Port, Cheese, and Chocolate Tasting

What a fantastic Port, Cheese, and Chocolate Tasting hosted on Thursday, Oct. 29th! Our good friend, and Kopke expert, Earl Cramer-Brown, was on hand to educate and talk about the oldest Port producer in Portugal, Kopke. 6 Ports were served - the Ruby, Tawny, 10-year, 1985 Cohleita, 1977 Cohleita, and a rare 1934 Dry White Port. Each of the ports were served with cheese or chocolate, paired to enhance both the cheese, chocolate, and port!

All the ports, cheeses, and chocolates were available, and are still, available for purchase! Stop in for more information. Join us for our next tasting on Thursday, Nov. 5th - Holiday Party Wines - with SPECIAL LIVE MUSIC from Portland French Troubadour, Eric John Kaiser.

Power Outage Doesn't Phase Cork Customers...

Last week the City of Sisters experienced a couple power outages during a pretty big wind and rain storm. Didn't seem like that big a deal...until the power went out...twice! The first time, around 3:30pm, it seemed the power wouldn't go back on at all! I almost considered shutting the shop down for the night. But, come 4:30pm the lights came back on and folks started showing up.

It was Thursday, as we were supposed to have a wine tasting event - BBQ wines. Well, I think the quirky weather held some people back. But those who showed got quite the tasting - and a fun evening! Come about 6pm the power went out again - but that didn't slow us down!

Food was consumed, wine was enjoyed - and I'm not sure anyone noticed the power was out! The windows provided enough light throughout the bar area - but I'll tell you, it was tough making up some platters in the kitchen - it was dark! The boys and gals (pic to right) enjoyed several bottles of great wine. The power finally came back on about 7pm - just in time for everyone to pay with their credit cards and head out for their evening. It was a fun and enjoyable night - if you didn't come out because of the power outage - well, don't let that dissuade you...we'll be there in light and in dark times!

Visit us this weekend in Sisters for the Rodeo! One of the greatest little rodeo shows in the West!

Mike Rocks the House

Mike Potter made another showing at Cork Cellars last Saturday night to play some great tunes. Acoustic guitar, Mike plays a variety of songs from original scores to old-time sing-along favorites.

Have you met Mike? A retail consultant with a passion for music. After a full life of work and family, Mike rediscovered his passion that began back at the age of 8, and began to play guitar again. This time, Mike decided to go all out - he's obtaining his masters in music on the guitar. Boy, did it show! He's a master behind the instrument, with lively finger work and a soft, easy voice. He engages the crowd - so before you know it, you're singing along to great old tunes.

Music at Cork Cellars for the spring, is coming to a close. There's just a couple more weeks to catch a band or vocalist, check out the website for all the upcoming events. And, if you loved the music this winter and spring - we'll get back to the live music once the weather has turned. But for now, come in and enjoy the summer weather on our outdoor patio with great wines and food. Cheers.

Enjoying Italian Wines

Mark and I got out last week, and what better way to enjoy some time out than to spend the evening drinking and eating Italian. Our great friend, Earl, hosted a wine dinner at Nick's Italian Cafe in downtown McMinneville. We sampled over 17 wines that just arrived in the US, for many of them, this is the first vintage ever to be sold here.

The evening started with several salami platters - Nick's cures many of its own salami's, and makes a killer bologna. After sampling and hearing about many of the wines, we ordered off the five course menu. Unable to control myself with the salamis, I decided against the full five courses and indulged in just a couple. I opted for an appetizer of mushrooms, asparagus and spinach, the slow roasted lamb for the main course, and an arugula salad to help cleanse the palate. What a meal! Of course, the wines were also exceptional.

For me, the biggest hit was a 2007 Scanavino Barbera D'Asti. Lovely and easy to drink, it was soft around the edges with a smooth finish (for such a young wine). Coming in around $15 retail - it definitely stole the show! Not forgetting that it's almost summer, we also sampled several whites, and found the Grottarosso Bianco Degli Scudi-Inzolia very nice. It had some lovely stone fruit notes without being overpowering, with a dry, classy finish.

