Pinot for the show! Fri Oct 9th @ 5:30

With the advent of October here in the mountains we revel in anticipation of watching the hills explode in vibrant colors.  As the hues of green transform into a cascade of yellow, orange, and red my mind shifts into brighter flavors and heavier hues as well.

There are a ton of great wines for the fall with cooler temperatures and extravagant colors exploding around us, but those flavors that resonate the most soundly are those of the pinots. Pinot Noir is first and foremost on my mind, but with the season’s feasts of harvest… there are other crisp, bright exciting pinots to be had and experienced as well.

We will take a hike through the Pinots this week with Pinot Grigio, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and of course Pinot Noir accompanied by a few tantalizing items the tantalizing items the help the true colors of the great pinots pop and explode.

Wine to Water Founder Top 10 CNN “Hero” – Send us your House Party Photos

Many Thanks to all of you who’ve order Wine to Water and supported this wonderful cause.  For those of you throwing house-parties to help spread the word – please send us your photos so we can post them here and show everyone else how much fun you can have Drinking Well While Doing Good!

Wine to Water – a great idea to help a great cause

We’re very proud to be offering Wine To Water’s newly released wines – an Old Vin Zinfandel and Chardonnay from Lodi.  Wine To Water started as an idea, a simple passion to help people in need. Doc Hendley, President/Founder, first learned about the global water crisis in 2003 while bartending in Raleigh, NC.

“When the idea came to me to start Wine To Water the only real world experience I had was tending
bar. I dreamed of building an organization that fought water related death and disease using completely different methods than anyone else. So I started raising money to fight this water epidemic the best way I knew how, by pouring wine and playing music.”

Doc held the first fundraiser in January 2004. Since then, Wine To Water has grown into an established 501(c)(3) aid organization. Fundraising efforts have expanded to include foundations, clubs, organizations, homes, churches and schools. However, wine tastings continue to be a huge part of the organization. Communities unite for a good cause allowing the age old miracle to be reversed; the fortunate people of today’s society are able to give back to those in need, turning “Wine To Water.”

You can support this cause by your purchase of Wine to Water wines simply to enjoy on your own or even to host a benefit wine tasting in your own community.   Click HERE for more info.

Wine to Water

Romance of the Orient – Sake – Fri Sept 25 @ 5:30

(Back by popular request – the last one sold out early, advance tickets are strongly suggested)

One of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted of all the wines, Sake is a delicate treat. We’ll only be show casing high quality sakes served chilled. The lower quality products with fortifications ao many people associate with sake will be totally ignored that we can concentrate on products with actually flavors that will explode upon your tongue.

We’ll be sampling sakes that are sparkling, those that are deep and robust in character, and sweet and delicate as well. Come and catch the romance of the orient as we endeavor to uncover the mysteries of Japan’s drink with the highest acclaim.

$15 with advanced reservations, $20 at door

Stranger Wines, Newer Friends – Fri, Sept 18 @ 5:30

With nearly eleven thousand varietals of grapes throughout the globe, the average consumer is aware of only a few dozen typically.

here One of our most treasured projects here at Christopher’s Wine and Cheese is our efforts to find as many of those grapes as possible and expose you to them. This evening, we are presenting a bounty of straight up varietals which most have never tried, and may not even have heard of.

They may include the Godello Wine of Spain, Prieto Picudo Wine of Spain, the petite Mansing ,and a little Swiss Chasselas…. but of course this is all dependant upon our being able to get these wines in in sufficient time to have them ready to present to you. In any case, we will have some very interesting wines from very interesting places to share with you, our very interesting friends.

And if you’re working on your Wine Century certification, these will certainly move you closer to that goal. Advanced reservations are always suggested – $15 advance purchase ($9 w/ Student ID) or $20 at the door on a space available basis. Please call 828-414-9111 (toll free at 866-713-9437 for our out of town guests)

Click here to purchase your tickets.

W.I.N.O.S. Cookbook series book-signing at Gallery Stroll Fri Sept 11 @ 5:30

Bonnie Jessup, Author of the W.I.N.O.S. (Women In Need Of Sanity) cookbook series and founder of the WINOS Buddies Club will be joining us on Friday night, Sept 11 for a book signing during the Gallery Stroll on Sunset.

