Our recent stretch of unseasonably cool weather is ending just in time for Labor Day weekend, as the mercury will once again shoot up to brain-meltingly high temperatures. It's time to begin the slow but inevitable process of bringing summer to a close with one more lazy long weekend. It's your last chance to wear white and/or seersucker, if you allow your sartorial instincts to be dictated by outmoded Victorian ideas. Our friend Pinot, for instance, is throwing a little fashion show on Saturday, and is known to wear white all year long. Read on for details!
Before we move on to the creamy molten center of this particular newsletter, we would like to express our gratitude to the readers of Durham Magazine for voting us Best Wine Store in Durham!
ROSÉ LIMERICKS & PINK HAIKU
Every year at about this time, we invite our customers to submit rosé-themed limericks. These are then expertly judged, and prizes are distributed to the most deserving poets. A good laugh is had by all. So, with all appropriate pomp and ceremony, let the 2014 Rosé Limerick Contest begin! (cannons fire, doves are released) BUT WAIT! We have two stores now, so this year we are having TWO CONTESTS. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our great honor to announce the first ever Rosé Haiku Contest. While the limericks are stored in a secret location and judged by a stern and patriarchal panel of adjudicators, the haikus will be judged by you, in what will surely be a breathtaking use of social media. As tech nerds like to say (probably), the haiku contest is "open source". Feel free to submit your work to both contests! Read on for rules, details, and examples. Remember, no matter which format you choose, your muse MUST be dry rosé! ROSÉ LIMERICK CONTEST  From Wikipedia: A Limerick is a form of poetry in five-line anapestic meter with a strict AABBA rhyme scheme (no, not the Swedish pop band). Limericks are usually humorous and sometimes obscene. Here's an example: The limerick packs laughs anatomical Into space that is quite economical But the good ones I've seen So seldom are clean And the clean ones so seldom are comical
THE RULES
1. You must be at least 21 to submit an entry. 2. Multiple entries are allowed, but each must be sent in a separate email. 3. Poems MUST BE IN STRICT LIMERICK FORMAT. Only true limericks are eligible to win. 4. Entries must be "clean enough" to print publicly. Please don't say a cussie. 5. All entries are due by Friday, September 12th at midnight. 6. All limericks must have a rosé-based theme. Please email all entries to floatingheads@wineauthorities.com, with LIMERICK as the subject line. A haiku is an ancient Japanese poetic form, usually meant to inspire contemplation of the dignity and solemnity of nature. For our purposes, your haiku should follow a strict format: three lines, the first and third containing five syllables, and the second containing seven syllables. Here's a truly stirring example: As the sun rises My underwear goes with it I have a wedgie
-Andrew Fiore circa 1995
THE RULES
1. You must be at least 21 to submit an entry. 2. Multiple entries are allowed, but each must be sent in a separate email. 3. Poems MUST BE IN STRICT HAIKU FORMAT. Only true haikus are eligible to win. 4. Entries must be "clean enough" to print publicly. Again, please refrain from the invocation of cussies. 5. All entries are due by Friday, September 12th at midnight. 6. Each haiku must have a rosé-based theme. Please Tweet or Instagram your submissions @wineauthorities, and be sure to tag them #rosehaiku2014. You can also post your entries on our Facebook page with the #rosehaiku2014 hashtag. WHAT CAN YOU WIN?
Our panel of celebrity limerick judges will be announced soon. Stay tuned for more info!
And remember...
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We'll help you pack!
In other news, our 2014 Vacation Pack deal is going strong, but it won't last forever! Two crisp whites, two luscious rosés, and two sumptuous reds are ready to accompany you on your various late-summer travels (or late-summer chillin' at home). The wines are at a deep discount, and come in a stylish Wine Authorities tote to help you..uh.. tote 'em. Pick up your pre-packed portable party today! Click here to read more and visit us us at our next Tasty Tuesday for the opportunity to sample three of the six selections...
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Closed on Labor Day
 Monday, September 1st
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Real Customer Comment:
"Who chooses the music for the store?
It's always so, so good!"
- Katherine D.
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The ninth wonder of the world (our beautiful Rosé Garden) continues to bloom in all it's pink, juicy glory. In fact, we have two gardens for the first time this year and a whole new cadre of gardeners to tend our Raleigh Rosé. Old favorites have returned along with the requisite new arrivals, and (as always) we will donate a portion of our rosé sales throughout the year to breast cancer research. So come shop in our magnificent garden. New rosé selections are continuously blooming, and you never know what might surface next!
Currently in the Garden:
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This Tuesday, September 2nd, we present our FREE
midweek wine tasting. Every Tuesday is tasty!
