Celebrate Epernay’s Top Eight of 2018
January 2, 2019Want to know who was the local Nantucket celebrity author that hosted a book signing during our annual Nantucket Wine Fest tastings?
Are you interested in finding out the initiative Épernay Wine & Spirits took this year in order to give back to the Nantucket community?
Did you miss the opportunity to meet + greet with the newest family member to join Team Épernay, and what was their claim to fame this summer?
Another fantastic year (our 6th to be exact!) is in the books and we have tons to celebrate from this past season. Advanced Sommelier Jenny Benzie gives us a year in review, featuring Épernay’s Top Eight of 2018!
And as always, THANK YOUfor continuing to support your neighborhood bottle shop. For this and your friendship, we are forever grateful. 🙂
Our wash ashore pup, Cooper, came to us via the Sunshine State of Florida. He was born on October 22ndand made his way home to Nantucket at the end of January 2018. This gave us plenty of time to at least get him potty trained before hiring him as our Official Greeter. He loves people and dogs of all shapes and sizes that frequent the shop and enjoys Pilates with his many girlfriends next door at CORE. Two paws up for Cooper!
ACK ROSÉ TASTING + BOOK SIGNING WITH ELIN HILDERBRAND
What could be better on a hot summer Nantucket day than a cold glass of rosé wine in one hand and the latest released book from local celebrity author Elin Hilderbrand in the other? Elin joined us for a book signing during our wine tasting featuring the release of ACK Rosé from Côtes de Provence. Needless to say, the wine and this event were both a big splash during the Nantucket Wine Fest weekend!
CHEERS TO CHARITIES: FIRST THURSDAY GIVING
We wouldn’t be in business if it weren’t for the amazing community in which we live. “Cheers to Charities” is our fundraising tasting initiative in which we donate 10% of sales during our first Thursday of the month tasting to a designated local charity. This year, Épernay Wine & Spirits donated almost $2,000 to their partner charitable recipients, and we look forward to exceeding this amount next year! A few of our benefactors included PASCON, Sustainable Nantucket, and NISHA. Stay tuned to find out who are partner charities are for 2019.
After the glowing positive feedback received in regards to our cheese and charcuterie selections, we decided to kick it up a “bump” this year by adding Calvisius Caviar to our line-up of outstanding luxury food item offerings. Oscietra, Sevruga, Siberian, White Sturgeon… we even offered Mother of Pearl spoons, small tubs of crème fraîche, and packaged blinis for proper consumption. Look out for an in-store caviar tasting next year!
ROSÉ MAGNUMS STILL COME OUT ON TOP
Rosé wine is no longer a fad, it is a Nantucket staple that is hot, hot, hot all year long, and it is here to stay. Épernay continually offers up to 50 different selections of this pink juice, in all shapes and sizes (including cans this past year), from different regions and grape varietals, made with varying production methods, and enjoyable with any day ending with a ‘y.’ Large format bottles still take center stage when it comes to having a rosy good time. Pre-order your selection now if you want to keep cool during the dog days of summer here next year.
ITALIAN SUPERSTAR WINEMAKER APPEARANCE
How cool (and rare!) would it be to be the 26thgeneration winemaker from your family’s iconic winery estate in Tuscany? That is exactly what Alessia Antinori is and we were so excited to host her for one of your Thursday tasting events while she was vacationing on Nantucket in June. Patience, passion and perseverance have helped this family business to remain successful for over 600 years. The proof is in the bottle! Who will be on our Winemaker Tasting VIP schedule for 2019?
NANTUCKET BOOK FOUNDATION CALENDAR
When we first learned of the Nantucket Book Foundation’s Literary Pets photo contest, Cooper was one of the first entries! Luckily with the help of our friends who voted for him, he is Mr. October. Thank you to Janis, Doug, Lisa, Josie, Sheryl, Deb, Holly, Mark, Iris, Gerry, + Maureen for your contributions and making this happen!
Where did Cooper get his name? He is named after the person that makes wine casks, “nose” a good book and perfect wine pairing. When not chewing on wine corks, this Jack Russell/Maltese rescue enjoys reading and studying about wine in his spare time.
Nantucket’s celebration of Christmas Stroll, hosted by the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce, is like no other holiday celebration. If you want to experience a quintessential New England Christmas with the entire downtown streets lined with colorfully decorated trees, and festively dressed people roaming all over town spreading good cheer, then this is your weekend. Seriously, when (and where) else can you dress like a Yeti while drinking from one ~ and it’s totally acceptable?! Our series of Stroll tasting events, featuring Tuck Beckstoffer wines from California and Volage Sparkling Rosé from the Loire Valley of France, were a bowl full of jelly shaking fun.
May the New Year find you happy, healthy and in good spirits. Here’s raising a glass to you, Happy New Year!
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