And the “Count the Corks” Contest Rolls On…

Hey!

If you’re not familiar with the contest, here’s the link…

And the next merchant/contributor to add to the plethora of prizes is none other than the Harwich Junior Theater… Their Broadway musical production is, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” opening March 19, and there’s a gift certificate for two just waiting for a winner. (Twixt you and I and the lamp post, win or lose, the HJT is a national treasure, just like the Tyrone… So whatever… Get your tail section over to that theater and take part in living history…)

Anywho… This is just a two cats’ update…

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Wine Glossaries

* Nat Decants: A thorough glossary from Natalie MacLean, noted wine writer, speaker, and judge.
* eRobertParker.com: “The Independent Consumer’s Guide to Fine Wines”
* GLOSSARY of Wine-Tasting Terminology (Version 1.4 – Jan. 1995): A thorough collection of definitions from Anthony Hawkins.

Beer Glossaries

* ratebeer: Now that’s a straightforward name!
* beer-pages: Roger Protz and Tom Cannavan say that “it’s all about beer”.
* alphaDictionary.com: A fine collection of Beer dictionaries.

A Tale of Two Thermometers… Oh the Horror…

Deep sigh…

Now take a look at that… Do you have any idea how much cats hate cold weather? Here we are, just two feline stuck in Harwich Spirits Shoppe on Cape Cod… I mean really…

Juxtapose that barbarism with the following reading from Florida just a day or so earlier…

Calm down… We’re not going to disclose who sent that latter image, but we know who you are. (Why does the fictional Cary Grant expression, “Juday, Juday, Juday” come to mind?)

Anywho… Lately it’s been cold enough to freeze the… Ummm… Errr… Well, let’s just shift gears  and remind you that we’ve got the Ridiculous Sale/”Count the Corks Contest” honking right along! Come on in and enter the contest or forever be shunned by decent society.  (Was that too harsh Bruce?)

And one final thought… Has anyone figured out how Da Gizz is actually going to count the corks? After all, they’re stuffed chock-a-block into that carboy. Now, if the bottle is plastic, it can be cut open with a sawzall, skilsaw, a chain saw, etc. But suppose it’s glass? And once the corks are finally free from their bondage, who’s really going to do the counting? (Don’t look at us… Our dew claws get in the way every time.) Why do I have a bad feeling about all this?

See you by the racks,

Two cats blogging

P.S. Since we started this post the temp has gone up from 28 to 39 and it’s raining turning all that snow into all that slush… Welcome back “Juday, Juday, Juday“!

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Wine Glossaries

* Nat Decants: A thorough glossary from Natalie MacLean, noted wine writer, speaker, and judge.
* eRobertParker.com: “The Independent Consumer’s Guide to Fine Wines”
* GLOSSARY of Wine-Tasting Terminology (Version 1.4 – Jan. 1995): A thorough collection of definitions from Anthony Hawkins.

Beer Glossaries

* ratebeer: Now that’s a straightforward name!
* beer-pages: Roger Protz and Tom Cannavan say that “it’s all about beer”.
* alphaDictionary.com: A fine collection of Beer dictionaries.

Young Wine, Old Wine, and the Cork

When pouring any wine it is important to know what the category is.  Is it a young wine?  If it is, it does not need any special attention, but if it is older, then care should be used when pouring.  Sediment, the natural throwing of grape particles, gets trapped in the part of the bottle called the punt.  The punt is the indent at the bottom of the vessel.

Take a close look, hold the bottle up to a light bulb, all the while not jostling the wine.  Can you see any sediment?  If you do, then this is when the lesson is learned.  The punt creates a natural “corner” for the sediment to get trapped in.  Pour the wine slowly then upright the bottle just as gently.  This way the sediment will not be re-suspended into the wine.  (It is not harmful but will not add to the clarity of the wine or to the distinct flavors.)

I mentioned earlier about the condition of the cork.  A perfect cork will add not a bit of taste to the wine, but a stained cork or a cork in some level of deterioration could be detrimental to the taste.  From my discussions with winemakers, vineyard owners and also marketing people, they know that about 3% of today’s corks are inferior in some way but they can not tell before use.  This has led many wineries back to “screw” tops.  “HOW COULD THEY” you ask?

Well, It is a proven fact the seal is better, that simple. If a new customer to a winery happened to get a wine with a tainted cork, they would probably, unknowingly, think the winery makes crap wine all the time and never buy another bottle from that winery.  Even worse, what if that person tells all their friends about this encounter.  Products can’t accept this negative yet manageable occurrence..

The past two decades have seen development by the braver Vineyards in new packaging, not just screw tops but also alternate packaging like different size “bag in the box” or green types of containers.

More later.

Bruce Wm Gibson, Proprietor
The Harwich Spirits Shoppe