Thursday, June 20, 2013

Local Vermont Musicians at the Burlington Wine & Food Festival

Meet the featured BTV Wine & Food Festival artists!

The Burlington Wine & Food Festival will feature two awesome local artists this year, adding some extra fun, and who doesn't love live music? (And wine, and food, and cheese!) Take a look at the two artists that will be playing at the Wine & Food Fest this year, and be sure to snag your tickets to one of the greatest local events of the summer here!

Session 1: Eight 02
Jerome Monachino, Peter Engisch, Luke Adler and Chris Peterman

Eight 02 Band - Burlington Wine & Food FestivalEight 02 is a post-Bop contemporary jazz fusion group who's known for their improvisational risk-taking. The band is a collaboration between Picture This (with Peter Engisch and Jerome Monachino) and the critically-acclaimed Kilimanjaro (Lucas Adler and Chris Peterman). They have a huge emphasis on melodic architecture that's balanced by raw-spirited improvisation; their music is "beyond category; beautiful; tremendously accessible and exciting," according to Lou D'Antonio, Jazz Spectrum 104.7, WNCS The Point.

Session 2: Triage
Kevin Boyea, Peter Krag and Dan Ryan

Triage Band - Burlington Wine & Food Festival
Kevin Boyea has been playing at the Burlington Wine & Food Festival since its first year, and has been playing in bands since before he was even able to drive to the gigs! He's performed with Last Kid Picked, Vehicle, Toy Chest and the Kevin McCarty band, and will be rocking live for the evening portion of this year's Burlington Wine & Food Festival!

Just two more days to go - enjoy the show!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

A Pair to be Reckoned With: A Perfect Wine & Food Pairing!

Irresistible Mini Apple Pies with La Spinetta Gri/Gio


La Spinetta Gri/Gio - Burlington Wine & Food FestivalIn honor of the upcoming Burlington Wine & Food Festival, we've put together another wine and food pair that features a wine making its way to the festival as well as a recipe that we think would pair wonderfully with it. La Spinetta makes a wonderful Pinot Grigio; a medium-bodied and round wine with crisp citrus and white fleshed fruit flavors. It has firm acidity with a mineral edge. It's not a dessert wine, but we still think these mini apple pies would be washed down best with the La Spinetta Gri/Gio.

Check out the recipe below, and be sure to stop in at Giordia Rivetti's seminar at the Burlington Wine & Food Festival, where "one of Italy's most fashionable winemakers" will taste tour you around Italy's most spectacular wine regions. Happy tasting!

Mini Apple Pies
Mini Apple Pies - Burlington Wine & Food Festival(Recipe via Food.com, image via KristinV on Food.com)
Yields 12 mini pies

Crust:
2 cups of flour
2/3 cup butter, chilled
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons water

Filling:
5 medium apples, peeled and chopped into small pieces
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:
  • Preheat oven to 425. Get out muffin pan, but no need to grease it.
  • Blend flour, salt and butter in food processor until it looks like little peas
  • Add in water and blend just until it begins to stick
  • Take out and combine by hand until well blended
  • Roll out on lightly floured surface until about 1/4 inch thick
  • Cut 12, 4-inch circles with cup or bowl (will need to roll out again - use remaining crust for decorations on top of your pies!)
  • Press each circle into muffin tins until all the way up each side, forming little bowls
  • Mix all of the filling ingredients and spoon into muffin bowls
  • Cut up butter into 12 little pieces and place on piece on the top of each mini pie
  • Decorate with extra crust of leave plain
  • Bake at 425 degrees for 16-18 minutes, until crust is brown and apples are bubbling
  • When cool, loosen with a spoon and pop out!
  • Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Guest Blog: Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyards

Randall Grahm Bonny Doon Vineyards
Randall Grahm of the Bonny Doon Vineyards fame is rolling into town for the 2013 Burlington Wine & Food Festival and to honor his much anticipated arrival we are giving a shout out blog style and sharing a bit of his whit and charm. Read an excerpt below, and if you're interested in reading more from him, click the link at the bottom to purchase his signed, first-edition print.

