Bloom announced that they will be shuttering their Walkersville store in February.
Oops!
Just goes to show you how stupid the State’s liquor laws are: Comptroller Blasts County For Illegal Liquor Purchase
Filed under Booze
Local Wineries Odds and Ends
Great article about Black Ankle vineyards here. It’s only part one. I look forward to the second part and to see how she answers the question a lot of us, including me, have asked: are Black Ankle wines worth the price?
Also someone (or someones) else liked the Knob Hall Chambourcin as much as I did. It won the top award at the American Wine Society’s Annual National Conference in a competition of the top varieties and wines of the Maryland and New Jersey region. Article here.
Filed under Wine
Lunchbox
Word is that Lunchbox opens tomorrow. I will stop by next week and let you know. Anyone care to post any of their impressions in the comments?
Filed under Restaurant- misc.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Yesterday I was in a foul mood. I was a grumpy parent, a crabby spouse and a surly boss. Not quite as bad as Kevin Spacey in Swimming With Sharks (favorite clip here) but pretty close. I’m not sure what my deal was, by when I woke up this morning I was filled with the Thanksgiving spirit. Truly I have so much to be grateful for on this the eve of my favorite holiday. A day oriented towards family, food, drink and gratitude. What’s not to like? So happy Thanksgiving to all. Dinner for 15 at stately Fred Manor tomorrow!
Filed under Food, The Good Life
Knob Hall Winery
This past weekend I had an opportunity to visit Knob Hall Winery. Located in North Western Washington County, the owner, Dick Seibert, has taken 30 acres of his 200 acre family farm and planted a number of different varieties of grape. The tasting room is situated in an 1860′s post and beam barn. I have a thing for old barns so I loved to look at the woodwork. However, I will have to admit it was quite rustic. Currently they have plans to renovate and update the tasting area though.
Quite frankly I do not care what the tasting area looks like as long as the wine is good. I did get to taste all of Knob Hall Winery’s current releases. As usual with my Maryland wine tasting adventures I am always pleasantly surprised, uncovering wines that can hold their own against others from better known areas. My two favorites were their Chambourcin and their semi-dry rose. The rose was only slightly sweet and had nice fruit and acidity. The Chambourcin was full bodied and very interesting, with lots of sour red fruit and hints of earth and leather. It is unusual to see a single varietal made from Chambourcin, a fairly obscure grape, and I was excited to try it. Defintely worth a trip and bringing home a bottle or two as well.
Knob Hall Winery is located at 14108 St. Paul Road in Clear Spring, Maryland. Their phone number is 301-842-2777.
Filed under The Good Life, Wine
Third Thursday in November
The third thursday in November is tomorrow and that means beaujolais nouveau. Loyal reader(s) will know my conflicted feelings on the issue. As usual I will sample some and let you know. I am not aware of any special festivities planned for the Frederick area. Anyone have any news?
Previous thoughts on this event for 2010, 2009, 2008, more 2008, and 2007.
Filed under The Good Life, Wine
Lunchbox- A New Restaurant From the Makers of Volt
Word is that the team of Voltaggio and Staples are opening a new restaurant in early December on Carroll Creek. From the description its going to have to be on one side or another of the Wine Kitchen. It will serve sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts in a casual setting. Here is the website. Not much to see right now.
UPDATE: Hadn’t seen this when I wrote the above entry, but Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post has a more in-depth article here. BV is going to be busy next year! He also reports on some major changes at Volt:
Come January, Voltaggio plans to introduce some significant changes at his flagship restaurant. Volt will dispense with its a la carte menu and offer instead a four-course list for $80 that will completely change at the start of each month. Lunch service will be cut back to Saturday and Sunday, a move that will help Voltaggio and his team “push Volt to the next level” — finetune dishes, prepare additional canapés, re-write those menus — since the kitchen space will be free weekdays.
Filed under Restaurant- misc.
Frederick’s Beer Trail
Did you know that Frederick had beer trail? I didn’t. Here is the article from the Downtown Frederick Partnership. With the exception of Roast House Pub I’ve hiked the whole trail, however I’m not sure I agree with all the listings. Certainly Flying Dog, Barley & Hops and Brewer’s Alley deserve to be on there. What about the others? Does simply serving good beer warrant inclusion? Let me know.
Filed under Booze
Alcohol To Save The Postal Service?
The Senate’s bipartisan plan to shore up the postal service’s shaky finances includes a provision to allow the USPS to ship wine and beer. Currently only UPS and FedEx do so. Sen. Lieberman is quoted as saying the plan would pull the mail service ”back from the brink of bankruptcy.” Alcohol has certainly saved me from the brink a few times so why not the mail?
Full article here.
Is this the future of the USPS?
