All posts by Jen

New Slovenian Rosé Alert: Gönc Cuvee Anna

GÖNC CUVEE ANNA ROSÉ | 2018 | $20.99 

We’re crushing on a newly-landed rosé from Slovenia! Named after the winemaker’s grandmother, Cuvee Anna is ripe with aromas of wild berries, strawberries, melons and peaches. On the palate, it’s bright and fruity with a lively, refreshing finish.  We had it on a recent warm day with some grilled chicken and a goat cheese salad and it was *perfect*

Gonc Cuvee Anna rose wine bottle

Blend: 50% Žametna črnina, 20% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Grigio, 10% Blaufrankisch (Fun fact: Žametna črnina is the oldest-known grape varietal in the world (at 375-400 years old) and it’s traditionally planted in Slovenia). Aged for 3 months on fine lees.

You’re probably not familiar with the varietal that makes up the majority of the wine but don’t let that deter you – this is a Provence-style rosé that will make you wonder how it’s not from Provence!

This wine is produced in small quantities and not a lot makes it to us in Vermont, so pick up a few and stash them for those hot days (they’re coming, we promise).

ABOUT GÖNC WINERY

Gönc is a family tradition going back to the year 1936, when winemaker Peter Gene’s great grandfather built a wine cellar and planted a vineyard around it in the small town of Dobrovnik in Slovenia. After World War II, Peter’s grandfather moved to the city of Ptuj and started working in the Ptujska Klet winery as a cellar cleaner. He worked his way up to head winemaker and CEO of the oldest winery in Slovenia (now know as Pullus).

Peter’s father worked at the same winery but on the side, he planted 24 acres of vineyards in Dobrovnik to keep up the family tradition (they now have 28 acres total). When Peter came of age they built a new cellar in Ptuj and started Gönc again. Peter is the 4th generation of winemakers and winegrowers in the family.

Learn more at: http://www.gonc.si/

Putney Mountain Spirits Liqueur Tasting | Fri 4/5 4-6pm

Putney Mountain Spirits grew out of a creative impulse to make superlative spirits, worthy of devotion by the most discerning palates. Putney Spirits reflect the same style and exacting attention to flavor as Putney Mountain Wines. They are achieved in small batches by enlisting the best, freshest and most local ingredients. Along with the finest ingredients comes the magic in the distillery, making their products a brilliant success with consumers, restauranteurs and mixologists.

On Friday April 5th, swing by the Bevie from 4:00 – 6:00 pm to try the lovely lineup of Putney Spirits:

PUTNEY SIMPLY MAPLE 

Simply Maple liqueur embodies two signature Vermont ingredients: pure Vermont Maple Syrup and Vermont apple brandy. Beginning with a whiff of apple, the experience blossoms into the full rich flavor of Vermont’s medium amber maple syrup and is followed by a lingering maple/apple finish with a warm brandy glow. It captures the quintessential Vermont taste.

PUTNEY VERMONT CASSIS

Vermont Cassis liqueur is a richly flavorful and aromatic spirit that is both tart and sweet. Its unique blend of fresh black currants, blueberries and raspberries creates a complexity, richness and extraordinary aroma. Crafted from a luxurious blend of locally grown fruit, this rich liqueur features an intense, complex flavor and finishes with the tartness characteristic of blackcurrant.

PUTNEY SIMPLY GINGER

Simply Ginger liqueur is a sensationally aromatic spirit that is both spicy and sweet. Flavored with fresh young local ginger, Simply Ginger is the perfect spirit for sipping straight up, over ice and for creative mixology in cocktails such as a Moscow Mule, Ginger Royale, Ginger Martini, or Ginger Margarita.

PUTNEY SIMPLY CHOCOLATE

Bold and smooth, Simply Chocolate starts with intense cocoa notes and finishes with a light bite of alcohol. A luxurious dark liqueur, rich and well-balanced, Simply Chocolate is created from the finest French cacao nibs in collaboration with Tavernier Chocolates. It is enjoyed cold and warm, straight up and in craft cocktails. Unlike other chocolate liqueurs, Simply Chocolate is a pure dark chocolate flavor with a light brandy finish that appeals to the sophisticated taste of chocolate connoisseurs. It is neither overly sweet nor under-flavored.

Putney Spirits Maple, Cassis, Ginger, Chocolate

Old Elk Bourbon and Dry Town Gin Tasting | Sat 3/30 3-5 pm

Check out some spirits you may not have had the chance to try! On Saturday, March 30 from 3:00 – 5:00 pm, sample Old Elk Bourbon and/or Dry Town Gin for free at the Beverage Warehouse.

