Hillside Liquor Store Blog

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Thursday, March 26, 2009

New BC Wines

The Playhouse International Wine Festival is taking place today and tomorrow in Vancouver, and this year's theme region is BC. Hillside Liquor Store just received some new vintage BC wines so we could always recommend a few bottles for your own personal "BC wine tasting".

New to the store is Fairview Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
The Fairview Cellars 2008 Sauvignon Blanc has a touch of Semillon added to it, making this wine more of an Old-World style of Sauvignon Blanc, very food friendly with citrusy notes- the perfect oyster wine.

The Fairview Cellars Merlot is deliciously rich with lots of raspberry, plum and blackberry notes. Pair this one with cheeses, lamb, steak, or drink it by itself.

The Fairview Cellars Cabernet Franc is a wonderful example of how good this varietal can be! A little bit of the expected bell pepper on the nose but lots of good dark fruits and a hint of leather on the palate. Pair this one with grilled meats, Roast Beef or strong cheeses.

Also just arrived is the 2008 Kettle Valley Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer. http://www.kettlevalleywinery.com/ourwines.asp

The 2008 Pinot Gris has been cold soaked on the skins, giving the wine a pretty salmon-coloured hue and lending it a lovely fruitiness. Also, a portion of the wine has been aged in older French barrels and allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation. This is a fantastic food wine- give it a try with chicken, salmon, mild cheeses, halibut, sausages or mildly spicy foods.

The 2008 Gewurztraminer is an Alsace-styled Gewurztraminer, with lots of rose, grapefruit and lychee on the nose with good fruit follow through on the palate. A nice acidity keeps this rich and delectable wine in balance. This is a Gewurztraminer to seek out- quantities are limited.

Finally, file this under "Incredible Value" !
Hester Creek http://www.hestercreek.com/ has recently released its outstanding Cabernet Merlot in the 3l box format! The Pinot Blanc has been available in the 3l format for a few months, and represents unbelievable value for a box wine.
The Pinot Blanc retails for $15.99 per bottle, whereas the 3l box sells for $46.80- that's a $17 savings for buying the box as opposed to 4 bottles. The Pinot Blanc shows lots of green apple, nectarine and pineapple flavours, making it a versatile food pairing wine, but also great just to sip on. Besides the great savings, the 3l box saves on packaging, and keeps for at least 6 weeks once opened as there is no way for air to enter the box.
The Cabernet Merlot retails for $18.90 a bottle, with the 3l box only $46.80. That's a savings of $29 compared to buying 4 bottles! The Cabernet Merlot is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and exhibits lots of plum and blackberry flavours. Incredibly smooth, this is a great food wine for all things grilled (meat, veggies), but also for cheeses and chocolate!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

A Pink Elephant in the Store!

First day of Spring, and already there is talk of Pink Elephants at Hillside Liquor Store. Of course, we aren't talking about REAL Pink Elephants- we're talking about the Elephant Island Pink Elephant Methode Champenoise sparkling wine! It will arrive in-store on Wednesday March 25th, and so should you if you are hoping to get your hands on a bottle of this highly anticipated fizz.
With thanks to Elephant Island and Sasha McCauley, rep for Elephant Island here in Victoria, lucky staff members of Hillside Liquor Store got to taste the Pink Elephant today.
It started out as a Granny Smith Apple Cuvee with a dosage of their Cassis, made in the traditional method in the Brut style. This results in a gorgeous bright-pink colour with plenty of bubbles, and a palate full of green apple, cassis, strawberry and raspberry. Refreshing, delicious, pretty...what more could you ask of a bubbly? Oh, and it has great packaging too.

Just the thing to celebrate a sunshine-y day, or to welcome Spring back! This beautiful bubbly will also complement picnic food-think yummy cheeses, dainty sandwiches, fresh bread, meats, salads- as well as fresh crab, scallops, chicken, ham, spicy foods, apple or pear desserts, chocolate desserts....

Look for it on Wednesday March 25th at Hillside Liquor Store- it will be available in the fridge!

For more information about Elephant Island fruit wines, click here:
http://www.elephantislandwine.com/

To learn more about Methode Champenoise, dosage, brut or any other term associated with sparkling wine, click here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparkling_wine_production

Fruli's back!

Well, after much anticipation, Fruli is back in stock for a limited time at Hillside Liquor Store.
Fruli is a strawberry-laced Belgian white beer from the Brewery Huyghe- it is 70% Belgian white beer with 30% strawberry juice added to it, giving it an intensely strawberry taste with slight vanilla or cream soda notes. This beer pairs well with spicy Asian dishes, chocolate or dessert, but is also great for use in sauces and sorbets.
We don't anticipate this beer being available for very long, so avoid disappointment and grab yours today!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Granville Island Ginger Beer

Just in time to help shake off all of those March chills, Granville Island Brewing has released its newest seasonal beer: Ginger Beer. The Ginger beer combines water, malt, hops and yeast with fresh ginger root to create a refreshing taste with the flavour and aroma of ginger, and a little bit of spicy warmth. Pair this beer with spicy foods- Jamaican, Mexican, Caribbean- or sushi, cheeses or a group of friends and a hockey game!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Tree Tasting

