4th Annual Hops & Grapes Toasts & Tastes Event to Raise Funds for LLS

Last year we checked out Hops & Grapes Toasts & Tastes and had such a great time.  There was great food galore from restaurants across Fairfield County with plenty of beer and wine to try.  This year on 4/12 from 7:30-10:30 we can expect the fourth annual Hops & Grapes Toasts & Tastes to be even better as it moves into its new location:  the Stamford Innovation Center in the heart of downtown.  There will be plenty of room to mingle at this classic landmark building…and plenty of room to get your tastebuds tingling, too.  In addition to the restaurants, caterers, cheesemongers, and bakeries, there will also be drinks and representation from breweries.  When you’re in between drinks and courses, be sure to check out the great silent auctions that will be available (follow them on FB for early previews of what will be up for auction).  Finally, if you stick around towards the end, you can take part in the live auction with amazing trips, gifts, and packages.  We are also very proud and excited to be one of the media sponsors for this amazing event that raises vital money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society that fights leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma.

Tickets are $75 each or are $125 for a pair.  Also, you may order VIP tickets for $100 each or $175 for a pair which includes a VIP gift bag, a raffle ticket, and a LLS wristband.  You can also donate if you can’t make it or even purchase an ad to be played during the slideshow.  As of now, these are the hops, grapes, and tastes that you can toast to:

BrewED Craft Beer + Food Tasting @ Darien Historical Society

•••

We don’t really need to say much here:

Beer.

Food.

Friends.

Yeah, can you really go wrong with that?  We’ll answer that for you:  no, you can’t go wrong.  Let’s start with the beer:  Saranac, GW, Two Roads, Charter Oak, and Berkshire Brewing Company.  Next, add in some food:  Sails American Grill, Coromandel, and Michael Joseph’s Fine Foods.  Finally, add in a nice night where you learn about the history of the brewing process and get to meet like-minded beer folk.

CT Microbrews, Wine, Local Food, Music, + Art @ Taste of Black Rock

•••

Harry’s Wine & Liquor Market is helping sponsor the 2nd Annual Taste of Black Rock.  We’ve talked about this neighborhood before, how we lived there, and how the community is so amazing.  Well, you’ll definitely want to check out what Taste of Black Rock has to offer this year.

The event will be held at The Burroughs Community Center on March 2 from 7:30-10 pm with tickets costing just $25.  The proceeds from this event will help The Burroughs Community Center to keep being a community sanctuary and blessing.  If you haven’t heard of The Burroughs Community Center, it’s their mission to, “Provide the residents of Bridgeport with program opportunities and facility resources for the purpose of promoting individual growth and community cohesiveness.  We fulfill this through our direct services and by collaborating with community and facility partners. We also do this by connecting people requesting information, programs or forms of aid with agencies in the Greater Bridgeport  community.”

Your ticket will get you tastings of some great Connecticut microbrews that Renzo (beerologist extraordinaire) from Harry’s is super excited about:

“Drinking Beer Sonata” at Opening of New Franklin Street Works Exhibit

Happy birthday to Franklin Street Works.  They’ve been around for a glorious year, funkifying, electrfying, and artifying up Stamford and Fairfield County.  If you’ve never been to their space, it’s a must visit.  They have continually shifting exhibits up on display and they also have a little cafe downstairs when you enter if you feel like chilling and soaking up all the creativity.

So, Kristien and Dan, when can we check out their latest exhibit?  You guys ask the best questions EVER!  It just so happens that on this Saturday, 10/27, from 5-8 pm, they are having a reception for Working Alternatives:  Breaking Bread, Art Broadcasting and Collective Action.  According to Franklin Street Works, “The exhibition looks at three threads of alternative art space histories and examines how engaged, inclusive strategies are still being used to break down perceived barriers between contemporary art and its audiences. The themes covered in Working Alternatives are conviviality and food, artists who use media (newspapers, television, and radio) as platforms for artworks, and artist collectives in the US, explored through an open archive gathered specifically for this exhibition.”  Breaking down the barriers of what you might be used to in terms of art and ways to express art is a performance of the hopworthy “Drinking Beer Sonata with 13 Players.”  The brains behind this beautiful music piece is San Francisco Artist, Tom Marioni.  The bottle players will be following Marioni’s instructions to recreate the “Drinking Beer Sonata.”  Check here to see a group of four try this out for themselves.

Stew Leonard’s Celebrates Harvest Season with Food, Wine, and Beer to Benefit The Norwalk Exchange Club – Norwalk, CT

Fall is one of our favorite seasons.  Yeah, we know, there’s only four to choose from, but it’s in the top four most definitely.  You’ve got perfect weather, nature’s colors explode, there is always so much to do, and it’s harvest time.  Yes, this is the time when all your favorite pumpkin beers come out, when you drink cider again (hard or regular), and when you crave that slice of pumpkin pie.  Well, we’ve got another great way for you to enjoy fall:  a harvest season party with food, wine, and beer at Stew Leonard’s Wines and Spirits of Norwalk to raise money for The Exchange Club.