OLD ELK BOURBON

The Old Elk recipe includes three quality ingredients – malted barley, rye, and corn. Since they use four times more malted barley than traditional recipes, Old Bourbon contains sweet, light components. The malted barley, combined with a spicy essence of clove from the rye and a traditional rich bourbon character from corn, creates a complete & robust taste profile. Visit https://www.oldelk.com/ for more!

DRY TOWN GIN

For its distinct taste and superb quality, Dry Town Gin won Double Gold at the 2016 New York International Spirits Competition. Dry Town Gin is crafted in Colorado and made with 10 botanicals through an 18-hour soak and vapor extraction. This process brings out the best of each botanical and creates a distinctively refreshing herbal, piney and citrus flavor. It’s all about highlighting the ingredients to bring forward the true expression and character. Visit https://drytown.com/#gin to learn more!

Appalachian Gap Distillery Tasting | Fri 3/29 4-6 pm

From their solar-powered distillery, Appalachian Gap is handcrafting a line of delicious, unique spirits that will delight the senses. These are spirits that they carefully — painstakingly — craft to meet their exacting standards.

Appalachian Gap Distillery’s spirits are balanced, rich in flavor, utterly unique, and made right here in Middlebury, Vermont!

On Friday March 29 from 4:00 – 6:00 pm, come by the Beverage Warehouse to taste these beautifully-crafted spirits.

For more information on each product and to read more about Appalachian Gap’s story and distillers, visit https://appalachiangap.com/

MYTHIC GIN

A botanical gin that expresses the bounty of Vermont, enhanced with flavors that are rarely, if ever, used in gin. The base spirit is the same as is used for all of App Gap Distillery’s grain-based spirits — 45% barley, 30% corn, 25% rye — distilled to a much higher proof to create a neutral base. Balsam fir needles, and even Szechuan peppercorns (along with six other botanicals), are macerated with the traditional juniper berries, then redistilled in their small copper pot still to create an intensely flavored herbal experience with a beautiful nose and round mouthfeel. 

PEREGRINE GIN

Appalachian Gap’s version of a dry gin. If Mythic can be described as an herb garden, Peregrine is a spice garden. Emphatic juniper, spice notes of cumin, cassia, and cardamom, and a long, luscious finish redolent of orange make for a totally unique taste experience.

PAPILIO AGAVE-MAPLE SPIRIT

Appalachian Gap’s master distillers tasted a smokiness in Vermont’s own dark maple syrup that they thought would marry well with the smokinesses of agave spirits like tequila. Rather than adding maple syrup to a base spirit and making something sweet, they fermented agave syrup and maple syrup together to create an amazing “Vtquila”! They import organic blue agave nectar from Jalisco, Mexico, and mix it 4:1 with dark Vermont maple syrup. Three to four weeks of fermentation and double distillation through their hybrid still result in a spirit like no other in the world.

FRACTAL VODKA

As a group of people who pride themselves on making truly unique spirits, it initially seemed a compromise of Appalachian Gap Distillery’s values to make vodka. Vodka is, by definition, neutral; nothing else they make is even remotely subtle, much less neutral. However, the challenge proved too much to resist, so they started experimenting. The result is a surprise on the palate, and a delight in cocktails. Fractal Vodka is made from the same base as all of their grain-based spirits — 45% barley, 30% corn, 25% rye — distilled to at least 190 proof through their stainless still two-column vodka still. Careful and controlled distillation results in a gorgeous, smooth vodka with a lingering sweetness.

SNOWFALL VERMONT WHISKEY

Snowfall is the unaged heart of App Gap’s Ridgeline Vermont Whiskey and has won multiple awards for its incredibly clean, full flavor. They start with a mash of 45% barley, 30% corn, and 25% rye. During the second distillation of Ridgeline, they draw off a small portion from the middle of the “heart’s run”, when the spirit is at its most pure. This then touches oak briefly, is proofed to the powerful 108 proof at which it’s bottled, and is placed in a stainless steel tank to allow the flavors to soften and meld before bottling.

RIDGELINE WHISKEY

The creative folks at Appalachian Gap imagined Ridgeline before they even started the distillery — a rich whiskey, reminiscent of bourbon and Irish whiskies, but with a character all its own. They start with a mash of 45% barley, 30% corn, and 25% rye. Double distilled, it is then aged in ex-bourbon barrels, new American oak barrels, and port wine barrels. The three different barrels result in three distinct whiskies, from which they prepare batches — each slightly different — based on their distillers’ tastes.

Broken Shed New Zealand Vodka: Free Tasting | Fri 3/15 3-5p

Have you had vodka from New Zealand!? It’s new in Vermont and worth a try! On Friday March 15, from 3:00 – 5:00 pm, you can taste it for free at the Beverage Warehouse.

