Alcohol in the news; Sun singer Wine Tasting 10-20

From WCIA 3 morning show/Illinois homepage.net

Sunsinger Wine Tasting 10-20

Brian Bowman talks bubbly in advance of the 7th Annual Wine Tasting Event

He brings in Laurent-Perrier Brut L-P, and talks about the event tonight.

Sun Singer Wine and Spirits 7th Annual Gala Wine Tasting

Sun Singer Wine & Spirits 7th Annual Gala Wine Tasting

October 20, 5-8:30 pm
iHotel & Conference Center

Proceeds benefit the Orpheum Children's Science Museum

Sun Singer Wine Bar Cafe celebrates their 7th Anniversary with a Gala Wine and Spirits Tasting Wednesday evening, October 20th from 5 to 8:30pm. The venue for this year's Gala will be the I Hotel & Conference Center, 1900 South First Street, Champaign, just south of the Assembly Hall.

Sun Singer invites you to spend an enchanted evening at the I Hotel & Conference Center as you socialize and sample over 200 wines, spirits and beers from around the globe. Generous discounts will be available on wine ordered at the event.

The Gala will feature a silent auction of wine and wine accessories. You will also enjoy bidding on additional hand selected auction items that come from local businesses. Many unique and original items will be available for auction only at the gala. Items include rare & large format bottles of wine, museum packages including an event rental in the Orpheum Theatre and a Night at the Museum birthday package.

iHotel & Conference Center
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
5:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Price: $20/person

Purchase your tickets, in advance at the Orpheum Museum, or at the door. As part of the $20 entry fee benefiting The Orpheum Children's Science Museum all attendees will receive a souvenir crystal wine glass.

If you like wine, this looks like a good place to go try some. There doesn't appear to be too much beer there, but there's some good Goose Island stuff, Left Hand, Avery, and Erdinger beers that will be there.

You can use the event to stock your wine cellar too, as there are discounts from 10% to 20% on wine ordered that night.

Alcohol in the news; Sun Singer hosts Wine Gala to support Orpheum Children's Museum

From the Buzz

Sun singer hosts Wine Gala to support Orpheum Children's Museum

The seventh annual Sun Singer Gala Wine Tasting will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 20th, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at the iHotel and Conference Center in Champaign. The gala is a wonderful opportunity for wine, beer and spirit connoisseurs to sample over 200 selections of wines, beers and spirits from all over the world. It is also an opportunity to witness an important part of any organization — giving back to the community.

The Gala is hosted by the Sun Singer Wine & Spirit, located on 1115 W. Windsor Rd. in Champaign, and is benefiting the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum, located on 346 N. Neil St. in Champaign. It is the second year that Sun Singer and the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum have collaborated. The Orpheum Children’s Science Museum is a small not-for-profit and an exceptionally wonderful place for children, or sometimes even adults who are still young at heart, to be inspired and educated by engaging with science and the arts.

...

In addition to the food, a silent auction will also be featured in the Gala. Items include rare bottles of wine, wine accessories, unique items from local businesses and museum packages, such as an event rental in the Orpheum Theatre (a beautiful theatre built in 1914) and a Night at the Museum birthday package.

The tickets are $20, and all of the proceeds of the tickets will go toward benefiting the Museum. The tickets are available for purchase at the Museum, at the Sun Singer, on the Museum’s website and at the door of the iHotel and Conference Center.

Alcohol in the news; Cain Cuvee NV6

From WCIA 3 CBS; Illinoishomepage.net

Cain Cuvee NV6

Brian Bowman from Sunsinger Wines shows some wines from Napa Valley.

Beer Review; Founders Nemesis 2010

Wednesday evening, Jacob from Radio Maria, sent out a Facebook message stating that Founders Nemesis 2010 would be on tap starting Thursday at 4:05. After I sobered up, and spent most of the day at work, I coerced a colleague into taking me downtown to Radio to have one.

This year's Nemesis is a black barleywine. Black is the new black. Everyone is making a black something these days. There's plentiful black IPA's. It's the new IT beer. That's not a problem. Some of them are really good.

Inside the bar, this one came out looking black, and opaque. It had a nice caramel head. There was some good tight bubbles, and good lacing as it was drank. I later took it outside to the patio, and it did have some see-through-ness to it. It was like a really dark tea, or thin coffee.

It smelled hoppy and malty, with maybe a bit of chocolate. It had a lot of effervescence. It felt sort of thin. Eventually, any beer that went over the edges on the pour wound up being very sticky and syrupy. It could easily be confused with a stout based on the appearance, and the thinness of the mouthfeel will remind you that it is a barleywine.

With the color, the flavor expectations are chocolate, roast, coffee. Those are there, but predominately it tastes like a barleywine. It's got a peppery flavor in it, that I associate with barleywines. Additionally, there was a slight metallic ting to it. It wasn't unpleasant, but kind of made my teeth feel weird. An alcohol flavor was also present.

Overall, I really enjoyed this beer. Some people liked it better than last year's wheatwine, but I think I liked that one better. It did remind me of that beer. Initially, the thinness of the beer made it seem like it would be a quick drink, but that's not the case. At Radio Maria, this beer is served in a snifter, it took me about 45 minutes to drink it. It seems like it'd be fast, but this beer is to be sipped and savored.


