Sprechen zie bier?

A weekend to remember, if only I can remember all of it!

I do know that it all started Thursday, when John, from Turner Wine Imports, came to taste everyone on an interesting selection of reds and whites. We had a great crowd, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Friday, we had Hans Hoss, whose family has been making beer in Germany since the 1600’s, come in to tell our customers about his beer. His U.S. distributors poured a fair amount of the delicious liquid, and we sold even more. Out of the four different beers he showed, not one was a dud. Each was delicious, from the lager to the Bavarian, the hefe to the dopelbach, I enjoyed each one several times (just to make sure…it is important to revisit from time to time to ensure your first reaction was the correct response).

Hans visited New York City, and Carolina Beach. Obviously, he knows all the hot spots. From Studio 54 to The Grind, he will have stories to tell all of his friends back home, and we were happy to be a part of it – and to be future German lore.

Anyway, Jeremy followed the tasting with his excellent, mellow sound, keeping some of the crowd here until late.

Saturday, Your Elected Officials rocked The Grind. Just a fun group, they really get the crowd going, and they definitely bring out some beer drinkers. This place was hopping for two-plus hours, and we look forward to their return. They will be playing every Friday in June, so, if you haven’t seen them…

This week, our boy Billy returns to the tasting table, to show off a good selection. In fact, we like one of the reds so much, we had to replace the case we got for the tasting, because we either drank or sold about 90% of it over the weekend.

Did I mention we were busy this weekend?

Good music this coming weekend, and Dave returns Saturday night, which is always a treat.

Speaking of treats, we should get our refrigeration in this week, which is one of the last elements to the kitchen. Then, we will await all of our inspections and approvals, and be ready to start playing in our new space. I anticipate by mid June we will actually be serving food, so get ready.

In the meantime, summer is upon us, we have a great selection of wine and beer, so come on down to 2 Wine Guys @ The Grind and let us pour you a glass.

Shawn

Old friends, new wines…

Well, we made it a year. All in one piece, not too much worse for wear, and I have only gone slightly mental…but I am working on that, with the help of some of the best medical minds out of Switzerland.

And by that, I mean pharmaceuticals.

No, I kid. If I take any kind of medication, I am out of it for at least a day, and I am having enough trouble focusing without any additional help. At least I have all this wine.

Speaking of wine, Country Vintner’s Jeremy (quickly becoming our favorite rep) remembered our anniversary, showing up Friday morning with two unbelievable wines out of his own private stock – as he put it, out of the ”touch it and I kill you cabinet.”

First was Penfold’s St. Henri Shiraz, an incredibly elegant wine, not what you would typically think of from Down Under. This was more along the lines of a big French Syrah, Australia’s parent grape, done with style and élan.

Next, he opened up the Torbreck Les Amis, a 100% Grenache from the Barossa Valley that just knocked our socks off. He paid a pretty penny for it several years ago, but thought our anniversary was a worthy occasion to pop that very special cork.

That, my friends, is what I call love.

We also received a visit from Laurence, an old FOTG (friend of the Grind) who represents Malibu Family Wines from southern Cali. Now, I know Malibu is typically associated with movie stars, mudslides and pharmacology for recreation, rather than wine, but in the mountains about this L.A. resort some very special things are happening.

Their Merlot and Cab are very solid, the Pinot Noir is classic Burgundian (although I like it more than some of the more typical French stylings) – Old World style, but still pleasing on the palate of someone spoiled by the unbelievable offerings of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. We also brought back the Saddlerock Rose, a Cabernet-based blush that would be perfect on the deck on a hot summer day, full of orange peel and strawberries.

Laurence has hooked us up more than once, and, along with these wines, we will be getting Saddlerock’s higher end Semler Library Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, a beautifully balanced Cab with great structure, that we will be able to offer at a fantastic price due to his generosity.

Oh, and Billy came in and tasted us on five other wines…so, all in all we tasted another 14 wines. I know, that is low by our standards, but it still beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Friday was our anniversary, and we had great music thanks to Dave, Lou and Johnny. We had our cake, and ate it too (pics will be available on our blog at

http://www.2wineguysatthegrind.com/), and celebrated ourselves by opening up a bottle of the Etude Cabernet, a rich, elegant (and somewhat expensive) wine. But, we have had two bottles on the shelf for some time, and, as you know, if you don’t drink it, we will. You didn’t, so we did. I blame you…

Saturday, Dave returned to play, and we ended up with a nice late crowd, including some of our Raleigh regulars, who were smart enough to ignore a dismal weather forecast, and were rewarded with a beautiful sunny day on the beach. I would love to have a job where I could be so consistently wrong, and still be not only employed, but have throngs of people relying on me to tell them what was going to happen.