There will be over 65 different wines and beers available for tasting that you can try along with some great seasonal food.  Tickets are just $40 and, as mentioned, go to help The Exchange Club that will use the money to benefit local community organizations and Stew Leonard III Children’s Charities.  Just come by on Thursday, 10/18 from 6 pm to 8 pm and celebrate.

For starters, check out some of the food:

Tap into some Beaver Beer and smoke a stogie at Connecticut Cigar Company – Stamford, CT

Here’s a fun twist on a beer tasting:  Connecticut Cigar Company has invited Beaver Beer over to party.  You’ll be able to try Blonde Beaver (pale ale), Brewnette Beaver (amber lager), and Big Red Beaver (IPA) and you’ll also get a nice hand-rolled cigar to smoke up during the tasting.  While you’re enjoying the brews and stogies, enjoy live music from Luke Ryan.  Tickets aren’t expensive, either.  You’ll pay $20 if you’re a member or $25 if you’re not a member…plus 10% of all ticket sales go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  Call CCC at (203) 425-9668 to set up your reservation ‘cuz this will probably sell out quickly.  

If you’ve never been to Connecticut Cigar Company, it’s a pretty slick place.  There is the main shop when you enter that has beautiful cigars, hand-rolled, and ready to go.  If you walk a little more you’ll see a swanky lounge area where you can sit, smoke, talk, and relax.  Another killer feature of the lounge is that it’s BYOB.  Yup, bring your own bottle of awesomeness with your own cigars or buy some of theirs.  Use of the lounge area is free for members, while non members pay a $20 sitting free.  

Brews, Bites, Music, + Tunes @ New Canaan Nature Center Harvest Festival, Nature on Tap

Harvest festivals are a rite of passage for people, especially if you’re growing up in the Northeast.  Usually, you imagine corn, pumpkins, and anything you could find on your Thanksgiving dinner table.  Well, The New Canaan Nature Center has a different kind of harvest festival on tap.  Actually, they are calling their First Annual Harvest Festival “Nature on Tap.”   The festivities are happening on a Saturday (thank you!), 9/29 at two different times:  3-6 pm or 7-10 pm.  So, if you feel like just chilling and enjoying the beautiful day, check out their earlier time.  Or, if you feel like staying out late and drinking the night away, swing by later.

Tickets are for people 21 years or older, $50 in advance or $65 at the door.  Hint, pay for the ticket in advance and save $15.  Yeah, we’re good at math and stuff. :)   Just bring your ID with the name that you paid for tickets with and you’ll get a wristband.  So what will the 50 bucks getcha?

Über Exclusive Craft Beer Tasting at Harry’s – Fairfield, CT

Harry’s Wine & Liquor Market is hosting a beer tasting of epic proportions this Saturday, 6/12, from 12 to 3 pm.  Why so epic?  The three breweries that have been hot on the minds of beer guzzlers all across Connecticut will be featured.  Yes, Green Flash Brewing Company from San Diego, Clown Shoes Beer from Boston, and Sixpoint Brewery from Brooklyn will be well represented.

Let’s show ya what you’ll be able to sample:

Green Flash Brewing Company, 12-1 pm

West Coast IPA, Hop Head Red, Rayon Vert, and Imperial IPA

Clown Shoes Beer, 1-2 pm

Muffin Top, Clementine, Hoppy Feet, and Tramp Stamp

Sixpoint Brewery, 2-3 pm

Resin, Righteous, Sweet Action, and Crisp Lager

Also on hand will be Craft Beer Guild Distributing of Connecticut.  They will be introducing the above beers and talking about their mission to bring more killah beer to Connecticut.  As they build up their beer portfolio (doesn’t that sound awesome, a portfolio of beer?) the variety and selection of goodness in the state will rise up too.  Harry’s will be following this event up with more craft and artisan brews on their shelves in the next few weeks, so check their shelves often for that hop fix of yours.  So, add that to the 300 different craft brews and 50 national brands and you’ve got Beerpocalypse!

Cheers! Tell us…have you been to Harry’s?  What’s your favorite beer to get there?  Also, have you tried any of these 3 beer companies?  What are your thoughts?

