Winery Chocolate Zinfandel
February 5, 2009With Valentine's Day right around the corner and people scrambling to either impress their mate or drown their single sorrows, everybody wants to find the right beverage for next Saturday evening. Let me suggest the Chocolate Zinfandel from St. Michaels Winery in Saint Michaels, Maryland. And for this holiday occasion I enlisted special tasters to give me their thoughts on the dessert wine from the eastern shore.
Liz: "Oooohh, this makes me want a chocolate covered strawberry!'
Suzanne: Liked the chocolate, thought it tasted "thick" but in a good way.
Sharon: You can definitely tell that it is chocolate. Good for Valentine's Day, but you can't have more than a small glass.
Rebecca: The smell is nice and "chocolatey" and makes you want to drink it. Has a thickness to it and makes an excellent dessert wine.
Me: They all hit the nail on the head. This wine is exactly what it claims to be - red zinfandel aged in oak barrels mixed with actual chocolate. And chocolate is what you get. In fact, on the nose, all you can smell is the chocolate. There is a small hint of strawberry or raspberry, but mostly it is chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. As for the taste, it is a bit weird at first. The oaked fruit mixes oddly with the chocolate initially, but after a few sips it works. Sharon was right on that you cannot have more than a small glass. It is sweet but not syrupy. However, a small glass with chocolate covered strawberries will be the perfect finish to your Valentine's Day - celebration or anti-celebration.
This bottle of wine retails for about $22 and is available at multiple locations around the state. I purchased mine at Frederick Wine House in Frederick, Maryland. It flies off the shelf, so make sure to get your bottle before cupid beats you to it!
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