Mountain Spirits: Wine and Beer this week, 4-5-12

April 6, 5 - 7 PM   Hops and Vines, 797 Haywood Rd, Ste 100 in Asheville NC. FREE beer tasting: Bear Republic  Come sample these tasty beers from Bear Republic:  Racer 5 - This hoppy American IPA is a full bodied beer brewed American pale and crystalmalts, and heavily hopped with Chinook, Cascade, Columbus and Centennial. 7%;   Hop Rod Rye - A high gravity IPA brewed with 18% rye malt. Hop Rod Rye has a floral hop aroma and subtle caramel notes with a slightly earthy and spicy rye character;  8% Peter Brown Tribute Ale -is malty American Brown Ale, brewed with molasses, brown sugar, and hopped with Cascade and Centennial.   April 7 , 3-6 PM - FREE Wine Tasting: Line 39 Wines.   Line 39 Sauvignon Blanc - Lake County, which lies just north of Napa is emerging as a great grape growing region;  Line 39 Cabernet Sauvignon- Line 39 refers to the latitude along which many of the great wine regions in the world are found;  Line 39 Petite Sirah- This velvety full bodied red wine has dark cherry notes with a touch of oak and a long elegant finish.

April 6  , starts at 6 PM,  Classic Wine Cellar, 20 Church Street, Waynesville NC - Friday Night Live.  Maggie and The Romantics will entertain. Full tapas, flatbreads and cheese menu will be available.

April 6, 4-7 PM at Table Wine, 1550 Hendersonville Road, Suite 102, Asheville NC - 545 Friday Winedown - A Vinous Tour Of Italy:  Garofoli Guelfo Verde - This sparkling wine hails from Central Italy, Les Marches to be exact, just east of Tuscany. ; Cantina Frentana Cococciola - This is one of the best co-operatives of Abruzzo, and this is one exotic little white wine; Cantina Sant Evasio Gavi - We now head north on our journey of obscure Italian varietals to the village of Gavi, in Italy's Piemonte zone; Tenuta Canale Sangiovese di Toscana - No, this grape isn't obscure, but no Italian wine tasting would be complete without at least one Sangiovese; Vecchia Torre Salice Salentino - A blend of Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera, this rustic red is packed with ripe berry fruit, spices, licorice and earth; Paitin Nebbiolo d'Alba "Ca Vieja" - This family run estate got its start in 1796, and they're still going really strong; Morisfarms Monteregio di Massa Marittima - This wine comes from Tuscany's western coast and from one of the finest producers in the region.  $5 per person, FREE for Grape Nuts.   April 7, 2-5 PM - Saturday Winedown: Vino Mondo wines - Kevin and Tripti Simback, owners of Vino Mondo Distributors will pour samples from their portfolio. Sartarelli Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico - This is one of the premiere Verdicchio producers in all of Italy; Forstreiter Gruner Veltliner "Kogl Krems" - Simply put, this is one of the best Gruner Veltliners your money can by; Cooper Mountain Pinot Gris Reserve - Cooper Mountain is a small, family owned and operated winery in Oregon's Willamette Valley; Cooper Hill Pinot Noir - It's really hard to find organic, Willamette Valley estate Pinot Noir for less than $20, but Tripti and Kevin have managed to do just that; Cavalli-Tenuta Degli "Le Redini" - The Wine Advocate reviewed this wine at 91 points. $5 per person, FREE for Grape Nuts.

April 6  4 PM - 7 PM  LaBouteille, 10 N Trade St, Suite A Tyon NC - Complimentary Wine Tastings every Friday.  - The last Saturday of each month 3-5 pm is a 10 beers for $10 beer tasting. Bring a dish of food to share.
April 7, 3 PM - 7 PM at  Appalachian Vintner, 745 Biltmore Avenue Suite 121 • Asheville, NC.  Asheville's "Best" WIne Tasting: Bill O'Friel and The wines of Cape Classics representing some of the finest values in South Africa..  Indaba Chardonnay- 100% Chardonnay from the Western Cape of South Africa. “Indaba” is the traditional Zulu forum for sharing ideas; Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc Steen op Hout- 100% Chenin Blanc from environmentally responsible vineyards in the Western Cape.; Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé- Inland Coast, South Africa. Hand harvested from 10-20 year old bush Cabernet vines and crushed directly into stainless steel tanks.; Indaba Shiraz- This fresh, juicy Shiraz flaunts lively flavors of ripe blackberry, blueberry and dark chocolate, with hints of white pepper, licorice and spice; Rustenberg John X Merriman- 47% Cab, 39% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, 4% Cab Franc, 3% Malbec from one of South Africa’s oldest and most distinguished wine farms, with a viticultural history dating back to 1682.

April 7,   2 PM - 5 PM  The Wine Guy, 555 Merimon Ave and 1200 Hendersonville Rd., Asheville NC. FREE Saturday tastings are a great way to sample new favorites in a casual setting. A local distributor will pour a few new wines from their portfolio. No reservations required and there will be special pricing on the wines sampled. 

April 7, 12 PM - 5 PM at Vino Vino Wine Market, 178 Weaverville Rd., Asheville NC. Every Saturday anytime between 12:00 and 5:00pm enjoy a sampling of wines from around the world. A 10% discount on each of the wines we are featuring.

Tasting Rooms:

Biltmore Winery, located on the Biltmore Estate, Asheville NC. Daily tasting and tours with Estate admission. Special events and tastings throughout the year.

Old North State Winery, 308 North Main Street, Mount Airy NC. Hours of operation are: Monday-Wednesday 11am-6pm, Thursday-Saturday 11am-9pm, and Sunday 12pm-6pm. Sample wines and browse the gift shop featuring wine related and gourmet gift items.

RagApple Lassie, 3724 Ragapple Lassie Lane Boonville NC Tours are "on demand" noon to six PM daily. Tastings are available noon to six PM daily and include up to 11 varieties of wine.

Calaboose Cellars, 565 Aquone Road, Andrews NC. Closed for the winter - re-open March 22, 2012Tasting room summer hours: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from Noon to 5:00. This week check out the "Warden's White".

South Creek Vineyard and Winery, 2240 South Creek Road, Nebo, NC

Daily Tastings at Wedge Brewing Company, 125 B Roberts St. Asheville NC. Micro-brewery regular Tasting room hours: Monday - Thursday 4 PM - 10+ PM; Friday 3 PM - 10+ PM; Saturday and Sunday 2 PM - 10+ PM.

Daily Tastings at Greenman Brewery, 23 Buxton Ave., Asheville NC. The tasting room is open seven days a week at 4 o'clock, or maybe earlier