Monthly Archives: June 2012

It’s Here: Total Wine & More’s Total Guide to Beer!

27 Wednesday Jun 2012

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I am excited to share that our brand new, first-edition Total Guide to Beer is fresh off the presses and now arriving in all Total Wine & More stores. This complimentary (yes, FREE!) 200 page consumer/enthusiast-oriented book offers easy to read, yet comprehensive, content covering virtually all things beer, including: history, ingredients, brewing process, in-depth explanations of over 90 individual beer styles, beer tasting, food pairing, glassware, serving temperature, terminology, and more!

The world of better beer offers a vast array of colors, aromas and flavors for everyone to explore; from the curious to the adventurous and seasoned “beer geeks” alike. The book’s Beer Styles section provides a range of useful information about each recognized beer style featured, including flavor profile, Alcohol By Volume (ABV) range, bitterness (IBU) range, serving temperature, recommended glassware, color range, cheese and food pairing ideas, and popular examples available in the market.

Special “toasts” from some of the world’s top artisan brewers are featured in the book, where Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery, espouses,

“… beer is a wonderfully affordable luxury…the Guide to Beer is a great way to get started. If you’ve always wondered what’s inside all those new bottles you see on the shelves, you’re going to find a lot of the answers right here. Have fun out there!”

Total Guide to Beer is printed in a convenient 8.5”x 5” size that’ll fit in your coat pocket or purse for ready reference on the go.

Cheers!

Rob Hill
Certified Cicerone®
Author of Total Guide To Beer
New Programs Mgr., Customer Experience
Follow me on Twitter! @TWMBeer

Intern Jean-Hubert at Wine Enthusiast’s “Toast of the Town”

26 Tuesday Jun 2012

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Hello America & Total Wine & More fans!

I am Jean-Hubert Fabre. I will spend the next six months in the USA and this is my first blog post of many on my experiences during my internship here at the headquarters of Total Wine & More in Potomac, Maryland.

I come from France and my parents run a winery in Bordeaux. They sell a part of our Chateau’s production to Total Wine and More.  Maybe you know Château Landat or Château Lamothe-Cissac in Haut-Médoc’s AOC? These wineries are owned by my family!

This past weekend was full of events. On Friday night, the fantastic Toast of the Town, organized by Wine Enthusiast, took place in the beautiful National Building Museum in Washington, DC. The event was an awesome evening of wine, food, and music; the ambiance was very convivial. Many elegant wines could be tasted with delicious hors d’oeuvres. I really like the Kona coffee rubbed beef tenderloin from The Capital grille! During the evening, I met Hank Rosen, the President of Wine Enthusiast. What a great guy! Here we are:

(L to R) Greg Tuttle, product education manager; John Jordan, CCO; Hank Rosen, President Wine Enthusiast; Jean-Hubert Fabre

This week, another big event will happen for Total Wine & More. On Thursday, June 28th, we will open our first store in Washington State located in Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle. The opening of this store is a big deal for Total Wine and the residents of Washington State, who recently decided by referendum that the state should privatize all liquor stores. So, if you are in Washington this week, do not hesitate to come over and see our newest store!

I have greatly enjoyed my time in the country thus far. The weather here was wonderful this past week and it was a beautiful weekend to discover more about life in the USA. I went shopping and sightseeing in Georgetown, a small historic neighborhood in D.C. along the Potomac River, and it was a lot of fun. I’ve been working on improving my English, and at the same time I am teaching my new friends some French! I was really surprised when I asked a saleswoman to try on a casquette, which is pronounced as “casket”. She was very surprised!  In France, a casquette is a baseball cap. Funny misunderstanding, eh? After five minutes of explaining, I got to try on the hat and I ended up buying it. I had the same problem with another word; someone asked me about my studies and I said that I would be a bachelor in one year. A little embarrassing! I did not know that in English bachelor means “single”. We use it in France to mean “graduate”.

During the upcoming weeks, I will continue to report back to you about news and events at Total Wine and my stay in the United States. And, of course, my funny language experiences!

Bonne semaine,
Jean-Hubert

Please welcome Jean-Hubert Fabre, our new intern!

22 Friday Jun 2012

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Hello America & Total Wine & More fans!

I am Jean-Hubert Fabre. I will spend the next six months in the USA and this is my first blog post of many on my experiences during my internship here at the headquarters of Total Wine & More in Potomac, Maryland.

I come from France and my parents run a winery in Bordeaux. They sell a part of our Chateau’s production to Total Wine and More.  Maybe you know Château Landat or Château Lamothe-Cissac in Haut-Médoc’s AOC? These wineries are owned by my family!

I study at an engineering school and my major is manufacturing and quality control within the food industry.  My goal is a Masters degree and part of my final study program is an internship. That’s why I’m here at Total Wine. I’m also excited to learn more about American culture, here “outside the beltway” in the Washington, D.C. area.

I arrived last Saturday and already I’ve discovered much about the fantastic world of Total Wine. For me, it is very new because in France, there are no wine Superstores like Total Wine and More. We have many wine merchants but it is not comparable.

