Wine of the Week

Wild Goose

2009 Gewurztraminer

Bronze Medal Winner at the 2010 Wine Access Magazine, Canadian Wine Awards.

 A small clustered variety that produces beautiful aromatic wines every vintage. Intense spice, rose petal, and lychee nut are the most common characteristics of this wine. This is their trademark wine. Wild Goose has made one of the top Gewurztraminers in B.C. since their inception back in 1990. Slightly dry in finish and intense rose petal aromatics are the patented Wild Goose flavours extracted and put into every bottle. A must have wine every vintage!

This wine will pair perfectly with a spicy or flavourful Asian dish.

Wild Goose was named Winery of the year in 2009.

They also won 5 other awards this year at the 2010 Canadian Wine Awards.

Keep up the Good Work.

Beer of the Week

Tsingtao Lager (pronounced Ching-dow)

The brewery was founded in 1903 and launched in the U.S. in 1972 since than Tsingtao Lager is the #1 consumer product exported from China.

Tsingtao is brewed with the finest all-natural ingredients including domestically grown hops, high quality barely and spring water from China's laoshan mountain region.

The taste has a crisp, slightly malty flavour and nutty sweet taste which complements a spicy or flavourful Asian cuisine.

Enjoy this beer while celebrating the year of the Rabbit that starts this week.

Meadow Vista - Bee Mine - A Perfect trio for Valentine's Day

Meadow Vista Meadery has won 3 bronze medals at the Canadian Wine Awards this year.

For their Mabon, Libra and the sparkling favorite Joy.

Pick up all 3 of them for a perfect romantic night in.

Available at Firefly Maple Ridge.

Joy

Canada's premier Sparkling Honey Wines (méthode traditionelle). Crisp bubbles and elegant fruit flavours with just a hint of honey are a joy to savour.

Mabon

A warm and spicy metheglin style honey wine. Mabon balances just the right amount of coriander, cardamon, cinnamon and nutmeg with Certified Organic Honey. A great match with Savory and Ethnic dishes.

 
 

Libra

 

Luscious and seductive, infused with organic apricots, this dessert honey wine has a lovely weight that coats the tongue with a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity

Beer Of The Week

Dogfish Head Miles Davis' Bitches Brew

 

Featured last week on the Discovery Channel show Brewmasters, it arrived at the store today.  This is a bold dark beer created with three parts if imperial stout and one part Ethiopian honey beer or Tej.

Tej is a type of honey wine made with unfiltered honey and gesho (a species of buckthorn that is native to Africa).  Dogfish Head founder and president Sam Calagione designed this brew to be the ultimate partner for chili or spicy chicken curry.

Wine of The Week

Giacondi Nero D'Avola

A dry, fruity, medium bodied Sicilian red with spicy, fruity and floral aromas on the nose.

Refreshing acidity with good texture and smooth tannins.

New Products this Week

New Products

New Beers

Liefman's Fruit Beer

Tree Brewing Double IPA

Saison Dupont

Dogfish Head Bitches Brew

Moinette Brune
Edelweiss Snowfresh Weissbier
Historic Ales From Scotland Giftpack
Dead Frog Citra IPA

New Wine
Penfold's Rawson's Retreat

Circus Malbec

Rosemount Road Red

Giacondi Nero D'Avola
Sebeka Shiraz

New Products this Week

New Products

Hardy’s Varietal Range Merlot

Wally’s Hut Nugan Estate Shiraz

Wehlener Klosterberg Riesling Kabinett

New Beers

Brooklyn Brewery Brown Ale

Estrella Damm Barcelona

Hopworks Organic Seasonal

Innis & Gunn Highland Cask

Moinette Blonde

Restocks

Deschutes Reserve Series

Deschutes Bond Series

Deus Brut des Flanders

Zatac Bright Lager

New Spirits

1921 Tequila Cream

Butter Ripple Schnapps

Sourpuss Raspberry

Sourpuss - Apple

Wine of the Week

Toscolo Chianti 2008

100% Sangiovese with bright cherry flavours and mild tannins. Versatile wine, embracing a wide variety of foods. Solid structure, with ample bouquet. Enjoy!

Beer of the Week

Kingfisher Premium Lager (India)

Classic lager, golden straw colour with white foam head, smells of mild citrus hops and toasted cereal grains. Crisp and refreshing with a slightly bitter finish. Goes down easy with mildly spicey foods or sushi. Available in 330ml or 660ml bottles.

Tasting this Saturday from 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm

We will have Veglio Winery's Dolcetto D'Alba open this Saturday from 2:30 pm to 6:30pm.

This wine is full of aromas of cherry, blackberries, dried leaves and cocoa. It is grown on the west facing slope in the Piemonte region in Italy.