Some other comments I heard while drinking it were:

Eric (distributor): said it seems less like a barleywine and more like a black IPA. (I agree)

Matt (colleague who took me to Radio): I like this, this stuff's good. I would have to say after tasting this year's and last, I would say that last year's blew me away. And while this year's is delicious, it was a little underwhelming.

In Champaign Urbana, the beer is currently available on draft at Radio Maria. It will eventually be available at Blind Pig and Crane Alley. Bottles of this beer are available at Crane Alley, Seven Saints, and Farren's. If you want some to take home and enjoy (or age), bottles are available at Friar Tucks, Piccadilly, Corkscrew, and Sunsinger. According to Eric, there weren't many cases that made it into town, so if you want some, you should go shopping soon. Also, you may want to call around to those locations to make sure they still have it available.

Alcohol in the news; Maipe Malbec 2009

From WCIA 3 CBS Morning Show/ Illinoishomepage.net

Maipe Malbec 2009

Brian Bowman from Sunsinger Wine and Spirits discusses the Maipe Malbec 2009.

Alcohol in the news; World Cup Wines

From WCIA 3, Illinoishomepage.net morning show

World Cup Wines (web page has some formatting issues)

Brian Bowman from Sunsinger Wine and Spirits stops by to talk about South African wine.

First wine is Neil Ellis 'Sincerely' Sauvignon Blanc.

The second wine is Boekenhoutskloof 'the Wolf Trap'.

They also talk about the new menu at Sunsinger.

CU Bars in the news; Best Bar: Sunsinger

From WCFN 49/ Illinois homepage.net

Best Bars: Sunsinger

Dave Benton: After a short break, Jennifer's "Best Bars" segment is back for another week. This time it's a wine bar in Champaign—but so much more!

Rick Carbaugh, cafe manager: "It's eclectic in the sense that we offer lots of different wines, more than 30 on our menu, and they can be easily paired, depending on your tastes."

Jennifer Ketchmark: That's here at Sunsinger Wines on Windsor in Champaign. But don't think there is only wine on their menu!

Rick Carbaugh, cafe manager: "People really enjoy the cafe because of all the variety of items we have. We have black bean hummus, artichoke bruschetta, we have lots of different cheese plates."

And this fantastic creation:

Rick Carbaugh, cafe manager: "The number one pick, ever since we opened, has been our grilled cheese supreme."

Who wouldn't love that gooey goodness?

Rick Carbaugh, cafe manager: "It's a combination of 2 different cheeses, plus fig jam and Granny Smith apples."

Well, that makes it truly unique—much like their deli.

Rick Carbaugh, cafe manager: "All the salads that are on our menu are back there. Our baked potato salad, to a Caprese salad. We have all kinds of Old World salamis."

But it's not just their food that makes this a hot place to eat—

Rick Carbaugh, cafe manager: "If you look around here, I think people love the place, they love the openness here. People find themselves feeling very very comfortable here."

—which leads to a relaxed atmosphere.

Rick Carbaugh, cafe manager: "They are able to sit, to talk and just enjoy themselves with their friends."

And many do relax here with a glass of wine or a summer favorite.

Rick Carbaugh, cafe manager: "Probably the most popular thing right now is our slushies made from Quady Electra from California. One is a black muscat and the other is an orange muscat."

And when I heard "slushie" I couldn't resist, because it is that perfect summertime drink. This is the red muscat, and it really has that refreshing flavor and a great twist.

That's the tart kick this drink packs, and if you are looking for something refreshing, you'll find it here.

Rick Carbaugh, cafe manager: "We have a full retail section with wine, spirits, and beer."

Brian Bowman, beverage director: "We've got wines that are in that 6 dollar price point and all the way up to the sky's the limit."

And the staff here will help you find a great wine, but you can do more than that. You can join a class.

Brian Bowman, beverage director: "101, 102, 103. Pretty simple."

Breaking it down—very like a college town!

Brian Bowman, beverage director: "Basic class starts out and we learn the 7 main varietals, whites and reds, and taste through those. ... Gets more into getting full blown descriptions, and we do it a Sherlock Holmes way."

And by the end—

Brian Bowman, beverage director: "You are blind-tasting everything, and you don't know what you're going through, and we teach you how to break down and examine the wine."

Quality wines, gourmet eats, and a nice place to lunch with friends is why this place made our list of Best Bars.

Alcohol in the News; Sunsinger

From WCIA 3 CBS, Illinoishomepage.net

Sunsinger

Brian Bowman and Mark Yarborough from SunSinger talk about wine and beer with the WCIA morning show people. Additionally they talk about an upcoming tasting event at the Champaign Country Club to benefit public television.

Sun Singer Artisanal Beverage Tasting Event
benefiting WILL Illinois Public Media
Champaign Country Club
Thursday, April 29, 2010
5:00 - 8:00pm / 8:15pm Sparkling Reception & Dinner
$25 in advance
$30 at the door
$100 Tasting/Italian Dinner package
Tickets are available at Sun Singer Wines or
by calling WILL at 217-333-7300

Alcohol in the Local News, Irish Whiskeys

From WCIA, CBS 3

GREENORE Single Grain 8 Years - Cooley Greenore Single Grain is a truly unique whiskey as it is the only expression of Irish Single Grain whiskey in the world. Single Grain whiskeys are very rare as most grain whiskey is normally mixed with Malt whiskeys to make Blended whiskey. Grain whiskey is ma...

Irish Whiskeys

Brian Bowman from Sunsinger Wines & Spirits, visits the morning show.