Mike and I welcome the new owner, Brain Powell

I have exciting news! Because you are the reason I started Wine Gourmet ten years ago and have been a large part of my success of a retailer, I want to share the news with you.

As you may recall I put Wine Gourmet on the market last year when I came to the realization that I had my hands full with military obligations, young children, and ill family members. I entertained hundreds of inquiries around the nation, including dozens who were quite serious. I felt lucky to have so much interest!

The wait for the perfect buyer ended a few days ago, when I sold Wine Gourmet to Brian Powell.

Brian resides in Roanoke, he went to Virginia Tech and he LOVES wine and beer and the business around it. For the past six weeks, I’ve worked closely with Brian and find him to be smart, capable and energetic – the perfect person to replace me as the new leader of Wine Gourmet and move the company forward.

As for me, I plan to stay on as a consultant for the foreseeable future and help in any way I can. In the meantime, I am going to join the Connoisseur Club and Wine of the Month Club and be Wine Gourmet’s loudest and proudest cheerleader.

What will change? Not a lot right off. You will find the same great staff with the same great stuff next time you are in to pick up something at Wine Gourmet. In the future, Brian has talked about increasing the wine selections, scheduling wine travel adventures and bringing more wineries & special guests to the shop for special events.

We toasted the sale with a 96 Dom Perignon courtesy of Brian's cellar

In closing, please know that it has been my distinct privilege and an honor to serve you. I look forward to seeing you again here and around town.

Always,
Kimberly

Promenade Park is where you will find us!

Why are we leaving our Franklin Rd. location?
We lease here on Franklin Road and the landlord is selling our building (and for a pretty penny I might add at $595,000). So, I thought carefully, looked around and found a perfect spot at Promenade Park on Electric Road.

When is Wine Gourmet moving?
We are moving our furniture and office equipment in mid-June.   I plan to keep Wine Gourmet at Franklin Road open until the end of June.  Wine Gourmet will open on Electric Road as soon as our ABC license is complete (anticipate June 17).  So there will be a little overlap period when both shops are open

Where exactly is the new Wine Gourmet location?
Street address is 3524 Electric Road, Roanoke VA 24018.
Promenade Park is 3 miles from our current location. See the ROUTE to our NEW place.
Simply follow Franklin Rd south, go under the bridge at I-581/220S, continue another 1.5 miles and we will be on your right.

What’s so great about your new location?
The new location has oodles of well-lit parking - nearly 100 spaces!  4 entrances off Electric Rd/Colonial Ave.  and a safe exit with a stoplight from the Colonial Avenue exit.  Also, the new shop will feature a fresh, modern appearance, an intimate seminar room, ample storage for our ever-growing keg business and superior climate control.

What will stay the same?
We will have the same wonderful staff and the same ol’ phone # (540) 400-8466.

We will continue to feature over 150 of the latest under -$15.00 values in the wine world, award-winning craft and imported beers, party-ready kegs, the Scovie award-winning collection of hot sauces and all the best wine gadgets we can find.

Our new digs will be here.

What other businesses are close by?
Our new neighbors include Nature’s Outlet, Frantz Diamonds, Our Little Cherubs, and Joran’s Interiors.
Across the street, you will find Annie Moore’s Pub, Baylee’s Best Chocolates, Henri Kessler Furs and Fink’s Jewelry.

I am a Club Member, what happens to any wines/beer I haven’t picked up before the move.
No worries.  Please know that we will have all your uncollected selections at our new location.

A recipe by Mike…… just in time for the upcoming chili cook-off (May 7, 2011)

Making a dish like this isn’t difficult but doing it takes a bit of a zen-like patience.  Because many of the components are cooked separately and then joined, at the right time and in the right condition,  – it’s really a two-day affair.
I’ve broken the steps into day one and day two.

