Meet the finalist homebrewers Sat. 4/21 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM!
Does a Tropical Sour Beer or New England IPA reign supreme in Vermont? It is time for YOU to taste and cast YOUR VOTE to decide which Vermonter ‘makes the cut’ and is crowned the 2018 Make The Cut Homebrew Challenge Champion! The winner will return to 14th Star Brewery to have a commercial run of their beer canned and featured at the VT Brewers Festival in July. Get in to the Bevie for a free sample voting flight and pouring partners across Vermont for additional voting and flights!
Beverage Warehouse public vote and sampling:
2:30-7:00 PM | Friday, April 20th
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM | Saturday, April 21st – Meet & greet with the homebrew challenge finalists from 10AM-12PM! – if the kegs kick before 4PM, the public voting is over so get in early!
Make The Cut Homebrew Challenge Pouring Partners:
14th Star Brewing – St. Albans
The Bench – Stowe
Beverage Warehouse – Winooski
Doc Ponds – Stowe
The Farmhouse Tap & Grill – Burlington
Hatchet – Richmond
Mule Bar – Winooski
Prohibition Pig – Waterbury
The Reservoir – Waterbury
Three Penny Taproom – Montpelier
Whetstone Station Restaurant and Brewery – Brattleboro
Worthy Burger – South Royalton
Worthy Kitchen – Woodstock
Make the Cut distribution and logistics partner: Farrell Distributing
60 Days of Rosé | #04 | La Vie en Rosé | Pays d’Oc | Cinsault Rosé | 2017 | $9.99 (normally $12!)
Rolling in at number 4 during our 60 Days of Rosé is La Vie en Rosé – a wine we like so much, that every year, we snag stacks of it!
La Vie en Rosé fires on many cylinders:
Delicious, approachable, and crowd friendly
Drink by itself or with a BLT, fried chicken, Waldorf-style salads, fresh cheese, quinoa salad, Ratatouille, berry cobbler or pie… La Vie en Rosé is quite versatile
Easy to get into – unscrew the cap and enjoy!
Flowery, romantic label – we sell a lot for weddings
This grape variety is the ultimate Pays d’Oc rosé wines par excellence! It produces fresh wines with a pronounced taste of strawberry and rose petal, becoming slightly tile-red when assembled with Grenache where the rosé takes on its roundness.
Pays d’Oc grape varieties
Pays d’Oc wines are fruity and new, elegant and modern or refined and contemporary. They are perfect for every occasion, fulfil every desire and are ideal for every table. They have a well-defined French character, bathed in sunshine and the Mediterranean, which makes them easily recognisable.
Excellent value for money, Pays d’Oc wines are resolutely appealing.
Pays d’Oc: IGP – Protected Geographical Indication – a quality label
Pays d’Oc IGP is attributed to a wine that is exclusively produced in the Languedoc-Roussillon and has been accepted for approval by the Pays d’Oc Wine Producers Union. The label is awarded to wines that meet strict production quality criteria. The wine must also display typical Pays d’Oc characteristics. 92% of all Pays d’Oc IGP wines are varietal wines.
Between Land and Sea
The Pays d’Oc territory winds along the Mediterranean Sea, weaving itself along 4 departments in the Languedoc-Roussillon : Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, Hérault and the Gard. The Pays d’Oc boasts 200 km of beaches and vast expanses of vineyards bathed by the sun. A rich and natural combination of steep slopes, hilly peaks, vineyards, garrigue vegetation and the sea, the Pays d’Oc territory is embraced by its Mediterranean climate that comfortably enfolds the vines with its dry and windswept soils.
Having always embraced the vine, Pays d’Oc has adapted its vineyard and adopted grape varieties from different regions in France. These grapes have embraced the Pays d’Oc and taken on the region’s charm.
The terroir effect
The terroir effect is noticeable upon tasting wines from the different Pays d’oc zones. The Languedoc-Roussillon’s wealth of diverse soils and climates are exemplified by its *** terroirs. As grapes embrace the land from which they are grown, the grape varieties express themselves differently depending on the climate, exposure, relief, and soils. Pays d’Oc’s patchwork of wine-growing areas creates an expression of these grape varieties that is unique.
Pays d’Oc men and women
In the Pays d’Oc, mankind and vineyards tell one of the most beautiful stories of life and passion. Throughout the centuries and eras, passion for wine has always stayed alive. Despite all the ups and downs of history, it remains, more than ever, connected to its territory. Over the past 30 years, the men and women from Pays d’Oc have understood the importance of adapting regional viticulture to economic and regulatory changes. Their heartfelt commitment to the regional viticulture tradition has created a strong motivation towards optimising the use of the vineyards. Using a savoir-faire passed down through the centuries, they create high-quality wines that reflect Pays d’Oc’s typicity.