Broken Shed Vodka is crafted from a blend of two of New Zealand’s purest waters with natural protein whey that is distilled three times. It’s free from gluten, free from GMOs, free from additives and added sugars!

SAKE! AKA SAKÉ!

We’re proud to carry a large selection of sake for our discerning customers, and wanted to provide a snapshot of our current selection as of today (March 10, 2019). 

PLEASE NOTE: The list of sake we can get changes frequently and we often add to our selection! If you’re interested in any of the sakes below or in one you don’t see listed, call us at 802-655-2620 or email info@beveragewarehousevt.com to check the current stock status and/or see if there’s a chance we can order what you’re looking for. Kanpai!

  • Awashizuku Sparkling | 300 mL | $9.99
  • Fukocho “Moon on the Water” Junmai | 720 mL | $39.99
  • Fukocho Hitachino | 300 mL | $17.99
  • Gekkeikan | 1.5 L | $13.99 (on sale, regular $14.99)
  • Gekkeikan | 750 mL | $6.99 (on sale, regular $7.99)
  • Gekkeikan Black & Gold | 750 mL | $15.99
  • Gekkeikan Cap Ace | 180 mL | $3.99
  • Gekkeikan Haiku | 300 mL | $7.99
  • Ginkoubai Hannya Tou Plum (Sweet & Spicy) | 150 mL | $13.99
  • Hakushika Tanuki | 900 mL | $13.99
  • Hakushika’s Japanese Orchard White Peach | 720 mL | $14.99
  • Hana Awaka Sparkling Flower | 250 mL | $10.99
  • Hideyoshi Futsuushu LaChamte with Yuzu | 500 mL | $28.99
  • Ichishima Tokubetsu Honjozo | 300 mL | $8.99 (on sale – regular $20.99!)
  • Kiku-Masamune Junmai Taru | 300 mL | $14.99
  • Kiku-Masamune Kimoto Junmai | 1.8 L | $31.99
  • Kikusui Junmai Ginjo | 300 mL | $13.99
  • Kira Honjozo | 720 mL | $26.99
  • Kuromatsu-Hakushika Snow Beauty Nigori | 300 mL | $7.99
  • Kuromatsu-Hakushika Snow Beauty Nigori | 720 mL | $27.99
  • Miyozakura Junmai | 180 mL | $6.99
  • Momo Kawa Diamond Medium Dry | 750 mL | $13.99
  • Momo Kawa Pearl Nigori | 750 mL | $13.99
  • Momo Kawa Silver Dry Crisp | 750 mL | $13.99
  • Mutsu Otokoyama | 180 mL | $6.99
  • Nagarawa Sparkling Nigori | 300 mL | $12.99
  • Namacho Honjozo | 300 mL | $11.99
  • Ohmine Junmai | 100 mL | $7.99
  • Ozeki “Karatamba” Dry Ware Style | 1.8 L | $39.99
  • Ozeki “Rai” Junmai | 300 mL | $8.99
  • Ozeki Nigori | 375 mL | $5.99 (currently 1 bottle in stock)
  • Rihaku | Dreamy Clouds Nigori | 300 mL | $13.99
  • Rihaku | Dreamy Clouds Nigori | 720 mL | $30.99
  • Rihaku “Wandering Poet” Junmai Ginjo | 300 mL | $14.99
  • Shirakabe Gura Tokubetsu Junmai | 300 mL | $12.99
  • Shirakabe Gura Tukubetsu Junmai | 720 mL | $27.99
  • Sho Chiku Bai Nama Organic | 300 mL | $7.99
  • Sho Chiku Bai Takara Junmai | 750 mL | $6.99
  • Sho Chiku Bai Takara Nigori | 375 mL | $5.99
  • Suigei Drunken Whale | 300 mL | $16.99
  • Tokubetsu Yamadnishiki Junmai | 1.8 L | $30.99
  • Tozai Living Jewel Junmai | 300 mL | $9.99
  • Tozai Living Jewel Junmai | 720 mL | $15.99
  • Tozai Snow Maiden Junmai Nigori | 300 mL | $9.99
  • Tozai Snow Maiden Junmai Nigori | 720 mL | $15.99
  • Tozai Typhoon Futsu-Shu | 720 mL | $12.99

In addition, we carry all of the Plum and Yuzu wines we can get. We currently have:  

  • Choya Umeshu Plum Wine | 750 mL | $18.99
  • Gekkeikan Plum Wine | 750 mL | $13.99
  • Kikkoman Plum Wine | 750 mL | $8.99
  • Kiuchi Ume Plum Wine | 500 mL | $20.99
  • Kiuchi Yuzu Wine | 500 mL | $14.99
Sake available at the Beverage Warehouse in Vermont
The current selection of sake at the Beverage Warehouse in Vermont. We have the best selection in the state!