We are excited to tell you that due to popular demand we have greatly increased our beer offerings at the wine bar (still a lot of wine, of course). We now have 25 bottles available. Some of the highlights include:

– Dogfish Head 90 Minute and 120 Minute IPAs. The 120 Minute is especially exciting because this beer is not very easy to get.

– Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout. Do you love Chocolate Stouts? You should definitely try this. A True dessert beer.

– Affligem Tripel. A must for Belgian Ale lovers. This beer won the gold medal for its style at the 2008 World Beer Cup.

So now you beer lovers don’t have to pick from just a few bottles, we have something for everybody here.

Also, a couple of new seasonals are in for retail. First is Bell’s Octoberfest. I took a pass on this one last year, but was told that this year was much better. They were right! This beer is better than any of the German Oktoberfest imports I’ve had. It really tastes like Autumn.

Second is a very interesting beer. Last year I had a lot of people ask me if I had any Holloween-themed beers and I really didn’t. This year we have the Coney Island Freaktoberfest. It pours a deep red color and has a big malty flavor with a nice dose of hops as well. This one will be perfect for your Halloween party. Just look at that logo! Plus the alcohol content is 6.66%.

I realize that my last ‘Underrated Wine of the Week’ was something like three months ago, but perhaps I was getting a bit ahead of myself. It’s still a catchier name than “Underrated Wine of the Quarter”.

Anyway, this time around I wanted to talk about Vin Santo, a type of dessert wine from Tuscany. Vin Santo is one of those discoveries about wine that you love because it’s completely different than anything else. The name, literally translated, means Saint Wine. To make it, wineries pick Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes (both common in Tuscany) and hang them from rafters until they are dried out. They are then pressed and the now-concentrated juice is poured into little cigar-shaped barrels. They are fermented with an open top, then sealed and stored under the roof of the winery for as long as a decade.

Over time they take on an amber color from the barrels. Because they have been exposed to the air they are oxidized and therefore taste quite a lot like Port Wine. In fact, if you are a Port Wine lover you really must try Vin Santo. It has the same nutty/dried fruit flavors. Unlike Port, though, it is not fortified with Brandy so the alcohol content is a bit lower. In Tuscany I’m told people often have it with biscotti. I think it makes a great after dinner drink. If you’re interested in trying it we have one called Castello di Poppiano which sells for about $25.

…Nothing could be more true when it comes to the Wine Bar at Kybecca than the statement above. Last Friday, Hurricane Hannah threatened the peace and stability of the east coast of America more imminently than the former Iraqi dictator ever did. No but seriously:
I watched from inside the William st. store as the colors of the sky turned ominously from bright & sunny to dark & gray, skipping sunset. The winds began to blow the table clothes outside, like a trumpet signaling the arrival of the much-anticipated storm. And the excitement built among the staff as with each passing hour we noted, “it’s coming, it’s coming; it’s here.. almost”. And yet without fail I watched as faithful patrons inquired within about seating at the Wine Bar outside. Each time I’d listen as Rebecca or one of the wait staff would inform them that we are expecting a Hurricane any minute, but that we’d be delighted to seat them. That seemed to have nihl effect upon the determined appetites of our customers Friday evening. We were packed, and under a tropical storm advisory. Go figure. With new dishes like the lobster salad, or the new recipe below of corn chowder it’s no wonder. I guess it just proves that the menu at Kybecca is so tempting that it cannot be resisted come wind or rain, hurricane or no hurricane.

The first few weeks of school are not cooking friendly. There’s a lot going on — everything is in fast forward, earlier sunsets, earlier bedtimes, earlier wake up calls.

We’ve been taking advantage of the great local farmers’ market, heirloom tomatoes from our own garden, and my cheese and hummus connection at kybecca to throw together great fresh food in 10 minutes or less. The kids love dipping veggies into the kybecca hummus with spicy peppadews for their after school snack. We’ve been having the Hudson Valley Camembert with cantalope and berries on the side. So yummy . . .