As a result, Pays d’Oc wines embody wine growers’ passion and commitment and reflect the producers’ ability to combine tradition and modernity.
60 Days of Rosé | #03 | Swick Wines | Willamette Valley Rosé of Pinot Noir |$19.99
Today, ladies and gentlemen, we would like to introduce you to an intriguing rosé that will expand your palette and your mind, revealing layers that you may not have realized a rosé could have! Swick Wines’ Rosé of Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Willamette Valley is as natural as a wine can be, made with grapes that are gently hand-harvested and direct pressed into concrete eggs. It sings with zingy black cherry and raspberry, but finishes extra dry and sharp, with fresh clean acidity. Crack a bottle with a friend and a wedge of salty cheese, and ponder deep thoughts!
In addition to snagging Joe’s rosé each year from our friends at Vermont Wine Merchants as soon as it comes in, we carry Swick Wines Malbec in our natural wine section year-round! A deep and brooding Washington Malbec, this wine displays a subtle nose, with elegant dark fruit emerging from its gentlemanly reserve.
Joe Swick is a 5th generation Oregonian, born and raised in Portland. He got into the wine business working as a shipping/receiving clerk working at a specialty organic food store in Portland, where he was able to taste a lot of different wines and meet a lot of Oregonian winemakers. He worked his first harvest in 2003 in Oregon, and from then until 2012 he worked 15 different harvests, traveling all over the world as far as Tasmania, France, Portugal, and Italy. Joe returned to Oregon in 2013 to start Swick Wines in the Willamette Valley. He works only with sustainable or organically farmed vineyards that are not irrigated, from cooler climate locations. Many of the wines have zero sulfur added.
Joe’s wines tend to showcase the “fruit” aspect in a very subtle way, instead being more focused on minerality, salinity and freshness. Tannins are direct and firm without being harsh. Since Joe works with cold sites, alcohols are lower and acids are quite a bit higher than most wines from Oregon/Washington. Read more about Joe Swick’s dedication to natural winemaking in Willamette Week and Edible Portland.
ABOUT THE 2017 SWICK ROSÉ OF PINOT NOIR:
Total Production: 1,800 bottles
Appellation: Willamette Valley
Age of Vines: 20 years
Soil: Alluvial and Basalt
Yield: 2 tons per acre
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and destemmed. The grapes are direct pressed into concrete eggs where the wine ferments for about 8 months. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered, with a small addition of sulfur.
SIMPLE LIFE WINE – Growing up in a small town in California means being able to enjoy the Simple Life. We walk downtown and shop at family-owned grocery stores, we cook with fresh vegetables and meat from local farms, and we drink wine made by our family and friends who have lived here for generations
ROSÉ –
A new addition to the Simple Life lineup, the Rosé has vibrant aromas of fresh florals, red fruits and zesty citrus. The palate holds refreshing flavors of juicy strawberry, watermelon, cranberry and hibiscus.
The Simple Life Rosé is distinct and intentionally made in an understated style. Skin contact was minimized to promote fruit forward aromas, bright flavors, and a stunning pale, rose gold color. Minimizing grape skin contact also helps build a wine with soft tannins that lets the acidity and minerality shine through.
FOOD PAIRING – Although our rosé is delightful to sip on its own, we suggest pairing with a fresh caprese salad, smoked gouda & mushroom quesadillas or grilled salmon with pesto sauce.
WINEMAKING –
As grapes were received at the winery they were immediately pressed and fermented in stainless steel tanks at cold temperatures. No oak was used during fermentation and the resulting wine did not go through malolactic fermentation. This wine is meant to show-case fruit from the premier California vineyards individually selected for this rosé wine.
TASTING NOTES – This elegant and dry wine is a glimmering rose gold color in the glass. Bright aromas and flavors of wild strawberry, rose petal, pear blossom and jasmine floral notes are inviting. The wine is fresh and delicate with a juicy fruit palate and balanced acidity. This Simple Life rosé will pair well with a wide array of foods or is delightful to sip on its own.
PHILOSOPHY –
We treasure this small town, California life and its simple pleasures – like walking down-town and shopping at family-owned grocery stores, cooking with fresh ingredients from local farms, and drinking wine made by our family and friends who have been here for generations. We created these wines for the people that enjoy the simple things in life; friends, family and a glass of wine.
The independent, local Vermont family owned Beverage Warehouseis proud to host a tasting for Switchback Brewing Co. – an employee and Vermont owned brewery!
Come on in this Friday afternoon / early evening and sample delicious brews from an important, local brewery.
All Switchback beers are brewed in Burlington, Vermont and are carbonated during fermentation by the yeast itself resulting in a 100% naturally conditioned beer. After aging, we simply move the beer to the keg or bottle, leaving it unfiltered for the freshest, fullest, most natural flavor possible.