My internship has started by working with the Customer Experience Group. There are three pillars here at Total Wine, these are service, selection and price, and I’m working on projects that touch on each of these areas.

Currently, we are searching some new products in order to enhance our food selection to add products unique to an area, in Italy as an example, that will pair well with an Italian wine. I understand that we will have some new wines from Sicily in a few months, so I’m researching food products from Sicily that would be desirable to our customers.

Work here starts early in the day, and continues until the evening, but it is not all work. I have found that Americans work and play hard.  For what I have seen so far, I can just say – wow! It’s a big change for me compared to my life in France, but it’s fantastic! During my first week, I went to the Verizon Center to see Neil Diamond and then last night I saw the Washington National’s baseball team – the American pastime is a great time!

Regularly over the next 5-months, I will tell you more about my internship here at Total Wine and my adoption of American culture.

A bientôt!

Jean-Hubert

National Bourbon Day: Interview with Rob Samuels, Chief Operating Officer at Maker’s Mark Distillery Inc.

14 Thursday Jun 2012

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Did you know that today is National Bourbon Day?

In celebration of this great American spirit, we thought it would be fun to interview one of the key personalities in the bourbon world —  Rob Samuels, COO at Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky and grandson of the founder Bill Samuels Sr.

Over several bourbons we came up with some questions and got back some great answers!

TWM: How old were you when you first tasted bourbon?

RS: 21, of course!

Bill Jr. and Rob Samuels holding the first bottles of Maker’s Mark and Maker’s Mark 46

TWM: What’s your favorite “everyday” bourbon?

RS: Maker’s Mark

TWM: How do you take your bourbon; neat, with water, ice, other?

RS: 80% of rotation is Maker’s or 46 rocks with splash of water              

My grandfather’s (Maker’s founder) vision was handmade bourbon with a refined taste profile – no bite or bitterness.  I take great pride when professional bartenders choose Maker’s for their handmade cocktails. 

Fermenting Wash, Maker’s Mark Distillery

TWM: Do you have a favorite bourbon-based cocktail?

RS: Manhattan – but I just enjoyed a blueberry old fashioned (recipe below) that was yummy!

TWM: Most spectacular place you’ve ever had bourbon?

RS: The Cape of Good Hope

TWM: Which of your competitor’s bourbons would you drink in a pinch?

RS: Booker’s Bourbon. The Samuels family and the Beams were next door neighbors for 90 years. I treasure the family stories including Booker’s preference for barrel strength.

Every bottle of Maker’s Mark is hand-dipped!

TWM: Do you have a favorite spirit of choice, other than bourbon?

RS: Sauza Hornitos tequila, Tuaca

————–

Blueberry Old Fashioned

6 blueberries
Ice
1 1/2 ounces Maker’s Mark bourbon
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
Splash seltzer water
Garnish: 2-inch lemon twist, 2 blueberries on toothpick

Method:
In a cocktail shaker, muddle the blueberries until the juices are released and the berries are crushed. Fill shaker with ice. Add bourbon, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Cover and shake well.

Strain into a rocks glass. Top with a splash of seltzer water. Gently squeeze the lemon twist over the drink and drop into the glass. Garnish with 2 blueberries on a toothpick and enjoy!


Guest Post: Ed Roberts at Savor D.C.!

10 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in Beer

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Hello,
My name is Ed Roberts and I am a beer manager from South Florida, based in Fort Lauderdale. I traveled this week to Washington, D.C. to attend SAVOR, a premier food and craft beer pairing event held each year. It is in its fifth year now. This year’s event was held June 8-9, 2012 and presented by the Brewers Association, a non for profit trade organization dedicated to small and independent breweries and their beers.

Savor is like no other beer event I have been to – it’s hosted at the stunning National Building Museum, America’s leading cultural institution devoted to the history and impact of architecture.

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Seventy four breweries attend the event, each presenting two beers they have selected. A lottery system is used to select from breweries that apply to attend and are picked based on eight geographical regions so there is an equal representation from across the country.

Food is provided by top local chefs who make an expertly selected array of small plate foods including appetizers and desserts. Each item is paired with multiple breweries’ beers around the event floor. There is also a very popular standalone artisan cheese table and oyster bar where attendees have the opportunity to create their own pairings based on their favorite selections they have tasted on the event floor.

Breweries have their owners and/or brewers staff their tables and pour their beers, unlike most other beer events where you may be interacting with local sales representatives, not the brewery principals. Savor allows for the intimate opportunity of questions and conversation.

There are also salons offered. These are an additional ticketed event within SAVOR and the sell out very quickly. Attendance is extremely limited and allow for additional learning and discussion on the breweries, their beers, and food pairings.

Visit the event website at www.savorcraftbeer.com for more information. I will be live tweeting from the event both evenings at the Total Wine and More twitter account at http://twitter.com/TWMBeer using the #SAVOR hash tag.

I will return in a few days with a recap of the event.
Cheers!

Ed Roberts
South Florida Beer Vendor Manager