We had a fantastic evening and would recommend visiting Nick's if you are in the area. They boast great pizza's for lunch, as well! As far as the wines, we picked up our favorites to feature at the shop. Look for the upcoming Italian wine tasting on our event web site, we'll get it scheduled as soon as the wines arrive! Cheers.

Getting out with Nora

It's amazing how fast time flies with a new one in tow. There's not much time outside of feedings and sleep schedules. But, I have managed to stay pretty much up to speed on the "goings on" of Cork Cellars, and have even been stopping by the shop with Nora to socialize and get out!

I've gradually gotten back into sampling wine and enjoying a glass every now and then - and have some new favorites I'd like to share. If you didn't get a chance to sample and/or have a glass of the Abeja Cabernet when it was on the glass list, I must say, you missed out! The new release, the 2006, was a little tight (though if you decant it or leave it open for a full day, it really opens up), and as it opened up in my glass, I reveled over the complexity of the Washington fruit. Layers of dark fruit and hints of chocolate. A little like mocha with tobacco notes hiding under the the layers. It's no secret that I've been a supporter of the Abeja wines since owning the shop - in fact - I have a library of the Abeja Cab's hiding in the wine refrigerator. So it's no surprise that this vintage is another stellar wine. There may be a couple more bottles on the shelf - it sells out fast, so stop in a grab it while it's there. Enjoy now - but if you have the patience, this wine excels with a few years in the cellar.

Another great afternoon at the shop, with my good friends Daly and her daughter Laney (Daly and her husband JT own Lutton's), I enjoyed a nice refreshing white wine, the Isenhower Snapdragon - a Roussanne/Viognier blend also from Washington. This wine screams summer with fresh apricot and peach aromas, floral notes, and a tiny hint of honeysuckle. It's about that time of year when new releases of white wines hit the market in time for the warm weather. Now we just need the warm weather.

Lastly, Nora and I took my sister (who now lives in Portland) out to wine country last weekend to enjoy some wine and meet up with old friends. The 2007 Pinot's being released are just outstanding - you really can't go wrong picking up ANY 2007. These wines are all ready to drink now - but again, a few years in the cellar and the wines will round out and mellow adding complexity. Our favorite stop, by far, was Scott Paul Winery (the picture is me, Nora, and Scott Wright of Scott Paul Winery) in Carlton. Scott's always been one of our favorites, and this year is no exception. The new release Martha Pierre - coming in at a very reasonable price, is lovely with nice complexity. The Le Paulee shows strong fruit characteristics with cherry and earthy notes. And, the flagship Audrey is out of this world! Every sniff, every taste - you can sense a new flavor and can't get enough. This wine is very limited - and I do happen to have a few bottles on the shelf. If you love Pinot Noir, this is the bottle to have!

That's it for now. Mark, Nora, and I are headed over to McMinneville tomorrow to attend a trade wine dinner featuring some newly imported Italian Wines. We'll report back with some new favorites and hopefully share them with you. Cheers.

Cork Cellars' Newest Addition

We're proud to announce the newest addition to the Cork Cellars Family, baby Nora Jeane Pelletier. Born March 14th at 2:39pm, Nora was 9lbs 2oz. and came in at a whopping 21.5 in long. Mark and I want to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone - all of you have been so grateful and encouraging!

Mama, Papa, and Baby Pelletier are all doing fine and resting at home. We haven't had a chance to celebrate yet - but plan on popping open a bottle of 1999 Vilmart & Cie Coeur de Cuvee Champagne to toast the healthy arrival of the new one.

We look forward to introducing Nora to you all when she's ready! In the mean time, take advantage of all the great happenings at Cork Cellars - maybe you'll catch us there soon.

I'll also be excited to hear who won the pool! Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive throughout the months - be sure to check and see if you've won the gift certificate to the spa...we'll be pouring you a glass of champagne to celebrate your correct guess! Cheers, Emily

TOTALLY TUESDAY's at Cork Cellars

We're with ya - as local business owners we understand the need to tighten up those straps as we all try and get through this tough economic time. But, we also realize that it's still important to get out every once in a while, socialize, laugh, and have a good time with friends and family. That's why, starting St. Patty's Day 2009 - Tuesday, March 17th, we're launching TOTALLY TUESDAY's.