The first day, you need to do five things:

1.) Cook the chicken and remove the meat
2.) Make chicken stock
3.) Make a roux
5.) Roast your garlic
4.) Soak your beans

DAY 1
Ingredients:
A chicken, 4-5lbs will do
1 Medium-large onion
1 Medium-large carrot
1 Stalk of celery
1 Medium-large head of garlic
1 lb. of Dry white beans
1 tsp. Whole black peppercorn
4 oz. Unsalted butter
4 oz. All-pupose flour
~4 Tbs. Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly-ground black pepper

Cook Your Chicken
Pre-heat the oven to 375 deg.
Thoroughly rinse the chicken, inside and out, and pat dry with a paper towel (or two).
Place the chicken, breast up on a wire rack with a drip pan underneath and truss it up with some string to keep the wings and legs in tight with the body.  It will cook more evenly this way.  Drizzle the top of the chicken with olive oil and then generously salt and pepper both inside the cavity and the outside.  Roast for about 90 minutes or until the juices run clear when the skin is pierced by a knife tip. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

After the chicken has cooled enough to not burn you as you’re handling it, remove the meat by hand. Cover the meat with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge until needed the next day.  Take the skin and fatty pieces and chop them up for the dogs.
The picked carcass will be needed to make stock.

Make the Chicken Stock
(There are many variations but the stock I describe will work very well for this dish and many others.)
Rough chop the onions, celery, and carrot.  This should produce about 2 Cups of onion along with 1 Cup each celery and carrot.
(The ratio of 2:1:1 makes this what the French call, mirepoix.  Mirepoix is important for building layers of flavor.  You will, in fact, create and use a mirepoix twice in this recipe.)
Chop the chicken carcass up into four or five pieces.
Get a large stock pot (8 qt. or larger) very hot, add a few tablespoons of olive oil and wait for the oil to “shimmer”.  Add the chicken pieces to the hot oil and saute them until browned. Remove the large pieces and set them aside for a few minutes.  Add the onions, celery and carrots to the pot and saute them for a few minutes, allowing them to pick up some color. Put the browned carcass pieces back in the pot along with about a teaspoon of whole black peppercorns.  Add about a gallon of water.
You should hear a richly satisfying hiss and bubble as the liquid hits the bottom of the pot.  Scrape the bottom  of the pot to free up all the tasty bits that have stuck to the bottom.
Now bring the stock to a boil and, as soon as it gets there, turn the heat way down so that the pot settles into a gentle simmer.  Gentle is the key here.  Stuff should bubble lazily to the surface and then listlessly drift back down.  Simmering it hard will make the resulting stock cloudy and slightly bitter.
Simmer the pot for 2-3 hours, remove from heat and allow to cool. Separate the chunky bits from the liquid.  You’ve now made your stock.  Chuck the chunky and save the liquid in the ‘fridge.

Roast the garlic.
Pre-heat the oven to 375 deg.
Cut-off the tip top of the garlic bulb exposing the tops of some of the cloves.  Sit the garlic top-up in any oven-proof container.  (I use a small glass bowl, but you could use a metal measuring cup or something similar.  It just needs to hold the garlic upright.)  Drizzle the exposed garlic top generously with olive oil and pop it in the oven for about an hour.
Remove the garlic and let it cool.  When cool enough to handle, squeeze the head from the bottom and the soft, (now) sweet cloves will push out like toothpaste from the tube.
Take some of the chicken stock liquid you prepared, about a 1/4 cup will be fine, and put it, along with the roasted garlic, into a blender.
As Devo would have you do,  – whip it good.  (Actually, a few quick pulses will work just fine.)  Take the resulting liquid (a kind of garlic sauce) and save it in the ‘fridge til tomorrow.

Make the Roux
Roux (pronounced like Kanga’s kid) is a blend of cooked fat and flour that’s used as a thickening agent.  Though any fat would actually work, the fat most commonly used is butter and that’s what we’ll employ here.
Melt a stick (4 oz.) of unsalted butter in a small pan until bubbling.  Add 4 oz. of all-purpose flour and blend together with a whisk or spatula.  Once the flour and butter have combined into a cohesive mixture, cook for 2-3 more minutes to get rid of any raw flour taste.

Soak your Beans
Put the dry beans in a large bowl, cover them with water to about an inch deep. Let them sit for a few minutes stirring them occasionally, then dump the water.  Do this several times and then, after submerging them under an inch of water again, let them soak overnight.

DAY 2
Ingredients:
1 Medium-large onion, diced
1 Medium-large carrot, skinned and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 Stalk of celery, again, bite-sized pieces
1/2 lb. Andouille Sausage, sliced into coins
Chicken meat (from yesterday’s prep), bite-sized pieces
Chicken stock
1 Cup Dry white wine
Roux
1/3 Cup Fresh Parsley, chopped fine
1 Tbsp Fresh Rosemary, chopped fine
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt & pepper, to taste
Hot sauce, to taste

Get your stock pot on the burner and fire it up.  Let it heat for a couple of minutes and then add the olive oil and wait for the shimmer.  Add the sausage and push it around, getting it brown all over.