If you did not see Everly play when they were at The Grind, here is a clip of them playing one of their songs at Tin Pan South. If the link doesn’t work, cut and paste it into your browser, and you will see what I have been bragging about.

http://imageevent.com/tcw1/tinpansouth2009?p=50&w=4&c=6&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0

Anyway, we are now headed into Memorial Day weekend, fireworks and movies will start, the rides on the Boardwalk will be open, and the season will be upon us. The kitchen floor has been grouted and sealed, and the sinks will come up and be plumbed in this week, so we are not too far away…

John, our friend from Turner Wine Imports (which is currently transitioning to something else), will be doing this week’s tasting, and we have a special beer tasting on Friday night – as one of the family members of a Bavarian brewery will be here to show off four of their German productions. Their family has been making beer since 1657, so they have a little experience…

Jeremy (no, not that one, another one) will be playing Friday, and Your Elected Officials return to The Grind’s center stage Saturday night. So the weekend entertainment should be excellent.

There ya have it. What are you waiting for? You owe it to yourself to come on down to 2 Wine Guys @ The Grind, and let us pour you a glass.

Shawn

One thousand bottles of wine on the wall…

Wow! What an eventful couple weeks, which has included several mini-trade shows hosted by our vendors. From Circa, to Deluxe, to Marc’s on Market, we have had the pleasure of tasting many, many wines. In fact, this past week alone, I have tasted 49 wines. That, fortunately, has helped take some of the edge off the construction stress (though it hasn’t affected the cost at all, so if you have a pile of money lying around doing nothing…).

Anyway, looking through my notes, I have entries for 1,008 wines. Unfortunately, I have not been diligent enough to notate every wine we have had, especially when you consider dinners, and our trip to Oregon (where I know we tasted more than 50 wines), so I have tasted many more than reflected in my bulging folder or various journals, notepads and business cards.

Still, 1,008 wines since last April. I love this business…now if only I can make some money at it…
[Update: Just when I thought it was safe to go back into The Grind, Jeremy showed up Monday afternoon with a South African winemaker, who tasted us on three of his reds, including a Pinotage, a Cab and a red blend…so, 1,011 and counting.]

Two of the tastings were Country Vintner, and one was Juice. Jeremy, from Country Vintner, has made it a point to see how much wine he can pour down my gullet, and I absolutely love him for it. Twenty-six of the wines I tasted were at his company’s mini-show at Marc’s on Market, and then he brought some crazy Aussie in here Friday to taste. But that’s how he rolls.

We had two great tastings here last week, with Kristin – from Choice Specialty Wines – starting things off by showing some great varietals on Thursday. Her selection included the Hyatt Syrah, a Washington State wine that was wonderful – and people agreed, because it sold out. Friday, as I said, Jeremy and a member of the Longview wine family from Australia showed up to pour the wines his family makes. Great crowd Thursday, nice crowd Friday, which led into Dave and Lou rocking the house. Dave and Jeremy played Saturday, and they always sound good together.

Wednesday, I am pouring a red (the Sacred Stone) at the Chamber Social, as well as preparing a couple appetizers to get people thinking about the Treehouse Bistro.

Thursday, Amanda, from Juice, will be hosting our tasting. She will present some really nice reds from Tin Barn (YUM!) in Sonoma, including a Syrah that will absolutely knock your socks off, along with a Champagne and an Oregon Pinot Gris. Juice has amazing wines, and they were one of our original vendors (although our rep was Billy, who is now with Tryon).

Friday is our anniversary, and I know we will do something, but I don’t know what. We had one customer who was kind enough to offer to make us a sheet cake, so, if nothing else, there will be cake! And, well, wine goes with cake. Plus, Your Elected Officials will be back to play Friday.

One year. Hard to believe, but we certainly appreciate all the regular customers who have become part of our dysfunctional wine family, as well as those who have simply wandered in for a brief Grind experience. We really like what we have created, and are even more excited about the kitchen. I love food and wine, and I will finally have a place to eat- even if it is ten o’clock! Good lord, you can’t get decent food after about nine on this island, but our kitchen will be open until we close at eleven.

So, if no one else wants it, at least we will get to eat before 2 or 3 in the morning (yes, that actually happens quite regularly. At least once we were eating pasta at 4:30 in the morning…if it wasn’t for the stress diet, I would probably weigh 300 pounds!).

OK, so that might be too much information, but that’s what happens when I get on a roll. And, no, I have not been drinking (yet).

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Saturday, Dave will return to play, and we never know who he might bring with him, we only know it will sound good, whoever it is! Perhaps Lou has been practicing? Maybe some percussion? A harmonica? Like I said, we just never know. But that is not a complaint, I’m just sayin.’

Summer is just around the corner, the kitchen is coming (at some as yet undetermined date), and the shelves are full, so come on down to 2 Wine Guys @ The Grind and let us pour you a glass.

Shawn

If you are drunk, you haven’t had enough to eat;

If you are full, you haven’t had enough to drink.

Apparently, that is an old Italian proverb. The Italians are good for a lot when it comes to wine, I guess because they have been making and drinking it as long as anyone can remember. Which is why I chose a glass of Valpolicella to drink while I write this (actually, Joel made a random selection, but it sounded good, didn’t it?). Either way, it is delicious, full of cherry notes and woody undertones with great structure.

Anyway, as we enter May, we close in on our one-year anniversary. We opened our doors May 15th of last year, and, well, we feel like celebrating. We are starting the festivities this week with two wine tastings. Yes, I said it, two wine tastings.

