Field Notes: From the Archive
2021….
Beer & Cider 🍻
Lager is making a resurgence and we don't mean macro lager.
Shep has been predicting this trend for the past few years and is so happy to see it coming to fruition.
You've heard of kombucha - the fermented tea drink that's often slightly carbonated, slightly vinegary, and super tasty. And you've heard of beer (duh, that's why we're all here…) But have you ever heard of kombucha-beer??
North Country Hard Cider was founded with one goal in mind: create a hard cider that's tasty and sweet without any artificial additives.
This week we’re taking a look at how brewers create a sense of place in their product with none other than Tilted Barn.
Shep reflects on the craziness of COVID, especially for one of our all time favorite formerly draft-only breweries, Boneyard Beer.
This week Shep talks about European-style deliciousness from our friends at Schilling Beer Co. Prost!
This week Shep gives a preview of some uber yummy stouts now available in cans from High Water Brewing.
This week Shep gives us the low-down on two epic collabs headed our way from Oozlefinch Beers & Blending!
Take a gander at Shep’s favorite winter time brews! Stouts, Porters, & Doppelbocks, oh my!
Wine & Mead 🥂
With the colors changing, the evenings cooling off, and sweaters being pulled out of closets, it is time to start thinking about some richer, fuller bodied red wines. This seemed like an opportune time to write a little love letter to one of our favorite grape varieties: Grenache Noir.
We are very excited to welcome another Loire Valley producer to the portfolio! Also our first producer from the famous Pouilly-Fumé appellation.
The name of Bordeaux has always carried a certain mystique…
Thought we’d focus on a few new rosés from the Cynthia Hurley portfolio that will be landing this week…
We are proud to introduce the wines of Josef ‘Pepi’ Umathum (Oom-a-toom) to the great state of Vermont, starting with this absolutely delicious and crushable rosé.
Limited Addition is the first brand created by Bree and Chad Stock under their Constant Crush company. We’ve written about their wines in our blog before, but have some super new and exciting wines that just hit the warehouse.
We’ve posted about the great wines of Joseph Swan Vineyards and what we’ve already brought to Vermont. Last Thursday, we were able to visit Rod and Lynne out in Sonoma at the famous ‘tin shed’ in which Joe Swan began making wines so long ago. We tasted some fun new projects, had the opportunity to learn more about how things work on the ground level at Joseph Swan!
This week we have the absolute joy and privilege to welcome Richard Betts and Carla Rza Betts to the Flocc with their wines—An Approach to Relaxation!
In the beautiful, ancient, Austrian village of St. Margarethen near the shallow Neusiedlersee Lake on the border of Hungary one can find the Rosi Schuster winery…
An homage to the great Michael Broadbent, one of the most revered figures in the wine business.
The wines of Roland Velich at Moric winery (pronounced More-itz) confound any notion that Blaufränkisch might not be a noble variety or that Austria is a country primarily for white wine.
The first female winemaker working for an independent winery in Santa Barbara, Lane Tanner was also the first winemaker to dedicate an entire winery to Pinot Noir production.
The Villa Creek project was started by the Cris and JoAnn Cherry in 2001 with grapes sourced from some of the most exclusive properties in Paso…
Committed to sustainability, as little chemical use as possible (mostly copper and sulfur except in extreme cases), all indigenous yeast, and low amounts of sulfur at bottling, the Berthenet wines are vibrant and alive with the character of these old vines.
This week we revisit one of our favorite grape varieties and one that sees truly stunning expression all over the world. Despite gorgeous examples from all over Australia, from Washington State and California, as well as numerous other places (South Africa!!), the #Syrahvolution really began and finds its birthplace in the Norther Rhône valley of France.
We just picked up wines from one of the great young producers in the Southern part of the Rhône, where old-vine Grenache dominates and the warmth of the region smiles through the glass.
In the Alt Penedès, a land most famous for Cava production (see the previous post about Montsarra Cava), there is a small village named La Beguda Baixa…
VT Wine Shepherd is very excited to announce the addition of Bodegas Martínez Lacuesta to our portfolio.
