Editor’s note: The Red, White and Brew weekly feature will highlight drinks from local liquor stores.
Spring is nearly upon us, which has us at Beaver Liquors in a tropical mood for our selections this week. Pretty soon, we’ll start seeing the crazies skiing in their bathing suits and partying at the top of Blue Sky Basin, which, I have to admit, is a hell of a good time. With all the fun, easy skiing of the spring, you will need the right beverages for on the mountain or Apres to cool down after a sunny day of snow. These refreshing selections will have you quenched and ready to do it all over again the next day.
The Red
My red wine selection, Daou Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon, has a more serious attitude as a robust and earthy red wine from California. The Daou family makes their Cabernet in the Paso Robles region of California. This region on the Central Coast of California is hot. This heat makes big-bodied high alcohol reds with notes of overripe fruit and earthiness.
Daou uses sustainable farming practices such as hand harvesting and hand sorting all of their grapes. Although this practice is labor-intensive, it allows the winemakers to work with only the best grapes their vineyards produce. They ferment with native yeast, which will only be found on their estate, adding flavors exclusive to their wines. They use a mixture of new and used oak in aging and even have a cooperage on site, a rarity in modern wineries.
In their cooperage, they make barrels using a wood found on their estate that has different properties than traditional woods used in winemaking. They barrel a small number of their wines in these handmade barrels to be blended back into the wine and add more unique flavors to the wine. The result is a full-bodied, earthy Cabernet with light floral and herbal flavors on the finish unique to the winery. The wine is inherently full bodied at 14.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) and has low tannins for a smooth velvety texture. This wine embodies the idea of “a sense of place” offering flavors that you will only find on Daou’s estate. Pick up at bottle for $27.99.
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The White
It has been known for some time that there are great values and diversity in wines from Spain. One of my favorite whites comes from the Basque region of Northern Spain. Located on the Atlantic coast at the French border is the winemaking region of Txakolina. The region is known for its wine-like ciders, also creates a crisp, slightly bubbly white wine known as Ameztoi Txakoli.
The Ameztoi family has been cultivating the Hondarribi Zuri grape used in Txakoli for over seven generations. Their 20 hectares of vineyards are right on the coast with ideal soils and sun exposure for winemaking. This wine, picked in early fall for optimal acidity grows in the sea breezes off of the Atlantic Ocean. These breezes create a great balance of ripeness of fruit and acidity, adding a slight salinity to the wine. The wine, at only 11 percent ABV, is light and easy drinking with the balance of acidity and effervescent leaving a crisp finish. This is absolutely one of the most refreshing white wines to enjoy after a hard day of skiing on the slopes on a sunny day. Grab a bottle for $25.99.
The Brew
A relatively new brewery on the market that has everyone in Colorado talking is 4 Noses from Broomfield. The small brewery is owned and operated by the whole family, and they’ve worked together to create some unique, easy drinking beers in many different styles. They currently have one of the best Milkshake IPA’s on the market, including this week’s pick: Pineapple Velvet Milkshake IPA.
Milkshake IPA’s? This new style has taken the Hazy style of IPA and brought it to the next level. Brewers took the Hazy IPA and added fruit, spices and the most important ingredient, lactose. Yes, the same lactose that is in your favorite dairy products, sorry to those that are intolerant. This adds a new level of creaminess and smoothness to a beer rich in flavor making it very easy to drink without missing out on all the bold flavors it has to offer.
Back to the Pineapple Velvet. What sets this beer apart is the use of Pineapple; they use tons of real pineapple puree to give the beer a tropical shirt kind of feel. They also add some real vanilla bean to add to the creaminess and milkshake quality of the beer. The Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops add a necessary citric bitterness to the beer that balances it into a refreshingly smooth and complex ale. Weighing in at 7.1 percent ABV, it can be a bit dangerous. The beer may not be for everyone and it’s a mouthful to say, but I feel if anyone were to try it, they would be impressed. Talk to one of our many beer lovers at the shop to chat up the Pineapple Velvet or any of the other great beers crafted by 4 Noses. A four-pack is just $10.99.
These are just a few of the great selections we have at Beaver Liquors in Avon and our experienced staff will help you to find the right beverage for your enjoyment.
