Selection of Wine Cellar

We have excellent wine buys to help us celebrate the coming summer season. This month we are having our American Wine Sale, there is no better time to stock up and save on your favorite wines with exceptional savings. Step outside into the sun, then you can step into one of our conveniently located NH Liquor and Wine Outlet Store locations and see what a collection of wine and spirits we have to offer you.

Our Cellar Select program is here! If you've ever felt overwhelmed with the amount of wine selections in our stores and have a difficult time choosing a wine, our highly successful Cellar Select Program is for you. Nicole Brassard and myself represent the wine buying team here at the NH Liquor Commission and we have created this exciting program for people just like you.

Our selections are always great values in whatever price echelon they are in. We think they are always delicious and well made wines, which typically, are from smaller boutique-like producers. This can mean the wines are interesting and somewhat rare, yet they remain affordable.

Please consult the list of stores which feature this program and visit one in your area soon. Cellar Select takes the guesswork out of buying a great wine. Whether you have just a budding interest or are an expert, we believe our Cellect Select wines will appeal to all. Try One Today!

Training Offered to Law Enforcement Agencies

The Bureau of Enforcement's mission is to prevent underage people from acquiring age restricted products such as alcohol and tobacco, and to encourage the responsible sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages by adults thereby reducing the number of alcohol related incidents on our highways.

The Bureau of Enforcement is committed to providing superior education and training programs to the holders of liquor licenses, law enforcement personnel, parents, students and the general public. It is through our education and training efforts we move ever closer to achieving the Bureau's goals and serving the citizens of New Hampshire.

RED WINE AND PASTA SECRETS TO LONG LIFE

“The key to a long happy life is red wine and pasta,” said 81-year-old Tina Langford, who retired Wed August 4 after 16 years as a cleaner with Herefordshire Council. Tina has been a cleaner at the Council’s Bath Street offices for the last 12 years and was the first cleaner there when the Council took over the building. She was presented with gifts and flowers as well wishers filled the conference room to wish her a happy retirement. “I’ve really enjoyed working here and will miss all the people I have come to know over the years,” she said.

“I’m not even sure I really want to retire yet,” she added. Tina was born in Italy and, after marrying a British Serviceman during the Second World War, she arrived by train with other war brides without being able to speak a word of English. After arriving in England Tina and her husband moved to Hereford where they settled and raised a family.

Wine grape production up despite drought

Total Australian wine grape production is forecast to increase by 19 per cent to 1.67 million tonnes in 2007-08, as a result of improved growing conditions in key production areas, according to a new ABARE report Australian Wine Grape Production Projections to 2009-10 released today.

“Forecast production in 2007-08 is higher than early-season estimates because of greater than expected resilience of vines suffering from drought stress, and water purchasing by growers in drought-affected irrigation areas,” said Phillip Glyde, Executive Director of ABARE,

“Despite the better than previously expected outcomes, production will be well below the record 1.9 million tonnes achieved in 2004-05,” Mr Glyde added.

The greatest increase in production in 2007-08 is expected to occur in the cool-climate grape growing regions. Production increases in warm climate areas are forecast to be minimal because of ongoing scarcity of water for irrigation. In 2008-09, wine grape production is projected to increase further, to 1.78 million tonnes, but to remain constrained by water availability. Wine grape production is projected to reach 2.0 million tonnes in 2009-10, assuming a return to average seasonal conditions.

Brunello di Montalcino wine

Brunello di Montalcino wine is a controlled appellation (DOCG) Italian wine that under Italian rules must be produced exclusively from Sangiovese grapes. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has learned that some of the wine labeled as Brunello di Montalcino was produced from a blend of Sangiovese and other grape varieties and is therefore not entitled to the Brunello di Montalcino designation. This wine is mislabeled under both Italian and U.S. rules.

In order to ensure compliance with the provisions of section 105(e) of the Federal Alcohol Administration (FAA) Act, 27 U.S.C. section 205(e), CBP officials have the authority to withhold release from, or demand the return to, CBP custody of imported wine not covered by a proper certificate of label approval (COLA). Brunello di Montalcino is a foreign nongeneric name that is a distinctive designation of specific grape wines under TTB regulations at 27 CFR sections 4.24(c)(1) and 12.31(c). Brunello di Montalcino wine not made exclusively from Sangiovese grapes does not conform to the current requirements of Italy and is therefore also in conflict with TTB regulations at 27 CFR section 4.25(a)(2)(iii) and (e)(3)(iii). Thus, it is not covered by the COLAs that are currently issued.