Switchback Brewing | Switchback Ale
First Sold: October 2002
Availability: Year Round
5.0% ABV
28 IBU
Unfiltered
100% Naturally Carbonated
Switchback Ale was developed as a flavor concept, not adhering to any style guidelines. Using only traditional ingredients, Switchback Ale is an unfiltered, reddish-amber ale which is particularly well-balanced, allowing for complexity of flavor coupled with an unusually smooth and refreshing character. Five different malts, select hop varieties, and our own specially cultivated yeast create an ale which leads with hop fl¬avors and a subtle impression of fruit (our yeast’s contribution), followed by a palate pleasing malty finish.
Switchback Brewing | Slow-Fermented Brown Ale
First Sold: August 2010
Availability: Rotating Special
5.2% ABV
26 IBU
Unfiltered
100% Naturally Carbonated
Slow-Fermented Brown Ale is a beautiful chestnut brown colored beer with a rich roast and caramel malt flavor delicately balanced by hop undertones and a subtle sweetness in the finish. Fermenting at cool temperatures with ale yeast causes a stress-reaction leading to a clean flavor coupled with a rich and full mouthfeel. As a test, we fermented our Slow-Fermented Brown Ale recipe normally and also at a lower temperature just above the yeast’s tolerance. The results were remarkable. A testament to the importance of yeast to a beer’s flavor, the slow-fermented version has a gentle creaminess that balances perfectly with the soft caramel overtones of the brown ale recipe, ending in a crazy smooth finish. It is a difficult and touchy beer to make, but we are hooked on the results!
Switchback Brewing | Citra-Pils Keller Bier
First Sold: May 2015
Availability: Year Round
5.1% ABV
36 IBU
Unfiltered
100% Naturally Carbonated
Born as a classic pilsener lager, Citra-Pils gets the added bonus of a lively, citrusy aroma from Citra hops to create a fascinating blend of pilsener and IPA sensibilities. The result is a complex beer which is clean, crisp, and refreshing. Citra-Pils is our special “twist” on the classic pilsener style of lager beer. We brew this lager in the most traditional way, using only Light Pils malt and Saaz hops. After a six-week lagering process, we dry hop this beer with a blend of Citra and Saaz hops. The bright lemony citrus notes of the Citra complement the noble Saaz character perfectly, yielding a delightfully refreshing pilsener with a decidedly nontraditional twist.
All Switchback beers are brewed in Burlington, Vermont and are carbonated during fermentation by the yeast itself resulting in a 100% naturally conditioned beer. After aging, we simply move the beer to the keg or bottle, leaving it unfiltered for the freshest, fullest, most natural flavor possible.
Switchback Brewing | Extra Pale Ale
First Sold: June 2014
Availability: Rotating Special
4.8% ABV
47 IBU
Unfiltered
100% Naturally Carbonated
Our Extra Pale Ale (XPA) is a hop-forward pale ale that employs an abundant use of whole cone hops. We have balanced the amazing bouquet and flavors that whole cone hops possess with a subdued malt character, creating a crisp refreshing beer. We developed Extra Pale Ale as a test brew on our 5 gallon pilot system utilizing Vermont grown hops from the UVM Hop Extension Program, and we loved the test beer so much that we decided to put XPA into production on our original 15 barrel brew house. Using whole cone hops created the challenge of reconfiguring the brew house just for this beer, but we’re overjoyed with the resulting aromas and flavors of the Centennial, Chinook, and Cascade hops.
So, this is our second rosé from Gamay grapes that result from a grafting and planting project that started a few years ago in Arroyo Seco. 2016 was our first harvest from the newly grafted vines and to give them a break, we harvested everything at a pretty low brix with the idea of making rosé. We liked the wine so much that we made all rosé again in 2017. Eventually, we plan to also make a red wine.
Grapes were taken directly to press with just a minimal amount of skin contact time during the trucking from Greenfield to Santa Rosa. Fermentation was uninoculated in stainless steel with temperature control to keep the fermenting juice cool and the fermentation slow, preserving aromatics and flavors.
The result is a fresh, very vibrant, light wine that should be great with summer and warmer weather, or whenever for year-round rosé enthusiasts.
Continuing our mission and pledge to cut down the carbon footprint of our wines and green our package, this year, we have broke with convention and bottled our rosé in an antique green lightweight bottle instead of the flint bottle that the market has grown accustomed to. Green bottles contain a much higher percentage of recycled material and their production has a lower carbon footprint.
The label was created by Nate Duval, whom are we are huge fans of and who we have worked with in the past.
Enjoy,
Kenny | The Folk Machine & Hobo Wines
Vermont's Largest Craft Beer, Wine, & Liquor Store