"Just a quick heads-up/disaster preparedness warning: My first book,“Been Doon So Long: A Randall Grahm Vinthology,” has been published by the generally sober and presumably reputable University of California Press. The book is a compendium of the choicest bits of Dooniana from the newsletters over the last twenty years, as well as some work that has been published in sundry journals, magazines, reviews and revistas, in addition to some new bespoke pieces."

"In 2009, two years after the sale of Big House and Cardinal Zin brands, there is still considerable confusion about what precisely has been sold and exactly who or what constitutes Bonny Doon in its current incarnation. Most disturbingly, it now appears to be karmic payback time after my years of pushing the envelope, marketing- and promotion-wise. The wines we are now producing are much better and more “serious” – if by that we mean as winegrowers we are more focused and attentive – but I fear my reputation as a jocular marketeer may forever-doom (or doon) my chances of the world ever taking the wines themselves seriously.1 Our distributor in New York somewhat facetiously suggested that I consider taking out an advertisement in the Wine Spectator to dispel the confusion within the industry about the company, with the ancillary benefit of improving diplomatic relations with the Spectator. I was nervous about taking out the ad for a number of reasons – it was quite dear for a winery our size, seemed to be advertising was that you were in trouble.

Randall Grahm Bonny Doon Vineyards
The piece was revised numerous times. When I first wrote it, I attempted to channel the spirit of Robert Crumb (in the vague and unrealistic hope that I might persuade him to draw the strip). The early versions were perhaps a bit too raw, self-deprecating, and self-revelatory.2 Maybe a little too self-consciously, I ended up toning it down more than I should have. I had tried to make the case that many company was really all about transparency, and it seemed that a little brutal honesty would likely be well appreciated. Or not.

Crumb was, not surprisingly, unavailable, but we were fortunate to find a wonderful cartoonist in Ed Piskor. Ed was infinitely patient with my unending requests for revisions, and in the end of the strip, shown in the following spread, turned out great, with a lot of fine detail. The strip ran, and the Wine Spectator loved it. We turned it into a lovely poster, and many customers called us to obtain a copy. But it did not seem to drive sales a whit, one very important metric of how one’s brand is valued. Maybe there is more karma to be worked out. Alternative explanation: people are now too absorbed in their own problems to pay much attention to almost anything that does not hit them squarely over the head. (FALL 2008)"

Buy Now! Your own signed, first-edition print of Been Doon So Long

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Wine, Food & Vehicle Feature

Three Wine Company's Zinfandel, Smokey Food & the 2014 Subaru Forester


Burlington Wine & Food Festival
This bottle is just $12.99!
Three Wine Company is one of the winemakers that will be present at the 2013 Burlington Wine & Food Festival, and today we'd like to showcase their Three "Red Label" Zinfandel. According to our friends from the Wine & Food Festival, the "field blend" contingent of this wine adds structure, color, cherry and black fruit flavors. There is a deep concentration of ripe black cherries and spice with an earthy berry sneaking through. The mouth-feel is rich and balanced with a lingering peppery finish. Sounds amazing!

As for food, what better to pair with this winemaker's wine than what they'll be serving at their dinner in lieu of the festival? Winemaker Matt Cline and Henry & Dina Bronson will be presenting an evening of smokey food and great wine pairing at Bistro Henry on Thursday June 20 at 6:30pm. This sumptuous dinner menu will have meals such as Capaccio and Spare Ribs, only done in completely new ways. This dinner costs just $50 plus tax & gratuity. Call Bistro Henry to make a reservation; there's only 50 spots! (802) 362-4982.

Matt Cline of Three Wine Company, one of the most respected wine makers in California, will also be presenting a seminar at the Wine & Food Festival. Matt will speak about the historical vineyards of California as you sample wines from his vineyard at his "California Viticultural History and Blending Traditions with Matt Cline" seminar.

