Thursday, August 20, 2009

The 56 Degree Wine Road Show - All Aboard!

Enough with the vacation already! Let's get this soiree swingin'!

First of all, I have to report that tonight, Dave Powell of Torbreck Vineyards, will be joining the 56 Crew at the Pluckemin Inn in Bedminster for a super-duper Aussie Barbeque feast. It promises to be a night for the ages as we'll wash down all the superb meats from Debragga.com with Dave's supple lip-smacking wines that are always full of fruit but supremely balanced. Can't wait!

And if you've never been to one of our 56 Degree Wine dinners, you have no idea the fun you're leaving behind. Sign up for our email blasts by yours truly at 56 Degree Wine.com and enter the world of wine wonder, Master of Wine-style. Which leads me to a preview of what is to come this fall, so that those of you savvy enough to read this blog get a sneak peek and first dibs on attending.

I hatched an idea of the 56 Degree Wine Road Show a few months ago. Essentially, we'll do wine dinners at select destination restaurants outside our area with various themes and differing pricepoints. Some will be top-end and some will be ultra-casual. But I guarantee that all of them will be phenomenal experiences.

The first stop on the Road Show will be at DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies in Robbinsville, NJ on Sunday September 27th, 2009. This place is legendary in NJ as having the best tomato pies (calling it pizza is sacrilege) in the world. The original DeLorenzo's is still alive and kickin' on Hudson Street in Trenton, where it has resided since 1947. It's so entrenched in the fabric of Chambersburg that this is probably the only restaurant in the state with no bathroom. No lie, they were grandfathered in! This place serves only tomato pies and soda. No menu, no restroom and if you try to order a pie with pineapple, they'll probably kick you right out on your butt! This is old-school, hand crafted tomato pies at their best and freshest, featuring wafer thin crust that is the stuff dreams are made of. Since I didn't think we could do a wine dinner in a place with no toilet, we'll host this at the new Robbinsville location, owned by Sam Amico, the grandson of Chick DeLorenzo. Sam has fantastic salads on the menu, continues to make the family recipe tomato pies and...even has his and hers johns! The best part is that we'll be able to do this casual wine dinner for a song, enjoying the pies and sipping on Dolcetto, Barbera and Sangiovese. Mark your calendar!

I'll have more heads up info on the 56 Degree Wine Road Show very soon.

JCB the 4th

Monday, August 3, 2009

Hiatus!

Le Monstre is on vacation this week. Won't be much wine, but should be lots of fun and some truly memorable experiences with all my loved ones...

See you in a week.

JCB the 4th