 We're Opening the Doors!
After months of planning and preparation, we are ready
to open the doors in Lisle, Illinois. What a process this has been
for us! It's been interesting, sometimes frustrating, and highly
educational - but the overriding emotion for all of us continues to be excitement.
We are thrilled to be opening our store, and look
forward to serving your fine wine and gourmet food needs.
Our first event will be the
Beaujolais Nouveau celebration this Thursday November 21. Plan now
to stop by and join us. We'll be sampling the new wine starting at 5
pm Thursday.
After the Beaujolais Nouveau celebration, we'll take a
few days to finalize the store. We
officially open on Monday, November 25.
Plan now to stop by and experience our
distinctive decor and inviting
atmosphere, our unique selections of high-value wines and gourmet foods,
and our personalized service. We look forward to seeing
you soon!
Read on to learn about other upcoming events, especially
in-store tastings and our Grand Opening
celebration. View our
selection of gift boxes, and visit our web site to sign up for wine of the
month club. We look forward to meeting with you soon in our store!
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Our Schedule of Events
Plan to attend one of our upcoming tasting events.
You are always welcome!
November 21 Nouveau Beaujolais tasting
- from 3 pm until close
November 30 Prairie Sampling (all
afternoon)
December 2 - 8 Grand Opening Celebration; wine
samplings every day, highlighting a different country:
December 2 - U.S.A.
December 3 - Australia/New Zealand
December 4 - South America
December 5 - Germany
December 6 - France
December 7 - Italy
December 8 - Spain
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In this issue:
Our Schedule of Events
Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est
Arrivé!
Gift Box Selections
Note on Wine Sales
Newsletter Subscription
Click here to find out:
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this newsletter?
Wine
of the Month Club
Our
Prairie Wine Club offers you the first taste of our favorite new wines,
delivered to your door each month!
This
makes the perfect gift for the wine lover on your list.
Enter
our web site to read
more or sign up.
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Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrivé!
If you thought "what?" when you tried to read
above, you've found the right place!
Once again, on the third Thursday in November, wine
drinkers around the world will be opening bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau,
tasting the wine that was harvested a scant two months earlier.
History of the Celebration
The Beaujolais Nouveau wine
celebration started as a local celebration of the harvest, in the early 20th
century. After World War II,
the tradition expanded beyond the local villages, to Paris and then the
rest of the world. The
celebration is unique, reflecting the uniqueness of this wine varietal.
Because the terrain where these particular grapes are
grown varies from steep to gently rolling hills, and because of how
closely together the vines grow, all harvesting is done by hand. Tens of thousands of locals bring in the crop, and the grapes
are then turned into wine within a two-month period of time.
In recognition of this community effort, the local
wineries began hosting celebration parties once the wine was bottled and
ready to drink. This
tradition then spread to other French cities and regions, and then to
countries throughout the world. Today,
the wineries charter planes and ship the wine around the world so people
can participate in the “opening day” celebration, which takes place on
the third Thursday of November.
Uniqueness of Beaujolais Nouveau Wines
The Beaujolais region, in
east-central France, is a 34-mile stretch in south Burgundy with more than
49,000 acres of vineyards. Within
this region, many factors contribute to the creation of this light, fruity
red wine. First, the sandy clay soil is largely over a granite
foundation, as opposed to limestone.
Second, the Gamay grape is almost the only variety grown in this
region. Next, as already
mentioned, all harvesting is done by hand.
And finally, the production method itself sets this wine apart.
To produce the Beaujolais Nouveau wine, whole bunches of
grapes and stems are placed into a fermentation vat and sealed.
Usually this is done at fairly cool temperature to lengthen the
period of fermentation, which increases fruitiness and maximizes color and
complexity. As the grapes
ferment, carbon dioxide is created. (Sometimes
the gas is added by the winery.) The use of carbon dioxide causes fermentation to occur inside
the grape. Eventually the
grapes burst and the fermented juice is drained off into a secondary
fermentation vat (not wooden casks).
After the secondary fermentation is complete, the wine is
immediately bottled and sold. The
entire process takes less than two months.
This technique results in maximum color and aroma and
less tannins that you would normally find in a red wine.
Serving and Enjoyment
There are a few different
appellations, or designations, that identify the wine.
Beaujolais Nouveau is the most general appellation, and Beaujolais
Nouveau-Villages comes from the hillier, northern part of the region.
The labeling designations can also provide hints as to
how best to serve the wine. For
example, the Beaujolais Nouveau wines are best opened and enjoyed within
the first six months of bottling, although they can usually last up to a
year. The Beaujolais
Nouveau-Villages are best when opened three months after bottling, and
again should be drunk within a year of bottling.
Beaujolais Nouveau is a great turkey wine, and it
arrives right before Thanksgiving. This
wine pleases the red wine drinker, and because of its lightness and
slightly sweet flavor, it can be enjoyed by white wine drinkers as well.
The wine seems to fit well with many of the traditional flavors
around the Thanksgiving table: stuffing, creamed vegetables, candied yams, turkey, etc.
This wide variety of flavors is hard to match up with wines.
Nouveau Beaujolais is about at good as it gets.
It’s best to slightly chill the wine before serving,
to bring out the fruity flavors. Put
a bottle in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes prior to serving to
reach a good 55 – 58 degrees temperature.
Finally, the Beaujolais Nouveau wines are value priced.
Bottles range from $7 - $13. Look
for names like Georges Duboeuf and Joseph Drouhin when you shop for the
Nouveau Beaujolais.
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Our
Mailing List:
We've
all wondered how it is that organizations get our email address.
Some scan the web, others buy lists of 1000's. We don't agree with
those methods and have no desire to send email to those that would rather
not receive it.
The
mailing list for this newsletter was generated only from the personal email
archives of Wine Expressions' owners. So, if you don't personally
know the owners (Brad Mitchell, Randy Russell, Jack Thew), someone you know does, because your name was included on
an email to one of us.
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Note: While we make every attempt to
complete all orders as described, occasionally it may become necessary to
substitute items of equal quality and value.
Legal Notice
on Ordering Wine
You must be 21 years of age or older to order any alcoholic beverage.
State and Federal laws limit us to shipping wine to the following
states: California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa,
Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia and
Wisconsin.
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