Good times @ FedEx…here’s our slideshow from the game

The Low boys have opened all the kybecca locations to date and in keeping with tradition The came to be the first group to play the new venue.

Jeff Gandy of Fredericksburg Painting Services and Chris Park Fredericksburg Renovations by day join together at night to create an amazing, unique sound.

Showcased in the window on William street allows all inside and out to enjoy live music.

Thanks fellas!

I’ve never been the biggest fan of shooting Friday night high school football action. Especially those nights when I’m in front of my computer trying to get rid of haggard red eye on an ugly direct-flash photo from a dimly lit field. Using our pool D3,…

We have to thank David Lett, founder of The Eyrie Vineyards. Mr. Lett passed away last week at the age of 69.

In 1966, Mr. Lett planted 13 acres of vines in an old prune orchard in the Dundee Hills. Today, Oregon boasts more than 10,000 acres of pinot noir. He was also the first winemaker in the U.S. to produce pinot gris. From The New York Times:

“After traveling through Europe visiting wine regions, he returned to the United States in love with the pinot noir grape, with the conviction that it could succeed only in a marginal environment. A taste of some particularly good strawberries grown in the Willamette Valley convinced him that it was the place for pinot noir. He moved there in 1965.

While searching for the right site for a vineyard, Mr. Lett supported himself by selling college textbooks. The job permitted him to drive around the state, and whenever he saw a likely area, Jason Lett said, he would pull over to take soil samples. In the summer of 1966 he found his vineyard, and he also found a wife. David and Diana Lett spent their honeymoon planting grape vines, Jason Lett said.”

On our recent vacation, we drank a wonderful bottle of pinot noir (from the kybecca shop), the Medici Vineyards from Williamette Valley. The next time you raise a glass from Oregon, salute the vision of David Lett.

Covered a wild one at FedEx, the red-hot Redskins lost to the previously winless Rams on a last second field goal. Here is a link to our online galleries we’re doing from every game. Lots of action pictures, my more aesthetic side thinks I should try t…

I saw this article from the UK’s Telegraph newspaper about an inventor who claimed to invent a machine that simulates the aging process of wine. Other such inventions have come up in the past and the newspaper apparently thought this one was worth an article.

Lest you get tempted to buy this contraption or something similar, let me save you the money and tell you that it’s rubbish. I don’t even need to see a demonstration or anything to make this judgment. The inventor claims that it replicates the aging process of wine. They then go on to say that this means you can take a cheap bottle of wine, and presto it tastes like a fine wine that’s been cellared for 20 years. But cheap wines don’t improve with age anyway, no matter how you store it. Most wines are best consumed young. It’s more expensive wines that improve with age, and why would want to subject a wine you paid $50 or more for to ultrasound?

All these devices also claim to work on both red and white wine, but that makes no sense because the aging process for red wines is different than whites. As reds age the tannins bind together and drop to the bottom of the bottle as sediment. White wines don’t have tannin. Also, the chemistry for the aging process of wine is not completely understood.

I’m not saying that at some point in the future somebody won’t invent a contraption that simulates the aging process of wine, but I do know for certain that such a contraption wouldn’t work for both red and white wine, and it could never make a $7 bottle taste like a $100 bottle. If you ever see those claims being made rest assured you are either being lied to or are talking to a gullible person.

Sorry for the lack of postings. I’ve been busy kinda busy getting the place open.

One concrete counter top down; one to go….

While Nosario finished the Arch …

Oscar, Giovani and I worked on the kitchen counter top.

I just finished putting the poly on it and it will be ready in 8 hours. We now have our temporary Occupancy Permit (OP) for the dining area and are serving food on the inside. Come on by and try us out!

We just received a very limited allocation of the newest from Dogfish Head – the Theobroma. This one is another of Dogfish Head’s attempts to recreate an ancient beverage. According to the brewery, “This beer is based on chemical analysis of pottery fragments found in Honduras which revealed the earliest known alcoholic chocolate drink used by early civilizations to toast special occasions. The discovery of this beverage pushed back the earliest use of cocoa for human consumption more than 500 years to 1200 BC. As per the analysis, Dogfish Head’s Theobroma (translated into ‘food of the gods’) is brewed with Aztec cocoa powder and cocoa nibs (from our friends at Askinosie Chocolate), honey, chilies, and annatto (fragrant tree seeds). “

Here’s the deal on this beer: No holds, limit of 2 per customer. Also, it’s only available at the William Street store.

It is generally assumed that while the selection at grocery stores is not as good as wine shops, the prices are cheaper. This is based on a perception, though. Because grocery stores carry the very cheapest wines, people assume that their $10 and $15 wines must be good bargains too. But really the only difference is that grocery stores carry a lot of mass-produced wine which may or may not be any good and is not as cheap as it used to be. But when we do see some cross-over, the results can be surprising. Recently, we spotted the Hob Nob Pinot Noir at an area grocery store selling for $13.99. We have it for $10.99 and have been selling it at that price for months. So you may even pay more at the grocery store for the same wine.

Plus, your big name brands like Robert Mondavi or Kendall Jackson are not as cheap as they used to be. Often they are $10-$15, and I’d put our wines in that price range in a taste test against those brands any day. Plus we have loads of good wine less than $10, starting with our own kybecca brand wines, which you can buy in a mixed case for 15% off (grocery stores may or may not give quantity discounts).

All this may sound rather self-serving, and it is of course but it’s also true. If you’re looking to save money, buy from a wine shop. Preferably our wine shop.