Welcome to Colonial Insider
At Colonial Spirits of Acton our business is selling wine, beer, liquor, and related libations. What this obvious statement fails to communicate, however, is the pleasure we get from sharing our interests and enthusiasms with customers and each other. In that spirit (no pun intended), we are pleased to launch Colonial Insider, a monthly online newsletter dedicated to the enjoyment of and learning about liquid refreshments. We hope you find it informative and possibly even entertaining.
With Colonial Insider, our goal is to enhance, not replace Colonial Crier, Collector’s Corner, Brews from the Front, and Whisk(e)y Notes. Instead, we’re casting a wider net to include short, informative (sometimes opinionated) pieces on a variety of topics written by staff and guest contributors. We’ll also be including store news; topical perspectives on and insights into industry trends; and announcements of new arrivals and special events.
We look forward to your comments and suggestions.
“Blues” from the Front
Craft beer aficionados and other Brews from the Front readers are no doubt aware that our friend and now former colleague, Patrick Suleski, has entered an exciting new career phase as a sales rep for a major beer distributor. We wish him all the best and know that you do too. Taking over the beer world is Brice Penaud. Brice is a long-time beer enthusiast and blogger who has been with us for the past several months. Working with Brice is Bill Raine, a local craft beer expert and friend of Colonial Spirits with an encyclopedic knowledge of specialty brews.
New Themed Events and Tastings
Building on the popularity of our annual Big Red, Spring Fling, and Oktoberfest tastings, we’ve planned a series of similar events throughout the year. Built around a central theme — a wine region or grape variety, type of liquor / country of origin, food pairings, or beer style – each of these special month-long events will include a series of tastings every week. In keeping with each month’s theme, we’re also offering a seminar style class conducted by one of our staff or a guest expert.
Kicking off the series in February is, appropriately enough, St. Valentine’s Sparklers, a celebration of French Champagne and other sparkling wines from Italy, Spain, and the U.S. Nicolay Castro, he of the sparkling personality, has scheduled weekly tastings featuring examples of each variety. Nicolay will also be leading a seminar / tasting on Thursday, February 13th from 7:00 to 8:00 pm for customers interested in learning about the history, production and styles of sparkling wines.
*Click here to view a copy of the notes that Nicolay presented and a list of the wines feature in the February Sparkling Wine seminar.
Massive Tectonic Shift Alters World Wine Geography
Not since the breakup of the super continent Pangaea has the earth’s land masses undergone such a massive shift as the one that recently took place at 87 Great Road Acton. Although the event did not register on local seismographs it did cause a significant transformation of the fine wine display area that doubled the Italian section, shifted Spain and Portugal, and united Germany, South Africa, and South America.
Needless to say, the change has left some customers confused as to where to find their favorite malbecs, chiantis, and rieslings. Fortunately, the collective Nic (Haegeli and Castro) have created a new map (see below) indicating the changes and are on hand to guide you to the fine wines you seek and help you discover new wonders.
The Grapes of Mirth
