This week's list of new and returning products follows a few informative articles from our archives about wine
Preamble by Steve Siciliano
One of our goals at the beginning of 2020 was to take steps to solidify Siciliano's Market as a destination location for fine wine. While we've worked hard over the past twenty or so years to establish our little family run store as a go to spot in west Michigan for craft beer, quality spirits, premium cigars and beer & wine making supplies, we felt that in the area of fine wine we were no where close to hitting our stride. In response we reconfigured the wine section, implemented an everyday 10% discount on purchases of three or more bottles and included a "Featured Wines of the Week" category in our weekly newsletters. Before the onset of the pandemic we were also offering free in store tastings and before too long we hope to begin those again.
I am pleased to report that customer response has been terrific and our efforts to establish Sicliano's as a respected and reputable wine shop is paying off. Now, being a respected and reputable wine merchant not only entails selling quality wines at affordable prices, it's also important to offer sound oenophiliac advice and education to our loyal customers. In view of this I feel that now is a good time to delve into our archives and rerun a handful of informative articles on a few styles of wine that might not be as familiar to some of our vino loving clientele. Enjoy!
Featured Wines of the Week
Bodegas Yuste, Aurora Pedro Ximenez, Sherry, Spain, $22.99/750ml- Warmed date, toffee and buckwheat flavors glide along on a viscous, caressing texture, ending with ginger and Christmas pudding notes. Has good freshness in addition to the bass line. Drink now. (Source)
Badia a Coltibuono, Vin Santo Del Chianti Classico, 2011, Italy, $51.39/375ml- Extremely rare, as only small quantities are produced, this is a typical, traditional Tuscan dessert wine. Enhanced by the creation of the DOC Vinsanto del Chianti Classico, today Badia a Coltibuono’s Vin santo is one of the best raisined wines in the world.
Tasting Notes: Golden amber, brilliant color. It’s aroma hints at honey, toasted almond and vanilla. Sweet and rich taste, balanced by vibrant acidity that enhances the clean, rich and elegant taste. Candied fruit, citrus, apricot and dried figs are the dominant notes. Very long persistent finish. (Source)
Lillet Blanc, French Aperitif wine, $22.89/750ml- Close your eyes & smell the flowers.
Then, taste the aromas of candied oranges, honey, pine resin & exostic fruits.Long aromas that will last to the end of your journey – until the next one begins of course! (Source)
Pietradolce, Etna Rosso, 2018, Italy, $24.89/750ml- Nerello Mascalese has grown for centuries in and around Etna and it thrives in the sandy volcanic soil and in the long growing seasons of the elevated slopes of the Etna volcano. The wines from Etna are often compared to the best Pinot Noirs in the world and in Italy, the area is often referred to as “the Burgundy of Italy,” because of the wine’s similarities to the highly esteemed French counterpart. Berries and brushwood; elegance, minerality and long-lasting on the palate. (Source)
Buy three or more bottles of wine get 10 % off.
"It's our mission at Siciliano's to sell quality wine at affordable prices."
Featured Spirits of the Week
Driftless Glen, Bourbon, Wisconsin, $42.09/750ml- DG Bourbon Whiskey is handcrafted using local ingredients from the Driftless Region of Wisconsin. This region is distinctive to the rest of the world because of the combination of temperature, water and soil.
Distilled from corn and aged in a new American Oak Barrel, the DG Bourbon Whiskey offers a well balanced profile of vanilla and caramel, with soft hints of charred oak. (Source)
Spaulding's Peppermint Schnapps, Ann Arbor Distilling co. MI, $18.99/375ml- Tasting Notes: Soft, custard mint, mint ice cream. (Source)
Fox River, Cask Strength Straight Bourbon, Ann Arbor Distilling co. MI, $69.49 750ml- 112.9 proof- 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% barley.
TASTING NOTES Fox River Bourbon is a smooth and slightly sweet bourbon whiskey. Distilled from local Michigan grain, this Bourbon is sure to please. (Source)
New and Returning Products
Arbor Liquid Vinyl Anthology, $13.59/500ml - Liquid Vinyl aged in Kentucky bourbon casks, we blended beers aged a minimum of 7 months and up to 2 years to create this vintage. 12.6% ABV
Arclight Soursmith Black Raspberry, $12.79/330ml - Foeder aged American Sour with Black Raspberries
Austin Brothers CooCoo for Coaco, $5.19/12oz - Imperial stout with cacao nibs, chocolate breakfast cereal, chocolate bars, chocolate donuts, chocolate syrup, chocolate ice cream, and vanilla. (Source)
Austin Brothers Cranberry Pomegranate, $4.09/16oz - Kettle sour with sea salt, cranberry, and pomegranate.