 

We also will be tasting the Finlaggan Islay Old Reserve Single Malt which has scored 94/100 in Jim Murray's whisky bible.
It is dry, smoky and fresh with hints of hickory and smoke and a hint of chocolate.
The nose detects a mix of iodium, seaweed, phenols and hints of sherry and smoke.

The palate is exceptionally smooth for a presumed rather young whisky.
The taste is dry, salty, peaty and smoky.
The finish adds some spice and pepper to the whole.

New Products this Week

New Products

Bodegas Cortes 1.5L

New Beers

Brouwerij de Ranke – XX Bitter

Brouwerij de Ranke - Guldenberg

Cantillon – Rose de Gambrinus

Dogfish Head Pangea

Hitachino Nest White Ale

Lagunitas Lil Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale

Lagunitas Lil Sumpin Seasonal

Lagunitas IPA

Lindeman’s Gift box with glass

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Upright Brewing Seven

Restocks

3 Monts

Aspall Cyder

Aspall Perronelle’s Blush Cyder

Augustijn 3L

Blackfriar Scottish Strong Ale

Chupacubra Merkin Vineyards

Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA

Little Creatures Pilsner

Obolon Lager

Pretty Things KK

Southern Tier Black Iniquity Imperial Black Ale

New Spirits

Wiser’s 1.75L

Beer of the Week

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Brooklyn Brewery’s Black Chocolate Stout is an Imperial Russian Stout that weighs in at a mighty 10%, but the alcohol is well hidden by the monumentally full-bodied flavours that caress the palate. This stout’s colour is a deep inky black, and pours into the glass with a creamy caramel coloured head that slowly dissipates. You’d be fooled into thinking that there was real cocoa beans in the brew, but Garrett Oliver, the brewer, obtains that taste from malt alone! The dark bitter chocolate notes fill the mouth, but are balanced exquisitely by rich roasted sweet malt. Beneath the obvious flavours, there are hints of rich burnt fruit cake and licorice that comes to the fore on the finish. 

Wine of the Week

Mount George

White Wire

Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Aromas of white nectarine are the first to to appear on the nose of this fruity delight from New Zealand. The palate is full of grapefruit, orange blossom and white peach, that linger to the crisp and refreshing finish. This easy drinking wine is at home on its own, with seafood or a mildly spiced thai dish.

86% Chardonnay, 6% Gewurtztraminer, 5% Riesling, 3% Pinot Gris. (Unoaked)

Bin Ends Special Pricing!!

Special Deals for 2011, available at both Firefly locations!

Specially selected Riedel Crystal will be 25% off:

Riedel Vitis Cabernet 2 pack - $41.33 (regular price $55.10) save 25%

Riedel Vitis Riesling/Sauv Blanc 2 pack - $63.75 (regular price $85.00) save 25%

Riedel Vitis Martini 2 pack - $41.33 (regular price $55.10) save 25%

Flow Riesling/Grand Cru/Zin 2 pack - $22.50 (regular price $30) save 25%

Riedel Syrah Decanter - $26.25 (regular price $35) save 25%

Riedel Syrah Decanter - $20.18 (regular price $26.90) save 25%

Riedel Overture Magnum 8 for 6 - $55.80 (regular price $74.40) save 25%

Groth Sauvignon Blanc - $34.85 (regular price $26.90) save 25%

Ruby Tuesday Viognier $24.85 (regular price $27.85) save $3.00

Les Trois Mousquetaires Kellerbier $8.15 (regular price $10.05) save 18.9%

Wine USB $16.34 (regular price $66.34) save 75.4%

The Health Benefits of Wine, starting a New Year

The Health benefits of Wine and Beer

New Years is a time for new beginnings and resolutions. Often times one of these resolutions is to lose weight and to lessen or quit alcohol consumption. But before you decide to take wine or beer out of your regime;  here are a few interesting facts.

Wine is good for you in moderation. Red wine in particular due to the amount of antioxidants like resveratrol which are extracted during the maceration process during fermentation. Resveratrol is a phenolic compound that is derived from the skins of the grapes. It has been attributed to reduce cholesterol levels, liver lipids, and act as a cancer chemopreventative agent.

In fact Pinot Noir happens to have the highest level of resveratrol and Cabernet Sauvignon amongst the lowest. Cooler climate regions like Burgundy and Canada tend to have higher levels of this compound whereas warmer climate regions like Australia and California tend to have lower amounts.

The average beer also contains antioxidants and in some cases has vitamin like B6 as well. Beers that are brewed traditionally and by using the bottle refermentation process like Unibroue beers, have a higher level of B vitamins and micronutrients.

 

So in the wise words of Plato "He was a wise man who invented beer", do not forget the brews and of course, Pliny the Elder, "In Vino Veritas"

Firefly Fine Wines and Ales recommends BC Pinot Noir and Quebec craft beers such as Unibroue and Les Trois Mousquetaires