Join us next Tuesday as we chase some very familiar heirs of Pinot Noir along their family tree (or vine, as it were) and across three continents. Just as it can be with people, the familial resemblance between parent and offspring grapes can be astoundingly tenuous, and many relationships between varietals have only very recently come to light via DNA studies.
We'll begin with a direct descendent of Pinot Noir, Savagnin (in the form of its more familiar, aromatic, pink-skinned mutation, Gewürztraminer). Next, we'll follow the lineage to one of Savagnin's most popular progenies, Sauvignon Blanc. Our final wine is an example of the famous son that you might not have realized belonged to Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines come courtesy of Oregon's Willamette, New Zealand's Nelson, and Argentina's Mendoza valley. For more information on Pinot Noir's many children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on, check out the "Deep Cuts" section of this week's newsletter below the Saturday Tasting section!
And don't forget:
Our Tasty Tuesday 15% Half-Case Discount!
After you taste, put together 6 bottles from our Tasty Tuesday lineup, and we'll take an entire 15% off!
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This Saturday from 12 to 3 PM
in Durham & Raleigh
"try before you buy" at
our FREE tasting
Pinot's Wardrobe .
In the past, we've explored the multi-hued mutations of Pinot, and we're doing so again - although this time with an exciting twist...a scandalous twist, even! We're peeking into Pinot's dressing room to observe the grape in various stages of dress and, shall we say, déshabillé. We're starting off with Pinot au naturel, as we pour a titillating taste of German Blanc de Noir, a white wine made from the red Pinot Noir grape. We'll then accompany Pinot as it dons its famous white, gray, and black suits - an elegantly lush Alsatian Pinot Blanc, an chiseled Oregonian Pinot Gris, and a boldly contemporary Austrian Pinot Noir, respectively. Join us on Saturday for a front-row seat.
Paul Anheuser
Pinot Noir
"Blanc de Noir"
Pinot Noir
(Nahe, Germany)
MOUTH-FILLING, RICH APRICOT, EARTHY AND EXOTIC
Paul Anheuser explains how he goes about making a white Pinot Noir. He vinifies it in 100% stainless steel tanks (so there are no oak flavors to be found) and then employs a clear Bordeaux-style bottle to show off the wine's lovely golden depth. Despite being vinified from Pinot Noir...
Cave Freudenreich
Pinot Blanc 2012
{sustainable} Pinot Blanc (Alsace, France)
NECTARINE & CITRUS, ROSEWATER, MINERALS
This is a prime example of outstanding Alsatian Pinot Blanc. Soft flower garden aromas swirl out of the glass in heady waves, and the palate is pretty and focused with stone fruit and citrus. Bright acidity and a tinge of smoky minerals...
{biodynamic} 100% Pinot Gris (Willamette, Oregon) PEAR, GOLDEN APPLE, DRY AND MINERALLY
Continuing their great tradition of superb Alsatian-styled dry whites, Montinore presents this medium to full-bodied Pinot Gris showing golden skin contact coloration and a nose of dried pear slices, apricot and fresh flowers...
Anton Bauer
Pinot Noir 2012
{sustainable} 100% Pinot Noir
(Wagram, Austria)
CHERRY FRUIT, RICH SPICY OAK, MODERN & MINERALLY
In our exploration of Austrian producers and their array of superlative wines, Anton Bauer has continued to truly stand out. This Pinot remains an exciting favorite because of its quality, character, and value - the ripe cherry fruit which we...
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Pinot & Co.
Beginning in Burgundy,
Conquering Contenents!
Whether Pinot (in its signature Noir, Gris, or Blanc attire) itself ranks among your very favorite varietals, there's a good chance that you, as a wine lover, have been celebrating its many descendents without even realizing it. Having sprung up in Burgundy (perhaps in Beaune as many as a thousand years ago), the Pinot grape has since proven to be a prolific parent to children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren (etc.) which have taken on noteworthy lives and reputations of their own. The following grapes are just a few of Pinot's better known descendents! Children:- Chardonnay
- Gamay
- Savagnin (aka Traminer - less aromatic, green-skinned, original form of the better-known, pink-skinned Gewürztraminer grape)
- Melon de Bourgogne
- Aligoté
- Auxerrois
- Tresallier
- Romorantin
- Pinotage
Grandchildren:- Sauvignon Blanc
- Chenin Blanc
- Grüner Veltliner
- Petit Manseng
- Teroldego
- Verdelho
- Trousseau (more colorfully known as BASTARDO!)
Great-Grandchildren:- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Syrah
- Gros Manseng
- Colombard
- Lagrein
Further Down the Line:- Petite Sirah (originally called Durif)
- Corvina
- Rondinella
- Refosco
- Raboso
Tune in next week for more "Deep Cuts"!