Totally Tuesday is an expansion of our 10% Tuesday's - so, not only will our customers receive 10% off your purchase of 3 or more bottles of wine every Tuesday, but you can also sit down in our comfortable tasting bar and get ANY TIME OF THE DAY:

• $1 off your glass of wine
  
• $2 Mirror Pond and Bud Light bottles
• $1 off grilled paninis and decadent desserts

You read it right! It's a great deal on our already reasonable prices, so we encourage you to take advantage of it. We look forward to serving you!

A reminder about our wines by the glass list. Cork Cellars has a very unique business plan to encourage our customers to ALWAYS be trying new and exciting wines - from here and around the world. We STILL change our wines by the glass list every week, allowing you to come in and try a variety of wines, varietals, and producers, WITHOUT the big city prices. In fact, our wine list prices are really reasonable, considering the quality of wine and compared to places even around Central Oregon! Combine that with a friendly staff and a great selection of wines to take home, Cork Cellars is a great place to hang out, learn, and enjoy food & wine. That's our goal.

We look forward to seeing & serving you on Tuesday's for TOTALLY TUESDAY!

Discovering Italy: Cheese and Wine Tasting of Northern Italy

Our first attempt of a more "structured" wine event was scheduled Thursday, Feb. 19th. With our good friends, Juri and Kinley Sbandati, we featured a Northern Italian Wines and Cheeses tasting event. Juri, who is an Italian historian and personal chef from Florence, Italy, spent some time talking about the northern Italian regions and the cheeses you typically find there. Earl, our good friend and Italian wine guru, then spoke about wines and they are typically paired with the cheeses.

Here, Juri and I are discussing the evenings activities. We structured the event to have a 30 minute (or so - Juri got to talking so I think it went much longer than that) presentation about the cheeses. Guests were greeted with a glass of Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine that is common to hand out when a guests comes to your door) for the first part of the presentation.

Then, Juri started to "cut the cheese" (which, by the way, has no comical meaning in Italian - so Kinley had to explain to him why everyone laughed when I encouraged him to get "cutting"). His family has a rich history in the culinary field, and this great cutting board that is over 100 years old was passed down to him.

We had 5 different cheeses, and 4 different wines paired with each cheese. The information presented by Earl and Juri was fantastic - encouraging great questions and second tastings around. The group gave great vibes, and it was a fantastic evening of knowledge, food, and wine. For a full list of the wines and cheeses presented that evening, please feel free to stop in the shop and ask. We can set you up to have your own tasting! And, if you missed this great event and are interested in learning more, look for another planned event in the upcoming months. The event was so successful that we plan to move down the country and present wines and cheeses from Central Italy next!

More Music at the Wine Shop

Each Sat. night we feature a local music artist - and we couldn't be MORE happy with the quality, sound, and excitement from these live music nights. It's a great venue to come and listen, a relaxing atmosphere, always great wines by the glass, and great food to consume.

Feb. 21st was the first appearance of NTT ("entity") at our place, and it was a HIT! Kevin and Deb played an array of music that hit home for everyone there. The combination of musical instruments, the classic vocals, it all added up to a great night of music. They are playing again on March 28th. If you missed the first show - make it to this one, it's fantastic!

On Feb. 28th, Willie Carmichael ROCKED the house - again - with his original music and special guests. No doubt, if you made this show, you know why he is so popular! Standing room only, I didn't have much room to move around, but the folks didn't seem to mind. And, not only is Willie one of our favorite artists to play - he is SO generous, he came with loads of his current CD and passed them out to ALL the party goers as a thank you for coming! Now, he's a busy man and he's not planning on coming back to play until Friday, April 17th. Put that on your calendar - it's the My Own Two Hands Art Stroll, and Sisters will be hopping with live music, lots of art, wine, and food. We will see you then.

Live music is planned through the end of April. Check out our website for the next event!