Remove the sausage pieces and set them aside.  You’ll re-add them later.
Add the mirepoix (onions, celery, and carrots) and rosemary to the pot and saute for 5-6 minutes, moving it around and picking up some color.  Salt and pepper the mirepoix.  Add the soaked beans, the wine and the chicken stock.  Bring the liquid, beans, and mirepoix to a boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer.
Now, go put in a DVD.  The chili needs about two hours of simmer to get the beans tender.  (You will need to return to your pot several times to skim the foam that forms on top.  I use a simple strainer that I drag through the foam. If you scoop up some of the beans/mirepoix with the foam, just rinse those pieces off under the tap and return them to the pot.)

When the end credits are rolling, return to the kitchen.
Fish a bean out of the pot with a spoon and taste it to check tenderness.  If it’s still a bit stiff, continue simmering.  But, if you find it to be acceptably soft, it’s now time to add your roux.  The roux, after a night in the fridge, will be about the consistency of play-doh.  With a knife, slice off about 1/4 and cut that into smaller pieces.  Add them to the still simmering liquid.  Stir the pot to melt and incorporate the roux.  The liquid will slowly thicken as a result.  If the chili  doesn’t get to the right consistency in 2-3 minutes, add some more until you get there.  Save whatever you don’t use to thicken other stuff.  The roux will keep up to several months in the ‘fridge as long as it’s wrapped.

You’re galloping toward the finish line at this point.
Add the roasted garlic sauce, chopped chicken meat, the sausage, and the parsley and stir it up (little darling).
Finally, adjust the flavor to your liking with salt and hot sauce.

This is a very flexible dish and will tolerate a lot of adjustment.  If you want to add freshly chopped peppers, or lemon zest/juice, or omit rosemary, or substitute pork – go ahead.

Now for wine.

As for a wine, light to medium-bodied red with some zing is just what’s called for.  I would strongly recommend a Grenache (Garnacha, if it’s from Spain) such as our Tres Picos Vinas Viejas (Old Vine). It has intense flavors of black raspberry, black cherry, and black pepper (a bunch of black things) along with enough body to stand-up to the chili.

Another solid recommendation would be a  Cotes du Rhone, such as the Domaine Mordoree 2010.  It’s a dark ruby with flavors of  black currant and violet.  Melted and fine tannins, this wine has a good finish and is an earthy match for the chili.

Recipe by Chef Michael T. Harper, manager of Wine Gourmet

Potato Salad with Roasted Garlic/Goat Cheese Dressing

• 3 lbs. Yukon Gold or other waxy potatoes
• 1 Medium bulb Garlic
• 5-6 Strips Thick-cut Bacon
• 1 Medium Onion sliced into thin rings
• 1/2 Cup Half ‘n Half5-6 oz. Goat Cheese
• Zest of 1/2 Medium Lemon
• 2 Tbsp thin-sliced tops of Green Onion
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Cut the potato into bite-sized chunks and boil in generously salted water for 6-7 minutes, until fork tender.  Drain and rinse the potatoes with cold water to halt further cooking.  Set aside.

Trim off the top of the garlic bulb, place it in a small oven-proof bowl and pour olive oil over the exposed tops of the garlic cloves and add a pinch of salt. put into a 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes..  Remove after the bulb has turned a golden brown and set aside to cool.

Fry the bacon until it is just crisp, then remove and set on a paper towel to drain.

Drain the pan of the bacon fat and add back two tablespoons.  Add half the onions and begin to cook them down (caramelize).  Cook about ten minutes, tossing the onions frequently until the most-cooked of the onions resemble mahogany in color. Remove the onions from the pan and drain on paper towels.  Add two more tablespoons of bacon fat to the pan and repeat with the other half of the onions.

Watch Mike\’s Potato Salad on WDBJ7\’s Weekend Diner with Jay Webb.

Foil  Saturday’s forecast and have a warm, tropical day instead!

It’s a Luau!

But it won’t be a party without you!

This very Saturday, here at the ol’ Wine Gourmet, there will be a celebration of spring featuring beau coup wine sampling, a beer on-tap to try, pineapple sangria, live music for your entertainment and amusement and food tasting with dishes involving pineapple, roast pork, that all-time Hawaiian favorite, Spam, and

. . . Wait.