Harry’s Wine &  Liquor Market
2094 Post Road
Fairfield, CT  06824
tel  203-259-4692
fax 203-259-7840
harrys@snet.net
www.harryswine.com
Mon – Thu:   8AM to 8PM
Fri&  Sat:   8AM to 9PM
Sunday:      10AM to 5PM

Located at 2094 Post Road, Harry’s Wine & Liquor Market has long been Fairfield County’s leader in education and the introduction of new industry trends. Winner of numerous accolades, including, “Best Beer Shop of Fairfield County” by the The Advocate, and “Best Wine Shop” by Connecticut Magazine,  Harry’s Wine & Liquor Market has also been recognized by The Wine Advocate for its contributions and history.

Fun-raiser: Wild Wine, Beer + Food Safari 2012 @ The Beardsley Zoo – Bridgeport, CT

*-*

Isn’t that just the cutest picture you’ve ever seen?  Is he holding up the wine to observe the color before he swishes it around?  Is he raising it as a toast to all animals at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport?  Or, is he ready to down some of the good red stuff?  Well, I guess he could be doing all three.  Maybe he’s just raising a glass to you for coming along to Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo‘s Wild Wine, Beer & Food Safari on June 2 from 6-9 pm.  He doesn’t have any pockets, but he’ll be asking for $55 online (buy here), $50 for groups of 4 or more, or $60 at the event…if he hasn’t sold all of his tickets.

This will be one wild tasting event to be a part of.  Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo will have fun stations where you can get your grub on such as drinks from Wine Emporium of Shelton, as well as local restaurants and caterers.  Because there is alcohol there, you must be 21+ to enter.  Oh, there is more, though, for our fur loving friends.  There will be live entertainment and you’ll have a chance to prance and stomp around Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo to check out all the animals.  Also, put your bid down on some silent auctions like a trip to The Cape, signed sports goodies, theater tickets, beauty packages, and more.  All proceeds from this fundraiser will help the Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo‘s operation, its growth, its educational programs, and its conservation initiatives.

List of Restaurants and Caterers (more to come)

Liquid Lunch

Cucina di Carla

The Soup Girl

Joe’s American Bar and Grill

Luigi’s Italian Pastries

Gelato Giuliani

David M Grant Catering

Smoke & Bones

The Barnum Publick House

Fortuna’s Deli

Chocopologie

Stockbridge Cheesecake

Carl Anthony’s Trattoria

Chili’s Bar and Grill

Vazzy’s Brick Oven

Rainforest Cafe

Trader Joe’s

Event details: Saturday June 2, 2012 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Tickets are $55 in advance; $50 for groups of four or more

and $60 day of the event (if available)

Ages 21+ only

A weekend of decadence with drinks, food, art & more at the Westchester Magazine’s Wine & Food Weekend

Well, we know if you’re reading our blog you clearly love food, wine and beer, so we KNOW you’ll be all about Westchester Magazine’s 2nd annual Wine & Food Weekend coming up on May 17-20 at The Ritz Carlton Westchester in White Plains. Ritz Carlton, oooo fancy.

But don’t worry, with events like the BBQ, Burgers and Beer Bash on Thursday, this weekend is anything but stiff. Well, except maybe the cocktails. Whether you’re stuffing your face with yummilicious food from over 30 of the best local restaurants and downing glasses of wine from over 200 world-class wineries at the Grand Tasting, or learning to make prohibition cocktails, or checking out local art at the ARTSBash, you’re guaranteed to have a great time!

Check out the full schedule, prices and packages below. For tickets visit the event website here.

Hope to see you there- we’ll be the ones with some sort of food or drink attached to our lips at all times. We’ll wink at your or something – but less creepy.

Thursday, 5/17

7:30PM – 11PM: Burgers, BBQ & Beer Bash – $50.00

 

Friday, 5/18

6PM – 9PM: ARTSBash – $75.00

 

Saturday, 5/19

11:30AM – 4PM: Grand Tasting – $85.00

12:00PM: A Tour Through Tuscany Wine Seminar with Kevin Zraly – $25.00 

1:15PM: Crystal Clear, Does the Glass Make A Difference? Wine Seminar – $75.00

2:30PM: Modern Mixology: Bringing Cocktails Home Cocktails Seminar – $25.00

6:30PM – 10:30PM: Winemakers Dinner – $150.00

 

Sunday, 5/20

11:30AM – 2PM: Sparkling Sunday Brunch – $50.00

12:00PM – 4:30PM: Grand Tasting – $85.00

12:30PM: Wines of Bordeaux Wine Seminar with Kevin Zraly – $25.00

1:45PM: Prohibition Cocktails Clinic Sprits Seminar – $25.00 

3:00PM: Majestic Terroir of Sonoma Wine Seminar – $25.00

 

Packages: 

 

Grand Tasting Combo: Grand Tasting Saturday & Sunday – $160.00 

 

VIP Pass: Package above + 1 Wine Seminar each day, Winemakers Dinner & Sunday Brunch – $400.00