Today we have the pleasure of welcoming Matias Mayol to our Virtual Winemaker Program at Wine and Beer Westpark from 5:30-6:30!

Matias will be joining us via video conference from his family winery in Mendoza, Argentina.

We’ll be sampling and discussing their Sauvignon Blanc, Bonarda, Malbec, Cuatro Primos (Meritage), and Montuiri Malbec.

The Familia Mayol winery began in 1990. The family now holds three properties around Mendoza from which they draw the fruit for their estate bottled, hand made wines. Quality drives the low production Familia Mayol wines, which highlight the high altitude and often single-vineyard grape sources.

Seeing these wines at under $20 is quite a remarkable feat! Join us in person today at 9631 West Broad Street, Glen Allen, Va or return to our blog to enjoy our first Virtual Winemaker video footage by the beginning of next week!

This is a free event…

Last night Paul Cluver visited Wine and Beer Westpark to taste some of his fabulous wines from South Africa. Check out the video below, we think you’ll enjoy Paul as much as we do. And, of course, his fabulous wines (all for under $20) are available at WBW.

Just completed a test run for the Virtual tasting last night and I think you’re gonna be floored!

The Salient Features:
 Friday June 5th Join us at 5:00 for a tasting with Reed Renaudin via the Internet!
We’ll see Reed on our flat screen and Reed will be able to see you all through our webcam. Reed will lead us through X’s Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Red Blend, Napa Cabermet & Merlot.
 
Please arrive at 5, as we’ll start tasting promptly at 5:15. Hopefully we’ll finish up with a short Q&A.
 
Please pass this along to anyone who might enjoy the event!
 
Wine
X Winery presents some fine classic California styles… Robert Parker had this to say after reviewing some recent wines,
 
“The most obvious question with respect to X Winery and proprietor Reed Renaudin is how can these wines be this good at these prices? Everyone is looking for good values today, and here are some exceptional bargains.”
 
Join us Friday at 5 for the Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Red Blend, Cabermet and Merlot.
 
Please Note, because of our Friday event, we’ll not have our usual Thursday tasting.
New Beer News…
Beer fans don’t fret, I have a something good in the works for you as well! In the meantime join us Wednesday June 3rd from 5:30 to 7ish for our monthly beer tasting:
 
Birrifico Montegioco Rex Grue
Birrifico Montegioco Tibir
Hitachino Classic Nest
Hitachino White
Legend Hefeweizen
Southern Tier Iniquity
St Peters Organic English Ale
 
Ran into to beer steward Eric Delia last night at An’s World War Beer, and I promised I would give a shout out. I’m happy to do it since Relentless Thirst is a well manicured and tended blog – Like beer, have time?
 
http://relentlessthirst.wordpress.com/
 
In other news, we will soon have a guest writer on the Weekly. Spencer will join us every couple of weeks for Spencer’s Spotlight – a quick update on Spencer’s newest, favorite wine and perhaps some info on the state of the Italian wine nation or cuisine pairings. Stay tuned!

Louis Llovio of the Times Dispatch got the inside scoop this week when we announced in his column our plans to host live, online tastings at the shop. If you’re reading our blog, you already know that we have been hosting webcasts with select wine makers. The next step is to take it live! But we couldn’t have said it better than Mr. Llovio, so check out his column here.

Peter Mathis is the head wine maker for the Ravenswood Winery in Sonoma, Cal.. Last month, while visiting Virginia to promote his personal venture - Mathis Grenache - Peter was kind enough to stop by Wine and Beer Westpark to share some thoughts on the journey to producing his first personal wine.

Check out Peter in the video below and be sure to keep an eye out for the distinctive Mathis label – coming soon to a fine Richmond wine retailer near you. Thanks Peter! And thanks to Cobblestone Cellars coordinating Peter’s visit.

In his latest column for the Times Dispatch’s Food & Cooking Section, Jack Berninger previews the bigger, better and pricier Virginia Wine Expo with a ringing endorsement that is sure to drive even larger crowds to the second year of this showcase for Virginia wine. In anticipation, Jack reached out to leading vinophiles in the region, including our own Matt Lake of Wine and Beer Westpark. Check out the full article here and the outake with Matt’s observations below. Hope to see you this weekend!

Taken from:

VINES AND WINES: Homegrown And Proud Of It, by Jack Berninger, Richmond Times Dispatch
Published: February 25, 2009

Expanded Virginia Wine Expo will showcase state’s finest Bigger? For sure. Better? Most certainly. Worth the price of admission? Undoubtedly.

If you’re a wine fancier, experienced or otherwise, the Greater Richmond Convention Center will be the place to be this weekend.

That’s where 57 state wine ries will be pouring more than 325 wines as the showcase for the annual Virginia Wine Expo.

…Many of the wines will be a taster’s surprise.

“I think the quality of Virginia’s mainstays has been steadily improving and holding their own against other U.S. regions,” Matt Lake, owner of Wine and Beer Westpark said. “What’s great about Virginia is the emerging wineries I’ve tried are starting at those established quality levels.”

Below is a video that covers all six wines we tasted with Andreas Bender of German Hill winery, who was in town for just a few days from his native Germany to taste with the fans and friends of Wine and Beer Westpark. Andreas is a real treat and the video showcases some terrific German wines from the LEO label. A special thanks to Cobblestone Cellars for helping to arrange this special tasting event.

We hope to do more videos in the future – comments and suggestions welcome, please post them below. You can also find the video on our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKpfnSWm6Uc. Cheers!

p.s. our rookie videographer – (ahem!) – didn’t quite get the audio quality we were hoping for, you’ll have to turn the sound up to hear everything. That element will be fixed in the future. Thanks for your patience.

If you were lucky enough to attend last summer’s beer dinner at Cafe Rustica you’ll be glad to know we’ve got the next installment scheduled. On February 23, W&B Westpark and Cafe Rustica will pair-up again for a custom menu presented by Andy Howell with beers chosen by Matt Lake, courtesy of Hope&Wine Beverage. Ticket prices and a specific menu will be set in the coming day, but we’re anticipating 4-5 courses for under $50 (yes, that includes the beer). A great value from a great team.

Haven’t been to Cafe Rustica? Check out the information and reviews here: http://thingstodo.inrich.com/richmond-va/venues/show/987693-cafe-rustica

Want to receive regular updates from Wine and Beer Westpark? Subscribe to our RSS Feed and be sure to sign-up for our weekly email newsletter – email us at wine@wineandbeerwestpark.com with “subscribe” in the subject field.

Hope to see you at Rustica on February 23.

Dooley Noted Society’s Cocktail Classic

Friday May 9^th

Maymont – Robins Nature & Visitor Center West Terrace – 6:30 – 10:30

Don’t have that Salsa swing yet? Complimentary dance lessons will be available or just get your courage up at the cash bar.

Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door and can be purchased through Maymont 804.358.7166 (ext 310) or at www.maymont.org.

As part of our sponsorship we’ll be giving away two free tickets ($40 value). Just stop by the store between now and Saturday and mention this email promotion for a raffle ticket (winner to be selected Saturday evening 5/3 ).