The winter Covid surge appears to be behind us, the biting cold is easing, and the daylight is lasting a little longer.  March has arrived and whether you plan to spend the coming days celebrating St. Patrick's Day, watching the NCAA Basketball Tournament  or sitting in front of the fireplace quietly enjoying the last days of winter, we have some great recommendations for you.  

Enjoy!

Drew Faîte de Mer Farm Pinot Noir

As many of our customers know, I have a great affinity for Pinot Noirs from The Anderson Valley/Mendocino Ridge area of California, and among my favorite wines from that region are the wines from Drew Wines.  The Drew Fog Eater Pinot Noir has long been a personal as well as a staff favorite here at Harry’s. While the winery is no longer making wine under the Fog Eater name, they now make one called Faîte de Mer Farm Pinot Noir which I highly recommend as an alternative. The grapes are sourced from a more highly elevated, coastal portion of the vineyard called Mendocino Ridge which is perfect for growing the Pinot Noir grape. Faîte de Mer translates to “made of the sea” for its close coastal proximity.

We tried a sample of the 2019 Faîte de Mer Pinot Noir and were all completely blown away.  This bottle is truly amazing. It has everything you could possibly want in a great Pinot Noir. It possesses pure, elegant red fruit nuanced with luscious savory notes. When the wine first became available, we bought all that they had and we sold out of it in a matter of days. Fortunately, we were recently able to get our hands on a bit more. Like many great wines, only small quantities are produced. So, if you love great Pinot Noirs like I do, make sure to try this wine while it is still available and have it with your favorite cuisine.  I find that it pairs particularly well with duck or pork roast.

As far as Pinot Noir goes, this bottle is “mind blowing”.  A definite “must try”.  Try some before I buy it all for myself.

-Scotty Tiberi

Kelley Fox Star of Bethlehem Flower Block Pinot Noir

Of all of the Kelley Fox Pinot Noirs that I have had the pleasure of tasting, this bottling is the most ethereal. The Star of Bethlehem Flower Block is positioned one acre behind the Maresh house where a famed cherry tree once stood and has since burned down. It is now the only block on the vineyard where the Star of Bethlehem Flower will grow, hence the name, and there is indeed something more floral to this bottling. The vines here are own-rooted Pommard clones, planted in 1991, tended lovingly with biodynamic practices by Kelley. As with all of her wines now, it is fermented with all whole-clusters and aged in neutral barrels so that the fruit can shine through. The nose is delicate with notes of rose water, fresh raspberry, red currant, clove and soft sweet herbs, and the palate is bright with gentle tannins. If you're opening this now, it will do well with some air by decanting it an hour early, but this wine will surely evolve beautifully over the next 3-10 years.  

-Michelle DeWyngaert

Glendalough Irish Whiskey

The Glendalough Distillery was set up by five friends from Wicklow and Dublin who shared a love of craft spirits. They eventually decided to leave the safety of their day jobs in Dublin and went into the mountains to take a chance on something more meaningful (much like the man on their bottle, St Kevin). Together they built a craft distillery near their favorite spot in those mountains where they produce Whiskey, Gin and Poitín. Glendalough Distillery sustainably fell 140 year-old trees from the ancient oak forests in the mountains around the distillery and for every tree removed, 7 were planted. This was the beginning of a yearlong process that ends with an Irish oak hogshead. Seven, to pay homage to St. Kevin's 7 years of self-discovery and seven, to pay homage to his City of Seven Churches in the 7th century monastic dwelling that is Glendalough and still stands to this day 14 centuries later.

Two Roads Two Conn Easy Ale

UConn Athletics and Two Roads are both widely recognized brands that strive for excellence in everything they do, so it made perfect sense for Two Roads to take it to an even higher level and collaborate with UConn Athletics to create a special beer for UConn Nation. TwoConn is golden-ale inspired. It’s crisp and clean with a touch of sweetness and a kiss of hops for balance. Two Roads recognizes that not every UConn fan is an IPA fanatic and with TwoConn Easy Ale they have crafted something that is appealing to both craft and non-craft beer drinkers alike.

Go Huskies!