There’s a quick pasta we throw together, a little smoky blue cheese, prosciutto or bacon, a bit of red wine, garlic, crushed red pepper, tomatoes or not. The Buttermilk Blue at kybecca is terrific in this.

I might not actually plan a meal until Thanksgiving.

Members of the 4th Marine Division, who fought on Iwo Jima and other island campaigns, visit the Marine Museum in Triangle, Va.

Next time you come by our Plank Road store, ask about the paintings we currently have on display in our function room. They are a series of paintings by Kathleen Walsh, a local artist that paints for the Liberty Town Arts Workshop. Kathleen has been painting for a long time and has exhibited all over the world. Click here to read about her and see a sample of her art. The exhibit at our store is a called “A Joyful Sound”, and in Kathleen’s words, “The paintings in this series are done on wood and canvas. I have used a mixed media, incorporating paper, modeling paste, acrylics and anything that seemed interesting at the time.” If you’re an art lover you really should come see these paintings, they really are world class.

Also, 20% of the revenue from the sales of these paintings will be donated to the ALS assocation in memory of Phil Chapman, a local artist and potter who died from the disease. ALS (sometimes referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease) is an often fatal disease that attacks the neuromuscular system. The ALS assocation funds research on the disease in the hopes of finding a cure. Read more about the association here.

So definitely come by and check out the art, and if you like it remember that by purchasing it you also help fund a good cause. The exhibit is at the Plank Road store only, next to Ukrops on route 3.

This famous saying, attributed to the Latin poet Pliny the Elder, means “in wine there is truth.” The traditional explanation being that a bottle of wine has an uncanny (and rather unfortunate at times) tendency to reveal the true hue of our emotions, which we’d otherwise prefer to conceal. We’ve all experienced this. After a few too many glasses, the gig is up and we have professed our undying love to joe schmo, or told our in-laws that we regifted that horrid cardigan at last year’s White Elephant party. I, however, would like to offer a new and revised interpretation of this adage. What of the notion that a bottle of wine reveals to US its true “emotions,” if you will? Haven’t you ever confronted a mild and well balanced pinot grigio, a fiery tempranillo, or how about a bold and overbearing Bordeaux? Drinking wine is an intimate process wherein the grapes expose their terroir, or their special geographic characteristics, to us. Take for example, an Italian grape varietal known as Nebbiolo, (from which we get Barolo and Barbaresco). Considering the consecutive rainy and foggy days this week, it is fitting to discuss this particular wine. What truth is there to uncover in a bottle of Nebbiolo, in say, our 2003 Benotto Monferrato Rosso? For starters, let us dabble a bit in the etymology of the term Nebbiolo. In Italian, “la nebbia” means fog. Nebbiolo then means foggy. The Nebbiolo grape comes from the Piedmonte Region in Northwestern Italy, which literally translates to “at the foot of the hills”. It is a region of castles and vineyards enveloped in a blanket of fog at the foot of the French Alps. Around harvest time, in October, a dense fog hovers low to the piedmontese earth. It is rumored that the grapes are picked in the early morning hours of the autumn when the dew from this fog covers the grapes. Hence derives their name “nebbiolo” from the nebbia or fog that blankets the harvests.
And so the next time you enjoy a bottle of wine, be it a red, white or rose, consider what truths the veritable vines might reveal to you…and remember that “…in aqua sanitas.”

Here’s an interesting article about speculation in Bordeaux. As with many other commodities, investors can buy a portion of wine while it’s still in the barrel in the hopes that the price will rise after bottling. Ratings from influential critics like Robert Parker make a big difference in these prices. But like all futures investing it’s basically a form of educated gambling. It turns out that speculators mainly from Russia and China are buying the 2007 vintage (still in the barrel) at prices similar to the ones had from the now legendary 2005 vintage. The problem is that the 2007 vintage was good but not great. Robert Parker only gave 90-93 Points for the 2007 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild – not a high rating for a wine that sells for about $1500-$2000. Anyone who’s studied economics knows what this means: they have an investment bubble. Expect Bordeaux prices to come crashing back down in a couple of years. Good news for consumers.

a recent high school reunion for classes as far back as 1935…new college students on the river…