The Tree tasting that was scheduled for Friday March 13 has been cancelled. It will be re-scheduled for Saturday March 14 or for Friday March 20th from 4-8 pm.
The Tasting will feature the Thirst Beaver Amber ale, the Spy Porter and the Cutthroat Trout, a classic Pale Ale. There is also a bonus glass with the purchase of any 6 pack.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Craft Beer

We have recently been in contact with a number of American and Canadian microbreweries to try and increase our craft beer selection, and to obtain beers that are not easily available in Victoria.
One of the breweries that has responded is the Brasserie Dieu du Ciel, from Quebec. http://micro.dieuduciel.com/en/beers.php
This brewery/brewpub was established in Montreal, and began releasing beer on tap in 1998. Since then, they have expanded their repertoire to include both draught beer (a huge assortment!) and bottled beer, available in 6 packs- or 24 packs if you live in Quebec.

The beer that is available for us include a Hibiscus Wheat Beer, (Rosee d'Hibiscus) a Peppercorn Rye ale, (Route des epices) an American IPA, (Corne du diable) a Blonde Abbey-style beer,(Derniere Volonte) a Hemp beer (Fumisterie) and an Imperial Coffee Stout (Peche Mortel).

The beer should arrive at Hillside Liquor Store sometime in June. If anyone has any comments about this beer, or has tried it and has any comments, please email us info@hillsideliquorstore.com


Another brewery that we have been in contact with is Ska Brewing from Durango Colorado. They have an awesome website and what sounds like amazing beer- we're hoping to be able to get some of this in too! Check out their website http://www.skabrewing.com/main.html

As breweries respond to our inquiry, we'll let you know what will be coming in to our store.

Tree Tasting Friday March 13

Celebrate Friday the 13th with Hillside Liquor Store and Tree Brewing!
There is a tasting of Tree Brewing's Spy Porter, Thirsty Beaver Amber Ale and Hop Head India Pale Ale. Each of these beer is available in a 6 pack, and for this tasting comes with a Bonus Glass!

Tree Brewing Spy Porter is a smooth dark English style ale with a prominent roasted malt character accented with light chocolate undertones. This porter is delicious by itself but pairs well with steaks, mushrooms, nuts or chocolate!

Tree Brewing Hop Head IPA is their signature IPA which is full-bodied and loaded with hops which delivers a very distinctive aroma and flavour. IPA pairs well with spicy foods and seafood, as well as chicken and semi-soft cheeses.

Tree Brewing Thirsty Beaver Amber ale is smooth, medium bodied and bursting with flavour. Amber ales pair well with anything that isn't sweet, as sweet things detract from the maltiness in the beer. Amber beer complements sandwiches, hearty soups, pizza, hamburgers, barbeque or Mexican food.

If you haven't tried anything from Tree Brewing, this is the perfect opportunity-the tasting from Tree Brewing runs from 4-8 pm on Friday night!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Joie 2008 Wines are Here!

Just received yesterday, and highly anticipated are the Joie Farm Wines 2008. Hillside Liquor Store received the 2008 Riesling, Noble Blend, Rose, Unoaked Chardonnay in addition to the Dedication Pinot Blanc and the Reserve Chardonnay.

Tasting Notes for the 2008 wines are as follows:

Joie Noble Blend 2008
This aromatic wines exhibits a fresh nose of pink grapefruit, white peaches and warm spices. The palate is dominated by tangerine, cloves and coriander with its characteristic spiciness carrying through to a long clean finish. This wine is full of the traditional spiciness of Alsace and the regional stone fruit character of the Okanagan. The 2008 Noble Blend is a blend of Gewurztraminer, Kerner, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Auxerrois, Pinot Gris and Oraniensteiner, which is a Riesling/Sylvaner cross.

Joie 2008 Unoaked Chardonnay
The 2008 Unoaked Chardonnayshows as a honeyed gold in the glass. It is bursting with fresh apple skin aromas, which lead to a palate full of apples, honey and minerals which build to a long, lingering finish, courtesy of the extended lees contact.

Joie 2008 Rose
This wine exhibits an intense nose of strawberry jam and rhubarb, carrying through to the palate where it shows strawberry, cherry, spice and nectarine with a slight touch of acidity and sweetness. This is a blend of Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, Pinot Meunier and a touch of Pinot Gris.

Joie 2008 Riesling
This wine exhibits a delicate nose of lemon, lime and ginger and nutmeg. On the palate, the structure is medium bodied and carries a Spatlese-level 23 grams of residual sugar balanced with crisp bright acidity. The nose carries through to the palate where intense flavours of lime, ginger and honey explode in your mouth and follow through to a long, lingering lip-smacking finish.

Don't wait on these wines- although we received a lot, they will sell quickly!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Phillips Releases 2nd Double Dragon

Coming soon- Friday, March 6- to Hillside Liquor Store is the second release of Phillips Brewing Double Dragon.
Double Dragon is Phillips Imperial Red Ale, where the malt battles with the hops in a 8.2% alcohol brew. This beer, like many of Phillips, is available in a 650 ml bottle, and only for a short time.
This type of beer pairs well with a variety of food: think chicken, seafood or burgers, spicy foods, lightly tangy cheese... or buy a few and try your own pairings!