If you've ever made the road trip to Napa, you know that the drive is a nice one with scenery that is nothing if not picturesque.  We will be sure to post pictures of our trip including the vineyards and wineries that we visit. As an aside, we are very familiar with the area and wineries - if you are planning a visit and would like a little advice on what to see or where to go, let us know.  We'd be happy to provide our insight and help you plan your trip.

Stay tuned for a few new wines coming soon to a bottle near you.

Cheers!

- BXV

Got a question or comment for the winemaker - emailinfo@fiftybarrels.com

Speaking of wine, I've got some really great news about our wine clubs.  We are making two really big changes - the first is with our Founding 100 Wine Club.  We are opening a few spots in our Founding 100 Club and beginning next week we will be opening those slots to the public. There will be a small buy in fee, after which you can enjoy a lifetime membership in the Founding 100.  The price for the Founding 100 stays the same for the life of the membership, regardless of when wine prices and other club prices increase.

The second change is with the wine club prices - The Founding 100 Club will now be a flat fee of $35 (tax included) and the 1st Barrel Club will be a flat fee of $40 (tax included).  The discounts remain the same, 20% off all wine and glass purchases for Founding 100 and 15% off all wine and glass purchases for 1st Barrel Club. Please note: shipping is not included in these prices.

Happy Wine Drinking!

• Non-Vintage Lucien Albrecht Cremant d'Alsace (sparkling rose from Alsace): out of northern France - so yummy!
•  2011 Chateau de Campuget (Rhone rose): so lean, crisp with fruit all at once - a perfect poolside treat!
• 2010 Cave de Pomerol "Picpoul de Pinet" (Couteaux du Languedoc): pear, peach, and a flinty clean taste; perfect with some light seafood (scallops)!
• 2005 Henri Delagrange Volnay (Clos des Chenes 1er Cru): from Burgundy, France. Oh so good - earthy and fruity at the same time; good backbone to go with a lot of foods (pinot noir)
• 1999 Chateaux Monbousquet (St. Emilion): from Bordeaux, 60% Merlot, 30% Cab Franc, 10% Cab Sauvignon. Unbelievable to me. Solid entry and absolutely the bottle of the night! Big wine with leather, soy, tannins, and enough red fruit to stand up to the earthy qualities!  (Side note from Denise - I did not approve this one being removed from our private cellar and served! ;-) )

Anyway - I can't promise a lineup this good all the time but I will give it a shot. These wines were all unbelievable and really represented their regions with grace and dignity - well done!

We've got another awesome lineup in the near future with our upcoming Cinco de Mayo event - beers and grilling! Chuck McLaughlin is a local brewer getting some traction and we are a big fan of his endeavors. We wanted to partner with him to showcase some of his latest creations and do justice to Cinco de Mayo. 

We first met Chuck through his brother Stephan who recently did a custom barrel of wine with us. Chuck brought some beer for us to try...and being a self admitted "ferment-ofile" (my own word - soon to be trademarked), I love fermented beverages in nearly any form - its history, regional influences, food pairings, and of course - taste! It's one of the main reasons I got into wine. Beer is obviously a huge part of this journey and I was extremely impressed with Chuck's products. Extremely impressed! He has an IPA that's both bitter and creamy at the same time and it just melts across your palate and goes down so easy...the best of both worlds! We are pairing some of these beers up with some of our favorite Cinco de Mayo foods and a fresh salsa bar. Each of his beers are going to be paired up with some homemade items such as grilled quesadillas, ceviche, fajitas, etc. It's going to be a great time to catch up with some old friends, meet some new ones, and taste some dry hopped chiles in your beer! (It's so good and not hot like you'd think!) 

It's all going down on May 5th - we've got limited spaces available so let Denise know if you are coming by and bringing a few friends. Get your celebrations off to a good start with Chuck's brews and the rest of us here at Fifty Barrels. 

See you around the wine bottle!

 - BW  

Got a question or comment for the Cellar Master? Emailinfo@fiftybarrels.com

One of the biggest benefits to being single is the opportunity to go try just about anything.  I had the chance to try speed dating this month and even though I had no idea what to expect, it ended up being really interesting, fun and a ton of laughs.  Though I didn't personally meet anyone, a friend of mine met a couple women he was interested in. After the event when I was asked if I'd do it again, my answer was definitely.