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Join us, read us, communicate with us...
 
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Hope to see you Saturday!
Our best to you,
Grand Poobah & the Wine Authorities staff
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We don't spam you, we practice our wine love on wine drinkers by sharing our weekly wackiness.
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Six for Sixty
deal!
 Here's our deal this month; a package of six reds or six whites for $60 plus tax. You can double down and buy two: one of each or two of one for $110 plus tax. Sorry, no other discounts apply.
Show me the six
REDS
Show me the six
WHITES
[click links to see this month's selection!]
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on the Enomatic
in Durham: 
Here's what's on tap, subject to change on a whim or fancy
Whites (48˚F):
Anton Bauer
Grüner Veltliner
"Rosenberg"
$19.99 on sale
Dr. Heyden
Riesling Kabinett
"Oppenheimer"
$16.99 on sale
Jean Paul Brun
Beujolais Rosé
"Rosé d'Folie"
$16.99 on sale
Chateau Jouclary
Sauvignon Blanc
$11.99 on sale
Reds (65˚F):
Quinta do Encontro
Beira Atlântico
"Encontro"
$11.99 on sale
Viña Aliaga
Syrah
"Syrah Syrah"
$13.99 on sale
Baileyana
Pinot Noir
"Firepeak Vineyard"
$22.99 on sale
Grosbos Barbara
Saint Pouçain Rouge
"Chambre d'Eduard"
$15.99 on sale
Bodegas Arrocal
Ribera de Duero
"Arrocal"
$19.99
Paraiso
Pinot Noir
$19.99 on sale
La Quercia
Aglianico
$16.99 on sale
Meinklang
Zweigelt
$19.99 on sale
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on the Enomatic
in Raleigh:
Here's what's on tap, subject to change on a whim or fancy
Whites (48º F):
Cooper Mountain
Pinot Gris
$19.99 on sale
Reine-Juliet
Syrah / Grenache Rosé
$11.99 on sale
Bodegas Los Frailes
Monastrell Rosado
$9.99 on sale
Eric de Suremain
Rully 1er Cru
$29.99 on sale
Clos Lapeyre
Jurançon Sec
"Mantoulan"
$38.99 on sale
Netzl
Chardonnay
$19.99 on sale
Cave Freudenreich
Riesling
"Terre d'Apollon"
$17.99 on sale
SteinRiesling "Blauschiefer" $19.99 on sale Reds (65º F): Bodegas Arrocal Ribera del Duero $19.99 on sale Mas Granier "Cuvée Psalmodi" $11.99 on sale Paul D Zweigelt $12.99 on sale Laetitia Pinot Noir $26.99 on sale Terrabianca Dolcetto d'Alba "Brichet" $16.99 Tre Ricci Cabernet Sauvignon $29.99 on sale
Bodegas Los Frailes
Valencia Monastrell $9.99 on sale Bodegas Perica Rioja Crianza "Olagosa" $16.99 on sale Anton Bauer Zweigelt "Feuersbrunn" $14.99 on sale Chateau La Colombière Fronton "Coste Rouge" $24.99 on sale Occhipinti "Il Frappato" $34.99 on sale Domaine Magellan Hérault Rouge
"Le Fruit Défendu" $11.99 on sale Brutocau Merlot "Bliss Vineyard" $22.99 Merietta "Old Vine Red" $14.99 on sale
Hartwell
Cabernet Sauvignon "H" $49.99 on sale Laurent Combier Crozes Hermitage "L" $26.99 on sale
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Firsthand Foods
Fresh Local Sausages
- Bratwurst
- Country Breakfast
- Spicy Italian
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 Artisan Bacon Nodine's North Country Firsthand Foods Vande Rose Farms |
Crackers
Granola
Spreads
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Big Spoon
Roasters
Local peanut butters
8oz Jar - $9.99
16oz Jar - $16.99
or...
- Peanut Cashew
- Peanut Almond
- Penut Pecan
- Chai Spice (8oz size only)
8oz Jar - $12.99
16oz Jar - $17.99
8oz Jar - $13.00
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Counter Culture Coffee
- Rustico
- Farmhouse Blend, Equador & Peru
- Tsheya, Congo
- Baroida Late Harvest, Papua New Guinea
- Remera, Rwanda
- Espresso Toscano
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- Community supported farms & entrepreneurs.
- Socially & financially underutilized urban land.
- Healthy neighborhoods & thriving markets.
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Archived Weekly Emails
If for some absolutely crazy reason you feel the need to re-read our previous weekly email you can now click on this link:
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Please note:
We can not be held accountable for our previous, current or future writings.
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