On Thursday, Kristin, from Choice, will be here to do the tasting. Kristin is one of our superstars, and one of two original vendors who have been with us since we popped the cork on The Grind. She will be showing a white Torrontes, a beautiful rose, an absolutely stunning Syrah (if you like that sort of thing, and, boy howdy, I sure do!), and two other wines that I am still trying to determine…perhaps a nice Bordeaux.

Friday, Jeremy, from Country Vintner, will be with another rep showing a sampling from Australia’s Longview Winery. He came in last Friday and tasted us on 13 different wines from this vintner from Down Under, as he is wont to do, causing some operational difficulties for my limbs and tongue.

Although Jeremy was not our original rep, Country Vintner was one of three who were with us from Day One, so we have accepted him into the family as one of our own. Plus, he always brings us a shitload of wine to taste, so we would have to be idiots not to consider his status with CV.

Speaking of Friday, Your Elected Officials played, and rocked the house. We got a nice crowd in, who got to hear some really fun music. You can watch a short on Youtube from the last time they played, here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwyOsj9hleM
One of our customers was kind enough to bring in a bottle of Chateau Montelena Cab for us to taste. It was their Chardonnay that beat the French in a blind tasting in the late 1970s, which was the subject of the movie “Bottle Shock.” If you have not yet seen it, what are you waiting for? Anyway, the Cab was delicious!

Saturday, Dave and Lou played, accompanied by the incomparable Simon, who had to be held back from totally shredding the guitar on “All Along the Watchtower.” He rocked just the same, but dad had to put on the restraints…hopefully next time he will let Simon rip it up. It was Kid’s Night, though, as young Finn Sweetz joined Simon on stage to show the old guys how to do it.

This week, following Friday’s tasting, Jeremy will return (perhaps accompanied by Dave? We just never know), and Saturday Dave will be back to entertain. A great weekend of entertainment and wine.

The weather forecast calls for sunshine and free wine, so come on out to 2 Wine Guys @ The Grind, and let us pour you a glass!

Shawn

I will not clot.

We made that determination one night after we closed, as the four of us drank one of our last BenMarco Expressivos (we have one left until next year!), discussing the heart healthy qualities of the beverage we were enjoying. Strictly medicinal, of course.

Anyway, we kicked off the weekend with a well-attended tasting, as Esther poured wines from Italy, France and Chile. People said si, oui and ole, and drank quite a few of the night’s selections. And, some people drank outside the box, picking wines from our shelves to follow the tasting wines. It won’t be long before people can have a bite to eat with their wine.

Oh, the kitchen? I’m glad you asked. Plumbing and electrical rough-ins have been inspected and passed, framing has been inspected and passed, insulation is in and drywall starts Wednesday. Sinks and work tables are being delivered today, and other equipment is on order, so it won’t be long before the room really starts to come together. Although, all this activity has me writing really big checks, so I don’t sleep much these days.

As Warren Zevon said, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” Of course, he is sleeping right now, so perhaps I need to adopt a different philosophy…or get some high powered sleep medication. Or a horse tranquilizer. Something.

But it will all be OK, once that sucker gets open and we start putting out unbelievable food, all will be right and good, birds will sing, clouds will part and the sun will shine.

Well, actually, the sun is shining right now. It is beautiful, and people should be coming to the beach and drinking wine.

We had a fair number of wine drinkers in Saturday night, and they got a real treat. Dave and Jeremy played, but the highlight was Simon. Dave’s son has played bass a time or two for a couple songs at The Grind, but Saturday he strapped on an electric guitar, and he carried the show. I am not kidding. Eleven years old, ripping out awesome solos, and jamming right up there with the big boys. And Dave didn’t have to give him near as much direction as he had to give Lou the week before! Speaking of Lou, he will be playing Friday, along with Garcia and the percussion man.

There is word that Simon may be back again Saturday…

Thursday, we have a new guy in for the tasting, from a company that just started working our side of the street. Drew, from Alliance Wines, will be tasting us on some Spanish and New Zealand wines, as well as a reserve Syrah from northern Cali. A nice line-up, and since he is the new guy, come on out and show him some love (or at least drink some of his wines).

Today (Tuesday) we are going downtown to Deluxe, for a wine event. Juice (you may remember Amanda from the Tarrica tasting) will be showing about 30 wines, so if I don’t send this out until tomorrow, you will know why.

OK, so I guess that was fairly predictable…I actually tasted 32 wines, along with the bottle we drank at Café Phoenix because we were a little early for the show. A lot of good stuff, including some big boys from Tor Wines (poured by winemaker Tor Kenward). Big boys with big price points, but I sure would like to bring a couple of them into the shop…perhaps for the restaurant wine list. Anyway, Juice has a great book, as they really specialize in boutique, low production wines. This was a great opportunity to taste some fantastic wines.

Well, I can hear the screwgun in the kitchen, meaning drywall is being hung as I write this. Excited? Me too. So, don’t be shy, come on out to 2 Wine Guys @ The Grind and let us pour you a glass!

Shawn