2014 Subaru Forester
The 2014 Subaru Forester
We thought the perfect vehicle to represent both the richness of the Zinfandel and the smokey, down-home taste of the food was the 2014 Subaru Forester. A champion of the outdoors with a sense of class and accomplishment, we think the Subaru Forester is a perfect match for excelled winemaker Matt Cline's Zinfandel, as well as his planned meal with Bistro Henry (although we do not recommend combining the wine with the vehicle).

Want to win tickets to the Burlington Wine & Food Festival on June 22 at the Waterfront Park in Burlington? Post a picture of a meal you're eating to Instagram with the hashtag #BTVfood and you'll be automatically entered to win! Our Facebook fans will vote on the pictures we receive, and on June 18 we'll see who has the most votes. Remember, one of the main words here is "wine"; you must be 21 years or older by June 18, 2013 to be considered to win! Hope to see you there :)


Image of the Forester via Latest Cars World

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Join us for the Burlington Wine & Food Festival!

Burlington Subaru Hyundai - Burlington Wine & Food FestivalBurlington Subaru Hyundai is sponsoring the 2013 Burlington Wine & Food Festival!


We're happy to announce that we'll be hosting the 2013 Burlington Wine & Food Festival again this year! We had an amazing time last year and we couldn't be more excited to be a part of this amazing event again. In honor of wine, food and our sponsorship, we'd like to offer two free tickets to the festival by running a little contest:

Win free tickets to the Burlington Wine & Food Festival!
Ex.: Crab cake eggs Benedict! #BTVfood
If you'd like to win two free tickets to the Burlington Wine and Food Festival, take a picture of a delicious meal you’re having, either at home or in a Vermont restaurant, and post it to Instagram with the hashtag #BTVfood. We’ll post your treats to our Facebook and Twitter pages, let our fans vote on the pictures, and on Tuesday June 18 at 8 p.m., we’ll select the photo with the most votes as the winner!

At a restaurant? Tag where you’re at! We’d love to see where you’re enjoying your delicious bite.

For more info, head to the Burlington Wine & Food Festival website here. The festival will be held at the Waterfront Park in Burlington on June 22, 2013. There will be two sessions; one from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m., and the next from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.

**MUST be 21 years of age or older by June 18, 2013 to be considered. Winner must present a valid photo ID.

Customer Feature: Ashley's New Subaru XV Crosstrek

Local Women's Lacrosse Coach Ashley Hughes just bought her first Subaru from us last week after an extensive search for a new car. Ashley was looking for a small SUV/crossover with cargo space, comfortable driving, safety and a USB port. Trading in a Ford Focus, Ashley test drove a Jeep, Honda, Hyundai and a Subaru Forester, eventually landing on the Subaru XV Crosstrek, her soon-to-be favorite and eventual purchase.

Ashley's New Subaru XV Crosstrek
Ashley and Chris Cassidy, her Subaru salesman!
As a lacrosse coach, Ashley makes frequent tripsto Costo for food and needed a vehicle with enough cargo space to accommodate it; feeding 25 female athletes on a regular basis is no small feat! Ashley also wanted cargo room to support occasional Vermont camping trips with her Mom and sister Chelsey. Extra safety in winter conditions was a must, as was a USB port; Ashley's a huge music fan and wanted to be able to play her music easily.

Ashley's thoughts on her new XV Crosstrek:

Subaru is Pet Tested, Pet Approved
Ashley's cat, Hemingway loves the Subaru too :)
"I love my Crosstrek Subaru; it offers me the ruggedness of an SUV but the luxury of a sedan," said Ashley, just a week after her purchase. "It's the perfect crossover vehicle with fun gadgets. I'm making up reasons to drive it all the time!"

She's not a native Vermonter, but I think we can safely say she's adapting well after just four years of living in VT. And with the official car of Vermont in her driveway, she's well on her way.

Join Ashley as a proud owner and view our 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek inventory here!