As of last week, VT Wine Shepherd will be working with Cynthia Hurley Imports, an importer of French and Spanish wines, and the first wines have arrived!
Introducing Piere Ménard - a producer from the Anjou region doing some amazing work in the Layon sub-region.
2020….
Beer & Cider 🍻
Lager is making a resurgence and we don't mean macro lager.
Shep has been predicting this trend for the past few years and is so happy to see it coming to fruition.
You've heard of kombucha - the fermented tea drink that's often slightly carbonated, slightly vinegary, and super tasty. And you've heard of beer (duh, that's why we're all here…) But have you ever heard of kombucha-beer??
North Country Hard Cider was founded with one goal in mind: create a hard cider that's tasty and sweet without any artificial additives.
This week we’re taking a look at how brewers create a sense of place in their product with none other than Tilted Barn.
Shep reflects on the craziness of COVID, especially for one of our all time favorite formerly draft-only breweries, Boneyard Beer.
This week Shep talks about European-style deliciousness from our friends at Schilling Beer Co. Prost!
This week Shep gives a preview of some uber yummy stouts now available in cans from High Water Brewing.
This week Shep gives us the low-down on two epic collabs headed our way from Oozlefinch Beers & Blending!
Take a gander at Shep’s favorite winter time brews! Stouts, Porters, & Doppelbocks, oh my!
The can shortage is real! Shep takes a look at some alternative beer packaging options.
Wine & Mead 🥂
The Loire Valley is one of the most remarkable regions for wine production in the world…
Ok, so it’s not a WINE this week, we’re going to talk about glassware. Not super sexy? Well, that may be because you’ve not used a Zalto glass…
‘Tis the season to drink bubbles. Well, over here at the Shepherd Headquarters we think any occasion is a good one for drinking bubbles. Holidays, celebrations, Tuesdays, snow days… basically any time calling for a delicious beverage…
In the interest of focusing on warming, festive, delicious wines that are perfect for cold winter nights after fun in the snow, we’re very excited to talk about the great wines of Pepper Bridge and Amavi.
The Languedoc is a large and diverse region in the South of France that has much in common with the Rhône valley with regard to grape varieties, but is still the Wild West with respect to the winemaking, regional differences, and its place on the global wine scene.
Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the hardest holiday meals to properly pair, because the diversity of food options leads to the question: what are you actually pairing?
The grape variety we’re going to talk about today is Blaufränkisch (pronounced: BLAH-oo-frank-ish). It’s the most delicious grape you may never have heard of.
It is a very exciting time when your company has the honor and privilege to introduce an entire new portfolio to the great state of Vermont!
We couldn’t be more excited to represent the wines of Soter Vineyards to Vermont!
There are very few estates in France, let alone Châteauneuf-du-Pape that can claim the prestige and iconic stature of Domaine du Pégau.
Bindi Sergardi’s history can be traced back to the 14th century, to 1349, specifically, and the families have been working the land for 23 generations…
We are very proud to introduce the wines of Elderton to Vermont! The Nuriootpa vineyard in the Barossa Valley of Australia was planted in 1894, purchased by Samuel Elderton Tolley in 1916, and subsequently named ‘Elderton.’
Les Rocailles is a producer nestled in the Savoie region of France—bordered to the north by Switzerland, to the East by Italy, and truly one of the most beautiful places in Europe.
With the heat of August upon us, all we want to drink over here are bubbles. And sometimes those bubbles are pink and delicious and made by really nice people in Oregon.
We’re all about Sonoma these days at the Shepherd and this week we are proud to introduce one of the newest wines in the portfolio— Wilde Farm!
We are extremely excited over here at VT Wine Shepherd to announce the arrival of our first California wines!
Other Fun 🍾 …
Shep gives us the low-down on all things sustainability at the new VBS warehouse!
Happy Birthday to US! Shep reflects on how far we’ve come on our 5th anniversary of being in business.