Some of you are probably hesitant about the idea, but look at it this way - worst case scenario, you meet 12 new people and have a few laughs. 

If you are willing to give it a shot, I have a few recommendations:

1. Go with a friend - you will feel more comfortable and it gives you someone to talk to or make faces at from across the room if need be.
2.  Grab a shot at the bar beforehand to loosen up and a glass of wine to drink for the duration - they don't call it liquid courage for nothin'. 
3. Be open-minded. Even if you know immediately you aren't (sexually) interested or don't want to get to know them better - don't worry about it, you'll be on to the next person in a few minutes. Have fun with it, sit back have another sip of your wine, talk about yourself, make some jokes, and get ready to move on to the next victim. 

When it's all done hit the bar again or grab some food with your friend - maybe some new friends will join you as well.  You'll get your results (if the people you picked also picked you) the next day and even if you didn't meet anyone at least you made the most of it and had a good time. 

The key to this, and everything you do, is to go in with no expectations; enjoy being single and having the opportunity to meet new people.  You will probably meet some crazy people, but what else is new? You run into them everywhere anyways, at least in this situation you only have to deal with them for 5 minutes and you have wine to get you through it.

Drink Up!

 - Joe

Got a question or comment for our single guy? Send it in -Joe@FiftyBarrels.com

Cheers!

- BXV

Got a question or comment for the winemaker - emailinfo@fiftybarrels.com

See you around the wine bottle!

 - BW  

Got a question or comment for the Cellar Master? Emailinfo@fiftybarrels.com

Coming up in April we have our 'really-big, cooly-awesome, right-brain-using, creative-commercial/testimonial' contest on the 6th.  And we've changed it just a bit because none of you winos seem to be all that eager to participate. (Is it cause you're camera shy? You can tell us, we won't judge!)  So, we are now including brief web /phone cam testimonials that include a little something about how you feel about us and our wines.  We'd still like to have it submitted by Saturday, March 31, and we'll screen it on April 6, where the winner will be chosen by anonymous, majority vote.  And, did we mention that the winner receives a one-year subscription to our wine club and all the benefits it includes???!!!  So, basically, you drink some wine in the comfort of your own home, start feeling a little relaxed and loose, then you just record yourself saying something really nice about us.  If everyone loves it, you win a year in the wine club. See how easy that is? And you'll have fun doing it, I promise!

On Saturday, April 7 we have the second class in our Wine 101 series which covers as much of France as we can, including: Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire, and Provence - regions, production, maps, and labels. Just like before, the class includes an informational booklet and wine samples. Yum!

And, in case you haven't heard, we've extended our hours and are now open Thursdays 3-8, Fridays 3-9, Saturdays 12-5, and Sundays 12-4. The last two weeks we've been open Sundays from 10-2, but we've decided to change it to 12-4 just to shake things up a bit. And, to make it easier to remember. And, so I can sleep in just a little bit. :-) 

Happy Wine Drinking!

Well after hearing this a few times we decided to get our friends together with your friends and throw the first ever Singles Night at Fifty Barrels.  This is going to be a fun night with light appetizers and an opportunity to meet new and fun people who also like wine.  Unlike most singles events this is free and open to anyone 21+.

To My Married & Dating Friends:

You are probably reading this thinking 'oh, it doesn't apply since I'm married'. But you're wrong. I'm sure you have a friend or relative that suffers from this great problem of Single Totally Unaware of How to Meet People Disease (STUMPD).  It is time for you, as their friend, to step up and help your single friends and family members find a solution to this growing epidemic.  Here's the cure: drag them out to the winery for some fun on singles night, drop them off, and then go out for dinner or drinks with your significant other and get your weekend started.

To My Single Friends:
Here's the truth we really don't need our married friends to help us, but they like to feel important, so lets give them that warm and fuzzy feeling they get when they think they are helping us out.  Truth is, as singles any opportunity to meet new people should be welcome and taken advantage of.  So get off your butts come out to the winery and meet some new people before going out for the night.  Bring other single friends with you and who knows, maybe you'll meet someone special.  More importantly, I can guarantee you will have a good time, enjoy some good wine, and spend a fun evening with some new people  Isn't that all that really matters?

Drink Up!

 - Joe

Got a question or comment for our single guy? Send it in -Joe@FiftyBarrels.com