On The Road Again - Fall Preview Issue

Our friend Mario Batali teams up with Gweneth Paltrow for the new PBS series that features the wine & food of Spain. The show starts this week - see the preview above.

>Greetings from all of us in New London.
Fall is here, the colors are changing, and we have a lot to share with you this week. We are calling this the BIG Fall Preview Issue -- catchy isn't it? We've even thrown in some seasonal colors this week.

Our team - the best in the trade - has put together a list that will make you smile for this Friday. The line up and the details are just below a few items of interest. I hope you can join us.

First - A big thank you to Chilean Winemaker, Mr. Edgard Carter for hosting a "Master Class" of a wine dinner last Wednesday. It was CRAZY good wine & food. Sipping a vertical of vintage Sena 1997,98,99,2004 with the man that made them was over-the-top.

And to the man that helped bring it all together - "The Wine Doctor" - the man that Mick Jagger calls "Mr. Rock & Roll" - Thank You to Mark Raymond. A great friend and supporter of our efforts here and always very generous with his time and wine. Mark's generosity made it possible to offer a dinner of this caliber for only $50 - absolutely unheard of. Mark's only comment on the evening was as he was leaving. He held up his right hand in the Rock & Roll sign and said: "Baby, It's GOT to be Rock & Roll, if you want to dance with me!"

Girls Night - Garde Arts Center

September 25-28, 2008
Thursday - Saturday | 8:00; Saturday & Sunday | 3:00 pm

A touching and hilarious 'tell-it-like-it-is' look at the lives of a group of female friends, Girls Night, The Musical returns, updated and with a fresh cast, to the Garde following its smash debut last season.

Ticket Holders Receive $5.00 off
at Brie & Bleu.

Tickets & Information HERE

Royal Princess Makes Port

September 25 & 27

If you have not been in town for the cruise ship arrivals and departures you should makes plans to see it this time. One of the best places to salute the ship is on the deck at Brie & Bleu. They seem so close that you want to reach out and touch them!

Join us for the weekly tasting and then "set up shop" on our deck with a nice glass of wine & some appetizers. Raise your glass when the ship departs around 6:30 p.m.

Then trade your own stories of high seas adventure over dinner with friends - it's a great night out.
Brie & Bleu - 8 6 0 - 4 3 7 - 2 4 7 4

Dave's Fave
The Monday Tasting 9.23.08
Chateau La Roque
Pic Saint Loup 2003 $19

When I started here I didn't know so much about wine, after work I would typically bring home recent vintages of cold Pabst Blue Ribbon. Then one day I brought home an obscure little bottle of red, poured it in a nice glass and perhaps for the first time, got it.

As the wine opened and revealed layers of flavor, I imagined all the care it took to produce, an ocean away by a farmer I did not know. It might have pleased the maker to know some guy in Connecticut was enjoying it at that moment!

That bottle was from Pic Saint Loup, named for the craggy peak that juts over the vineyards in southern Languedoc near the Mediterranean. This one is from the estate of Chateau La Roque, who have been tending vines in southern France since the 13th century. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, robust and elegant - let's crack one open!
Get It Now

Visit Chateau La Roque HERE

The Friday Tasting - Please Join Us
Friday September 26
6 - 9 p.m. - No Charge

1 - Disznoko Tokaji Dry 2006 $18


For years we have been drinking 5 and 6 Puttonyos Tokaji, a botrytis dessert wine from Hungary and loving every minuet of it. The grape that is dried and shriveled on the vine by mold to make this very noble wine is called Furmit. Furmit also makes a dry white wine, something like Sauvignon Blanc, but ancient and exotic. After years of trying to buy the wine with no luck I had given up. About two weeks ago a nice woman from Hungary showed up and sold us a bunch, and it is delicious. Get It Now

2 - Domaine Rollin Pere et Fils Bourgogne
Hautes-Cotes de Beaune 2005 $25


It's a very long name, but all it means is affordable Burgundy. Remi Rollin produces serious Cotes d'Or Burgundy from parcels he owns in Corton Charlemagne and Savigny Les Beaune. Hautes-Cotes de Beaune, just to the west, is very much the wrong side of the tracks. The vineyards' sun exposure is not as good as on the famed Cote d'Or, and the wines lack the power and structure of their more famous brethren, they also lack that big price tag. What we have here is a nice little Pinot Noir, from a place called Burgundy.
Get It Now

3 - Domaine du Gour de Chaule Gigondas 2004 $34


Predominately Grenache, with Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault from vines with an average age of 50 years. The juice goes through an extended maceration, and then is racked into large casks called Foudres, where it stays for the next eighteen months. The domaine uses no new oak, and bottles it's wine unfiltered and unfined 30-36 months after harvest. The result is an incredible expression of Gigondas, full of dusty tannins, crushed pepper, and game. We also have the wine in Magnums, which is how we roll.
Get It Now


4 - Trapiche Aciar Malbec 2005 $50


Part of the 2005 Single vineyard offering from Trapice. Each wine produced by winemaker Daniel Pi is an homage to the farmers who tend the vineyards, and lend their craft to the wine.

"This vineyard reflects the meticulous personality and the attention to detail of Eleodoro Aciar. Located in Perdriel, Luján de Cuyo, his estate rests at an altitude of 920 meters. The vineyard is 95 years-old and is blessed with a microclimate shaped by the elevations to the south of the property, different from the rest of Perdriel. The nearby Mendoza River has a beneficial influence on the region, with a cool wind coming from the Andes.

Don Eleodoro is a kind, uncomplicated man. He is 58 years old and has dedicated over half his life to viticulture and winemaking. He has said being a grapegrower is in his blood. He guarantees his father would be very proud of his recognition by Trapiche. He keeps expressing how being able to enjoy work everyday with his wife and his family brings him joy and satisfaction. The work done in the vineyard-where man is the main tool-is summed up by Don Eleodoro: "Our contribution is many hours of work done with immense passion."
Ony 1193 cases produced. Get It Now

Thanks -

We have a lot planned for the coming season. Wine Dinners, special guests, special offers, new menu items and our promise to respond to all of the suggestions and comments that come in every week.

Thank you all for the fantastic support and for making this so much fun.

Please join us, it's fun, informal, and a great way to start your weekend.

AAA.