Wine garden and farmer’s market offer alternative fair foods and beverages

Wine and air conditioning create a relaxing combination, making the Illinois Wine Tent, located in the Heartland area at the Illinois State Fair, a popular location for fairgoers old enough to partake. On display in the tent are roughly 10 rotating wineries from around the state, each with glasses and bottles of wine available for purchase. Fairgoers also have the option of buying tickets for $1 each, which will allow them to taste a wine of their choice. Samples are roughly one ounce, said Brenda Logan, part-owner of Baxter’s Vineyards & Winery in Nauvoo, Illinois’ oldest winery, established after the Prohibition. Fairgoers who buy five tickets get a free complementary Illinois Wine glass.

“It’s a great opportunity to sample a lot of Illinois wines in one place,” she added. Baxter’s, which has been on display for over 10 years at the state fair, offers 11 wines from sweet and semi-sweet to dry and semi-dry. Bottles range from $10 to $16, and a glass of wine is $4. Logan said the most popular wines are the sweet wines, the Concord Wine and the White Sweet. She said the grapes used for their wine is grown in the Midwest and carefully selected as it is one of the most important steps in making good wine.

“The grapes determine the wine. If you have not-so-good grapes, then you don’t have good wine,” she said. “It starts with the grower.” Bruce Morgenstern, part-owner of Pheasant Hollow Winery, said that this sense of Illinois pride also applies to the wine business as a whole for him, which he calls a “cooperation.” “I have the entrepreneur drive: I want to be the best and sell the most,” he said. “But if the wines I’m selling are not your taste, I just assume that you go to another Illinois winery and find one that does.”

And, apparently, that attitude has worked. In a 2000 MKF economic impact survey, Illinois wineries made $20,000. Now they make nearly $230,000, Morgenstern said. That’s not all. In July 1999, Pheasant Hollow was the 16th winery to open in Illinois. Now, there are roughly 75 wineries in Illinois.“What other industry in Illinois has that kind of exponential growth?” he asked. “It’s just exploding.” At the Pheasant Hollow Winery exhibit, 11 wines are on sale, ranging from $11 to $16. Morgenstern offers a number of fruit-blended wines, one of which, the Midnight Medley, won the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association’s Governor’s cup for best fruit-blended wine.

Pheasant Hollow Winery also offers the only sparkling wine in the tent, the Muscat de Canelli. The wine is also one of the only sparkling wines in Illinois, with Morgenstern adding that his company is the only winery that has the machinery to make sparkling wine. There may be another winery in the state that still does it by hand. “We are the only winery in the state capable of producing sparkling wine the way we do,” he said. “And we do it on purpose.”

Fairgoers visiting the Wine Tent will also find brochures and other hand-outs detailing other activities and tourist attractions located near the wineries. Located next door to the Illinois Wine tent is the Farmer’s Market, which features some of the finest produce from around the state, and, in the mean time, proves that fairgoers don’t have to go out of state to get the freshest fruit. “Local producers are just as good as anybody else,” said Harry Alten, chairman for the Illinois Specialty Growers.” If they’re in season, they may be even better.”

All the fruits for sale, except the peaches which came from a producer in Virginia, are produced in state. For example, the apple cider came from Tanner’s Orchard in Speer and Curtis Orchard in Champaign-Urbana and the sweet corn is produced at Twin Gardens Farms in Harvard. Also for sale is Illinois-produced cantaloupe and watermelon and healthier snack options including popcorn, the popular egg-on-a-stick, garden salads and vanilla ice cream. Apple cider slushes are also available, which Alten said is the most popular item because of the heat.

Needless to say, the Farmer’s Market’s produce is also some of the healthiest of food options at the fair and a great alternative for both the young and old. Alten relayed a story of a lady who came in with her 7-year-old son, who tried watermelon for the first time at the Farmer’s Market, a fruit he had previously didn’t like. “He thought it was fair food,” he said. “Now he likes watermelon. ‘I can’t believe it, he ate the whole thing!’ she told me.” All sugars in the produce are natural and the produce is not processed. Besides selling Illinois-produced food, the Farmer’s Market also informs the fairgoers about fresh produce in their area. The Prairie Bounty of Illinois, a handout that lists farmer’s markets throughout Illinois, offers fairgoers a chance to purchase fresh produce outside of the fair. Brochures are also available on local orchards as well.

Oenology: red wine procyanidins and vascular health.

Regular, moderate consumption of red wine is linked to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease and to lower overall mortality, but the relative contribution of wine's alcohol and polyphenol components to these effects is unclear. Here we identify procyanidins as the principal vasoactive polyphenols in red wine and show that they are present at higher concentrations in wines from areas of southwestern France and Sardinia, where traditional production methods ensure that these compounds are efficiently extracted during vinification. These regions also happen to be associated with increased longevity in the population.