Austin Brothers Murking Dreams, $4.09/16oz - NEIPA featuring Styrian Cardinal, Galaxy, Sultana, Southern Sublime and Hort 4337 (Nectaron) hops
Austin Brothers West England IPA, $2.79/12oz - This beer is the love child of two of our favorite beer styles. To create this unique beer we dry hopped this beer with ungodly amounts of hops as if it was a New England style IPA with Amarillo, Galaxy, and Citra Hops. Then in true West Coast fashion filtered this to be crystal clear brewing it to have crisp and lighter body to make a fusion of styles. Juicy citrus hop characteristics with flavors of apricot, passion fruit, pineapple, and dank citrus. (Source)
Bells 3rd Coast Old Ale 2015 Vintage, $2.99/12oz - Third Coast Old Ale is a cellerable American-style barleywine that has notes of dried fruit and caramel embedded in a rich malt background that will grow more complex over time. (Source)
Brewery Vivant Jam Jar $5.29/16oz - Our barrel aged house sour beer blended with a fresh farmhouse ale with an unapologetic amount of blueberries, plums, blackberries, and blueberries to create a jammy sensation. (Source)
Farm Club East Coast Pale, $2.39/12oz - Pale Ale - New England
Farm Club Pilsner, $2.39/12oz
Lagunitas IPNA, $1.89/12oz - A non-alcoholic, full-flavored IPA, dry-hopped with Mosaic & Citra hops. This confounding creation uses the same ingredients found in our highly-balanced IPAs (hops, malt, yeast & water), and thus the same deliciousness, but brewed without the ceremonial fez & ancient incantations that normally take it over the edge. (Source)
Oddside Peanut Butter Cup, $2.89/12oz - This seasonal favorite hosts a chocolate and peanut butter party in your mouth.
Ore Dock Queen City, $1.99/12oz - Clean and crisp kölsch style ale white capped with german pils and hallertau hops. (Source)
Revolution Coffee Eugene, $1.99/12oz - Our Robust Porter was sent to a bright tank and infused with a blend of whole bean coffee from one of three nearby neighbors: Sip of Hope, Dark Matter, and Metropolis. The cold-aging allows us to extract the aromatic oils from the coffee without extracting any additional bitterness. (Source)
Revolution Deth by Cherries, $9.69/12oz - Unfermented tart cherries add a mild acidity and subtly rounding sweetness to our Deth’s Tar Barrel-Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout. Flavors and aromas of bourbon and oak meld harmoniously with the fruit, each balancing the other. Enjoy now or store cold. (Source)
Revolution Straight Jacket, $7.69/12oz - Our Barleywine Ale features American and Belgian malts which provide the base of this extraordinary ale. After 12 months in bourbon barrels the award-winning Straight Jacket® emerges with notes of stone fruit, toasted coconut, molasses, and vanilla coming in waves as you swirl the glass. Enjoy now or store cold. (Source)
Roak Eggnog Milkshake IPA, $3.59/16oz
Rochester Mills Tropical Grenade, $2.79/16oz - Exploding with Tropical flavors, this Milkshake-style IPA is brewed with lactose, pineapples, and toasted coconut flakes. Reminiscent of a certain popular umbrella drink. Pull the pin on this brew, sit back, pour and enjoy. (Source)
Shorts Spruce Pilsner, $2.59/12oz - Spruce Pilsner is an Imperial Pilsner, fermented with local, hand-picked blue spruce tips. The spruce presence, rooted in historical brewing practices, is enormous and gives the beer a refreshing gin quality. This beer is impressively light-bodied, considering the immense spruce flavors and the prodigious additions of hops. Thanks to this beer, you’ll be transported to your favorite coniferous forest and ready to trim trees faster than you can say Thanksgiving. (Source)
Surly Moving Pictures,$1.99/12oz - Flavors paint pictures in our minds. Blink for a moment and they freeze—grapefruit, tangerine, mango, papaya—blink again and the frame resets. Dry-hopped with Amarillo, El Dorado, and Lotus hops, Moving Pictures IPA tells this story in each sip. (Source)
Terrapin Wake n Bake, $2.99/12oz - Black as night, this coffee stout is thick, rich and full of real coffee flavor. Brewed with a special blend of beans from all over the world developed and roasted specifically for Terrapin by our friends at Jittery Joe’s Coffee right here in Athens, Ga. This unique blend of coffee produces a robust and flavorful beer that will leave you asking why not beer for breakfast! (Source)
Transient Life for a Puppy Shouldn't be so Ruff, $21.79/500ml - Eastern Kille and Blis breakfast rye whiskey barrel aged imperial rye stout with Violet Sky cocoa nibs and salted caramel (contains lactose); 13.5%
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