WINOS is all about cooking, eating, laughing, enjoying wine, friends, family and having fun, according to its Blowing Rock, N.C.-based author who spends much of her time in research and development of new recipes and cocktails. “It’s kind of like chemistry but a whole lot more fun,” she said. (One thing she mentioned was bringing a chocolate fondue!)

The Gallery stroll runs from 5:30-8:00 and includes several galleries and local artists along with wine and snacks. It’s open to the public and there is no charge.

“Made in America” Wine Tasting Sept 4 @ 5:30

To help celebrate Labor Day, we’re hosting a “Made in America” wine tasting.

When you add up the number of people in the US involved in the wine industry – the winemakers and cellar rats, vineyard workers, folks who run the tasting rooms – along with the local shops, restaurants, wait staff who serve it and distributors & truck drivers who get it from point A to B – that’s an huge amount of jobs that are done right here in the States. And we think that’s something to celebrate.

Obviously, the California wines are the best known – but we want to explore a little bit more of the countryside than that. Of course we’ll also sample from Oregon and Washington state, along with something grown and produced right here in North Carolina. Plus Virginia and any other states that we can put our hands on (given all the strange laws involved, it’s not always as easy as it should be)

As always, it’ll be a fun way to explore some new wines and enjoy some time with friends

$15 advance purchase ($9 with Student ID) or $20 at the door on a space available basis.  Click here for tickets

Social Media & Selling Wine (or anything else)

We use Twitter (and other Social Media like Facebook) to promote both the wine shop and the B&B we have as well as marketing consulting that I do for other small businesses

While there are different things to talk about for each of the individual businesses, the basic usage really remains the same – only the conversations are different.  The ‘goal’ with social media is about creating relationships, not simply putting advertising out there over and over.

Recently we were selected as one of the Top 60 Business profiles on Twitter by other users that was organized by kBuzz Marketing – I guess we got more attention from being mentioned in the recent NYT’s article about how small businesses are using social media than I had realized.

I think the most often asked question I get from small businesses I work with is “how do you do it?” and it dawned on me how misunderstood much of this is – needlessly.

Cabernet Sauvignon Blind Wine Tasting – Aug 28 @ 5:30

We’re doing a blind tasting of various Cabernet Sauvignons to help recognize the true character of the grape as well as the more subtle influences of the terroir from which each wine originates

With blind tasting we’ll remove any prejudice we may have for any given region and allow the wine to sing its song on our palate. We definitely will sample wines from a couple of obvious areas, like Napa and a few lesser known areas also. There will be sensory triggers to help identify various subtleties in the wine and assist both the experienced and novice wine connoisseur.

Most importantly, we will enjoy great wine with the company of great friends.

Advanced reservations are always suggested – $15 advance purchase or $20 at the door on a space available basis. Please call 828-414-9111 (toll free at 866-713-9437 for our out of town guests)

Long Shadows Vintners Tasting – Monday, Aug 24 @5:30

Please join us as we taste through the best wines Washington has to offer made by the most critically acclaimed winemakers.

Wines and Winemakers Featured…

2008 Poets Leap Riesling, Armin Diel
2005 Chester Kidder, Shoup/ Nicault
2005 Pirouette Red Wine, Huneeus/ Melka
2006 Pedestal Merlot, Michel Rolland
2005 Feather Cabernet Sauvignon, R. Dunn
2006 Sequel Syrah, John Duval

Leading winemaking and viticulture pioneer, Allen Shoup, forged winemaking partnerships with Piero Antinori and Dr. Ernst Loosen that won acclamation throughout the world. He now builds upon those successes with some of the top talent in the winemaking community. These artists and craftsmen have partnered with Allen in a visionary goal: to create world class wines that showcase the viticultural excellence of Washington State’s Columbia Valley.

They have devoted hundreds of hours sampling the many wines originating from the most important vineyards, and chose those particular vineyards that fit the desired style and type of wines each hopes to create. Grapes from every sub-appellation of the Columbia Valley were selected to take the fullest advantage of the region’s individual microclimates and terroirs.

Click Here for More Details

Advanced reservations are always suggested – $15 advance purchase or $20 at the door on a space available basis. Please call 828-414-9111 (toll free at 866-713-9437 for our out of town guests)