. . . OK, Who ate all the poi?  Huh?
Event is free! For more info on Spring Luau 2011.

by Mike Harper

I was fortunate enough this week to get an e-mail from local weather/TV personality WDBJ7′s own Jay Webb.  He inquired as to whether or not I’d be interested in doing a Weekend Diner segment on the News 7 Sunday Morning broadcast this coming Sunday.  I had done the show several times before and always appreciate an opportunity to get the Wine gourmet name out there and so I replied with an “Absolutely!” 

We made arrangements to pre-tape the segment here at the store rather than me going to the studio to do it live – apparently a convenience for both of us.  For this episode, as picnic season is coming rapidly upon us, I decided to make a side dish.  It happens that, just the day before, in a flash of inspiration, I had created a tasty potato salad and so I decided that re-making it would force me to write a recipe. With a written record, perhaps this time, something I’d created wouldn’t be lost to the cobwebs and rusty cogs of my creaky memory.
Jay, a most amiable sort, arrived Tuesday morning with a cameraman in tow. I had already organized the ingredients, cooked and uncooked, in order to make efficient use of the very short time allotted.  And away we went. 

I’m sure that I failed to sufficiently look up and engage the camera, and probably forgot to squeeze in an extra mention of Wine Gourmet but this business of being “in the moment” in front of the camera while simultaneously remembering to look up, to smile, to interact with Jay, to not forget ingredients, to be cognizant of the time, to say something meaningful or comical,  - well, it’s harder than it looks, at least to me.     

Anyway, organize your spit-ball arsenal and draft your list of withering barbs and jeers, then give the show a look-see this Sunday morning (April 10, from 8-9am) and have at me.  In the meantime, here’s the recipe.   

Potato Salad with Roasted Garlic/Goat Cheese Dressing

• 3 lbs. Yukon Gold or other waxy potatoes
• 1 Medium bulb Garlic
• 5-6 Strips Thick-cut Bacon
• 1 Medium Onion sliced into thin rings
• 1/2 Cup Half ‘n Half5-6 oz. Goat Cheese
• Zest of 1/2 Medium Lemon
• 2 Tbsp thin-sliced tops of Green Onion
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Cut the potato into bite-sized chunks and boil in generously salted water for 6-7 minutes, until fork tender.  Drain and rinse the potatoes with cold water to halt further cooking.  Set aside.    

Trim off the top of the garlic bulb, place it in a small oven-proof bowl and pour olive oil over the exposed tops of the garlic cloves and add a pinch of salt. put into a 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes..  Remove after the bulb has turned a golden brown and set aside to cool.     

Fry the bacon until it is just crisp, then remove and set on a paper towel to drain.

Drain the pan of the bacon fat and add back two tablespoons.  Add half the onions and begin to cook them down (caramelize).  Cook about ten minutes, tossing the onions frequently until the most-cooked of the onions resemble mahogany in color. Remove the onions from the pan and drain on paper towels.  Add two more tablespoons of bacon fat to the pan and repeat with the other half of the onions.   

This is all the cooking that’s required.  

The rest is a matter of assembly.

Squeeze the roasted garlic from its little sleeves.  It will come pushing out of the top like toothpaste out of a tube.  Gather all the soft garlic together being extra careful to remove any bits of garlic skin/paper that may have gotten in.  Chop/mash the garlic into a paste.     

Trim the fried bacon into small strips (or just chop if you prefer a “crumbled” look).     

Add half n’ half to a mixing bowl. Add 2/3 of the garlic to the half ‘n half and whisk to combine. Then add the goat cheese and continue to whisk.  The cheese, half ‘n half and garlic will combine to form a dressing about the consistency of bottled Ranch. 
Additional half ‘n half can added if the dressing is too thick.    

Add potatoes, bacon and caramelized onions to the dressing and toss/combine to coat the potatoes.
 
Add lemon zest and 3/4 of the green onion plus some salt and fresh-ground pepper. 
Combine and taste.  
Make any necessary seasonal adjustments and sprinkle the finished salad with the remaining green onion.  

Now, go find yourself a picnic to crash.  

Just tell ‘em you’re the new guy at the office but that you brought potato salad .  

 - Mike

Beginning today, there is a substantial sign in the parking lot, next to the sidewalk, with an unmistakeable, “For Sale”, emblazoned across the top. As many of you are aware, Wine Gourmet does not own the building in which we are seated. We lease. The building’s owner (our landlord) has decided to sell the building – and it is that to which the sign refers.

Quite independent of the building’s sale, last year, Kimberly decided, for wholly personal reasons that have more to do with her desire to meet and embrace her next challenge in life than with anything having to do with the state or health of the business. In fact, Wine Gourmet, as a business is, strong, viable, and looking forward to the next ten years of meeting the needs of our customers.
Because Kimberly does not need to sell, she’s carefully looking at any potential buyers of the business and expecting them to meet certain criteria in terms of protecting her customers and employees. So far, she has not been able to come to a sales agreement with any of the folks who’ve expressed an interest. In the meantime, she works tirelessly at continuing to promote, nurture and grow her baby, Wine Gourmet.

It may be perfect to to pause here and let you know Wine Gourmet enjoyed its most profitable year ever in 2010.

So . . .
What will happen if the building is sold? Simple. We will either remain with the new landlord or find another place, here in Roanoke, to better serve you.

What will happen if Kimberly sells the business? – Very little we expect. The staff will remain. Our clubs will continue. And any changes will be of an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary nature.
Speaking for the staff, we here at the store, are comfortable and confident with our situation and wish only to allay those fears perhaps generated by the sign.

To paraphrase Twain,
Any rumors of our impending death are greatly exaggerated.

Reason #5 to join our Wine-of-the-Month Club:
Each month is a Tasting Adventure.

Not only are our selections delicious (we hope you feel) in their own rite, these wines are ambassadors of the often exotic places from which they herald. This month alone we have a wine from Jumilla, Spain and another from South Africa. If only you could jump on the bottle and ride it back from whence it came. You’d find yourself in some of the most beautiful spots in the world. Wine connects us to the world at-large in a way no other general product can – at least none I can think of.

If you’re still not a member, permit me a small reminder of the club’s benefits:

-No cost to join
-No penalty to withdraw
-$30./month maximum charge (that’s not a fixed cost, but a cap)
-Discounts on the club selection wines
-Tasting Notes supplied with each selection
-Pick-up at your convenience
-An annual party for Wine-of-the-Month members (being held this Sunday, March 27, 3-5 pm)

As most of you know, we offer three different “clubs”, Wine-of-the-Month, Connoisseur Wine-of-the-Month, and Beer-of-the-Month.
For those of you who are not members, maybe a little ol’ reminder of what you gain with membership is in order. For those of you who are already members, you have our deep and abisding appreciation of your faith and loyalty.

I intended to start this last week but had an unfortunate brain cramp. And so, this week, I will give you two reasons why you oughtta join.
#1 – Discounts on the selected wines! As a club member, you get $2. off the standard bottle price of regular club selections and $5. off the price of Connoisseur club selections – regardless of which actual club you’re in!!
#2 – We’ve got the Latest Values! We seek out wines that haven’t been in the marketplace, taste them, and bring in the new and exciting one we find to tantalize your buds of taste.

If you’re not already familiar, here’s the deal:
Once a month we select both a red and a white wine that meets our criteria and then use the buying power of the club membership to get the best possible deal. For beer, the beer buyer does the same thing – except with two different beers – sometimes it’s a 6-pack, sometimes a 4-pack – but it’s always a good deal [and always a dollar off regular prices to club members].

But “Wait.” you say, – “What’s to stop you from charging me for something wildly expensive?”
A good question. We puit a dollar limit on how much we charge for the club selections. For Wine-of-the-Month the limit is $30. total (that’s both wines), for Connoisseur Wine-of-the-Month it’s $60. total, and for Beer-of-the-Month, it’s $25. That way we can avoid, what I like to call, “the ugly surprise”.

And remember, there’s no cost to join and no cost to leave.

Wine Gourmet’s Wine Club is made of a hundreds of people just like you – looking for a value, craving a tasting adventure and seeking a little knowledge about the beverage we all love. Each week for the next six weeks, we’ll give you another great reason to join SW Virginia’s largest Wine Club and start enjoying your selections today.

Reason #1
Enjoy $2 discount on each bottle chosen as Wine Club selection. So Club members save $4/month on wine right off the top.

Free membership.

Click here to join online.
Call to join at 540.400.8466.
Visit us to join at 2219 Franklin Road, SW, Roanoke VA 24014.